When the Annan Army started with 3,000 men in the front, the artillery fire from the rear never stopped firing. Although the general's cannon was powerful, like other artillery, it also needed to dissipate heat. Continuous firing will cause the barrel to explode. After five more rounds, you need to pour cold water on the outside to cool down. Similarly, the inside of the barrel also needs to be cleaned with a brush dipped in water, and then wiped dry to ensure subsequent normal use.
Gao Heng was waiting for this opportunity. There was no such thing as infantry and artillery coordination at this time. The accuracy of the artillery was poor. It was no problem to bombard a fixed and huge target like the city wall. But if the soldiers approached and continued to bombard, the artillery shells would It is possible to hit one of your own.
As three thousand enemy troops approached the city wall, Annan's heavy artillery finally stopped firing. Gao Heng saw in the telescope that the opposing soldiers were using water to cool down the artillery.
"They've finished their work. Now it's time for us to take action. We have no conscience and cannons ready!" Gao Heng raised his right hand.
As soon as the enemy troops reached the white line, the five heartless cannons on the top of the city immediately opened fire. The dull sound of explosive packets being thrown sounded in everyone's ears, and several black dots drew a beautiful line in the air. The arc fell directly into the enemy formation.
The previous wave of generals were killed by Zheng Zuo himself before he could explain, so Zheng Zuo didn't know much about the huge power of the heartless cannon, but it didn't matter, now he could really see it.
Boom, boom, boom, huge explosions in succession lifted countless Annan soldiers into the air, and then fell heavily. Some of them disintegrated directly in the air and turned into a pile of broken pieces. Lead bullets flew in all directions like a storm, and everyone who was hit was knocked away by the huge recoil.
Blood mist burst into pieces, mixed with dust, and a whirlwind blew on the plains. With the explosion point as the center of the circle, within a radius of twenty steps, almost no one could still stand up. Many siege ladders were broken into several pieces, and fragments of shields, swords and guns were scattered on the ground.
Zheng Zuo almost crushed the telescope in his hand and burst the veins on his forehead. How could it happen? "What kind of weapon is this?" he asked the generals on the left and right loudly. The generals looked at each other. No one had ever seen such a ferocious explosion. It was impossible for ordinary artillery, even a large general's artillery, to produce such an effect.
The cavalry commander of the Royal Forest Army who followed Zheng Zuo came forward and said, "Is this the magic that the guy who was killed by the prince before said?"
Zheng Zuo's brows furrowed and he said angrily: "Even if it's magic, I will take down Tuoxian today and avenge my previous shame!"
There was a burst of bombardment by the heartless artillery and the Folang machine, instantly annihilating hundreds of Annan troops. The offensive of 3,000 people was stalled. There was a brief confusion among the soldiers. The leading battalion generals were also hesitant and shouted loudly. Hold the soldiers and keep them in formation!
"You bastard! If the supervising team comes forward, anyone who retreats on the battlefield will be killed without mercy!" Zheng Zuo said sternly.
The Qian'an Nanjun standing at the back of the team immediately stepped forward, raised the weapon in his hand, and pointed directly at his companions. These people were the four town soldiers brought by Zheng Zuo from Beijiang Road where Shenglong Mansion was located. Although they were also The local army, but because it is close to the capital, the treatment is definitely not comparable to that of the ordinary local army. Their fighting enthusiasm and loyalty are much higher than that of the ordinary soldiers of the four towns. They can be used as Zheng Zuo's supervising team. Not only that, the two hundred Imperial Forest Army The knight also pulled out his saber with a clang, reflecting a cold light in the sun.
The style of Annan's saber is similar to that of Japan. It is suitable in weight and can be used with one hand. The blade is sharp and powerful when cutting. It is similar to the Japanese samurai sword.
As soon as the supervising team moved forward, the soldiers in front immediately turned around and continued the attack. If they rushed forward, they might survive, and if they won, they would be rewarded with silver. But if they retreated, Zheng Zuo would not let them go. The prince was consciously trained by Lord Zheng when he was young. He has been leading troops in the army and has a high prestige. He is generous with rewards for those who have made meritorious deeds, but those who are afraid of fighting will definitely end up being a coward.
Under the intimidation of the supervising team, the vanguard army mustered up the courage to charge. Due to the brief confusion, some time was delayed. The soldiers who did not cross the white line of 100 steps were bombarded by unscrupulous artillery. A large number of soldiers fell, and blood stained the entire battlefield red.
