Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 290 Slaughter of Qing Army
If you look down from the air, you'll see that the Qing army's camp layout was quite sophisticated.

Ao Bai was indeed a brave warrior in battle and was hailed as the number one warrior in Manchuria.

Later, Huang Taiji used the story of "Wu Xia Ameng" to encourage him to read more books, especially "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and required him to read it thoroughly.

Ao Bai then followed Huang Taiji's instructions and studied diligently, reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" every day, and it really worked.

By the late Shunzhi period, Aobai had grown into a general of the Qing court, and his military campaigns were already very well-organized.

His camp layout was triangular, with the front camp protruding, and the entire vanguard consisting of Green Standard Army troops forming an offensive triangle.

The central camp was circular, with a drill ground in the middle where a large number of cavalry were stationed.

The area behind it forms a fan shape.

The camp layout is quite clear: the front camp is convenient for attacking, the middle camp is easier to defend, and the rear camp can be used for both offense and defense, and can also supervise the front and middle camps.

The three large camps were composed of hundreds of smaller camps, with fortifications scattered throughout the area below. The tents were so numerous that they blocked out the sky, covering an area of ​​several square kilometers, creating a vast sea of ​​tents at a glance.

At this time, Ao Bai was in the rear camp.

In fact, most of the Manchu, Han and Mongol Eight Banner soldiers were in the rear camp, while only Han Eight Banner soldiers and a very small number of Manchu and Mongol Eight Banner troops controlled the Green Standard Army soldiers in the front and middle camps.

The task of attacking was naturally assigned to the Green Standard Army, whose noble Eight Banners descendants were responsible for supervision and massacring people after the city fell.

This is true in dozens of massacres of varying scales, including the Yangzhou Massacre, the Jiading Massacre, and the Jiangyin Massacre.

It has almost become a convention.

At this moment, the rear camp was still being set up in an orderly manner.

Ao Bai and his team of civil officials realized that the Ming army's artillery fire was dwindling, and that it might be time for a general offensive.

"My lord, the imperial court has sent another official document."

Outside the camp, Ao Bai, along with several Manchu generals and civil officials such as Zhao Tingchen, were inspecting the camp in elegant silk attire.

The official in charge of clerks rushed over and presented the documents.

"Well"

Ao Bai took the official document, pursed his lips, and let out a long, muffled sigh.

He knew what was written inside without even looking at it.

Things haven't been very peaceful in the Jiangnan region lately.

When the Manchus marched south, the most intense resistance came from the Jiangnan region.

Leaving aside places like Yangzhou, Jiading, and Jiangyin, let's consider other places like Jinhua, Changshu, Nanchang, and Guangzhou.

Almost all major cities in the Jiangnan region were massacred by the Manchus, and there is a deep-seated hatred between them and the Tartars.

Therefore, with Zhu De's propaganda offensive and their capture of the southwest, the people of Jiangnan gained the confidence to rebel, showing a trend of a major outbreak.

Moreover, when Zheng Chenggong heard about this, he and Zhang Huangyan both felt that the restoration of the Ming Dynasty was hopeful, so they also planned to lead their troops north again to attack the Manchus.

Currently, the Qing Dynasty has stationed around 200,000 troops in various parts of Jiangnan. However, undercurrents are surging in Jiangnan, and there have even been incidents of attacks on government officials and their servants, as well as many county officials fleeing or failing to perform their duties.

This obviously made the Qing court somewhat anxious, and they were eager for Aobai to eliminate this anti-Qing force in the southwest, so that the restless forces in Jiangnan would lose their support and thus cease their activities.

"Read it aloud."

Ao Bai didn't open it; he simply tossed the document to Zhao Tingchen, who was standing next to him.

After reading it, Zhao Tingchen did not read it aloud immediately, because Sony's tone was already very stern. Instead, he said, "Your Excellency is also anxious. There have been many incidents of attacks on officials in Jiangnan, and there is an undercurrent of unrest among the people. Zheng Chenggong is also leading his troops northward. Jiangning, Suzhou and other places are submitting memorials to the court. The Prince of Jingnan is also saying that Zheng Chenggong's scout ships have arrived in Fujian. If Zheng Chenggong lands in Fujian, I fear that countless people in Jiangnan will immediately rebel."

