"Artillery preparation!"

Outside the southern part of Ningxia City, 20 Su guns were lined up in four rows, and the muzzles were aimed at the same target. The commander of the artillery team was Xiong Minyang, and the technical leaders were Xu Guangqi and Hao Qing.

This time, the artillery of the Kanyu battalion pushed directly to a distance of only 300 paces from the target, at a distance where the Ningxia rebels' bows and arrows could not pose a threat to the artillery team, and the artillery team could maximize the accuracy of their fire while also obtaining the highest hit speed.

Behind the artillery corps was the assault unit of the Liaodong Army, which was led by the guerrilla general Zu Chengxun, who was one of the best generals under Li Rusong. 2,000 selected Liaodong officers and soldiers, each with a steel knife in their hands, were ready to storm the city of Ningxia and engage in a bloody battle with the rebels.

Behind the Liaodong Army, Deng Kui and Zhang Yunlong with 1,000 musketeers from the Kanyu battalion were also on standby, fighting in the streets of the city, and the long-range muskets of the Kanyu battalion were far more powerful than the guns or bows and arrows that were standard in the Ming army. Su Hao is a good person to the end, and the surname Suo also sent out the musket team in his army. Of course, Li Rusong is not a sophisticated person, he has already photographed Su Hao in front of Deng Kui, Zhang Yunlong and others in advance, if he can punish Bibai, Liu Dongyang and other rebellions, the credit of Deng, Zhang and others is indispensable.

At the head of the city of Ningxia, the officers and soldiers of the rebels were also nervously observing the movements of the Ming army. With such a posture, it is obvious that the Ming army is about to launch a new round of offensive. In the past, the Ming army attacked the city in an all-round way, and at the same time launched an attack at dozens of landing points, in order to overwhelm the rebels. This time, the Ming army shrank its forces to a point, could it be that they were sure to tear through the defense of Ningxia City at one point?

"Mastermind, what do you mean by Ming Jun?" Liu Dongyang, who was standing at the head of the city, asked Bibai.

Bi Bai held a telescope and looked at the position of the Ming army, his face changed slightly, and said: "I heard Bi Yun say that the Ming army is equipped with a new type of artillery, which can open flower shells, with a long range and great power. What is now being laid out under the city should be this kind of artillery. ”

Liu Dongyang said: "Could it be that the Ming army wants to use artillery to kill and injure our defenders, and then attack?" ”

"Look at what this means, but they don't need to pile all the cannons together, can they put their soldiers and horses apart with such a narrow front?" ”

"Anyway, we have to be on guard. Mastermind, look at ......" Liu Dongyang did not say the following words.

Bi Bai could understand Liu Dongyang's hints, which was nothing more than asking him to transfer the most elite Cangtou army to this area to defend. The Cangtou Army is a private soldier raised by Bibai, and Liu Dongyang is nominally the general soldier of Ningxia, but he can't move this army, so he can only listen to the meaning of Bibai.

"Come on, let Tu Wenxiu bring the Cangtou Army over and stand by." Bibai commanded to the soldiers beside him.

2,000 Cangtou soldiers were transferred, and they were told to hide behind the city wall and wait for the Ming army to charge before going up to the city. Regarding the strength of the Ming army's artillery, Bi Bai had already heard Bi Yun say it, and of course he would not expose his elite to the Ming army's artillery fire.

Outside the city, the scheduled time for an attack has arrived. Ye Mengxiong wore his armor and personally came to the front line to watch the battle. After Li Rusong and Su Hao asked Ye Mengxiong for instructions, they gave the order to attack the city.

"Fire!"

Xiong Min raised his hand and waved, and the gunners picked up the fire that had been prepared and lit the twist of the artillery.

"Boom! Rumble! Boom! ”

The cannons rang out in unison, and a row of shells flew towards the Ningxia city wall. The cannonballs slammed into the walls of the city with a deafening explosion, and the entire city wall began to shake slightly.

"Haha, the gunners of this Ming army are really wasteful, they are all low at such a close distance!" Liu Dongyang, who had already hid aside, couldn't help but laugh. In his opinion, the purpose of artillery assistance was to kill and injure the defending enemy at the head of the city and clear the front line for the attacking troops. However, the artillery shells of the Ming army did not leak a single shot, and all of them hit the city wall, did they want to make a hole in the city wall?

Before he could finish laughing, the second round of artillery bombardment of the Ming army began again. Xu Guangqi transplanted the three-stage shooting of the musket to the artillery, and made the 20 guns split into four sections for bombardment. The advantage of this is not to maintain the continuity of firepower, but to allow the shells in the back to fall on the craters formed in front, so as to cut off the entire section of the wall layer by layer.

"Boom! Rumble! Boom! ”

2nd round, 3rd round, 4th round...... Round after round of shelling seemed endless, and Liu Dongyang and Bi Bai couldn't laugh anymore. The outermost layer of the city wall has been torn off by artillery fire, and although the core soil in the middle has been repeatedly tamped, it is still vulnerable to the shells filled with yellow gunpowder.

After each round of shelling, a large amount of loess poured down from the city walls. After a while, only a loud bang was heard, and the top of the city wall collapsed widely.

"This, this, this...... The Ming army wanted to blow up the city walls with artillery? "Only then did he realize the true intention of the Ming army, this is no longer a joke, the Ming army does have such an ability.

