The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 253 I'm Going to Kill That Guy

The Jin dynasty's cavalry, when used in battle, typically had an archery range of between ten and seventeen zhang (approximately 33-40 meters).

Historical records state that they "did not fire their bows and arrows indiscriminately!"
In other words, they do not fire arrows indiscriminately. When the enemy is weak, they usually close to within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) before firing, often using heavy arrows with strong armor-piercing capabilities to inflict heavy damage on the opponent.

However, when the enemy is strong, they will extend their range to seventeen zhang. At this distance, even heavy arrows have limited killing power, mainly for harassment, creating a stage for the Iron Pagoda.

We must move it to a distance of seventeen zhang today!
Because ten feet would be hit by lead bullets.

Three thousand elite cavalrymen fired arrows from a distance of fifteen to seventeen zhang (approximately 33 to 63 meters) to the left and right of the rebel army's formation.

These arrows weren't fired horizontally; they were all launched by hurling them over the large gates erected by the rebels and into the rebel ranks behind them.

Three thousand arrows were truly formidable; they flew like locusts, dense and terrifying.

This was the first time the rebels had faced such a large-scale barrage of arrows, and the new recruits were terrified by the rain of arrows.

However, Qi Jiguang's chariot formation had corresponding methods to deal with various emergencies. As long as the soldiers strictly followed Qi Jiguang's instructions, they could solve all difficulties.

The commanders of each chariot formation were all quick-witted veterans. As soon as they saw the rain of arrows, they shouted, "Shield bearers!"

The rebel soldiers were invigorated. "That's right, what's there to be afraid of? We experienced this kind of projectile attack before when we faced the Jin army."

This time it's just that there are more arrows, what's there to be afraid of!
Just like last time, the rattan shield bearers immediately raised their rattan shields and held up umbrellas for their comrades.

In the rain of arrows, I held an umbrella for you. I remember that time when I injured my right shoulder, and I shielded you on the side of my heartbeat.

After a series of rapid thuds, everyone realized that not many people were injured, and even those who were injured only suffered minor injuries.

At a range of seventeen zhang, even the heavy arrows of the Jin army became weak.

"fine!"

"Not afraid!"

"They're too far away, and their arrows are getting weaker."

"Haha, it didn't penetrate my shoulder guard."

In the rebel army's ranks, the chariot commanders began to shout, encouraging their comrades: "We're fine, don't be afraid of their arrows, they can't shoot a chicken feather at this distance."

The cavalry, now positioned sideways, began to cut through the rebel army's ranks from both sides...

The spearmen and halberdiers in the chariot formation all took out their standard-issue fire arrows and fought back desperately, but their archery skills were too poor, and their counterattacks were ineffective.

Just then, the Tiger Crouching Cannon fired.

At seventeen feet, most of the smoothbore musketeers didn't intend to fire. Only a few recruits with poor mental fortitude fired, as the hit rate was too low at that distance, making it pointless for the smoothbore muskets to fire. But the Tiger Crouching Cannon didn't care about such things. This kind of shotgun didn't consider hit rate; its main purpose was to achieve a "choice at the Steins Gate."

A series of muffled "bang bang bang" sounds rang out.

On both sides of the rebel army's formation, four tiger-squatting cannons on each side opened fire, and four volleys of small iron bullets, the size of glass beads, shot towards the cavalry.

Yue Wenxuan had already had the rebel soldiers conduct multiple tests during target practice. When using shotgun shells, the Tiger Crouching Cannon's effective killing distance was only about 50 meters, which was not far. This was because the shotgun shells had poor airtightness. When the gunpowder exploded, a large amount of kinetic energy was lost, resulting in insufficient kinetic energy to propel the shotgun shells forward. This meant that these small iron balls could only kill people at a distance of up to 50 meters.

As for some online information claiming that the Tiger Crouching Cannon can fire 500 meters, that is probably the "maximum range" when firing a single large iron ball, not the "effective range" when firing grapeshot.

Although 50 meters is not far, most of the Jin army's cavalry are now between 15 and 17 zhang, which is about right.

A cry of "Ouch!" rang out, and a group of golden cavalrymen fell from their horses. But a few seconds later, a small number of the fallen soldiers got back up—they were alive!

It turned out that some of them had their warhorses hit by bullets and fallen, but the riders were unharmed and still alive.

A small portion of the armor came into play.

A golden cavalryman stood on the ground, pointing to a small dent in his breastplate and shouting with ecstasy, "My armor stopped their little iron bullets!"

Another horse galloped over from the side, and the rider on it reached out and pulled his wildly shouting comrade onto the horse. The two rode back quickly and stood in front of Guwei: "General, you see, my armor can stop it."

Guwei lowered his head and carefully examined the small dent on his breastplate. He was overjoyed: "Very good! If half-body armor can block iron bullets at a distance of more than ten feet, then the heavy armor of the Iron Pagoda will be even less likely to be injured."

The Ironclad warriors around him were all watching this side, and upon hearing Guwei's words, their morale soared.

"The Han people's firearms are nothing to be afraid of!"

"If it can even withstand half-body armor, there's no reason why our Ironclad Pagoda's double-layered heavy armor should be penetrated."

"Jurchen warriors, the time has come to decide the outcome."

"Have the Meng'an Iron Pagoda ready for battle."

At this time, the Jin soldiers who had been knocked off their horses by the Tiger Crouching Cannon had already returned to the army with the help of their comrades, changed horses, and mounted again.

Meanwhile, a large number of cavalrymen maintained a distance of fifteen to seventeen zhang, circling around the rebel army's formation. The frequency with which they drew their bows and fired arrows was much faster than the firing rate of the tiger-squatting cannons. Before the tiger-squatting cannons were even ready for their second shot, the Jin army's cavalrymen had already fired two more rounds...

The rain of arrows caused a slight disturbance in the rebel army's ranks!

The chaos mainly stems from the new recruits gathered in the past year. It's their first time on the battlefield, and they're facing a barrage of arrows from the Jin army. The psychological pressure is immense, and it's understandable that they're a little flustered.

The veteran beside him, while deflecting arrows, growled in a low voice, "Don't be afraid, what are you afraid of? We haven't even brought out our new weapons yet, don't panic..."

The new recruit asked timidly, "When will we be able to use the new weapons?"

Veteran: "We'll have to wait for the Ironclad Cavalry on the other side to get the heavy muskets, but the skirmisher battalion is already moving."

The skirmisher battalion has indeed moved!
The stragglers were not in the main army formation from the beginning.

They fought outside the main battle lines, in small squads.

At this moment, fifty stragglers, divided into ten teams of five, were quietly moving about on the left and right sides and rear of the army formation.

There are large pits dug in the ground here.

This was "invented" by the True Lord and is called a foxhole. The foxhole is not big, but there is enough space for five soldiers to stay inside. The open ground around the foxhole is covered with barbed wire, leaving only a narrow path for the soldiers to enter and exit, which is only wide enough for one person to pass through.

If the stragglers didn't stick their heads out of the pit, from a distance it would just look like an open space strewn with barbed wire.

At this moment, Zhang Wazi was lying on the edge of the pit, his eyes fixed on the "general" among the crooked horses.

The man's attire was clearly different from the other horsemen; he must be a Meng'an, that is, a commander of a thousand households.

Zhang Wazi said, "I'm going to kill that guy!"

(End of this chapter)