"What's the use of being anxious?"

Ao Bai actually had a good relationship with Sony. Both of them were almost executed by Dorgon for fighting against him, and they had also protected each other and saved each other's lives.

Later, Ao Bai's usurpation of power was also due to Sony's indulgence.

But in the current situation, even if it were Huang Taiji or Dorgon, let alone Sony or Aobai, it wouldn't make a difference.

Ao Bai then said somewhat impatiently, "If we launch a full-scale attack now, we don't even know how many cannons the Ming people still have. If we are not careful, we may be routed by their cannons and suffer a major defeat. Do you think I don't understand the principle of eliminating them as soon as possible?"

Seeing that Ao Bai was somewhat angry, no one dared to speak.

After a moment, Ao Bai said, "Reply to the Grand Secretary and tell him that Chongqing will be captured in less than half a month, and tell them not to rush us."

"Yes."

Zhao Tingchen responded with a reply.

The group continued walking through the camp.

Along the way, there were many soldiers patrolling in formation wearing armor of various colors, who saluted them whenever they saw them.

Where is Wu Sangui now?

After walking for a while, Ao Bai suddenly asked again.

"We have arrived in Lezhi and will soon enter Chongqing Prefecture."

"Hmph, send someone to urge them again."

"Yes"

"Huh, what's that?"

Someone looked up and suddenly noticed countless black dots in the distant sky.

Those black dots weren't actually artillery shells, but rather unmanned helicopters.

Almost the next second, "bang bang bang bang bang bang".

Then a terrifying explosion rang out.

Suddenly, countless loud explosions rang out from the direction of the camp not far away.

The sound was deafening; everyone felt the earth tremble.

Before they could react, the black dots suddenly launched something with firelight, rushing towards them at an extremely fast speed.

"Boom!!!"

As soon as Ao Bai and his men raised their heads to look into the distance, several things appeared in front of them in just two or three seconds, and then all they could hear was a "boom".

Two missiles landed right next to them.

However, there was an error of more than ten meters between them and their location.

This is the result after aiming.

In fact, without GPS and BeiDou satellite positioning, it would be very difficult for modern weapons to locate and strike targets.

But it's not impossible.

After Lao Zhu purchased weapons and equipment from Modern, experts helped him with signal positioning using drones.

This method is called CELL-ID location.

The drones hovered over the Qing troops, forming signal sources that were then transmitted to the weapon systems.

This will allow you to pinpoint your target.

However, this approach is bound to have errors, because the signals emitted by the drones are hundreds of meters above the Qing troops' heads. If the drones are fired at that location, the missiles and shells will deviate from their intended path.

Therefore, it is necessary to perform precise mathematical and physical calculations based on how many meters the drone is above the ground in order to accurately locate and correct the enemy's position.

In other words, starting from the thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Hongwu attached great importance to modern education, and had Zhu Yunfeng bring over a large number of modern textbooks and video materials, thus cultivating a group of talents in mathematics, physics and chemistry.

In the past six months, after purchasing weapons and equipment from Hyundai, a group of people with this ability were recruited into the army and promoted to middle and lower-ranking officers to be responsible for data correction in this area.

of course.

It's normal for there to still be some error after correction.

Even satellite navigation has errors.

Anyway, this error of more than ten meters is negligible compared to the kill radius of conventional tactical missiles, which is more than twenty or thirty meters.

The Ming army had long ago locked onto key Qing targets using drones and carried out precision strikes.

The two missiles landed to the northwest and south of Ao Bai and his men, respectively, with the closest one coming within eleven meters of Ao Bai himself.

With a loud "boom," two small mushroom clouds appeared on the spot, and terrifying flames burst forth, forming a huge blast of air that engulfed the group in flames in an instant.

The AKD series missiles are commonly known as the Blue Sword series.

By 2032, each of my country's domestically produced Golden Eagle unmanned helicopters will be able to carry eight missiles, capable of destroying even tanks.

After the dust settled, only some severed limbs remained on the spot.

Ao Bai's body was torn to pieces by the shockwave. His head flew high into the air and then fell into a nearby crater. His face was completely disfigured and unrecognizable.

