Killing Yang Chao could not figure out the complex political power ecology of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which was transitioning from a slave tribal system to a feudal centralized system, because he had no idea that at this time, the captive chieftain Turg had been forced by him to a desperate situation where he could not retreat.

Yang Chao still held the battle plan of letting the captives retreat by holding on.

Therefore, Yang Chao was also thinking about how to put a little pressure on the captives, so that they would completely despair and then retreat, but he didn't know that the commander of the captives couldn't retreat because he was forced into a desperate situation.

"Look, this is the captive soldier's Manchurian bow!"

On the city wall, Yang Chao led a group of officers, holding a richly decorated Manchurian bow in his hand, painted with thick red lacquer, and the huge bow was slightly inlaid with gold edges, which was obviously the matching bow of a high-ranking general, which was captured on the western city wall that night.

The Manchurian bow is also called the Qing bow, and with the Manchu Qing Dynasty entering the customs and introduced to the Central Plains, this kind of bow, like the Mongolian bow, is also a compound bow. However, the inheritance is different, the ancestral lineage of the Qing bow can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty established by the Jurchens, and the Qing bow and the golden bow are in the same line, characterized by a large bow, a large recurve, a thick bow arm, and can shoot heavy arrows.

The Ming bow is inherited from the Mongolian bow, and the Ming army's standard bow and arrow is called the Kaiyuan bow, which comes from the Kaiyuan Wei established in the early Ming Dynasty.

Compared to the Qing bow, the Ming bow and the Mongolian bow are a more pure hard bow.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo did not pull the hard bow of the Mongols in his life.

The bow is hard, the strength is great, the Ming bow and the Mongolian bow generally have a longer range, the maximum power of the Qing bow is generally forty steps to shoot, and the Ming bow and the Mongolian bow are already very powerful at a distance of sixty steps.

However, it does not mean that the bow and the Mongolian bow are superior to the Qing bow, these are two different design ideas.

Especially the bows and arrows of the Ming army. The bow is generally four feet short, and the bow power is large, emphasizing the range. and speed, slightly less accurate. Obviously, the bows and arrows of the Ming army adopted the idea of covering the attack, and they densely covered the enemy after seeing it.

The clear bow body is heavy, the bow body can be up to five feet, and the exaggerated bow is slightly larger, the stability is strong, and the effort is saved after maintaining the open bow state, which is conducive to aiming, and it is obviously the pursuit of efficiency strike. The disadvantage is that shooting heavy arrows is stable, and shooting light arrows is erratic.

The two situations are obviously inseparable from the combat methods of the two armies, and when the Ming army is fighting against the cavalry, it is equivalent to fixed aiming and hitting a moving target, which is obviously difficult to aim, and the enemy will not give much time to shoot, so it is advantageous to use high-speed coverage strikes.

When the Qing army rode and arched, the initiative was in hand, and there was no time for the enemy to give archery. Therefore, it is completely possible to aim calmly, but the large bow body of the Qinggong is obviously not specially designed for mounted archery, so the Eight Banners often approach on horseback. Then dismount and strike accurately with heavy arrows at close range, which Yang Chao has already seen, and the heavy arrows hiding behind the shield cart can kill themselves without killing.

Yang Chao immediately pulled the bow in his hand as he spoke, maintaining a full moon state, looking very calm.

Yang Chao had also practiced bowing and arrows, but he admitted that he couldn't fill the Ming army's hard bow, but now he easily pulled the bow.

Although the Qing bow is softer than the Mongolian bow, it takes a strong and heavy path. But it's not so easy to pull away, and the real reason is that the bow is damp.

Yang Chao suddenly let go. The arrow of the hand immediately left the string, but there was no spirit when he looked at it. Falling softly under the city, it hadn't even shot into the moat less than fifty paces away.

"Even if the bow is full, it is only half powerful, and if you want to increase the strength, the bow arm will be broken!"

The natural power of moisture is weak, and it has been verified during this period of time, although the composite bow of the captives has some moisture-proof measures, such as horns at the tip, such as some bows with lacquer, but it is still inevitable that it will be damp.

And not all bows are painted, only the good bows of those generals will be finely crafted, but even this kind of good bow cannot exert half the power.

"So as long as it's raining, the captives won't attack us!"

