"! It's this set again! ”

Whether it is Sasuka through the telescope, or Manahai, Alamu two Niu Lu Zhangjing and Xu Youxin and his subordinate officers can be seen with a pair of naked eyes, and the soldiers and horses of Wu Changqing's troops not far away, relying on the city wall of Hongqiao Town, have opened up a formation on the periphery of the city.

It's just that the retreat of the Qing army bought Wu Changqing time to retreat back and rearrange the defensive line.

He declined Ji Changming's kindness to let him lead his troops into the city to rest and recuperate. He just asked Ji Changming to pull out two infantry battalions and an artillery battalion under his command out of the city, and arranged for the people to urgently repair a fortification outside the city.

"Don't be particularly strong, a breastwork that allows the brothers to cover their bodies will do!"

Therefore, in the eyes of Sasuka, Xu Youxin and other Qing army generals, this tactic is a repetition of the same old tune. It's just that Sasukha remembered the several times when Hexiwu and Tashan fought head-to-head with the Nanyue army, and on those occasions, the Nanyue army either relied on fortifications to inflict heavy casualties on the Qing army. or rely on and transform the fortifications, step by step, putting a lot of pressure on the Qing army.

Now, a curved breastwork wall more than half a person high has been faintly formed, and behind the ranks of the Nanyue Army, thousands of civilians and auxiliaries are constantly carrying linen bags from the ramp on the city, and building a breastwork wall with these huge and heavy pockets. Occasionally, something leaked through the cracks in the burlap bag and spilled on the ground, dotted with dotted lines.

"The southern barbarians of the dog day are really rich! I actually used the best rice to repair the fortifications! ”

Countless Qing officers and soldiers also discovered this scene and cursed in their hearts. This move undoubtedly mobilized the Qing soldiers for battle.

Wu Changqing also seems to be very supportive, and Fang Cai's victory may have made him despise the Qing army. He placed his troops against the breastwork from south to north and lined up westward. The three infantry battalions were lined up in three thin lines, and between the infantry battalions and the infantry battalions, the artillery of the artillery battalions were placed slightly in front of the two flanks of the battalion formation. The other infantry battalion and his guards, cavalry signal corps, and baggage squad stood behind the breastwork with guns and used as reserves. Dozens of other vehicles that appeared to be baggage trucks lined up behind them, presumably either baggage trucks or vehicles of the health team.

At such a close distance, the forces and dispositions of both sides can be seen clearly. Sasuka sneered, turned his face and smiled at Xu Youxin, who was only an arm's length away from his golden dragon weaving, and smiled: "In my opinion, this Nanban military officer is nothing more than that!" Just took a small advantage, so it was so big. Before the fortifications were completed, they dared to fight head-on with our Qing soldiers. And, Mr. Xu, come and see! ”

He pointed to the ramp in use behind the breastwork, "This ramp must have been built to echo the defenders outside the city. Although it looks rough at this time, it has not yet been completed. But it can also be used! If you defeat the Nanban in front of you, then you can use this ramp as bait to lure the Nanban to compete with my Qing soldiers and horses for this road into the city! ”

"My lord has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he has seen thousands of miles. That's right! That's what the last general thinks, too! ”

"Manahai!"

"The minions are here!"

"Send someone with Benmel's order arrows to urge the soldiers and horses in the rear, and let them come quickly with artillery!"

Under his order, the sound of hooves sounded in the Qing army's array, the heralds galloped back and forth, and groups of Qing troops came out of the battle. (No way, these soldiers and horses who surrendered from the former Ming army have degenerated to the level where they cannot communicate orders and communicate with each other through banners, golden drums, and horns.) ）

Groups of Qing soldiers lined up in a dense formation in front of the formation. At the front were more than a thousand archers and musketeers, with the musketeers in front and the archers behind. Their task was to shoot at the guns of the Nanyue Army, to gain time and space for the soldiers and horses behind. As long as they can consume the ammunition of the Nanyue army's guns and let them fire two guns, the pikemen and sword and shield soldiers behind will be killed, and they will start hand-to-hand combat with the Nanyue army.

