"Commander, a team of chariots and horses is coming from the east, under the banner of the arrogant general who protects the country."
Wan Buhai was holding a silk map in his hand and formulating the next battle method with his generals. A horseman came galloping with a command flag on his back, shouting loudly!
Wan Buhai handed the silk map to Cai Jun, the Honorable Marquis who was standing aside, took off his telescope from his horse and looked towards the east.
Sure enough, in the southeast direction of the Northern Expedition Army, the flag of the Longwu Guard was fluttering in the wind, and a convoy of more than 40 carriages, escorted by more than 3,000 Longwu Guard soldiers, came quickly towards the Northern Expedition Army!
Wan Buhai put down his telescope full of doubts: "Zhang Kuang, this guy, can't guard Yingzhou properly. Why did he send three thousand soldiers and horses to the Hetao?"
"Report!"
"Commander, according to the scout contact with Brother Longwuwei, the commander of the convoy is General Cheng Kaicheng, who is under the command of the Marquis of Protector of the Country. According to brother scout, General Cheng Kai escorted a batch of new artillery and equipment to the North
Raise an army."
"It is said that the artillery and military equipment developed by Ding Guogong Liu Mingzhi can effectively attack the Turkic cavalry, greatly reducing their advantage."
"Report!"
"Commander Qi, brother of Long Wuwei"
Zhang Kuang stretched out his hand to indicate to the scout that he did not need to continue talking. He held the telescope in his hand and waved to the generals under his command: "Follow me to greet General Cheng Kai of Long Wuwei."
"Sending goose feathers thousands of miles away is a light gift but a heavy sentiment, let alone artillery!"
"Got the order!"
Wan Buhai arranged his armor and rushed towards the direction of the convoy, followed by a group of generals.
"Generalissimo Wan Buhai of the Northern Expedition!"
"Deputy Commander Cai Jun."
"The chariot and cavalry generals guard the territory."
"General Zhongwu"
""
"Thank you brothers for your help from thousands of miles away."
Cheng Kai hurriedly got off his horse and ran towards Wan Buhai and others: "Old Duke, brothers, what are you doing? How can Cheng Kai deserve such a great gift!"
"General Zhesha, brother Zhesha, please get up quickly!"
Wan Buhai slowly straightened up and looked at Cheng Kai with a chuckle: "I already know your purpose of coming. Now that the autumn rain is falling, many artillery pieces have become damp, and there are very few shells that can be fired."
"To put it bluntly, the Northern Expeditionary Army is about to run out of ammunition and food. You guys can come in time to replenish the artillery shells. It is a timely rain!"
"The old Duke is not a general, nor a junior general, but Duke Ding accidentally learned that today's artillery has been easily guarded by the Turks, so he took great pains to have the Yingzhou soldiers build new ones day and night.
Come out with the artillery."
"There is still a group of more than a thousand hooks and sickles to resist the cavalry. The war is urgent and there is not enough time. We only have so many. I hope that the old prince and the brothers in the Northern Expedition will not dislike it."
"What are you talking about? I'm the kind of person who doesn't know what's good or bad. Even if you bring me a bowl of rice, it's all out of love!"
Cheng Kai nodded slightly: "Old Duke, brothers, I won't say any more nonsense. I am the only one who can skillfully operate the new artillery. Now let the artillery brothers unload the artillery. I will give them the drawings.
Let me explain the use of artillery."
Wan Buhai did not hesitate to wave to Jiang Lei: "Jiang Lei, ask your brothers to quickly unload the artillery and familiarize themselves with the operation as soon as possible to avoid accidentally injuring our own brothers!"
"Got the order!"
Jiang Lei and Cheng Kai are old acquaintances. They followed Young Master Liu to control the locust plague in Qingzhou, suppress bandits in the south of the Yangtze River, and go on an expedition to the countries in the Western Regions. They are brothers who crawled and wallowed together in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Seeing Cheng Kai's arrival, Jiang Lei didn't want to exchange a few words. However, the war situation was urgent, so he could only stop chatting. The Northern Expedition was an important matter.
Cheng Kai smiled lightly and nodded at Jiang Lei, gave him an encouraging look, and handed the drawing to Jiang Lei.
Jiang Lei took the drawing and pursed his lips and nodded. A smile and a look are worth a thousand words. There are not so many vulgarities between colleagues.
Jiang Lei took his brothers to carry the heartless cannon and the hook and sickle gun. Cheng Kai subconsciously looked at the soldiers of the Northern Expedition who were burying the bodies of the brothers.
"Why did so many people die in the battle? Did you encounter a large-scale Turkic enemy force?"
Wan Buhai and others' faces darkened when they heard this, and their moods that had just calmed down became sour again.
Wan Buhai sighed and told Cheng Kai the whole story. He didn't hide anything during the process and told everything in detail.
After hearing the cause and effect, Cheng Kai closed his eyes with soreness: "I'm confused!"
