Chapter 1048 1043 [Assault Heavy Armored Combined Brigade]
The seventh month of the lunar calendar, Shazhou.
Western Expedition Commander Li Yanxian had arrived for a month and a half, and Deputy Commander Zhong Yanchong was still gathering follow-up troops in Lanzhou.
"Didi dididi..."
The telegraph machine in Shazhou kept ringing. Coach Li Yanxian and supervisor Fu Yuanheng took out their respective code books and cooperated to translate the telegram.
After a long time, Li Yanxian picked up the newly released telegram: "The last batch of troops and civilians have arrived in Lanzhou. We are here to go on an expedition."
During the war, troops were divided into several groups, one of which was to reduce logistical pressure.
But the expedition to the Western Regions could not divide the troops. There was only one road along the Hexi Corridor. There were hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians, and it was impossible to move forward at once. They had to go slowly in batches, otherwise there would be no firewood to camp along the way.
Easy to find.
Currently, troops and civilians are temporarily stationed along the route in Shazhou, Guazhou, Suzhou, Ganzhou, and Lanzhou.
When Li Yanxian received the seal of command in Luoyang, he had already sworn an oath and immediately dispatched a vanguard after receiving the telegram.
Wu Jie is the vanguard general of the Western Expedition. He has been training troops in the Hexi Corridor for several years and has been paying attention to the intelligence of the Western Regions. He is most suitable to be the vanguard of the Western Expedition.
Wu Jie's vanguard force consisted of 2,400 chariots, 1,800 combat soldiers, 800 cavalry, and the rest were all auxiliaries and civilians.
In addition to repairing equipment and transporting grain and grass, those auxiliary soldiers and civilians were also responsible for the engineering work of building roads and bridges across mountains and rivers.
As for the vanguard, fighting is still secondary. You can't leave a big hole in the middle of the road for the main force, and you have to repair bridges that have been damaged by the enemy as soon as possible.
Wu Jie's army has 120 one-wheeled chariots.
He felt that the current chariots of the Ming Dynasty were too slow, too stable, and not aggressive enough, so Shangshu asked to try to modify the chariots. Ju Ming adopted Yu Dayou's idea of chariots, briefly described it, and asked Wu Jie to use it as a reference.
When Wu Jie received the emperor's reply, he was immediately shocked.
Compared with Qi Jiguang's chariot, Yu Dayou's chariot was more offensive, and his idea was still used by Zuo Zongtang until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Chengzong's main force used Qi Jiguang's tanks. However, he used Yu Dayou's tanks to form the Marine Corps, which was specially used to attack the coastal areas of Liaodong by boat.
Let's put it this way, a Yu Dayou-style chariot battalion with a strength of three to four thousand troops can chase tens of thousands of cavalry and beat them violently.
But no matter what kind of car camp, when encountering a truly powerful enemy, it needs a large number of regular cavalry to cooperate. Hong Chengchou was disgusted by the Guan Ning cavalry. Those guys did not listen to orders at all, and often separated from the infantry to fight alone to gain credit.
After being ambushed or frustrated, they abandoned their infantry and fled.
This resulted in the main force in the late Ming Dynasty being able to exert only 20% to 30% of its 100% combat effectiveness.
Wu Jie served as the vanguard this time, a combined brigade of 5,000 people, of which 800 were cavalry!
A tank group consists of 20 chariot troops (drivers and firearms troops) and 15 combat troops (cold weapon troops). 120 tanks constitute a brigade, with a full strength of 4,200 troops, plus cavalry, which is 5,000 troops.
The reason why a wheelbarrow is used is to quickly cross obstacles on the battlefield. It takes 3 to 5 people to push the chariot. It has legs for fixation during battle. When it is lifted up, it can be pushed forward quickly.
If it is a long-distance march, you can also temporarily install two wheels and use mules and horses to drag it forward.
Every one-wheeled chariot is a firepower output platform.
Ju Ming even asked the artillery craftsmen to develop a small rapid artillery-Flange machine gun specifically for Wu Jie. It did not seek to shoot far or be powerful, but just to quickly reload and launch during battle.
A chariot is equipped with three artillery pieces, all with light wrought iron barrels weighing 120 kilograms. It is also equipped with five fusiliers.
