Chapter 522 Bombardment of Dengzhou City

"The telescope is really magical, Your Majesty, this is also one of the artifacts of my dynasty." After reading it, Jiang Wanzai behind me said with feeling.

Fang Ling smiled and said, "Lord Jiang, of course it's counted." ”

Jiang Wanzai nodded, and said: "Your Majesty, from the beginning of the attack on Dengzhou City, our army will turn from the original defensive battle to a full-scale offensive war. ”

"Well, Jiang Aiqing, this also marks the beginning of a new chapter in our army."

"Yes, Your Majesty, if this had been placed a few years ago, Lao Chen would never have thought that he would be able to follow His Majesty to recover my old mountains and rivers in his lifetime, Lao Chen's heart is happy."

As an old man in the army and the main battle faction, Jiang Wanzai naturally looks forward to recovering the mountains and rivers and reviving the majesty of the Great Song Dynasty.

I smiled and turned around and asked, "General Wu, have the two generals of the artillery battalion, Yan Tianlei and Crete, come to check the terrain?" ”

Although Wu Songhan is a pioneer, his military rank is low, so he is standing in the back position, listening to me call him, he hurriedly said: "Back to the emperor, the two generals have already surveyed the terrain, and the terrain around the south gate is quite open, and there is no problem at all in setting up artillery. ”

"Okay, return to Shangying Village."

That night, I held a military meeting in Shangying Village attended by the generals of the Northern Expeditionary Army at and above the box level on the Middle Road.

"See the Emperor."

"The generals will be exempt." I smiled, pointed to various stools, and said, "This place is no better than Xiangyang Shuaifu, everyone can sit down casually." ”

"Your Majesty."

"General Lu Wenhuan, you will arrange the tasks of tomorrow's armies."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Wenhuan got up and said, "Generals, tomorrow's battle will be dominated by artillery battalions, please look at the topographic map of Dengzhou." ”

Lu Wenhuan paused, and continued: "Dengzhou City has four gates in the southeast, south, and northwest, which is a standard four-gate town, and most of the city walls are made of stones, which is quite similar to Yingzhou in our dynasty, but with the successful development of firearms in our dynasty, the strong city wall will no longer be an obstacle in the advance of our army. Our army has a total of 55 artillery pieces in the northern expedition, and it is expected that it will take four to five days to destroy the south gate of the Dengzhou city wall. Next, Lu announced the tasks of each army. ”

In the martial arts training ground of the Dadu Imperial Palace in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, Shi Yuqi, who had just returned to Dadu, demonstrated the shooting method and process of muskets to Kublai Khan, Yin Tianya, Wuliang Hetai, Ah Lao Wading and various craftsmen of the Yuan Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, my lords, there are two main weaknesses of the musket, one is that the shooting speed is slower than the bow and arrow, therefore, the musketeers of the Southern Dynasty used the three-stage shooting method to make up for its shortcomings, it is said that this shooting method was invented by the emperor of the Southern Dynasty; The second is that it cannot be launched in rainy days, which has not been solved. Shi Yuqi said after the demonstration.

Kublai Khan said "gratitude" and said: "General Shi Bi, for your hard work, I will reward you for your meritorious deeds." ”

"Your Majesty." Shi Bi, who is known as Shi Yuqi, thanked respectfully.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's talk about your opinions."

Yin Tianya first said: "Great Khan, the power of the musket ** is indeed above the bow and arrow, the deity believes that for the firearms of the Southern Dynasty, I should concentrate all the craftsmen and make every effort to imitate them, followed by informing Ah Shu and Boyan, once it rains, they will attack with all their might, and the muskets of the Southern Dynasty are so, presumably their artillery and fireballs can not be used in rainy days." Also, the deity immediately set off for the north to bring the musket to the Supreme Lord. ”

"Yin Shen Venerable, the Supreme Lord is in retreat, will your visit this time affect the cultivation of the Lord?"

"Great Khan, if the firearm is not broken, my dynasty, my dynasty will be in a weak position after all, and the Supreme Lord will be considerate."

"Well, I also know that there are many capable people under the Supreme Lord, and the Divine Lord, then it will be hard for you."

"Great Khan, time is pressing, the deity is leaving." After speaking, Yin Tianya grabbed it in the air, and in an instant, there was an extra musket in his hand, which was not light, but it seemed to have no weight in his hand.

Seeing this, Shi Yuqi, who had never dealt with Yin Tianya, secretly exclaimed: "I didn't expect the martial arts of this Tianya Divine Venerable to be so strong, I'm afraid that I can't reach such a realm with the strength of my life." ”

Kublai Khan's expression was solemn, and he watched Yin Tianya leave, and said to Hao Jing beside him: "Emperor." ”

"The minister is here."

"Gather all my craftsmen, no matter the cost, to imitate the musket with all their might."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the ministers obey the order."

"Wuliang Hetai."

"The minister is here."

"Spread my will, so that Nanyang Ashu and Boyan will organize a counterattack as long as it rains."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Shi Bi."

"The end will be."

"I will crown you as the commander of the southern capital, give you a gold medal for the head of the tiger, receive the third rank, take a short rest, and rush to Nanyang tomorrow to join the middle route army."

"Yes, the end will be done."

"General Shi, follow me to the study, and the rest of Aiqing will immediately go their separate ways."

