Under the impetus of Zhu Youxiao, artillery was widely used in the Ming army, which made fundamental changes in siege warfare. In this Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the use of artillery played a decisive role, and artillery, the "god of war", showed its hideous face.

In the battle of Shengjing, the heavy artillery used by the Ming army was the largest artillery in the empire, of which ten heavy guns weighed two tons, such heavy artillery was the first time to appear on the battlefield of the empire, in the southern expedition to Donghu, the heaviest heavy artillery was only about one ton, which was equivalent to about eighteen to twenty pounds of artillery in this era. In the battle of the Nalin River, the heaviest heavy artillery was only about 1.5 tons, and only two were used, and the rest of the heavy artillery was also about 1 ton.

The heavy artillery of the two tons was not only extremely difficult to transport, but also time-consuming and laborious to set up. This is also the reason why the Ming army needed such a huge expenditure during the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, with 100,000 troops in the Northern Expedition, of which as many as 30,000 were responsible for logistics, and as many as 200,000 people.

Wang Zheng designed a lot of tools for the transportation and erection of such heavy artillery, and it is true that it can also save a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, but in this era of extremely backward mechanization, the transportation and erection of such heavy artillery is still an extremely labor-intensive matter.

On July 16, in order to set up artillery, the Ming army first launched an offensive in the east of Shengdong. Although this attack was only a feint, in this offensive, the Ming army really understood the power of the Manchu artillery, especially the Manchu heavy artillery. In the past, the Ming army bombarded others, but this time the Ming army was finally bombed by others, and they really experienced the power of artillery once.

"Khan Amma, according to the report of the spies, the Ming army carried thousands of artillery pieces on this expedition, why don't you see the artillery of the Ming army?" Hauge also saw that something was wrong.

"The range of artillery of the Ming army is not as good as that of our army, and the Ming army naturally does not dare to use artillery." Feiyango said.

"No, the Ming army's offensive is obviously a feint, and even if the range of the Ming army is not as good as ours, the Ming army has a large number of artillery." Huang Taiji said calmly, "Immediately send someone to find out where the artillery of the Ming army is?" ”

Sure enough, after a while, I got the news that the Ming army had set up an artillery position in the south. However, the Manchus only probed the artillery positions two miles away, and did not notice the artillery positions four miles away.

The artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was almost on par with the Ming army in terms of range, but the artillery firing relied on the experience of the gunner, and in the theory of the use of artillery, the gap between the two was simply one in the sky and one on the ground, and in the artillery academy, "the art of igniting and releasing the art" and "proportionality of medicine and ammunition" were two compulsory courses, but in the Manchu Dynasty, there was no such concept.

After discovering the artillery positions of the Ming army, Huang Taiji immediately ordered the artillery to attack. On this position is a ton of artillery, originally prepared to erect five, but at this time only two were erected, the Ming army did not dare to set up artillery positions under the nose of the Manchus, can only be carried out secretly, after being discovered by the Manchus, the Ming army has set up artillery and immediately launched a counterattack. Although the number and power of the artillery of the Ming army was inferior to that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the artillery of the Ming army was far more accurate than the artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

The two guns of the Ming army also bombarded the artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but due to the difference in number and power, these two artillery pieces were finally destroyed by the Manchu Qing.

By the 17th, 10 of the 20 super-heavy guns had been erected, and 10 heavy guns of two tons were still being erected. At that hour, ten erected heavy guns opened fire. Ten heavy artillery pieces fired in two batches, and the sound was heard for dozens of miles, and the entire Shengjing City seemed to be shaking. The Manchu artillery also immediately returned fire.

This distance is not far for an artillery observer, but it is not possible to see the specific situation of the artillery bombardment on the city wall, and at this time everything depends on feeling.

For the artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, their vision was not obstructed, and they could clearly see the specific effects of each artillery, but at this time, even if the individual artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty had outstanding capabilities, it was far inferior to the overall strength of the Ming artillery, which was several times higher.

After the Ming army paid the price of three heavy artillery, all the heavy artillery erected by the Manchu Qing in the south was also destroyed. However, the artillery bombardment of the Ming army did not stop, and it was still bombarding the southern city wall, assisting the Ming army to set up more artillery positions, and ten heavy artillery pieces were bombarded until the evening.

"It seems that although the Manchu Qing Dynasty's cannon casting technology has made great progress, the technology of firing artillery has not made any progress at all." Zhao Shujiao said with a smile.

"Yes! Knowing this, we don't need to ask Xu Chengming to borrow artillery at all. Yuan Chonghuan said.

"This battle is over, this meal in Jingshi Cuixianglou is mine." Zhao Shujiao said.

"This meal is what I asked to become famous, and yours will be kept first." Yuan Chonghuan said with a smile.

……

Compared with the relaxation of the Ming army, the atmosphere in Shengjing City is much more dignified, and today's battle made Huang Taiji and others realize that the Manchu Qing and the Ming Dynasty not only had a gap in the manufacture of firearms, but also a greater gap in the use of firearms.

"According to the habit of the Ming army, it must be to bombard the city wall with artillery, and then attack after the city wall is blown down." Huang Taiji said.

"Khan Ama, less than thirty percent of the artillery we have been destroyed by the Ming army today, according to the arrangement of the Ming army's artillery fire, the direction of the Ming army's attack must be south, and tonight we only need to move the artillery from other places to the south." Hauge suggested.

"The artillery of the Ming army can hit one cannon with three cannons, while the artillery of our army needs ten cannons to hit, the gap here is too big, there is such an artifact but it can't be used properly, this is the gap." Huang Taiji said with a sigh.

"Khan Ama, tomorrow I will personally go to supervise the battle, and if I can't hit them again, I will kill them." Hauge said angrily.

"It's none of their business, the Ming Emperor set up the Artillery Academy to have the Ming Army Artillery that dominates the world today, but unfortunately I should have sent someone to study in the Artillery Academy at that time." Huang Taiji said.

"Khan Amma, what should we do next?" Hauge asked softly.

"The artillery fire of the Ming army is too fierce, this battle is more auspicious and less auspicious, you have to be prepared, when the city is broken, you must take your mother, brothers, and sisters to retreat to Horqin together, and not fall into the hands of the Ming army." Huang Taiji said.

"Khan Amma......" Haug didn't know what to say.

"The 20,000 elites of Dolgon outside the city will definitely be able to escort you and others to Korqin safely. The Ming Emperor implemented the reform of the land and returned to the stream, and Horqin would definitely not defect to the Ming Dynasty, but he could not be unguarded. You can't stay long in Horqin, you can continue to the north or east. Huang Taiji admonished.

(End of chapter)