Two quarters of an hour earlier, Zhang Xianzhong's Chinese troops had begun to attack Li Zhong's troops coming from the west.

Li Zhong brought 4,000 people, not many of them, and they were basically foot soldiers. Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong didn't pay much attention to it, and sent Zhang Kewang with 10,000 people over, planning to break up this group of officers and troops. But Zhang Kewang launched an attack and found that something was wrong.

Seeing that the thieves lined up in hundreds of cavalry and rushed directly into the formation, Li Zhong first asked two three-inch cannons to start firing shotguns. The shotgun used for the three-inch gun was longer than the Franc cannon, after all, the length of the sub-cannon of the Franc cannon was limited, so the shells could only be used. Although it is only less than two inches long, it makes the projectiles inside reach forty, and the lethality is naturally greater.

However, the three-inch cannon was very slow, and only one shot could be fired, and the enemy cavalry rushed to a distance of one hundred and fifty paces. This was followed by the firing of forty tiger squat cannons, and the shells exploded in the middle of the cavalry. Although there were many cavalry killed, it was the main achievement to completely collapse the enemy's cavalry.

Although many of the thieves' cavalry were official horses, and they had undergone some training, the beating of gongs and drums was completely different from the bombs that exploded around the horses. After the shell exploded, the uninjured horses were all frightened and fled into the distance, and the cavalry were also very frightened, so they took the horses and ran away.

Seeing that the cavalry was out of control, Zhang Kewang had no choice but to report to Zhang Xianzhong on the one hand, and on the other hand, let the troops line up, ready to block this group of powerful officers and soldiers.

Li Zhong's troops, after defeating the thieves' cavalry, did not stop, but continued to advance. His task was to hold back Zhang Xianzhong's main force, and then Li Yan's troops attacked from the outside, forming a situation of internal and external attack, and killing and wounding Zhang Xianzhong's troops in large numbers. Only by inflicting heavy casualties on the thieves can the thieves not dare to peep into the Guide Mansion again. In order to achieve this goal, he had as many as five hundred-man baggage soldiers in his ranks, and they carried enough ammunition to fight for half a month.

Zhang Kewang's nickname is "a wall", and he is still confident in defense. He had his troops lined up on the road, also with swords and shields in the front, spears in the middle, and bows and crossbows in the back. There are also artillery guns in the middle, which are somewhat similar to Li Yan's military formation. However, the guns in his army formation have different styles and ranges, and the farthest can only hit more than a hundred steps, which is one range from Li Zhong's tiger squat cannon.

However, Li Zhong did not care about the arrangement of the thieves, he first directly let the troops advance to a hundred and fifty steps away from the thieves, and first started the attack with two three-stored cannons.

Although the shotgun is also good at this distance, it may not be able to penetrate the shield. So it's a solid bullet. Although the speed of the fire was slow, not only were the shields in front of them shattered, but the shells continued to fly, killing and wounding the spearmen and crossbowmen behind.

Li Zhong was not in a hurry at all, at this distance, there were very few bows and arrows that could shoot feather arrows. The gunners followed the steps of clearing, cooling, reloading, aiming, and ignition. They maintain almost the same rate of fire, with more than a dozen breaths fired at a time.

But the thieves' troops soon couldn't stand it anymore. They just stood there, waiting for the projectile to come at some point, but they couldn't withstand the pressure. So they began to consciously retreat backwards, and slowly almost turned into a rout.

In order to prevent the troops from escaping, Zhang Kewang had to order the troops to retreat. At this time, Zhang Xianzhong also came over with troops, and he wanted to see what kind of troops it was, so that the troops with the best defense capabilities under his command could not withstand a quarter of an hour.

"What's going on?!" Zhang Xianzhong asked dissatisfiedly: "Can't even four or five thousand people stop it?" ”

"Father, it's not easy to fight." Zhang Kewang said helplessly: "Their cannon is too powerful, it can hit more than 200 steps, and our farthest is only more than 100 steps." can only be beaten, but not retaliated, no one can withstand it. ”

Zhang Xianzhong looked at the officers and soldiers who had been surrounded from a distance, and the officers and troops had formed a hollow phalanx, defended on all sides.

"How many cannons do they have?" Zhang Xianzhong asked.

Zhang Kewang replied: "There shouldn't be many people who can hit two hundred steps, only two or three." The kind that can hit more than a hundred steps, it seems that there are many, and there should be twenty or thirty doors. ”

Zhang Xianzhong sneered and said, "Hmph! It's not much. I'm attacking on all four sides at the same time, and I'll see which side he defends. ”

Soon, Zhang Xianzhong's troops began a siege on all sides with shouts. It's still the old rule, let those homeless people and the people who have been coerced take the lead in front, and the elite soldiers follow behind.

Li Zhong used the tactics when Li Yan was besieged by Yuan Laoshan and them, and placed two three-inch cannons on the two opposite corners of the phalanx, firing in the direction needed at any time. Of course, there is also the protection of the giant shield, so that the artillery can have a relatively safe firing environment. They will report the battle examples internally, and the troops will sum up the experience and form the most advantageous strategy, so that the generals can know what to do in the same situation.

Li Zhong's troops were almost at full fire, and the three-inch guns and tiger squat guns were constantly fired. The white smoke soon enveloped the entire phalanx, and it was foggy.

And those displaced people who were forced or tempted to rush to the front suffered heavy casualties. They didn't know how to dodge, so they rushed over in a daze, allowing the bomb to explode around them. Whether it is a **** projectile or the impact of an explosion, it can make them injured or killed.

The same fate was true for those spirit thieves behind, the Tiger Squat Cannon had almost carved out a barrier at a distance of one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty steps, and the thieves who passed through here would be hit more or less. The thieves who rushed through this blockade became the target of the crossbowmen.

Zhang Xianzhong could only hear the sound of the explosion, and he could only see that the smoke and dust of the explosion almost surrounded the troops of the official army from a distance.

A moment later, one of his men came running, his face covered in black ash, and the blood from his shoulders stained almost half of his body. He said with a sad face: "Commander, collect the troops, there are not many brothers left." ”

"Who told you to come back! If you dare to confuse the army, Lao Tzu can't spare you! Give me back! Zhang Xianzhong roared angrily.

At this time, the subordinate looked back at the people who had all rushed into the smoke and dust from the explosion, and said with a crying voice: "Commander, they have already prepared." Rushing through the smoke, there were bows and crossbows inside, and the crossbows were as dense as locusts. If you get closer, there are still spears, but there are not many people who can rush through. ”

At this time, a strong wind blew over, blowing away the smoke and dust of the explosion. Zhang Xianzhong finally saw the situation around the official army. From more than 200 steps to the front of the officers and soldiers, there were densely packed corpses and wounded, all of whom were under his command.

At this time, the crossbow arrows of the official army were still firing, but there were many fewer of them, because there were not many of his subordinates, and many of them were fleeing here. The spearmen of the officers and soldiers were also constantly stabbing him, stabbing him down when he rushed to the front of him. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers had stopped firing artillery, so that those who escaped could run back alive.

Zhang Xianzhong ordered with a dark face: "Push out those swarms for me!" To be large! ”

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