Chapter 424 Powerful Combat Power
Seeing the Mongolian cavalry getting closer, the commander of the Jinzhou column hurriedly ran to report to Liu Qiangguang that the defensive deployment was completed and he could join the battle.
Liu Qiangguang immediately ordered the Jinzhou Column to take over the battlefield.
Immediately, the special operations forces of the Shenwei Army started working. With the waving of the command flag, the two hundred new catapults of the Jinzhou Column launched interception shots at the front line of the Mongolian cavalry. Thunder bombs and lime bombs were fired in turn. The dense artillery shells instantly suppressed the enemy's momentum.
This was a team that Zhao Yulin had independently organized to practice how infantry could deal with the Mongolian cavalry. He knew that the infantry of an agricultural nation would always face the impact of grassland cavalry, and he had to practice a new set of tactics to restrain the cavalry's attack.
He believed that the best way to curb cavalry was to use firearms. Heavy artillery could overturn tanks, and a catapult could easily kill a horse.
Cavalry without horses is just infantry, so why be afraid?
Therefore, Guigu of the Shenwei Army and military weapon workshops in various places further miniaturized the catapults and iron barrel cannons, mass-produced them and equipped a new type of artillery unit, which is the Jinzhou Column in front of us. As soon as it appeared today, it immediately demonstrated its powerful combat power.
Then, all the artillery groups composed of catapults in Guandu accepted the dispatch of the Jinzhou Column. The powerful firearms advantage of the Shenwei Army was quickly brought into play, and the cluster saturation shooting under unified command brought the power of firearms to the extreme.
The Mongolian cavalry suffered heavy casualties in the group charge of ten thousand men, so they changed to teams of one thousand and one hundred men. None of them could escape the firepower of the Shenwei Army. The few enemies that rushed in front of them could be dealt with cleanly with the standard infantry muskets and thunder chariots.
Immediately afterwards, the Shenwei Army sounded the charge and launched a counterattack, using the rolling advance of artillery to force the Mongolian army back step by step.
Seeing his master's cavalry being blown to pieces in the smoke-filled battlefield, Liu Yuzhou knew that the cavalry could not save the defeat, let alone save his eldest son, so he ordered a withdrawal in despair.
Seeing his cavalry being ruthlessly covered and devoured by the artillery fire of the Kamui Army, Takumi, the Mongolian cavalry commander, was furious like an elephant-headed lion with red eyes. He issued two consecutive attack orders but to no avail, so he had to reluctantly order a retreat.
However, the Mongolian army wanted to retreat, but the Shenwei Army refused to allow it. Da Kui became so angry that he led his troops to chase after them.
At the dock, Lai Chuanfang and Miao Gui both arrived.
After learning of the great victory in the Battle of Guandu, they immediately moved to Guandu after giving Gu Shan the order to annihilate the remnants of Liu Yuzhou's eldest son.
After Liu Qiangguang reported the progress of the war, he saw that the cavalry from Guanzhong had all landed. Knowing that the army was heading straight for Kaifeng, he immediately said goodbye and went to catch up with his own troops.
Miao Gui said: After this battle, if Mengge doesn't leave, he will be captured in Kaifeng. He wants to go to Yang Xingyun to see if we can take Yingtianfu in one fell swoop.
Lai Chuanfang was so proud of himself that he kept shouting "great goodness", but Miao Gui warned him not to be careless, as the saying goes, a trapped beast will still fight, so he still had to be on guard against the enemy's dirty tricks.
After saying goodbye to each other, the two men went back to the front line.
Zhao Yulin was overjoyed when he received the military report of the Guandu victory in Dachuan. He hummed happily while reading the report.
Hu Lan went in and asked him: What's the matter? Why are you so happy? Are you all singing?
He handed her the military report and asked her to read it herself.
The Shenwei Army won a great victory at Guandu, annihilating nearly 30,000 troops of Liu Yuzhou and more than 10,000 cavalry of Tuohai, and seizing countless weapons and horses; Yang Xingyun's troops of the Shenwei Army approached Weizhou and had already formed an encirclement of Kaifeng.
Hulan was delighted at first, and said happily that her brother had won another victory. Soon, the little girl showed a worried look and remained silent. Zhao Yulin pulled Hulan into his arms and asked what was wrong?
Is she worried that her brother’s life will be in danger after Kaifeng is surrounded?
The little girl said indifferently that she didn't care, this was a war, life and death were determined by fate.
Zhao Yulin kissed her on the cheek and said: Don't worry, Brother Da Meng is very smart. He will cross the Yellow River to the north and escape from danger without waiting to be surrounded.
The little girl didn't say anything and looked weak as she asked him to hold her.
He put his arm around her, and the little girl sat on him, put her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and pouted her little mouth towards him. Their two mouths quickly pressed together and began to interact.
Soon, the two of them got closer.
Zhao Yulin quickly stopped his attack and wanted to let her go, but the girl wanted more and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and wanted to sit in his arms.
He said somewhat embarrassedly that it was uncomfortable to sit up because of the uneven surface down there.
Hu Lan suddenly realized what was going on. Her face turned red and she immediately jumped off him and ran away.
Outside Suzhou City, Yu Jie was dispatching the three armies to attack the city.
Kouxiubuhua hid in a small house behind the government office. The loud noises of thunder bombs exploding were heard everywhere. He could never have imagined that in such a short time, the firearms of the Shenwei Army became so powerful.
