Chapter 184 Wavering

"What kind of cannon is this? It's so big and thick?"

After Chen Tai saw several siege mortars pushed out from the Zheng Army's artillery position in the south of the city from the long mirror, he couldn't help but be shocked. His pupils dilated and he showed an expression of disbelief on his face. Although he didn't know

Why do those artillery pieces look like this? But his keen intuition from many years of fighting on the battlefield told him that this was definitely a killer weapon prepared by Zheng Chenggong to break the city.

Jihaxi had just followed Chen Tai to the tower. He looked at it intently for a while, but he was still a little unsure: "Uh... this, this artillery looks like the battle of Zhangping, when the Zheng army attacked Gaoming Temple Mountain.

I used it in the fortress..."

"Seems like?" Chen Tai put down his telescope and turned to look at Jihaxi, his expression showing undisguised anger. He was very dissatisfied with the recent performance of this subordinate whom he had helped.

When Jihaxi saw this, he immediately realized that something was wrong, and quickly added: "At that time, Zheng Chenggong deliberately hid the artillery position to the south of Gaoming Temple Mountain. The view from the tower was blocked by the surrounding mountains. Later, Zheng Chenggong's slaves only

The army detoured from the city and saw it when they went to attack Xiwu Mountain. At that time, they were also surprised by this thick and short strange cannon."

"How powerful is this cannon? The fortress on Gaoming Temple Mountain was captured by Zheng Jun so quickly. In addition to the smoke, this cannon should have played a big role, right?" Chen Tai immediately thought of something.

"General, don't worry, this artillery was not very effective at that time. Although it could hit the mountain, after firing dozens of shots, only three or five were hit, and it failed to destroy the wall."

At that time, Jihaxi still got some information from a few Eight Banners soldiers who finally escaped from the Zheng army's encirclement and returned to Zhangping City. However, because the artillery did not play a substantial role in attacking the stronghold, he did not pay attention to it.

Even the military reports sent back to Fuzhou did not mention relevant information.

It can only be said that whether it is Wanli, the generals in the Ming and Zheng armies, or Manchu generals such as Jihaxi, it is often difficult to make accurate judgments on things that they are not familiar with. The level of military technology development is still very low.

At that time, this may not have had much impact, but at this embarrassing time when hot and cold weapons are alternating and the level of development is not very high but not low either, it has reached a point where it must be taken seriously.

The functions of the Ming and Zheng armies were refined, firearms arms were trained separately, and tactical and strategic courses were provided for officers, and even the artillery specialty class proposed by Liu Guoxuan when summarizing the construction results of the pro-military battalion staff, and the artillery specialty class was lowered to the battalion level.

, are all manifestations of Zheng Chenggong’s forward-looking construction in this aspect.

As long as Fuzhou can win the battle and the effective strength of the army is not wiped out, Zheng Chenggong believes that in two or three years, when he has basically regained the capitals of the southeastern coastal states, the Qing government will soon face an army that relies on strong civil and commercial forces.

A powerful army with modern systems and semi-modern organizational systems and semi-modern weapons.

Back in front of him, Chen Tai was still a little worried after listening to Ji Hasi's words. He believed in his battlefield intuition, and things would definitely not be that simple. If this cannon was useless, Zheng Chenggong would not have deployed more than a dozen of them in the south of the city. So.

The weight of such a large artillery piece is also staggering. Even if it is transported by sea, loading, unloading, and moving still require a huge amount of manpower and material resources.

"Zheng Jun can always come up with some weird things. The fortress with the addition of horse faces and earth walls is indestructible, and those porcelain jar mines are also very lethal..." Chen Tai said,

There was a sudden pause, and then he said quietly: "Ji Hasi, you are right. When dealing with Zheng Chenggong, sometimes you have to be careful. Any negligence may be fatal."

However, things are just like people, sometimes they are so strange. This time it was Jihasi's turn to feel confident inexplicably:

"Last year, Li Dingguo placed hundreds of artillery pieces outside the city of Guangzhou and bombarded them for several months. In the end, Shang Kexi repaired them and held them up. Li Dingguo destroyed dozens of artillery pieces alone, but even a city wall was destroyed.

After failing to blow it up, the slaves felt that Zheng Chenggong's attack must be nothing more than this. His strength is not as strong as Li Dingguo's. As soon as Prince Jidu arrives with his army, he will definitely be defeated."

After hearing this, Chen Tai nodded in agreement. Zheng Jun's strange cannons indeed made him wary, but he was more confident in the city he had managed for two years. Shang Kexi also used the same method to strengthen the city defense in Guangzhou.

Even before he repaired it well, Zheng Chenggong only had more than a hundred artillery pieces. There was no reason why he could break through his fortified city with cannons.

