Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5153 The Power of Artillery
Yezid ran out of the house and stood in the yard, watching the thick smoke billowing from the south of the city, which covered the sky. His face suddenly turned red and he became furious. He drew his sword and broke a stool beside him, shouting loudly: "Tens of thousands of people were unable to stop 20,000 rebels, and their food and fodder were burned. Damn it! Everyone deserves to die!"

More than 100,000 people gathered here, with reinforcements arriving continuously, but the already scarce food and fodder were burned... How can this war be fought?
Auf stood beside Yezid, his face gloomy, staring at the captain who came to report the news and asked, "What is Muslim doing?"

The captain said: "General Musrimu was afraid of the enemy and was afraid of fighting. When the rebels came, he led his defeated soldiers to retreat continuously, causing the rebels to advance straight in and set fire to the food and fodder."

"Where are the Marshal's guards?"

"As soon as they left the city, they were stopped by A Luohan's 'Immortal Army'. Then the Tang Army and Helu's 'Tiger Division' came forward to help. The three rebel armies entangled the Marshal's guards tightly, and the outcome was still undecided."

Ao Fu quickly said to Ye Qide: "General, calm down. Now is not the time to pursue anyone's responsibility. Just continue to dispatch troops to support. We must wipe out the three rebels before the war begins, or at least drive them away! Otherwise, if Xue Rengui on the other side of the river finds these fireworks, he may take the opportunity to attack us. By then, we will be in a passive situation with no way to protect our front and rear and be attacked from both sides!"

Ye Qide was a fool to begin with. He had already run out of ideas at this critical moment. He spread his hands and said, "Who should we send to the south of the city for support? One move will affect the whole body, and no one is suitable!"

Although more than 100,000 troops gathered here, each tribe had its own ambitions and restrained each other. They had to keep their troops supporting Maslama on the north bank at all times, ensure the defense of Kesan City, and prevent the armies of various tribes from taking advantage of the chaos to cause trouble... Where could they withdraw troops to support the south of the city?
If he had, he would not have sent out his guards, resulting in the current situation where they are stuck in a fight and unable to escape.

They are all the Caliph's trusted and loyal followers. If they are lost in this Kesan City, how can we explain to the Caliph when we return?
Aofu said: "The situation has completely gone out of control. How can we care about those things? We must wipe out the rebels attacking the south of the city. Otherwise, the retreat will be cut off and the morale of the army may be shaken!"

The military system of the Arab Empire was a "coalition" composed of the Caliph's direct troops and the armies of various tribes. This military system seemed very good. In times of war, it could gather the maximum force at the fastest speed, and the center of the empire could launch the largest-scale war at the lowest cost.

But the disadvantages are also extremely obvious. Each tribe puts its own interests first. They seem to be powerful and invincible, but in fact they are a group of scattered sand.

As long as the war situation goes against their will and there is a possibility that their own interests will be damaged, these tribes will become afraid of the enemy and may even scatter.

The Tang army deployed troops on the north bank of Yaosha River. If the rebels in the south of the city could not be wiped out, the entire Kesan City would be like a turtle in a jar, unable to advance or retreat. The morale of those tribes would inevitably be shaken...

Compared with the defense of a dispersed city, ensuring the retreat route is open is the most important thing.

Ye Qide also knew what was more important, and gritted his teeth and said, "Then immediately dispatch troops to the south of the city to provide support..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard a dull roar in his ears.

Yezid's expression suddenly changed: "Where are you firing?"

Although the losses of the Arab army under the Tang army's artillery in the last battle in the Western Regions were not great, after all, artillery was inconvenient to move and had a limited range, but its power shocked and frightened Yazid, so he still remembered the "boom boom" sound of the artillery clearly.

Aof looked in the direction of the voice and said anxiously, "It's the north bank! Marshal, quickly order the troops to go to the south of the city. Xue Rengui has already started a fierce attack! Maslama can hold out for a while, so take this time to quickly wipe out or drive away the three rebel forces in the south of the city, and then fully respond to Xue Rengui's offensive!"

Yazid asked, "Which army should be sent?"

Auf: "..."

Before he could say anything, the sound of cannons came continuously like drumbeats, and then became a whole, like thunder rolling in the sky during the early spring rainy season, rumbling and deafening, and even the ground beneath the feet was shaking slightly.

A messenger came running over, and when he got close, he looked panicked and said quickly: "Report to the commander-in-chief, the Tang army on the north bank suddenly launched an attack, and hundreds of artillery pieces fired at the same time. General Maslama sent me to report that the entire position has been covered by the Tang army's artillery fire. The fire is rising to the sky, shrapnel is flying everywhere, and the losses are heavy!"

Yezid was incredulous: "Maslama brought tens of thousands of people to the north bank, and the depth of the position was hundreds of feet. No matter how powerful the Tang army's artillery is, it can only bombard the front line. How can it cover the entire position?"

When two armies face off, it is naturally impossible to deploy tens of thousands of people on the front line. Instead, they should respond to each other and coordinate with each other to build a formation with strategic depth depending on the number of troops. Even if the enemy captures the front, they will immediately be strangled by the entire formation and will not be broken by a single attack.

