From the Yongwei battalions stationed throughout the inner city rushing to the south city wall, you can feel that the situation at Huang Degong's place is becoming increasingly tense. Both sides are gritting their teeth to see who can survive to the end.
What the Beijing camp did was completely exchanging lives for money, but those who died were the cannon fodder who charged into the battle below. The deputy generals and generals would not risk their lives easily. They also wanted to break into the imperial city to seize gold, silver and jewels, and even It's so refreshing to sit on the dragon chair.
Faced with such a huge temptation, as long as there are some chips in hand, normal people will be eager to give it a try. They will not be willing to do it until they can only wear their pants or even naked. Even if they reach that point, I am afraid they will always think about it. It's a copy.
There are more than 3,000 guards in the Royal Horse Prison, who were left over when the "Tengxiang Four Guards" were integrated. The good ones were transferred by Cao Huachun to form the Yongwei Battalion, and the weak ones continued to guard the imperial city. .
There are hundreds of people in the inner factory. Except for a few guards, most of them are eunuchs. Their combat effectiveness is at the scum level. They can't stand up to the Beijing camp. It's a daydream to expect them to defend the imperial city.
If you include the people walking around in Dongchang, there are five to six thousand people gathered together. If you include the handymen and so on, there may be even eight thousand people, but they are all a mob and have no ability to fight in the street. ability.
It would be great if there were Dong Palace Guards or Beichang Guards around at this time. Even if there was only one guard waiting for orders, Yao Ji wouldn't be frightened. The life-saving props of the Yong Guard Battalion were almost destroyed by the group of two or five boys on the opposite side. …
It seems that after repelling the invading enemy, the formation of two of their own teams must really be put on the agenda. Even if the Yongwei Battalion is disabled due to this battle, there will be two new armies to take on the responsibility of defending The important task of the capital.
"Hold it to me, general!"
Huang Degong was already covered in blood, and if it weren't for the commander-in-chief's armor showing his identity, others would hardly be able to identify him. Although he was hit by an arrow and suffered three stab wounds, he was still on the front line directing the battle, not only to boost morale, but also to observe the enemy's situation.
After three repeated battles, the southern wall of the inner city was still controlled by the Yongwei Battalion, at a heavy price of more than 500 casualties.
Four of the five horse-faced buildings between the turrets and Xuanwu Gate were destroyed, and only half of the Wengcheng tower was blown away by fire cannons. The wooden structure in the ruins was still burning.
But in comparison, the enemy on the other side suffered even more. Not only did they not take advantage, but they also managed to get in with a few generals. There were so many corpses under the city walls that there was no room for them to stay.
In this small area, deputy general Ding Jian lost nearly 2,000 men, but still failed to capture a single city, leaving his generals helpless and angry.
There is a gap in combat power between the two sides, but I didn't expect it to be so much different. It's not like the fifth army camp didn't fight hard, but when it came to a life-and-death situation, they still gave in. They attacked the city several times, but were killed by the other side. repel.
After repeated setbacks, Ding Jian, the deputy general of the Fifth Army Battalion, and He Wei, the deputy general of the Shenji Battalion, discussed it. For the current plan, they could only rely on the advantage of the firecrackers in the machine room to violently bombard the city head, and then kill the Yongwei camp. With great vigor, he entered the city again.
"Boom boom boom..."
Strangely enough, the Shenji Battalion, which is usually lazy in training, almost exerted its abilities to the extreme tonight. The rate of fire and accuracy of its muskets almost reached the level of the Yongwei Battalion. It was regarded as an avenging of personal revenge.
The falling projectiles blasted out hundreds of large and small pits on the city wall. As the bombardment continued, these pits gradually began to connect, eventually forming a more deadly hole with a diameter of at least two or three feet. .
If it is allowed to develop, the city wall will collapse sooner or later. In that case, the Fifth Army Camp can skip the ladder and directly run up the collapsed city wall to enter the inner city.
"Quickly move bricks, sandbags, and wooden boards to block the gap!"
The Yongwei camp generals used everything they could use around them, many of which were requisitioned from Minjuli in the city. If water tanks and graphite were not too heavy, they would also be brought up for solidification. Defend.
About 80% of the parapet was destroyed by artillery shells, and the defenders could only rely on temporary sandbags to resist attacks from the outer city.
Doing so would cause heavy casualties, but it was also an inevitable strategy. Abandoning the city head would be equivalent to letting the rebels enter the inner city. It would be very difficult to defeat the enemy through street fighting.
"These eggless turtle grandsons!"
Huang Degong looked at the dots of fire in the distance and gritted his teeth with hatred. The rebels in Jingying relied on the long range of their fire cannons to bombard the city.
