Shuo Tuo looked at the reaction of the Ming army and immediately knew that this was another elite army. They were outnumbered but not afraid at all.
After the city was broken, he had seen several such troops. Regardless of their number, they were all equally brave and fierce.
This is morale, confidence in one's own military strength, and the determination to strike back when one is down. The Jiannu are already doomed to fail, with countless friendly troops fighting inside the city. What is there to be afraid of?
The first row of Ming soldiers engaged the enemy with bayonets raised, and the last row of Ming soldiers followed up, throwing a row of grenades at the enemy over the heads of their comrades.
Balls of fire flashed under the feet of the Jiannu people, and the explosions were deafening, several times more powerful than those of the Ma Lei Zi. The Jiannu people were thrown into chaos in an instant.
Immediately afterwards, another group of grenades were thrown over, and the successive explosions sharply reduced the momentum of the Jiannu attack.
After throwing the grenades they carried with them, the Ming soldiers in the second row shouted, raised their bayonets, quickly joined their comrades, and stabbed forward together.
The third row of Ming troops did the same thing, threw grenades, and then joined the battle.
There was a fierce battle going on in front, and the pursuers behind the Jiannu had also arrived. A falconet cannon fired its only two remaining sub-guns at an extremely fast rate of fire. The dense lead bullets like raindrops swept down a large number of Jiannu.
The Ming army crossed the artillery carts and fired rounds of volleys from their muskets, stabbing the Jiannu army in the back.
The smoke from the grenade explosion gradually dissipated, and what appeared before Shuo Tuo's eyes were fallen corpses, bloody limbs and arms, and wounded soldiers screaming and wailing.
The bodies before them were intertwined, some of them Jiannu and some of them Ming soldiers. However, the Ming army's counterattacks and grenade bombardments curbed the Jiannu's charge, pushing them back and putting some distance between them.
With the sound of a sharp whistle, the Ming army's musketeers raised their muskets and fired a volley at the Jiannu.
White smoke rose up, and flames from the muzzles flickered in the smoke. Amid screams, the Jiannu soldiers were knocked to the ground one after another.
The muskets fired in rows and rows. Although the Ming army suffered many casualties, they were still able to maintain a high density of musket fire after shrinking their battle formation.
What made Shuotuo even more desperate was that reinforcements appeared behind the opposing Ming army. Perhaps it was the call of a sharp whistle, or perhaps it was the attraction of gunfire and explosions, hundreds of Ming soldiers pushed artillery carts and rushed over, shouting.
The shouts and cries behind him were getting closer and closer. This was a large group of Ming troops that had gathered together. Relying on their advantages in numbers and firepower, the Jiannu could not resist them even if they fought desperately.
I didn't expect that this was the place of death. Shuo Tuo looked up at the North City. It seemed so close, yet so far away.
Unable to even take a look at the friendly troops outside the city, Shuo Tuo narrowed his eyes, and then his face showed determination.
He was mentally prepared to die on the battlefield. He had been in the army since he was seventeen, charging into battle, fighting bravely, suffering wounds, and nearly being killed. Today was the day he would sacrifice his life, shedding his last drop of blood for the Great Jin.
Shuo Tuo shouted, "Kill!" and pointed the knife at the enemy in front of him.
"Kill!" The Jiannu people howled loudly, bursting into a final frenzy, waving swords and guns and rushing towards the bursts of white smoke in front of them.
……………………
The fierce fighting outside the city continued, and the desperate attacks of the Jiannu army also had an effect.
The three trenches were filled to create passages. Although they were not wide and the price paid was very heavy, some Jiannu soldiers had already rushed into the fortifications and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Ming army.
However, due to the fierce indirect firepower of the Ming army's grenade launchers and the Ming army's heavy fortifications, the Jiannu attacking team found it difficult to maintain its numbers and the attack lacked sustained pressure.
Nurhaci and several generals who were watching the battle also noticed this. The old slave's heart sank, knowing that it would be almost impossible to break through the Ming army camp and save the city from falling.
They had already lost so many men and horses before even capturing the fortifications outside the Ming army camp. While the troops from other Ming camps had not yet been deployed, the Ming army's firepower output was still formidable.
Fan Wencheng shook his head helplessly and turned his gaze to Li Yongfang beside him.
Li Yongfang sighed silently and responded by shaking his head. They both knew that there was no hope if they continued fighting like this.
The Ming army was already so powerful?! Fan Wencheng recalled the fierce battle outside Ningyuan City. Although the red cannons were terrifying at that time, they were still not on the same level as now.
He had experienced the rapid firing rate of muskets, but the sheer number of artillery pieces was unbelievable and terrifying to him.
As a vast country with a vast territory and a population of hundreds of millions, this should not be a difficult task. However, this Ming Dynasty was not what Fan Wencheng had imagined.
A great empire that can mobilize nearly half of the national strength is no longer something that the Later Jin can contend with.
What's more, it was the whole country's strength. Fan Wencheng thought of the article in the newspaper and finally believed that this was not an empty threat, but the truth.
Suddenly, Fan Wencheng's gaze fixed on the city in the distance.
Not only he saw it, but many people, including the old slave, saw it. The flag of the Later Jin Dynasty on the top of Haicheng City disappeared, and the battle flag of the Ming Dynasty fluttered in its place.
It's over! The city wasn't just breached; it was completely captured.
In such a short time - the eyes of the two big traitors, Fan Wencheng and Li Yongfang, met, and both showed shock and fear.
"Sound the horn! Retreat!" The old slave's voice was hoarse and low, and he struggled to utter the order word by word.
There was no point in attacking fiercely. Even if one camp was captured, it would be impossible to cause the entire Ming army to collapse, and it would be impossible to recapture the city.
Likewise, I was shocked by the speed with which the Ming army conquered the city. The Han soldiers inside the city were not good at field combat, so defending the city should have been much easier. They also had plenty of firearms to help them, so how could they be so vulnerable?
The sound of trumpets rang out on the battlefield, whimpering like sad cries.
"Kill, charge!" Yue Tuo acted as if he didn't hear anything, waving his sword and charging like crazy, trying to force the retreating troops to charge forward again.
The Jiannu under the Red Banner attacked the hardest and suffered the greatest losses. When they heard the call to retreat, they ran back as if they had been pardoned, but were stopped by the personal guards led by Yue Tuo, and were at a loss for what to do.
"Anyone who retreats will be beheaded!" Yue Tuo glared angrily and raised his knife like a ferocious monster, about to kill the hesitant Niulu Ezhen.
His arm was grabbed, and the knife stopped in mid-air. Yue Tuo turned around fiercely, wondering who was so bold.
"Brother," Sahalian frowned and reminded him, "The Khan's orders must not be disobeyed."
Yue Tuo blinked slowly. Although this sentence was short, it was very meaningful.
"We've already suffered heavy casualties. The two Red Flags can't continue fighting like this." Sahalian added, "Father still needs our support."
The crazy anger in Yuetuo's eyes subsided a little. Disobeying the Khan's order would have serious consequences. If the two red flags suffered heavy losses, his father Daishan would have no army to support him, and life would be difficult.
Looking back angrily, he saw more Ming army flags flying on the top of Haicheng City, which finally dashed Yue Tuo's last hope.
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