Chapter 315 Meat Grinder on the Snowfield (Part 1)
Under the leeward cliff, Mu Zaohua also threw the last few pieces of dry horse manure into the stone pit.
Unlike the men in the large army or caravan, Mu Zaohua walked alone in the ice and snow.
The only source of feces for warmth and survival is the Mongolian horse that loyally accompanies her.
The small and simple felt tent was gradually filled with a warmth that was better than nothing. Mu Zaohua felt that the blood seemed to be flowing again in her frozen body.
So she moved to the opening of the tent, opened her wolfskin robe to protect her from the wind, and stuck her head out to look at the sky.
Above the new moon, the stars are shining brightly.
Desolation and brilliance constitute the same world.
When she was in the wilderness and extremely lonely, Mu Zaohua looked at the stars and missed Mr. Wu.
Six months ago, under the arrangement of Xu San, she came to the border between Ming and Mongolia.
She often hears grieving mothers telling their crying children that your father who died in the battle has become a star in the sky.
Mu Zaohua sneered at this.
She never believed in ghosts and gods, so she didn't believe that human souls could turn into stars and overlook the past of the human world.
More importantly, if Mr. Wu's death is poeticized, the concentration of hatred will be diluted.
Mu Zaohua told herself countless times that Mr. Wu was originally flesh and blood, and his face that was sometimes harsh and sometimes gentle to her had rotted in the ground and turned into withered bones. And this evil deed of destroying beauty was brought about by Jiannu.
The brilliant starry sky was just where her eyes went when Mu Zaohua had a long sleepless night.
The sky is like a dome, and any star in it has nothing to do with Mr. Wu.
Mu Zaohua's Mongolian horse came over and lowered its head.
Mu Zaohua gently touched the bridge of the horse's nose, took out the last bit of salt from her arms, spread it in the palm of her hand, and let the horse lick it.
The horse was like a child who was satisfied after begging for candy, snoring and standing relaxedly outside the felt tent.
Mu Zaohua also took off her wolfskin coat, wrapped herself tightly, and retracted into the tent.
She could still sleep well for a few hours.
She followed Mrs. Zheng's team all the way, and her latest contact with Xu San was late at night. The two exchanged information and both understood that the bank of the Luan River was where the war would begin.
Mu Zaohua firmly believes that his wife and General Ma can win, but after the open battle, her secret war will begin.
She needs a solid night's sleep.
…
Zheng Haizhu opened his eyes in the darkness.
She sat up.
The two imperial guards who were leaning against the tent door immediately returned from their resting posture to a state of preparation for battle.
"Did Madam hear the noise?"
"Not yet, I just think it's almost done."
A guard in Jinyi turned his head and saw the faint white fish belly in the east through the curtain.
He said: "It's time for Yin time to pass."
As soon as he finished speaking, the armor leaves rustled softly, and Ma Xianglin stopped outside the tent.
"They are here. It's true that they are not just one or two Niu Lu. Judging from their appearance, that little Belle is also here."
After these short words with a mellow male voice fell to the ground, the sound of beetle leaves quickly faded away along with the sound of boots trampling on the snow.
The imperial guards immediately put on full armor as quickly as possible.
Zheng Haizhu now also has armor, but since she can't go into battle, the equipment she wears doesn't need to be the same as Ma Xianglin's.
Her fur robe to keep out the cold was covered with chain mail to protect her from the enemy's long-distance light arrows.
As soon as everyone finished dressing, they heard the harsh sound of gongs in the camp, instantly tearing apart the silence at dawn.
"The Jurchens have robbed the camp! The Jurchens have robbed the camp!"
The Ming army was shouting in Chinese.
Soon, Mongolian with a poor pronunciation was added. It sounded like Mangui's accent. He was waking up the Mongolian guards.
Zheng Haizhu and his royal guards rushed out of the tent, and many torches were lit around them.
There was also a commotion in front of the two largest felt tents in the middle. He Zhuo was using sharp Mongolian to report hurriedly to Unger, who seemed not to have gotten up yet.
Soon, He Zhuo strode to Zheng Haizhu.
The women from Ye He's tribe discovered that this Ming Dynasty woman was very calm.
"It's Jianzhou Jurchen."
"How did you know?"
"You will know after the fight. Our two generals have already rushed out with the knights." After Zheng Haizhu finished speaking, it seemed that he was no longer wasting time talking, turned around and walked towards the horse tied to the tent.
He Zhuo was still staring and thinking about what was wrong, when she heard Unger's captain of the bodyguard calling her from behind: "Mother Ketun, caravans, look at those caravans from the Ming Dynasty!"
He Zhuo realized something, got on the horse brought by his servant, gently held the horse's belly, and like a butterfly darting through flowers, he nimbly bypassed the felt tent and the still-burning fire, and galloped to the far west of the camp.
My eyes suddenly opened up.
He Zhuo was surprised to find that among the dark figures on the snow, in addition to people and horses, there were more than a dozen carts. They were pushed in succession by the Ming merchants who rested next to them last night, quickly and orderly.
Arranged in an orderly manner.
