Meng He's mortar regiment made great contributions in the Battle of Yun County. If the artillery shells could not injure many rebels, the enemy's infantry formation would not panic and then collapse, and the subsequent cover-up and killing by the officers and soldiers would not be easy to succeed.
This cannon has an unattractive appearance, but its power is astonishing. Not only does it have a range of one mile, but its firing speed is far faster than the Hongyi cannon. It is actually a sharp firearm that is rare for the army to fight.
The Battle of Yunxian once again proved that the weapon highly praised by His Highness the Crown Prince is indeed an ingenious weapon for subduing the country. As long as there are hundreds of mortars to help, the rebel army will never dare to confront the official army again.
This time the two sides encountered each other across the river. The rebels took advantage of the water barrier between the two armies and made it inconvenient for the officers and soldiers to cross, so they tried to prevent the officers and soldiers from advancing. If the rebels knew that these blunderbuss had followed the soldiers, If the group comes, I'm afraid they will flee directly again.
For the mortar regiment, the mortar itself is just a big iron barrel, which is not worth a few dollars at all. The cost of making explosive bags is not high. The real cost of money is all kinds of livestock.
The standard equipment for a class is four vehicles, which means four livestock. Although it is not a good product, even a donkey costs money, and it also has to carry the fodder needed by the livestock, mainly beans and grains.
Usually there is one cart of fodder, one cart of grain, one cart of ammunition, and one cart carries two artillery pieces as well as clothing and tents, so that they can be self-sufficient for at least seven days.
There are also specialized vehicles at the company, battalion, and regiment levels to transport baggage to ensure the logistics supply of the entire mortar regiment to the greatest extent, so that it will not be restricted by supplies during combat.
That's why Meng He's regiment was regarded as a treasure by Niu Chenghu, and Sun Chuanting was treated like the apple of his eye, because the initial investment was really not low, even though a certain prince ordered the Ministry of War to allocate funds.
The purpose of implementing the "mechanization" of the artillery regiment is to enable it to follow the cavalry troops in mobile operations. Once the army's cavalry has the cover of artillery, it will be more effective with half the effort and invincible.
Especially when the horse soldiers are attacking the enemy's infantry formation, as long as the opponent firmly holds the formation, it will be difficult for the horsemen to find good opportunities unless they can break up the opponent's infantry formation regardless of the cost.
With mortars to help, first use artillery shells to blast the walking formation. After the rebel army is defeated on a large scale, a large number of horsemen will rush forward to kill, and victory will be easy.
Moreover, the advantage of "animal mechanization" is that if the army cannot defeat the opponent, the artillery regiment can still run away. Four legs can at least run much faster than two legs.
The official cavalry only needs to deal with the rebel cavalry. There is no need to worry about one's own artillery regiment being entangled by the opponent's infantry and making it difficult to escape.
"Shaobao, according to the information sent by Xue Chengcai, the number of thieves here is no less than ten thousand. If we attack by force, even if we have firecrackers to cover it, our army will suffer heavy losses. Why don't we go back to the old plan and use Yun County again?" The way to fight the battle."
Niu Chenghu had really benefited from the mortar, so he didn't want to fight head-on with the rebels. Now the rebels were within the range of the mortar, but once they were blown away, they would inevitably retreat out of the range.
At that time, the entire artillery regiment will have to cross the river, otherwise it will not be able to reach the opponent at all. But after crossing the river, it will face no less than four to five thousand enemy cavalry. If it cannot be defeated, the entire regiment of more than a thousand people will have to jump into the river...
Unless our own cavalry can guarantee that after the artillery regiment uses cannon balls to disperse the rebel formation, they can defeat the rebel infantry formation together with the cavalry in one fell swoop, the risk of launching a strong attack now is simply too great. .
The troops that the government and army could muster this time were all pawns, only five thousand in number. Facing more than 10,000 bandit soldiers on the other side, even with the help of mortars, the chance of victory was not more than 70%.
"Um……"
Sun Chuanting thought that there was some truth in what Niu Chenghu said, and it was not because he was timid in the face of battle. He pondered for a moment and then began to think carefully.
As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, he is naturally responsible for victory or defeat. This kind of decision, which is related to the life and death of thousands of soldiers, must repeatedly weigh the pros and cons before making the final decision.
Judging from the distance between the rebels' formations, it was obvious that the other side was not aware that the officers and soldiers had transported a large number of firecrackers to the front line. If they launched an attack at this time, they could completely catch them off guard.
The difficulty is to inflict heavy damage or even annihilate this army of more than 10,000 thieves. It is not easy to actually operate, especially since a large number of enemy cavalry can escape from the battlefield at any time.
Moreover, if the rebel infantry begins to flee after being bombarded, and our own horsemen go to cover up the attack, they will also be intercepted and blocked by the enemy's cavalry.
This place is different from Yun County. We have to cross the river first before we can repel and defeat the bandit army. Moreover, it is quite difficult to pursue them. If you are not careful, you may even be bitten by the bandit army.
