Chapter 421: The mighty and fortified soldiers of the gods
Outside Laizhou City, there is a vast plain.
The tunnels where the rebels originally attacked the city are still there, and the collapsed walls of Laizhou City have not been repaired.
But now the offensive and defensive forces have changed, and the rebels have become the defenders.
At the top of Laizhou City, Li Jiucheng and others were all frowning as they watched the new army approaching step by step.
"Now is the last chance. If even the fortified city of Laizhou cannot withstand Zuo Menggeng's attack, you and I, brothers, will have no choice but to find a way to escape."
Facing the new army's heavy troops, the rebels decided to try again.
The field battle was lost to the new army, but what about defending the city?
People of this era have blind confidence in the fortified city.
What's more, they attacked Laizhou before and already had a full understanding of this strong city.
"Father, don't worry. The child has asked the craftsmen. They said that the explosive bullets are just hollowed out in the middle and the explosives are put in. They just don't know how to detonate them, but they will never explode the city wall."
Li Yingyuan's words are the rebels' last hope.
The rebels did not know that the New Army had new explosives, and thought that the New Army's shells were filled with the same black powder as theirs.
Black gunpowder wants to destroy the city wall, but it’s not like the rebels haven’t tried it before. It doesn’t weigh a thousand pounds, so don’t even think about it.
No matter how well the artillery shells of the New Army can be loaded, it is impossible for them to hold thousands of kilograms of gunpowder.
After handing over the command to Bai Xiaoqi, Zuo Mengeng did not move forward.
He stayed very far back, observing the city head with a telescope.
Seeing that Huang Long and others were always peeping at the things in his hands, Zuo Mengeng laughed and gave them a telescope.
After learning how to use it, Huang Long and others were surprised by the function of the telescope.
"This... this can actually see things from a thousand miles away. Doesn't that mean that it's easy to line up troops and detect enemy planes?"
Before the battle started, Wei Luan still didn't know how powerful the new army's firearms were. But just the telescope in his hand made him awe.
He is a naval admiral and has been wandering at sea all year round. He is even more aware of how powerful it would be to have a pair of telescopes on the vast sea.
Huang Long's vision was fixed on the head of Laizhou City, and he could hear the sound of his teeth grinding even from the side.
"General Zuo, if Geng Zhongming is captured, can he hand it over to Huang?"
Geng Zhongming's younger brother rebelled and humiliated him in every possible way, including cutting off his nose and ears. Huang Long was always humiliated and vowed to take revenge.
Zuo Mengeng didn't care.
"If I catch one alive, I'll give it to you."
Huang Long immediately prostrated himself and said loudly: "Thank you very much for attending."
The others looked sideways, wondering what else they didn't understand.
Huang Long has decided to take refuge.
Shen Shikui and Shang Kexi followed closely behind. Although they didn't say anything, they also made their position clear.
The three of them had all seen the power of new military firearms. They originally thought that Zuo Menggeng did not have many soldiers and horses, and no matter how powerful the firearms were, they would be of limited use.
As a result, it was now discovered that Zuo Mengeng had more than ten thousand troops, and almost all of them had powerful firearms. The three of them understood that looking at the world, no other strong soldiers could match him.
In the face of absolute strength, their little thoughts are no longer important.
They have no bargaining capital at all.
The only thing that can be done is to surrender quickly, and maybe you can get some more benefits.
The other generals were all in a dilemma and didn't know what to choose.
Fortunately, the new army's offensive began and helped them make a choice.
Although he has the advantage of weapons, Bai Xiaoqi does not advance rashly and still strictly implements siege tactics.
The new army first built a heavy artillery position seven miles away from the city, which was the main force used to destroy the city wall.
And this distance left the rebels with nothing to do.
The red cannon with the longest range is impossible to hit even if it is placed on the top of the city.
Then the infantry and artillery were moved forward into a position three miles away from the wall.
Infantry artillery is also called Zuoying artillery. As Zuoying artillery has become a historical term, it is rarely used by the new army now. And because Zuoying artillery is mostly used as infantry to accompany firepower, everyone is more accustomed to calling it infantry.
gun.
Unlike heavy artillery, the infantry artillery positions were tightly protected.
Because the rebels' red cannons at the top of the city can already hit here.
