Looking at Li Zicheng with a cold face and Niu Jinxing, who looked depressed but had a look of pride in his eyes from time to time, Song Xiance's hand touching the long beard under his chin paused inadvertently. His right hand holding the cane became soft due to too much force.
Got to turn white.
Song Xiance no longer had any expectations for Li Zicheng and the Dashun Army at this time. They did not think about how to repel the enemy, but they were still keen on causing internal strife. Can such a regime and army still be expected?
At this time, there was a commotion everywhere on the city wall. Some low-level officers were ordering the soldiers coming up from behind to carry the wounded and dead off the city wall.
At this time, Li Guo, who was responsible for guarding the south gate, said loudly: "King Chuang, it's bad, the enemy has begun to attack."
"What, the enemy is attacking again?"
Li Zicheng was startled, and quickly walked to the battlements and looked outside. He saw the soldiers of the Zhou Dynasty who had been more than 500 steps away from the city began to approach the city wall with neat steps. They were as dark as a
A dark cloud weighed down everyone's hearts as if they couldn't breathe.
Cheng Kai stood at the back of the team, pointing the long knife in his hand diagonally forward. In front of him were 20,000 fully armed sergeants from four battalions of the Third Army. These sergeants wore dark black armor and held Mini rifles.
Under the leadership of their respective Chiefs Qian and Chief Hundreds, they walked slowly to the city wall.
"Everyone stop!"
When they arrived two hundred steps away from the city wall, a guerrilla leader gave an order, and everyone stopped.
"Raise the gun!"
"Crash..."
Countless mini rifles were raised by the sergeants, and their black muzzles were pointed at the city wall in front.
On the six-foot-high city wall in front, countless soldiers of the Great Shun Army were lying behind the crenels, nervously looking at the soldiers in the frightening black armor in front of them. The distance between these Great Zhou Army was very small.
That's right, no more, no less, exactly two hundred steps.
This distance was just outside their attack range. Although they had a commanding advantage and could shoot farther with their bows, the distance of two hundred steps was really too far for them.
Looking at the dark approaching Zhou army in front, Li Zicheng took a deep breath and asked: "Li Yan, isn't your Henan battalion equipped with a lot of firecrackers? Why don't you let them come up and shoot at the enemy troops outside the city?"
"
Seeing Li Zicheng's stern face and indifferent tone, the generals around him couldn't help but feel nervous. This Li Zicheng was too cruel and cruel. He had just been relieved of the post of military advisor, and now even his title has changed. In the past, it was Li Zicheng.
The young master shouted, and now it was Li Yan and Li Yan who called, and the process was very natural. There was no reluctance at all, which was chilling to hear.
But the strange Li Yan didn't seem to have any complaints about this. A trace of unknown sadness flashed in his eyes. He bowed and gave a salute and said expressionlessly: "Qi Chuang King, the student under his command."
The Henan Camp does have a team of firecrackers. But these firecrackers are just matchlock guns given to us by the Manchus. Even if they can be modified to use flint instead of matchlocks, the range has not been improved, and the longest range can only hit seventy.
If you want to hit the enemy two hundred steps away, you are really powerless."
At this time, Li Yan had already understood clearly about Li Zicheng. This guy who was born as a postman was just a person who wanted to burn bridges. He could only share the hardships but not the wealth. When he was a bandit in the past, he treated everyone with the same attitude.
He looks like a polite corporal. His purpose is to recruit talents. But when he acquires wealth and wealth, his greedy nature will be exposed. Anyone who doesn't agree with him will be kicked away by him. Isn't he the best example?
"Whether it's okay or not, we can pull them up first. If they attack the city, we can help anyway!" Niu Jinxing on the side spoke again. Knowing full well that he would suffer harm if he killed the snake, he had no idea what Li Yan was doing. The Henan camp is also very taboo, and he will never let go of the opportunity to consume Li Yan's strength.
