I updated 10,000 words today to celebrate that my collection has reached 5,000. Isn’t it embarrassing for everyone to gkd and subscribe to 200 for 5k collections?
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The more powerful artillery in the late Ming Dynasty eliminated some types that were too old or flashy in terms of technology. In terms of light and heavy artillery, the more practical light artillery was basically the Baizifang machine and the tribute artillery (that is, the large copper blunderbuss).
As for the barbarian-killing cannon and heavy artillery, there are three different sizes of general cannon and large and small red barbarian cannon.
Among these artillery pieces, the ones that Li Laiheng had more contact with and had a certain inventory of through capture were the prisoner-killing artillery, general artillery and red barbarian artillery.
The prisoner-killing cannon is the most typical practical type of light cannon in the late Ming Dynasty. The cannon itself weighs only about one hundred kilograms and can fire about one kilogram of lead bullets. An ordinary gun carriage or a modified Ye Gong carriage can be used.
It is equipped with three prisoner-killing cannons. Its main disadvantages are that as a light cannon, it is naturally weak in power, has a short range, and consumes a lot of gunpowder. It is only suitable for fighting a dozen skirmishers in the field.
General artillery was the backbone of the heavy artillery in the late Ming Dynasty. Some time ago, the artillery of the Chuang Army was also dominated by various types of general artillery. The Ming Dynasty official army generally divided general artillery according to the different weights of the lead bullets fired.
At the third level, the general cannon can fire seven kilograms of lead bullets, the second-class general cannon can fire three kilograms of lead bullets, and the third-class general cannon is almost the same as the captive cannon, and can only fire one kilogram of lead bullets.
The general cannons that Li Laiheng had previously obtained through seizure and "trade" with Li Xianfeng were second- and third-class general cannons.
Of course, among the general cannons there is the invincible general cannon, which is more powerful than the general cannon, but its practicality is very low. The Ming army itself has abandoned it, so Li Laiheng will naturally not consider it.
The most important thing is the red barbarian cannon.
Hongyi cannons are divided into two types: large and small. The small cannon is about one to two meters long. Its size and weight, as well as the weight of the shells it fires, are lower than those of Hongyi cannons. They are mainly suitable for field use. The cannons Luo Rucai gave to Li Laiheng were mainly used in field operations.
It falls into this category. When used for siege, although its power and effect are far superior to ordinary general cannons, it is still far behind the Hongyi cannons mainly used by the Manchus.
In terms of shell weight, the advantage of the Hongyi Cannon over the General Cannon is not very obvious. However, because the Hongyi Cannon is more advanced in technology and form, the magnification ratio is many times higher than that of the General Cannon.
The magnification ratio refers to the ratio of the artillery barrel length to the caliber. Simply put, the higher the magnification ratio, the more slender the shape of the artillery. Naturally, the time for the shell to be accelerated in the barrel will be longer. The muzzle velocity after launch,
The power will be greater.
The advantage of the diameter ratio allows the Hongyi Cannon to exceed the power and range of the old general cannon when the gun body, shell materials and weight are the same.
It was a pity that Li Laiheng did not have a single Hongyi cannon that could fire more than ten kilograms of shells. He could only use ordinary Hongyi cannons suitable for field battles and weaker second-class and third-class general cannons to attack the city defense of Yancheng.
But the former Standard Army's attack on the city did not rely solely on the artillery team led by Li Shiwei. At this time, there were hundreds of other soldiers led by Miao Lichen, waiting outside the city trench. They did not carry weapons such as swords, guns, swords, and sticks. Instead, everyone held shovels.
The hammer and the iron drill stood still.
A gust of cold wind blew by. Li Laiheng raised his head and looked at the gathering of dark clouds in the sky. He said to Miao Lichen: "The weather is...if it rains, things will be difficult. Let's step up the attack!"
Miao Lichen nodded. He still looked steady and calm. Even after being urged by Li Laiheng, he did not immediately order the attack. Instead, he insisted on waiting for a better fighter opportunity as the defenders gradually became chaotic under the artillery attack.
The soldiers were all ready, and the people were excited and nervous, waiting for the agreed signal to take action. After a while, a rocket was seen shooting from the distance. Miao Lichen suddenly shouted, and everyone immediately ran up and quickly filled the ground.
Not to be outdone, the defenders on the city moat threw bricks and stones down with all their strength. Some of the bricks and stones were blocked by side cards and armored hands, and some fell directly on people's bodies and heads, instantly injuring many people.
In order to cover the construction teams that were filling trenches and digging the city, other soldiers of the former Standard Army also fired arrows, fired muskets, and fired cannons at the top of the city. The defenders on the city were constantly being killed and wounded by arrows, making them hide inside the battlements and dare not
They stuck their heads out, so the bricks, stones, and wood they threw were all aimed very low, and only one or two out of ten could hurt the soldiers of the civil engineering team.
The defenders also fired arrows and cannons outside the city, but because it was difficult to get out from between the battlements, they could only shoot from the arrow holes. Now the sky was getting darker because of the gathering of dark clouds and the evening. The defenders looked at
Without knowing the target clearly, I basically relied on feeling to shoot, which was high and low, and I was completely unsure.
Although the former standard-setting troops under the city were attacking the city from their backs, their vision was also dim, but the lanterns and torches at the city's head gave them great convenience. Not to mention that Li Shiwei and Fang Yiren had been learning the art of calibrating artillery attacks, which was more difficult than defending.
The way the army relies on Meng is much more accurate.