The other civil and military officials, including Zhao Tingchen, Lin Tianqing, and Muli Matuhai, were not even left with their heads. Their bodies were torn apart and scattered all over the ground, with their limbs intertwined, making it impossible to tell who was who.

They were simply unlucky. The AKD series missiles have now reached a yield equivalent to 4.46 kg of TNT.

Even just one kilogram of TNT can cause serious harm to the human body due to the shock wave, fragments, and high temperature generated at the moment of explosion.

At the epicenter of the explosion, human tissue could be instantly vaporized, and those nearby would suffer severe burns and injuries, demonstrating the immense power of a 4.46 kg yield.

If they were at the epicenter of the explosion, they would experience no pain; they would be instantly vaporized.

Now, those who are a little further away from the explosion's epicenter will have to endure the tearing pain from the shockwave before they die, suffering a fate even worse than being torn apart by five horses. Their remaining body parts will be scattered together, making their deaths truly gruesome.

The shelling continued.

The rear camp was the Manchurian military camp, with the fewest personnel, but it suffered the most artillery and missile attacks.

After all, we can't let them get away.

If the main targets are placed on the Qing army's front and middle camps, they will definitely flee to the rear, making it difficult to complete Zhu Yuanzhang's order to annihilate them.

Shells rained down relentlessly, accompanied by screams of agony.

Those Manchu Tartars fled in panic, but they only had a chance to escape if they were a little far away from the explosion. Anyone who got within a hundred meters was either paralyzed by the shockwave or knocked to the ground.

Many people weren't even killed by the bombs, but rather by the shockwave. A fire broke out in the camp in moments, but was miraculously extinguished after being bombarded by artillery fire.

Almost no one could escape from the area hit by artillery fire.

"Kill!"

At this moment, outside the west city, seeing the artillery barrage begin, the Hongwu army soldiers rushed out like a tidal wave.

They rushed towards their destination—Eling.

Eling is two kilometers away from Pipashan, the Ming army's artillery position, and two kilometers away from Daping, the Qing army's camp, which is located in the middle.

With countless cannonballs flying overhead, the Hongwu soldiers below were also terrified.

If a shell stops midway and falls, then we're in trouble.

Fortunately, Chinese-made products are reliable, and not a single shell went awry. They successfully captured Eling, which had been taken by the Qing army, and climbed to the mountainside to set up mortar positions.

Half an hour later, the mortar positions were set up, two thousand mortars were fixed in place, and countless shells were transported over, completing the positioning and correction.

Meanwhile, the Qing army camp in the distance was in complete disarray, mainly in the direction of the Qing army's rear camp. From the north and south perimeter of Daping, the area was riddled with potholes and bomb craters, thick smoke billowed, and dust filled the air. Much of the once lush green forest vegetation and hilly terrain had been leveled, exposing the dark brown soil.

The entire perimeter clearly formed a ring, firmly controlling the Qing army and preventing them from escaping from the west.

The Qing army's vanguard and central camps were dumbfounded.

Because of the distance, many people didn't know what was happening and thought it was an earthquake. They could only feel the continuous explosions, the earth trembling, and flames shooting into the sky behind them; no one dared to go near.

Just as they were at a loss, the Ming army's mortar positions were already in place.

"Your Highness, the mortar positions are in place!"

"emission."

"Yes."

"emission!"

With a command from the commander of the thousand households over there, another round of artillery shells began to bombard the ground.

But this time it wasn't the Qing army's rear camp, but rather the front and middle camps.

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

Two thousand cannonballs were fired simultaneously, landing in the Qing army's front and central camps.

In an instant, the tragic scene at the rear camp reappeared.

The Qing soldiers in the front and middle camps, who had previously been unaware of what was going on, now finally knew.

In an instant, men and horses were thrown into chaos, many camps were destroyed, soldiers were blown up, and frightened horses scattered and fled, either torn to pieces or seriously injured by shrapnel or blast waves.

However, the shells didn't stop; one second they were fired, the next they continued. Although mortar shells couldn't compare to howitzer shells in terms of firepower, their sheer numbers made up for it.

