When the hawk-bill musket made a burst of explosions, which made the ears of the surrounding pike sergeants itchy, the dozens of cavalry swarming from the opposite direction were still a hundred paces away, like dead leaves hit by heavy rain in autumn.
They fell down one after another.
Zhou Zhanpeng remained unmoved.
He could clearly see that more than twenty knights were hit by the shot, and this was also due to the advantage of the opponent's concentrated breakthrough.
With another wave of his hand, the second wave of gunmen was already ready. The guns were placed on the gun rack. It was basically a formulaic process: firing the gun, measuring the range, aiming, pulling the trigger, and the burning matchlock on the trigger.
After pulling the trigger, he pecked forward and hit the ignition hole. The projectiles flew out from the barrel. Dozens of metal projectiles flew past again like a storm.
The shooting effect of this round is obviously better than that of the first round. After all, between retracting and releasing, the cavalry is much closer, so close range strikes are undoubtedly more effective.
No matter how fast it is, it still takes time. The same is true for the cavalry marching. However, if you have already prepared everything, you only need to set up the gun, aim, and shoot. It is just like walking and eating. When you have to do it every day, you only need to set up the gun, aim, and shoot.
After doing the same actions hundreds of times, day after day, month after month, even while sleeping and dreaming, when I recall these actions, everything becomes so simple and natural.
This was not the first time Zhou Zhanpeng commanded shooting, but it was such a real and cruel first shooting that he could hardly hear other sounds in his ears, only the roar of the gun.
But he also knew that he had no room for overthinking. Apart from observing the situation ahead and nearby, he ordered the third round of shooting to continue without hesitation.
After three rounds, only a few riders were left standing helplessly in front of the queue. Having lost their masters, they didn't know what to do. They could only mourn and lower their heads, trying to find their master's body on the ground.
Some of the other riders had already circled their horses sideways when they sensed something was wrong, escaped from the attack circle, and fled under the cover of night.
No one is a fool. They still pounce on him in this situation. They don't even need the spear troops coming from two wings to encircle and strangle him. They can't get any closer at all.
Zhou Zhanpeng found that he was so calm. He didn't believe that he was a born general. He just felt that it was difficult for the number of enemies in front of him to break through his first three rounds of shooting at such a distance, so he was so calm.
But if the number of enemies is larger and the attack range is wider, after surviving the first three rounds, the speed at which soldiers like you go through dozens of processes will be much slower, and maybe it's time for you to suffer.
But the first three rounds were almost a hell of reincarnation for any enemy who wanted to charge without cover. He had this confidence.
Wang Xian also didn't expect that this battle would end so neatly. The speed and the short time were beyond imagination.
Although he did not think that these eighty cavalry could break through his defense line, the three hundred spearmen in his hands could quickly form a hedgehog formation. If these eighty cavalry were to charge forcefully, it would definitely not be a good thing, but if they were to use cavalry,
If you use shooting to deal with your own side, then the three hundred cavalry of your own will be in big trouble. Of course, if there are a hundred eagle-billed muskets stationed, the more than eighty cavalry will die.
But it still made him feel incredible that the battle was ended so simply and clearly.
They have also conducted joint drills with the Fire Gun Soldiers, but this Eagle-billed Gun Soldier has always practiced on its own. In addition, it has its own auxiliary soldiers as a defensive force, so they do not cooperate much with their own side.
This battle made Wang Xian deeply aware of the power of fire blunderbuss. The power of this large hawk-billed blunderbuss was even more powerful than ordinary fire blunderbuss. He saw with his own eyes that the enemy cavalry 120 steps away was attacked by the big blunderbuss.
The bombardment fell one after another, which was much more powerful than the ordinary fire cannon which only had a range of about fifty steps.
Wang Xian had never liked fire guns before. He always felt that the range of fire guns was short. Compared with the speed of shooting of bows and arrows, people can shoot three arrows, and a skilled fire gun soldier can only shoot one shot, and the range is also useless.
There is no advantage, and the archers can even use projectiles to carry out long-range strikes. It can be said that the fire gun soldiers seem to have no chance of winning against the archers.
But after seeing that the Fire Cannon Soldier can take shape in three months, and the skilled Fire Cannon Soldier who has been trained for more than six months can already fire two shots when the archer shoots five arrows, if the Fire Cannon Soldier's triple round shot is added,
In terms of tactics, compared with the difficulty of cultivating excellent archers, the advantages of fire gunners are immediately apparent.
Now look at the display of the power of the eagle-billed blunderbuss, which has a range twice that of ordinary fire blunderbuss. Wang Xian suddenly understood why the general would spare no effort to train fire blunderbussmen and would no longer use archers. This great
The combination of blunderbuss and ordinary fire blunderbuss, as well as the Tiger Crouching Artillery Team as an auxiliary, the power of the firearms is enough to overwhelm everything. Of course, it cannot be separated from the help of their spearmen, otherwise the cavalry can rush in and slaughter them like lambs.
clean.
"Mr. Zhou, your eagle-billed guns are really powerful. These rebels only managed to escape with a few horses, and the rest were defeated." Wang Xian approached the eagle-billed gun soldiers who were forming a team and couldn't help but said.