As for the combat power of the army, Li Dingguo at least had the record of defeating Kong Youde and Nikan. Zheng Chenggong is currently in the field battle. The only main forces of the Qing army that he has defeated openly are Jin Li and Geng Jimao, and the elite among them are just mediocre.

Wan, the two cannot be compared at all.

"Zheng Chenggong is really insidious, so I'm worried that he has other plots." Ji Hasi looked worried, and then said. "To deal with such a person, I feel that we have to be more careful. There is no complete guarantee.

, must not act lightly."

"Of course I won't be fooled by him. No matter how he tempts me, I will never send out the army easily." Chen Tai said with a cold smile. He seemed to be confident and sure of victory.

"Zheng Chenggong wants to destroy my general's Fuzhou City. I, the general, want to see if he can use his strange cannon to destroy Changle City. If Changle can't be destroyed, when Jidu's army arrives, he may not even be able to defeat it.

We can’t even summon the horses!”

"Boom——"

As soon as Chen Tai finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of gunfire in his ears, and it came from the direction of Changle. He immediately raised his telescope and turned to look, but because there were dozens of miles between the two cities, he couldn't see at all.

The situation at Changle City.

"Zheng Chenggong has begun to attack the city?" Jihaxi also heard the sound of cannons. Although the sound was not loud, he was sure that it was the explosion of heavy artillery. There was only one sound, which should be Zheng Jun's test of the cannon.

Chen Tai squinted his eyes. As soon as the strange cannons in the south of the city appeared, Zheng Jun started to attack the city in Changle, which made him have some bad associations. However, after all, he was not Ji Haxi, so for Zheng Jun's defense

The fortifications are not that scary:

"Keep an eye on Zheng Jun. If there is any movement, don't ignore it. When appropriate, send out scouts to investigate and don't let Zheng Chenggong play tricks again. Zheng Jun's artillery position is outside the camp. Although it is protected by trenches and platform, it is not impossible.

Take it and let Barkadi think of a way. If we can destroy the Zheng Army's artillery in a night attack, or force the Zheng Army to move the artillery position south, it will be a great achievement."

.

"Boom! Boom! Boom——"

Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, twenty thousand-jin mortars retreated simultaneously. In the thick white smoke that filled the air instantly, huge iron bullets whizzed past in the air with smoke stains. More than half of them were

It hit the earthen wall outside Changle County, the high city wall, or the edge of the city moat, and suddenly clouds of yellow dust exploded.

Immediately after the mortar attack, other artillery on the Zheng Army's artillery position also fired at the same time. These artillery had a longer range. Although it was not powerful enough to deal with the reinforced city wall, it could also cover the mortar attack and give the Qing army more power.

A big blow, destroying the morale of the defenders.

Early that morning, outside the Jiangzhong Camp south of Fuzhou Fucheng and the Changle Camp west of Changle City, the soldiers immediately started taking action after having breakfast. Thick, short, and astonishing mortar cannons were fired at the mule.

Pulled by the horse, he was pushed out of the platform and deployed into the artillery position dug early in the morning.

At the same time, thousands of Zheng troops from the two camps also took action at the same time. The purging army skillfully completed the formation on the plains, and soon filled the open space behind the artillery position, with loud bugles and passionate

The sound of drums is loud, showing the mighty military might of Zheng Jun everywhere!

After Wang Xiuqi held a combat meeting a few nights ago, he did not return directly to Minqing to garrison, but was temporarily left by Zheng Chenggong to direct the artillery battle. At this time, he was observing the effect of the first round of bombardment with a telescope when he saw a side of soil.

A corner of the wall was directly blasted away by a huge iron bullet. I was in a good mood. At this time, the loud screams of the green battalion soldiers came from the top of the city.

However, he also knew that this was just a coincidence. The other few shells that hit the city wall and the surrounding earth walls did not have such power, and many of them just shook up a cloud of flying dust. When Wang Xiuqi was studying and observing at the Zhangzhou Weapons Testing Base,

, he had seen many demonstrations of artillery bombarding earth walls, and the location of the artillery strikes and the corresponding effects were all imprinted in his mind.

Just like the landing point of the artillery shell is unpredictable after it is launched, accidents on the battlefield are a normal thing, and the same is true for errors in the assessment of the situation between the enemy and ourselves. Not to mention that Ming and Zheng's staff headquarters were unable to accurately predict

As for the solidity of the Qing army's fortifications, even the Qing army itself may only have a general feeling.