"Mastermind, can you quickly find someone to fill in the gap?" Liu Dongyang asked tremblingly. In the face of the powerful Ming army, all they could rely on was this city wall. If the city wall is broken down and the Ming army pours into the city on a large scale, can only 20,000 Ningxia soldiers be able to defeat nearly 100,000 Ming troops?

"The artillery fire is so fierce, how to fill it!" He roared, he is also a master of the six gods now, and he doesn't know what to do. The damage to the city wall was just one reason for his panic, and the deeper reason was that he didn't expect the Ming army's artillery fire to be so sharp. How can the fire that can blast the walls apart can be resisted by flesh and blood?

While the rebels were panicked, there was jubilation on the Ming army's position. For Su Hao, this result was expected, and there was nothing surprising about it. But Ye Mengxiong and Li Rusong were different, if they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have dared to believe that there was such a siege method.

The lower-level officers and soldiers of the Ming army were also embarrassed when they saw this situation. No one knows better than them the dangers of the ladder siege, standing on the crumbling ladder and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the defenders at the head of the city, it is almost a battle of life and death. Now it's good, the artillery has directly flattened the city wall, and the siege battle has become a flat battle, if such a battle can't be won, how can it be worthy of the hard work of the deputy general army of the Soviet Union.

"Liaodong Army, prepare to charge!"

Seeing that a gap more than a zhang wide had formed, Li Rusong drew his knife in his hand and issued an order to his subordinates.

At the same time, Su Hao also issued an order to the Kanyu battalion: "The artillery will be replaced with shotguns, and the musket team will step forward, suppress the archers at the head of the city, and cooperate with the Liaodong Army to attack!" ”

"Rush!"

Zu Chengxun took the lead and rushed to Ningxia City with a big knife. Behind him, 2,000 Liaodong troops shouted loudly, like a tiger pounced, and rushed towards the gap in the city wall opened by artillery. Deng Kui and Zhang Yunlong rushed forward with musketeers for a hundred steps, knelt down on one knee on the spot, and held flintlock pistols to shoot at the Ningxia rebels at the head of the city, suppressing the rebel archers. The artillery in the rear also raised its muzzle and threw shells at the defenders on both sides of the gap.

The city wall of Ningxia was more than 4 zhang high, and the artillery shells hit a height of about 2 zhang, causing the collapse of the city wall. The collapsed earth formed a dirt slope that served as a springboard for the stormtroopers. Li Rusong and other generals had rich combat experience and knew that the floating soil was soft and unfavorable for the charge, so they ordered the soldiers who rushed to the front to still bring ladders, planks and other objects, and when they rushed in front of them, they put the ladders flat as a place to step on.

The distance of two or three hundred paces is an instant for an army that charges at high speed. A small dirt slope two zhang high could not stop the footsteps of the Liaodong Army at all, and Zu Chengxun led the forward troops to rush through the gap and enter the city. When the wall collapses, the floating earth is poured to both sides at the same time, so there is also a ramp for the floating earth to come out when going downhill.

"Stop the Ming army!"

"Kill all the Ming army, the prince will be rewarded!"

"Brothers, fight!"

The rebels in the city were making a fuss like a frying pan. As early as after realizing the intentions of the Ming army, Bibai had already begun to transfer troops and generals, preparing to block the Ming army behind the gap, at this time, seeing Zu Chengxun rushing in with his troops, the rebels rushed forward lifelessly, ready to start hand-to-hand combat with the Ming army.

"Boom! Rumble! ”

The rebels were greeted with loud noises. The first batch of soldiers of the Liaodong Army who rushed into the city, each holding two Su's grenades in their hands, threw them towards the most densely populated place of the enemy army as soon as they entered the city.

The artillery of the Ming army when attacking the city had already frightened the rebel officers and soldiers, and even the artillery that the city wall could not stop, who had the courage to meet it. Now, seeing that the siege troops of the Ming army were actually able to throw firearms, and the sound of the explosion was no less than that of artillery, the fighting spirit of the rebel officers and soldiers collapsed at once. With the exception of a handful of die-hard loyalists who still held out, most of the rebels did not hesitate to turn their heads and flee backwards.

"Bastard, resist it, take a step back, and kill the whole battalion!"

The high-ranking generals of the rebels, such as Bi Chengen and Tu Wenxiu, reprimanded their subordinates loudly, forcing their officers and soldiers to return to the battlefield at the gap in the city wall. The Bibai army was originally known for its cavalry, which is related to the Tatar origin of Bibai. It is a pity that now that they are fighting in the city of Ningxia, the advantage of the cavalry cannot be brought into play at all, and the infantry is frightened by the grenades thrown by the Liaodong army at the first time, and it will be difficult to organize an attack for a while and a half.

Taking advantage of this brief opportunity, Deng Kui and Zhang Yunlong commanded the musket team of the Kanyu Battalion to follow. They had a part of the musketeers follow behind the Liaodong Army to provide long-range cover for the Liaodong Army. The other group of musketeers rushed up the slopes on either side and began to drive the rebels from the walls.

The three-stage firing was reorganized, and the top of the wall was only a space about two feet wide, and the musketeers were divided into several rows in front and behind, and the fire completely blocked the entire section of the wall. As a volley of guns rang out, the rebels threw dead bodies on the ground, and Queen Cang retreated.