"Don't run! Come back to Lao Tzu and continue to defend the city wall! Those who violate military orders will be killed! ”

Hit by the surging waves of sand and dust, Hao Xiaozhong, who was covered in dust and hair, looked extremely embarrassed as if he had just come out of the desert.

He coughed violently, stood up against the battlements of the city wall, and roared at the left sergeants who fled wildly, to stop the chaos. It's just that in this chaos, although he shouted hoarsely, it didn't have much effect, and a young man who had been shocked to the point of deafness in both ears ran past Hao Xiaozhong with a wail, completely ignoring the warning of the supreme governor of Jiujiang City.

"Bastard, don't run!"

Hao Xiaozhong was angry and angry, he brushed the ground and drew a sharp sword, shouted angrily, stabbed the sword fiercely, and stabbed the fleeing guy from the back to the chest, stabbing a big hole, the fleeing young man, his body shook a little, and he fell from the city wall and fell into a mess of meatloaf.

Finally, after Hao Xiaozhong and his guards slashed and killed seven or eight people one after another, these defeated left troops re-stabilized, the escapees returned to their posts in fear, and the situation on the entire southern city wall was slightly stabilized.

At this time, the gunners of the Tang Army, who had just finished the first round of salvo fire, were already clearing, charging, and reloading ammunition in preparation for the next round of shooting.

Hao Xiaozhong clenched his teeth, the anger in his heart was beyond measure, his eyes rolled, and then he ordered: "Put down the drawbridge, all the cavalry will immediately go out of the city to attack, and be sure to kill all the Tang gunners!" Let their cannons turn into squibs, dead cannons! ”

"Order!"

Soon, the two thousand elite horsemen in the city, after lowering the drawbridge at the south gate and opening the city gate, rushed out of the city with a clamour.

The two thousand cavalrymen had barely crossed the drawbridge when they heard another bang behind them.

Some cavalrymen subconsciously looked back, but saw that the drawbridge was being pulled up by the soldiers at the head of the city, and the city gate had already been tightly closed.

For a while, the faces of all the cavalry were full of gloom and loneliness.

They knew that Hao Xiaozhong had already decided to use them as outcasts, as long as they led the army out of the city, there was only one way to go to die on the battlefield.

Once you succeed, your bones will wither, this is the fate of soldiers.

And seeing the cavalry of the left army out of the city, when they left the city, they showed a state of hesitation and helplessness, Hao Xiaozhong couldn't bear it, he gritted his teeth fiercely, and his eyes were already blood-red.

"Brothers, come forward quickly, as long as you kill those Tang Army gunners, General Ben will definitely not treat everyone badly, after you come back, General Ben will personally celebrate your achievements!" Hao was loyal to the city, shouting at the cavalry.

Hearing the encouragement of the commander, the cavalry who went out of the city also knew that they had no other way out than to kill the Tang gunners in desperate despair.

Sadly, Hao Xiaozhong's words with a lot of false ingredients, what can he do but believe. After all, military discipline is difficult to disobey, and those who disobey orders must be immediately executed. So, they let out a beastly shout in unison, and then slammed the horse's belly, rushed forward towards the Tang army's artillery array in the distance.

The horses' hooves rumbled, the dust was flying, and on this midsummer morning, the cavalry of the left army galloped like arrows from the string, shooting at the artillery position of the Tang army.

Eight hundred steps!

Six hundred steps!

Three hundred steps!

When they reached about 300 paces away from that row of Tang artillery, a group of cavalry of the left army quickly dispersed into a straight line, and in the eyes of everyone, it was the Tang gunners who had already seen what they were going to kill in front of them.

The effective attack distance of the bow and arrow is sixty paces, so they should speed up and rush to this distance, so that those Tang gunners can taste the power of the bow and heavy arrows.

"Rush, rush over, shoot all these Tang gunners!"

After running closer and closer, a group of cavalry of the left army roared loudly like a group of crazy beasts, and in the sound of rumbling horses' hooves, these cavalry of the left army with bows and arrows pulled their bowstrings to the gunners of the Tang army on the opposite side.

It can be expected that as long as they run into the firing range, these Don gunners will resolutely escape from the heavy arrows of the left army.

What these cavalry of the left army did not expect was that at this seemingly smooth time, an accident happened.

All the cavalry of the left army clearly saw that these Tang gunners were like a group of rabbits chased by eagles, turning around and fleeing behind, and behind them, a dense row of gunners appeared.