From this, it was concluded that the combat effectiveness of the captives was sharply reduced, and it was impossible to attack in the rain.

But some people were not convinced, Li Wuliu asked, "Not necessarily, right?" ”

Yang Chao couldn't help glaring at him, the reason why he often shared his analysis with the officers was to cultivate their thinking habit of drawing inferences from one another, but this group of guys was still very unaccustomed to using their brains.

"It's a shame that you're still a bow and arrow practitioner. Do you know how complicated it is to make a bow? A bow needs to use horns, tendons, and wood, and it is not easy to find good horns, and it takes more than half a year for the wood to dry. It is more troublesome for a captive to make a bow than for us to make a bird's gun, do you think that with the financial resources of the Tartars, they will be willing to lose the finely crafted bow and arrows? ”

Li Wuliu stopped talking, in fact, he was standing in his own point of view, and he didn't want the captives to give up the initiative to attack, after all, the captives attacked, so his bird-gunners were the best counterattack force, which could highlight him.

If the captives don't attack, they can let Yang Chao's soldiers rest, but if they don't attack, it's also something that Yang Chao is worried about.

"Let's talk about how we can fight the captives and boost morale!"

During this time, Yang Chao's army has not yet reached the point of morale problems, but the situation in the city is like a pool of stagnant water, which makes people feel extremely dull, and sooner or later there will be problems, although they are not like before, the soldiers secretly cry at night, but there are already complaints and doubts about the hope of going back.

So there has to be a fight!

But when he went out of the city to fight, now even the most arbitrary Wang Pu was not so aggressive, and the officers did not speak for a while.

Yang Chao asked again: "Is it possible to go out of the city and sneak attack the raiding team of the captives!" ”

If you can successfully sneak attack the captives and plunder the troops, not only will you boost your morale, but also allow the captives to not only go out to loot so blatantly in the future, but they will definitely not be able to continue to besiege Haizhou if they can't loot and guarantee the house.

Lu Mo shook his head and sighed: "The captives are all cavalry, even if the bow and arrow are useless, if it is a field battle, our army will be very disadvantaged!" ”

It was a hard wound, and the infantry attacked the cavalry. If you win, you can't catch up, and if you lose, you can't run away.

And so far, the captives are still superior. If Yang Chao wants to go out in the field, he can only dispatch his own elite soldiers. Although those people are barely able to use it defensively, they are still killed in vain if they let them attack.

"Can you storm and destroy a large battalion of captives, such as the West Camp?"

Yang Chao asked again, Nanying naturally doesn't need to think about it, not only is it the main camp of the captives, but the strength accounts for at least half of the total strength of the captives. And halfway up the mountain, when it rained heavily, the infantry climbed up the mountain and were tired enough, and they were still counting on an attack, which was really a death sentence.

The east camp doesn't need to be considered, the north camp has just joined forces with the east camp, and the army is in full swing, but the west camp can be considered. Now that it is raining, it is not easy for the Qishan battalion halfway up the mountain to support, the northern battalion has just withdrawn, and the eastern battalion is too far away to support. At this time, if you attack Xiying, it is the most favorable time.

Lu Mo still shook his head: "There are at least 1,000 troops in the western camp of the captive soldiers, even if our army is dispatched." You have to cross the river to attack. ”

Yes, five hundred elite soldiers, climb down the city, and then brave the rain to advance fifty zhang, swim across the Rose River, and then attack the solid enemy camp, if you can really succeed, then it is not an elite soldier, but a heavenly soldier.

Yang Chao sighed. He has been thinking about fighting with the captives for the past few days, but there has been no way.

"With a cannon!"

Li Wuliu spoke suddenly.

Everyone couldn't help but wonder. After the captives suffered many losses, the camp was far away. Needless to say, the tiger squat cannon can't be hit, even if the Francois and the general's cannon can't hit, if you barely hit it, the shells are not enough to break through the opponent's camp wall, it can be seen from the last night battle in Haizhou, the wall of the captives is still very stable, and sandbags are piled up behind the wooden wall, even if it is a close-range shelling, it will not be able to open for a while and a half, let alone a mile or two away.

"Oops, I'm talking about our red-coated cannon!"

When Li Wuliu saw that everyone was puzzled, he immediately knew that everyone had forgotten the red-clothed cannon.

