At this time, the battlefield was filled with smoke.
The formation of the Yuan army was smashed to pieces by the frenzied war horses. The soldiers were busy controlling their horses. No one thought about it and did not bother to fire arrows to fight back.
"Be afraid of Xue Duan. The whole army retreats." Taking advantage of the brief interval of gunfire, Ah Shu gave a decisive order.
In ancient times when science was backward, the first feeling for unknown things was that God was angry, which caused fear. This was true for the Han people, and even more so for the Mongols. Fortunately, the Yuan army had strict military discipline. Under the constant scolding of the generals The Achahan tribe and the Hucha tribe first turned north. Although the Qie Xue army was also frightened, their quality was obviously higher. Under the leadership of Boyan and others, they fought and retreated.
The Polu Army was the first to bear the brunt. It rushed into the enemy's formation first, followed by the 17th and 19th armies. Eight thousand Song Army cavalry kept chasing the 5,000 Qingxue. Although the Qingxue was brave, his courage had lost. The Lu army was the number one elite division in the Song Dynasty. They killed Xue's army so cowardly that they abandoned their armor.
They retreated more than a hundred meters. A Shu, Boyan and other generals who cut off the rear in person killed dozens of Song Dynasty cavalry who were rushing to the front. Even Zhao Wenyi, the commander of the 17th Army, was wounded by A Shu's gun. Next. Fortunately, Hu Yande, Meng Tianya, Jiang Cai and others arrived in time and escaped the disaster. The timid Xue army, who had regained consciousness, slowly stabilized their position and formed an orderly retreat formation.
When the soldiers of the Song Army reached the grove in front of Guanzi Beach, Wu Songhan, Jiang Cai and others ordered to stop the pursuit.
Two-quarters of an hour later, I led the Royal Forest Army and the soldiers of the 20th Army of the Third Wing to Guanzitan under the protection of a group of personal guards.
"Your Majesty, our army is completely victorious." Wu Songhan and others reported to me in great joy.
"Yes. Clean the battlefield and treat the wounded. General Wu. Your troops will send out scouts to inquire about the situation. General Jiang Cai and the Polu Army will be on guard."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yuan Ji said: "Your Majesty, please dismount and rest for a while."
"Okay, sir." I dismounted and said to Fang Ling and Zhang Quan who were standing aside. "Ling'er, Quan Yi, a large-scale war is different from the competition between you martial arts people."
"Well, it's completely different. Brother, why don't you let me try it next time."
"Ling'er. If you go to the battlefield, who will protect me?"
"Brother, you are making an excuse."
"It's not an excuse. This is the Queen Mother's decree." I casually took out the golden pistol and said with a smile. "However, since it is a war, there will always be a chance."
Fang Ling sighed: "Forget it, brother. Your safety is more important."
"Haha. Really? Quanyi. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, Concubine Ling is right. Your Majesty, if there is a chance, Quan Yi would also like to try it out among thousands of troops."
"Okay. I promise you. If I have the chance, I will definitely let you and Ling'er go to the battlefield in person."
"Okay. Brother, keep your word."
"Ling'er. Once I open my mouth, how can I regret it casually?"
Zhang Quan said: "Your Majesty, the battlefield is about instantaneous explosive power. Except for generals, in field battles, it is about defeating the enemy with one move. There is no time and no opportunity for people to display exquisite moves."
Yuan Ji said: "Yes. This is war. Your opponents will appear from all directions. So you only need to consider using the simplest and fastest way to kill the opponent. It doesn't matter what moves you use."
After returning to the Lumen Mountain Fortress, Ah Shu took a short rest and immediately notified all the generals to hold a meeting in the commander's tent.
The power of the musket made all the generals of the Yuan army feel scared. If Boyan hadn't been alert and sent the shield bearer to attack in advance, not to mention A Shu, even the other generals in front of the formation would have been unable to guarantee that they would not make mistakes.
If there are only one or two muskets, and they are hundreds of steps away, with the skills of these generals, they can be easily avoided. But if thousands of muskets are fired at the same time, it is impossible to avoid it. This is the same as bows and arrows. The difference is that if thousands of feather arrows are shot, people like Ah Shu, Boyan and others can wield weapons to make it watertight. But can the ammunition of muskets be used? Although no one has personally experienced it, their intuition tells them. no.
"Atahai." A'shu's expression remained as usual. There was no trace of him being the general who had just retreated from defeat.
"The end will be here."
"You go back to the east camp first to prevent the Suizhou army. Follow Master Zhenjin's instructions and don't attack easily."
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief. The last general honors your order."
"General Niccolò of the Artillery Battalion. First, please tell me about the situation of the artillery of the Xiangyang Army."
"Yes, Commander." Niccolò, the supreme commander of the Yuan Army's forward artillery battalion who was sitting at the back, stood up and said. "Commander, generals, this morning, our artillery battalion continued to throw stones to the east of Xiangyang City as usual. In less than a cup of tea, I heard several loud noises coming from the walls of Xiangyang City. Then, five artillery shells landed in our army's trebuchet array and exploded. Before everyone could react, When they arrived, there was another loud noise on the city wall. It must have been about five artillery shells. They exploded in the formation. After an inventory, eight of our army's trebuchets were scrapped, three needed overhaul, and the other six needed repairs. Routine repairs. Twelve of our gunners were killed and twenty-seven wounded."