The soldier responsible for pushing the cart also served as an artillery assistant during battle.
This kind of Franchise-type artillery can be loaded with shells in advance, and the rate of fire can reach several shots per minute. What limits it is not the filling speed, but the barrel overheating while firing.
And unlike Qi Jiguang's Chariot Battalion, Yu Dayou's Chariot Battalion is a highly mobile force!
…
Together with civilians, a vanguard force of tens of thousands of people set out from Shazhou (Dunhuang) to Yizhou (Hami).
To the east of Xingxingxia is the territory actually controlled by the Ming Dynasty.
In places where water sources are available, beacon towers and grain transfer stations have been built in advance, so Wu Jie's vanguard troops marched very fast.
You can walk more than sixty miles a day, and you don't need to camp at night. You can just use a chariot and supplies to guard against wild beasts.
In fact, it's so desolate here that there aren't many big beasts.
It wasn't until he approached Xingxing Gorge that Wu Jie slowed down his marching speed. At about 2 o'clock every afternoon, he would stop and set up camp seriously, and send his light cavalry to the front to investigate.
Xingxing Gorge is the first throat into the Western Region, and the transportation of grain and grass is extremely difficult.
In many places, four-wheeled or two-wheeled carriages cannot pass, and one must rely on camels, mules, horses, or wheelbarrows to get across.
The Ming Dynasty's heavy chariots (sidecars) must be disassembled at this section of the road, transported there and then reassembled.
According to legend, Fan Lihua of the Tang Dynasty once fought against the generals here.
The green-faced and fanged general guarding the gate was transformed into an orangutan, so this place was named Orangutan Gorge.
Entering Xingxing Gorge, Wu Jie marched slowly on the rugged mountain road.
This section of the road is not long, but it is extremely difficult to walk. All the gun barrels on the unicycle were removed and hauled, but even so, they often overturned.
Arriving at the western section of Xingxing Gorge, smoke suddenly rose.
There was a castle built by the Gaochang Uighurs there, which also served as a post station and a tax collection station. Business travelers traveling along the Silk Road would stop here.
There are no rivers nearby, and they rely entirely on bitter spring water. It is difficult for the water source to supply the army.
During the Qing Dynasty, this place was directly named Kushuiyi.
"Choose a place to camp, recover your strength, and attack the city tomorrow." Wu Jie ordered.
This must be done by the vanguard troops, otherwise the main army will be blocked by enemy forts in the Xingxing Gorge, and the drinking water carried by the army will be finished in a short time.
Even if they knew that the Ming Dynasty was coming to kill them, the pass castle in Xingxing Gorge only had 500 troops stationed there.
Before, there were only a few dozen troops stationed.
Because for Xiliao, supply here is also difficult.
The next day, Wu Jie led his army to attack Zhaibao.
Many of the mountains here are barren of grass, a few have low shrubs, and there are very few trees that can be used to make siege equipment!
Fortunately, Wu Jie had already found out clearly, and he brought hundreds of simple flying ladders with him.
The Zhaibao is located at the exit of Xingxingxia, and the terrain is slightly more open.
However, the tanks and artillery still could not be fully deployed.
Wu Jie sent troops to block the passage ahead, and the artillerymen led the civilians to climb the hillside and carve out small platforms on the mountain wall.
It's just a small cannon weighing 120 kilograms, and its rear force is not great.
The five hundred defenders in the fort were looking outside with trepidation at this moment. The defender wanted to escape directly, because there was no way there would be large reinforcements here. At most, one or two thousand more troops would be sent to help delay, so that Hami could have more troops.
Spend more time gathering troops.
The Western Liao garrison here was abandoned from the beginning.
In order to enhance the fighting will of the defenders, Xiao Chala'abu even issued military orders. As long as the stronghold was raised in smoke and defended for more than five days, the defenders could abandon the stronghold and escape.
If they escape within five days, all the soldiers guarding the stronghold will be executed, and their families will also become slaves!
The shield bearers protected the musketeers as they slowly approached the fortress and fired freely at the fortress, while the enemy also shot arrows at them.
It's a small cannon that weighs 120 kilograms, and it's a Furlong machine gun with insufficient air tightness. It can't shoot very far at all.
Therefore, the platform built by artillerymen and civilians was even within the range of the defenders' strong bows. It had to be covered by musketeers and protected by shield bearers.