Li Yan ignored Niu Jinxing's words and turned his attention to Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng coughed lightly, nodded and said: "Niu Cheng... Niu's words are very reasonable. Only your Henan battalion in our Dashun army is equipped with a large number of firearms, which is very important for defending the city." It's very useful. You don't have to refuse, just call up your Henan battalion."
Li Yan suppressed the grief and anger in his heart, lowered his head and said: "Since King Chuang has given this order, Li Yan will obey."
After saying that, he summoned a messenger and gave him a few instructions. The messenger left quickly, leaving only Li Yan standing alone at a crenel, the breeze blowing from the sky blowing his hair. The blow covered one side of his face, making him look very lonely.
Although the surrounding generals sympathized with Li Yan in their hearts, in the face of the people who were jointly suppressed by Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing, they obviously took clear-cut actions to protect themselves. Even Liu Zongmin, the second most powerful member of the Dashun Army, Neither the No. 1 person nor Song Xiance dared to make any intimate moves towards Li Yan at this time, let alone the others.
At this time, the Zhou army in front made another move, and the military formation at the rear gave way to passages. Then a sergeant holding a sword, spear and shield rushed towards the city wall carrying ladders. , shouts of killing echoed through the sky.
"No, the enemy is coming, fire arrows quickly!"
The Zhou army officially kicked off the siege, causing the Dashun army on the city wall to start to panic. After all, the round of artillery fire just left a deep impression on them, and the two sides had not yet begun to formally fight face to face. We have lost thousands of people. How many people will die if the war officially starts? This worry is not only shared by ordinary soldiers, but also by Li Zicheng. Although nominally he still has more than 100,000 troops, but in troubled times, the number of troops You can never have too much of this kind of thing, so Li Zicheng did not raise any objection to Niu Jinxing's act of pretending to be self-serving and using Pang Gang's hand to consume Li Yan's strength.
"Archers, come forward, prepare to fire arrows!" Seeing the menacing sergeants carrying ladders coming in front, Li Zicheng quickly called in the archers. In a panic, more than 3,000 archers were mobilized on the city wall.
The Zhou army advanced very quickly, and soon thousands of sergeants carrying ladders arrived less than a hundred steps away from the city wall, and were about to enter the shooting range.
Li Zicheng stared closely at the soldiers rushing forward, and shouted to Ming Ning loudly: "Archers, prepare!"
"preparation........."
Following Li Zicheng's order, an archer leaned out from the crenel, pointing the bow and arrow in his hand at the dense crowd below.
At this time, just when Li Zicheng was about to shout that word, a deafening burst of gunfire suddenly sounded from the front, and at least thousands of Mini rifles fired at the same time.
"Bang bang bang bang..."
A sound like fried beans rang out continuously, as if countless stars in the dark night lit up in front. Along with the unique white smoke of black gunpowder, countless lead bullets as big as little thumbs were fired with more than 100 seconds. It flew towards the city wall at a speed that could be seen by the naked eye.
Instantly, there were screams one after another on the city wall. Many archers who leaned out of the crenels screamed and fell off the city wall with their bows. Many more were lying on the ground after being shot and wailing loudly.
"Ah... come and save me, I lost the lottery!"
"My hand, where is my hand!"
The rifles outside the city continued to fire. Cheng Kai divided the entire legion into four echelons to maintain a continuous flow of firepower. The task of the riflemen below was to shoot down anyone who dared to expose their heads above the city wall.
Cover the safety of other siege troops.
In fact, Pang Gang's soldiers and horses have never used many means to attack the city. They are nothing more than artillery bombardment and Mini rifle cover. Then the infantry set up ladders to attack upwards. It seems very monotonous, but as the saying goes
, a move that is popular all over the world, Pang Gang relied on this move to capture so many cities. Because in this era of half cold weapons and half hot weapons, as long as you can suppress the firepower on the enemy's city walls,
Then you've won half the battle.
Because the firepower below the city was so fierce, nearly half of the 3,000 archers on the city wall were killed or wounded in a short time. The remaining 1,000 archers were so scared that they cowered on the thick wall made of blue bricks.
Behind the crenel, no matter how much the officer yelled and cursed, he would never show his head again.
