weaving

Chapter 1395 Cannons Plow the Land
After the rebel army's cavalry joined the battle, the situation on the battlefield indeed changed somewhat.

Previously, Liu Tichun and Li Michang had also organized several infantry charges, but they failed to reach the Yongyi Army musketeers. At most, they were defeated after two rounds of musket fire.

But cavalry units are different...

Cavalry could charge close to the gunners with their speed advantage, but this was on the premise that they had to "disregard casualties," and the rebel army's cavalry did just that.

However, although the rebel army's cavalry charged forward at great cost, they did not inflict much damage on the Yongyi Army's musketeers.

Because what truly engaged them in battle were not musketeers, but the armored killing gods of the Brave and Resolute Army—heavy cavalry!

Suddenly, many gaps appeared on the line of the brave and resolute army's musketeers, especially in the middle section, which was completely empty...

Just as the rebel cavalry were wondering what was going on, a number of tall warhorses rushed out of these openings. Like the knights riding on their backs, these warhorses were also clad in full horse armor.

…………

The horse armor of the heavily armored cavalry of the Yongyi Army consisted of four parts: the face shield, the neck guard, the breastplate, and the body armor.

The "face curtain" is a long, narrow metal face shield with eye holes, primarily protecting the warhorse's face; the "chicken neck" is a suit of armor protecting the warhorse's neck, made of plates joined together, with buckles at the front for fastening; and the breastplate and body armor, as the name suggests, are armor protecting the warhorse's chest and forequarters.

Compared to traditional warhorse armor, the Yongyi Army's horse armor consists of only four parts, lacking the backrest and parasite parts, mainly to reduce the burden on the warhorse.

"Dahhou" refers to a large area of ​​armor protecting the rear of the warhorse; while "Jisheng" is more distinctive. It is a broom-like object placed on the horse's tail and slightly upturned, mainly to protect the cavalryman's back.

The cavalry of the Valiant Army were only responsible for breaking through enemy defenses. They were like a sharp knife, and as long as they could pierce through the enemy cavalry, the subsequent fighting would naturally be taken over by other cavalry and infantry.

Therefore, Zhang Chengcai, the Earl of Yongning, boldly decided to remove the rear protective components, namely the back brace and the parasitic armor, from the armored cavalry's horse armor. This reduced the weight of the warhorses, allowing them to break through defenses at a faster speed and also increasing the combat time of the armored cavalry.

After all, the combat time of armored cavalry depends entirely on the stamina of their warhorses!

…………

The appearance of heavily armored cavalry caught the rebel army's cavalry completely off guard.

Although the rebel army sent a thousand cavalrymen to help the infantry break through the musketeers' lines, their aim was the speed of the cavalry, so the ones who came up were all unarmored light cavalry.

Faced with the sudden appearance of armored cavalry, whose horses were also armored, the riders of the rebel army felt a chill in their hearts.

The valiant heavy cavalry, clad in uniform red cloth armor, gleamed brilliantly in the midday sun, while the lances they held also emitted a dazzling light.

Although there were only 516 heavily armored cavalrymen, they displayed astonishing power.

Their speed wasn't fast enough, but their power was surprisingly strong, like an ever-approaching iron wall about to crush everything in its path...

The arrowhead—this heavily armored cavalry—was the deadly arrowhead in the brave and resolute army's arrowhead formation, and also the heavy arrow that Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng shot at the rebel king Li Zicheng!
At the very front were twenty heavy cavalrymen leading the way, and from the sixth row onwards, it became forty cavalrymen in a horizontal row, like a steel knife cutting into a block of tofu, invincible.

While the rebel light cavalry were still stunned, the sudden attack by the brave and resolute heavy cavalry broke through their lines.

"boom……"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

Another deafening roar followed. "Boom! Boom!..." The explosions continued, each stronger than the last. Unlike the previous three rounds of artillery bombardment, this time it seemed endless, as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, as if the entire earth was crumbling...

Despite the continuous deafening roar, the musketeers of the Brave Army remained unfazed, continuing their orderly retreat to the flanks to coordinate with the infantry in defending against the rebel army's flanking attacks.

Meanwhile, compared to the composure of the Yongyi Army, the Chuang Army appeared quite flustered.

The vanguard of the rebel cavalry had just been breached by the heavily armored cavalry when a tremendous roar came from behind. Not only were the knights terrified, but their warhorses also became restless, with some knights even being thrown from their horses.

The most shocked were the infantrymen in the rebel army. Lagging behind the cavalry, they were closer to the bombardment and felt the devastation more acutely.

What shocked and terrified the rebel army even more was that this shelling attack actually included exploding shells, and those deafening roars were all caused by them.

In fact, the soldiers of the rebel army should thank Lord Yongning, Zhang Cheng, for not using poison gas bombs in this battle in order to avoid harming their own troops. I really don't know if the rebel army should be grateful to Lord Yongning for this.

…………

A very strange phenomenon occurred on the battlefield.

Apart from the heavily armored cavalry of the Brave Army continuing their advance, all other fighting ceased, and everyone involuntarily turned to look in the direction of the rebel army's camp, which was being bombarded by artillery fire.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the rebel army in the center of the bombardment were experiencing the most terrifying thing in their lives—a baptism of hell on earth!
I ran two steps to the left, and a cannonball came hurtling towards me with a whoosh; there was no way to avoid it...

He fled to the right, barely avoiding two solid iron cannonballs, but unexpectedly, a third one flew towards him at high speed. He quickly judged the landing point based on his experience...

He thought he could successfully dodge it, but to his surprise, the metal lump exploded behind him, sending countless fragments—stones and pieces of metal—flying towards him.

Although his body was still half-squatting on the ground, it was already riddled with holes, and his face was also hit by shards, leaving no part intact. From head to toe, he was a complete bloody mess.

But his expression was still faintly discernible, a terrifying look of disbelief!
…………

"The cavalry, the government army's cavalry, they've finally moved."

Wu Ruyi, who had been closely watching the battlefield, smiled broadly when he saw the Yongyi Army cavalry appear. The weight on his heart was lifted at that moment.

In fact, Chuang Wang and his men were quite wary of the Yongyi Army cavalry.

Although there were no large-scale cavalry battles, judging from the scouting duels over the previous months, the cavalry of the Brave and Resolute Army must not be weak, and may even be quite powerful.

Therefore, the Yongyi Army's cavalry never appeared, and the huge weight in their hearts remained unbearable!
What surprised them all was the second artillery bombardment by the Yongyi Army... one round, two rounds, three rounds... how could there be more?

The final round!

What, they're still firing cannons?

Aren't they afraid the cannon will explode?

“Big…cannon…cannon plowing the land…Zhang Cheng…has he gone mad?” Niu Jinxing stammered.

Song Xianze then walked to Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, and reminded him, "Grand Marshal, the whole army is attacking... let the cavalry attack!"