"Woo————"
The low and deep sound of the conch horn sounded from the Qing army's formation, and then quickly spread in all directions.
In fact, the damage caused by the shelling was not much. In fact, only a dozen or so shells fired by the Hanzhong Army hit the Qing Army's formation.
The rest basically failed or missed due to calibration issues.
The shelling was actually the most serious blow to morale.
Fighting on the battlefield and head-on confrontations are mostly strangled by military formations, with spears poking at you, spears poking you away, knives coming at you, and knives returning at random.
Although cruel, at least one's martial arts skills can still be useful, and the armor on one's body and the weapon in one's hand can give people a sense of security.
But no one can completely eliminate the fear in their hearts when faced with shelling.
No one knows whether the shells will fall on top of their heads after the next bombardment, and no one wants to gamble.
Even if you are holding a strong shield and wearing the best armor, you can't resist it.
When artillery shells hit, there is no way to avoid it, no way to escape, and nothing to do...
"Make a horizontal formation and widen the distance!"
Chasuka drove his war horse galloping through the formation, waving the whip in his hand and eagerly issuing military orders.
"Raise the blue flag and ask the Mengqi on the left and right wings to come forward and harass Nikan's artillery!"
Before Zhasuka finished speaking, the guard behind him who was responsible for delivering the order had already waved the blue flag.
The next moment, the rumble of horse hoofs could be heard from both wings. The Mongolian cavalry formations supporting the left and right wings rushed out of more than two hundred Mongolian rangers and swept towards the Ming army's artillery position in front.
A distance of three hundred steps, they were carrying a shield cart, and they needed to maintain their physical strength, so they couldn't move fast.
The Ming army's artillery could only fire two or three more rounds. Such a situation is naturally unacceptable.
Two or three more rounds of shelling will probably cause the army's morale to fall to the bottom.
The current situation left Chasuka with only two choices.
The first option is to send a cavalry team to harass the Ming army's artillery, prompting it to retreat behind the Ming army's formation.
There is a vast plain to the east of Zhending City, and there is no high ground suitable for setting up artillery. As long as they are forced back into the formation, most of the threats from the artillery can be eliminated.
Although the artillery can still be ejected after retreating into the formation, the threat can naturally be reduced because the observation field of view is lost and friendly forces need to be worried about accidental damage.
Chasuka made the first choice, forcing the Ming army's artillery back into the formation.
Another option is to throw away the heavy shield chariot, everyone mounts their horses and marches quickly, and then dismounts and marches when they are close to a hundred paces, which can shorten the marching time.
A hundred steps away, if you get closer, you will be within the range of the infantry bow, which can threaten the artillery of the Ming army outside the formation, and naturally eliminate the threat of artillery.
But in this way, without the cover of the shield car, they would be directly exposed to the Ming army's artillery and muskets.
Although the Ming army's gunfire was not of good quality and not very powerful, almost every Ming army was equipped with a large number of squatting tiger cannons and Franco machines.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Fran Machine cannot penetrate the shield vehicles, but they can easily tear apart the armor they wear at close range.
No matter how small a cannon is, it is still a cannon.
Erhe gently pulled the string of the bow and arrow in his hand with his thumb with the antler ring finger, and adjusted the ring finger to the appropriate position.
Then he reached out to touch the quiver on his waist, and slowly counted the heavy arrows in the quiver.
Erhe's eyes were still looking forward, on the artillery position in front of the Ming army's array not far away.
At this time, the Ming army had stopped. They stood still and formed a horizontal formation, like a red mountain stretching across the wilderness.
Having fought with the Ming army for many years, I was very familiar with the artillery Erhe. The Ming army installed many such artillery pieces on the city wall.
Erhe had a certain understanding of all kinds of guns and cannons, including red-coat guns, Fran machines, and tiger crouching guns. After all, he had been fighting for so many years. How could he not have these insights?
The Ming army's artillery, which can shoot more than 300 steps, has a low hit rate, and it is extremely troublesome to load. It will take a long time before the next round of artillery attacks.
Erhe was speechless and slowly followed the other armored soldiers in the formation.
With the roar of horse hoofs in his ears, Erhe turned his head slightly and saw a large number of cavalry on both sides galloping towards the Ming army's formation.