He Zhuo, who had broadened his horizons at the Xuanzhen Government Office and Zhangjiakou, in the twilight morning light, identified what was loaded on the cart - a large tube that the Ming Dynasty called artillery.
However, some cars were carrying things like cotton bags, and He Zhuo didn't know what they were for.
It was a custom-installed ammunition package. Zheng Haizhu's firearms factory "stole" it from Frankie's employees in Guangdong early on. After several years of research and development, the custom-installed technology has matured and can greatly improve the firing efficiency of artillery.
Zheng Haizhu drove his horse forward and looked at the artillery carriage and the artillerymen in groups of four or five.
After firmly predicting that Zhu Changluo would not kill Ma Xianglin, Zheng Haizhu ordered his nephew Zheng Shoukuan to go north to Tianjin via the sea route that had sent muskets to Mao Wenlong of Liaodong, and transported several four-pounders and Chongming Artillery Tens.
The rest went to Shanhaiguan and were handed over to Ma Xianglin's deputy general, and were incorporated into the Sichuan army, waiting to be used in the battle against the Tatars.
The two banners of Houjin and Jin collided with "grabbing the west" and Lin Danhan's "reward". After Zheng Haizhu and Xu San's planning, Ma Xianglin, who punished Bianxuan Town, finally regained his own in the snowy field outside the Great Wall.
soldiers.
The sky was getting brighter again, and people on this snowy land could not only hear the sound of horse hooves in the distance, but also see the dark procession by the Luanhe River becoming more and more clear.
Ma Xianglin held up the telescope and communicated with the man on the horse next to him in short words.
The man was a Liao citizen who was recruited to Chongming by Zheng Haizhu and became a member of the camp. His wife, children, and children also died at the hands of the Tatars. He had a deep hatred for Hou Jin.
But at this moment, the Chongming soldier who commanded the artillery group could not see any excitement at all. He just kept silent, but with a high degree of concentration, to receive the message from Ma Xianglin.
And his eyes were always staring at several gun carriages, confirming that they had all been loaded for the first time by the gunners.
Zheng Haizhu also rode her horse to the other side of Ma Xianglin. When she heard "the Tatars have advanced five hundred steps", she felt in an instant that her heart was like a red sun jumping out of the sea level, rushing to the throat between the collarbones.
at.
This distance means that even if the Tatar cavalry is not rushing into the formation, they will quickly enter the 300-step artillery range. However, these smug bandits may not be able to see clearly in the dim light with their eyesight.
Outside the Mongolian camp, weapons that could send them to heaven were actually placed.
The artillery team leader, who had been as silent as a deep pool in a still night, finally gave the order loudly: "Open the charge pack and light the fire."
As the ignition rod came into close contact with the fire door, there were several "Bah...Bah..." sounds, and the tails of several four-pound cannons lit up with dazzling sparks almost simultaneously.
The gunpowder burned rapidly at the rear of the copper barrel. In an instant, a loud "bang bang" sound shook the field, and even more frightening flames and white smoke came out of the muzzle. The gun body was brought down by the powerful recoil.
The wooden wheel cart underneath moved several steps, and the iron bullets ejected from the devil's mouth-like cannon barrel roared straight towards the intruder.
Within a few moments, the screams of people and the neighing of horses were heard from the bank of the Luan River ahead.
"Hit, hit!"
Behind He Zhuo, Unger, who had finally woken up from his hangover, was supported by two guards. Although he was unsteady, it did not prevent him from roaring as if he had seen a good show.
However, except for this Mongolian nobleman who took pride in begging for money, everyone else was as quiet as a hunting wolf.
Real soldiers, in tense confrontations and life-and-death battlefields, will not act stupidly like jumping up and down or yelling.
Before He Zhuo had time to embarrass Unger, he heard the commander next to the Ming Dynasty general shout again: "Change to shotguns."
In the first bomb of the Hou Jin Army, many knights and horses were blown to pieces. However, the shells were fired instantly, and they were completely unaware of the ambushes of the Hou Jin Cavalry. They came over in a loose formation, and there were still many of them.
The knight relied on inertia and approached the hundred-step shotgun range.
On the Ming army's side, several gun cleaners had just pulled out wool brushes, and the loaders were holding the loose ammunition packages and stuffing them into the gun barrels.
"Boom...boom...", there were several loud noises again.
Dozens of lead bullets separated by wooden discs in the custom package, with powerful boost, turned into a dense and deadly shower, mercilessly hitting the people and horses in front of them.
The wailing sound was even louder than the previous round because the shot hit a wider area.
He Zhuo opened his mouth wide, and could no longer tell whether what was filling his chest was fear or excitement.
She didn't even realize that she had already controlled the horse's reins and was close to Zheng Haizhu.
She only heard that, faced with such a hellish scene, the Ming Dynasty woman calmly asked her officer: "Is it enough to fire another round of shotguns? How many cows did the sentry say?"
His tone was as calm as asking: "Do you want more black tea?"
Then, the general with the same cold voice replied: "Four Niulu, a thousand people. Don't worry, we can eat. Ah Zhu, look at the mountain."