Yue Tuo frowned, not because he felt the same way as Luo Xiujin, but because he had an opinion about the "Ming army general".
"Coward, coward!" Yue Tuo finally stretched out his hand, pointed at the guy who was still on the boat, and cursed with disdain.
It's no wonder Yue Tuo was so confident. There were thousands of Jurchen cavalrymen nearby, along with Tong Yangxing's Han troops. Even if there were two or three times as many Ming troops, let alone a few hundred, they would still have an absolute advantage in terms of manpower.
Watching the Ming army's pontoon bridge being extended, and estimating its progress and time, Tong Yangxing also found it strange. With only a few hundred Ming troops, why didn't they wait for the pontoon bridge to be completed? Crossing the river by boat was a death wish, or did they have other motives?
Tong Yangxing glanced at Luo Xiujin, opened his mouth, but finally gave up trying to persuade Yue Tuo because he couldn't provide any evidence.
Of course he knew Yue Tuo's thoughts. He finally had the opportunity to attack him halfway across the river, so how could he let it go easily?
A few hundred Ming troops are too few, it would be better if there were more! Yue Tuo thought that the Ming army would be frightened after one battle.
The boats returned one after another, landing to pick up the second batch of soldiers, but only 300 musketeers boarded, while the other boats were loaded with artillery carts resembling wugang carts, 200-jin falconets, and a large amount of ammunition.
The boat left the shore, oars were used, and it moved forward rapidly. Under the watchful eyes of the enemy and our generals, the boat approached the shallows.
"My Lord, the enemy has brought the artillery here." Luo Xiujin was a little anxious and pointed.
Tong Yangxing blinked his eyes, feeling that if he continued to wait, when the fight broke out, it would not be as easy and simple as Yue Tuo thought.
"My Lord, let me lead the army into battle!" Tong Yangxing volunteered and also subtly reminded Yue Tuo that it was time to act.
Yue Tuo rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Prince Shi Wuli, lead the army into battle! This prince will follow with the cavalry. We must defeat this Ming army in one fell swoop."
"Yes!" Tong Yangxing bowed and retreated.
Lieutenant General Ma Guangyuan, receiving Tong Yangxing's order, immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to serve as the vanguard. With a large force, attacking a lone troop crossing the river, Ma Guangyuan also wanted to claim the first merit.
"Be careful." Tong Yangxing nodded in agreement and ordered Ma Guangyuan to lead a thousand Han soldiers as the vanguard, and he himself led two thousand Han soldiers to follow behind.
The wailing horns sounded, and the Han soldiers rushed out from the woods, grass, and behind the hills to assemble. Under the loud shouts of officers at all levels and the crack of whips, they formed a battle formation.
Han soldiers were exclusively equipped with bird-shaped muskets, the only individual firearms they could deploy in large numbers. They also obtained some flintlock rifles during battles with the Ming army, but they were too few. As for replicating them, it was a distant prospect.
In addition to the bird guns, the Han soldiers also pushed several cannons. The old-fashioned ones were quite heavy and not very powerful.
Tong Yangxing was certainly aware of the disparity in weaponry between the two sides, but the Han army's advantage lay in numbers. If the Ming troops that landed were of equal strength, he would have to carefully consider whether to lead the charge.
To stay hidden, the Jurchen cavalry and Han soldiers stayed far away from the riverbank, about four or five miles. Of course, on the battlefield, or for cavalry, this distance was nothing.
The Portuguese cannons were carried ashore and set up; the musketeers lined up more closely, ready for battle, looking at the enemy coming from afar.
The boats sailed to the south bank to pick up the third group of musketeers. Perhaps instead of abandoning their ships and going ashore, they would fire flanks at the attacking enemy from their ships.
The sound of horse hooves roared, smoke and dust rose, and the Jiannu cavalry also gathered and followed the Han soldiers, pressing towards the hundreds of Ming troops stationed on the shallows.
"First row of artillery, elevation 67 degrees..."
"Second row of artillery, elevation 56..."
"Third row..."
Behind the sandbank, the artillery officers shouted loudly, and hundreds of artillery pieces arranged in four rows adjusted their elevation angles, with the black muzzles pointing obliquely towards the sky.
The Ming Dynasty's heavy armored vehicles, with a minimum range of more than 800 meters, can cover a range of 100 to 600 meters in front of their own army after being deployed in stages.
This was also the reason why the Ming army dared to cross the river alone. The concentration of hundreds of artillery pieces at one time was not only unprecedented in the Liaodong War, but may also be one of the best in the world today.
Xiong Tingbi stood on the sandbank, his telescope in his hand for a long time. Hundreds of Ming troops on the other side stood in a strict battle formation, radiating a fearless aura.
If every Ming army had such combat power, the conquest of Liao would be just around the corner.
Xiong Tingbi secretly sighed that the Ming army in Liaodong and Liaonan clearly had more combat experience than those in Liaoxi. Even with similar equipment and training, the difference in combat effectiveness was mostly reflected in actual combat experience.
This was also determined by objective conditions. The only major battle fought by the Ming army in western Liaoning was the Jiannu attack on Ningyuan. Without fighting, how could there be so much practical experience?
Of course, there are several troops in western Liaoning that have supported the battles in southern Liaoning. Like Dengzhen and Jinzhen, they have gained practical experience through harassment and rotation battles, and their combat effectiveness is stronger.
As a skilled commander, he would naturally assign tasks based on the strengths and weaknesses of each unit. Crossing the river and holding the position was a difficult task, so Xiong Tingbi naturally wanted to send Zhang Pan's mixed brigade.
Zhang Pan's boat left the shore and headed to the other side. As the leader of the Quan Association, he was naturally guarded by his personal guards and was also under the watchful eye of Xiong Tingbi, so he could only take the third boat.
Zhang Pan narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the situation on the other side. Judging by the timeframe, the third group of troops wouldn't need to abandon their ships and land. On either side of the protruding shoal, the musketeers on the ships would fire flanking fire at the attacking enemy.
This arrangement made the front of the troops defending the shallows that needed to be attacked at close range much narrower, and the density of firepower was increased.
On the sandbank, Xiong Tingbi gave orders to the artillery commander: leave only one row of artillery on standby, and the rest of the artillery can fire freely once the enemy comes within range.
There was no such thing as a mid-range bombardment. If the enemy's attack could be stopped by artillery, Xiong Tingbi would not hesitate. He was not like Yue Tuo, who had big eyes and a small belly, and was greedy and wanted to swallow an elephant.
For a few hundred loyal and brave soldiers, the number of enemy kills was unimportant, as long as it reduced their casualties. If the prelude to crossing the river and attacking the city could make the enemy realize their strength and reduce the confidence of the defenders, then the goal would have been achieved.
After receiving the order, the artillery officer checked the direction and elevation of the shooting again, and directed the artillery to load the shells and prepare for the bombardment.
The enemy on the other side of the river was unaware of the hidden murderous intention and their attention was all focused on the Ming army that was getting closer and closer.
In the Ming army's formation, several artillery officers measured the distance to the enemy and continuously transmitted the data to the other side using flag signals.
Communication could be done by drums, gongs, horns, or firecrackers, but flag signals were simple and could be transmitted very quickly with the aid of a telescope.
"Get ready, the artillery is about to fire." Zhao Huizu looked at the flag signal on the sandbank and shouted, "Follow my orders!"
"Yes, General." Zhang Zongbao shouted teasingly.
………………………….
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