Yang Chao suddenly realized, yes, he still has a red-clothed cannon.

This kind of cannon has a range of four or five miles, although the accuracy is a little poor, but it hits far and is powerful!

It's just that there is only one cannon, whether it is loading or moving, and it is too laborious, so it has been kept in the warehouse before, and it has not been pulled out and used at all.

Now these cannons have lost their effectiveness, and Yang Chao is desperate to fight a dozen captives, so this red-clothed cannon is still useful.

Although it is impossible to cause any results, as long as it is meaningful to fight a dozen, it means that Haizhou City can still fight captives.

"Okay, prepare immediately, and pull the red-coated cannon to the city wall."

Yang Chao immediately ordered.

Li Wuliu was overjoyed and asked, "Do you want to fight Xiying?" ”

Just now I thought that it was to attack the West Camp, hoping to break through this big camp, but if I only used the red-coated artillery, it was obviously impossible to do this, so it would not be of much point to bombard the West Camp.

Yang Chao thought for a while and said, "No, pull it to the head of Nancheng and hit the main camp of Qu Mountain!" ”

Saying that, Yang Chao couldn't help but glance at the camp of the captives on Qu Mountain, sitting there through the rain curtain, unusually calm, as if he was asleep.

Although the camp of the captive soldiers is halfway up the mountain, although the mountain is not high, it is also more than 200 meters, and the halfway up the mountain is much higher than Haizhou City.

The captives did not dare to come to attack the city, and Haizhou could bombard their main camp, which was of great significance.

"Also, when the time comes, transfer everyone to the city to have a look, and watch us take prisoners!"

Yang Chao wanted the soldiers to see that the captives could not fight back, and this effect was also good.

Li Wuliu took the order and left.

Pulling down the cannon at the head of the city will not be able to be completed in a short time and a half, because this kind of 4,000-pound heavy artillery must build a special battery.

Then Yang Chao took the officers to inspect the city wall, at this time there were only a few soldiers patrolling the city wall, they held spears in their hands, wore robes, walked back and forth on the city head, and on the four city walls, each only put a dozen soldiers, and thirty people.

Yang Chao quickly walked to the north city wall, and suddenly saw a figure, who was holding a horse step, holding a spear in his hand, motionless, and the cold rain poured on his coat and flowed onto the iron skirt he was holding up because of his horse steps. Flowing over the cold armor and falling on the city walls, he remained motionless. Like a statue.

"Xie Fei?"

Yang Chao recognized this person at a glance, this was Lao Jin's designated apprentice. After getting Lao Jin's guidance, he picked up the style he had practiced since he was a child, whether it was in Nanjing or Haizhou, he still persevered every day, even if it rained heavily, he did not give up.

It's just that everyone else is patrolling, and he stands here and practices. It seems that there is a suspicion of laziness.

However, Yang Chao pretended not to see it and walked quietly behind him without disturbing him.

To be honest, this Xie Fei is still good, relying on his foundation since childhood, he is now the undisputed number one master in the army, and Wang Pu can let go of him within ten moves.

Xie Fei's combat performance has always been good, the last night battle, he was under the command of Song Kun, although Song Kun has not been able to directly confront the captives because he has not broken the wooden wall of the captives. But later he chose to forcibly climb over the wooden wall, and this Xie Fei was the first person to climb the wooden wall, but at that time he saw the fragmented corpses of the captives being beaten by the tiger squatting cannons.

Just think about it. If it weren't for Yang Chao using a cannon to blast open the wooden wall of the captives, this Xie Fei would have fallen into the wooden wall alone and killed in the infantry formation of the captives, I am afraid that he would have died by now, of course, his style of climbing over the wooden wall and going deep alone is still very morale-boosting, anyway, after the war, although Song Kun did nothing to ask Yang Chao for his guilt, he recommended this Xie Fei instead.

Xie Fei has also made a lot of contributions before, won a lot, and has been promoted to the team. After this battle, Yang Chao planned to promote him to the flag chief.

After inspecting the city defenses. Yang Chao went back and asked Li Wuliu to go to the artillery formation. In Yang Chao's plan, Li Wuliu will be the commander-in-chief of the firearms unit from now on, and it is necessary for him to have more contact with artillery and accumulate experience in advance.