For a moment, bows, arrows and muskets from both sides exchanged fire.
The shield bearer climbed up the hillside with difficulty, protecting the gunner and civilians as they dug the artillery platform on the slope.
There were also civilians who carried earth to fill the trench in front of the stronghold. There was no river here, so there was no need for a moat. The trench was not dug deep because the soil was too hard to dig, and the defenders did not have the manpower and material resources.
The peasants had their own wooden planks to protect themselves from arrows, which were dismantled from the chariot.
It took a whole day to build a simple fort and fill in several trenches.
I slept there that night and sent troops in turns to block the passage. Several tanks were placed directly in front as obstacles.
In fact, the defenders did not intend to launch a night attack. They just wanted to survive the five days as soon as possible, then abandon the stronghold and escape to the next stronghold.
These forts along the route were all used to delay the journey due to supply difficulties.
At this moment, the flames of war had already reached Yizhou (Hami), and Xiao Chala'a Bu was ordering a gathering of troops, and at the same time he also mobilized the troops from Gaochang (Turpan).
By the time Wu Jie broke through a series of forts, Xiliao's army was almost gathered.
On the third day after arriving at Xingxingxia Village, Wu Jie began to officially attack the village.
First, test the cannon.
320 small guns took turns to test fire, ensuring that each gun hit the wall or war shed as much as possible.
The defenders of Xiliao were shocked. They had only heard of the power of artillery, and today they experienced it in person for the first time.
But fearing that they would be executed if they escaped and that their families would become slaves, they had to stay here for more than five days.
The artillery debugging was completed and the infantry began to attack the city.
"Rapid artillery fire!"
Wu Jie gave an order, and 320 small artillery pieces opened fire in unison.
After firing, the sub-cannon barrels were replaced immediately, and the assistants quickly moved to reload the fired sub-cannons.
Under the operation of a skilled gunner, a shell can be fired every 15 seconds on average.
In fact, it can be faster. According to actual calculations, the total time of the first three shots is less than 20 seconds. Subsequent shots are slightly slower.
This thing has only two shortcomings, one is that the air tightness is too poor and it cannot shoot far, and the other is that continuous firing causes the barrel to overheat.
The best range of a small 120-pound French cannon like this is within 200 meters.
At this time, only 360 small artillery pieces were seen firing, with an average of one shell every ten seconds. It was still a salvo at the beginning, but due to the uneven speed of the gunners, the firing became chaotic, as if shells were falling all the time.
But the power is too small, hitting the wall is like scratching an itch.
But the war shed could not withstand the bombardment of small artillery. Before the popularity of firearms, this thing was usually a wooden structure.
It is difficult to cut wood here, and it is also difficult to obtain water. The war tents in the fortress are neither made of wood nor rammed earth. Instead, they are made of simple mud bricks made of soft soil soaked in spring water.
A thin layer of adobe brick walls will cause holes to appear within a few hits.
After a few more shots, it collapsed partially, and the defenders hiding inside suffered heavy casualties.
"Stop the artillery fire!"
The flags waved and the trumpets sounded.
The artillery stopped one after another, and the siege troops were only a few dozen steps away from the wall.
The guard tremblingly looked up to check, and found that the situation was not good. He quickly shouted in a hissing voice: "Hurry up and shoot the arrow!"
The Xiliao archers quickly stood up and shot arrows at the siege troops.
However, the Ming army's siege troops did not continue to advance, and stopped there to let the shield bearers block the arrows.
At the same time, the musketeers following behind them had already aimed at various crenels. The defenders who stood up to shoot arrows were instantly shot by 600 flintlock muskets. About twenty unlucky ones were shot and fell.
.
It’s just the beginning!
The small artillery that took a short rest fired another volley as the flag was waved, frightening the defenders who had just stood up and quickly fell down again.
After a burst of shelling, the battlefield became quiet again.
The barrel is too hot and needs to be cooled down.
The defenders did not stand up immediately, but cautiously poked their heads out, only to see that the siege troops were still standing in place.
A few Xiliao archers had the courage to stand up and shoot arrows, but were once again fired upon by muskets. The arrows were shot out in a panic, with insufficient accuracy and power, and the Ming army also had shield-bearers to block the arrows.
