Xu Liang's face was suddenly full of black lines, and he smiled awkwardly at the generals of the Liang army on the left and right: "It seems that this cannon also has a time to be lazy, hehe, today I can't see General Sima's unique ability to release the cannon......"

Xing Zhongshan and Dai Feng and other Liang generals sneered, and Sima Qiudao's face was red.

Xu Liang said: "General Sima, since the gunpowder is in the tide, you have to quickly take it out and find a place to dry, this official is in a hurry to use these five generals' cannons." ”

Sima Qiudao immediately patted his chest and promised that if he was given three days, he would be able to repay Xu Liang's five great general's cannons.

Xu Liang nodded, and led a group of generals of the Ziliang army to disperse.

Three days later, Sima Qiudao entered the Xu Mansion compound with a sneering face, and found Xu Liang with a face full of shame.

"Well, my lord, the damp gunpowder hasn't dried yet, and it will take a day or two." Sima Qiudao arched his hand and said.

Xu Liang raised his eyes to look at the red and bright sun outside the window, glanced at Sima Qiudao, and said faintly: "This official looks very good at this day, it's a sunny day for half a month, right?" In this kind of weather, people have to peel off their skin when they stand outside, why is it so difficult to eliminate the moisture of this gunpowder? ”

Faintly, Xu Liang's words took on a reproachful tone.

Sima Qiudao was suddenly panicked, and hurriedly explained: "My lord doesn't know, this kind of gunpowder and other things are the most dangerous, they can't be hit when they are wet, and they are easy to explode when they are hot. This drying of gunpowder is also very particular, can not be exposed to the sun, can not be placed on the floor, must be covered with tarpaulin, the ground is covered with linen, the gunpowder is dried on the linen, so that it is safe. ”

Xu Liang asked strangely, "How much gunpowder do you have poured there?" Even if it's a little troublesome, it won't take three days, right? ”

Sima Qiudao's face turned even redder, rubbing his hands, and sneering: "It's not too much, it's just that when the front was drying, his subordinates were lawless, and they accidentally ignited a lot, and wasted a lot." It's still a trick that the last general and the people below have come up with after repeated practice. ”

Xu Liang glared and said, "What." Aren't you very interested in artillery? You don't know how to dry gunpowder? ”

Sima Qiudao spread his hands and said very confidently: "The last general is just a good gun, how to deal with gunpowder." It has always been a matter for the people below, and the general has never cared about it. For the last general. If you can have ammunition, you can fire guns. ”

Xu Liang slapped his forehead suddenly, glared at Sima Qiudao, and angrily drove out the irresponsible artillery battalion owner. I secretly wondered if it was not appropriate for me to use him as the owner of the artillery battalion?

August 15 of the first year of Chongzhen, the day of the full moon.

Pingliang and the prefect Liang raised 8,000 Liang troops, and set off in the middle of the night by the bright moonlight. Ben Pingliang to the east of Chongxin County to come.

The people were grassy, the horses were bits, and the eight thousand Liang troops quietly came to the outskirts of Chongxin.

Xu Liang looked at Chongxin City bathed in moonlight, the entire city had basically fallen into a deep sleep, and there were a few yellow lights on the city tower.

As soon as Xu Liang waved his hand, the various units of the Liang army quietly approached the predetermined position according to the deployment. In this attack on Chongxin, Xu Liang personally led 8,000 Liang troops, with Xing Zhongshan leading a battalion of 3,000 men and horses as the vanguard, Dai Feng leading 3,000 men and horses as the rearguard, and Xu Liang's 1,000 personal soldiers and 1,000 men and horses of the artillery battalion as the Chinese army.

Xu Liang's choice of Chongxin City as the first point of attack was after careful consideration. First of all, Chongxin City is relatively small. There are not many rogues stationed inside, only more than 4,000 people, and Xu Liang can mobilize 8,000 people. It is estimated that it is no fun to attack Pingliang City, which is heavily garrisoned, and it is okay to attack Chongxin City, which has only 4,000 people. Secondly, and most importantly, Chongxin is in the east of Pingliang, next to Jingzhou, if Chongxin City is knocked down, then, Chongzhu, Jingzhou. Zhenyuan and Guyuan will be encircled, and Pingliang City will be surrounded in the middle. The terrain causes great psychological pressure on the thieves.

The five major guns of the artillery battalion have been pushed to a suitable position, and the commander of the artillery battalion, Sima Qiudao, has adjusted the position of the artillery from door to door. The five cannons were all aimed at the north gate of Chongxin City.

Then, Sima Qiudao came to Xu Liang's side with his waist bent over, and asked, "My lord, the position is aligned, when will the cannon be fired?" ”

Xu Liang bit a grass in his mouth, looked at the Chongxin City Gate in the distance, looked up at the moonlight, and asked, "What time is it?" ”

Sima begged, "It's past time." ”

Xu Liang smiled and said, "In the middle of the night, fire the cannon on time!" ”

Sima Qiudao nodded, and then asked, "My lord, why do you have to wait until the time of the child?" ”

"I heard that Zishi is the heaviest time of the day, suitable for killing, setting fire and artillery!" Xu Liang thought about it, looked at Sima Qiudao very seriously, and said.