"Huh, what a trick!" Zheng Zuo had been watching from behind the formation, and he discovered the clue. This was not magic at all. The shells were fired from the top of the city. Judging from the projection angle of this arc, it should be similar to that of the Crouching Tiger Cannon. Something like that, maybe the Ming army supported them with some new weapons before they withdrew.
However, this thing seems to have great limitations. On the one hand, the rate of fire is very slow. On the other hand, it seems that the angle cannot be adjusted. The two rounds of explosions are basically at the same position. Most of the forward soldiers have already rushed over, and the enemy does not know how to adjust the shooting angle. , either they don’t know how to use it, or they can’t adjust it at all. No matter which one it is, the power of this thing is still relatively limited.
Zheng Zuo said to the flag-bearing soldiers beside him: "More two more battalions!" The flag was waved twice, and the two thousand soldiers behind him suddenly launched into action.
The camp general shouted: "Your Majesty has an order! Attack!"
"Kill!"
The soldiers of the Survival Brigade at the top of the city were extremely nervous. Although the enemy's vanguard had lost five to six hundred people, the remaining army had already crossed the white line. The unscrupulous cannon could only hit the reinforcements behind it, and would no longer have any effect on the previous soldiers. .
"Fire gunners, archers prepare, sword players cover! Listen to my orders!" Gao Heng ordered again.
The soldiers who had withdrawn earlier rushed up again and returned to their original positions, waiting for the order to fire.
"Infantry, attack up, fire guns, bows and arrows, form a formation to cover!" The Annan army under the city also changed their formations at the same time. Hundreds of people stopped advancing and formed a formation at fifty steps. It was their fire guns, bows and arrows. soldiers.
"Fire the arrow!"
"shooting!"
The generals of the Annan army gave orders, and the archers set up their arrows, pointed diagonally at the top of the city, suddenly loosened the bowstring, and hundreds of arrows were shot at the defenders in an instant.
Swish, swish, the sound of arrows piercing the air rang in their ears. The soldiers instinctively lowered their bodies, trying to avoid the arrows, but some unlucky people were still hit by the arrows. Puff puff, puff puff, the sound of arrows sinking into the human body continued to be made. Several soldiers who were shot in the vital parts did not even grunt and fell straight down.
What followed was the screams of the soldiers. Those who were hit by arrows were basically hit in the upper body, and the severe pain caused was not something that ordinary people could bear.
"My eyes! My eyes!" A young gunman covered his eyes and screamed as he fell down. He was squatting behind the knife player, but who knew he was so unlucky that an arrow fell from the His left eye was shot through the gap in the shield, and blood spurted out immediately. Even if he tried to cover it with his hands, he couldn't stop it at all.
The soldier fell on his back, sweating in pain, screaming and rolling. His companions immediately dragged him to the stairs, and soldiers from the reserve camp took him down to the city for treatment. But everyone knew that even if the arrow could be pulled out, the left eye would definitely be useless.
There was also an archer who was hit in the throat. He was not dead for a moment. He grabbed twice in the air with his hands, probably trying to pull out the arrow. However, as the trachea was blocked, the blood flowed back into the trachea, making him continue to Coughing out blood, he slowly knelt down on the ground, feeling that the strength in his body was disappearing, and then he fell down and never got up again.
Bang bang bang, dense firecrackers sounded. Annan's army fired the matchlock muskets fifty steps away. The projectiles crackled on the city head. Some people were unfortunately shot and fell down wailing.
Gao Heng's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Although the accuracy of the Annan people's fire at such a long distance is definitely much worse, the opponent has many people and there are thousands of people behind them who have not moved, so they can use their numerical advantage to make up for the lack of accuracy. But the survival brigade cannot do this. On the one hand, they have few people and low firepower density. On the other hand, their training is insufficient, and it is no different from firing a blank gun at a long distance, so they must endure to thirty steps and severely damage the enemy at a distance of thirty steps.
Under the cover of the musketeers and archers, the morale of Annan's attacking troops below the city was greatly boosted, and the defenders at the top of the city were suppressed to the point where they could not raise their heads. Isn't this their perfect opportunity?
"Kill!" The Annan soldiers carrying the ladder seemed to have seen the dawn of victory. As long as they rushed to the top of the city, killing these civilians would be like chopping melons and vegetables.
The Annan people who attacked the city gate seemed to be able to clearly see the faces of the enemy soldiers guarding the city gate. They were just a group of expatriates. As soon as they entered the city, ferocious tigers entered the flock. The Annan soldiers waved their weapons, Smiling ferociously, he sped up and ran.
"Everyone fire!" Gao Heng shouted angrily from the top of the city.
"Fire!" Officers at all levels repeated Gao Heng's order.
