Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 157 Why not run?

As the saying goes: Heart disease needs heart medicine.

Since Kong Youde and Wuzhen Chaoha arrived, Duoduo's condition improved at a very fast speed.

After all the artillery was installed this morning, he was fully armed and left the camp directly to the front to check the bombardment effect.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

After a round of artillery fire, Duoduo felt the earth shaking. After he took a closer look with the telescope he bought from the red-haired devil, his face was glowing red and he no longer looked sick at all.

At this time, several cracks had already appeared on the Hangzhou city wall, and it was obvious that it could not hold out for long under such intensive artillery fire.

As long as the Ming army lost the protection of the turtle shell, Duoduo was confident that he could capture Hangzhou before Nikan could no longer hold on.

By then, needless to say, it would be easy to completely take over Jiangnan.

The most important thing is that if he can free up his hands here, he can lead his troops north and, together with Nikan, wipe out the Ming army in one fell swoop. He can also lead the flag soldiers back north according to the original plan and focus on reorganizing the flag affairs.

"The Han Chinese always set off fireworks during the New Year, saying that it can bring good luck and avoid bad luck. I think the effect of these cannons is much stronger than those fireworks."

Seeing that Duoduo was so happy, all the generals agreed. Some even suggested that they should fire a few cannons during the New Year in the future to ensure good health and peace for the country and the people.

Duoduo naturally did not comment on this statement.

Let's not talk about how much money this cannon would cost. If such a powerful weapon were really popularized, what would be the use of the Manchus' horse archery? How could they defeat a large enemy with a small force?
Can we really place all our hopes on Wu Zhenchaoha?
He was not a Jurchen who had just come out of the mountains. He naturally knew that the biggest reason why these Han princes were so obedient to him was that they had witnessed the strength of the white-armored soldiers.

If one day they realize what's going on, will they still be able to let the white-armored soldiers withstand artillery fire with their flesh and blood?

Therefore, the strategy of the bannermen against Wuzhen Chaoha was to use the method of control.

The so-called use is to use their proficiency in firearms to capture certain strong cities.

The so-called control is to restrict their use and development of firearms.

With this strategy, the Qing Dynasty could enjoy powerful firearms without letting them backfire on itself. It was an extremely clever method.

Some people may think that this overestimates the Qing Dynasty, but in fact, the first few emperors of the Qing Dynasty not only did not oppose the exchange of Eastern and Western civilizations, but also studied it personally. Kangxi was so studious that he even studied calculus. The later "yuan", "ci", "root" and "solution" were all determined by him personally.

Of course, the more they studied, the more they understood how great a blessing this method could bring to ordinary people. In order to ensure that the Qing Dynasty could continue to dominate the powerful for a long time, the Manchu upper class would naturally be quite wary of this method.

There is nothing surprising about the compilation of the Siku Quanshu, which was called a compilation but was actually a unified destruction.

This matter is essentially not much different from what happened to Sauron's soldiers. To put it more thoroughly, it is actually the inevitable choice of using the small to deal with the big, and it has nothing to do with a person's character or other traits.

Closer to home.

Although the generals intended to curry favor with Duoduo, they could not deny that the cracks on the Hangzhou city wall ended their depression that had lasted for more than a month.

When in a good mood, the generals will naturally talk more, but it cannot be generalized.

The generals were having a joyful discussion, and Duoduo would not spoil the fun. After everyone's interest died down a little, he asked Li Benshen, "Admiral Li, how are your troops preparing?"

Li Benshen was Gao Jie's nephew. Since the Suizhou Incident, he had been acting as the commander-in-chief in his capacity as admiral.

Of course, he was really acting on behalf of the emperor. When encountering matters big or small, he still had to discuss with powerful generals such as Li Chengdong and Hu Maozhen. After they came up with an idea together, he would report it to Gao Jie's wife, Xing, and his son Gao Yuanzhao would go through the process.

This is what counts, and it does have some parliamentary meaning.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I have carefully selected three thousand brave men to form a separate battalion. Once the city wall collapses, we will be able to capture Hangzhou in one battle."

Li Benshen attached great importance to this mission.

Not only did he select soldiers from his own army, he also spent some money to get some men from other generals, and finally he got the number of 3,000.

As for why he works so hard
Li Chengdong left, Hu Maozhen left, and more than half of the generals under Gao Jie followed some nobleman to leave, while this poor man could only follow Duoduo and eat dust.

