flstandardbreds Chapter 118 Land Warfare (3)
Chapter 118 Land Warfare (3)
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"Boom! Boom! Boom!" With a series of deafening explosions, several more shells landed among the ranks. The entire artillery battalion erupted into chaos, with shouts of men, neighing of horses, and bellowing of cattle. Unbridled horses and frightened cattle ran rampant through the ranks, mercilessly trampling the wounded soldiers lying on the ground. Cannons overturned, and one gun carriage was hit directly by a shell, its barrel thrown back up before crashing down, smashing several unfortunate men to pieces. The sturdy, heavy gun carriage was shattered by a mere glancing blow from a passing shell.
Li Mo watched helplessly as the powerful Hongyi cannons either overturned or their carriages were destroyed by shells and stuck in the mud, unable to move. Not only were the cattle and horses dead or wounded, but the frightened oxen, their bloodshot eyes gleaming, ran wildly, charging at the infantry and throwing their ranks into chaos. Some cursed "Damn it!" while others cursed "Fuck your mother!"
Fortunately, the rapid-fire of the field artillery didn't last too long, which saved Li Mo's life. His artillery battalion's most valuable and powerful Hongyi cannons had been destroyed. Some were broken in two, some had cracked barrels, some had destroyed gun carriages, and the cannons were deeply embedded in the mud, requiring a great deal of manpower to dig them out.
Li Mo had initially intended to move the cannons forward further for better accuracy. However, now that he knew the enemy's artillery range was far greater, he couldn't afford to push the cannons closer; moving them any further would likely prevent them from even being properly positioned. He quickly gathered his remaining troops and retreated, preparing to use two 5,000-jin cannons capable of firing 15-jin shells. These two Hongyi cannons could reach a range of up to three li (approximately 1.5 kilometers). However, what they would hit was uncertain.
Inside the earthen fortress, the watchtower observed the results of the battle. "Several cannons were damaged, and the remaining cannons are being withdrawn."
After forcing back the enemy's cannons, the cannons continued to bombard the government troops' infantry.
Li Mo retreated to a distance of 2,000 meters and bombarded the enemy with his two largest 5,000-jin (2,500 kg) Hongyi cannons. However, the distance was too great, and the cannonballs merely rolled into the trench in front of the earthen fortress.
Seeing that the shells hadn't even touched the enemy's dirt after being fired, Li Mo became extremely anxious and shouted, "Add more ammunition!"
The gunners had already loaded the maximum amount of gunpowder according to their usual experience, and they were all terrified when they heard that more had to be added. Cannon explosions were a common occurrence in the army at that time, and if a cannon exploded, even if the surrounding gunners weren't killed instantly, they would likely not survive.
"Sir, adding more medicine might cause the tube to explode..."
"Add more medicine!" Li Mo drew his sword and slashed it into the air. "Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
Under the threat of being struck, the gunners added an extra third of gunpowder. To show that he wasn't afraid of adding too much gunpowder, Li Mo personally lit the cannon.
The five-thousand-pound cannon exploded with a deafening roar, and the heavy sports car practically bounced backward. Two soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were instantly struck, coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground dead.
The shell finally flew a distance of about 1500 meters and hit a protruding corner of the earthen bunker. However, by then the trajectory was so low that it could only slam into the wall of the protruding corner and knock off a piece of dirt.
Liang Xiaoming was shocked: "They can fire from such a distance? This must be a larger caliber Hongyi cannon."
Quartz noticed this and mobilized several more cannons to return fire. While this field gun, modeled after the Napoleon cannon, achieved the pinnacle of accuracy and range for muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, hitting several cannons at a distance of over 1000 meters was still extremely difficult. Several attempts at calibration were far off target. As the gunners frantically calculated the enemy's position, a sudden, deafening explosion came from the distant opposite side, sending a plume of smoke into the sky.
Liang Xiaoming wiped the sweat from his forehead and laughed, "That saves us trouble. It'll probably explode."
His estimation was correct. After firing two shots with "high-powered explosives," a cannon suddenly exploded. The shockwave and debris instantly killed more than a dozen people nearby. Li Mo was thrown more than ten meters by the shockwave and fell onto a dead horse, narrowly escaping death.
