"Commander Chen means that your artillery team can hit them best. If you can't hit them, the First Division will start crossing the river." Ling Qiguan said to Lin Ping.
Lin Ping's expression became serious.
He understood that if their artillery team could not defeat or repel the Mongolian armored cavalry two miles away on the other side of the river, when the first division crossed the river, the Mongolian armored cavalry would definitely attack the first division crossing the river. Soldiers charge.
Since the Mongols left a group of Mongolian armored cavalry there, everyone knew that they were prepared for the troops crossing the river with the Tiger Flag.
"Don't worry, our Tiger Flag gunners are the most powerful gunners in the Ming Dynasty. They will definitely hit." Lin Ping said solemnly, then turned around and ordered, "Three hundred steps in front of the artillery team."
The order was given, and the artillery carriages began to move forward one by one.
The position of three hundred steps is already the river, and further forward is the river. This is also the limit of the artillery team's forward movement.
Under the skillful operation of the gunners, the gunners arranged each vehicle well on the river bank.
"All gunners aimed their guns at the Mongolian armored cavalry in front of the target." Lin Ping waved the command flag in his hand and pointed at the Mongolian armored cavalry on the other side of the river.
A famous gunner began to adjust the muzzle of the cannon next to him, then fixed it with wooden wedges, and finally began to load.
After everything was ready, Lin Ping waved the flag in his hand vigorously and shouted: "Let go!"
boom! boom! boom!
Dozens of four-pound cannons fired, and solid iron balls shot out from the barrel, bombarding the Mongolian armored cavalry on the other side of the river.
After the bombardment, Lin Ping saw the final result through a monocular telescope, with a look of disappointment on his face.
The distance was still too far. None of the dozens of cannons hit the target. They missed the target by at least a hundred or two hundred steps, and all the cannons failed.
"Re-adjust the angle and extend the shooting distance." Lin Ping gave the order to the artillery team again.
The gunners of the artillery team naturally noticed the results of the previous round of shelling, and began to readjust their dispatch and extend the range of the muzzle.
Having done all this, reload the gunpowder and cannon again.
"Let go!" Lin Ping waved the flag in his hand again, ordering each artillery crew to fire the four-pounder guns around them.
boom! boom! boom!
Dozens of four-pound cannons fired again, and the cannonballs flew out of the barrels like tongues of flame.
Through the monocular telescope in his hand, Lin Ping noticed that in this round of shelling, almost half of the dozens of cannons fell into the middle of the Mongolian armored cavalry in the distance, causing casualties to the Mongolian armored cavalry.
However, because the distance was a bit far, some cannons were wasted, and the power was less powerful, causing at most dozens of casualties to the Mongols.
Such a small number of casualties did not pose much of a threat to the Mongolian armored cavalry with over a thousand people in the distance.
"Send the order and adjust the muzzle angle again." Lin Ping ordered.
Although this hit did not cause many casualties to the enemy in the end, it also gave him the confidence to hit the enemy again. As long as he fired a few more rounds, he believed that he could still hit the Mongolian armored cavalry in the distance and flee.
The gunner here once again adjusted the angle of the four-pounder, but the Mongolian armored cavalry on the other side of the river did not stay in place stupidly.
When the Tiger Flag's shelling hit them, they began to retreat further.
Lin Ping had been observing the Mongolian armored cavalry with a monocular telescope. When he saw the enemy retreating, he couldn't help but cursed: "Grandma, it's hard to find the right position. These Tatars are really smart and know how to retreat far away." Avoid shelling everywhere.”
The messenger standing nearby was speechless when he heard what he said.
The Mongols are not fools. How could they stand still and act as a living target for the artillery team?
"Captain Lin, Commander Chen ordered you to stop the bombardment." Another herald ran over on horseback to convey Chen Xunping's order.
As the pre-war commander, Chen Xunping commanded all the combat divisions and cavalry participating in the battle this time.
Putting away the monocular in his hand, Lin Ping ordered: "Stop the bombardment."
As the Mongolian armored cavalry retreated, even if he wanted to continue shelling at this time, he would not be able to hit the enemy and could only waste cannons and gunpowder.
The two messengers rode back to Chen Xunping to stand by.
"Commander, let me have the fighting barracks!" Zhang Sancha asked Chen Xunping to fight.
There are no Mongolian armored cavalry on the river bank, but that doesn't mean there are no enemies. The Mongolian armored cavalry just retreated further, just waiting to launch a cavalry charge against the tiger-character flag soldiers crossing the river.
At this time, everyone knew that the first team to cross the river needed to resist the charging Mongolian cavalry and carve out a position on the other side of the river to provide safety for the teams crossing the river behind.
Once the team crossing the river could not stop the charge of the Mongolian cavalry and could not gain a foothold on the other side of the river, the team behind them would not be able to continue crossing the river.
The first team to cross the river is also the most dangerous team.
Chen Xunping shook his head slightly and said: "Your camp is a combat camp that was later adapted from the supply camp. Its combat power is not as good as that of my original camp. The team crossing the river must be the best of the best."
Rejected Zhang Sancha's request to fight.
"Go tell Sun Chuang and ask him to be prepared to cross the river at any time, and tell him that as long as he can gain a foothold on the other side of the river and ensure that other teams can cross the river smoothly, I will remember him as the first contributor in this battle." Chen Xunping said to said a herald beside him.
The herald ran to deliver the order.
Sun Chuang became the commander of the First Combat Corps Camp after Chen Xunping became the commander of the First Combat Corps Division. Today, the official banner of the First Combat Corps Camp is the First Battalion of the First Combat Corps.
Zhang Sancha looked disappointed.
However, he himself also knew that there was still a gap between his combat barracks and Chen Xunping's first combat barracks, and the backbone of the first combat barracks were all from the old camp.
"Order the baggage camp and start building the pontoon bridge. In half an hour, I will see that the army can cross the river through the pontoon bridge." Chen Xunping ordered.
The messenger ran to deliver the order.
As the order was conveyed, a baggage battalion of several thousand people began to rush to the river bank with wooden piles and rafts that had been prepared.
The deepest part of the river here is only waist deep, and it is also a bank specially selected for the army to cross the river.
Things to build a bridge across the river have already been prepared.
Some of the baggage soldiers began to drive wooden piles on the river bank, and some of the baggage soldiers jumped into the river and wedged the wooden piles into the mud at the bottom of the river.
The river has just melted, and there are still ice floes floating on the river.
The river water at this time can be said to be bitingly cold, and the first reaction of the baggage camp who jumped into the water was to shiver.
Although the water in the river was biting, none of the heavy soldiers retreated from the river to the shore. Instead, they began to drive wooden piles into the bottom of the river in preparation for laying the bridge planks behind.