Seeing this situation, Li Zicheng could no longer hold back the anger in his heart and shouted loudly: "Li Yan, are your gunmen here yet? Let them fight back quickly."
After hearing Li Zicheng's words, Li Yan suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart and said calmly: "Don't worry, King Chuang, they have already come up."
As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, there were bursts of footsteps. Two thousand riflemen armed with muskets ran up the city wall. The leader, an officer wearing captain's armor, loudly reported to Li Yan: "Report!"
Young Master, the Firearms Battalion has come to report, please give us your order."
Li Yan glanced at the gunman behind the captain with a complicated expression. He said in a deep voice: "The situation is urgent now. You should launch a counterattack against the enemy immediately. You must not let the enemy cross the city wall even one step!"
"As you command!"
The captain answered loudly and simply, then turned around and shouted to the gunman behind him: "Everyone is in position immediately, waiting for the target to fire immediately."
"yes!"
Following the order, a famous fire gunner quickly crouched behind the crenel and stretched out the fire cannons from the city wall. At this time, the soldiers of the Zhou Dynasty under the city had already begun to set up ladders one after another on the city wall.
, many fast-moving soldiers have already started climbing.
"Fire!" Following the order from the Captain of the Firearms Battalion, the gunmen pulled the triggers one after another, and bursts of deafening gunfire suddenly rang out from the city wall. The sound of these guns was so loud that
There were deafening sounds everywhere on the wall of time, causing many people to cover their ears.
As the firearms camp on the city wall opened fire, many soldiers who were climbing up fell down. Although the soldiers attacking the city also held steel shields, the power of these firecrackers and projectiles was still very powerful.
There was no force on them, so they fell off the ladder one after another. Many soldiers were also shot, lying on the ground rolling in pain.
Cheng Kai, who was commanding from behind, became anxious after seeing such a scene and shouted loudly to the soldiers in front: "All riflemen should move forward a hundred steps immediately and get close to shoot!"
"Bang bang bang..."
The riflemen under the city followed the order and rushed forward quickly while shooting. As the distance got closer, the advantages of the Minie rifle using rifled rifles came into full play. At a distance of two hundred steps, the riflemen shot at the city head.
The fire suppression was further strengthened, and for a while countless lead bullets flew randomly on the city wall. Many gunners from the firearms battalion who were hiding behind the battlements and shooting outwards were shot and fell.
"Counterattack, counterattack quickly!" Li Zicheng, who was hiding behind the crenel, waved his sword and shouted loudly. He pulled the captain who was bending over to give orders to the gunmen around him and shouted with his eyes wide open: "Hurry up and give the order.
The soldiers increase their firepower, knock out the enemy's gunmen first, and ignore the soldiers attacking the city for now!"
The captain said helplessly: "King Chuang, the enemy's firecrackers are much better than ours. Our firecrackers can't hit more than a hundred steps away."
"Trash, you trash!"
Li Zicheng couldn't bear it anymore. He pushed the captain to the ground and shouted: "The enemy can hit us, why can't you hit them? It's obvious that you are incompetent!"
The captain was caught off guard and fell to the ground. He looked at the furious King Chuang, but he dared not say anything. Li Zicheng was about to curse again. But he heard a "pop" sound, and a soldier suddenly
He fell heavily in front of them. When the soldier fell to the ground, the people on the side realized that the soldier's head had been hit by a lead bullet, and his head exploded like a bursting watermelon. For a moment, his brain was white.
With bright red blood splashing everywhere, Li Zicheng, who was not far away from him, was covered with splatters. Just as Li Zicheng opened his mouth to angrily rebuke the captain, a stream of brain matter splashed into his big mouth, and suddenly there was a strong smell of fish.
The bitter and astringent smell rushed into his nasal cavity. Even though Li Zicheng had been in the army for a long time, he couldn't help but lay on the ground and vomited loudly. He vomited all over the place for a while.
"King Chuang, are you okay?"