This is because Chen Xian, the firearms master of the Shenwei Army, consulted with the front-line soldiers and made drastic adjustments to the casting standards of the iron barrel cannon in accordance with the requirements of attacking the enemy cavalry. He reduced the diameter of the muzzle and pressed the iron sheet into shape. The caliber of the new barrel cannon is much smaller, and although the projectile powder bag is far less huge than in the past, the intensive firing of a large number of barrel cannons still gave the enemy a strong deterrent.
The key is that the range has been greatly increased after the improvement, and when combined with the catapult to complete long, medium and short distance combinations, the enemy will have nowhere to hide.
Kouqibuhua had witnessed the power of the Shenwei Army's artillery in Pingliang as early as then, and he vigorously developed firearms when he returned.
However, the Mongolian army's artillery casting masters could not make the samples even if they had them, because their empire, after being crowned by the Khan of the grassland, became small kingdoms closed by meritorious princes. It was not like the Shenwei Army, which selected technological craftsmen from all over the world and coordinated the production of military equipment across the country.
They did not have Zhao Yulin's advanced ideas and could not make a huge hydraulic press, let alone refined iron with good toughness containing manganese. These two items alone were a hindrance to the Mongolian army's firearms. They could only cast the Huihui cannon bigger and bigger, and make the catapult even bigger.
However, the larger and heavier these firearms were, the more they could not be transported and disassembled quickly, and thus could not be maneuvered at high speed on the battlefield. Often, they would be targeted and retaliated by the Shenwei Army after just one shot, and would be destroyed in minutes.
Later, these bulky guys were almost all placed at important passes and cities to guard against the attacks of the Shenwei Army. However, to the Shenwei Army, they were just fragments, almost all of them were fixed targets, and they could always be easily found as long as they fired, and they became lambs to be slaughtered.
It took the Shenwei Army only half a day to clear the Mongolian army's outer positions and prepare to attack the city.
Yujie concentrated firepower to attack the west and south gates, causing flames and explosions in the city, and preventing the Mongolian army from approaching the city walls. After the red-coated cannons blasted open the west gate, the Shenwei Army immediately rushed into the city. In less than a day, they opened the east and north gates and fled in two directions.
Yu Jie immediately led his troops northward, advancing both by land and sea in pursuit of Yingtian Prefecture.
At this time, there was another team approaching Yingtian, that was the Eastern Group's detachment led by Yang Xingyun. Although it was called a detachment, its strength should not be underestimated.
Although the old team of the East Group was handed over to Lai Chuanfang to attack Kaifeng, Yang Xingyun still had three newly formed columns. Although most of these teams were composed of new recruits and most of the leaders were promoted from deputy positions in the main columns, the soldiers were well-trained, well-equipped, and eager to fight. They were not inferior to the old troops in terms of speed of advance.
Therefore, when Lai Chuanfang completed the pincer attack on Kaifeng, the shadow of the Shenwei Army also appeared around Shangqiu, the ancient city that became Yingtian Prefecture in the Northern Song Dynasty.
In Xuzhou, Hubili learned that Suzhou was under siege, and then learned that Kouqiu Buhua had abandoned the city and fled. When he came back with dozens of riders, his body slumped in a chair as if he had been drained of energy. He immediately ordered the entire army to retreat and tighten the defense towards Xuzhou.
His personal bodyguard reported to him that the suicide squad that had carried out a raid deep behind enemy lines had found Princess Hulan in Dachuan.
Hulan arrived at Dachuan Town? Hubili immediately thought of Zhao Yulin. It must be her sister who followed Zhao Yulin to the front line. When the guards slowly told him that Hulan was injured, Hubili immediately became angry and asked if the death squad had also attacked his sister?
The guard quickly said no, no, it was the princess who drew her sword and cut her own throat in order to save her guard Bart. But judging from the situation, the injury was not serious, and Zhao Qier's guards of the Divine Might Army must have returned quickly and could have been cured.
After hearing this, Hubili said angrily: Hu Lan will probably be left with a scar.
He then let out a long sigh and picked up the tea bowl on the table to drink tea, but unexpectedly the tea was ice-cold. He dropped the tea bowl and asked for another one, as it was already cold.
Hubili didn't know how to deal with Hu Lan. He couldn't order the killing of his sister, and it was also difficult to get his sister back from Zhao Yulin because Hu Lan herself had never thought of leaving.
Hubili walked towards the study helplessly, spread out the rice paper and wrote quickly, wanting to tell his elder brother in detail the military situation in the south and the affairs of his sister Hulan.
In Dachuan Town, Zhao Yulin was taking a nap under the shade of a tree. The early winter sun shone on him in patches, making him feel warm and comfortable. Hu Lan walked over to massage his shoulders and neck, and gently massaged his temples.
Zhao Yulin asked with half closed eyes: Are the wounds on your hands healed?
It’s better to take a rest.
The little woman nodded softly and said gently that she wanted to serve her husband.
Last night, the little girl ran to Zhao Yulin's room to make love with him, which made him so excited that he couldn't control himself and launched a fierce attack.
At dawn, Hu Lan officially became Zhao Yulin's woman.
He opened his eyes to see the wound on Hulan's neck, but the little woman said it was too ugly and she didn't want to see it. He knew that Hulan was afraid that he would see the scar on her neck, which was the wound she got when she put a dagger against her neck to save her guards and forced back her brother's death squad.
Zhao Yulin admired the little woman's courage. He said with a smile: No matter how ugly she is, she is still his woman.
Hu Lan was delighted, and bent down to blow air at him and cross his eyes. The two were happily interacting with each other when the guard captain Ke Zhenxie shouted from a distance: Third Master, the military report is here.