However, setting up the red-coated cannon is not as simple as saying.

The red-coated cannon is described in the "Essentials of Armament" written by the Ming people: its cannon has three numbers, the first one is one zhang long, the muzzle is slightly high, and it can reach sixteen miles; The second one is eight feet long, the muzzle is slightly high, and it can reach twelve miles; The number three is six feet long, and the muzzle of the gun is slightly high, and it can reach eight miles.

Yang Chao's red-coated cannon is eight feet long and weighs four thousand catties, which is a medium-sized red-coated cannon, although it can't really hit twelve miles, but it can still cover the entire Qishan Mountain, and it is not too easy to hit the captive battalion halfway up the mountain.

However, the ultra-long range corresponds to a huge recoil, so it cannot be fired with sandbags like other cannons, and the redcoat cannon must have a decent turret or gun carriage.

The gun carriage was too cumbersome to make, so it had to be built temporarily, although it was not necessary to use any steel-concrete structure like later generations, but it was also necessary to have a solid site, preferably with huge stones.

After two days of busy work, Li Wuliu informed Yang Chao that the cannon was ready!

Only then did Yang Chao gather his troops, put on iron armor himself, and put on a robe at the outer gate, and then kicked into the city.

The city is on the left in the middle of the south city, and there is a rough shed more than 50 zhang to the west of the city tower.

Four standing logs support the roof trusses, which are covered with thatch, on which are smeared with mud, covered with tiles, and strands of rain flow down on both sides to form a curtain of beads.

In the middle of the shed, there is a stone platform with grooves on the platform, and there are stones in the middle, and there are grooves on the stones, just enough to put the cannon lug in and ensure that the cannon forms an elevation angle.

The other parts of the gun body, especially the tail part, are stuck in the groove of the gun emplacement, and there are some wooden lock structures on both sides, which firmly fix the cannon on the gun battery, and eight iron hoops are temporarily added to the gun body to connect the gun body with the stones below.

Two days to create such a fort, I have to say that the craftsmen in Haizhou City, now one by one to fight the captives are very dedicated, everyone hopes to quickly defeat these robbers, and then everyone returns to the previous days, in the end, Haizhou is a rich place, although the population is not much, but the life in the entire Ming Dynasty can be regarded as the middle class, no one wants to be disturbed this peaceful life.

When Yang Chao stepped onto the city wall, the gunner had already finished loading.

The operation of the redcoat cannon is still quite primitive, the muzzle elevation angle is not large, and it is basically fixed, and the firing range is completely controlled by the amount of charge.

This requires a lot of experience to be able to operate, fortunately, Shi Kefa did not perfunctory Yang Chao, and transferred these gunners to Yang Chao, all of whom are of some level, compared to the gunners in Liaodong, they may be a little worse, but they can barely play the red-coated cannon.

At this time, the red-coated cannon was already aimed at the captive soldiers' camp in Qishan.

The gunner asked Yang Chao if he wanted to open the cannon, Yang Chao looked at the situation and found that there were still soldiers kicking the city, so he asked the gunner to wait.

Yang Chao's gaze followed the muzzle of the cannon to the camp of the captives.

There is a flat land on the mountainside halfway up the mountain road, and there is a dense mountain forest on the top, so the captives chose here.

The camp is cut down the logs on the mountain in rows and rows of tightly arranged, each root is at least three or two zhang high, one person thick, just this log, it is estimated that the cannonballs may not be broken.

Behind the wooden wall, only half of the barracks can be seen, with Mongolian domes, cloth tents, and conical bark tents.

On the city of Haizhou, soldiers walked up to the city one by one, and even those people lined up in formation, standing on the city in the rain, looking at the cannons curiously.

At this time, Yang Chao raised his hand: "Let's shoot!" ”

The gunner first politely asked Yang Chao to stay away, and then plugged his ears, and then ignited the gunpowder in the fire pool.

Yang Chao knew why the gunner kept him farther away, and the huge roar directly made Yang Chao's ears buzz and tinnitus, and the vibration made people feel dull in their chests and abdomen.

That's power!

Yang Chao couldn't help but look at the captive camp, but found that it was crooked, flew over the captive camp, and hit the mountains and forests. (To be continued).