Li Zicheng jumped off the war horse, put up his eyelids and looked up at the top of the mountain, although the mountain is steep, but it has not yet towered into the clouds, the straight-line distance, but only 100 meters, if you shoot upward......

He thought about it in his heart, looked back and said to Qin Danian: "Danian, call a group of artillery over!" ”

"Yes, Grand Duke!" Qin Danian's heart moved, could it be that the Metropolitan Governor had thought of a way?

He didn't have time to speculate, so he hurriedly asked his own soldiers to summon a group of gunners.

Li Zicheng took this group of gunners to the open area west of Pingtan Fort, pointed to the top of the fort with his hand, and said, "Do you estimate that if you launch from here, can the flowering bomb fly up to Pingtan Fort?" ”

"Launch from here?" The artillery officer scratched the back of his head, exchanged glances with his companions, and then smiled, "Such a high distance...... The Metropolitan Governor, my subordinates really didn't expect ......"

"It's not too late to think about it now," Li Zicheng was willing to credit the artillerymen, the first time he went to the battlefield, he should always let them accumulate some combat exploits, "Do you want to try?" ”

"Subordinates go and measure the distance first!" The little flag officer saluted Li Zicheng, then smiled, ran to the foot of the mountain, looked up for a moment, then turned around, measured a distance with his feet, made a mark, and then ran back to Li Zicheng's side, "Governor, if you launch a flower bomb from the west, your subordinates have already found the best distance." ”

Li Zicheng estimated that he was calculating the relationship between range and firing height just now, although it was very rough, mainly relying on observation and experience, however, the mountain artillery was not installed for a long time, and it was already very good to be able to consider it, he patted the little flag officer on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "It is good to be able to choose the distance and elevation angle according to the mountain situation." ”

Although the mountain cannon came to this world out of time, many years ahead of this era, it still depends on people to use it, and he is still very satisfied with the professionalism of this little flag officer.

"Governor, subordinates try it now?" The little flag officer was only twenty-one or twelve years old, although his skin was very dark, but from the eyes, he was still very immature, and he was encouraged by the governor of the capital, and he was immediately eager to try, "My subordinates estimate that it should be eight or nine or ten......

"Go ahead, be careful!" Li Zicheng waved his hand and gave him an encouraging smile.

Like a child, the little flag officer jumped up and beckoned his brothers to leave, and in a short time the two assembled mountain cannons stood at the foot of the fort hill at an elevation angle of nearly sixty degrees.

He ran back to Li Zicheng's side again, and handed over a small ball of cotton with both hands, "Dadu Governor, when it is launched in a while, the sound is too loud, and his subordinates are bold, please plug your ears......"

"Oh?" Li Zicheng took the cotton, laughed, tore it into two with his hands, and plugged his ears, "Go, let the brothers pay attention to safety!" ”

"My subordinates have thanked the Grand Governor!" The little flag officer saluted respectfully again, and then walked to Qin Danian and them, and also sent cotton.

At this time, the gunner's side was already ready, and he was waiting for the ammunition to be fired.

The little flag officer glanced at Li Zicheng and Qin Danian, and Qin Danian already understood that the Metropolitan Governor was going to destroy the entire Pingtan Fort with mountain artillery from the west!

He saw that Li Zicheng was already nodding, and he nodded vigorously, and his chin almost hit his chest.

Seeing that the two commanders were nodding, the little flag officer waved the red flag downwards and shouted, "Launch!" ”

The two loaders immediately carefully placed the two flowering shells, which were arm thick, into the breech, and then quickly stepped aside and replaced them with two gunners.

Each of them held a torch, lit the fuse, and quickly backed away.

The Pingtan Fort on the top of the mountain had already been alarmed by a large number of Heavenly Mandate troops under the mountain, and some people poked their heads down from the fort wall, and the disdain on their faces could be seen clearly.

If it weren't for the mountain artillery being out of the range of their bows and arrows, they really wanted to try with their bows and arrows, whether these thieves under the mountain were copper and iron!

"Boom...... Long ......"

Two loud bangs, two black flowering bombs, after leaving two long strings of white smoke, flew towards the top of the mountain at an indescribable speed, and when they landed, there were two loud bangs.

The sound of the explosion was right under the noses of the Ming army, and it began to startle them, but the landing point of the flowering bomb was beyond the fort wall to the west, at least five feet away from the fort wall.

The Ming army immediately cheered, "Thieves who don't think about themselves, come, launch at the chest!" ”

"I'm so scared......"

"A thief is a thief, he will only bluff, what's the big deal about the large number of people, there are only seventy people, there is a kind of you come up, and the master will let you taste the taste of swords and arrows......"

……

"Wait, stop making a fuss!" The integrity officer Zhao Guangrui had a gloomy face, although he was only nineteen years old, he was the supreme commander of Pingtan Fort.

Compared to the soldiers, his mind was much calmer, and although the flowering bullets landed outside the fort, he was still scared into a cold sweat.

Jing Yuwei was at the forefront of the confrontation with the Mongols, and he had also seen the sharpest firearms of the Ming Dynasty, whether it was fire # guns or artillery, the thieves seemed to be superior!

The flowering bullet landed on the outside of the fort wall just now, although it did not hurt the brothers, and even the fort wall was not lost, but he still saw the details that others had no idea.

The artillery of the Ming army fired solid bullets, and when the ball landed, although the power was huge, the range of the strike was very small, unless it was directly hit, or it was in a straight line of solid bullet operation.

The thief's shell exploded twice after it landed, and the rubble flew at that time, and after a while, the grass and trees around the bullet point were withered, and it was still smoking!

