Chapter 3413 Burning Ping Rang
In the early morning of the next day, the sky was dim and bright, and the navy soldiers could live and cook on the ship. After the meal, the soldiers on each ship gathered on the deck, hoisted the disassembled artillery pieces with thick cables, and slowly lifted them to the sampan next to the warship.
The soldiers rowed the sampan and approached the shore until they were unable to move forward on the frozen edge. Then they lifted the cannon again and moved it to the sledge made of wooden boards. Then they used human power or animal power to drag the sledge. Heading towards Pingrang City.
There were thousands of soldiers carrying muskets and large shields on their backs, leading the way.
Halfway through the journey, the heavy snow that had subsided all night began to fall again. Fortunately, the sledge was driving on the ice and the road was not blocked by the heavy snow. Moreover, the heavy snow in the sky also blocked the line of sight. Unless Goguryeo's scouts got close, it would be extremely difficult to spot the naval soldiers moving forward in the wind and snow.
It wasn't until they arrived 20 miles west of Pingrang City that they ran into a group of Goguryeo scouts. After several people were shot dead by muskets, two of the riders escaped and rushed back to Pingrang City to report the news.
The advancing navy soldiers immediately formed a formation and slowly advanced towards Pingrang City, guarding against the Goguryeo cavalry that might come at any time.
Sure enough, ten miles away from Pingrang City, a group of more than a thousand Goguryeo cavalry came galloping out of the wind and snow. The horses were strong and the soldiers were fierce. They roared in the wind and snow, and rolled up countless ice foam and broken snow. They were full of murderous aura. They ran into the navy soldiers head-on. After a brief adjustment, they killed them without restraint.
The cavalry has an innate crushing advantage against the infantry. Even if they suffered too much from the "shaking thunder" when confronting the Tang army, the Goguryeo soldiers were not afraid. After countless encounters with the Tang army, the Goguryeo cavalry figured out a rule: although the "Thunder Thunder" is powerful, the Tang army's equipment is obviously limited. As long as the charging speed is fast enough, it can withstand a wave of "Thunder Thunder". After the bombing, quickly rush into the Tang army's array, which can make the rest of the Tang army throw rat weapons.
You can't be so blind that you don't even care about your own life and launch an "indiscriminate" attack, right?
So at this moment, the Goguryeo cavalry is thinking like this. The Tang army is indeed brave, but as long as the cavalry rushes into the formation against the infantry, is that not a wanton killing?
When the Goguryeo cavalry advanced to about 70 to 80 feet, a sound like exploding beans suddenly sounded in the Tang army's formation, and a thick smoke rose up, mixing with the snowflakes in the sky, and even the biting north wind could not stop it. Blow away.
Immediately afterwards, countless lead bullets shot through the air.
"Puff puff puff"
Although the distance is slightly far and the kinetic energy of lead bullets is insufficient, Goguryeo's iron smelting technology is backward. Except for the generals, there are basically no iron armors, and the cavalry does not even have many leather armors. The lead bullets are deformed by high pressure in the barrel, and draw out A strange and irregular trajectory easily penetrated thin clothing, causing damage to Goguryeo soldiers and horses.
The lethality of lead bullets is very powerful. Once it hits a human body or a war horse, due to its irregular shape and lack of kinetic energy, it is difficult to cause penetrating injuries. The lead bullets remain in the body and rotate rapidly, destroying body structures wantonly, causing soldiers to... The war horse lost its combat effectiveness instantly and was difficult to treat.
Thousands of soldiers held muskets. They just took a slight aim and pulled the trigger to fire. Then they took two steps back to load ammunition. The soldiers behind them took a step forward, raised their muskets and fired. Then they stepped back again, and the soldiers behind them stepped forward to shoot.
The "three-stage attack" can fully make up for the lack of range of muskets. If the accuracy of muskets is insufficient, the victory is completely based on quantity. Thousands of muskets fire in a salvo, and the lead bullets fly freely in the air to form a large net, without aiming at all.
When the Goguryeo people rushed closer, countless "earth-shaking thunder" were thrown into the formation, and they suddenly fell over.
The ferocious Goguryeo cavalry across Liaodong and its powerful fighting force are like running into a steel city wall at this moment. The horses neigh and the soldiers scream. The fierce charge is like waves hitting the rocks. Except for the blood splashing all over the sky, it is insurmountable. Half a step into the thunder pool.
The power of firearms is so terrifying!
Su Dingfang, who was standing in the rear commanding the battle, looked at the scene in front of him with infinite emotion in his heart. The cavalry, known as the "King of War" in the past, finally met its nemesis this time. The lethality of firearms to cavalry is too great, and when the firearms are fired, sparks, smoke, and vibrations are emitted, and the horses are frightened, easily causing the formation to become chaotic, making it difficult to take advantage of the group charge, and they can only be slaughtered.