To be precise, it was two rows of more than 4,000 musketeers, because one row was standing, the other was kneeling, clothed in a sizzling fire rope, holding a loaded fire gun, and quickly made an aiming posture, and the whole formation could not see the end from the beginning.

At this time, Hao Xiaozhong, who was observing with a clairvoyant mirror at the head of the city, his light brown pupils suddenly shrank into a little in horror.

Depend on! In the Tang army's array, there are even hidden firecrackers, now, our cavalry, which is scattered in a row, will not completely become the target of the beating? !

It's a slaughtering rhythm!

"Quick! , Mingjin, Mingjin, let them come back! ”

When Hao Xiaozhong shouted, on the Tang army formation opposite, with the shouting of a person who looked like a captain, his subordinates ordered the flag to wave down violently, and the two rows of firecrackers standing or kneeling, the four thousand firecrackers, suddenly fired together.

"Bang bang 。。。。。"

There was a dense sound of popping beans, which sounded violently, and the embers that floated from the mouth of the bell formed two bright yellow and dazzling lines of fire, and a large area of choking and thick white mist surged, instantly turning the entire Tang army into a fairyland on earth.

Of the 4,000 firearms, 3,600 were fired, and these 3,600 small lead bullets weighing three coins formed a dense rain curtain of death, roaring towards the cavalry of the left army, which was rushing wildly, and rushed away.

Hao Xiaozhong could clearly see from the clairvoyant mirror that the rain of lead bullets that roared away shot the cavalry of the left army, either men or horses, who were rushing from the opposite side.

At least five or six hundred cavalrymen of the left army were shot at the moment of firing, and the screams of the cavalry were mixed with the mournful screams of the horses, like the laughter of death. The cavalry of the left army turned on their backs, and the entire cavalry formation that rushed forward fell into chaos and collapse in an instant.

It was only then that the sound of the left army's gold sounded properly, but it was too late.

Just when the remaining more than 1,000 cavalry of the Left Army pulled out their horses and fled back in a panic, the first round of shooting of the Tang Army began again.

More than 400 cavalrymen of the Left Army rolled off their horses with wails, and they were killed and wounded.

The cavalry of the Left Army, which was less than 700 cavalry, was already terrified, like headless flies, scurrying around in the field.

At this moment, 3,000 Tang Army flying harriers rode lightly, like tigers out of the mountain, and their swords came out of the box, and swooped down on the scattered cavalry of more than 700 cavalry of the left army.

A chase without suspense, almost a complete slaughter, horses' hooves rumbling, knives and spears, the cavalry of the left army screamed and died, almost without the power to parry.

In the end, only the cavalry of the left army, which was less than 100 cavalry, finally escaped with their lives under the blade of the Tang army, and they had been beaten to the hood, and after scurrying in the field for a while, they hurriedly pulled out their horses' heads and rushed back to the south gate to enter the city.

At the south gate, Hao Xiaozhong, who saw this tragic scene clearly with a clairvoyant mirror, felt the pain in his heart like a knife.

Okay, my own cavalry attacked this time, but even a Tang Army gunner didn't kill it, so they were all reimbursed outside Jiujiang City, damn it, this is not a battle at all, but a massacre!

The Tang Army is so fierce and ruthless, well-organized and sophisticated, are these soldiers and horses under him really the opponents of the Tang Army?

Thinking of this, Hao Xiaozhong felt that he was cold from head to toe.

Seeing the collapse of the attacking left army, behind the Tang army formation in the south, a cold and smug smile flashed on the face of Huang Degong, the commander of the Tang Army's ninth town.

Hmph, such a trick of the left army, he has already made corresponding arrangements in the battle plan, and it can be said that he has already been able to capture them in this out-of-town assault.

At this time, Huang Degong thought of the scene when he had not joined the Tang Army, when he was under the city of Huai'an, when the army was bombarded by the Tang Army's heavy artillery and almost collapsed, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

Fortunately, during this time, the whole army was equipped with new equipment of the Tang Army, especially like other Tang Army military towns, a large number of heavy dragon guns and a large number of firecrackers, so that their siege capabilities and field combat capabilities have been improved. Under such an almost crushing firearms advantage, these little tricks of Hao Xiaozhong are like child's play.

After seeing the remnants of the cavalry of the Left Army, fleeing back to the city like a frightened rabbit, he was inexplicably proud, and immediately ordered coldly: "The cavalry of the Left Army has been destroyed, continue to attack the city with artillery." ”

"Order!"

The commander of the Tang Army's artillery, the red flag in his hand, was raised high again.

"Ready!"