Boyan asked: "Niccolò, are you sure the explosion was caused by gunpowder and not something else?"
"Back to the general, it's definitely gunpowder. The general learned from Alao Wading. Although he is not as capable as his senior brother Yisima Yin, he also has a lot of research on gunpowder-guided artillery. The general believes that the Song Army in Xiangyang used it. It's definitely artillery, not our army's artillery. There are a lot of remains of gunpowder among the ashes at the scene. The general can send someone to take a look."
Boyan said: "No need. Niccolo. When our dynasty destroyed the Jin Kingdom, the Jin people used similar artillery. It seems that the Southern Dynasty carried it forward. Niccolo, thank you for your hard work. Sit down."
"Thank you, Deputy Commander." Nicolo thanked the still-shocked man and sat down.
Looking at the frowning generals in front of him, Ah Shu smiled and said: "Everyone, today's battle. The purpose of our army is to find out the situation of the muskets of the Southern Dynasty. Now everyone knows it. In this battle, our army and the Southern Dynasty It’s a tie. And we also know that the Southern Dynasty has artillery. This means that our army finally knows the so-called support of the Southern Dynasty. From now on, as long as our army can come up with a response strategy, we can know ourselves and the enemy, and we will be invincible. ."
"That's right." Boyan continued. "The commander-in-chief is right. Generals, you have all seen what happened today. The Polu Army, known as the most elite force in the Southern Dynasties, and I, General Xue, can only fight to a draw. This is Even when our army lost the opportunity, even if the Heitan Regiment in Xiangyang City was included, the elite of the Southern Dynasty was only about 6,000, while the number of Cowards in our dynasty was as many as 30,000. Judging from the combat strength of the two armies. Look, our army clearly has the advantage. Today, the last trump card of the Southern Dynasty army has been revealed. As long as the opponent's firearms are cracked, our army will regain the initiative. Let's work together and discuss it together."
All the generals seemed to be still immersed in memories. No one spoke. A Shu said: "Since everyone is silent, I will first come to make some suggestions. Generals, although the muskets of the Southern Dynasty look very powerful, but you Think carefully about how many casualties our troops suffered after four rounds of fire from their muskets."
Zhang Hongfan seemed to understand what A Shu meant. He said: "Commander, if our horses were not frightened or injured, there would not be so many casualties. The general observed at the time that the opponent's muskets could not penetrate our army's The iron shield was made of iron. It was only because of its loud sound and the fact that it shot our horses flatly that it caused our horses to lose control and messed up our position. Judging from the injured horses, the Song Army's muskets and ordinary bows and arrows There’s not much difference.”
Azahan also said: "It seems so. Most of our army's casualties occurred during the retreat and during the battle with the Southern Dynasty cavalry. The next time we encounter the Southern Dynasty's Royal Forest Army, our army only needs to block the ears of the war horses. Can."
Ah Shu praised: "Ashahan, this is a good idea."
Suddenly he stabbed: "Commander, the last general believes that since muskets are similar to bows and arrows, the next time we encounter the enemy, as long as our army attacks first, we can suppress them with bows and arrows."
"Suddenly assassinate the general. This suggestion is also very good."
Ah Shu regained everyone's confidence on the grounds that the death rate during musket shooting was very low.
The Yuan army generals present here spoke to each other. Gradually, the confident smiles returned to their faces.
Zhenjin said: "My generals, the emperor once said that what determines the victory or defeat of a war is not how sophisticated the weapons and equipment are or how strong the city is. It depends on the initiative of the people. Although the muskets of the Southern Dynasties have their unique advantages, as long as our army The second or third time you encounter it, you will be able to handle it with ease."
"The supervisor is right," Ah Shu said. "Regarding the muskets, I will report it to the emperor as soon as possible. Please ask the emperor to support some of our army's iron shields. At the same time, after you go back, you must tell us the analysis of the situation. Let the officers and soldiers know clearly that the muskets are nothing more than that. Okay, let’s discuss the artillery of the Xiangyang Army next.”
For generals who have not personally experienced the power of artillery, it seems a lot easier when discussing artillery.
Imagination. Complete imagination. Of course there will be no results in the end.
Boyan suggested: "Commander, in Boyan's opinion, it's better to go to the scene first and wait until you see the traces of artillery bombardment from the Southern Dynasties before we discuss it."
Ah Shu thought for a moment and said, "Okay. Niccolò, take us to have a look."
The trebuchet troops had retreated to about 300 meters away from the city wall, which was the base at the forefront of the Yuan army. A Shu led the generals to inspect the trebuchets destroyed by artillery and the bodies of the fallen soldiers, and left. Went near the scene and looked at several holes on the ground that had been blasted by artillery fire from a distance.
Except for real gold, all of these generals are masters. It can be seen from the traces of bombing that the damage caused by the artillery of the Southern Dynasties has far exceeded the scope of human cognition.
If muskets can still crack it, then artillery is really powerless.