The two sides continued to confront each other like this.
After a long time, the Ming army's artillery barrels cooled down and they began to fire salvos again, this time deliberately lowering the rate of fire.
After two or three rounds of volleys, all the war sheds in front of the fortress collapsed. It was a facility used by the defenders to hide and mobilize troops. It also served as an arrow tower. At this moment, it had been flattened by artillery.
After all, it has never suffered from firearms, otherwise it would have been built more solidly and would not have been destroyed by a bunch of small cannons.
The Ming army still didn't approach the wall, but the defenders didn't dare to stand up anymore. At most, they stuck out half of their heads to check the situation.
Wu Jie waited for the gun barrel to cool down, and then said to the messenger: "Order the soldiers to attack the city. When the defenders stood up, the automatic artillery (Flange cannon) only fired one shot and then stopped, so as not to accidentally damage the friendly troops attacking the city!"
No fire cannons are allowed to fire until the artillery stops."
As soon as the siege troops moved, some defenders exclaimed: "The Ming army is coming!"
The archers who were still alive stood up and shot arrows, and more than 300 shells flew immediately.
After the artillery stopped, the flintlock guns also began to fire in rounds.
The siege troops also moved forward courageously, fearing that the artillery shells would hit the wall and bounce back. It was not until the shelling stopped that they accelerated their pace and trotted forward under the cover of musketry.
The defenders were fully prepared to fight against the Ming army's artillery fire, risking their lives and firing arrows at the siege troops.
Due to the angle problem, the siege team's shield bearers were unable to effectively protect their comrades. However, their comrades all wore cotton armor with embedded iron sheets, and even pulled down their face armor to protect themselves from arrows.
Wu Jie's unit belongs to the assault-type heavy-armed combined brigade!
Not only were the chariots and cavalry elite, but even the infantry's armor weighed fifty kilograms. If this fifty kilograms of cotton armor were placed in the Song and Liao Dynasties, its defensive power would almost catch up with the heavy infantry.
Especially the anti-arrow performance is no different from previous heavy armor.
Seeing that the Ming army was shot but nothing happened, the defenders who had survived multiple firearm attacks felt desperate and wanted to escape.
"Those who run away die and their families become slaves!"
"It's the third day that the smoke has risen. We can leave after just two more days!"
The guard shouted with all his strength, but in fact he also wanted to escape.
These enemies are too evil to defeat, and they won't last long.
Due to the difficulty in obtaining wood, there was not even wood in the fort, so earth and rocks could only be thrown.
There is no boiling oil, and it is too difficult to transport supplies. The food they usually eat does not have much oily smell.
Only golden juice and boiling water remain.
Hundreds of simple flying ladders were put up on the wall one after another, and earth and rocks kept falling down. Some defenders also used push rods to directly push down the flying ladders. The siege soldiers fell hard, and some were even knocked unconscious.
.
"ah!"
Several pots of golden juice and boiling water were poured down, and the Ming army attacking the city screamed.
However, there were some ruthless men from the siege troops who were scalded by boiling water and still continued to crawl.
There are too few defenders!
There were only 500 people. Some were killed or injured when the war tent collapsed, and some were killed or wounded by cannons.
Even counting the wounded who can still fight, there are only about 300 left who can fight now.
At this moment, hundreds of flying ladders are set up, and on average three and a half defenders have to defend one. How many people can be allocated to throw earth, rocks, gold juice and boiling water?
Moreover, the wall is only over three meters high.
In such a poor place, you can only build such a high fortress.
Soon there were more than a dozen Ming troops on simple flying ladders, who successfully climbed up the city. Relying on their excellent armor, and with the lack of defenders, climbing up was like a tiger entering a herd of sheep.
The Western Liao garrison collapsed!
Because there is no reserve team at all, if any part is breached, it means that the entire line is lost.
The surviving defenders turned around and fled. Escape was a capital crime, and family members were reduced to slavery. At this time, they could not suppress their instinct to escape.
The siege troops opened the castle gate.
The artillery on the mountain road, civilians and auxiliary soldiers had already given way to the siege. The Ming army cavalry, which had been waiting for a long time, rushed into the stronghold, chasing and killing all the escaping defenders.
Forward troops generally do not take prisoners unless it is beneficial to the subsequent operations.