Behind these more than 1,000 people, there were more sword and shield soldiers and pikemen. The sword and shield soldiers are all composed of veterans under Xu Youxin's subordinates, basically with armor on their bodies and iron helmets on their heads. The pikemen, on the other hand, were much more cold, most of them had only one piece of uninlaid iron armor and only a felt hat on their heads. It is no wonder that most of these people are strong men who are dragged along the way in the process of going south, and they belong to the cannon fodder in the cannon fodder. These people, in the eyes of the military leaders, can just stuff them with a wooden stick tied to a spearhead made of pig iron, anyway, they are all used to rush into battle and climb the city, who will give them good knives, guns, equipment and armor?

Nearly two thousand pikemen, under the punches, kicks, whips and curses of the officer, barely maintained the formation and did not herd the sheep. Slowly followed behind the archers. Behind them, there were less than a thousand sword and shield soldiers, and the team of sword and shield soldiers was much more organized, after all, they were the elite of Xu Youxin's soldiers and horses. Behind them. The sound of hooves rattled, and hundreds of cavalry cavalry served as an assault force and a supervising team, with long knives and axes in their hands.

The rain has stopped, but the autumn winds are colder. With the Qing soldiers slowly approaching, in the wilderness outside Hongqiao Town, it became more and more solemn.

The big battle was coming, and Wu Changqing, who was standing behind the chest wall, exhaled softly, looking at the soldiers beside him, all of them closed their lips tightly, gritted their teeth, and their faces were a little distorted. There was silence around him, only the faint sound of breathing that people were desperately suppressing, and in an instant, it was torn apart by the autumn wind.

Through those not-so-conspicuous markers, Wu Changqing and Ji Changming at the head of the city could clearly judge how far the Qing soldiers were from their position.

In the blink of an eye, the archers in the front had already advanced more than a hundred steps, and the outlines of their facial features could be vaguely distinguished, which proved that these Qing soldiers who were only wearing cotton armor or wearing iron cotton armor were already within the effective strike range of the Nanyue army's artillery.

If it was a harsh winter season at this time, Wu Changqing would have already ordered the cannon to be fired. However, now that the rain had just stopped, the ground was slippery and muddy, and the bouncing lethality of the solid shells was minimized. Therefore, it is necessary to place the enemy as close as possible in order to fully exploit the power of the cannon.

Seeing that the Qing army marched forward for more than 200 steps, he could already clearly distinguish the eyebrows and eyes of the soldiers, and Wu Changqing decisively waved the order flag in his hand downward.

"Artillery team, open fire!"

The artillery team, which had already loaded the shells and cut the fuse, immediately began to speak.

The rumbling sound rolled like a huge thunder, bursts of gray-white smoke rose up, and bursts of cannonballs whistled towards the Qing army. At this distance, the dozen or so six-pounder guns placed on the defense line of the Ugan Youth Regiment basically adopted the flat-firing method, and the trajectory of the shells at this time was about a straight line. As long as it is visible to the naked eye, artillery can hit it.

In the whistling sound, hot iron balls weighing several catties smashed into the shape of the Qing army. The iron ball rushed through the crowd, directly bringing out a bloody path. More than a dozen small bullets fired with the cannon were even more chaotic, and one by one the Qing soldiers screamed and rolled to the ground.

It's a pity that although there was a commotion in the formation of the Qing soldiers, they were generally fine, and they still marched slowly. The ground was slippery and muddy, and the shells could not bounce after hitting the ground, and could not carry out secondary kills.

"Don't mess around! Rush up! As long as you get closer, the bow and arrow can be shot, and the Nanban's cannon won't hurt you! In addition to the weather helping the Qing soldiers, the officers in the team who were hoarse and desperately trying to suppress them also played a huge role. Without their scolding to stop it, I am afraid that these archers and firecrackers would have been routed.

I don't know when, the autumn rain in the air will no longer fall, and what will fall on people's faces and bodies is a hail between rain and ice ballast. This thing, in many local sayings, is called snow rice or rice snow, and it is also clearly classified as a close relative of the side branch of snow. Its arrival marks the beginning of further coldness in the weather and the beginning of cooling.