The rebel offensive became more and more fierce. Although Li Laiheng actually had no strength advantage, Hu Dawei was defeated, and Yang Wenyue became a guilty man and refused to act. Chen Yongfu did not dare to leave the city easily to counterattack, and he could not figure out the specific total strength of the front target.
How much is it.
However, Chen Yongfu was, after all, a relatively shrewd and capable general in the army. As soon as he arrived in Yancheng, he spread the word that the Chu army had killed many people in Shangcai, Ruyang and other places and had humiliated women. Later, because the people had heard many legends about the Chu army,
Chen Yongfu didn't really believe Chen Yongfu's statement. He quickly changed his tone and claimed that the military discipline of the Chuang army was indeed good, but the Cao camp fighting with them was an army of cannibal beasts.
It is said that Cao Cao and Luo Rucai had hundreds of stone mortars in his army. When the army's food supply was insufficient, he would arrest the villagers everywhere, throw them under the stone mortars, pound them into rotten flesh, and then eat the bones together.
Although this statement is more outrageous than the invading army killing and plundering everywhere, after all, even if they lack military rations and want to eat people, no one will go to great lengths to get a stone mortar to crush people completely and then eat a stone mortar that can smash the human body.
Or is it mashed to the point where it can be "joined with bones and eaten"? What kind of nuclear-powered stone mortar is this from Zenith Star technology?
But let’s not talk about it, because although Cao Ying’s military discipline style is not as bad as that of Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong, it is really not very good. In addition, many literati and gentry in Yancheng add fuel to the fire, this Shijiu
Rumors of cannibalism really spread, and when the story spread to the south of the Yangtze River, the story changed from using a stone mortar to eat people in Cao Ying's camp to Li Zicheng himself using a stone mortar to eat people.
Because the local soldiers and civilians believed these legends, even though the defenders of the city were constantly killed and wounded by the former Baoding troops, and the morale of the Baoding soldiers was low and their fighting spirit was extremely weak, with the support of the residents, the defenders not only blocked Li Laiheng's first wave of offensive
, and can constantly throw various things that can kill and injure the enemy into the city.
However, the morale of the rebels was high. Despite the strong resistance of the defenders, they still filled up the trench to create a space for large groups of infantry to pass through. The archers and gunners also achieved many results. Li Laiheng saw that the sky was getting darker again.
Only then did he order to stop the first wave of attacks and let the soldiers rest for a while.
When Chen Yongfu saw that the rebel offensive had stopped, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He left his son Chen De to command the troops on the city wall. He did not take off his armor, sat on an armchair, closed his eyes and fell asleep. He was really tired and was about to faint.
As he fell asleep, he was suddenly awakened by shouts at the top of the city and outside the city.
He opened his eyes and cursed in his heart: "Damn it, why are you here again so soon!" Then he led a group of generals, soldiers, and servants and quickly rushed to the top of the city.
After the rebels rested for a while, they began to rush to the city wall in waves to dig holes. Hu Dawei knew that this was a tactic used by the rebel army: they dug holes in the corners of the city wall and then filled them with a large amount of
Gunpowder, once detonated, can severely damage the city foundation.
As soon as Chen Yongfu climbed up the city wall, he saw rebels digging into the city in many places. They were well-organized and moved extremely quickly. The situation was very critical. He looked down from the middle of the battlements, and there was a "swish" sound, and an arrow hit his helmet.
The upper part of the helmet, shot the tassel down the city.
A servant pulled his sleeve and said, "Sir, be careful!" He ignored it, grabbed a brick and smashed it down. At this moment, another arrow flew over his head and hit him.
Behind him is a strong man guarding the city.
Chen De was afraid that something might happen to him, so he quickly ran over and said, "Sir, the thieves are currently divided into more than ten groups and are digging into the city everywhere. No matter how they throw bricks, stones, and gunpowder, the thieves are well prepared and the walls are very strong.
, just won’t retreat.”
"Sir, we'd better open the city gates, send cavalry troops out of the city to counterattack, and drive away the thieves in one fell swoop!"
Chen De's suggestion was actually quite insightful, but Chen Yongfu had not yet grasped the size of the rebel army. He was afraid that Li Laiheng had a strong reserve force and that the officers and soldiers would never return as soon as they left the city gate, so he objected: "Nonsense! You
Don't panic, stay calm, I have a way."
He and Hu Dawei discussed together for a while, and originally planned to ask Yang Wenyue for his opinion, but gave up after hearing Hu Dawei say that since the news of King Chong's murder came, Yang Wenyue had been drinking excessively every day.
They first ordered their servants to pass a message in the city, saying that generals Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu were personally supervising the battle on the city wall, telling the soldiers and people to kill the enemy calmly and not to panic. They opened two boxes of cash on the city and promised to kill the thieves.
If one person is injured, he will be given a certain amount of cash on the spot, and if there is a wounded soldier, he will be given a certain amount of cash on the spot.
Most of the "people" defending the city were powerful gentry families and their servants, and some were ordinary people who were frightened by rumors about Chen Yongfu's nuclear-powered stone mortar.
These "civilians" had different purposes for defending the city, but upon hearing this oral instruction, they all became more courageous and their military morale stabilized.
Hu Dawei also praised repeatedly: "Brother, you really have a way!"
As a result, the fighting became more intense. The officers and soldiers lit firewood and threw it down the city to burn the diggers to death. The soldiers of the civil engineering team used hoe and farm fork to push the burning firewood and cotton wool into the distance.
While continuing to dig the city.
Officers and soldiers continued to fall from the city wall, and rebel soldiers continued to be killed at the foot of the city wall.