Erhe's face turned pale as he stared at the Ming army's horizontal formation. The cannonballs he saw quickly enlarged in his field of vision and hit hard in his direction.
"Bang!!"
A huge explosion suddenly sounded, and Erhe froze in place. Less than five or six steps in front of him, the shield car blocking them collapsed.
The two armored soldiers standing in the front row behind the shield car did not make any reaction, and were already pierced by the cannonballs, killing them on the spot.
A large amount of wood chips splashed out like a heavy rain, instantly causing a lot of screams in the military formation.
Although the flying wood fragments cannot kill people, they can cause severe pain.
An unlucky Qing army guard covered his eyes in pain, knelt on the ground and kept wailing.
The cannonball was still unresolved and fell to the ground, then bounced up again after splashing a cloud of smoke and dust.
Erhe clenched his teeth and trembled all over. He watched helplessly as the cannonball hit him, but he couldn't do anything.
Everything happens in a blink of an eye...
Boundless fear attacked from all directions, and Erhe closed his eyes in despair.
"Bang!"
Erhe heard the sound of broken bones, and the dull sound of a sandbag being hammered.
Then he felt something hit his right shoulder hard, but surprisingly, he didn't feel any pain.
Erhe felt a sudden heat on his face and body, and the smell of blood filled his mouth and nose.
There was chaos all around, and the miserable howls, the screams of collapse, and the shouts of the generals all rang in Erhe's ears.
Erhe opened his eyes in a daze. His hands and feet were still feeling, his heart was still beating, and he could still breathe.
Erhe lowered his head and looked at his body. The armor on his body had turned the color of blood. The fuel that dyed it red was undoubtedly human blood.
Erhe turned his head and looked to the left. What he saw in front of him was as terrifying as Shura Purgatory.
Wherever the shell passed, it was as if it had been plowed, leaving a bloody path.
The miserable howl he heard came from the left side. Geteb, who lived in the same village as him, was lying on the ground groaning in pain. Half of his shoulders were beaten off, and blood flowed like a fountain. The penis surged out from the wound, and it looked like he was no longer alive.
The shell did not hit him, but hit Geteb standing beside him. He just felt a hit on his left shoulder. It was the collision that occurred when Geteb's body fell backward after being hit by the shell.
Behind Geteb, there were still several armored soldiers.
The shell passed through Geteb and directly cut off the armored soldier behind it. Only half of his body was left, and he was killed on the spot.
Colorful organs flowed out of his abdominal cavity and scattered all over the floor. Filth and fragments of internal organs continued to flow out of it, and an indescribable fishy smell also came out.
Even though he had been on the battlefield for many years, the scene before him still made Erhe want to vomit.
"vomit--"
Erhe resisted the urge to vomit, but some of the others around him did not.
There were even timid and weak people who burst into tears and were scared out of their wits.
In a short distance of 200 steps, the Ming army's artillery fired four rounds in succession.
The four rounds of shelling were more accurate than the other, causing more damage than the last.
The Qing army's ranks were in extreme chaos at this time, and their morale had been shaken under the successive blows, almost falling to the bottom.
But the strange thing is that even so, there were still no soldiers collapsing or fleeing among the Qing army's ranks.
Regarding this situation, Chen Wang was not surprised at all.
Since the Battle of Saarhu, the offensive and defensive trends between the Ming and Qing Dynasties have changed. The Ming army has been in a passive state and has almost never won a large-scale field battle.
Decades of failure in field battles made the Ming army in the border areas fear the Qing army like a tiger. However, the Qing army became more courageous and more confident as they fought.
The saying that a man with less than ten thousand people is invincible is a strategy to attack the heart.
But after talking for a long time, the Ming army believed it, and so did they.
They are not used to losing in field battles in front of the Ming army...
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
In the Qing army's formation, the drums of the Chinese army suddenly became louder.
Zhasuka looked ferocious. The speed of the artillery should not be so fast. The Ming army's artillery could hit hundreds of steps, which was obviously within the range of the red-coated artillery.
But why, why was the rate of fire so much faster? He saw all the fluctuations and casualties in the front line.
The well-made shield cars in the army could not stop the Ming army's artillery. There were a total of thirty shield cars in the front line, and now three of them had been smashed. The soldiers behind the shield cars stood close together, so they could not stop the Ming army's artillery. suffered great casualties.
He realized that this Ming army's artillery was different from all the Ming army's artillery he had encountered before. He had to speed up the approach and move forward, otherwise his army would collapse before the battle began.
Zhasuka's heart was bleeding. They were all his tribesmen, their property, and the source of his power.
A rough estimate showed that at least two hundred people fell to the Ming army's shelling at a distance of only a hundred steps.
More than 300 people were lost before the battle began, and the casualties in the future may be even greater.
Even if followers and auxiliaries accounted for the majority, the casualties were unacceptable.
Even if he wins, he will still be punished by the flag owner even if he goes back...
The future cannot be guaranteed...
"Come forward!!!"
Zhasuka's eyes were red, and his canthus was about to burst. He no longer had the calmness before, and ordered angrily.
It took him more than ten years and many life and death attempts to reach his current position, and he was not willing to give in!
Zhasuka held the tiger spear in his hand tightly and stared at the flaming red general's flag in the Ming army's formation not far away.
