1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3895

The Haihan hot air balloon that had previously flown over Nanchang only circled once before returning, without reaching the south of the city. The north of the city was abuzz with speculation about the object's arrival, but the south remained calm, with many people not even having heard any rumors about it.

However, this does not mean that the pressure on the south of the city is less. On the contrary, due to its terrain and environment, the south of the city was identified by the defenders as the main direction of the Haihan Army's attack early on. The scale of the artillery positions set up by the Second Division of the Haihan Army outside the city seems to fully confirm this judgment.

According to observations by the garrison at Jinxian Gate, the Haihan Army had set up more than forty artillery positions of various sizes on the plains outside the city in just two days. Regardless of the capabilities of the artillery to be deployed at these positions, the number already exceeded the number of defensive artillery pieces deployed by the garrison along the southern defense line of the city.

The situation outside the city had evolved to this point not because the defenders of Jinxian Gate were merely passively watching the Haihan Army deploy right under their noses, but because the city's defensive artillery had insufficient range and could not reach the Haihan Army's positions.

Thinking about this more deeply, the situation is even more frightening, indicating that the Haihan Army had long ago obtained intelligence about the garrison's artillery, which is why they were able to brazenly carry out construction outside the city.

As for going out of the city to meet the enemy and prevent them from setting up positions, that was even more impossible. After the military horse farm in the south of the city was occupied by the Haihan army, the entire gate opening had been filled with earth and stones to prevent the city gate from falling.

In this way, the Haihan army outside the city could not break in, but the garrison inside the city could not go out either, and could only wait for the Haihan army to launch an attack.

When Zhao Mingyu and Ding Baoguo arrived at Jinxian Gate, the sight outside the city made the two high-ranking officials gasp in astonishment.

Through the telescope, it can be seen that the more than forty gun emplacements outside the city are now completely filled with cannons of all sizes.

Hundreds of artillerymen are adjusting their equipment and moving shells in preparation for the upcoming attack.

The largest cannon, with a barrel length of over ten feet, had a range far exceeding that of the city's defensive cannons with barrels only six or seven feet long.

Zhao Mingyu asked, puzzled, "Lord Ding, I noticed that the barrels of the Haihan cannons are very slender. Aren't they afraid of the barrels exploding when they fire?"

Upon hearing this question, Ding Baoguo knew that this Left Provincial Governor had some knowledge of military affairs, but not much. He immediately explained to him patiently, "This is precisely the power of the Haihan cannons. Because the steel they use is of the highest quality, the barrels are much thinner than our cannons, but much longer. Therefore, they look thin and long, while our cannons appear short and thick."

Zhao Mingyu said, "So we can actually build cannons with barrels that long, but to prevent them from exploding, we would need to use more materials, making them a bit bulkier, right?"

Ding Baoguo smiled wryly and said, "That makes sense, but we are limited by technology and it is actually very difficult for us to make it. You should know that the longer the cannon barrel, the more difficult it is to cast. And the smelting and forging techniques used by Haihan are far superior to those of our country. So even if we know the principles and structure of their weapons, we still cannot replicate them exactly."

Although Zhao Mingyu didn't quite understand, he still nodded repeatedly to show that he had learned something.

What Ding Baoguo said was merely a microcosm of the gap in military technology between the two sides. The difference between the two countries' artillery was not only in the material and manufacturing technology of the barrels, but also in the firing mechanisms. The defensive artillery used by the Nanchang defenders were almost all traditional muzzle-loading cannons, while the heavy siege artillery on the Haihan position outside the city was all breech-loading cannons. The shells had also evolved from solid shot to copper-cased fixed shells, and their range and power far exceeded the old-style cannons used by the Ming army.

In addition, there were several mortars on the Haihan position. This was the first time that such special artillery had appeared on the Jiangxi battlefield. It was specifically used to attack targets inside the city that were hidden by the city walls.

However, mortars are relatively small, and on such a large battlefield, their presence is obviously not as noticeable as that of large-caliber siege artillery. Zhao and Ding on the city wall did not notice this weapon at the moment.

Although the Haihan army outside the city had unilaterally set a deadline for surrender, Ding Baoguo would certainly not give up. He believed that even if the Haihan people were not just making empty threats, they could not possibly break through Nanchang City in a short period of time.

He led tens of thousands of troops to Nanchang to prepare for a month or two, and the city walls were also reinforced. Even if the Haihan army had some heavy artillery, it was not certain that they could break through the defenses of Nanchang.

Ultimately, Ding Baoguo still wanted to witness firsthand just how powerful the Haihan Army was, that it had managed to conquer most of Jiangxi in just two months.

However, Ding Baoguo was not foolish enough to actually stay on the city wall and wait for the Haihan Army to launch an attack. He had long heard that the Haihan Army had a so-called "decapitation tactic" that involved finding enemy generals and high-ranking officers in the enemy ranks during the battle and using precision weapons to snipe them, thereby disrupting the enemy's command system. Once successful, it often caused chaos and loss of control in the enemy army.

Ding Baoguo didn't want to become a sitting duck for the Haihan army at the very beginning of the battle, so he timely invited Zhao Mingyu back to the city to find a relatively safe place near Jinxian Gate to wait for the moment of battle to begin.

Although Zhao Mingyu was determined to live and die with Nanchang City, he was, after all, a civil official. When the war actually started, he would inevitably be a little apprehensive. Returning to the city to wait was exactly what he wanted.

Not long after the two returned to the city, a subordinate reported that the Haihan position outside Jinxian Gate was already in battle formation, with many military flags raised and artillerymen beginning to take their positions.

"Pass on my order: all units must hold their positions and not retreat. Once the Haihan Army has finished its artillery bombardment, the infantry will begin their attack and strike them according to the established battle plan!"

Seeing Ding Baoguo calmly issuing orders, Zhao Mingyu's unease lessened slightly. He didn't press Ding Baoguo about what the "established battle plan" was; at this point, the other party probably wouldn't bother to explain it in detail.

In short, as long as they don't lose their composure in the face of the Haihan army's offensive, it shouldn't be too easy to break through Nanchang, a fortified city with tens of thousands of defenders.

The deadline set by Haihan was fast approaching when a rousing bugle call was heard from outside the city, followed by several cannon shots.

To their great surprise, the cannonballs fired from the Haihan position did not hit the city wall not far from their location, but instead bypassed the city wall in some strange way and crashed into a temporary barracks behind Jinxian Gate.

Several shells were fired in quick succession, all hitting the temporary barracks. The explosions were accompanied by the screams of the wounded, which greatly surprised Ding Baoguo and Zhao Mingyu. How was this possible?