The snow rice that fell in the Qing army's offensive formation wet their red tassels, their swords, guns, and ears, and their clothes, armor, and shoes. Soon, the snow rice will be wet with their flesh and blood, and the ground beneath their feet.

The fall of this snow rice is a great boost for the Nanyue Army! It's not that the Nanyue Army is not afraid of wind and snow, on the contrary, the main components of the army are people from warm regions and even subtropical and tropical regions, and they have a fear of the cold. However, with the blessing of a large number of warm clothing and equipment, they are now cheering in their hearts, "Let's go!" Hurry up! The bigger the better, and the more the merrier! It's best to freeze the ground hard right away, so that you Tartars can eat our hot shells! ”

"Hurry up these Nikans! Otherwise, if the gunpowder is damp and can't be beaten, this attack will be in vain! Niu Lu Zhangjing Manahai was carrying a short-handled crescent axe in his hand, and he couldn't stop scolding in his mouth.

"Don't panic! Just rush on! "Sasukha is much more scheming and cunning than the middle and lower rank officers of Manahai. He also knew that Xu Youxin's army would not be able to defeat Hongqiao Town no matter what. However, if you can exchange a few thousand surrendered Green Battalion soldiers for the position situation of the Nanyue Army, understand their tactical tactics, figure out their firepower, consume some of their ammunition, and kill and wound a few by the way, why not do this kind of thing? Do you really think that the regent's master has too much money and food to use up, and must use it to feed these wastes? With all that money and food, shall we cast a few more artillery?

"Stand up!"

Seeing that the forefront of the Qing army had entered the range of the three-pounder guns, the six-pounder and eight-pounder shells of the battalion artillery had fallen into the middle of the Qing army's queue. At this time, Wu Changqing ordered the battalion officers of each battalion to give an order, and the officers and soldiers who were originally sitting on the ground to rest stood up with a bang, and began to consciously check the weapons in their hands without the commander's order. Whether the faucet, trigger, and flint can be fired normally, and whether the spring is affected by moisture, which affects the play. Whether the dust cap of the gun mouth has been pulled out, etc.

“…… 500 steps...... Four hundred and fifty steps...... 400 steps...... 300 steps...... Two hundred and fifty steps......"

Observers of the artillery corps. Constantly according to various reference materials that had been calibrated in advance, the distance between the Qing army and the Nanyue army was reported, and the robes of the artillery team were asked to adjust the elevation angle of the muzzle and the ruler and other elements.

Along with the distance they reported, the gun commanders issued a series of movements and commands, almost instinctively formed by muscle memory. Under his command, the ammunition men used a huge back basket to carry the medicine bag and shells to the gun position, and the loader loaded the medicine bag according to the gun commander's command, and then rammed it with a push rod a few times to ensure that it was at the bottom of the gun chamber, and then slowly sent the shell into the gun chamber, and then pushed it into place with the push rod.

Immediately afterward, dazzling flames jumped and flashed on the artillery position, puffs of white smoke rose up, and shells whistled out, and those Qing troops who were charging then saw fiery iron balls spinning and smashing towards them.

Among them, the craziest performance is those big Buddha Lang machines. A Francophone equipped with ten guns. These sub-guns can ensure the continuity of firepower in a short period of time. Continuously firing cannons into the ranks of the Qing army.

In all the guns, the loaded cannon is basically similar to a baby's fist, not to kill a few in one shot, but to penetrate the object that is blocked in the shooting trajectory! Just imagine, at a distance of two or three hundred paces, no matter how many layers of armor you wear, an oncoming iron ball that spins at high speed will hit a huge blood hole in your body, and there is no reason to live. Even if you don't get hit head-on, most of them won't die if they pass by you, rub it, hit it, and hit it. But you'll be tossing and wailing in bed because of your injuries, and you're miserable.

A cannonball swept over the heads of the Qing army's ranks, making several Qing soldiers feel a momentary heat above their heads, and this fleeting heat made them experience what it was like to go from the world to hell, and from the ghost gate of hell to the floor of the world.

