In terms of equipment alone, the Ming army was not much different, but it was still far from the standards of modern armies. Even so, since they were mainly fighting against an enemy equipped with cold weapons and had abandoned cavalry, it was not surprising that they had the upper hand.
Cannonballs, muskets, and bayonets will eventually become the nightmare of the Jiannu people today.
The Ming army, which had no mobility advantage, could not force the Jiannu cavalry into a face-to-face battle and could not seize the initiative in the battle. Finally, they seized the opportunity and fully utilized their firepower. It was only a matter of time before they won the victory.
"Forward, forward." Zhang Pan changed his usual gentle expression, rode on his horse, waved his sword, and led the troops to charge forward.
"Charge forward, kill, kill!" Kong Youde sent out two more infantry phalanxes to strengthen the protection of the two wings of the official road troops.
The Ming troops, advancing bravely on the official road, had already advanced significantly, like an arrow thrusting forward. In the fields on either side, several Ming phalanxes were engaged in a bloody battle with the charging Jiannu.
From time to time, artillery carts were pushed off the official road, and the six blunderbusses on board were used up. The Ming army had no time to reload and simply abandoned them temporarily.
After two rows of muskets fired, a gun cart was pushed up to fill the gap. The black muzzle pointed forward, making the Jiannu people terrified and panic-stricken. Some of the Jiannu people in the front row were even scared and retreated backwards.
Our army should also have artillery.
Daishan clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, but he didn't feel any pain.
The Ming army also had artillery before, but why is there such a big difference compared to now?
The Ming Dynasty's research and development of firearms was not considered backward in the world at that time, and was far superior to the barbaric Jiannu.
For example, the Rumi gun was a very powerful matchlock gun; there was also the invention of the self-generating matchlock gun, which had a similar structure to the flintlock gun.
But no matter how good a weapon is, it is still used by people, and the decisive factor lies in the operator.
By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the country was plagued by numerous problems. From the court to the local areas, from officers to soldiers, all were affected by the country's weakness, official corruption, and financial difficulties.
Although firearms existed, their quality was difficult to guarantee; even the most advanced firearms were difficult to equip in large quantities. Food and wages were difficult to supply on time, let alone the production of advanced firearms.
Therefore, Daishan only noticed the sharpness of the Ming army's firearms, but had not yet realized the most critical factor, which was the improvement of the Ming army's spiritual will.
Daishan frowned and looked back. Although he couldn't see, the sound of gunfire continued, indicating that the besieged Ming army was still resisting and had not been completely wiped out.
What was Sahalian doing? Was he afraid of heavy casualties, so he didn't attack with all his might? Didn't he know that every delay there would mean hundreds of thousands of Jianzhou warriors dead and wounded here?
Daishan cursed in his heart, turned around and saw Yuetuo riding his horse towards him with a dusty face.
"Father, how long will we hold out?" Yuetuo was a little exasperated, but more heartbroken. "Our army has suffered heavy casualties. Muhusa, Luo Lantai, Hongke—all died in battle."
When Daishan suddenly heard the names of these three familiar Niulu Ezhen, the flesh on his face twitched a few times. They were all brave warriors who had followed him through hundreds of battles, but they all died here.
Looking back again, Daishan used actions to express his reason for continuing the fight and was determined to eliminate the protruding Ming army.
Yue Tuo bit his lip helplessly, turned his horse's head and galloped away, leaving only "I will lead people to block the enemy on the official road."
Daishan sighed silently. The Ming army had superior manpower and fierce firepower. Continuing to fight would only increase casualties and there was no hope of winning.
But now that things have come to this, if we can achieve the original combat objective and completely wipe out the enemy who has advanced recklessly, it will still be a limited victory.
But if we give up halfway, not only will we fail on both ends, but it will also be a fatal blow to the morale of the army.
The battle had now reached the scale of a major battle and descended into a chaotic melee. The two battlefields, not far from each other, were equally fierce.
Sahalian led 5,000 men to besiege 1,800 Ming troops, while Daishan and Yuetuo led 12,000 men to block the Sanxie army, totaling more than 20,000 Ming troops.
The two armies of Zhang Pan and Kong Youde have already joined the battle, while Zhang Bang's troops are in the rear and have not yet launched.
This situation had already doomed the Ming army to victory, but the battle continued, and every moment, lives were lost in the splattering of blood and flesh.
Just behind the chaotic battlefield with the roar of guns and the shouts of people and the neighing of horses, seven or eight Ming Dynasty heavy forts were being set up intensively under the protection of hundreds of musketeers.
The artillerymen were busy observing the distance, adjusting the muzzles, and aiming at Daishan's flag.
"Shorten the fuse by one inch and three fen." The artillery corps official suddenly issued a surprising order.
As mentioned earlier, crude fuses were unreliable, so to avoid premature detonation and accidental injury, fuses were usually set very long. This is why the shells took a while, sometimes even tens of seconds, to explode after landing.
Shortening the fuse means taking a risk and the shell may accidentally hit the artillery.
Several artillerymen glanced at Fang Weigong, then, without hesitation, lowered their heads and began to work on the fuse. It was so short! This was a first for me.
The angle and orientation of the muzzle had been fixed. The artillerymen loaded the propelling powder and then carefully placed the shells into the short and thick barrel with an iron hook.
Fang Weigong raised his telescope and once again looked for Daishan's flag. As he lowered the telescope, he gave the order, "Fire!"
The iron tip pierced into the firing port, puncturing the propellant bag inside, a fuse was inserted, and the torch was extended.
Boom, boom, boom... Seven or eight cannons roared loudly in succession, and all the shells flew out of the barrels and flew into the air, which also made the artillerymen breathe a sigh of relief.
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