The artillery must be arranged at some distance from the front line to avoid being destroyed by the enemy cavalry's charge, and the depth of Maslama's position is hundreds of feet... Yazid, who has a certain understanding of the performance and power of the Tang army's artillery, does not understand why the Tang army's artillery can cover the entire Maslama position?

The messenger didn't know how to explain it, so he just said, "This is General Maslama's order. I just dictated it. However, the Tang army's artillery has a very long range, and our army has suffered heavy losses!"

Yezid was at a loss, and turned to look at Auf: "General, what should we do?"

Ao Fu gritted his teeth and said, "On the one hand, we will mobilize the army to station on the south bank of Yaosha River. Even if Maslama is defeated, we can snipe the Tang army across Yaosha River to ensure the safety of Kesan City! On the other hand, we will send troops to the south of the city for support. No matter what, we must eliminate the threat to the rear before the Tang army crosses the river!"

The worst situation was that Maslama was defeated at one blow, the Tang army occupied the entire northern bank of the Yaosha River, and then forced a crossing of the Yaosha River.

Sending troops to block the Yaosha River and snipe at the Tang army's crossing of the river was tantamount to abandoning Maslama's troops.

Yezid hesitated: "But such a battle report shows that Maslama can no longer hold on. If we don't send reinforcements, the whole army may be destroyed!"

Although his father Muawiyah was the caliph, high above and in power, the Caliphate was plagued by factions and power constraints, and there was a strong enemy like Hussein outside, so it was difficult to maintain the caliphate. Maslama was the caliph's most staunch supporter. If he was defeated at the Yadsha River, not only would he, the son, be unable to explain himself when he returned to Damascus, but his father's rule would also be shaken.

Seeing that he was still hesitant and timid at such a critical moment, Aofu shouted angrily: "Even if Maslama is defeated, there is still the Yaosha Water Moat to stop the Tang army. But once the south of the city is in chaos and the retreat is cut off, the army's morale will be weakened in an instant. What is more important, don't you know, Marshal?"

Yezid was panic-stricken and said: "In this case, I will follow the general's words."

Auf ignored him and directly ordered the troops to be dispatched.

……

One after another, cannons were moved from the rear to the front of the two armies. The gunners loaded propellant and projectiles. Everything was ready.

Xue Rengui was riding on his horse, looking at the thick smoke rising into the sky from the direction of Kesan City. He knew that Gao Deyi's strategy of leading Helu and Aluhan to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's rear from Tuozhe City had been completed. Looking at the billowing smoke, he knew that not only had the enemy's rear defense line been broken through, but their food and fodder had even been burned. This was a huge blow to the morale of the Arab army.

At this time, Gao Deyi and others must have been surrounded by the enemy. With the enemy outnumbering us, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for long.

He said in a deep voice: "Fire!"

Beside him, the captain held up a small flag high and then waved it down with force.

The captain of the artillery camp shouted: "One shot, test fire!"

"Tom!"

With a muffled sound, a flash of fire appeared at the muzzle of a cannon, and a bullet flew out of the barrel, followed by a cloud of smoke. Soldiers on both sides stepped forward to clean the barrel with a brush, stuffed in propellant and bullets, and prepared to fire again.

The projectile drew a huge parabola in the air and landed accurately in front of the enemy's formation. The fuse burned out and detonated the projectile, causing a ball of fire.

The captain of the artillery camp shouted: "Elevation angle 30 degrees, raise one degree per shot, free fire, fire!"

Boom boom boom boom!

Dozens of cannons fired at the same time. The rumbling sound made the eardrums itch and the ground underfoot trembled. Flames burst out from the muzzles of the cannons and rising smoke enveloped the entire position.

In the distance, flashes of fire appeared in the enemy's positions, black smoke rose, and the barrage of bullets moved slowly from near to far. In a short while, the enemy's position was plowed from beginning to end.

Wang Xiaojie, who was already wearing armor and holding a sword high, roared, squeezed his feet on the horse's belly, and led a thousand armored cavalry to charge out, using the terrain to rush towards the enemy formation from a high position.

Two thousand light cavalry were divided into two groups, making a detour to the left and right and attacking the enemy's two wings.

Afterwards, three thousand heavily armored infantrymen, armed to the teeth, formed a neat formation and followed the cavalry's footsteps to crush the enemy.

Xue Rengui looked at the armored cavalry that had already charged into the enemy camp, unstoppable and unstoppable, and felt relieved. He asked the captain of the artillery camp beside him: "What's the status of the artillery?"

The improvements made by the foundry to the artillery this time were extremely effective.

After numerous designs and tests, the addition of wooden cartridges and wooden fuses greatly increased the chamber pressure of the gun, and naturally extended the range. However, at the same time, the requirements for the quality of the gun barrel also increased. Not only are the gun barrels thicker and longer, but they also use the latest alloy materials, which are extremely expensive.

The gun barrel has a service life. With such high-intensity firing, the gun barrel is extremely damaged...

The captain of the artillery camp said, "General, three of them exploded, but the others are fine."

"Can it still withstand another round of bombardment?"

"Absolutely!" The captain agreed immediately, but after a slight hesitation, he said, "If the firing interval can be longer to allow for some cooling time, the damage to the gun barrel will be greatly reduced."

When the artillery is fired, the high temperature and high pressure cause great damage to the material of the barrel.

"A cannon shot brings in a fortune of gold." War means money.