Like mushrooms after a spring rain, the soldiers of the Survival Brigade suddenly appeared from the crenel. They gritted their teeth and waited for a long time for this opportunity. Bang bang bang, the fifty muskets in the front row fired fiercely at the Annan army, and hundreds of archers' arrows also shot out directly. The dozens of Annan soldiers in front were caught off guard and fell down in a large area like cutting wheat.
"Change the gun! Fight again!" Bang bang bang, the gunman in the second row handed over the gun, and opened fire again at the top of the city. Another group of Annan people fell down. The fire gun and bows and arrows fired three times in a row, at least to Annan. The soldiers caused more than a hundred casualties, but they still failed to stop the Annan Army's offensive.
Seeing that a large group of Annan soldiers were about to rush into the city gate, Song Zhi, who was responsible for the defense of this section, immediately shouted: "Fierce oil! Down!"
Although there were not many reserves, the defenders were not stingy at the critical moment. A large pot of fierce oil fell directly from the city wall and poured it on the heads of Annan's army.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" A scream that didn't sound like a human voice sounded. Normally, if you put your fingers into hot oil, it would be unbearable pain, not to mention the feeling of hot oil pouring from head to toe.
In an instant, many people had big blisters on their exposed skin, which looked terrifying. They were rolling on the ground, wailing, as if they were experiencing the most painful thing in the world. But it wasn't over yet. A torch was thrown down from the top of the city. With a bang, a fire burst into the sky in an instant.
The fierce fire oil flowed everywhere, and wherever it flowed, the fire burned. For a while, the city gate turned into a sea of fire. The Annan soldiers shrouded in flames had blazing fire all over their bodies. They danced as if dancing. Some of them fell down after running for two steps, and their whole bodies were burned and curled up.
Some people wanted to roll on the spot to extinguish the fire, but the fierce fire oil was sticky and could not be extinguished so easily. After rolling a few times, there was no more movement.
The pain of burning one's body in flames was simply unbearable. The defenders at the top of the city and the Annan army attacking the city only saw countless burning men running like headless flies, and then they all fell into the flames. A burning smell spread across the battlefield, making people sick.
"Ugh! Ugh!" Several knife players around Song Zhi vomited out. The sour smell of vomit made Song Zhi's stomach churn, and he couldn't help but vomited out while holding on to the crenel. The soldiers vomited. , all because it was the first time to see such a tragic situation, which caused physiological discomfort.
"Light the explosive package and throw it down!" The heartless cannon was dissipating heat and could not be fired for the time being. Gao Heng simply ordered the soldiers to light the explosive package and throw it down the city wall.
A large number of Annan soldiers gathered on both sides of the city gate and set up ladders. One ladder after another was set up on the edge of the city wall. The Annan soldiers held steel knives in their mouths and climbed up the ladders. Who knew that the top of the ladder would throw a big weapon directly at the bottom of the city. Boom boom boom, the violent explosion blew the enemy troops under the city to pieces. The Fo Lang machine at the top of the city loaded a wave of cannons and fired at the Annan gunman. Dozens of people fell down in response, and the Annan army was in chaos.
Zheng Zuo gritted his teeth and said, "Pass on this prince's order, whoever gets there first will be rewarded with a reward of ten taels!"
"Kill!"
Ten taels of gold is a huge amount in Annan. The Annan Army's military pay standards are basically the same as those of the Ming Army. However, due to financial difficulties in recent years, the soldiers' military pay is also inconsistent. Under normal circumstances, an ordinary soldier should pay one month. Zheng Zuo had a reward of one tael of silver for his military pay, which was equivalent to one hundred taels of silver, which was equivalent to a soldier's one hundred months of military pay. How could this not be exciting?
There is a saying that there must be brave men under heavy rewards. The Annan Army was originally a little frightened by the tragic situation of the front line. They were just soldiers from the four towns and local troops. With a military salary of one tael of silver a month, what kind of fate could they play?
But after hearing the news of the ten taels of gold, the soldiers could no longer bear it. This was a perfect opportunity for them to stand up in one step. Everyone's eyes glowed red, as if the defenders who had escaped from the county were not enemies at all, but Their coffers are average.
There was a commotion in Zheng Zuo's formation. The five battalions in front were killing each other, and the four battalions behind were also ready to move. Who doesn't want to get a high bounty? But Zheng Zuo did not send them out. Five battalions should be more than enough. He could not consume too many troops. The task given to him by his father was to attack the Ming army and use five thousand troops to attack a small Tuoxian County and eliminate it. Those civilian husbands have already given them a lot of face.