Li Mo struggled to his feet, his head spinning and his ears ringing. He shook his head violently and saw that all the soldiers around him had scattered, even the intact cannon had been abandoned. Several of his personal guards ran over and helped him up. Li Mo wanted to continue loading and firing, but then he discovered that the seemingly intact cannon actually had cracks in its body, and firing another shot would surely kill him. Enraged, he grabbed his sword and slashed wildly in the air.
With the government troops' artillery exhausted, the guards could focus on dealing with the charging infantry. Although the field artillery fire was intense, it did not quickly shake the government troops. Although the enormous destructive effect of each shell landing caused some soldiers to waver and retreat, they were quickly driven back by their officers.
The main force of government troops had surged to within 500 to 600 meters of the earthen fort. At this time, the 8-pound mountain guns also joined the bombardment. Although their range and power were not as great as those of field artillery, this distance still caused heavy casualties to the government troops.
When the government troops finally closed to within about 100 meters of the stockade wall under artillery fire, Shi Ying ordered: "Fire!"
Hundreds of Patriot rifles opened fire simultaneously, a dense hail of bullets engulfing the entire vanguard, instantly striking and felling hundreds of men. This sudden attack finally broke the already wavering infantry, who found the path to the enemy's lines never so long and dangerous, and they began to flee. Tong Yizhen, the Chaozhou military commander in charge of the southern offensive, personally beheaded several fleeing soldiers, but he could not stop the tide of retreating troops.
Tong Yizhen was shouting loudly for his generals to hold their ground and prevent the soldiers from deserting. But at that moment, a lead bullet struck his horse, knocking him to the ground. His personal guards quickly helped him up, and he immediately jumped onto a second horse. But at that moment, his flag bearer was hit by a lead bullet and fell off his horse without uttering a sound, causing the flag to fall to the ground.
This made Tong Yizhen realize he was in grave danger, and he abandoned his insistence on continuing the attack, allowing his personal guards and retainers to escort him as he retreated. With their commander gone, the soldiers ran even faster. When the smoke cleared, only flags, armor, and corpses remained.
The guards on the earthen fortress erupted in a heartfelt cheer. Many had been prepared for a desperate fight, but they hadn't expected the government troops to retreat so quickly. Pride, contempt, and a sense of triumph filled their hearts, and many waved their weapons, celebrating their victory over the government troops' first wave of attack.
He Rubin watched helplessly as several thousand soldiers collapsed under artillery and musket fire before even approaching the enemy's camp. The Hongyi cannons, on which he had placed high hopes, were bombarded and routed before they could even be set up. His face darkened completely. Without even a chance for close combat, how could they possibly fight?
He Rubin had already realized that the bandits' cannons could fire farther and more accurately than the Hongyi cannons, and their firing rate was also much faster. Compared to the Hongyi cannons, which could only fire once every long while, the bandits' cannons were firing almost non-stop.
He gritted his teeth and shouted the order: "Beat the drums!"
As the drums sounded, a new wave of fresh troops emerged from the camp. These were soldiers trained in guerrilla warfare, along with commanders and pacification officers—arguably the most elite forces in this campaign. Of course, he also had the garrison battalion and five hundred personal guards, but these were his reserves, and he wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary. He Rubin summoned the commanders of the three battalions and gave them instructions in person.
“Everyone saw it.” He said with a grim face, “The bandits’ cannons are very powerful. They fire fast and accurately. The artillery battalion was decimated before they even fired, and they’re no longer a hope. When you’re setting up your formation later, remember to spread out your ranks and separate your teams. Don’t rush forward like you did before, all crammed together.”
Several battalion commanders replied in unison, "Your Excellency understands."
He Rubin promised, "Whichever general's men are the first to reach the top, this town will give him the greatest credit!"
The first wave of attacks ended in defeat for the Ming army, but the Ming army only suffered a brief setback. Liu Ye observed that the enemy's flags remained intact, and their troops showed no signs of wavering. Judging from the drumbeats and the movement of the military flags, the government troops were intensifying their troop deployment. In this second wave of attack, the government troops would undoubtedly mobilize all their elite forces for a full-scale assault.
He Rubin mobilized his troops, actively preparing for the second attack. To counter the enemy's superior firearms, the officers and soldiers gathered a large number of wheelbarrows from the firearms and supply battalions, piling them with sacks of sand and straw, all soaked in water. Some wheelbarrows were even fitted with heavy door panels. He Rubin understood this basic principle: even the thickest door panel, covered with iron, couldn't withstand artillery shells. What he wanted to stop were the enemy's muskets.
