Chapter 368. A moment of crisis during the siege
When Zachari first led two groups of town militia to the fortress in the middle of the lake, he was already aware of the harsh situation, and although the enemy had not completely surrounded the fortress, they had already put on a posture of attacking at any time. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info
Especially those transport ships full of soldiers, as well as the bed crossbows and ballistas on them, all make people feel a little tense in their hearts, after all, these medieval siege weapons can still pose a certain threat to the defenders, not to mention that they have no countermeasures, except for the three 7-pounder light guns.
Five light galleried warships docked at the gap in the wall of the fortress east of the island in the middle of the lake, which had been slightly converted into a pier, and the anchors did not dare to be lowered directly, so the sailors threw the thick cables to the shore, tied them tightly, and let the town militiamen armed with flintlock pistols quickly go ashore and enter the fortress to quickly fill the various defense points.
"Hurry up, come on, get the artillery up!"
Bishop Zachari was also directing the militiamen, carrying the 7-pounder light guns brought on the light Gale's warships, after all, the five warships carried 15 guns, although they were less powerful 7-pounder guns, but it was much better than nothing at all, relying on less accurate flintlock guns to resist the enemy.
In terms of cross-shooting, the flintlock pistol is not very outstanding, although the lethal effect is very strong, but the frequency of firing is pitiful, and the accuracy is poor at a distance of 100 meters because it belongs to the smoothbore, compared to the bow and crossbow in the era of cold weapons, it is also very far behind, and it is impossible to cover the enemy's offensive line with firepower.
This is also the reason why Zachari is so solemn and dignified, commanding two groups of town militia to join the defense system of the fortress in the middle of the lake, and when he came to the top of a tower on the city wall, his face was even more ugly, because among the hundreds of transports and warships, he also saw something that he could not believe.
"What, those guys will have artillery too?!"
Zachari's voice rang out, sharp and incredulous, especially when he stared at the thick and bulky appearance of the transport ship with wide eyes, and couldn't help but feel an itch in his throat.
Turning his head to look at the town militia captain next to him, who also looked solemn, he pointed to the three cannons outside, and said angrily: "When, when will others on Dayinpan Island also have artillery?" Now, with our inferior fortress, we can't stop those artillery shots at all! ”
"They came out of nowhere." The captain of the town militia, who had been in charge of the command before, also had a solemn face, especially when he swept over the three cannons, and said in a bitter tone: "But there is no attack yet, I don't know what they are waiting for." ”
Zachari didn't answer, his face was already extremely ugly, but he slowly waved his hand back, and said in a deep voice, "No matter what those damn guys do, we must hold this fortress." ”
The fortress of Lake Island belongs to the middle node of the Swamp, the most important location, it can be said that holding this fortress is equivalent to controlling the entire Swamp, whether it is entering the Ketufu River or entering the Yuqiao River, it is extremely convenient, which is equivalent to a vital point on the Great Silver Plate Island.
Especially in the inland area of the east coast, there are a large number of hills and hilly areas, including the complex environment of the Everglade, which is almost a self-contained area, except for the coastal communication routes, then there is only the Yuqiao River, the Everglades, and the Ketuf River.
"This place can't be taken."
Seeing the appearance of so many enemies, Zachari also secretly made up his mind in his heart, no one could bear the responsibility for the loss of the fortress on the island of the lake, even as a bishop, the manager of the entire silver pit near the fortress, still did not dare to choose to evacuate from this fortress without authorization, let alone directly issue this order.
Turning his head to look at the green water surface around him, the waves were dripping, and the slight cold wind was blowing, so he couldn't help but take a deep breath and ordered: "Since we can't defend the city wall, then there is no problem in guarding the entire interior of the fortress." ”
The power of the artillery is not something that these rough walls can resist, especially when Zachari looks at the caliber of those cannons, although he only glances at them, he can also find that they are definitely more than 30 pounds, because just looking at the thick barrel and the black muzzle, you can see that this kind of cannon is a large-caliber cannon.
"It's supposed to be a stone cannon."
The captain of the town militia behind him, who also had a certain amount of knowledge, looked at the three cannons outside, although his face was wrinkled, and he also reported to Zachari: "Although our city wall cannot stop the fire of these three cannons, but when our troops shrink into the fortress, those cannons cannot form an effective artillery support. ”
The stone cannon belongs to one of the types of guns in the late Middle Ages, more primitive artillery, slow rate of fire, poor accuracy, and the power is not very large, can only fire ball-shaped stones, which has a greater threat to the city wall.
But this kind of weapon is not a weapon for infantry, and the biggest effect is to attack the city wall, and the current city wall of the fortress in the middle of the lake, their 600 town militia, is absolutely unable to hold it, it is better to withdraw directly to the main fortress inside, rely on the 7-pounder light artillery to build a defensive line, and insist on the arrival of more reinforcements.
"Report, they have a situation!"
Just as Zachari and the captain of the town militia were walking towards the bottom of the tower, the town militia who was still observing from the lookout behind them had extremely ugly faces, turned their heads and said loudly to the two of them: "They, they seem to be about to attack!" ”
And just when the two of them turned their heads in some astonishment, looking at the hundreds of transport ships and warships lined up on the west side of the fortress in the middle of the lake, the three guns at the front were already many sailors walking back and forth, and even in Zachari's eyes, there were fourteen or fifteen short and fat figures in the cabin, as if they were assisting in the control of the three guns.
The huge stone ball was stuffed into the muzzle of the cannon, and several braziers were already lit behind the cannon, and the faces of Zachari and the town's militia fused, and they looked at each other, and immediately turned their heads and ran towards the bottom of the tower!
"Evacuate the walls, evacuate quickly!"
Their order has appeared, commanding the small number of town militia to quickly leave this city wall, because they all know that if the other party makes this kind of action, it means that this city wall will soon become the target of the opponent's concentrated firepower, and it is a ruin that is about to collapse!
Not to mention the three stone-shooting guns, even the ballistas, bed crossbows, and even trebuchets on other warships and transports have already appeared, and each of them has installed their own projectiles on them to wait for fire.