How could thieves have such sharp firearms?

"My lord," said one of the soldiers, who leaned over and said with a somewhat flattering smile, "the thieves' artillery can't even reach the fort walls......

Zhao Guangrui was worried in his heart, so he said angrily: "This is the first wave of artillery fire, if the thieves calibrate the drop point, can you guarantee that the shells will not fall in the fort?" ”

"The adult is right, the villain understands......" The soldier stuck out his tongue in fright and ran away as fast as he could.

At the foot of Baozi Mountain, the gunner of the Heavenly Mandate Army, the little flag officer, was very frustrated, he had done his best, but the flowering bomb did not even hurt the fort wall in the slightest, and he really failed the Grand Duke!

He slowly approached Li Zicheng listlessly, "Metropolitan Governor, subordinate ......"

"It's not your business," Li Zicheng had already taken out the cotton in his ear and comforted him with a smile, "Mountain cannon firing, doesn't it need to be calibrated?" Maybe next time I'll be able to get to Flatsburg. ”

"Metropolitan Governor, I'm afraid it's hard to ......" The little flag officer still drooped his head and whispered: "The calibration of the artillery is only a matter of accuracy, and it cannot increase the range ......"

Qin Danian became angry when he heard this, and said angrily: "The Metropolitan Governor asked you to calibrate the artillery, how can there be so much nonsense?" Why don't you go to ...... yet?"

"Yes, yes, my lord said yes, my subordinates will go ......" The little flag officer hurriedly saluted, turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait," Li Zicheng hurriedly stopped him, looked at Qin Danian again, and said, "Maybe you're right, the range of the mountain cannon has been exerted to the extreme." ”

Although Qin Danian was not convinced, in front of Li Zicheng, he didn't dare to say much, so he could only blow his beard and stare at the little flag official.

Seeing that Qin Danian was angry, the little flag official didn't dare to speak, so he hurriedly lowered his head and stood behind Li Zicheng in a daze.

"The Ming army in Pingtan Fort can't escape if you want to, we don't have to worry," Li Zicheng smiled awe-inspiringly and said: "The location of Pingtan Fort is indeed not short, if the range of the mountain artillery is not enough, can you consider placing the mountain artillery at an angle, so that the elevation angle will be greater, and the flowering shell can also shoot higher!" ”

The little flag officer's face showed a look of joy, and after thinking for a moment, he still shook his head, "Dadudu, when the mountain cannon is fired, the reverse thrust is very large, if the base is unstable, it is easy to be overturned, not only will the mountain cannon be destroyed, but it may even hurt the brothers......"

"You ......" Qin Danian couldn't help it, pointed at the little flag official with his finger, and said, "What the Metropolitan Governor tells you to do, you can do it, what are you talking about?" ”

Li Zicheng hurriedly stopped him, "Da Nian, he is an artillery and an expert in artillery, given time, their use technology will definitely be better than ours, we are just discussing how to maximize the power of mountain artillery." ”

"Yes, Grand Duke!" Qin Danian retreated to the side stupidly, holding his head high and not looking at the little flag officer again.

Expert? Investigate? Although the little flag officer was taught a lesson twice by Qin Danian, Li Zicheng's words still made him look forward to it very much, the person in front of him was the governor of the Heavenly Mandate Army, and even adults did not dare to ...... The Metropolitan Governor says he's an expert? Do you want to discuss the use of mountain guns with yourself?

I don't know what the Governor said...... He almost forgot about Qin Danian's unhappiness, and his mind was spinning rapidly.

Li Zicheng is also thinking, he only has a simple idea, as for whether he can implement it and how to implement it, he has no bottom in his heart.

This little flag officer is right, when the mountain cannon is fired, the base must be stable, otherwise, under the strong reaction force, there will be a phenomenon of rolling, and it is really uncertain where the flowering bullet will fall, and it may not be possible to hurt his own people.

How exactly can this impasse be broken?

Do you have to build an earthen platform and put a mountain artillery mount on it? It may be possible, but it is time-consuming and laborious, in fact, Li Zicheng is more anxious than Qin Danian, if he does not take Jingyuwei, the daily consumption of thousands of men and horses is really not a small number, and he still has a lot of things to do, how can he have time to accompany Dai Junen to spend here?

Li Zicheng thought about it and said to Xiaoqiguan: "You don't need to pile up soil blocks on the ground, as long as you dig out a slope of twenty or thirty degrees, the foundation below is still solid, and then fix the front end of the base!" ”

"Then go down and try it!" The little flag officer learned to be obedient this time, and he didn't pout.

"Let's go!" Li Zicheng nodded, but he glanced to the west, the time was not early, and he didn't know if he could take Pingtan Fort today.

The little flag officer ran to prepare, but Li Zicheng recruited Qin Danian, and said with a tiger face: "Danian, don't be too cautious, be gentle with your subordinates, that little flag officer, the technique is still good, in such a short time, you can eat the performance of the mountain artillery, if you don't like it, after this war is over, I will let him go to Xining as an instructor of the mountain artillery." ”

"What the Metropolitan Governor taught is that it is his subordinates ......" Qin Danian was busy bowing down and making amends, since the Metropolitan Governor can take a fancy to this little flag official, it means that he must have something extraordinary, in this case, how can he let him run away? Hurriedly put on a smile and said, "The Metropolitan Governor, this little flag officer, let's stay...... If he is allowed to go to Xining, people who don't know the inside story will think that his subordinates can't tolerate people......"

"Haha," Li Zicheng laughed, "Let's take a look first, whether this little flag officer has the ability!" ”