When Dorgun saw the things transported on the pontoon bridge, he couldn't help but gasp. Those were several thousand cannons. The cannons under Tang Tong's command were no longer those clumsy Western cannons. Those Western cannons weighed at least three thousand pounds. After the improvements in recent years, the cannons under Tang Tong's command were only about fifteen hundred pounds. There were also two types, one weighing twelve hundred pounds and the other nine hundred pounds. The nine hundred pound one was specially used for land warfare.
The 90-jin cannons are all equipped with wheels, and their power is no less than that of the 3,000-jin Western cannons, and their range is also longer than that of Western cannons. The only drawback is the wheels. After all these years, no real rubber has been produced, or in other words, what has been produced are extremely poor quality rubber tires with a very short lifespan. The cost of such poor quality tires is also very high, but they can be used on artillery.
Dorgun had witnessed the power of this kind of artillery a few days ago. At that time, he knew exactly how many such artillery pieces Tang Tong had under his command, and he was not afraid at all. But now he saw that there were actually thousands of artillery pieces. Dorgun's heart couldn't help but feel numb. Anyone who is not stupid can imagine that under the bombardment of thousands of artillery pieces, even if the power is no longer as strong as before, it is still incredible.
In fact, Dorgun also had more than ten red cannons under his command, so he naturally knew that this kind of thing could not be resisted by human flesh. Those of Dorgun's subordinates who had a little knowledge, after seeing those cannons on the top of the city, were so frightened that they no longer had any morale. No matter how elite or brave the Jiannu people were, they could not withstand the bombardment of these thousands of cannons. Even the poor city walls were far inferior to the Han people's city walls. I am afraid that they would collapse under a round of bombardment from these cannons, not to mention the flesh and blood of these Jiannu people.
If Dorgun's men still had some morale to resist before Tang Tong and his men crossed the river, if Dorgun's men still had some hope before they saw those cannons, but at this moment, even Dorgun had completely lost the confidence to fight on. The small amount of bombardment shells a few days ago had left too deep an impression on Dorgun and his men.
The scene after the shells passed was a living hell. Some people are just strange. When they waved the weapons in their hands to kill others, they never thought that they were the devil, nor did they think that the scene was hell. When others waved the weapons in their hands at them, they would have that feeling of hell in their hearts.
Dorgun was such a person. When he was slaughtering others, he not only did not think of himself as a devil, but also thought of himself as a hero. Now that Tang Tong's army was at the gates of the city, Dorgun still believed that this was the end of his hero's life. He sighed slightly, and the glorious scene of the Jiannu in the past flashed through Dorgun's mind.
Thinking of the glory of the past, a fierce look flashed in Ergun's eyes. He turned around and left the city with his guards. Not long after, the desolate sound of the horn rang out throughout the city. He was slightly surprised when he heard the horn. Tang Tong immediately understood that the sound of the horn was Dorgun calling his men to evacuate: "This Dorgun is really a man who won't give up until he reaches the Yellow River. If he didn't escape earlier, wouldn't it be too late to escape now?"
The tactics deployed by Tang Tongci were infantry in the front and cavalry that came in from the other three directions. Although they did not show up, they had already arrived at the designated location. No matter which direction Dorgun and his men broke out from, not only would there be tens of thousands of troops waiting for them, but the troops in other directions could also quickly join in.
"Your Highness, they are about to abandon the city." Dayuer said, implying that Tang Tong should launch an attack to prevent Dorgun and his men from escaping. Dayuer was very clear about Tang Tong's arrangements, but she also knew in her heart that when it comes to cavalry, those Mongolian cavalry and Guanning Iron Cavalry are no match for the Jiannu people. Only the regular army under Tang Tong is the nemesis of the Jiannu people. If they attack first, they can not only eliminate a part of the Jiannu people, but also hit the opponent's morale.
As for the remaining defeated troops, Dayu'er believed that the Mongolian cavalry and the Guanning Iron Cavalry might be able to hold out. However, she couldn't say this openly to Tang Tong. After all, Tang Tong was a commander-in-chief and her man. In every way, Dayu'er had to protect his reputation and couldn't point out Tang Tong's mistakes in public.
Tang Tong knew that the Jiannu were more powerful than the Mongols and the Guanning Army. However, he hadn't considered the significant influence their strength would have on the Mongols and the Guanning Army. He didn't dwell on Dayu'er's words. However, as someone who had fought for so many years, he naturally wouldn't let Duoergun leave the city so easily. He immediately ordered the cannons that had crossed the river to be deployed and bombarded the city. Whether the bombs would hit the Jiannu army or the Jiannu people was beyond Tang Tong's consideration.
In this era, there were no rules against killing civilians. Killing them was simply bad luck. The reckless shells rained down upon the city, sending the Jiannu into chaos. With the three gates opened, the Jiannu madly rushed outward. The Jiannu cavalry, naturally, could not allow the fleeing civilians to block their path. Team after team of cavalrymen recklessly charged towards the civilians. For a moment, countless screams of agony filled the city gates.
