Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 153 The First Ascent
When they advanced to a place 200 steps away from the city wall, the defenders opened fire. From the sound of the artillery, it was known that the defenders had poor firearms. They did not have heavy artillery such as red cannons and sky rockets, but mostly light shotguns such as falconets and sub-cannons.

This was expected. The elite Ming army was in the nine frontiers, and the military preparations in the interior were slack. Guangxi was located in the south, and there were not as many wars as in the north, so the defense was even more lax.

Danchu ordered the troops to stop, and the front-line soldiers held up rattan shields to block the enemy's bullets. The Zhaoyong army did not launch a counterattack, trying to further consume the enemy's artillery shells.

The key to the surprise attack on Nanning this time was to use light cavalry and advance quickly. In addition to two light rockets, the imperial guards did not carry any other heavy artillery. The firearms battalion was located on the left wing hillside, which was lower than the city wall. Except for the two rockets that could fire shrapnel shells, other artillery could not exert their firepower.

Lead bullets were shot from time to time, most of which were blocked by rattan shields, making a crackling sound. A small number of lead bullets also hit the soldiers, but due to the long range, the lead bullets were weak and their lethality was greatly reduced.

Rattan armor is a specialty of the southwest region. It is fireproof, waterproof, lightweight, breathable, and has one great advantage: it can withstand armor-piercing arrows.

When Danchu read the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty before traveling through time, he was deeply impressed by the rattan armor of the Dashi Army. Sun Kewang had trained troops in the southwest for many years, and his Jiaqian Army was wearing rattan armor. The Jiaqian Army was composed of selected Han and Yi soldiers who were brave and fearless. The Qing army was used to shooting the Ming army with armor-piercing arrows, but found that the armor-piercing arrows that could penetrate the transparent helmets of the Ming armor could not penetrate the rattan armor of the Jiaqian Army. In the end, the Qing army desperately approached the Jiaqian Army and used the "shooting face" skill to defeat the Jiaqian Army.

Since the establishment of the Zhaoyong Army, Danchu has not paid much attention to traditional weapons such as bows and arrows and armor. Bows and arrows are more expensive than muskets and have a longer manufacturing cycle. Armor is more expensive than bows and arrows, but it can resist many heavy muskets.

However, the rattan armor unique to the southwest region received special attention from Danchu. The south is humid and rainy, iron armor is easy to rust, and cotton armor absorbs water and swells, which makes it hot and unbearable to wear in summer. Neither is as practical as rattan armor.

About a quarter of an hour later, the defenders' artillery fire gradually died down, probably because they noticed something was wrong.

Danchu ordered to continue to advance, and when they were 150 steps away from the gate, the defenders opened fire again. The place gradually opened up, and there were inns, restaurants and other shops on both sides of the road, which could provide shelter for Zhaoyong's army.

With the war imminent, the defenders did not destroy these shops, nor did they send soldiers to build fortifications to guard the shops. It seemed that they had no intention of fighting to the death. Perhaps the officers in the city had shares in these shops, which was a common practice in the Ming army.

The Zhaoyong Army stopped again, reorganizing their formation while defending themselves against the lead bullets. Although they were only fifty steps closer, the lead bullets were much more powerful and more dense, and although they were not fatal, they were enough to cause skin injuries.

The defenders learned their lesson and stopped firing when they saw the Zhaoyong army stopped advancing. Danchu was in the rear and noticed that the cavalry battalion and the firearms battalion were lagging behind a little, so he patiently waited for them to catch up.

The first and second artillery teams found a flat area on the left hillside and began to fire shrapnel. The Zhaoyong Army attacked Kunlun Pass from above, and other shrapnel cannons were useless. Only the sky rockets could deliver shells into the city.

With the sound of a gunshot, Danchu ordered his troops to advance another fifty steps, and casualties began to appear in the army.

The defenders' artillery fire became more intense. The Zhaoyong Army remained unmoved. The front row of soldiers held rattan shields, wore rattan armor and iron armor, and marched forward with firm steps. Their figures seemed very small under the tall city wall, but no one was afraid to move forward.

When they reached a hundred steps, the central army beat the war drums. The Zhaoyong army launched an attack without stopping, all the way to the wall.

The soldiers of the imperial guards and cavalry camps held rattan shields in one hand and wooden ladders in the other and began to run towards the wall. There were no shield carts or ladders, only the simplest wooden ladders. In order to adapt to the tortuous mountain road, the wooden ladders were divided into several short ladders, which were then spliced ​​into several long ladders under the city wall.

At the same time, the archers stopped where they were and continued to throw arrows into the city. Throwing arrows was equivalent to blind shooting, and if the arrows were dense enough, they could also cause fatal damage to the defenders. The musketeers were located on the left ridge and continued to advance until they found a shooting position and fired at the enemy at the battlement.