Seeing Li Zicheng's embarrassment, Niu Jinxing on the side quickly ran over and helped Li Zicheng up. Unexpectedly, Niu Jinxing was pushed away by Li Zicheng with a wave of his hand, and shouted angrily: "Get out of here, it's okay, hurry up and give the order."
The soldiers counterattack, and Liu Zongmin. You immediately mobilize the soldiers from the rear camp to go to the city wall to defend the enemy, and you must not let them go to the city wall!"
"Yes!" After receiving the order, Liu Zongmin also went down to the city wall and quickly dispatched his troops.
The battle is still going on. Cheng Kai, who is under the city, commanded the Third Army to beat the city into pieces. The excellent accuracy of the Mini rifle allowed the riflemen to calmly block the crenellations on the city wall. In this asymmetry,
In the duel, they occupied the top spot.
"Bang bang bang bang..."
"Fight back, fight back quickly!"
Li Zicheng, who was hiding behind the crenel, couldn't help but order the firecrackers around him to fight back. It has to be said that the firearms battalion trained by Li Yan was still very brave. They hid behind the crenel and kept fighting back with the firecrackers in their hands.
However, as the casualties increased and they saw that their own fire cannons could not hit the opponent, but the other party could easily hit them and inflicted heavy losses on themselves, even the bravest people were not willing to sacrifice in vain, so the remaining fire cannon players retreated.
They were no longer willing to lean out and serve as a target for others. Some people began to huddle behind the crenellations while the officers were not paying attention. For a time, the firepower at the top of the city suddenly became sparse.
"Quick, raise your shields and swords, climb up the city wall and kill the enemy! Your mission is glory!"
Under the city wall, a famous general was urging the sergeants below to climb up the city wall along the ladder.
Among the countless sergeants under the city, a very strong young soldier held a round shield in his left hand to protect his head, and climbed up hard with a steel knife in his mouth. He dodged the top of the city and fell down from time to time.
On the ground, I climbed up with my hands and feet working hard.
This soldier is Pi Erdan who joined the army in Hubei the year before last. After joining the Zhou Army, Pi Erdan was able to get the position of captain in two years because he knew some martial arts and was very skilled. Now he is
He led four of his brothers to climb in the countryside under the orders of the commander.
Thanks to the powerful suppressive firepower of the riflemen below the city, Pierdan and the others climbed to the bottom of the city wall without paying much of a price. They carefully poked their heads out from beside the round shield and found that there was no one guarding it.
Dan was heartbroken, covered his head with a round shield, grabbed the city bricks with his right hand and jumped onto the city wall. Unexpectedly, he stepped on something soft under his feet as soon as he climbed down the city wall, almost tripping him.
Pierdan lowered his head and saw that there were several corpses lying scattered under his feet, and a few firecrackers scattered around. It turned out that the firecrackers guarding the crenel had all been used by the riflemen below the city.
Mini Rifle was named, no wonder he climbed up the city wall so easily.
But Pierdan's good luck ended here. When he jumped onto the city wall, three fire gunmen behind another crenel immediately discovered him, although the two fire gunmen were huddled behind the crenel before.
Dare to show their heads, but it does not mean that they are indifferent to Pi Erdan who jumped up. The three fire gunmen immediately raised their fire cannons and pointed them at Pi Erdan.
Pierdan took a bad look at it. He knew that no matter how fast he was, he could not move faster than the lead bullets fired from the cannon, and the buckler in his hand would not be able to block it at such a close distance. In desperation, he threw a ball on the ground without thinking.
roll.
"Bang bang bang!"
When Pi Erdan lay down on the ground, several fire cannons were heard in succession, and several fire cannon players struck the empty space with the fire cannons. Pi Erdan, who was lying on the ground, immediately got up and walked quickly towards the ground.
The famous fire gunner rushed over, and the steel knife in his hand slashed at a fire gunman who was still in a daze.
"ah......."
A scream rang out, and the shoulder of the unprepared fire gunner was removed, and he fainted under the severe pain.
"kill!"
Pierdan roared and rushed towards the remaining two gunmen... (To be continued...)
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