Kublai Khan's imperial study was not far from Lian Wu Hall, and Shi Yuqi followed Kublai Khan through a construction site and entered it. After Kublai Khan sat down, he immediately said, "Shi Aiqing, tell me about your experience in the Southern Korean army. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Shi Yuqi briefly reported to Kublai Khan the process from his participation in the martial arts to the time he returned north with a gun.

Kublai Khan listened very carefully, and asked loudly from time to time while listening, and when Shi Yuqi finished reporting, Kublai Khan said: "Shi Aiqing, according to you, the combat effectiveness of the Southern Korean army is no longer weaker than our army?" ”

Shi Yuqi said cautiously: "Your Majesty, when the last general just joined the forbidden army, the morale of the Song army was low, and the Lin'an forbidden army, known as the most elite in the Southern Dynasty, had no combat power at all, compared with our army at that time, it was indeed not at the same level, but in recent years, especially since the reform of the Song army, the combat power has increased year by year, and the last general thought that at least, at least in terms of infantry army, the Song army has been defeated by the Han army of our dynasty, and there are firearms. ”

Kublai Khan sighed secretly, if it weren't for Ali Buge's fight for the throne with him, he must have completely defeated the Southern Dynasty. In just 10 years, the situation has changed dramatically, and a firearm has been made. Kublai Khan, who had been a man of arms for half his life, had seen the power of firearms with his own eyes, and knew very well in his heart that he could not compete with the existing swords, guns, bows and crossbows.

Maybe this is fate? Kublai Khan's face remained unmoved, and he continued to ask: "Shi Aiqing, how do the senior generals of the Southern Dynasty view firearms?" How do they think firearms can be hacked? ”

"Back to the emperor, although the last general has not seen artillery and projectiles, he has heard Xia Gui and Li Tingzhi talk about it." Shi Yuqi recalled, "It was before the establishment of the Jianghuai Military Region of the Southern Dynasty, and Li Tingzhi, the former envoy of the Yangzhou Military Region, had been to Luzhou, and at that time, General Xia Gui said, 'If he has more than 500 artifacts and 30,000 projectiles, oh, the generals of the Nan Dynasty call artillery artifacts, and he can wipe out hundreds of thousands of my iron cavalry with his Luzhou Military Region alone.'" After saying this, the last general and others felt that it was too exaggerated, but it was recognized by Li Tingzhi, and the senior generals of the Jianghuai Army knew that Li Tingzhi was cautious and never said things that he was not sure of, so it can be seen that the senior generals of the Southern Dynasty all believed that firearms were invincible, and if they wanted to crack firearms, there was only one way, that is, to fight firearms with firearms. ”

Kublai Khan suddenly laughed and said, "This is just a trick by Xia Gui, Li Tingzhi and others to boost morale. Okay, Shi Aiqing, you have a good night's rest, and you will leave for the south tomorrow. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, the last general will retire."

"Firearms against firearms?" After Shi Yuqi left, Kublai Khan was alone in the empty house and muttered to himself.

In the early morning of the next day, about 300 meters away from the south gate of Dengzhou City, 55 artillery pieces were divided into three rows, and the muzzles of the guns were raised, and they were aimed at the front in unison. In front of the artillery camp were the Second Division of the Imperial Forest Army and the 20th Army of the Lin'an Military Region, about 100 meters away to the right were the 1st and Third Divisions of the Imperial Forest Army and the two cavalry corps of the Lin'an Military Region, and the 19th Wing Lu Division of the Xiangyang Military Region was escorted on the left flank. More than 10 meters behind the artillery battalion, 4,000 Chinese guards lined up in two squares, and I, Yuan Jian, Fang Ling, and others rode on horses and stood in the forefront of the phalanx.

"Jiang Aiqing, give the order to open fire."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Jiang Wanzai raised a red flag and waved it three times in the air.

Crete, who was standing behind the artillery battalion, saw that the military order had been issued, and said to Wanyan Tianlei in front: "General Wanyan, the emperor has an order, open fire." ”

"Okay, all gun positions, all in place, ready."

"Target, just ahead, first row, angle, fifty-two, second row, angle fifty-five, third row, angle sixty."

"First row, ignition."

"Put."

With Wan Yan Tianlei's order, the twenty guns in the first row roared almost simultaneously. The sound of "boom, boom" suddenly sounded, and immediately, the 20 guns in the second row let out another roar, the first two rows of artillery all hit the Dengzhou city wall, and the third row of 15 guns was slightly higher by several meters and exploded on the city wall.

Most of the defenders of Dengzhou had personally experienced the battle of Guanzitan, and when they saw the opponent's artillery bombardment, they hurriedly fell to the ground. As far as artillery is concerned, the defenders can only be described with the words "helpless".

About half an hour later, I raised my binoculars, looked at the damage to the walls of Dengzhou, and ordered the shelling to stop.

"Your Majesty, according to this situation, the walls of Dengzhou City can only hold on for four days at most."

"Yes, General Meng."

"The end will be."

"You lead the loyal Shun army to come forward and ask Zhang Hongfan and Atahai if they have the courage to go out of the city to fight our army, and take the opportunity to hit the other party's morale again."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Meng Tianxiang was bold, so he let the soldiers of the Zhongshun Army stop at about eighty meters away from the city wall, and came to the city less than twenty meters by himself, and said loudly: "Zhang Hongfan and Atahai in the city listen, dare you go out of the city to fight with your Meng Ye?" ”