GBP Chapter 576 Bayonets on Cannons
Chapter 576 Bayonets on Cannons
Even in individual combat, the Qionghai Army had a relative advantage, with each soldier possessing firepower intensity and endurance that overwhelmed the opponent. However, they were outnumbered and at a significant disadvantage in attrition warfare, and had no personnel to replenish.
Seeing the number of soldiers in the frontal formation dwindling at a visible rate, Shi Ying was frantic. He had no other options but to target the artillery, so he shouted, "Call Battalion Commander Zuo!"
Zuo Wuwei rushed over immediately, and Shi Ying said to him, "Have your men move the mountain cannons to the front, and I'll have the infantry make some space for you. Use the cannons to bombard the Tartars' heads!"
Zuo Wuwei was taken aback, thinking he had misheard. He tried to confirm: "Commander, do you mean to order my artillery to fire at a distance of sixty or seventy paces, braving the Tartar arrows?"
"That's right. Do I need to repeat it?"
Zuo Wuwei was silent for a few seconds, then replied, "Commander, the general once said in the officer training course that artillery is a specialized branch of the military, and every qualified artilleryman is a valuable asset. They cannot be easily sent to the front lines, much less used as infantry. Out of responsibility to my men, I find it difficult to carry out your order..."
Shi Ying grabbed Zuo Wuwei's clothes and said through gritted teeth, "If we continue fighting like this, our regiment is in danger of collapsing. No matter how valuable your artillery is, you are still a member of the First Regiment. In this critical moment, you must live and die with the entire regiment. I order you to immediately push the mountain guns up and fire!"
Zuo Wuwei let him grab his clothes, and said with his head down, "If you do this, you will be held accountable by the military law department after the war..."
The Military Law Division was established at Liu Ye's instruction during the expansion of the Qionghai Navy. Its personnel were drawn from various units, selected from seasoned veterans and officers known for their fairness, composure, and experience. Though small in number, it was highly capable, specifically responsible for maintaining military discipline, punishing those who violated it, and reviewing and reporting military merits. Currently, Xu Yifan concurrently serves as the division's director. Violations of military discipline on the battlefield also fall under the division's jurisdiction.
Shi Ying glared at Zuo Wuwei: "I know the Military Law Department can handle this. If it's determined that I made a mistake in command, I won't shift the blame to anyone else. But right now, you just need to follow orders. Otherwise, you'll be the first to bear the responsibility for disobeying military orders!"
Zuo Wuwei sighed: "Commander, you're right. My first priority is to follow orders. Whether there are problems with the command is not something I can judge. Let me go, I'll go arrange for people to push the cannon."
Although Zuo Wuwei was very resistant to the order, he still carried it out without fail. In a very short time, ten mountain guns were pushed to the front line—these guns weighed only a few hundred kilograms and could be easily moved by a few people. Under the command of company and platoon officers, the soldiers loaded and fired their weapons while slightly shifting their positions to make room for these small guns.
Ten mountain guns peeked out from beside the soldiers, their dark muzzles peeking out.
The Later Jin soldiers had already suffered heavy losses from cannons, and knew that the appearance of these cannon muzzles meant death. They were all terrified. Without any orders from their superiors, they spontaneously adjusted the direction of their arrows, concentrating their attacks on the cannon positions. In an instant, arrows rained down, all landing around the cannons.
Some artillerymen hadn't even had time to load their shells when they were overwhelmed by a hail of arrows, riddled with bullets and lying on the cannon barrels covered in blood.
Shi Ying's booming voice rang out from behind: "All hands on deck! Infantry, move up and cover the artillery!"
Upon hearing the order, the soldiers crowded even closer together, using their flesh and blood to block the artillery, leaving only one cannon barrel exposed. Some soldiers even leaned directly against the cannon barrel, loading and firing at an angle.
Although Zuo Wuwei was heartbroken over the artillerymen who died from the arrows, he knew that now was not the time to dwell on the matter. The infantry, by forming a human wall to cover the artillery, suffered even heavier casualties. He immediately shouted an order: "Brothers, the infantry brothers are taking the arrows for us. We can't let their blood be shed in vain. Get ready to fire as quickly as possible. Load all the shot and fire freely!"
The artillerymen sprang into action, loading their shotguns with unprecedented speed and then igniting them. At this distance, as Huang Hansheng had said, it was like firing directly at the Tartars' heads; firing angles and aiming were irrelevant—just level the cannons and unleash the barrage.
The fuse crackled and sparked, then traveled a path into the cannon barrel. After a brief wait, a deafening roar, like a thunderclap, sent the cannon lurching backward, a brilliant burst of flame erupting from the muzzle as dark, cylindrical objects emerged from the breech. Soldiers leaning against the barrel were thrown a considerable distance, lying on the ground, blood streaming from their noses, seemingly from internal injuries.
The cylindrical object exploded immediately after leaving the muzzle, turning into countless tiny projectiles. A dense, dark rain of metal flew towards the armored soldiers who were firing arrows. In the flames, the soldiers' faces could be clearly seen contorted with fear, and their movements froze.
Where the shrapnel passed, not a blade of grass grew.
Within seventy paces, the shrapnel from ten cannons formed thousands of projectiles that swept through the dense crowd, then exploded into a rain of blood. Broken bows, shattered chainmail scales, severed fingers, and bits of flesh flew everywhere. Whether unarmored, leather-clad archers, or double-armored soldiers, all met the same fate in this storm of metal: riddled with bullets.
The whole world fell silent.
As the smoke cleared, the soldiers of the First Regiment saw that the densely packed enemy ahead had been swept away, and their view suddenly opened up. Further away, the Tartars, who had escaped the attack due to their distance, stared in disbelief at everything they saw, their heads, faces, and bodies splattered with the blood of their comrades.
In the center of the Second Regiment, the crowd who witnessed this scene cheered and jumped for joy. Liang Xiaoming excitedly pumped his fist and said, "Shi Ying pulled off a 'cannon-to-bayonet' move. Well done!"
Liu Ye asked curiously, "What does 'fixing bayonets to a cannon' mean?"
Liang Xiaoming explained, "This is a tactic used in extreme situations. Artillery that is originally far from the front line is moved to the front and fired at close range, within a few hundred meters or even a hundred meters. The cannon is used as a close-combat weapon, similar to bayonet fighting with infantry, so it is called 'bayonet on a cannon.' This tactic can be surprisingly effective under specific conditions."
"If it was effective, why didn't we use it before? We should have bombarded it long ago!"
Liang Xiaoming shook his head: "This is probably the only option left. If the cannons are placed in the infantry formation beforehand, it will disrupt the integrity of the infantry formation, reduce the density of rifle fire, and if the distance is too close, the vibration and heat generated by the cannons will also interfere with the infantry. Not to mention, the sound of the cannons is enough to cover up all the sounds of orders and hinder command."
Liu Ye waved his hand: "Who cares? As long as it plays a crucial role at the critical moment, that's all that matters."