However, the officers who rode behind them were not so lucky. A battalion officer who was originally riding on a horse and waving a leather whip shouting and scolding the whip was swept past by this cannon, and at first he didn't feel anything unusual. When he tried to wave the whip in his hand, he found that his right hand fell to the ground along with the whip. Only then did he realize that the cannon just now had taken away half of his arm! Suddenly, he hugged his stump and wailed!

However, compared to his colleagues, he was extremely lucky. The cannonball only took away half of his arm, and his colleagues on the left flank and right flank, a cannonball directly smashed the head of the battalion officer on the left flank into a mixed red and white mess, and the body wearing three layers of heavy armor was still sitting upright on horseback, and the headless neck shot out large strands of blood like a fountain. The body is writhing desperately. After a while, the headless body fell under the horse.

An iron ball directly punched a huge blood hole in the body of a battalion officer, and a huge ball of flesh and blood wrapped around the iron ball and flew several meters away.

One officer was very clever, and when he saw that several of his colleagues were on horseback, they unfortunately became the first target of the cannonballs, and immediately turned over and jumped off the horse. He was guarded in the middle by several pro-soldiers, thinking that this would be foolproof. However, after a cannonball landed in the crowd and smashed a gap in the team in front of him, it bounced forward and brushed directly against the right side of his face, knocking out his nose and shattering his right cheekbone, causing half of his lips and teeth to disappear. The entire right side of the face was smashed into it! He subconsciously touched his face and found that his hands were full of flesh and bones, and he immediately let out an inhuman scream.

If it weren't for the hundreds of Eight Banner cavalrymen at the rear of the team holding broadswords, spears and axes to suppress the battle and supervise the battle, under such artillery fire and such casualties, I am afraid that this green battalion would have collapsed several times!

Even so, Xu Youxin, who was watching the battle from a distance, was already distressed and about to fall off his horse! These soldiers and horses, although those pikemen are the strong men and stragglers that he has brought along the way, but those archers, fire soldiers, swords, and shield soldiers are the family resources he has accumulated over the years. What can I do in the future if I lose this time?!

"Don't be afraid! Just rush up! After a round of cannons, at least for a moment you can't fire! Just rush up and defeat them! Sasukhamel was not in the least concerned about the cost of casualties.

After two rounds of artillery fire, the artillery salvo became a rotational fire, and in order to prevent the gun from overheating, the firing interval of the artillery was widened.

"Nanban's cannon is gone! Rush up to Lao Tzu! Whoever goes up first will be rewarded with ten silver dollars! Kill a Nanban and reward 20 silver dollars! Which one dares to cringe and cut it on the spot! The officers in the middle of the queue waved their swords, and the carrots and sticks were on board.

Seeing that the artillery fire on the opposite side was gradually thinning out, and their own teams were getting closer and closer, the archers and musketeers in the Qing army's ranks became bolder, and some arrows began to pass through the air and fly towards the ranks of the Nanyue army.

"One hundred and fifty steps! Check the firecracker! ”

"One hundred and twenty steps! First column, squatting position! The second column, standing pose! Prepare for the firecracker! ”

"Eighty steps! Artillery stops firing! ”

At a distance of sixty paces, the gunners of the Qing army stopped and began to raise their guns and fire at the Nanyue army on the opposite side. The archers began to shoot in formation. Dense arrows swept over the open ground between the two armies and landed in the formation of the Nanyue army.

For a moment, the sound of bang, bang, pop, and clanging in people's ears converged into a chaotic sound. The sound of firing firearms, the muffled sound of arrows hitting people's bodies, the impact of arrows falling on helmets and cuirassa, and the screams of the wounded. Fortunately, the weather was wet, and the bowstrings of the arrows were wet by the rain, and the power was greatly reduced. Rao was like this, and people kept falling to the ground, being carried down by the soldiers of the health camp, and his place was quickly filled.

"Sixty steps! Fire! ”

The dense sound of firecrackers rang out continuously, and the thick gray-white smoke formed a barrier of death.

。