People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 364: Chased two hundred miles away, so that the Xia people did not dare to attack the border

On October 4th, Fan Zhongyan arrived at Daming Mansion in Beijing, Song Dynasty, and immediately began to mobilize the entire Hebei Road army, gathering the imperial troops usually stationed in Hebei Road states, and marched to the border.

Di Qing secretly went to Bohai County, Hebei, and mobilized the Hebei Binzhou Navy and Shandong Dengzhou Navy. The two naval fleets totaled more than 30,000 people and set sail to sea.

At the same time, as early as the end of September, the Song-Xia War in the northwest was approaching a fever pitch.

In late September, the Song Dynasty's army was overwhelming, attacking cities and territories all the way, and reached Miaochuan City, which was occupied by Xixia, and outside Zhuoluo City, which was on Xixia's own territory.

Outside Zhuoluo City, Jingtai looked into the distance. In the late autumn and early winter in the northwest, it started to snow lightly. The snow was mixed with small hailstones, which came rushing towards the face. When they hit people's faces, they quickly melted away and turned into wisps of snow. wisps of raindrops.

It was clearly noon, but the sky looked like dusk in the evening. Looking at the far end was gloomy, but it was like looking at a piece of gray smoke.

Zhuoluo City, located in the area of ​​Liushu Town south of Yongdeng County, Gansu Province, was sandwiched by high mountains on both sides. The west side of the mountains is about five kilometers away from the east side. This means that the Song army can threaten the city by setting up cannons on both sides of the mountains. The whole city.

However, the Xixia people naturally knew this, so they also deployed defensive forces on the mountains on both sides, and there were artillery in Xixia itself, which made the Song army fearful and did not attack rashly for a while.

However, in the end, the Xixia people's arrangement in the mountains quickly fell. The Song army sent a small force into the mountains in a roundabout way, attacked the Xixia people's camp from behind, and won the victory.

The top of the mountain was littered with corpses of Xixia people, beaten into sieves by bullets from the Song army that rushed up.

But if it is mounted on a mountain, the range will be greatly increased, and it is more than enough to hit a few kilometers.

The distance is too far, and the long-distance communication can only be carried out by observing the changes in the flags through telescopes on both sides.

At this time, the Song Army was almost invincible in the field. Although the artillery was very powerful in the mountains, there were a lot of jungles in the hills and mountains. After the Song Army reconnoitered the terrain, they sneaked directly into the mountains and began to launch a fierce offensive towards the mountains.

The messenger hurriedly went to convey the order.

The Xixia Army's artillery was aimed at the Song Army's camp in the south. However, they did not have the small steel cannons of the Song Army, which made it extremely difficult for the more than 2,000 kilogram cannon to turn and its flexibility was greatly reduced.

The messenger asked casually.

In a pool of blood, there were more than ten forts located near the camp. The Xixia people used inlay methods to bury the cannon bases in the ground to reduce the recoil for firing.

Wang Shiyun turned around and asked.

Thinking of this, Wang Shiyun turned back and glanced at the top of the mountain.

They all carried muskets on their backs, bullet bags hung on both sides of the horse's belly, a ring-head knife hung on the left waist, and a holster on the right waist. The holster contained a pistol, which was a Ming Dynasty weapon. The Qing Dynasty firecracker is an improved version of the rifle, suitable for close range shooting.

"Yes."

"It should be the artillery of the Xixia people. A message came back from Dongshan saying that it was fired."

"Almost, we're already halfway up the mountain."

After the Xixia army on the mountains was defeated, the Xixia army in the city turned into a battle between trapped beasts. At this moment, Jingtai was riding on horseback, wearing heavy cotton clothes, not the kind of clothes covered with black or green linen, but She was wrapped in a silk velvet jacket, with a cloak fluttering behind her.

Jingtai Station is located on a small hillside east of Zhuoluo City. The observers on the hillside are looking at the mountains on both sides with binoculars.

On the mountains in the distance, Song Army general Wang Shiyun, who was observing with a telescope, saw this scene.

The flag bearer next to him also began to wave the flag rhythmically.

"Deputy Commander, our flag has been planted on the top of the mountain."

"Yes, but in custody, why don't we use Xixia artillery?"

Once the enemy attacked from behind, the artillery position became a living target, and the Song army was soon pursued and attacked, breaking through several fortresses on the top of the mountain.

"Has the artillery arrived?"

Soon the artillery on the top of the hill began to adjust its direction with difficulty.

If you look down from a high altitude, you will see the Song army moving forward slowly. It is less than three kilometers away from Zhuolu City. This position is basically the limit of artillery shooting on the city. If it is flat land, it is about one kilometer. That’s it.

He saw that the red military flag of the Song Army had been planted on the top of the mountain, and it was currently waving to signal this way.

Wang Shiyun was stunned, then pointed at the messenger and said happily: "You are really a damn talent. Quick, turn the muzzle of the Xixia people's artillery."

