weaving

Chapter 1625 is still a bit lacking.

"Hit! Hit!" the loader He Qingcai shouted.

It turns out that one of the two bullets that hit Akda, the Zhuangda Zhangjing of the Mongol Plain Red Banner, was fired from Zhou Zhendong's musket, which is why He Qingcai cheered so loudly.

The surrounding soldiers all turned to look at them, their eyes filled with envy, admiration, and praise. Everyone cheered.

To be able to hit the enemy with a single blow at a distance of about 135 paces is already quite remarkable in terms of accuracy.

Suddenly, another burst of gunfire erupted from their west, followed by a shout from sniper team leader Zheng Wei: "Good...good heavens, Team Seven has hit the Tartar Niru!"

Everyone looked astonished upon hearing this, especially He Qingcai and Zhou Zhendong, who looked incredulous and even showed a hint of disappointment.

Clearly, their group was only targeting a Zhuangda Zhangjing of the Plain Red Banner of the Jurchen Mongols, while the Seventh Group had actually hit a Tatar Niru Ejen from a distance. Their group's momentum was immediately overshadowed, so it's no wonder that He Qingcai and Zhou Zhendong were somewhat disappointed.

The leader of the sniper team is not the shooter, but the loader, mainly because the loader also serves as the observer.

When the shooter aims and fires at the enemy, the loader will use binoculars to observe the target, both to confirm whether the group has hit the target and to see the bullet's deviation if the shot misses, so as to provide aiming guidance for the next round of sniping.

After witnessing the exciting moment when his group successfully eliminated their target, Zheng Wei turned to the target of the seventh group and saw that the seventh group had successfully sniped the Tatar Niru Ejen, which made him gasp in surprise.

"What's the rush? Hurry up and load the ammo, we can still fire another round!" Zheng Wei shouted angrily in his rough voice, "Our sixth group can't lose to the seventh group!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers of the sixth sniper team were as if they had been injected with chicken blood. The shooters pulled back their guns and stood them on the ground, gripping them firmly with the muzzle pointing upwards. The loaders were equally decisive and immediately began cleaning and loading the guns.

…………

Only three sniper teams advanced from the Tengshe Battalion. The sixth team killed a Jurchen Zhuangda, the seventh team killed a Niru, but the eighth team failed to hit its target.

Even so, the hit rate was surprisingly high—perhaps it was a stroke of luck that brought good fortune to the Yongyi Army on the battlefield—the scales of victory began to tip!

However, Gadahun had sent three Niru (units of Mongol troops) this time, and he would not collapse because of the death of one Niru and one Zhuangda, much less withdraw his troops because of it.

This unexpected event caused a slight disturbance in the Tartar army formation, but it was quickly quelled by the remaining strong men, who regrouped and caught up again.

Gadahun witnessed the entire incident ahead. When he saw the Tartar soldier who came to report, he immediately asked, "How did he die? I didn't see the Ming dogs fire any cannons!"

"Reporting to Lord Gushan, Wuenniu was killed by a musket."

"Where is Akda?"

"He was also killed by a musket."

"A musket?" Gadahun looked incredulous. "Where did those Ming dogs get that musket from?"

"Yes...yes..." The Tartar messenger's face was also full of suspicion: "It was a musket shot from more than a hundred paces away."

"More than a hundred paces away?"

Gadahun was even more skeptical. He suddenly raised his hand and lifted the whip, ready to strike, but for some reason, he stopped in mid-air. His tone became slightly calmer: "Have you checked? It was indeed shot with a musket, wasn't it?"

"Reporting to Lord Gushan, our servants have carefully examined the wounds. Wu Enniu Lu has only one bloody hole, and Akda Zhuangda has only two bloody holes. They are clearly wounds from musket fire, without a doubt."

"How is this possible?" Gadahun roared. "Wu'en was wearing three layers of armor. How could a musket shot from a hundred paces away have killed him?"

The Tartar soldier who brought the message lowered his head and remained silent. Perhaps he too had the same question in his heart, one that he could not answer.
But after only a moment, Gadahun calmed down: "Did you hear the sound of muskets?" "Yes, Master Gushan, we heard them."

"How many sounds? Were they continuous?"

"Judging from the sound and smoke, there were probably fewer than twenty shots, and they were not consecutive, so it must have been only three shots."

After pondering for a moment, Gadahun asserted, "There aren't many Ming dogs with such muskets. He didn't fire three times; he must have split into three groups and each group fired once."

He suddenly turned around and shouted, "Sound the horn and order the warriors to attack quickly. Do not delay the battle!"

Before the soldiers could leave, Gadahun shouted again, "All troops assemble, prepare yourselves, and be ready to launch a surprise attack on the Ming dogs at any time."

…………

"One hundred steps, sir," Chen Zhidong reminded him.

Huo Yuanshan ignored Chen Zhidong and shouted loudly: "Soldiers of the Fifth Squad, be alert and wait for my orders. Anyone who fires without authorization will be executed on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhidong waved his hand and said, "Quickly, pass it on, and don't leave anyone out."

He turned back to Huo Yuanshan and said, "Sir, with me, Chen Zhidong, here, you can rest assured. Why don't we go to the back and see if Li Lianqiao is ready to provide support?"

"No need. I'll stay here. Don't think I'm leaving, Chen Zhidong. I'll stay here with you, Fifth Sentry, until we finish three rounds of volley fire before I go."

"Master..."

"No need for further words, you know my temper!"

Knowing he couldn't persuade Huo Yuanshan, Chen Zhidong said no more.

…………

"Sixty paces." The observer kept updating the enemy's distance.

"All outposts, prepare to fire!" Chen Zhidong shouted the military order.

The rustling sounds rang out in unison as the soldiers of the Fifth Squadron set up their guns and aimed according to military orders, each soldier quickly selecting their target.

"Fifty steps."

Chen Zhidong no longer relied on the observer's report. He raised his binoculars and looked ahead, his eyes intently observing the pre-set marks through the monoculars of the binoculars.

"Attack!" Chen Zhidong shouted.

"Bang bang..."

The chariot soldiers were already highly skilled in combat. At least until the Jurchens approached within forty paces, although they were somewhat flustered, none of them dared to fire their muskets before receiving orders.

However, compared to the infantry of the various battalions of the Yongyi Army, they were still somewhat inferior. Just take this volley as an example—it didn't produce a single, unified explosion, but rather three scattered shots.

Even the 120 wagon soldiers of a single supply wagon detachment could not maintain perfect uniformity, a fact that Huo Yuanshan, as a centurion, deeply agreed with!

"Load the ammunition. Keep your hands steady, don't panic, there's still time!" Chen Zhidong shouted repeatedly.