In this situation, how could he not try his best to find an independent job for himself and his subordinates?

"Well, you have put in some thought this time. As long as you work hard for the Qing Dynasty, the title and salary will be nothing. If you can make great contributions, it will not be difficult to become like the King Gongshun."

"Thank you for your support, Your Majesty! I will die for you, Your Majesty!"

Although Duoduo's skill in drawing cakes was not very advanced, Li Benshen was naturally very convinced with the help of Kong Youde and other valuable people.

But he didn't know that Duoduo had not intended to let his troops make much contribution in order to balance the power of the Han people under his command. It was only because Liu Liangzuo's troops were really useless that this great credit fell on him.

In fact, the poor performance of Liu Liangzuo's troops does not represent his ability as a person.

This sounds a bit absurd, but Li Benshen understands the reason behind it.

According to common sense, the Ming army's tactics mostly started with firearms, assisted by bows and crossbows, and only engaged in hand-to-hand combat after the two armies got close.

This kind of tactics is actually very compatible with the Ming army's equipment, but due to various factors, an extremely strange situation emerged.

That is, after firing muskets and arrows, the Ming army would be afraid of hand-to-hand combat, while the Qing army only needed to use cannon fodder to withstand the initial wave of long-range attacks and then could crush the Ming army with close combat.

This point was not too obvious among the Ming troops in the nine borders, but it was vividly reflected in the Ming troops in the heart of the Great Wall.

Further south, the Ming army's firearms were greatly reduced, and the soldiers' fear of hand-to-hand combat became less common.

Under such circumstances and the influence of some other factors, the Qing army did not fight very smoothly outside the Great Wall, but once they entered the Great Wall, they were like a wolf among a flock of sheep.

After the Ming army joined forces with the remnants of the armies of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the two sides learned from each other's strengths and weaknesses, and situations where they were afraid of hand-to-hand combat rarely occurred.

But by that time, the world's situation had already been determined, and coupled with the constraints of various internal struggles, even if there were some setbacks in the middle, it would be difficult to reverse the situation.

Coincidentally, Gao Jie came from the Chuang army. Although his troops had some firearms, they were not afraid of hand-to-hand combat. However, Liu Liangzuo's troops were the real Lianghuai Ming army, so hand-to-hand combat was not a big deal for them.
As a result, Duoduo developed the impression that Liu Liangzuo's troops were not capable of taking on important tasks, while Li Chengdong and Hu Maozhen, who came from the Chuang army, became the "bodyguards" of choice for various nobles when they went out to look for food.

However, it was not in line with Duoduo's balance strategy for a general from the same town to make too many contributions. If the battle of Hangzhou did not need to be ended quickly, even at the cost of the lives of the soldiers from the other two towns, Duoduo would not have given Li Benshen the opportunity to make such a great contribution.

"Go ask why there's no movement?"

Duoduo probably didn't care much about Li Benshen's loyalty. He responded faintly and asked Goshaha beside him.

He knew that he had to stop for a while after each round of shelling to allow the barrel to cool down, otherwise the gun would be destroyed and people would die if he was not careful.

However, it has been a long time since the last round of shelling, and even if the barrel is a little red, it should have cooled down after all the methods used.

If there were other reasons, it would not matter if we waited one or two more incense sticks. But if there was any problem with the cannon, it would be troublesome. As soon as he finished speaking, Geshaha left. However, within an incense stick of time, Kong Youde and Geshaha came to Duoduo together.

"I think a section of the wall can't hold up anymore, so I'll just adjust the gun muzzle and blast it down."

Hearing this, Duoduo immediately understood why this round of shelling took so long.

This red cannon is extremely powerful, with the smaller ones weighing two to three thousand pounds, and the larger ones weighing four to five thousand pounds.

Such a heavy object, let alone moving it, even "adjusting the muzzle" as Kong Youde said would take a lot of effort.

"If that's the case, why don't you just send someone to tell them? Why do you have to come here in person?"

"There's nothing going on over there, so I'll come and see how the vanguard is preparing."

Seeing that the two princes were talking about him, Li Benshen took the initiative to repeat what he had said before.

"Admiral Li, this trip is a huge achievement for you. When we enter the city, you must treat us to a drink."

"Boom boom boom!"