Erhe knew that these cavalry were the rangers who harassed the Ming army's artillery in the past, so he felt even more relaxed. As long as they could get within fifty or sixty steps, the Ming army's artillery would have to retreat to their own formation.
Once the Ming army's artillery retreats to their own formation, they no longer need to worry about repeated shelling.
Just as Erhe gradually felt relieved, his eyes suddenly condensed, and his originally indifferent expression could not help but change slightly.
He clearly saw the artillery in the Ming army's front line spitting out large streams of white smoke again.
Thick smoke rose into the air, forming a wide smoke screen with the force of the strong wind.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
The next moment, the continuous sound of cannon fire rang in his ears, rolling over like thunder from the sky.
Erhe's heart was suddenly lifted, and his pupils suddenly dilated out of fear, almost covering his entire eyes.
He watched helplessly, the small black spots in his vision gradually getting bigger.
The shadow of death hung over Erhe's head. He wanted to avoid it, but he couldn't. His whole body was in a stiff state and he couldn't move to avoid the incoming shells.
"Bang!"
A loud noise sounded, and the lost strength returned to Erhe's body again. With the help of this loud noise, he regained control of his body.
The shell did not hit him, but landed about ten steps in front of him. It opened up the originally green grass and left a deep hole in it.
The curls of green smoke slowly rose from the entrance of the cave, and were quickly blown away by the strong wind.
Fear slowly rose in Erhe's heart. He felt that his limbs had become extremely cold and his body was no longer as flexible as before.
The blood-red sunset reflected the cold wilderness. The Ming army arrayed in the west, with their backs to the setting sun.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines on its fiery red front, as if it is coated with a layer of molten gold armor, like a mythical heavenly soldier.
Erhe tightened his grip on the bow and arrow in his hand. The loading speed of this Ming army's artillery far exceeded all the artillery he encountered, exceeding his original knowledge.
The shrill wails came from the left and right one after another, and Erhe did not turn his head to check.
When facing an enemy in battle, anyone who turns his head and moves his feet will be beheaded immediately!
The Qing army's military discipline was extremely strict when it came to battle. Once the military order was issued, the front line was surrounded by mountains of swords and seas of fire, but they had to move forward without hesitation. Otherwise, not only would they themselves die, but their wives, children, and children who stayed behind would also be punished, and even the entire family would be disgraced. shame.
Erhe knew that the wailing sound was all caused by the Ming army's artillery.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
The sound of high-spirited war drums suddenly sounded from the Ming army's formation. Erhe's eyes narrowed slightly and his pupils shrank. As soon as the smoke from the Ming army's front formation cleared, a large number of Ming army cavalry were already coming from the left and right wings of the Ming army's formation. Accompanied by the drums, The sound came out with a bang.
Erhe's heart kept falling downwards, and he had a bad premonition in his heart...
With a distance of just over two hundred steps, the two charging cavalry units were soon within fighting distance.
The Mongolian cavalry who had already suffered a frontal charge did not make the same mistake this time. They had already turned their horses' heads as early as a hundred paces away, galloped horizontally in the front, and avoided the direct attack. The Ming Army cavalry.
There was no need for command or orders. After these Mongolians, who had grown up on horseback since childhood, calculated the distance, they skillfully used their riding bows to throw upwards diagonally.
The light arrows floated high with the speed of the horses, and the dense arrows rose into the sky almost at the same time, covering the Ming army's cavalry formation.
However, the expected scene of the Ming Army's cavalry jumping on their backs did not appear. The Ming Army's cavalry actually dispersed like the Mongolian cavalry, and a large number of arrows flew into the air from the Ming Army's cavalry formation almost at the same time. Like a swarm of locusts.
Arrows shuttled back and forth between the cavalry formations, knights were constantly being shot to the ground, and war horses were constantly falling to their knees.
The man who led the cavalry of the Hanzhong Army into battle was none other than Chen Gong.
The cavalry armament of the Hanzhong Army's First Cavalry Thousand Headquarters is among the best in the entire army.
These Mongolian cavalry grew up on horseback and were extremely skilled in shooting. However, although the arrows they shot were accurate and numerous, there was no way these arrows could penetrate the armor of the Hanzhong Army cavalry.
On the other hand, many of the Mongolian cavalry had no armor at all and were just wearing relatively thick fur coats.
Fur clothing can keep out the cold, but how can it withstand sharp arrows.