Dozens of the fire cannons deployed by our side on the city wall were destroyed, and the remaining fire cannons that were barely replenished were all small-caliber fire cannons. The large ones were too heavy and difficult to transport in time.
Although the Hongyi cannon is bulky and extremely inconvenient to move, it has a long range and great power, making it perfect for use as a siege cannon.
Since the city wall is fixed, but the artillery positions in the outer city can be moved at any time, and there are a large number of Minzhao as cover, it is difficult for the Yongwei Battalion to hit the opponent's artillery position when firing from the inside out, but the Shenji Battalion succeeds repeatedly.
The Yongwei Battalion suffered a big loss. The elevation angle of its own heavy artillery was reduced due to the demolition of the city wall, resulting in a sudden drop in range. Although the Shenji Battalion also suffered considerable losses, it could still withstand it.
Huang Degong has taken measures to reduce casualties as much as possible, such as leaving only a few sentries when the enemy shelled, and the rest of the soldiers retreated from the city, waiting for the infantry to launch an attack before coming out to fight bloody battles with them.
This will not change the situation of being passively beaten. As time goes by, the firepower gap between the two sides will become more and more obvious, unless troops continue to be mobilized from all over the inner city for reinforcements.
The more than a thousand soldiers from the car camp who came in from outside the city have been supplemented by Huang Degong to the top of the city. Even so, he still feels that the city defense is a bit unstable, and the rebels can charge forward again at any time.
"Report! Chief Rong, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has sent four fire guns!"
After the ordering soldier clasped his fists and saluted, he pointed to several carriages and a group of people under the city.
"...That's great! Let's move it to the top of the city!"
Huang Degong was perfunctory, but he was muttering in his heart, what's the use of four guns? Forty guns may not be able to withstand the fierce bombardment of Hongyi cannon.
Four doors, just four doors. After all, it was the prince's wish. It's hard to refuse such hospitality. It's better than sending two carts of sacks.
"Report to General Rong, someone here said that the recoil of this gun is so strong that a hole must be dug near the city root!"
"If this is the case, isn't it going to hit the city wall?"
Huang Degong was very puzzled by the arrangement of the prince's men. What was the rationale for bombarding his own city wall?
Could it be that these people have never even played with firecrackers, so they were sent by His Highness the Crown Prince to make firecrackers?
He wanted to go down and see for himself. If this was really the case, then it would be up to his soldiers to take over everything.
"General Rong, you are fine!"
Seeing Huang Degong surrounded by everyone, Liu Feng, the armor factory official, smiled and handed over his hand first.
"Who was I then? It turned out to be Liu Factory Official!"
This was an old acquaintance. Huang Degong bothered Liu Feng a lot in order to get the best quality weapons for the Yongwei camp.
"Right now, thieves are attacking the city. Liu is not talented. Although he is not brave, he still knows a little bit about how to use a musket, so I have recommended myself to His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Just watching the fun, Liu Feng felt that his face was dull. If he didn't do something at this time, the prince would inevitably look down on him.
Seeing that the firecrackers made by the prince were very powerful, Zhang Luan, the eunuch of the factory, had already consciously gone out to recruit craftsmen.
As a factory official, Liu Feng was not very good, but he was an expert at making firecrackers, no less skilled than those gunners who could go into battle to kill the enemy.
"I heard that this gun has to be dug first. Is it true?"
Huang Degong was too embarrassed to ask. He saw four iron barrels but no firecrackers at all. Since it was sent by the prince, it might contain a secret, so it would be better not to show his cowardice first.
"What the commander-in-chief said is exactly what he said. His Highness specifically warned that if a hole is not dug, the recoil force produced by this gun may damage the soldiers present!"
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Liu Feng wouldn't have believed that a ten-pound medicine bag could be punched out from such an iron bucket.
"Oh~! I see, then let Factory Officer Liu give you some advice, so that the gunners under my command can be taught as soon as possible!"
This kind of fire gun Huang Degong has never been seen before, and the firing method is also very special. It is better to let professionals come to work first. His soldiers must first understand it clearly. If they rush up rashly, they may not know what is going on.
"So good!"
After Liu Feng agreed, he directed the chamberlain and guards to unload the mortar from the carriage, found an open space near the city root, and started digging a hole in an orderly manner.
Unlike cannons of this era, which had a relatively low and straight trajectory, the curved trajectory of mortars was close to that of howitzers, so the closer the artillery position was to the city wall, the safer it was.
But a certain distance must be left, at least to allow the projectiles to fly over the city, otherwise it will really become a self-inflicted shelling.
After the coolie attendants dug the hole, Liu Feng deliberately measured it with a wooden ruler to make sure it could offset the recoil.
