Ming Zuo

Chapter 660 Liaodong Beacon Fire
Whether offensive or defensive, it is a complex system engineering.

The attacker has to face more than just a city wall, and the defender has to rely on more than just a city wall.

Once the battle starts on the city wall, it means that it has reached the final stage.

For the New Army and the Eight Banners Army, at the beginning of the war, the two sides had to compete for the area in front of the city wall.

This place was originally a plain, empty and unobstructed.

If the Eight Banners Army wanted to attack under the city wall, they would undoubtedly become a living target if they rushed straight there.

For the new army, if the corresponding fortifications were not established in such an open area, then the city wall represented complete defenselessness.

Since the emergence of hot weapons, trenches have become one of the main means of warfare.

It doesn't matter how powerful the firearms of this era are or what the hit rate is, as long as you are a human being, you don't want to die.

If you don't want to die, you can only dig trenches to avoid the firearms.

After the Eight Banners Army formed their formation, they dispatched countless peasants and slaves to dig and dig in the plain.

Within a hundred meters in front of the city wall of the new army, there were also ravines and bunkers.

When the trenches of the Eight Banners Army approached, the battle between the two sides began.

The new army had already prepared mortars behind the city walls.

After receiving the command from the observation post on the city wall, shells were thrown into the sky one after another, and then fell vertically.

Of the fifteen shells, ten accurately fell into the tunnel.

Because the mortar shells flew very slowly, the Jurchens witnessed the whole process.

Seeing the iron bumps falling from the sky one by one, many people were puzzled, not knowing what they were.

But the metal storm that swept through the tunnel immediately made them understand the horror of these little lumps.

In the ditch closest to the new military fortification, the Jurchens suffered heavy losses, and many people fled back howling.

In the rear, Dorgon couldn't help standing upright immediately, trying to see what happened.

"What is this?"

The generals of Jin looked at each other in blank dismay, but no one could answer.

None of them had ever seen such a strange weapon.

The images of mortar shells falling were repeated in their minds, making them understand that the trenches seemed to have little defense against this thing.

While the mortars were clearing the trenches at the front, the soldiers of the new army behind the fortifications began to move forward.

Their speed was very slow, and they advanced cautiously with their muskets in hand.

Every three or four steps, he would quickly find cover, and then aim the gun at Houjin's trench to cover the companions behind him.

It took about [-] seconds to advance alternately in this way before the soldiers of the new army touched the front of the Houjin trench.

Less than thirty steps away, a human head suddenly appeared in Houjin's trench, accompanied by sharp iron arrows.

The soldiers with sharp eyesight and quick hands quickly rolled away to avoid them, hiding behind the cover and never showing their heads.

Some reacted more slowly, were shot on the spot and fell to the ground.

The Jurchens' archers were so precise that several soldiers were shot in the throat and died on the spot.

The rest were shot incapacitated, though not fatally shot.

But after these soldiers fell to the ground, they quickly curled up into a ball and exposed their backs to the Jurchens as much as possible.

The Jurchen archers didn't know why, so they continued to shoot arrows at these people.

What they didn't know was that the soldiers of the new army wore padded armor on their backs in addition to backpacks.Coupled with the material of the military uniform, Hou Jin's bows and arrows shot over, only turning them into hedgehogs, but they did not suffer any damage.

The comrades behind the wounded soldier quickly threw the rope.

After the wounded soldier grabbed it, he pulled it back against the ground.

When the Jurchens started shooting arrows, the new army's counterattack was equally sharp.

Originally, the distance was less than two hundred meters, and the snipers on the city wall kept staring at the trench.

Once a Jurchen was exposed to the scope, the snipers opened fire immediately.

Compared with bows and arrows, specially made sniper rifles are too accurate.

For a well-trained sniper, a distance of more than two hundred meters is easier than shooting a target.

Amidst the sound of gunfire, the casualties of the Jurchens were horrific.

Seeing that their companion was killed by gunshots from somewhere, the remaining Jurchens did not dare to look up.

Under the cover of snipers, the soldiers of the new army advanced again.

When they were less than twenty paces away, they took out grenades and threw them into the trench.

Another wave of explosions made Houjin's archers unable to gain a foothold and had to retreat.

"Don't go in rashly, check carefully, and be careful of ambushes."

An experienced company commander shouted loudly, reminding the soldiers not to enter the enemy's trench easily.

The new army itself will make various organs in the trenches, and I believe the Jurchens will do the same.

The officers' reminder was timely.

The Jurchens' trenches are indeed full of traps.

Although they had no landmines or trip mines, they dug many traps, and if they fell into them, they would surely die.

But if the soldiers of the new army don't go in, they will still be attacked by the Eight Banners Army.

Because the Eight Banners Army has already set up the cannons.

Seeing the soldiers of the new army in the wilderness, Shi Tingzhu immediately ordered to open fire.

More than a dozen cannons roared, and iron balls were thrown at the soldiers of the new army.

In this situation, the only thing the soldiers of the new army can do is to lie on the ground tightly and minimize their own area.

Survival under such bombardment was all a matter of luck.

Fortunately, Houjin's artillery fires all solid shells, and the damage area is limited.

After the hot iron ball hit the ground, it flew wildly, and only two new army soldiers were killed.Three other people had their arms and legs broken and were also dragged down.

As soon as the Houjin cannon fired, it was immediately locked on by the observation post of the new army.

"367.7, 43.5, high and low are five, fire!"

The heavy artillery position of the new army that had been set up behind the city wall immediately roared.

Accurately calculated shooting is far from being comparable to Hou Jin's eye and experience shooting method.

Moreover, the ultra-long range of the new army's heavy artillery made the artillery of the Eight Banners Army taste the power for the first time.

The sharp whistling smashed into the artillery positions of the Eight Banners Army, and the fireworks rolled in an instant, and the shock wave swept through and brought the explosion of gunpowder.

The earth vibrated rapidly, and the wild sand danced along with it, like an earth dragon rolling, which was extremely amazing.

When the dust and smoke dissipated slowly, Dorgon, Azig and the others were stunned and cold when they saw the messy artillery positions.

Previously, Tang Gudai had repeatedly emphasized that the artillery of the new army was terrifying, but they didn't really believe it, thinking that Tang Gudai was exaggerating in order to absolve himself of guilt.

But now it seems that the artillery of the new army is far more terrifying than what Tang Gudai described.

How do they know?
This time the new army's anti-artillery artillery used heavy artillery, how could it be as powerful as the rifles under Qingshui Pass at that time?
After blowing up the artillery positions of the Eight Banners Army, the infantry of the new army began to approach the trench without hindrance.

They worked step by step, carefully cleaned up all the organs, and never greedy for merit.

Seeing the soldiers of the new army start to enter the trench, the retreating Eight Banners quickly turned around and came back.

Everyone was in the trenches, and the terrifying artillery of the new army could not support them. This made the Eight Banners Army more courageous and decided to drive the new army out.

(End of this chapter)