During the confrontation, the inferiors were already defeated. A large number of Mongolian cavalry were shot off their horses, and the cavalry formation was in chaos.
During the long battle between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia, especially in the long-term security war, Mongolia was actually at a disadvantage for many periods of time.
The cavalry led by Chen Gong are basically Liao cavalry. They have superb shooting skills. It can also be said that they grew up on horseback and have excellent weapons. How can they not win.
…
"Woo----" "Woo----"
The low horn sound sounded again, and Erhe gritted his teeth, clenched the bow and arrow in his hand again, and accelerated his pace.
The Chinese army ordered to speed up again. The Mongolian cavalry that went to harass was about to be defeated. The Ming army's artillery position could not be removed for the time being. They must speed up, otherwise they would suffer more shelling.
After marching for dozens of steps again, a large amount of white smoke rose again from the Ming army's front line of sight. The silver-white smoke once again connected into one piece, and a huge roar followed.
Erhe's face was pale, the back of his head was numb, and all the hair on his body stood up.
A sound suddenly rang in his ears, and then he felt a strong gust of wind blowing past his face, causing his cheeks to hurt.
Before he could react, there were already sounds of broken bones and the sound of steel and iron coming from behind him, followed by screams full of pain.
Erhe was trembling all over. Death had never been so close to him. The cannonball almost missed his head and flew past him. As long as he lowered his head a little, he would be the one who was hit and died.
The Ming army's three rounds of shelling had passed, and they were already within a distance of 150 steps.
There were only the last fifty steps left, but in Erhe's eyes, these last fifty steps were as insurmountable as a chasm.
The distance was still far, and they could not move forward in a hurry. Their armor weighed dozens of kilograms and they ran all the way. After running one hundred and fifty steps, they didn't have much physical strength left.
And once they start running, it is impossible to maintain a complete military formation.
The confrontation between the two armies is a majestic formation, with thousands of people lining up. The role of the military formation is extremely important. If one side's formation is scattered, it may fall into a rout overnight.
They need to keep moving forward at the current speed, and maintaining this speed, they can only withstand the artillery bombardment of the Ming army.
Most of the Franco aircraft in the army are light and are used for street fighting when breaking down cities and fortresses. Field combat is not considered much.
The Ming army basically would not use such long-range artillery in field battles, and not many Ming troops had the courage to go out of the city to fight in the field.
"Go forward!"
Niulu Zhangjing, the leader, roared at the top of his lungs.
The morale of the Qing army has been greatly shaken by these rounds of continuous shelling.
The distance between them and the Ming army is constantly shrinking, and the accuracy of the Ming army's artillery is becoming more and more accurate.
"Everyone follow the car!"
Erhe moved his steps and hid his figure behind the shield car.
The wide shield cart in front of him gave Erhe a sense of security. The shield carts were covered with quilts and sand and stones, making it difficult for muskets and arrows to penetrate and cannon stones to break through.
Standing behind him, Erhe felt a little confident.
Erhe raised his head. He stood on the outer edge of the shield car. He only needed to lean out a little to see the Ming army's artillery position not far away.
The Ming army's artillery was loading at this time, and the distance was only close to a hundred steps. Erhe could clearly see the movements of the Ming army's artillery.
The artillery used by the Ming army was very strange, and the gun mounts were different from all the gun mounts he had seen before.
There is an upright man next to each cannon. That man is holding a yellow command flag and seems to be the one giving orders.
In addition to that man, there was also a soldier who was cleaning the barrel of the cannon.
There were about three or four people behind the cannon, one of whom was holding something that looked like a fork, and the others were squatting behind the cannon and not knowing what they were doing.
There were also people walking back and forth, seemingly carrying shells and other items.
"One hundred and twenty steps away, lower the angle for another half moment, load iron bullets, and fire a volley! Prepare shotguns!!"
In the Hanzhong Army formation, the artillery commander standing at the forefront put down the telescope in his hand and roared angrily.
Naturally, his voice could not reach the distance of one hundred and twenty steps.
Erhe didn't hear the sound coming from the Ming army formation, but he saw the rows of yellow flags in the front formation suddenly waved down.
The next moment, orange-red fire suddenly flashed and almost became a line, completely blocking Erhe's entire field of vision.
(End of chapter)