The first charge revealed that the enemy's cannons and muskets were formidable, but even with so many cannons, there were only about twenty in total. Compared to the muskets carried by each soldier, the threat was not too great once the troops were spread out. Sandbags and door panels were used to cover the soldiers and protect them from lead bullets during the charge, and could be used to cross the trenches once they reached the bottom.
The second attack began before noon, spearheaded by the elite Ming army in this campaign. At the center were 1,500 elite troops under the command of the renowned guerrilla general Wang Daoji. To his left was 1,000 elite troops under the command of Li Guang, and to his right were 1,200 troops under the command of Wang Xi, the guerrilla commander.
As soon as the cannon fired, hundreds of wheelbarrows carrying sandbags and door panels led the way, followed by long columns of government infantry.
The government troops had already witnessed the artillery advantage of the guards, so this time they no longer used a dense formation to rush forward together. Instead, they dispersed their troops into sparser formations, keeping the columns apart to prevent the barbarians from creating a bloody alley with a single cannon shot.
Wave after wave of troops surged forward to the sound of war drums, billowing dust. Generals rode through the ranks, shouting orders and urging their troops forward. Behind them, banners fluttered, and they were surrounded by varying numbers of personal guards and retainers, each with their swords drawn and arrows nocked, ready to protect their commanders from the enemy or from deserters.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The cannons on the earthen fortress opened fire again. Shells whistled terrifyingly, landing one after another in the ranks. Nothing could stop these bouncing iron balls; cart doors and sandbags tumbled and scattered after being hit, severed limbs and heads flying everywhere. No one could remain calm under such fire. Some turned to flee, only to be cut down by the standard-bearer soldiers supervising their position.
"Charge forward! Charge forward!" The generals were issuing orders, but they themselves were not safe either. The cannonballs did not care about your rank, and people would be hit and fall from their horses from time to time. Some generals rode around on their horses, pretending to wave their swords and shout, but they would never move forward again.
As the Ming army drew ever closer to the earthen fortress, the artillery fire became increasingly intense. At a range of five or six hundred meters, both field guns and mountain guns began firing high-explosive shells. The shells plowed through several people before exploding in the crowd, the shockwaves knocking over rows of soldiers, and shrapnel scattered everywhere, relentlessly claiming lives.
Accompanied by the whistling of artillery shells and the piercing screams of soldiers, the charging troops surged forward like dying beasts. The sound of artillery fire rose and fell, and the entire earthen wall was completely shrouded in thick white smoke. Only the watchtowers protruding from the top floated above the smoke like pavilions in the clouds, while below, the approaching crowd churned like a raging torrent.
The soldiers, advancing under artillery fire, finally came within 200 meters of the earthen bunker.
"Change to shotguns immediately!" Liu Ye shouted, his composure from before the battle gone. The second charge saw even more troops from the government forces, and the densely packed crowd of heads surging beneath the earthen fortress made him feel uneasy and oppressed.
The battle finally turned into close combat, and the cannons were quickly fitted with shotguns.
"Fire!" Shi Ying gave the order. The dozen or so field guns and mountain guns in front opened fire almost simultaneously, and the grapeshot, which had been tested in actual combat at sea, began to demonstrate its terrifying destructive power on land.
The shotgun was filled with iron pellets the size of broad beans, rolled into a tube from thin sheet metal. Due to the immense pressure difference, they exploded upon exiting the muzzle, creating a storm of metal that hurtled towards the enemy. The dense barrage was like a death rain; no one could survive such an attack, and they were all torn into pieces, with blood and flesh flying everywhere in the air.
The first few hundred people were wiped out in this round of shotgun fire, while the crowd behind them, due to inertia, were forced to trample over severed limbs and mutilated corpses as they continued to rush forward.
The overwhelming numerical superiority of the officers and soldiers finally became apparent. Despite heavy casualties, the officers and soldiers were about to reach the trench. Not to mention the sandbags on the surviving carts, the corpses alone were enough for the officers and soldiers to fill the trench and directly assault the earthen wall. If they were allowed to break through, the guard would be in a very passive position.