This is why the soldiers of their assault regiment were able to get here despite scattered matchlock shots.
On top of his head was a helmet made of stamped steel plates.
Not to mention the Russian matchlock shooting, even under the shrapnel of the Imperial artillery, one's life could be saved.
They wore body armor with steel plates sewn into the cotton armor.
Commander Shi Maiyong felt that he had been shot in the shoulder, as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer. His body did not feel torn apart. He was sure that the lead bullet did not penetrate the steel plate.
He looked up at the shooting hole in the middle of the Kuznetsk city wall.
Only sporadic arquebus lead balls and artillery fire were fired from the firing holes.
Shi Maiyong wanted to thank the artillery regiment for its accuracy. The artillery shells had previously fallen on top of the city wall, destroying a large number of soldiers and city defense weapons on the wall.
The artillery, rolling wood, stones and kerosene that could have caused huge damage to them were all destroyed by the cannonballs.
Now the artillery regiment is extending its artillery fire to prevent the Russian army from reinforcing the city wall.
The soldiers of the assault regiment also deployed mortars below the city wall and used the high-curve trajectory of the mortars to launch the mortar shells above the city wall.
The only remaining defenders on the Russian city wall were suppressed by mortar shells. Even if they had remaining city defense weapons after the artillery bombardment, they could not use them.
Commander Maiyong of the division knew that their window to attack the city was very short. He saw his soldiers pushing ladder trucks and had already rushed to the bottom of the Kuznetsk city wall.
The ladder truck has a huge triangular base about five meters long.
The soldiers began to push the retractable ladder up. There was a barb at the top of the ladder. They used the weight of the ladder and the barbs to secure the ladder to the top of the city wall.
Commander Shi Maiyong took the lead and was the first to climb the ladder.
There are five ladder trucks in total, and the ladders are set up side by side.
The soldiers of the assault regiment followed Commander Maiyong of the division and climbed up the ladder.
Commander Shi Maiyong felt that after setting up the ladder, the Russian troops in the city became obviously more crazy.
They knew that once the Chinese army climbed onto the city wall, the city of Kuznetsk would definitely not be able to defend it.
The frequency of matchlock firing has obviously become faster.
All the hidden firing ports in the middle of the city wall were opened, and small-caliber old-fashioned artillery fired cannonballs at the soldiers attacking the city.
Commander Shi Maiyong was lucky and was not hit by the shotgun.
But he heard screams coming from below and to the left and right, and the soldier who was hit fell directly from the ladder.
Commander Shi Maiyong knew that there would inevitably be casualties during the siege. The only way to reduce the casualties now was to climb up the city as quickly as possible.
He had a grenade on his waist, but he didn't dare to throw it at the target.
The probability of being thrown into the shooting hole is very low, but the probability of the grenade falling off the city wall and injuring the assault regiment soldiers is very high.
Encouraged by war drums, Captain Shi Maiyong climbed up desperately.
At a distance of more than ten meters, he felt more tired than running three thousand meters.
He had already seen several Russian soldiers on the top of the city. They were holding matchlock guns and pointing the muzzles at him with ferocious expressions. The matchlocks of the matchlock guns had been lit.
The Russian troops on top of the city launched an attack on them.
He knew that this was a mortar under the city, and he was afraid of accidentally injuring the soldiers who were ascending the city, so he had slowed down his attack.
This allowed the Russian troops on the city wall, who had been suppressed by shelling, to free up their hands to start a counterattack.
Commander Shi Maiyong leaned closely on the ladder, immediately pulled the fuse of the grenade with his mouth, and threw the grenade to the top of the city with all his strength.
He stretched out his left hand from the side of the ladder, immediately pulled the trigger of his pistol, and fired several shots at the Russian troops on top of the city.
Commander Shi Maiyong's attack speed is slow, but the pistol in his hand is easier to use.
The Russian soldiers shot first. They had to wait for the match to burn and ignite the black powder in the powder chamber before they could push the lead bullets out.
Bullets and lead bullets hit the target almost simultaneously.
Commander Shi Maiyong was protected by a bulletproof vest, but he felt as if his chest had been hit by a heavy hammer.
He used his right arm that had just thrown the grenade to hug the ladder tightly, so as not to fall from the ladder.
The Russian soldiers on the city wall were not so lucky. They were directly hit by pistols, and blood appeared on their chests.
When Commander Maiyong of the division saw the Russian army fall, he gritted his teeth to steady his body, stepped on the ladder tightly with his legs, and reached the highest point of the ladder.
He could already see the scene above the city wall.
The place was severely damaged by artillery shells, and there were artillery parts and broken limbs of Russian soldiers everywhere.