Cheng Kai walked unsteadily towards the bodies of the forward battalion soldiers with his sword in hand. Wan Buhai and others had no idea why and had no choice but to follow.
Cheng Kai glanced at the buried body and sighed with red eyes: "Why is this so important? What if the food and grass arrived in time? You died heroically, but have you ever thought about what will happen to your wives, children, and children at home?
manage?"
Wan Buhai walked to Cheng Kai with a melancholy expression: "I've tried to persuade you, but it's better to go back injured than to return home in armor, but I can't help it!"
"They came one after another and threatened me with death to force me to surrender. My heart is so painful that I am bleeding, but there is nothing I can do."
"There are more than 10,000 people, and half a day is gone."
"They exchanged their lives for more than 10,000 war horses. I am ashamed of their families and brought them out but did not take them back."
"If their family members ask me why their son, husband, and father did not return safely!"
"Even if I die to apologize for my sins, it is not a pity to die!"
"The youngest of them is only seventeen years old and went off to war just after getting married, and the oldest is in his early forties!"
"Whose son, whose husband, whose father and grandfather are they?"
Wan Buhai burst into tears as he spoke. It would have been better not to mention the sad things, but even the tough man couldn't help but burst into tears when he mentioned them.
A man doesn't shed tears easily, but he hasn't reached the point where he is sad.
Cheng Kai didn't show the slightest disdain when he saw Wan Buhai's tearful appearance. He had already seen this kind of situation once with Marshal Liu Mingzhi.
Those who have marched thousands of miles have not yet returned, and only those who have experienced life and death can understand the bitterness!
"Report, General Jiang Lei has finished laying out his artillery."
Wan Buhai wiped the tears on his face and sighed: "Cheng Kai, let's go over together and see if there are any shortcomings!"
"Old Duke, please!"
Wan Buhai strode towards the artillery position, raising his arms and shouting: "Beat the drums and gather the generals. Let the brothers join forces and get familiar with the new artillery. Don't die in the hands of your brothers when the time comes."
!”
"Got the order!"
"The commander-in-chief has given orders, form your troops and join forces!"
Within a few cups of tea, the 200,000-strong Northern Expedition Army lined up according to their own formation, and the troops were united within a moment.
"General Cheng, can you see if there are any problems with the usage of these thirty new artillery pieces?"
Jiang Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked expectantly at Cheng Kai who was coming.
Wan Buhai and other generals also looked at the modified version of the Heartless Cannon buried in the ground in shock. They were not surprised why the barrel was buried in the ground, but they were shocked that the size of the barrel was too big.
Compared with the original fifty cannons, the barrels of these thirty heartless cannons are slightly larger than the original four.
Cheng Kaizai bent over and inspected each heartless cannon carefully. He was very aware of the power of these cannons and had to be cautious.
The air waves exploding in the distance can stun people. If an operator makes a mistake and falls next to his brothers, then he will be the biggest contributor.
But he is the hero of the Western Turks and the sinner of Dalong.
"Jiang Lei, have the primers and shells been placed in the order shown on the drawing?"
Jiang Lei nodded solemnly: "General Cheng, don't worry. I know the power of artillery. How dare you be careless? Every artillery fire is in order."
Cheng Kai glanced at the surrounding environment and nodded to Wan Buhai: "Old Duke, you can fire!"
"Is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"
Cheng Kai thought for a while: "Jiang Lei, order the brothers to light the fire and immediately retreat thirty steps!"
"Got the order!"
Jiang Lei waved the command flag in his hand: "After lighting the fire, quickly retreat thirty steps, fire a salvo of thirty artillery pieces, and light the fire!"
"hiss"
The fuse burned, and the artillery soldiers immediately ran back with torches. After less than thirty steps, the earth began to tremble, which was stronger than the tremor of thousands of galloping horses.
Compared with the deafening sound of the previous artillery pieces, the movement of the thirty heartless cannons was much duller.
"boom"
One hundred and thirty steps away, dust and smoke billowed in the range of 150 to 200 meters, and the smoke rose into the sky.
A strong wind hit, making everyone standing at the front almost unsteady, and the flags whistled loudly.
The explosion range of the artillery shells is even more scattered, with no pattern at all!
After the smoke and dust dispersed, everyone stared at the ravine not far away in stunned silence for a long time, unable to recover.
Cheng Kai let out a breath: "Old Duke, Ding Guogong said that time is urgent and there is no time to test the stent, so we can only use the stupidest method to bury it underground!"
"Ding Guo Gong asked the last general to tell the old Guo Gong something that he must bear in mind!"
Wan Buhai nodded in astonishment: "Say!"
"Brothers must not attack before the shells have exploded. If you have to charge as a last resort, you must discuss with the artillery in advance and move back out of the range of the shells!"
"Because no one knows where these heartless things will end up!"