GBP Chapter 391 3 days outside the city
Chapter 391 3 days outside the city
The battle of Yanzhou was about to begin. Xing Shuren prepared in advance and carefully arranged four battle positions outside Yancheng. Each position was equipped with 50,000 troops and 200 artillery weapons.
A reserve force of 20,000 people was also reserved in the city. These people had all returned from training in Dingzhou and were equipped with advanced rifles.
The reserve troops were also equipped with war horses, specially prepared for surprise attacks on the enemy during war.
In late June, the Xianbei Murong Mang's troops were the first to arrive outside Yancheng and engaged in a fierce battle with the Yan army at one of its defensive positions. From just 800 steps away, the two sides launched a thrilling artillery bombardment.
At first, Murong Mang's weapons were quite lethal. However, after a fierce battle, whether it was an illusion or the power of the bombs had weakened, they felt that the shells they fired landed on the opposite position, and the effect was far less significant than before.
Faced with the enemy's fierce attack, Xing Shuren decisively dispatched another team to provide support.
Suddenly, the sound of artillery bombardment resounded through the sky again, even more intense than before.
The general of the team fighting against Murong Mang is Liu Xiang, who was once Qin Lian's deputy general. Now he has been promoted to General Huben and is fighting bravely on the battlefield.
The shells were like a torrential rain, bombarding the enemy without mercy.
Between the two sides' positions, thick smoke billowed and flames shot into the sky, like hell on earth.
After two days of fierce fighting, both sides destroyed more than a hundred mortars and suffered thousands of casualties.
During the battle, Murong Mang organized his men to charge and attack, but they were all repelled by the fierce infantry artillery of the opposite side.
On the battlefield, broken limbs and arms were everywhere, and the ruins were in a mess.
After all, these weapons are still crudely made and have relatively large errors in accuracy.
After two days of intense consumption, they had very little ammunition left.
Murong Mang was unwilling to give up and decided to launch another ground infantry attack on the city the next day.
The air was filled with smoke, but it could not cover up the stench of rotting flesh.
Twenty thousand Xianbei soldiers were ready to go, rubbing their hands and making all preparations, ready to fight to the death and charge towards the Yan army.
On the city wall, Liu Xiang held a telescope and closely observed the enemy's every move.
When he realized the enemy's intention, he calmly ordered: "Immediately mobilize 10,000 riflemen and at the same time, move the infantry artillery forward and prepare."
The infantry guns manufactured in Luancheng are very different from shotguns. The killing range can reach 600 steps, the shells cover an area of one battle diameter, and the number of fragments is as many as 80.
Just wait for the enemy to get close, then be ready to fire fiercely at the target.
After Murong Mang fired another round of the few remaining shells, he resolutely ordered an attack.
Twenty thousand infantrymen divided into two groups and charged forward, and the black crowd surged forward like a tide.
After dodging the enemy's artillery attack, Liu Xiang's army first continued to suppress the enemy with mortars, and then infantry artillery was pushed out to carry out indiscriminate bombardment on the enemy.
"Boom boom..." The sound of cannons was deafening. The infantrymen who rushed up were once again ruthlessly knocked down by the fierce artillery fire. Large groups of soldiers died instantly.
However, Murong Mang was determined to win, and even after seeing such a tragic situation, he refused to order a retreat.
"Cannons, continue attacking the Yan army."
Murong Mang's eyes were red and he roared at the top of his lungs.
"No, it's easy to blow up our own people."
The generals under his command shouted anxiously.
"Why are you still worried about it? Either they die, or our people will have difficulty in attacking."
Murong Mang was already hysterical and ordered the artillery to fire regardless of the consequences.
The artillery shells of the Xianbei army all came from Guangchang County. The range was sufficient, but the power was reduced by half compared to those purchased previously, and was almost the same as the black gunpowder in Zhao Hui’s imperial city.
The bombing points of both sides were different, and the casualties they caused were also completely different.
The Yan army's artillery positions suffered varying degrees of damage, and the Xianbei infantry suffered extremely high casualties.
Seeing the enemy gradually approaching, Liu Xiang had to give the order again: "Infantrymen get out of the bunkers and shoot at the enemy."
After the order was given, all the armed soldiers hiding in the trenches quickly crawled out and pulled the trigger at the enemy at close range without hesitation.
"Bang bang bang..." Dense gunfire rang out, and the Xianbei soldiers who had finally rushed over fell down in groups again.
Some were injured, some died on the spot. The scene was so tragic that it was unbearable to watch.
Seeing that his charging soldiers were suppressed by the powerful firepower of the opposite side, Murong Mang was unwilling to give up and tried to organize 10,000 people to charge again.
"Captain, we have very few shells left. If we continue to attack, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve any results."
A general hurried over and spoke anxiously to Murong Mang.
"We brought 20,000 shells, and that's it?"
Murong Mang had an expression of disbelief on his face, and stared at the reporting general with wide eyes.
"We conducted indiscriminate artillery attacks over the past two days. Furthermore, these soldiers were poorly trained and were figuring out their aim while firing. Some gunners even fired without restraint."
The general who came to report said with shame on his face.
"Hey..." Upon hearing this, Murong Mang angrily punched a tree trunk beside him and shouted helplessly: "Retreat..."
When the soldiers on the battlefield heard the call to retreat, they felt as if they had been pardoned and fled desperately towards the base camp, fearing that they would be hit by bullets if they ran a step slower.
In fact, the Yan army's rifles were not as scary as imagined. If they hit armor at a distance, they might not be fatal.
It’s just that the death rate at the beginning was too high, causing the soldiers’ psychological defenses to be on the verge of collapse.
Seeing that the enemy was repelled again, Liu Xiang walked down the city wall in a good mood and prepared to report the battle situation to Xing Shuren.
"General, the mortar shells are almost exhausted, and the infantry guns only have a dozen shells left for each gun. Could you please send some shells over?"
Before Liu Xiang finished walking down the steps to the city, a general came running to report.
This was already the third day of fighting, so it was normal for ammunition to be consumed in such huge quantities. Liu Xiang nodded upon hearing this, indicating that he understood. He planned to go to the city to find Xing Shuren to ask for some supplies.
In the evening, in the General's Mansion of Yanzhou, Zhang Xiangyang was complaining to Xing Shuren.
"General, the fighting outside the East City Gate was the most intense, and our ammunition was almost exhausted."
Zhang Xiangyang clasped his hands together and put his face close to Xing Shuren.
"Hey, General Zhang, you're talking as if the battle at the North Gate wasn't tough and we're out of ammunition."
Liu Xiang, who had just stepped into the lobby, couldn't help but speak out in defense when he heard this.
When Xing Shuren saw that it was Liu Xiang, his already distressed face became even more sad.
"Generals, I've sent people to check the inventory. The last shipment of artillery shells from the capital left less than ten boxes of the calibers you're using outside the city. However, there are still quite a few large-caliber shells on the city walls. How about we re-formulate our defense plan?"
The two men looked at each other and said in unison, "We are willing to obey the general's orders."
The thing that made Xing Shuren most pleased during these three days was that, thanks to the powerful artillery fire, the number of dead soldiers was less than 2,000, and the number of injured soldiers was no more than 3,000.
This is enough to show that the artillery was powerful and effectively stopped the enemy's attack.
He motioned for them to sit down and said earnestly:
"Our large-caliber artillery on the city walls is not only incredibly powerful, but also has a long range. If we step back, we can still shoot the enemy within the range of our firepower, and..."
Xing Shuren laughed sinisterly. When the two saw this method, they thought it was indeed a good idea. At present, this was the only way to further eliminate the enemy.