For the sake of safety, Liu Feng followed the prince's instructions and first conducted a test firing with stone bullets of equal weight. After making sure that the shells could fly smoothly over the city, he then loaded the ammunition package.
"Oh~! It's really amazing!"
Huang Degong saw the stone bullets flying over the city, and immediately admired it. Although the cannon body was not amazing in appearance, its power was amazing.
"General Rong, I haven't filled the official medicine bag yet!"
When Liu Feng saw Huang Degong's surprised look, he couldn't help but secretly feel proud. This guy had the same expression as his just now, but he still carefully instructed his men to perform operations.
"oh?"
Huang Degong thought that the stone bullets were the projectiles of the fire gun, and the medicine bag was the propellant in the medicine pool.
"Please also invite the commander-in-chief and me to go up to the top of the city to see the grand event!"
Liu Feng had seen live-fire drills before, and he had never seen anyone use a medical pack to kill someone alive. Tonight was the time.
"That's fine! Come here, bring a set of armor for Factory Officer Liu!"
Huang Degong also wanted to see how powerful this iron barrel fire gun was, but the city was extremely dangerous, so Liu Feng had to be armed.
"Thank you, Chief Rong, for taking care of me!"
Liu Feng didn't want to go up there wearing civilian clothes. He was not afraid and it didn't mean he could be bulletproof. Even if he was hit by a stray arrow, he would still die.
"put!"
When the gunner reported to Liu Feng on the top of the city, the factory official immediately shouted to the people below, and then quickly ran to the other side of the city wall, making sure to get a first look.
Everyone could only see four black blocks flying across the night sky in the distance, and then nothing could be seen.
"boom……"
But soon, the slight disappointment they had just felt was swept away by the violent explosion.
Four balls of fire suddenly bloomed a hundred meters away from the city. Even though there were many fires nearby, they still looked particularly dazzling.
The sound is as haunting as the thunder that suddenly explodes in the silent night, and timid people will instinctively tremble when they hear it.
The soldiers of the Beijing camp who were gathering near the impact point and planned to launch another siege operation became the first batch of sacrifices under the muzzle of the "Longqing" mortar.
The iron bullets fired by firecrackers in this era were close to the armor-piercing bullets of later generations. The purpose of both was to puncture attacks, while the damage effect of the explosive pack was similar to that of grenades, and the detonation effect was extremely significant.
The guy who happened to be at the explosion point was killed on the spot, and everyone within ten steps nearby was either dead or injured. Less than ten people were directly killed by the explosive package. Most of them suffered internal bleeding, and their internal organs were affected differently. degree of harm.
A group of people lay naked on the ground, and it took them a while to wake up. They had no idea what had just happened. Those who were still alive heard a loud noise, and then their vision went dark, and they knew nothing.
The guy who still felt a little dizzy shook his head vigorously and tried to get up, but his body refused to obey. Many people began to cough up blood, and some even gave up after struggling for a few times, like a dog about to die. He lay there panting like a fish.
"Don't pretend to be dead! Get up!"
Mr. Qian and the generals walked to the vicinity of the explosion site to inspect the scene. They did not understand what was going on, so they could only viciously kick the soldiers on the ground and urge them to get up and prepare for battle.
Maybe the defenders used unknown weapons, but even so, they had to continue to attack the city. If they couldn't capture it, the money in the imperial city would have nothing to do with them.
Compared to the mountains of gold, silver and jewelry, what is this loss?
For the sake of money, no matter how many people die, it is still worth it, as long as you are fine!
"Hahahaha...the firecrackers sent by His Highness are indeed extremely powerful!"
Huang Degong, who was greatly delighted, had observed the situation near the explosion point through a telescope. The result was really unexpected.
The firecracker, which is similar to an iron barrel, can be moved by two people, but its power cannot be underestimated, and it is indeed capable of killing everyone.
If the prince could send dozens or even hundreds of these iron barrels, it would no longer be difficult for the soldiers of the Yongwei Battalion to defend the city.
In fact, only three of the four explosive packets that flew over landed on top of the rebels, one missed the target, only one of the three hit the target, and the other two could only be regarded as hitting the opponent's vicinity.
Including minor injuries such as internal bleeding, the casualties caused by the total supply were less than thirty, but for Liu Feng's improvised artillery unit, it was already a victory.
"Good shot! Reload!"
Liu Feng was overjoyed and encouraged his men to continue firing and try to come more often. The purpose of their coming here was to assist in the battle on behalf of Prince Tu, so that they could kill as many traitors as possible. Huang Degong also saw this with his own eyes and reported it to them. You will definitely be rewarded.
After receiving the verbal praise from their superiors, everyone became excited and worked hard. Killing the enemy and getting money was everyone's request for compliance. Besides, if they were killed by the bandit soldiers and entered the city, they would not end well.