Wang Shiyun asked the flag-bearer to convey the order that the artillery had been installed. Jingtai at the foot of the mountain was a little puzzled when he learned about this.

Behind him were the soldiers who were also riding horses. At this time, both the military system and the military uniforms of the Song army had changed greatly. They originally wore red military uniforms, iron armor, and a hat on their heads, just like Lin Chong. shape.

"Yes."

But at this time, the Xixia people had not yet used it, and they had taken advantage of the Song army.

"Yes."

The Weiyuan cannon of the Song Army is a small steel cannon weighing more than 200 kilograms. Due to the caliber problem, the range on flat ground is definitely not as good as that of the artillery, which is only a little more than one mile.

"Tell them to transport the Weiyuan Cannon to the mountain and install it immediately."

"Hurry up and send more people to transport it."

But at present, the Song army uniformly wears red linen cotton-padded clothes in winter, a velvet hat on their head, and no armor on their bodies - iron armor in the firearm age has almost no effect, and it makes no difference whether it is worn or not.

"These bastards are quite smart, so let them open fire."

"Why did you press it so quickly?"

In this case, why not use Xixia artillery?
Although the quality of their artillery is a bit poor, and it is easy to explode, it is still an artillery after all, and it can still fire a few shots.

But no matter how small a steel cannon is, it weighs more than 200 kilograms. Climbing up a mountain several hundred meters high is almost like wanting to kill someone. Song Jun was exhausted until he was halfway up the mountain.

He used to be Wang Shiyun, Deputy Superintendent of the Ancient Weizhai Province. Later, because of his meritorious service in the battle of Lanzhou City, he was promoted to Gongzhou Military and Horse Supervisor, and now he is the vanguard of the army.

The messenger conveyed his instructions.

Although the flexibility is poor, it is still much faster than transporting artillery from the bottom of the mountain to the mountain.

About seven or eight minutes later, as the artillery in Xishan roared, the Song Dynasty fired the first shot at Zhuoluo City.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

The roaring sound of artillery was loud.

White smoke billowed out from the mountains on both sides. More than a dozen lead bullets on the mountains drew a gorgeous arc in the air and fell into the city and outside.

Some of the cannonballs missed the target and did not hit the city of Zhuoluo. Some of them hit the city wall directly. A small part of them fell into the city, causing a lot of fright.

To be honest, it is very difficult for long-range artillery to hit people. Unless the enemy's tens of thousands of troops are arranged in a boundless formation, they can be hit casually with their eyes closed.

However, ancient cities often covered an area of ​​more than two or three square kilometers. When the target was so large, the probability of hitting someone was no less than buying a lottery ticket.

However, although these dozen or so shells caused almost no casualties, they were terrifying.

It's so fucking scary.

Seeing the houses in the city falling down, seeing the cannonballs embedded in the city walls, and seeing death so close at hand, all the Xixia troops in the city couldn't help but tremble with their legs. Many people raised their heads and watched the cannonballs falling into the city. They panicked and ran away, fearing that the shells would fall on them.

The remaining people who were still calm tried to hide behind the parapet, praying that they were the lucky ones.

However, this is only the first round.

Then more than a minute later, the Song Army's second round of artillery attacked.

After that comes the third and fourth rounds.

While the artillery suppressed the enemy, the Song Army's cavalry began to move forward, and slowly reached about one kilometer outside the city.

"In custody, the barrel of the gun is too hot. Brothers are afraid of exploding the barrel."

After waiting for five or six rounds of artillery, the gun crew member responsible for firing expressed embarrassment.

As experienced artillerymen, they have trained in all types of artillery on the school grounds.

From the earliest bronze cannons to the later steel cannons, the artillery of the Song Dynasty actually focused on safety as much as possible.

The production cost of wrought iron cannons is low, but the chamber explosion rate is too high. Especially in the Song Dynasty, the ironware contained too much sulfur, which resulted in the chamber explosion rate being higher than the 25% ratio in the Songjin Battle of the Ming Dynasty.

For this reason, the gun crew members no longer dared to continue firing.

Wang Shiyun looked at the Xixia army's iron artillery with some disgust and said: "This wretched cannon has such a slow rate of fire and is so dangerous, so the Xixia people can only make some scrap metal."

"It's also stopped on the opposite side. It's probably the same problem we encountered."

The lookout also stopped when he saw the mountain on the opposite side.

"Have the cannon been brought up?"

"It's almost here. We've reached the top of the mountain. We'll be there in half a quarter of an hour."

"Then let's fire two more shots."

"Yes."

The gun crew waited patiently for a while, and then fired another shot after it cooled down slightly.

The artillery technology of the Xixia people is still far behind.

Regardless of the workmanship or raw materials, there is no comparison with the artillery of the Song Dynasty.

