In addition to special shield vehicles, Yang Wenyue also ordered all ministries to mobilize all available vehicles and transform them into shield vehicles to cover the advance of the infantry.
The shield vehicle manufactured by the chariot factory installs an iron plate on the front end of the vehicle and stacks semi-circular tree trunks in front, which can achieve a double bulletproof effect.
The shield car that was temporarily put together outside Datong did not have the conditions to install iron plates. Instead, thigh-thick tree trunks were cut down to form two horizontal and vertical wooden rafts.
Although it can't prevent the heavy blows of the Hongyi cannon, it is not a big problem to deal with the common bird cannons, three-eyed cannons and even the squatting tiger cannon.
If the tree trunk used is very thick and strong, it can even prevent the projectiles fired by the small Franchise at the opponent's maximum range.
Yang Wenyue ordered the generals under his command to divide the infantry under their control one by one according to the size of the shield chariot. They were divided into groups of twenty or thirty people. Each group was equipped with a shield chariot and put up a ladder. A commander-in-chief was responsible for commanding and urging the infantry to advance. The car moves forward.
Due to the long distance of advancement, which is six or seven miles away, and the road conditions are quite bumpy, and they have to bear the enemy's artillery fire from the city head, and the vehicles are heavy, so the advancement speed cannot be fast.
Compared with the brisk mortar trucks, these shield trucks, which were packed with too many tree trunks because they had to cover the infantry, seemed too stupid. They lagged behind the artillery trucks for several minutes before catching up.
Datong City has a moat 10 meters wide and 5 meters deep 40 meters away from the city wall. Because of this and the city wall about 14 meters high, Wang Pu relied on the fact that the city was high and the pool was deep, so he did not even dig a trench.
Even if the opponent advances to the city, in order to forcefully attack the city, they have to give up the cover of the shield car and use the ladder to forcefully cross the river. In this way, the rolling logs, thunder stones, and hot oil prepared for them at the top of the city can come in handy. .
The defenders also had a large number of crossbows and muskets, which could be used at leisure at the top of the city. Wang Pu believed that with the three major advantages of time, location, and people, they would be able to easily defeat Yang Wenyue's first round of offensive.
"Archers! Shooters! Shoot for me!"
The shield carts could not cross the moat no matter what. The shield carts that were advancing to the river one after another could only use bows, arrows and muskets to shoot at the defenders from a distance of forty meters.
Such a confrontation is very detrimental to the counter-rebellion army. The rebels at the top of the city can use the huge terrain advantage to suppress the enemies outside the moat from a high position.
Although the siege troops occasionally made gains and were able to kill and injure dozens of rebel soldiers who opened fire at the crenellations, overall, the results were a drop in the bucket.
Our own casualties are much higher than those of the rebels. Comparatively speaking, the casualties of this shooting tactic are only slightly smaller than those of forced siege.
The rebels did not encounter any serious threats at the top of the city, so they could attack the enemies below the city as they pleased. This was the situation Wang Pu was most happy to see.
What's even more cunning is that Wang Pu deliberately did not let his men dismantle the bridge on the moat, so that he could use it as bait to attract enemy troops.
Secondly, it is to prepare for unexpected events. After the war goes against us, we are ready to take the elite cavalry out of the city at any time. If we escape from the pass, we can go to Huangtaiji.
Firepower near the city gate will be aimed at the bridge head, and any enemy troops who attempt to attack the city through the bridge will be violently hit by crossfire.
Looking at the helpless enemy troops below the city, Wang Pu gradually showed a proud look. Not to mention the three to five thousand men and horses in front of him, even if Prince Gou mobilized a hundred thousand troops, he would never be able to capture the land within a stone's throw of the city.
Only the Heyang Gate in the east has been attacked by the enemy for the time being. The other three gates are still safe. It seems that Yang Wenyue is only planning to test it now.
Only after losing troops and generals would they launch a siege on all sides, but the city of Datong was impregnable. In the end, Yang Wenyue could only become frustrated and unable to do anything, and ended up with the tragic end of being punished by the Dog Prince.
I dare not say more, but before autumn, Wang Pu believed that Yang Wenyue would use all his strength to do nothing to defeat the Datong city he occupied.
After repelling the invading enemies, we can take advantage of the situation to capture half of Datong Prefecture, and maybe control the entire northern Shanxi region from now on.
As long as he controls this corner of the country, communicates with Huang Taiji, and tries to get him to send a group of troops to Datong, his former Jin Kingdom will be able to sit back and relax.
You can definitely learn from Shi Jingtang first, worship Huang Taiji as your "adopted father", and use the tens of thousands of cavalry from the "King of the Qing Dynasty" to help you gain a foothold.
After learning from Li Jiqian, after making good relations with the Qing Dynasty, he saw the opportunity and "asked for surrender" to the Ming Dynasty. As long as the Ming army did not take the initiative to attack, the two sides could call a truce, thus preserving their "kingdom and country."