Countless Jiannu civilians died tragically at the hands of their own troops. For these Jiannu civilians, it was a gruesome day. Behind them, countless artillery shells harvested their lives. Ahead, their own cavalry, eager to escape, trampled over their flesh and blood. At this moment, whether they were Jiannu nobles or the poorest, they faced the same miserable situation. At this moment, for these Jiannu civilians, whether they were Dorgun or Tang Tong, they were all equally executed. Only then did the Jiannu realize that in war, it was they, the civilians, who suffered the most.
Although Tang Tong's army artillery unit had only been formed a year ago, many of them were transferred from the fleet. While there were differences between land and sea operations, the differences were not significant. These men also had some experience and did not require Tang Tong's specific command. From the moment the first round of shells landed in the city, the artillery fire extended to the other three gates. As more and more artillery joined in, most of the slave city was meticulously plowed through.
All the artillery fire hit the three city gates, completely destroying them. Not only did it inflict heavy casualties on the Jiannu civilians within the city, but it also killed nearly ten thousand of Dorgon's thirty thousand cavalrymen.
Dorgun glanced at the city shrouded in artillery fire, feeling somewhat sad. However, at this moment, Dorgun knew that the situation was hopeless and it was not the time to be sad. He turned around and ordered his men to march northwest. Only when they reached the grasslands of Mobei, with the 20,000 elite Jiannu soldiers in his hands, Dorgun believed that there might be a day when he could rise again.
After leaving the city, Dorgun and his group did not dare to stay. They were infantrymen, so it was impossible to catch up. This was also the only advantage of cavalry in the face of hot weapons. Tang Tong led his men into the city. Seeing that the entire city was bombed into a mess, he felt a little sorry. After all, Tang Tong was not a bloodthirsty person. He immediately asked his men to treat the thousands of surviving Jiannu civilians. Although Tang Tong's goodwill still attracted hateful eyes, Tang Tong did not care because these people would be dispersed to various places. The men who did hard labor would be rewarded to his men. No matter how much they hated Tang Tong, these people would not be able to make any waves. In another twenty or thirty years, Tang Tong estimated that this man would basically no longer exist.
Tang Tong left one group of soldiers to clean up the ruined city, and took another group of soldiers to chase in the direction of Dorgun's escape. There were 30,000 Mongolian cavalry and 10,000 Guanning cavalry in this direction. Tang Tong thought that Dorgun would not have much chance to break through this gap. In fact, with 40,000 against 20,000, although it could not be said to have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength, it was still possible to stop Dorgun and his men for a while.
Among the 20,000 men under Dorgun, some were injured. After they hurriedly fled for more than ten miles, they heard a cannon shot. Tens of thousands of cavalry appeared in front of Dorgun and his men after the cannon shot. Seeing the Mongols rushing out, Dorgun thought of how these Mongols had been so humble in front of him in the past, but now they were running in front of him to show off their power. The world is unpredictable, and human nature is no exception. Dorgun sighed in his heart again.
Both the Mongolian cavalry and the Guanning Iron Cavalry had a fear of the Jiannu in their hearts. The tyranny of the Jiannu in the past had a profound impact on the Mongols and the people of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the fleeing Jiannu like Dorgun fought desperately, and the 40,000 cavalrymen could not stop the Jiannu for long. In half an incense stick of time, Dorgun broke through a path after paying the price of 6,000 people. If it were not for the Jurchen auxiliary army under Tang Tong coming from behind, the remaining Jiannu would have really escaped.
The 6,000 Jurchen auxiliary troops under Tang Tong were the only cavalry under his command. Those Mongolian mercenaries did not belong to Tang Tong in name, so Tang Tong would not invest any equipment in them. However, the equipment of these Jurchen auxiliary troops cost Tang Tong a lot of money. Not only did they have excellent steel horse-cutting spears, and each man rode two horses, they were also equipped with muskets. After several years of training and fighting, they were more elite than those elite Jiannu troops.
These 6,000 Jurchen troops chased Dorgun and his men all the way. Although Dorgun tried many times to sacrifice pawns to save the chariot and sent out small groups to stop these Jurchen troops, in the face of muskets, this small group of Jiannu troops was destroyed in a moment. After several days and nights, Dorgun's Jiannu troops finally collapsed due to exhaustion.
When the Jurchen auxiliary army finally caught up with the main force of the Jiannu troops and surrounded them, the Jiannu soldiers resisted for a while, and finally the remaining thousands surrendered. The general leading this Jurchen auxiliary army was a Han Chinese named Liu Chi. After cleaning up the battlefield, he found that Dorgun was not there. He was very upset. After interrogating the captives, Liu Chi learned that Dorgun had left the main force with nearly a thousand trusted men the night before.
A heroic man like Dor is decisive. When he found that he could not escape the pursuit behind him with his large army, he resolutely handed over the power of the army to one of his subordinates and fled overnight with only nearly a thousand personal guards.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com