On the city wall, no one among the gunners spoke. Every gunner was doing his job for the cannons around him, but there was a terrible murderous intention in his eyes.
They were silent, each of them holding a breath in their hearts.
"put!"
The artillery captain waved the flag in his hand downwards. Compared with the previous times, he waved it with extra force this time.
boom! boom! boom!
Several four-pound cannons on the city wall fired, and the cannons once again flew towards the official cannons and the officer and gunners below the city. Except for one cannon that missed, the other several cannons all hit the target.
Two of the only five cannons left by the army were hit again, and the gun mounts were scattered on the spot. As many officers and gunners were crowded around the cannons, many of them were hit by the cannons, causing more than 20 casualties in a row. people.
"Hurry up and reload. The enemy still has three cannons left. We can't give them a chance to fire again." The artillery team captain encouraged his men loudly.
Each of the gunners on the city wall performed their duties without saying a word. Those who cleaned the barrels cleaned the barrels, and those who loaded the barrels also filled the chambers.
Although they wanted to immediately use cannons to destroy the enemy's cannons under the city, each of these gunners had been trained many times. No matter how anxious they were, their movements did not change. Because of their proficiency, everything was going on in an orderly manner.
The officers, soldiers and artillerymen under the city suffered too many casualties, and many people began to want to escape again. But at this time, the generals behind the formation came up with their men. A little further away, a team of several thousand people also began to move towards Yongning. City charge.
The officers, soldiers and artillerymen felt a lot more confident when they saw that their own people had begun to attack the city. However, the officers and soldiers of the firearms battalion who were operating the artillery were unable to retreat for a while, so they could only continue to load the cannons and use the cannons to bombard the defenders on the city wall.
boom! boom! boom!
The four-pounder gun on the city wall fired again, and the official gunner below had just loaded the gun.
In the past, the artillerymen in the official army only had the opportunity to operate the cannon when they were resisting the slaves. The cannons were usually put away. The artillerymen who used the artillery had no chance to waste cannons and ammunition for training. For them, as long as one To fire a cannon is on the battlefield.
In Liaodong, although the gunners of the firearms battalion did not receive much training, they had many opportunities for actual combat. It was far different from the firearms battalion of the Twelve Guards of the Inner Great Wall, which might not have a chance to fire a gun every few years.
Precisely because they often fought with slaves and bandits in Liaodong, they were able to face casualties more calmly. Especially after the Ningyuan victory this time, everyone was in a good mood. Even when faced with the casualties of their companions, they did not collapse at the first touch. .
Compared with the pro-army of the Twelve Guards, these officers and soldiers from Liaodong can be regarded as the elite of the army.
Even so, in terms of the elite level of gunners, there is still a big gap between the gunners in the official firearms battalion and the gunners in the Tiger Flag.
Just for cleaning and loading the cannon after each firing, the Tiger Flag gunners are better than them. The Tiger Flag gunners who have a lot of experience and have specially studied gunner courses are also better at accuracy than the officer gunners. One step ahead.
There were three cannon shots fired on the city wall, and the official cannons below the city could only fire twice at most.
The shells of eight four-pound cannons fell from the sky and landed on the heads of many officers and gunners, causing casualties. On the contrary, the remaining cannons of the army were intact and did not suffer shelling.
On the city wall, a gunner noticed this scene and his face became ugly.
Eight four-pound cannons fired together, even if they could not destroy all three of the army's cannons, at least one or two cannons would be destroyed. However, not a single cannon hit, and only caused casualties to some officers and soldiers.
boom! Boom!
The officers, soldiers and artillerymen below the city escaped the bombardment from above and hurriedly fired their own three cannons.
However, perhaps because there was too much gunpowder loaded last time, although the cannon did not explode when fired and the iron ball in the cannon was successfully ejected, the cannon bore was still damaged.
Without waiting for the damage to be repaired or the barrels to cool down, the cannons were immediately fired. The barrels of three cannons and two of the cannons exploded on the spot, leaving only one unexploded cannon. After the cannon was fired, there was also The damage is serious and there is a risk of the chamber exploding at any time.
Of the twelve cannons, only one cannon remained intact.
The only cannon that fired fell on the city wall.
Yang Fan, who was hiding behind the female wall, felt a heat wave pass above his head, and then a scream appeared not far behind him.
He hurriedly turned around and found that a guard behind him had been hit by a cannon, and his right shoulder was directly shattered, exposing the bones inside.
The guard stayed on the ground, pulled out his body twice, and then there was no movement.
After the cannon shot several times, it rolled not far away.
Two guards ran over, put the dead guard on the wooden board, and carried him down the city wall.
Yang Fan couldn't help but feel happy.
If he hadn't told everyone to disperse and had many guards on the city wall hide in their huts, the person who had just died would not have been alone.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A sharp copper whistle sounded from the mouth of the guard on the observation tower.
The guards hiding in the dens ran out one after another and appeared around the crenellations on the city wall.
Yang Fan hurriedly stuck his head out of the crenel.
There were almost two to three thousand officers and soldiers outside the city rushing toward Guan Ning City. Among them were several ladders and crash carts used for siege.
And this time the ladder was so simple yesterday, it was a wheeled ladder truck equipped with a shield, a winch and a grappling hook.
"Artillery team, use bombardment on the enemy's ladder truck, don't let them get close." Yang Fan ran to the side of the artillery team captain, leaning against the female wall.
The remaining cannon of the army is no longer a big threat, but the biggest threat to Yongning City has become a ladder truck and a car crash.
Yongning City is just a county town. Although the city walls have been repaired, they are not as dangerous as those dangerous passes. A few simple ladders tied with ropes can threaten Guanning City, not to mention those siege equipment specially used to attack the city.
The artillery captain also noticed the siege equipment outside the city.
He ordered his gunners: "Change the shooting angle, target the siege equipment outside the city, and allow the gunners to fire on their own."
The gunners around the eight four-pounders began to adjust the firing angle of the cannons.
Fortunately, they are all in the same direction. With only slight adjustments, the target of the attack can be changed to the officers and soldiers rushing towards Yongning City and the siege equipment.
When the muzzles of the eight four-pound cannons adjusted their shooting angles under the control of the gunners, the thousands of officers and soldiers outside the city and the siege equipment were one step closer to Yongning City.