"Mr. Wang, you're too polite. Without your protection, we wouldn't dare to start shooting so confidently and boldly. Otherwise, once the enemy attacks from the flanks, we will have no choice but to sit back and wait for death." Zhou Zhanpeng was very polite. This will be indispensable in future wars.
Help the spearmen to protect and save lives on the outside, but don't dare to offend, "Brother Wang and I will share the results of this battle equally."'
This is what Wang Xian wants. You can't say that all the results of these dozens of cavalry battles belong to your hawksbills. What about our spear team? Fortunately, Mr. Zhou is not old, but he is very experienced in doing things.
.
"Haha, it's easy to talk, it's easy to talk. There will be more time for us two brothers to cooperate in the future. If you have anything, just say it." Wang Xian nodded with satisfaction and looked ahead again, "Brother Zhou, we have to hurry up. Master Zhang looks like
We have already arrived at Stone Bridge, we still have to catch up."
"Well, brother Wang, please wait a moment. I have to organize a team to clean up here, but you can't walk away with your feet. Each of my brothers is covered in a lot of bits and pieces."
Zhou Zhanpeng is telling the truth. An eagle-billed gun weighs twenty-eight kilograms. This is just the weight of the gun alone. Adding gunpowder, projectiles, detonators and bayonets, the weight is at least thirty-five kilograms. And the auxiliary soldiers
You need to carry a gun rack and shield for protection.
Just when Zhou Zhanpeng and Wang Xian solved the problem of harassment by enemy rangers, Zhang Dingyuan had already led most of the troops to Shiqiao.
As expected, there were sporadic cavalry roaming at the head of Shiqiao Bridge. Zhang Dingyuan ignored them. These twenty or thirty cavalrymen posed almost no threat to his side. He immediately ordered Jiao De's spearmen to gather and advance, and the fire gunmen followed.
And go.
Soon those sporadic riders disappeared on the bridge. Zhang Dingyuan, surrounded by his soldiers, immediately climbed onto the bridge to inspect the situation and prepare to deploy defenses.
The stone bridge is very strong. Although it is old, it is spacious and thick. There are stone railings on both sides. The bridge deck is more than three feet long, which is more than enough for three carts to travel parallel. This is both good and bad for Zhang Dingyuan.
The good side is such a spacious stone bridge. If the Xuanfu army wants to advance eastward, they will definitely be reluctant to give up and build a pontoon bridge elsewhere. Not only is it time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it is not necessarily fast, especially since they may not have thought that they would need it before.
Crossing the river, as long as you hold here, you can delay the Xuanfu army's eastward advance.
The downside is that this stone bridge is too wide. If it were narrower, it would obviously be more convenient to block it off.
However, Zhang Dingyuan never expected that any good thing would be his turn. He was very satisfied that he could occupy the stone bridge first. Blocking the stone bridge would make the Xuanfu army in Hebei stare blankly.
If they break through, they can only snatch back the stone bridge, and they are waiting for them to snatch it.
After briefly inspecting the situation in Hebei, Zhang Dingyuan quickly returned to Henan, already having a plan in mind.
The stone bridge is only about ten feet long, and the river surface is about the same. The enemy's archers on the other side of the river can easily cover the entire bridge head with projectiles. This is a considerable threat, and it is a disadvantage to our own side.
We also have an advantage, that is, we can use the hawkbill gun to take advantage of long-range shooting, and we can also cross the river to cause damage to the enemy on the other side of the river.
At the same time, your own fire gunners can firmly block the bridge deck, and the three hundred fire gunners can use triple rounds of fire to turn the bridge deck into a mountain of swords and a sea of fire.
Without any time to think, Zhang Dingyuan began to issue orders.
The eagle-billed muskets quickly spread to both wings and controlled the east and west sides of the south bridge head of the stone bridge. Not only could they pose a threat to the other side of the river, but more importantly, they blocked the bridge deck through cross-fire. On the front, the musketry teams gathered in a dense formation.
, place spearmen at both ends and at the rear to prevent the enemy from breaking through and attacking from the rear.
While issuing orders to deploy defenses, they sent people to rush back to Gonghua City immediately to report the situation. However, before the sentries could return to report the news, lights were lit on the opposite river bank, and they were like a long shadowy dragon gathering along the official road on the other side of Hebei.
Zhang Dingyuan's heart sank.
He also hoped that he could wait until the generals got the news and come quickly, so that he would not need to bear so much pressure. But now it seems that the Xuanfu army on the other side is also aware of this and strives to break through and attack in the shortest possible time.
Capture this stone bridge.
His mouth was dry and bitter, and Zhang Dingyuan realized that from this moment on, his thousand talents were really facing a fierce battle. They had to survive this battle no matter what, before they could talk about anything else.
His only hope is that the general will take the information seriously and decide whether to rely on this stone bridge to defeat the Xuanfu army or simply let his unit defend for a period of time to gain time for the main force to deploy defenses in Gonghua City.
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This chapter has been completed!