Hearing this, Li Benshen was prepared to please him, but before he could open his mouth, he heard bursts of artillery fire, and everyone's attention naturally shifted to the front.

At this time, there was a group of people ready to fight near the artillery position. As long as a gap appeared in the city wall, they would rush forward and open a passage for the army.

"Get ready!"

Wang Siwa shouted loudly, and then the soldiers under his command began to check their equipment.

He had been with Gao Jie since the beginning of the uprising, and was later demoted to a general in the army in order to help Li Benshen gain control of the army.

Different from the centurions and thousand-man commanders in the garrison troops, most of the officers in these garrison troops are called officers on duty. Take him as an example, his authority and responsibility are between the centurions and thousand-man commanders in the garrison troops, and under him there are sentinels, sergeants and squad leaders.

However, in terms of combat power, since the garrison troops are all composed of recruited soldiers, their actual combat power seems to be similar to that of a thousand households, and it is difficult to distinguish which one is higher.

"We have already got the money. You must fight to the death. As long as Hangzhou is captured, the admiral will give you a generous reward!"

Encouraged by the money, the morale of the soldiers was naturally high.

Although there will always be casualties in war, the artillery has completely eliminated the geographical advantage of the defenders, so they no longer need to use the ant-like method of attacking the city, which results in high casualties.

In this case, it is natural that the soldiers' morale is high.

"Boom boom boom!"

The intensity of this round of artillery fire was much higher than before, and its landing point was basically controlled on that section of the city wall that was about a mile long.

At this point, both Wang Siwa and his soldiers knew very well that the collapse of that section of the city wall was imminent, and it might be their turn to take the stage before this round was over.

At this time, Wang Siwa's mind was completely focused on the section of the city wall with the most cracks, and he had no energy to care about anything else.

He has already said everything he should say. If someone really turns a deaf ear to his words and loses his own life, it is his own business.

"Boom boom boom!"

There was another round of artillery fire. Even though Wang Siwa was nearly a mile away from the city wall, he could still see that the cracks were much wider than before. Even at the weakest point, the cracks were already spreading to the left and right. It was obvious that the city wall would not be able to withstand this round of bombardment.

"Prepare!"

At the command of the general in front, the soldiers were ready to go, and even Wang Siwa drew the sword from his waist.

"Boom boom boom!"

“BOOM~~~~~!”

"Advance troops!"

Under the bombardment of artillery fire, a gap of more than ten feet long was finally revealed in the city wall, and the three thousand vanguards rushed in like tigers out of a cage.

"Wang Siwa! On the right!"

"Order!"

Following the general's call, Wang Siwa instinctively glanced to the right of the gap. When he saw a passage formed by collapsed bricks and stones, he understood the meaning of the military order.

"ladder!"

Wang Siwa led his troops out of the main group and shouted to the army behind him. Then several teams of soldiers carrying long ladders on their shoulders and holding small shields responded and rushed to the gap at the fastest speed.

Their mission is to pave the way for the assault troops so they can sprint at full speed without sacrificing energy.

When they were under the command of King Chuang, they had attacked many cities without even having to ask their superiors for instructions on what to do.

Although their coordination was smooth, the defenders were also capable fighters, so how could they allow them to succeed easily?
When their troops were only fifty or sixty steps away from the city wall, Ming soldiers armed with bows and arrows and muskets emerged from the gap.

"Raise your shield!"

At Wang Siwa's command, the soldiers in the front row raised their large shields at an angle.

They knew very well that at such a distance and angle, the lethality and accuracy of arrows were far greater than those of muskets. Instead of guarding against the lead bullets that were coming straight at them, it would be better to focus on guarding against arrows.

However, the soldiers in the main camp were protected by large shields, while those carrying ladders could only crouch down and try their best to protect their vital points with small shields.

"Oh!"

"Whoosh!"

After a round of shooting, thirty or forty people fell in the main camp, and only a few of those who were in the front were left.

Seeing this situation, Wang Siwa was not too disappointed.

After all, this team was already in a state of uncertainty. If they could lay out the ladders before the Ming army could react, it would be a pleasant surprise. But if they failed, it would only cost a few lives.

"full speed!"

As the military order was issued, the soldiers' rushing speed suddenly increased, and they reached the gap in just a few breaths.

But when the soldiers laid the ladder on the messy ruins, Wang Siwa began to have some doubts in his heart.

"Why don't these Ming troops run away?"

(End of this chapter)