If they were allowed to leave on their own, their own troops would have to follow, and it would still be difficult for this bandit army to be wiped out as quickly as possible.
"Report~! Report to Shaobao, Chief Long Zaitian sent a letter!"
"okay!"
Just when Sun Chuanting was hesitating whether to cross the river to attack the rebels, he suddenly received a handwritten letter from Long Zaitian, stating that his troops were already located in the mountainous area between Fangxian and Baokang.
The reason for this is also very simple. Long Zaitian's men and horses are small. If he does not fight with the army, the only way to defeat the bandit army is to ambush in a certain position and wait for the opportunity.
The position of Long Zaitian's headquarters is very delicate. Whether it is from Fangxian to Baokang or from Baokang to Fangxian, as long as you don't want to go over mountains and ridges and take the official road, you will definitely pass by the ambush position of the department...
After hearing that Sun Chuanting led his troops to severely defeat the rebel army in Yun County, Long Zaitian immediately took a boat from Zhangjiawan on the other side to pay a visit to the commander-in-chief. In view of his familiarity with the local environment, Sun Chuanting ordered him to act alone, which could act as a surprise force. role.
Long Zaitian has been fighting in Huguang all year round. He knows this area well, and the location he chooses is also quite precise. As long as the rebel army flees south, there is a high probability that it will pass through the ambush circle of his subordinates, so that they can wait and see.
The main reason, or the only reason, for the ministry to be in place so quickly was that Sun Chuanting paid all the salary owed to the ministry by the previous court in one lump sum, and also paid one month's salary in advance, and allocated grain and grass in full.
Therefore, after Long Zaitian received the order, his troops advanced at an unprecedented speed. Luo Ru thought that his troops had moved very fast. He did not know that the officers and soldiers who had received the money were moving faster than the rogue bandits.
"Order He Renlong, Li Guoqi, Zuo Guangxian, Zheng Jiadong and other four generals to lead their own cavalry across the river. When the enemy's infantry formations are bombarded and make them panic, they will charge and kill them. If the enemy rides up to obstruct them, they will retreat to On the shore, Meng He's troops used artillery to cover it. Our army only attacked but did not pursue, so that the rebels fled eastward, and then our army followed and pursued!"
After having a chess piece in the east, Sun Chuanting found a way to deal with the bandit army in front of him. It was not appropriate to just watch and attack thousands of bandit soldiers, but there was also a way to make his own troops suffer less losses.
Bai Liangbi, the son of Commander-in-Chief Bai Guangen, stole the show in the previous episode. This time he will follow up with the infantry from the rear. He can't let him take all the good things.
The previous rule was that all the generals on the front line shared the results of the battle. Regardless of whether they fought or not, everyone would more or less get some of the results. This time it was different. Whoever had it belonged to him. Otherwise, the prince would look at him if he presented it. See through.
Meng He killed "Yizhangqing", and the victory belonged to Niu Chenghu's men. Bai Liangbi made an emergency landing of "Yi Zhangqing", and his father Bai Guangen also inherited it.
Niu Chenghu is under the command of the mortar regiment. In order to increase the chance of victory of his own troops, he must follow up with the army. However, it is not his men's turn to rush into the formation and cover up the kill. The four general soldiers of the Qin army are already eager to try.
Otherwise, after running for hundreds of miles without getting any benefits, no one would be willing to continue to be a foil, and neither would the soldiers below.
Therefore, during the battle, Sun Chuanting rotated the frontline units. Many old subordinates got the opportunity to fight the enemy bravely. Whether they can achieve anything depends on their own abilities.
After Sun Chuanting wrote the reply, he asked the flying cavalry sent by Long Zaitian to take it back and let him lead his troops to wait. Maybe there would be an unexpected surprise.
"Here we come! The dog officers and soldiers are crossing the river!"
Zhushui is not a big river in the first place. It is very easy to find a shallow place to cross to the other side. For the horsemen, even if they go around for two or three miles, they can run back in a short time.
"A hundred thousand." Hei Yunxiang looked at the staggering size of the army and horsemen crossing the river. It was estimated to be no less than four thousand, and there were more than a thousand left on the other side. He didn't know what he wanted, but crossing the river meant a fierce battle.
"Haha, you really came here?"
"Sweeper King" Zhang Yichuan thought that it was almost sunset. Sun Chuanting would at least wait until tomorrow morning for his own infantry to follow up before attacking the rebels. He didn't expect that this dog thief was so impatient. It seemed that he was about to beat these dog officers and soldiers. .
"Don't underestimate the enemy!"
Luo Rucai didn't know why Sun Chuanting left more than a thousand cavalry on the other side. Wouldn't it be better if they all come over to fight the rebels? He was very puzzled by this and had a bad feeling in his heart.
Both Bai Gui and Xue Chengcai were speechless. Whether they won or lost would soon be known. They were both ready to run away...