When the war was in full swing, Wang Pu was still thinking about being related to the emperors of the past dynasties in order to build momentum, especially if he had the same surname.
However, after careful consideration, it seems that there is only Wang Mang who usurped the Han Dynasty and established a new one. Although he has a bad reputation, he still has the surname Wang. After appeasing both the Ming and Qing Dynasties, he can change the existing country name from "Previous Jin" to "Later Jin". New”.
I heard that natural disasters were frequent in the Shaanxi area and bandits were everywhere. The local government could no longer suppress it. Wang Pu still thought of waiting until Dabao ascended the throne before sending troops to Shaanxi to include the place in the "post-new" territory.
If it can be realized, both the Ming and Qing Dynasties will definitely look at each other with admiration. Huang Taiji will try every means to win over him, while Prince Gou, who rules the Ming Dynasty, can only acquiesce to this fact.
At that time, Song Taizong sent five groups of troops to attack Li Jiqian, but all five groups were defeated. After Zhenzong came to the throne, in order to calm the troubles, he ceded Xia, Sui, Yin, You, Jing and other places to Li Jiqian.
After Li Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor, the entire Zhao and Song Dynasty were immediately furious after hearing the news. However, they were completely defeated by Li Yuanhao. After the four major battles of Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan, Linfufeng, and Dingchuanzhai, the northwest Song army had been severely damaged.
From then on, Daxia was in an invincible position, while Zhao and Song had no hope of regaining the lost ground. Wang Pu planned to follow Li's example and teach the Ming army an extremely painful lesson today at the foot of Datong City.
"boom……"
A deafening explosion woke up Wang Pu from his dream of being an emperor. Even though they had evacuated from the Wengcheng tower to the main city tower, everyone still felt as if the explosion was around them.
Wang Pu's idea was very good, which was to use the bridge as a bait and use the firepower from the city head to kill the enemy. However, the situation has now changed dramatically.
Heyangmen and nearby areas have been bombarded by more than 200 explosive charges, killing more than 500 people. The Wengcheng tower has begun to collapse under the repeated bombardment of the enemy.
Although the remains of the wooden structure of the city tower were still burning, causing a tragic scene of billowing smoke, the enemy's offensive was so fierce that the defenders were exhausted and no one could bother to put out the fire.
The generals under Wang Pu also knew that the reason why the enemy did not forcefully attack the city was because the bullets they used were extremely powerful and they were afraid of accidentally injuring their own troops.
The defenders at the top of the city did not relax at all. They continued to attack targets in the distance and achieved good results, destroying nine artillery carts one after another.
Hu Dawei only had thirty artillery carriages on the front line, but three artillery carriages that had previously malfunctioned later joined the front and began to put pressure on the rebels.
Looking at the imperial clock held in the arms of the soldiers around him, Hu Dawei estimated based on the situation in the telescope that the artillery car could fire roughly once a minute.
In about three minutes, the Wengcheng tower on the east side of Datong will be bombarded by more than a hundred explosive packets. The explosions are almost continuous, with flames shooting into the sky, thick black smoke, frequent bomb craters, and shouts of killing mixed in.
The city tower was in a completely precarious state and seemed to be in danger. Even the firepower on the city head was obviously weakening at a speed visible to the naked eye.
From time to time, bricks, rubble, and shot soldiers fell from above. As soon as the medicine package landed on the city head, the parapet, which was nearly one step wide, was directly blown open.
Even though the gap was blocked by soldiers under the order of the captain in charge of supervising the battle, the defenders had nowhere to hide and were hit repeatedly by cannons. They either fell to the ground or rolled in pain.
Hu Dawei knew that each gun carriage only carried twenty explosive packets, and the actual firing time would not exceed twenty minutes at most.
When firing in the early stage, the artillerymen with good physical strength can reach a high rate of fire of two rounds per minute. In the later stage, everyone is tired, and they can only maintain about one round per minute.
Considering that this was the first actual combat of the mortar unit, Hu Dawei was basically satisfied with the performance of his subordinates. Governor Yang could also clearly see the battle situation in the direction of the tower.
After all the medicine packs have been fired, many artillery vehicles can retreat first without having to ask for instructions from behind, let alone being charged with escaping from the battle.
If they stay on the battlefield, they will definitely become live targets for the cannons on the city walls. It is not easy to train these artillerymen, and they must be used carefully to make them effective in future battles.
There were artillery vehicles to suppress fire, and shield vehicles to attract firepower for themselves. After almost five minutes of shooting, the only twelve remaining siege vehicles arrived.
"Quick! Use the Crouching Tiger Cannon! Blow this bridge down!"
When the guerrillas responsible for guarding the Wengcheng tower saw the enemy troops starting to cross the bridge, they quickly ordered to use artillery fire to destroy the only bridge in front of them to cut off the enemy's advance.
"I report to You Rong, the Crouching Tiger Cannon is too weak to destroy this bridge!"