"Put!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

……

Another 180 jet-black 32-pound iron bullets roared, and in the deafening sound of cannons, the broken bricks on the city wall flew like rain, and choking dust and mist flew up all over the sky.

The entire southern wall is covered with dense cobweb cracks, and the damage of the entire wall has reached a shocking level, like a dying patient struggling to die.

All the defending left troops, including Hao Xiaozhong, felt that the city wall under their feet was shaking back and forth more violently, and as many as hundreds of left army soldiers who had no time to lie down or hold steady fell from the city wall with screams. A large number of collapsed pheasant moats were also shaken down from under the city wall, falling apart, these quakes fell from such a high position, and immediately scattered into pieces, burying those shocked left troops, whether dead or alive, all together.

There were also a few scattered cannons placed on the city, which were also thrown around like toys that had been shaken away, and fell from the city walls, and then fell to the ground in a pile of scrap copper and iron.

Under the heavy dragon bombardment of the Tang army, Jiujiang City, a city wall that has been carefully built since the early years of the Ming Dynasty, was also bombarded by the dragon bombardment of the Tang army, like Huai'an and other state capitals.

The defenders of the left army, after being dealt a second heavy blow, suddenly fell into a much more serious confusion than during the first shelling.

Under such a violent force, in the face of such an absolute death that no manpower could resist at all, all the left troops on the southern city wall, who had been fighting for a long time, were also seriously damaged in confidence, and the morale that was not high in the first place suddenly dropped to the extent that it was almost impossible to do.

And those young men who were forcibly recruited to defend the city had already broken their courage, and many of them howled frantically, and immediately lost their weapons and fled for their lives.

At this time, there was no need for anyone to mobilize, and as soon as someone shouted, they immediately lost their posts, wailed and rushed down the city wall and road, and fled for their lives in a frenzy.

When the furious Hao was loyal and ready to kill again, an adjutant general next to him rushed over in a panic and shouted to him: "General, the Tang army's artillery is so sharp, this southern city wall can't be defended!" ”

"You, what did you say?!"

Hao Xiaozhong glared at him with a blood-red face, his gaze so fierce that he could almost kill.

"General, the Tang army's artillery is so accurate and fierce, and our army has no effective means of counterattack, this southern city wall will be collapsed by the Tang army sooner or later, we are here to defend hard, in addition to being blown up and killed together with the city wall, what can we do?"

The lieutenant hurriedly knelt down and shouted, he frowned and shouted loudly to Hao Xiaozhong with a sad face.

Hao Xiaozhong's face was full of distortion and pain.

He had to admit that the lieutenant's words were reasonable, and they were the most correct decision in such a predicament.

Under such fierce and ferocious artillery fire from the Tang army, their so-called stubborn guards were nothing more than meaningless and futile deaths.

Into the, what kind of battle is this!

Just being beaten, unable to fight back, watching these dogs enter the Tang Army, rampantly and recklessly bombarding the Jiujiang city wall with heavy artillery, he has no choice at all, but he can only be beaten passively like a turtle with a shrunken head, in this world, is there anything more aggrieved than this?

It's just that if such a hasty withdrawal order is given, what a blow it will be to the morale of all the defenders!

Hao Xiaozhong's heart was very entangled, gritting his teeth and making a decision, the deputy general hurriedly shouted: "Master, the third artillery bombardment of the Tang army is about to start again, and if we don't make a decision quickly, our defenders will only have more casualties, what is the point of such a stick?" If you don't retreat into the city, it is important to stick to the streets. ”

Facing his anxious expression, Hao Xiaozhong let out a long sigh, his face full of gloom.

He knew that although the Jiujiang city wall was very strong and could withstand many rounds of artillery bombardment by the Tang army, the defenders on the city wall had no role at all except for needless death in the shelling again and again.

Hao Xiaozhong gritted his teeth, pulled up the kneeling lieutenant general, and sighed: "You are right, the Tang army's artillery is so fierce, and it is really pointless to defend this southern city wall." Then pass on the general's order, and let all the defenders of the city wall immediately retreat from the city, and at the entrances of the streets in the city, set up a formation to meet the enemy, and kill the enemy in the city! ”

"The general is wise!"

After hearing Hao Xiaozhong's order to abandon the city wall, on the four city walls, those terrified left troops defending the city and the young and strong people who were conscripted immediately fled from the city wall in a hurry like a retreating tide.

When he saw the left army on the city walls retreating like a tide, Huang Degong, the commander of the Tang Army, couldn't help but sneer on his resolute face.

He knew that this siege battle, which had no new ideas, had finally come to a pure artillery show.