Datang Lingnan King

Chapter 419 Breaking through the Liaohe River
Duan Zhixuan felt relieved, raised his hand and ordered to continue the shelling.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The cannons began to sound in an endless stream.

This time it was not a siege, but a bombing of flat fortifications.The artillery shells kept falling on the position on the opposite bank, blowing up the installed fortifications, defenders, and soil.

"Okay!" Li Shimin held the binoculars and watched the huge craters being blown out on the other side, and couldn't help but applaud loudly.

Almost everyone around had a telescope, and they were all watching intently, the shock on their faces never dissipating.

After all, when the city was sieged, it was a city wall, which was very hard, and the shells couldn't penetrate it. The number of objects blown up was limited, and the guards who died were also lying in the city. When it hits the ground, every explosion will bring up a lot of mud, forming a large pit on the ground.

And many of the fortifications are made of wood, and those who resist horses are also blown into the air, which brings a particularly huge impact on the perspective.

The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are now accustomed to artillery fire. Every time they see the bombing, they are very excited. They all look around, looking around for the places where the shells have been bombed, or looking at the muzzle, waiting for the shells to fly out, and then watching the explosion on the ground. , like a child watching firecrackers during the Chinese New Year, happy, excited, and occasionally appease the agitated war horse. After listening to the bombardment, even the war horse did not panic at the beginning, only occasionally a little restless.

The opposite is the defenders on the opposite bank. Under the extended and saturated bombardment, the smart ones have already fled, and the frightened ones lie on the ground. Most of them have never seen the bombardment, Yuan Gai Suwen Although I knew that the artillery fire was powerful, but this was to defend the river bank. Considering that the artillery shells could not hit from such a distance, I didn't tell the soldiers. After all, it sounded incredible, and it would easily damage morale and cause panic.

I didn't expect to load it directly on the ship and fire, which caused the defenders to be at a loss without knowing anything, and many people thought that God's punishment was coming, and kept kneeling and kowtow.

Yuan Gai Su Wen fled downstream with his personal guards as early as the first shell hit the ground, and stopped to think about the next step when he was far away from the battlefield.

After deliberation, they all thought that this line could not be defended, let alone the domestic city. Once Jiang'an fell, defending the city would only delay time.

After the discussion, Yuan Gai Suwen decided to leave one person to continue to delay along the river bank, and another person to guard the inner city, and retreat back to Pingxiang with the army. First, let's see how the court arranges it, and second, look for a favorable location along the way, and look for an opportunity to defeat Datang , It can also evacuate the people in advance, strengthen the walls and clear the country, intending to use logistics to drag down Datang and let it evacuate on its own.

After half an hour of saturated bombardment, there was no one standing on the other side. The boats in the river, together with the cavalry and infantry, began to cross the river in an orderly manner, without any resistance.

The infantry, led by the general, swept the battlefield, and the cavalry quickly spread out on both sides, attacking the defenders stationed along the bank. The defense of the river bank was all facing the river, and they had no defense against the attack from behind, so they had to fight.

But for the elite cavalrymen of the Tang Dynasty, this kind of soldiers could not even be regarded as opponents. Firstly, most of the elite had already died in battle, and secondly, Yuan Gai Suwen had already evacuated the large troops.

After occupying the opposite bank, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty quickly set up their defenses. Li Jing asked Li Ji to lead the artillery to take the inner city. The west side of the river had been completely occupied. Because of Goguryeo's strong walls and clear fields, it didn't take much effort. .

Occupying the domestic city, not only can return to the west of the river, but also return to the Tang Dynasty by water. So far, in just two months, most of the territory of Goguryeo has been taken.

"Li Aiqing, we have a plan for how we will march next." After entering the inner city, Li Shimin was obviously in a good mood, and also felt a little bit of urgency in his heart. He wanted to take down Goguryeo as soon as possible to show his achievements.

"My Majesty, I am waiting for the scouts to investigate the terrain. If it is not bad, there will be a tough battle to fight next." Li Jing replied respectfully.

The other generals who were smiling all quiet down and listened carefully to Li Jing's analysis, but without Li Ji, a flash of understanding flashed in their eyes.

"Pharmacist, do you mean that Goguryeo is still dying?" Cheng Zhijie asked with wide eyes.

"We have steel cannons. If Goguryeo wants to win, there are only two ways to go. The first is to use the terrain, fire, and water attack.

The second is to concentrate forces and carry out surprise attacks. The two armies quickly contact each other, making the artillery unusable. "Li Jing explained calmly.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

An orderly and unified voice appeared, and the city was continuously breached, and the opponents were defeated. Then everyone who regarded the steel cannon as an invincible weapon suddenly realized, and sighed in unison, that the steel cannon still has this shortcoming.

"Steel cannons are not invincible, at least they are difficult to use in rainy days, and if the roads are difficult, there is no way to transport them. After all, even flat roads require a few horses to pull them. Therefore, dear friends, you must not slack off. It is not yet invincible." Li Shimin has been thinking since he saw steel cannons and tanks. He is also a battle-tested man, so he will naturally think about how he will deal with it if the enemy has it.

Immediately, he said what he was thinking about, poured cold water on everyone, and gave a serious warning.

"Your Majesty is wise, but if you add muskets and tanks to form a formation, you will not be afraid of any enemy." Li Jing analyzed more thoroughly and had a unique vision.

"The pharmacist is right, especially the tanks. If there are too many tanks, they can completely sweep the enemy army. If they escape, they can fire guns. If they run away, they can directly crush them. If they follow the musketeers behind them, they can completely achieve zero casualties." Li Ji nodded. agreed.

"Musketeers are not like archers. They don't consume so much energy. As long as they have ammunition, they can fight for a long time. They are equipped with a sharp weapon." Duan Zhixuan said excitedly.

Since Duan Zhixuan took control of the artillery and gunners, this middle-aged man who used to be taciturn seems to have a second spring. Not only is he full of energy at any time, but he also speaks more, and he always wants to find someone to talk about the pleasure of playing with artillery.

It's a pity that I haven't had the opportunity to use it, and it's still strictly confidential, so I can only hold back, which is quite uncomfortable. Now that it's made public, everyone is discussing it. Of course, he must seize the opportunity to say a few words.

Li Shimin looked at his confidant, became cheerful, and secretly sighed whether he needed to change someone. After all, he had too many secrets. If a person who talked a lot served as the personal guard general, I am afraid that he was sleeping in the palace during the day. It spread everywhere in two days.

(End of this chapter)