After all, Chen Tai was just copying Zheng Chenggong's homework. He didn't actually understand the principles. Adding earth walls and separating them was a flash of inspiration after years of fighting. But Wang Xiuqi was different. He

Although he has not risen to the level of systematic scientific theory, he has observed countless experiments at the weapons test site, and because he is familiar enough, he can see more accurately through some detailed analysis.

It was precisely with his research and expertise that he discovered the problem before the combat plan was officially issued. Ming Zheng adjusted the combat plan in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

Now Zheng Chenggong's attitude has been very clear. Liu Guoxuan's proposal was adopted, and together with Wang Xiuqi, he took charge of the bombardment of Changle County. Both of them were reused with their outstanding performance. They also bombarded Changle County.

The time was also postponed for two days because the General Staff Headquarters made adjustments to the early war plan overnight.

As for the artillery position in the south of Fuzhou City, although the dozen or so siege mortars and more than thirty heavy artillery pieces weighing hundreds to thousands of kilograms were also set up, they did not start to attack, but acted as unlanded artillery pieces.

Boots, until all the heavy artillery gathered in one place, attacked with all their strength, and then completely defeated Chen Tai's psychological defense.

"It is estimated that the fighting in Changle will take more than half a month at the earliest, and we will have to wait for the second batch of artillery to arrive. Such a strong defense requires intensive bombardment, and I am afraid that at least twenty cannons will have to be scrapped before it can be completed." Wang Xiuqi said.

He had been observing for the past few days. The day before yesterday, under the protection of sentry riders, he used the early morning mist to get closer to a place more than a mile away from the earthen wall in the west of Changle City for reconnaissance.

"However, judging from the effect of the shelling just now, it is most likely that it will take about a month. Unless the Qing army in the city has a weak will to resist, several rounds of repairs and fierce battles are inevitable."

"We still have dozens of cannons in Zhangzhou's arsenal. The artillery factory in Macao has reduced its support for Li Dingguo since last year. Admiral Wang doesn't have to worry about the artillery reserves. It's just that the feudal lord wants to keep some trump cards, so there is no need for them.

It was revealed all at once." Liu Guoxuan said with a smile.

"Anyway, as long as Changle can be captured before the end of May, Chen Tai will have to die. There are mountains all the way from Jiangnan to Fuzhou, and the Qing army cannot maneuver quickly. If Chen Tai feels that he cannot hold out for August, he will have to let Ji Du Qi

Yue led the army to set off. It was the hottest time at this time. When those dog Tatars arrived in Fuzhou all the way, they probably would not have much fighting power left."

During the more than a year since Liu Guoxuan served in the pro-military camp staff, he had taken charge of his own affairs and participated in handling many matters. After seeing the strength of Ming and Zheng's organizational system, civil affairs, business, and technology, he was basically convinced that this

In the end, the world must belong to the most inconspicuous among all the forces.

"The city defense of Fuzhou City is much stronger than that of Changle. If thousands of elites are gathered in the city as Staff Liu said, I'm afraid it won't be able to capture it in two months, and it will be suspended for three months. Fighting small and big cities is not a one-time battle.

"Things." Wang Xiuqi's tone was a little worried. The more you understand something and its power and limitations, the more you think about it, which sometimes brings inevitable troubles.

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"We can only look at the number of the second batch of artillery. It would be best if Chen Tai can be really frightened. If not, if we have enough artillery, we can hit him until he has to move reinforcements in advance!"

Soon, there was another drum sound on the artillery position that had been completely submerged in the thick white smoke, and orange-red fire flashed past. After the deafening explosion, twenty huge iron bombs were fired again, and the gun to the west of Changle City

The earth walls and city walls were filled with dust, shaking and shaking constantly. Countless clods of earth, gravel, and broken bricks flew out and fell into the moat, causing waves of water splashes.

The white smoke on the artillery position soon filled the rear. The noses of Liu Guoxuan and Wang Xiuqi were filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke. The fierce sound of the gunfire even made the horses under their crotches quite uncomfortable. They were pawing the ground impatiently with their front hooves.

.

Then there was another round of artillery fire. Dozens of artillery fire from the Ming and Zheng artillery positions were divided into two volleys. The first time was the siege mortars, and the second time was still the rest of the artillery. Tragic fire continued from Changle City opposite.

The screams and the sound of collapsing gravel and bricks, but to Wang Xiuqi who couldn't see the effect of the shelling at this time, it was simply heavenly music!

"The artillery will continue to bombard after it cools down. Today, each cannon will fire thirty rounds to completely knock down the morale of the Qing army and let them see what real bombardment is!"

.

"Zheng Jun's artillery is so powerful?" Chen Tai stood up from his chair suddenly as he looked at the military report in front of him. After five days, Tang Ma in Changle City finally broke through all the obstacles and risked his life to send it back.
To be continued...