Only by taking good protection can you reduce casualties.
As for the infantry of the New Army, they only did one thing before attacking, which was to dig tunnels, approach the city walls, and shorten the attack distance.
This tactic has been used throughout the ages, and the New Army is no exception.
News came from the front that the infantry had entered the attack position.
Bai Xiaoqi was full of energy and shouted: "Start attacking!"
The messenger immediately waved colorful flags and the order was passed around.
The heavy artillery took the lead in showing off its power, hitting the head of Laizhou City with shells filled with new explosives.
The military structure of the New Army is that each division has a directly subordinate artillery regiment. The artillery regiment is divided into one heavy artillery battalion and two infantry artillery battalions.
The heavy artillery battalion has twelve artillery pieces and its firepower is very powerful.
Wei Luan and others were all dumbfounded when they saw the New Army's heavy artillery firing from seven miles away.
Is there any artillery in the world that can shoot such a distance?
Even if it could, what power would a cannonball have if it hit the city wall?
But the facts shocked them even more.
Eight of the twelve artillery shells accurately hit the city wall. However, a loud noise far more terrifying than the artillery fire enveloped the world. When the earth trembled violently, the broken masonry of Laizhou's city wall collapsed.
Flying high into the sky, raindrops generally scatter everywhere within a radius of tens of meters.
Under the billowing black smoke, all the places hit by the shells lost their original appearance. The originally intact city wall and the thick outer layer of green bricks were completely destroyed, and the compacted loess inside turned into a terrifying pit, which seemed to be ready at any time.
You can penetrate it and see the scene on the other side.
As for the rebels who originally stood firm on the city wall, even if they hid when the artillery roared, they were still killed in pieces because they underestimated the power of the New Army's heavy artillery.
The bunkers they thought were strong were as fragile as pieces of paper under the gunfire.
Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde and others had already climbed down the city wall to take shelter before the cannons were fired. When they saw the extent of the damage to the city wall, they had the same idea.
"Move quickly, we can't hold on any longer!"
The city of Laizhou, which had been bruised and bloody by them, turned out to be so unbearable in front of the new army.
This fact caused the rebels to completely lose their fighting spirit.
Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde and others did not wait for the new army to attack, and immediately opened the west gate of Laizhou with their troops, swarmed out, and fled. They ran in such a mess that they could not take care of a lot of money and supplies.
The generals had all run away, and the soldiers were still fighting to the death. They followed the generals' flags one after another, fearing that they would be left behind.
It was obvious from the telescope that the rebels on the city wall began to escape, but Bai Xiaoqi was still very cautious.
"Order the first regiment to approach cautiously and be careful of the enemy's deception."
This was his first time commanding a division-level battle, and he didn't want any flaws.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Zuo Menggeng's concurrent appointment as the commander of the First Division will become history. Therefore, many people are jealous of this position of division commander.
Zuo Menggeng named him to be the commander of the entire division, and the significance is self-evident.
The first group climbed out of the tunnel, maintained their battle formation and approached the city, but still did not suffer any attack.
The ladder was set up, and dozens of snipers carefully guarded against the danger of climbing to the top of the city, escorting the soldiers to climb up the wall.
After burning incense, the gate of Laizhou City was opened from the inside, and the soldiers who entered first waved red flags at the top of the city, indicating that there was no danger in the city.
Bai Xiaoqi was depressed, feeling that the stage for good performance was gone.
"Enter the city."
After receiving the order, all the troops came out of the tunnel and rushed into the city like a tide.
In the distance behind, looking at the broken and collapsed city wall, Wei Luan, Fan Hualong and others finally understood the painstaking efforts of Huang Long and the others.
In the face of such powerful force, bargaining is not a smart move, but seeking death.
"From now on, we will only follow the general's lead. Life and death, honor and disgrace, all depend on the general's decision."
Seeing that Laizhou City was about to be restored, Zuo Mengeng did not feel any joy. Instead, he looked at the dilapidated city and said sincerely: "You don't understand this place yet, and you don't understand what you will face next. My advice to you.
Yes, you go around and look around before making a decision."
In his eyes, these old soldiers are not all good candidates for recruitment.
Allowing sufficient time for them to choose can also prevent the new army from deteriorating due to contamination.