There is only one thought in his mind right now, which is to rush over, break through the Ming army's formation, and chop off the head of the Ming army general to satisfy the hatred in his heart!
…
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
The drums of the attack sounded in the middle army. The sudden sound of the drums made the Qing troops in the front line clear their minds.
"Everyone, stand up!"
A loud shout suddenly came from his ears. Erhe was startled and listened.
The sound that came out was exactly what they were talking about.
"How many rounds of artillery fire scared you out of your wits?!"
"If I lose to Nan Bing, I can spare you, but can the flag master spare you?!"
Fende Bashiku raised his knife and slit the throat of the crying armored soldier who was sitting on the ground. He then raised his eyes and looked around at the surrounding armored soldiers.
"The Nan soldiers are just a bunch of trash. If we rush forward and join the battle, they will collapse!"
"Bring the Nanbing's artillery back to the master. Then it will be a great achievement. You will have gold, silver, women, whatever you want!"
Erhe's dull eyes slowly condensed, and then slowly became fierce.
The surrounding armored soldiers were also like Erhe, and Bo Shiku's words encouraged them and brought them back to their senses.
The firearms of the Ming army are indeed powerful. Over the years, they have encountered the Ming army bringing out new firearms many times.
But the firearms are useless. Every time they rush up and join the formation, the Ming army will quickly retreat.
"Come forward and kill all those southern barbarians!"
After a brief period of chaos, the Qing army in the front line re-stabilized the military formation.
Most of the Qing army were veterans. They knew the current situation very well. The Ming army's artillery could hit more than three hundred steps. If they escaped now, they would have to endure the Ming army's shelling again.
Moreover, outside, there were large groups of Ming cavalry watching eagerly, and they could not run very far at all.
Not to mention the strict military laws in the tribe. Once they retreat without receiving orders, they will become deserters by running away, and it will not be as simple as death.
"Kill all the Southern Barbarians!"
Erhe clenched the bow and arrow in his hand again, and followed the rest of Niu Lu to re-arrange their formation.
The shield vehicle in front of their array was destroyed, but there were still shield vehicles around it that could be used as cover.
According to past experience, at such a close distance, the Ming army's artillery will definitely use shotguns.
Live ammunition can penetrate the shield vehicle, but shotgun ammunition cannot penetrate the shield vehicle.
Moreover, this time, the people standing in the first row behind the shield car were no longer dead soldiers and horse-armored soldiers in heavy armor, but auxiliary soldiers in the army...
In front of the Hanzhong Army formation, all the artillerymen looked nervous and turned pale.
As the Qing army approached, they made more and more mistakes.
Chen Wang was riding on a war horse. He was surrounded by a group of personal guards in the center and stood on the high slope behind the formation.
This is the position he selected. From here, he can see the entire battlefield and clearly see every move of his own array and the Qing army's array.
As the Qing army approached, he also saw the panic in the artillery positions ahead.
"Raise the muzzle!!!"
A gunner shook the handle on the tail of the gun, and a thick threaded iron rod under the gun body slowly lowered, and the muzzle was slowly raised.
The original military order was to lower the angle, but due to the pressure brought by the Qing army's charge, many gunners lowered the angle too low, so the order to raise the muzzle was issued.
Not only did the gunners who adjusted the angle have problems, but the artillerymen who carried the shells and the artillerymen who were responsible for clearing the barrels also had problems. Some people forgot to clear the barrels and charged directly, and there were also incidents of dropping the shells on the ground while transporting them.
"Get all the artillery back."
Chen Wang did not hesitate at all and directly issued the military order to retreat.
"The musketeers advance ten steps and prepare to join the formation. The spearmen press behind and form a formation to meet the enemy."
The artillery in the front line was completely in chaos. The battlefield was no better than a training ground. The pressure faced by the soldiers would cause them to make all kinds of mistakes.
"Zheng————"
The piercing sound of clangs resounded in the military formation, and the artillerymen in the front formation seemed to have been granted amnesty. They pushed the sports car with all their strength and retreated quickly towards the rear.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
As soon as the sound of the trumpet fell, the rapid sound of marching drums was already heard from the front line of the Hanzhong Army.
A group of gun soldiers who were already in full formation suddenly raised their cannons at the moment when the drums sounded.
Guns were put on the shoulders, and people stepped forward. With the sound of drums, a group of Hanzhong Army gun soldiers shouldered the oath of war, and they all moved forward.
They passed by the artillerymen who were pushing back the heavy artillery, looked ahead, and moved forward step by step.
More than a thousand gunmen of the Hanzhong Army were arranged in four horizontal formations, and the entire front was compressed to a length of only more than a hundred steps.
The Qing army's array was quite long, about three hundred steps, more than twice as long as theirs.
However, this will not be a big problem, because the two battalions of Governor Biao under Sun Chuanting have already completed their assembly on the two wings of the Hanzhong Army.
Further to the rear, a large group of Ming infantry was coming quickly under the command of Sun Chuanting.
The Qing army launched an attack, how could Sun Chuanting not take any action.
Chen Wang turned around and looked behind him. Less than a hundred steps behind, the fiery red scroll belonging to Sun Chuanting had already caught his eye.
Countless red flags were like a tide, rushing towards his direction.
At the same time, under the orders of Sun Chuanting, the elite cavalry of the Ming Army roared in from all directions.
(End of chapter)