The artillery regiment is now continuing to shell the area near the Kuznetsk city wall, blocking the main Russian army from supporting the city wall.
Now there are only a few hundred people left on the city wall, and many of them are still seriously injured.
When Commander Maiyong of the division fired at the Russian army, he immediately jumped over the city wall.
In just one or two seconds, he had been hit by dozens of lead bullets.
One of the lead bullets hit his hand, and blood immediately flowed out. He couldn't even hold the pistol.
An idea flashed through Captain Shi Maiyong's mind, he wanted to explain this.
He only heard the sounds of pistol shots coming from behind and beside him.
The soldiers of the assault regiment following him had already rushed to the city wall.
Commander Maiyong shouted excitedly: "Destroy all enemy troops and prevent enemy reinforcements from reinforcing the city wall.
We must hold on to the city wall and wait for support from our brothers."
He tore off his coat, simply bandaged the area where he was shot, and went into battle again.
A large number of assault regiment soldiers climbed onto the city wall, and the battle situation above the city wall was already controlled by the Dahua army.
Commander Shi Maiyong was relieved. He took out a dragon flag of the Great China Empire from the hands of the soldiers coming up from the rear and planted it on the top of the city of Kuznetsk.
Commander Ma Xianglin used binoculars to observe the performance of the assault regiment.
This unit is specially trained for siege warfare and street fighting, and every soldier selected is an elite veteran.
The assault regiment started its attack quite smoothly, and the casualties were not heavy.
However, Commander Ma Xianglin has always been worried about accidents. He constantly urged the artillery regiment to ensure fire suppression and gain a sufficient window period for the assault regiment.
When he saw the dragon flag of the Great China Empire planted in Kuznetsk, he knew that the war was stable.
The Royal Army of China has planted the national flag on the enemy's city wall, and there is no precedent for it being driven down.
He only waited for a short time, and the assault group had already seized the city gate and opened the south gate of Kuznetsk.
Commander Ma Xianglin asked the military band to beat the drums louder and mobilized follow-up troops to enter this important Russian city in Siberia.
From now on, this city will be in the hands of the Great China Empire.
…………………………
Marquis Oleg Ivanov was in a simple house, constantly urging the Russian army to support the city wall.
The outer forts obviously could not stop the attack of the Dahua army.
The Russian army must defend the city wall, and its strength is much lower than that of the Chinese army.
Once you fail at the city wall and let the Dahua army rush into Kuznetsk, he will have no confidence in leading the troops to defend the city.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov anxiously awaited news of the troops ahead.
He suddenly saw a yellow oriental dragon floating on the top of the city.
This is the national flag of the Great China Empire. If it can appear on the top of the city of Kuznetsk, it means that the city has been lost.
He saw the Dahua army setting up artillery on top of the city and had begun to attack the Russian army below the city.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov only looked at the firepower of the Chinese army, and he knew that the Russian reinforcements could not stop the attack of the Chinese army.
It is only a matter of time before Kuznetsk is completely lost.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov issued the final order for the Russian army to continue to reinforce.
He quietly left this private house with his confidants and rushed to the north of the city.
While he was on his way, he also sent his confidants to summon the assembled direct troops.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov's actions seemed covert, but many Russian generals had already spotted the clues.
Especially Count Alexander Onukovych, who had a pleasant cooperation with him in the past but has caused some trouble recently.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov chose the northern city gate and prepared to quietly evacuate Kuznetsk.
Because Count Alexander Onukovych was restricted in the city, he did not assemble his direct troops in advance.
He could only assemble his troops with great fanfare and evacuate from the west gate of Kuznetsk.
These two armies already account for more than half of the Russian army in Kuznetsk, and their withdrawal is very conspicuous.
When other Russian troops saw the commander, they had quietly evacuated, leaving them in Kuznetsk as cannon fodder.
The morale of these Russian troops collapsed immediately. The Russian troops, who were resisting the attack of the Chinese army, withdrew from the battlefield at an incredible speed. They fled out of Kuznetsk in three other directions.
Commander Ma Xianglin quickly received the news that the Russian troops in Kuznetsk chose to retreat.
He smiled and said: "The city of Kuznetsk is the most important thing to the empire.
The Russian troops in the city thought they could escape from the city, but they had to escape the pursuit of the cavalry division first.
The most important task of our army has been completed, and after we take control of Kuznetsk, we will attack the Russian Ural Fortress according to the original plan."
Chief of Staff Su Cheng smiled and said: "Our 19th Army cannot live alone.
We achieved great success in this war, annihilating nearly 100,000 main Russian troops, and also captured Kuznetsk and its surrounding areas.