The gunner, whose face was blackened by the smoke, was willing to accept the order and use the squatting tiger cannon to blast the bridge, which was nothing more than scratching an itch.
"Then use the big gun! Go and fire! If you hesitate even half a step, I'll chop off your head!"
Guerrilla didn't know what the purpose of this turtle car coming from the opposite direction was, but he instinctively felt that something was wrong.
The enemy did not come to attack the city with so many shield chariots, but they waited for this kind of turtle chariot. There must be a mystery inside.
Unfortunately, the shell of this turtle car has become so hard that except for heavy-duty defensive guns, light fire guns can't be used.
The defenders could only blow down the bridge first, then wait until it got close to the city wall, pour hot oil on it, and set it on fire.
"……yes!"
Seeing You Rong scolding him harshly with a sword in hand, the gunner and everyone behind him did not dare to refute, so they had to return to the gun position.
However, the Tiger Crouching Cannon is simply unable to threaten bridges or even enemy tanks, and can only be used to defeat infantry.
The defenders were completely unprepared for the explosive packets that could fall from the sky, which directly caused barrels of gunpowder to be detonated, and explosion accidents occurred one after another.
Not only did they suffer a huge loss of troops, but the explosion also deformed and damaged the artillery, making it unable to be used normally.
The reason why the Crouching Tiger Cannon was not affected is because this type of artillery has a very short range and is used for close-range attacks.
The crenels at the top of the city are limited. Heavy guard guns and folang machines must be arranged first, and finally it is the turn of the squatting cannon.
The defenders placed the tiger crouching artillery behind them and even under the city. They waited until the battle was almost done before sending them into battle.
As a result, the cannons and gunners near the city tower were all blown to bits by explosive charges, which was horrific.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon can hardly fight against shield vehicles, but it is completely useless against iron-shelled tanks.
The siege vehicle is surrounded and topped by iron plates. In order to increase its defense, it is also wrapped with a wooden fence. Unless it encounters Hongyi artillery, it can ignore enemy artillery fire.
The offensive power of this kind of vehicle cannot be seen from the outside. After it rushes across the bridge under gunfire and enters the city gate, the soldiers hiding inside are revealed and can show off their skills.
"Quick! Don't be lazy!"
The Wengcheng gates and towers of Datong City are generally concave in shape and are embedded in the base, recessed nearly ten meters inwards.
Before being attacked by the rebels, the general manager called everyone in the car to come out quickly and start digging holes with the tools at hand.
"Master! There are rocks under our feet!"
A soldier swung his iron pick hard and complained. He thought it was rammed earth a moment ago, but now he found that the road was full of rocks, and it became difficult to dig out.
"Fart! It's paved with gold nuggets! You have to dig it out too! Hurry! It won't last long! If they withdraw, we won't be able to escape! My family and I are all in the capital, whoever wants to be lazy on purpose , let me be captured by the thieves, I will kill the grandson first!"
According to the order of a certain prince, all the commanders of the siege vehicles have their families in the capital. If they are not successful in the battle or are directly captured, once it is verified, they will be executed together.
On the contrary, as long as the city tower can be blown down, the reward can reach as much as a thousand taels of silver, and the house will also be rewarded, and it is given to the commander-in-chief. The temptation can be imagined.
"Hey! Brother Li, are you ready for this?"
Another siege vehicle drove up from behind, and the commander inside saw that construction had begun ahead, so he came over to say hello.
"You should be good at hurrying. Don't talk nonsense. Hurry up. The ground here is full of rocks and is very hard. You have to pick out the gaps to remove the rocks first, and then dig out the rammed soil, but it is time-consuming and laborious!"
This boss doesn't want to chat with his colleagues here, his life is at stake, but the difficulty is right in front of him, and he does have a headache.
"In this way, the old method is to erode it with water first. As you said, the stones will be lifted out, and the rammed earth will be easier to dig. In half an hour at most, we can complete the placement of the explosives!"
The commanders who led the team always had families, and most of the soldiers under his command had done soil work, so they were mobilized as a true siege force.
There is a Wengcheng in Datong City. What's even more confusing is that the Big Wengcheng is also surrounded by a small Wengcheng, forming a "hui" structure. Therefore, just blowing down the gate of the Big Wengcheng and entering will not occupy the main city.
The only way is to use a siege vehicle to place explosives under the city gate. It is best to blow up the city tower and use the explosion to directly destroy the gate area of the Great Urn City.
Then let the infantry climb up from the rubble, occupy the city head, then attack Xiaoweng City, and finally knock down the main city tower. This plan is to regain Datong.
"Hoo~!"
The defenders didn't give them much time to discuss, and they heard part of what was said below, so buckets of hot oil were poured down, along with torches.
In an instant, the siege vehicle that came in later was ignited, and flames rushed to the top of the doorway. The thick smoke choked the soldiers and started coughing violently.
"Wear smoke masks! If you don't want to die, work faster!"