What's particularly important is that cultivating a qualified or even excellent cavalry requires too many resources and takes too long. Why are the Han people often unable to fight against the Hu cavalry? It is precisely because the Hu people have grown up on horses since childhood and have excellent riding skills. It is almost impossible for Han people to train such riding skills in their teens. Even if there are people with outstanding talents who are even better at riding, how many of them are there?
Firearms are easy to operate, and even women and children can go into battle temporarily with a little practice and still maintain a certain degree of combat effectiveness.
It is conceivable that with the development of firearms, their power will become more and more powerful, and the advantage of cavalry will be reduced step by step. Eventually, firearms will completely replace cavalry and become the master of the battlefield.
He was very lucky that such powerful weapons first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and countless tigers of the Tang Dynasty could rely on them to roam the world.
If firearms first appeared in foreign lands, when countless Hu barbarians armed with firearms and even drove warships equipped with artillery invaded the Tang Dynasty, what could the Tang Dynasty do to resist it?
Su Dingfang increasingly felt that Fang Jun was the best person in the world. If he hadn't invented gunpowder and developed muskets and artillery, the Hu people had successfully developed them first. When the murderous Hu barbarians entered the empire, they burned and killed them. Robbery, such miserable conditions are simply unimaginable...
The invention of gunpowder alone is enough for Fang Jun to be famous in history. His achievements are astonishing and will be admired and worshiped by descendants for generations to come!
……
This Goguryeo cavalry of more than a thousand people was quickly slaughtered. It was obvious that most of the troops were sent to pursue the Tang army retreating north. Pingrang City was short of troops, especially cavalry.
After killing more than a thousand cavalry, the army did not stop at all, leaving only a small team to clean the battlefield and continue to march towards Pingrang City.
By the time the navy dragged the artillery and arrived at the foot of Pingran City, the sound of the trumpet was heard on the top of the city. The city gates were creaking and closing. Flags were erected on the top of the city, fluttering in the cold wind. Countless soldiers Swarming to the top of the city, there were crowds of people, ready for defense.
There was a lack of troops in the city, and the navy's strength and combat power were uncertain. After another cavalry was sent out and all were wiped out, the defenders in Pingrang City adopted a conservative strategy - they could not get out.
In their view, hundreds of thousands of Tang troops had been besieging the city for two months and still could not break into the city. How could a mere naval force break through the city wall? As long as they hold on and wait until the cavalry chasing the Tang army returns, the stragglers under the city will naturally collapse without a fight.
The Tang army arrived at the city smoothly and quickly formed their formation without even encountering any resistance. The artillery pieces were dragged up one by one. The engineers used shovels to level the ice-covered ground, placed the artillery pieces, and then adjusted the muzzle elevation.
Everything was ready. Xi Jun, holding a small red flag in his hand, gave the order: "Let go!"
"Dong dong dong"
More than a hundred artillery pieces were ignited together, and the gunpowder burned and exploded in the barrel, releasing violent kinetic energy and violently ejecting the kerosene bombs. A stream of flames mixed with gunpowder smoke spurted out together with the shells, and then the soldiers on the side took a bristle brush and stuffed it into the gun barrel, quickly cleaned the residue in the gun barrel, and loaded the gunpowder packets and kerosene bombs.
"Let it go!"
"Dong dong dong"
Dozens of cannons roared under Pingrang City, and each salvo erupted with a deafening sound, causing the heavy snow in the sky to be swept up, dancing wildly. Countless kerosene bombs were fired from the barrel, flew over the city wall, and fell into the city.
"Boom boom boom"
When the kerosene bomb hits the ground, it explodes, and the flammable material soaked in kerosene inside is thrown around. No matter where it splashes, it will stick to it, and even a piece of snow will burn violently. Before the defenders and people in the city understood what was happening, countless kerosene bombs fell from the sky, and the entire "Little Chang'an" instantly fell into a sea of flames.
The people of Goguryeo were poor and poor. Many of them could not afford to build brick and stone houses, so they could only build them with wood. They were most afraid of fire. At this moment, kerosene bombs fell from the sky, and houses, government offices, and shops burst into flames. The people and soldiers were horrified and tried to put out the fire, but they found that the fire was like a tarsal maggot. It would burn as soon as it was touched by sparks and could not be extinguished no matter what... …
In the span of a cup of tea, half of Pingrang City was plunged into a sea of flames. The flames were raging into the sky, smoke was billowing, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were crying and howling in horror. (End of chapter)