With Kuznetsk as its center, the empire can control large areas of Siberia.
Our army has made unparalleled achievements, and now we must give the cavalry division a chance to perform.
Our army will send some troops to assist, help the cavalry division deal with the prisoners, and occupy the surrounding cities controlled by the Russian army.
Now that our 19th Army has taken control of Kuznetsk and its surrounding areas, we can mobilize most of the troops left behind in Tangnu Uryanghai."
Commander Ma Xianglin shook his head and said: "Siberia is too huge, and our 19th Army alone cannot defend such a huge area.
Our army cannot divide its forces and must concentrate all its forces to capture the Ural Mountains, a place that is naturally conducive to defense.
As for other areas in Siberia, please ask the imperial court to send troops to garrison them."
The two of them discussed the arrangements after taking Kuznetsk.
The commander of the 9th Cavalry Division, Gao Dasheng, had received the report that a large number of Russian troops ran out of Kuznetsk.
After Gao DaSheng received the news, he immediately summoned the cavalry division and took action immediately.
He shouted loudly: "Brothers, cheer me up, we, the Ninth Cavalry Division, cannot be spectators in this long-lost battle.
We are definitely not as good as infantry in attacking cities and territories.
We can't be allowed to mount a horse and attack the fortified city. How many people will die?
But the enemy has already escaped from the tortoise shell. If we, the Ninth Cavalry Division, let the enemy escape from our hands again, we will look like waste."
An officer shouted loudly: "Division commander, intelligence came from the front line. There are Russian troops running out from both the north and west. Which direction should we attack?"
There is also the 10th Cavalry Division lingering nearby, so our army cannot be left alone."
Gao Dasheng immediately reprimanded: "You didn't do your homework at first glance. Now that you have obtained the information, you still don't know which one is more beneficial.
The Russian army in the north is better organized and the formation of the army is not scattered. The purpose of these people is very clear.
This must be the main force of the Russian army, and there must be big fish hidden in it.
The Russian army to the west only has a small number of troops that are relatively well-organized, and the rest of the Russian army is not much different from an army of beggars.
They themselves are like headless flies, running around everywhere.
If we, the Ninth Cavalry Division, want to catch big fish, we can catch big fish, not to mention that we are further to the north, so there is no need to sacrifice the near for the far."
After Gao Dasheng finished speaking, he led most of the division's troops and headed straight to the north in the direction where the Russian army was escaping.
…………………………
Marquis Oleg Ivanov sits on a galloping horse.
He hadn't ridden a war horse for a long distance for a long time, and he felt like his body was about to fall apart.
There were less than five thousand cavalry left beside him, and all other troops were captured by the Dahua army.
Margrave Oleg Ivanov believed that his decision to escape from Kuznetsk was a very correct one.
Not long after he escaped, he received news that the city of Kuznetsk had been captured by the Chinese army.
They could only continue to escape in the direction of the Ural Fortress.
Only by escaping into the fortress can we block the attack of the Dahua army with the help of a fortress that is easy to defend but difficult to attack and has sufficient military strength.
If he fled to the small towns around Kuznetsk, he expected that these small towns would soon be occupied by the Chinese army, and there might not be a chance to escape by then.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov was galloping on his horse. He recalled what happened that night and still felt scared.
They escaped from the city and prepared to rest in the evening.
But they found traces of the cavalry of the Dahua Army.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov could only choose to send out cannon fodder troops in order to hold back the Dahua Cavalry.
The morale of the Russian army completely collapsed, their preparations for retreat were insufficient, and they carried limited gunpowder.
They were unable to stop the violent attack of the Dahua army.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov took advantage of his familiarity with the terrain and his escape methods were superb.
But of his direct troops, only more than 5,000 people were left, and the rest of the army was entangled by the Dahua cavalry.
The fate of these armies is already obvious.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov saw another puff of smoke coming from behind.
The war horses of the Dahua Army have outstanding endurance.
They often needed to take many detours, and their horses raced for a long time without showing signs of fatigue.
Now that the Dahua Cavalry is catching up again, Marquis Oleg Ivanov's only option is to send some more troops to hold off the Dahua Cavalry.
But he was very hesitant. These were already his core direct descendants. If he chose to abandon these people, he would probably be abandoned by the unbearable soldiers.
Marquis Oleg Ivanov saw bursts of smoke ahead.
He thought that the Dahuaqi soldiers would take a long way around and surround his army.
When he saw the unique flag of the empire, he knew that reinforcements had arrived.
The city of Kuznetsk has been taken away, but they can survive. They must tell the Tsar and the domestic army about the strength of the Chinese army.
If the Russian army fights the Chinese army again, the end will not be so tragic.