Sima Qiudao's face was suddenly full of admiration, and he complimented: "My lord is well-informed, and he is well-informed, and he will be admired by the general." ”

Xu Liang was quite useful when he heard this, glanced at the five general cannons that were quietly aimed at the Chongxin City Gate, and asked: "I said Sima Qiudao, why are you also a dignified artillery battalion master now, you can't go into battle to calibrate the gun positions in person every time, it's time to train a few gunners." ”

Sima Qiudao was silent for a while, looking at the five general cannons with fanatical eyes, just like looking at five smooth girls, he shook his head sternly, and said: "No, this kind of work is not good, and it depends on the eyes and understanding, the soldiers you sent to the last general, the eyes are okay, but the understanding is too bad, and even the last general can't catch up with one ten-thousandth." ”

Xu Liang cut and pursed his lips disdainfully, secretly thinking that when this battle was over, he would have to find a way to find out the doorway of Sima Qiudao's belly and contribute it to the brothers of many artillery battalions to share.

The time crept up.

Xu Liang nodded at Sima Qiudao, and saw Sima Qiudao standing happily behind the five generals' cannons, and shouted: "Ignite, fire!" ”

With a loud bang, the soldiers of the Liang Army saw a flame rising rapidly above their heads, falling in the direction of the north gate of Chongxin not far away.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Five cannon shots rang out in succession, tearing apart the tranquility of the night.

The general's cannon was huge, but the accuracy was poor, one fell into Chongxin City, one fell on the wall of the city tower next to it, and the other two had a shorter range and fell into the open space under the city, the only lucky one, finally hit the target correctly, hit the closed city gate, but it seemed that the power was not enough, and the city gate was not broken.

The sound of the cannon stunned the thieves and guards on the tower of Chongxin City, and after screaming and scolding, crying and calling for his mother, countless lights on the city tower were quickly lit, and the thieves and soldiers on the city tower shuttled back and forth......

Xu Liang scolded Sima Qiu angrily: "Just this quasi, you still dare to be called a divine gunner?!" ”

Sima Qiudao was standing not far behind the five generals' cannons, his face was already smoky, his eyes were open, and he was extremely angry and ordered the soldiers of the artillery battalion to re-center the muzzles and reload the ammunition.

Xu Liang turned his head and waved fiercely at Xing Zhongshan, who was looking at him.

Xing Zhongshan turned his horse's head, pointed his long knife forward, and the Liang soldiers behind him shouted, rushing towards Chongzhu City like a tide.

"Rush!" "Kill!"

Three thousand Liang troops rushed out, and Guo Tianxing, the leader of the thieves who was looking around in panic on the upper floor of Chongxin City, roared fiercely when he saw this: "Enemy attack! A row of archers hastily transferred from the slumber to the head of the city stepped forward, pressed the battlements, stretched their bows and arrows, and glared angrily at the Liang army that was getting closer and closer.

Three hundred steps.

Two hundred steps.

One hundred steps!

Seeing that Liang Jun had been deceived to within a hundred steps of the city, Guo Tianxing's entire face was distorted, and he pointed at the city and shouted, "Release the arrow!" ”

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the city wall shook violently, and when the stars raised their eyes, they saw two flames in the air roaring towards the city gate, and they were so frightened that they immediately squatted under the battlements and roared: "Release the arrows, release the arrows quickly!" ”

A sparse round of arrows shot towards the Liang army that was rushing to the city, and with a muffled snort, the Liang soldiers who rushed in front fell a hundred people.

When the thieves at the head of the city were about to put their bows again, boom, boom, and two more shells fell on the edge of the city gate. poked his head out again, and met the Liang army with a rain of arrows from the city...... There was another scream.

Xu Liang was already extremely angry, seeing that the first three of the second round of artillery fire were all missed, and he found nothing except a few city bricks, he couldn't help but curse angrily, and ran to the cannon position in person, and saw that the other two generals were burning the fuses.

The lead burned out, boom, boom two loud bangs, Xu Liang was also shocked to the ears buzzing, when the smoke gradually dissipated, Xu Liang was about to look up, but saw Sima Qiudao standing next to the general's cannon dancing, like a madness: "Haha, hit, hit!" Collapse, collapse! ”

Xu Liang looked in the direction of the city in surprise, only to hear the Liang army who rushed to the city to let out a deafening cheer, cheering and screaming like chicken blood rushed towards the city gate.

Xu Liang fixed his eyes and saw that only two broken wooden frames were left at the Chongxin City Gate, and the wooden plank in the middle had been pierced by the general's cannonball! (To be continued)