In just a short while, the Qing army's front and central camps suffered a devastating blow and were almost leveled. The soldiers below scurried around like ants, but if even one cannonball landed nearby, they would be doomed.

Even the distant artillery continued its relentless bombardment, and many had lost their way. They were left with two options: either jump into the Jialing River to the north or the Yangtze River to the south, or run eastward towards Chongqing.

The area outside western Chongqing was almost completely bombarded into a wasteland, riddled with craters. Those who were lucky enough to survive were bleeding from all seven orifices and suffering greatly.

Many people had their internal organs shattered.

Meanwhile, Lao Zhu and his team on the mountaintop could see all of this directly through a drone.

White smoke billowed, and almost the vast majority of Qing soldiers were not killed directly by the explosion, but by the shockwave, torn apart by the shock wave, or killed by shrapnel or even stones swept out by the shock wave.

All I can say is that his death was extremely gruesome.

But Old Zhu continued watching expressionlessly.

It wasn't until a full half hour, or an hour later, that they had fired up all the shells they had brought.

Old Zhu then gave the order: "The cannonballs are all used up. Infantrymen, move up! Don't let a single one escape."

"Yes."

"The drones will continue to conduct reconnaissance, and the unmanned helicopters will patrol the perimeter. Anyone seen trying to escape will be killed."

"Yes."

"I will make all the Tartars who come here die!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Di shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Did you hear that? His Majesty said, all the Tartars must die!"

"kill!"

Below Eling in the distance, Ming soldiers, who had been preparing for a long time, charged toward the battlefield like a tidal wave, carrying assault rifles.

The mountains and fields were filled with Ming soldiers.

At this time, there was hardly any green vegetation in the area of ​​Daping, which spanned four or five kilometers.

Trees collapsed, and leaves flew everywhere.

Corpses were everywhere, limbs were severed, and blood flowed like a river.

The strong smell of blood mixed with the fresh smell of soil, the fragrance of grass and trees, and the strong smell of gunpowder gave off a strange odor.

Many Ming soldiers rushed over, intending to kill indiscriminately, but once they arrived at the location, they all vomited on the spot.

"A bunch of useless trash. I was no worse than this when I was fighting the Mongol Tartars with His Majesty."

One of the commanders led the charge, urging his soldiers to continue their assault.

In some of the shell craters, one can still vaguely see some surviving Qing soldiers.

They were all covered in mud and filthy, their faces were covered in blood from the shock, some of their internal organs were shattered, they were spitting out blood and unable to speak, but they were still alive.

Many even reached out to the Ming soldiers, their eyes pleading, hoping the soldiers would save them.

However, the Ming soldiers immediately rewarded them with a burst of bullets, sending them to their deaths.

Some Qing soldiers were incredibly lucky and miraculously survived the intense bombardment.

But before they could even rejoice, bullets came flying in their face.

Gunshots rang out everywhere.

This was almost a massacre!

Most of the Qing soldiers died in the initial artillery fire, and the survivors faced the Ming army's mopping-up operations. Even those who managed to escape to the west were still being strafed by unmanned helicopters from the sky.

The sound of bullets whizzing by was constant, as were screams, wails, and pleas for mercy.

However, the Ming army showed no mercy.

Even though many of them were Han Chinese, and even though seven or eight out of ten of the troops brought by Aobai were Green Standard Army soldiers composed of Han Chinese soldiers, the Ming army still kept shooting at them.

It wasn't because the Ming army was cold-blooded.

Rather, it was because these Han Chinese soldiers, who formed the Green Standard Army, had their hands stained with the blood of their compatriots during the large-scale massacres in the early Qing Dynasty.

Leaving aside the most famous Yangzhou Massacre and Jiading Massacre, let's just talk about the Gengyin Massacre, which is much less well-known than the Yangzhou Massacre and Jiading Massacre, in which more than 700,000 soldiers and civilians in Guangzhou died.

The culprits were Han Chinese Green Standard Army soldiers led by Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao.

Therefore, the Ming soldiers never felt sorry for these people.

In comparison, the millions, even tens of millions, of Han Chinese who died in the dozens of massacres perpetrated by the Manchu Qing dynasty were the truly pitiful ones.

These lackeys of the Tartars are unforgivable!

(End of this chapter)