If the Xixia people's artillery was still at the level of the Ming Dynasty, the Song Dynasty's artillery was already at the level before World War I.

Even now, breech-loading muskets and artillery have appeared, but because the replacement cost is relatively high and they were just invented not long ago, they were not immediately promoted to the entire army.

At this time, Yamashita Jingtai saw that the artillery suppression on the top of the mountain seemed to have slacked off, and he probably knew the situation, so he said: "Continue to press forward."

"Yes."

The messenger immediately took out the horn from his waist and blew it.

Immediately afterwards, the Song army, which was originally moving forward at a constant speed, began to disperse to the left and right sides. Tens of thousands of people rode horses, without any formation at all, but moved forward quickly in separate directions.

There is a slogan for infantry and artillery coordination in later generations: "Artillery bombards, artillery bombards, and the infantry charges after the artillery bombardment; infantry charges, infantry charges, and the infantry cannot catch up with the artillery bombardment." This is the standard tactical relationship between infantry and artillery.

The artillery firepower of the Song Army had already suppressed the city. The Xixia Army on Zhuolu City was so bombarded that they could not raise their heads. This was when the cavalry approached.

But at this moment the Song Army's artillery stopped. If they continued to stand where they were, they would only get beaten, so they simply charged.

The war horses moved forward slowly at first, and then the cavalry at the front began to increase their horsepower and accelerate the horses. The soldiers rushed forward all the way. They were scattered on the vast plain land, and there was no cavalry close to them within several kilometers. With.

It was only in the age of cold weapons that we needed to stick together, but in the age of firearms we were looking for death.

Sure enough, taking advantage of the temporary silence of the Song Army's artillery on the mountain, the Xixia people panicked and organized a resistance. The artillery at the top of the city began to counterattack, firing roaringly towards the outside of the city.

But the Song army was too separated. Except for a few unlucky men, the casualties could be described as negligible.

However, the Xixia Army only fired two rounds, causing more than a hundred casualties. The Song Army's artillery on the hilltop started firing again, and the intensity was several times more exaggerated than before.

Because Xixia's national power was weak, even the entire country could only build more than 200 artillery pieces. After all, the cost of one artillery alone was more than 500 guan, plus other miscellaneous expenses, the total cost was close to 1,000 guan.

Li Yuanhao couldn't get so many even if he sold all his stuff, and most of them had to be placed on the border between Song and Xia. Therefore, there were only more than 30 cannons in Zhuolao City, with seven or eight on each of the ridges on both sides and more than ten in the city, which could not pose much firepower threat.

However, the small steel cannons of the Song Army were field artillery, and the cost of construction was relatively low. Therefore, an army of 5,000 people had 60 of them. Jingtai brought an army of more than 10,000 people, and there were more than 100 small steel cannons, which was enough to form a firepower. suppress.

The artillery of this era did not have any long-range aiming instruments and high-mobility towing vehicles, but when used in sieges, it was already a reduced-dimensional strike.

Dozens of small steel cannons that were finally carried up the mountain all fired together and quickly suppressed the city.

When the Song Army's cavalry approached the city less than a hundred feet away, the Song Army's artillery began to cease fire. As the desolate sound of horns resounded through the sky, the Song Army accelerated its speed and rushed to the foot of Zhuoluo City.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The Song troops below the city immediately began to use their guns to suppress fire on the city again.

The long-range shooting of the Xixia people stayed at the stage of artillery and crossbows, but the archers did not dare to shoot out of the female wall at all, making the city very safe.

Then the Song army began to assemble small steel cannons pulled by horses outside the city. As the huge cannon sounded, the south gate was blown down first, and a large number of Song troops poured in, fighting the Xixia people without any suspense. Battle.

Gunshots were heard everywhere in the city. By the time of the afternoon, only an hour and a half had passed from the beginning of the attack to the entry into the city. Zhuoluo City in Xixia had already changed hands and the flag of the Song Army had been planted.

Muskets and artillery did have an advantage in front of the Xixia people who mainly used cold weapons.

Many Xixia people have been suppressed by artillery and cannot lift their heads. There is almost no resistance on the top of the city. The Song cavalry can easily reach the bottom of the city. Whether they climb up with ladders or bombard the city gates, they can easily break the city.

When Jingtai entered the city, there were only sporadic gunshots in the city. Many Xixia people fled from the north gate, leaving only a mess in the city.

"Report, the enemy is fleeing north!"

The scout came over and reported to Jingtai: "There was little resistance from the Xixia people in the city, and they all fled."

Jingtai narrowed his eyes, he won this battle easily.

Thousands of Xixia troops were wiped out alone.

However this is clearly not enough.

Because the Zhiyuan wants the entire Zhuolu and Nansi, there are still large areas in the north and east that he has not occupied.

"Chase, chase for two hundred miles, I will make Xixia never dare to attack the border."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)