Fearing that the government troops would rush directly from the opposite bank, the rebel infantry formation was positioned closer to the shore, so that they could attack the government troops crossing the river at any time. The nearest group of infantry was even less than 200 steps away from the shore.
"Huh? Why are the dog officers and soldiers lifting soil? They seem to be digging holes?"
Hei Yunxiang watched with a telescope for a long time and found that many officers and soldiers behind the horsemen were digging holes with shovels. The dust raised could easily be spotted. He was very curious about this.
"Dig a hole? Wait and see!"
Zhang Yichuan also waited and watched after hearing this, and indeed discovered the unknown situation on the other side. Could this be an attempt to set up camp? Probably Sun Gou Thief was afraid that he would not be able to come over.
"...No! Escape quickly!"
Luo Rucai thought for a moment after hearing this, and suddenly recalled his experience in Xun County. He suddenly felt shuddering, and immediately asked the two to withdraw the song.
"Why?"
Hei Yunxiang was planning to give the dog officers a head-on attack on the shore. After hearing "Cao Cao's" urging, he was suddenly confused.
"The gunfire from the army must have arrived! Escape immediately! If it's too late, we'll stop!"
Luo Rucai also noticed a similar situation when he was covering the retreat of the infantry in Yun County, and then he was attacked by bullets like a storm, otherwise he would not have been completely defeated by the Sun Gou thieves.
He guessed that this fire gun was very light, light enough to march with the horsemen. With such a sharp fire gun to help, Sun Gou Thief had the courage to let his horse soldiers cross the river to fight. This must be the case.
It has to be said that Luo Rucai's sense of smell on the battlefield is extremely sensitive, and his brain is also unusually bright. His feelings and judgments are very correct, but Hei Yunxiang and Zhang Yichuan still have doubts.
The two of them had heard the stories described by "Cao Cao", "Little Qin Wang", and "Yi Long" before, but they were determined not to believe that there was a fire gun that could achieve the four elements of light weight, long range, high rate of fire, and high power at the same time. .
The Hongyi cannon has a long range and is very powerful, but it weighs a thousand kilograms and the rate of fire is extremely slow. It can only fire four or five times in half an hour.
On the contrary, the Fo Lang machine has a fast rate of fire and is relatively moderate in weight, but its range is inferior to that of the Hongyi cannon, and its bullets are not as powerful as the former.
Hearing is false, seeing is believing. Hei Yunxiang and Zhang Yichuan both want to see what kind of object the firecracker feared by "Cao Cao" is. Is it possible that it has been exaggerated?
Their wish was soon fulfilled. The other side was silent for a while, and the flying dust was no longer visible. It was suddenly replaced by the sound of "Boom, Boom, Boom".
Bai Gui and Xue Chengcai heard the extremely familiar voice and saw the black dots flying in the air. They instinctively turned their horses and ran away. They were determined to lose this battle. They had to run away while their troops were not damaged, otherwise It would be a heavy loss.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
After an actual battle, the mortar regiment's range measurement and projection have become more accurate. As long as the target is within the range of the artillery, it can basically achieve a hit rate of at least 60-70%.
The three formations belonging to Luo Rucai, Hei Yunxiang, and Zhang Yichuan instantly turned into a sea of fire after the high-speed black spots fell from the sky.
The rebel infantry formation had no time to retreat and was directly hit by the bullet. After the explosion and flames subsided, only the disabled soldiers on the ground were left constantly calling for help and wailing.
The infantry formation of Hei Yunxiang and Zhang Yichuan was closer to the shore than Luo Rucai's troops, and the damage was naturally more severe. Almost 20% of the two thousand infantry were knocked down.
The loss of three to four hundred men is not terrible in itself. What is terrible is that the fire cannons on the other side were fired only once to achieve such results. How many times can the flesh and blood of our own infantry formation withstand the bombardment?
"this……"
The two leaders were stunned by the sight before them. They had never seen such a terrifying scene. Wasn't the power of this bullet too great?
But the officers and soldiers on the other side didn't give them any time to think. Before everyone could recover from the explosion, they heard a second crisp sound in the distance.
Since not one cannon was used, the second bombardment was fired from a spare cannon, so the interval between the first salvo and the second salvo was very short, and it was possible to maximize the damage to the bandit soldiers who failed to flee in time.
"...The wind is blowing hard!"
No matter how fearless Hei Yunxiang was, he knew that this thing was very powerful and that his troops could not resist it. He quickly ordered his soldiers to run away, and he gave up any thought of fighting against the officers and soldiers.
If he stayed where he was and took a few more shots, there would be no need for the officers and soldiers to charge and kill him. The soldiers and himself would have to be blown to pieces by the bullets.
Now the two leaders finally understood why Luo Rucai, Bai Gui, and Xue Chengcai regarded this object as a tiger. The fire of this object was as powerful as a tiger descending from a mountain.