The arrows and bullets significantly weakened the enemy's artillery fire. Under this cover, the personal guard battalion and the cavalry battalion began to accelerate their advance. In this assault, the personal guard battalion served as the main force, attacking the main gate of the city, while the cavalry battalion assisted and attacked the wing city along the right wing hillside.

The direction of the personal guard camp was flatter and the advance was faster. Cen Yong wanted to take the first credit, so he led his soldiers to charge forward. Cannons were fired from the top of the city walls, and lead bullets rained down, causing soldiers to fall down from time to time.

"Brothers, follow me, we are the first sentry, we must win the first place!" The personal guards have never been the vanguard. But this battle is of great significance and difficulty, and casualties are inevitable. The personal guards have the best treatment in the Zhaoyong Army and the most opportunities for promotion. This time, they have no choice but to take the lead.

Facing the tall city wall, the soldiers were inevitably timid. But the sentry leader led the charge, and everyone dared not to disregard their lives.

The second squad rushed to the front without ladders and was responsible for moving the stakes. Of the ten soldiers in the squad, two had been killed by the time they reached the stakes. Lead bullets and arrows kept falling on their heads. They held the rattan shield in one hand and moved the stakes with the other. The stakes were all connected with iron chains, making it difficult to move with one hand.

Seeing this, Cen Yong simply threw away the rattan shield and moved the stakes with his hands. His subordinates followed suit and actually opened a gap between the stakes. The soldiers lacked the protection of rattan shields, and two more were shot and fell. One was shot in the forehead and died on the spot, and the other was shot in the thigh and bled profusely.

Cen Yong was also hit by two arrows, but fortunately he was protected by rattan armor and no vital parts were injured. However, one bullet hit his left arm, and blood flowed all the way to his wrist. Thinking of the credit of being the first to reach the top, he ignored the wound on his arm and shouted, "Brothers, our sentry must be the first to reach the top of the city wall!"

The morale of the subordinates was restored. They carried the short ladder to the bottom of the city wall and quickly put together a long ladder on the ground.

Cen Yong held up the rattan shield in one hand and lay in the middle of the ladder, ready to be the first to climb the city wall. Soldiers from the second and third squads worked together to lift the ladder and put it on the wall.

The defenders on the city wall had already panicked and used battering rams and cannonballs to attack the Zhaoyong Army below the city.

Cen Yong had a rattan shield on his head and took several heavy blows, but he had already put his life and death aside and climbed up desperately.

The three-meter-high city wall was about to reach the top of the city. The defenders used flails to hit Cen Yong on the back, hitting his injured left arm.

Cen Yong cried out in pain, his left hand loosened and the rattan shield fell off. An enemy soldier appeared before him, holding a flail in both hands. It was the enemy soldier just now.

When enemies meet, their eyes are filled with jealousy. Cen Yong bit his sword in his mouth and climbed up using both his hands and feet.

As they were about to reach the battlement, a defender was holding a bow and arrow and was about to shoot down, but when he saw Cen Yong, he was startled and the arrow flew out of his hand and fell to the side. Another enemy soldier came over, and the two of them worked together to move the wooden ladder, trying to knock it to the ground.

Cen Yong quickly took his sword and hacked left and right. The enemy was timid and could not use his full strength. Cen Yong hugged the crenel with his left arm and clamped the ladder with his legs, and finally saved the ladder.

Another enemy soldier thrust his spear forward, and Cen Yong used his sword to block it. The spear tip slid along the small wall, leaving another wound. Cen Yong endured the pain, climbed over the parapet, and without thinking twice, he cursed the enemy soldier with the spear, "Fuck you," and then raised his sword to chop.

Spears are suitable for field battles, but not for defending a city. If you miss the target, you will be easily taken advantage of by the enemy. Why did the enemy use spears to defend the city? Probably because they were poorly equipped and lacked weapons.

The enemy soldier showed his fear and put away his spear to stab again. Cen Yong ignored the enemy soldiers behind him, dodged the spear first, then jumped in front of him and killed him with a single blow.

Four more enemy soldiers surrounded him from the front and back, each holding a sword and a spear. Cen Yong moved left and right, killed one enemy soldier, but was hit by another spear in the calf, and fell to the ground involuntarily. He had no choice but to lean against the city wall and hold up his sword to block the enemy's attack.

In the face of a superior enemy, personal bravery was no longer worth mentioning. Cen Yong looked up to the sky and sighed, thinking that he was too reckless. Although he had the honor of being the first to reach the summit, he was afraid that he would not be able to enjoy it.

At this critical moment, his soldiers rushed to the top of the city wall one after another, shouting and killing, like gods descending to earth. The enemy's morale collapsed, and they abandoned Cen Yong and scrambled for their lives.

(End of this chapter)