My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 377 Outflank Me
Following the order from the captain, the Ming army soldiers, who had been prepared for a long time, pointed their guns at the pirates and pulled the trigger.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Crisp gunshots instantly rang out on the beach, and the bullets fired from the muzzle formed a hail of bullets in mid-air, rapidly shooting towards the enemy!

In an instant, the pirates in the front were hit by bullets and fell to the ground. The pirates behind them looked at their accomplices with holes all over their bodies and were a little stunned for a moment.

"Don't stop! They're going to use gunpowder. Quick, charge and chop off their heads. The commander-in-chief said that each head will cost ten taels of silver!"

A pirate leader shouted loudly, and the pirates seemed to have just woken up from a dream, continuing to make strange "Wow" sounds and rushed towards the Ming army's defense line.

However, what they didn't expect was that the nightmare had just begun!
"Shoot! Pay attention to controlling the rhythm and maintain continuous firepower!"

Following an order from the captain of the second battalion, the Ming army soldiers raised their guns and fired. Another round of barrage of bullets came over, and the pirates in the front were instantly knocked to the ground by the huge impact force of the bullets.

At the same time, Ming army soldiers from other musket battalions also joined the battle one after another, and together with the soldiers of the second battalion, they formed an impenetrable firepower network. When you run out of bullets, I will fill the firepower gap, and when I run out of bullets, you will come to cover me.

The soldiers of the Ming army took turns shooting at each other, maintaining a continuous firepower and launching a fierce attack on the pirates. For a moment, the pirates seemed to be restrained in their steps, unable to move forward even a step!
Chen Zuyi, who was in the pirate position on the high ground in the rear, was stunned by the Ming army's muskets, which were like divine weapons, firing bullets continuously. Were the weapons used by the Ming army still muskets?
He simply could not understand why the Ming army's firearms had such a fast firing rate and why they did not need to be loaded with bullets or gunpowder?
However, he did understand one thing, which was why the Ming Dynasty only dared to send a few thousand people to launch an expedition to Srivijaya!

No wonder, no wonder I heard those rumors about the Ming army in Palembang, such as 50,000 troops conquered the entire northern desert, and 10,000 troops defeated Le Qui Si's 100,000 troops in Laos. At first I thought the Ming Dynasty was bragging, and I even laughed at it. I didn't expect it to be true!
Damn it, it’s only been a few years since I arrived in Srivijaya from Guangdong. How could the Ming Dynasty have such a terrifying weapon?
If that's the case, then wouldn't Songpa and Liang Daoren who went to Ryukyu be in great danger now?

Although there were only 500 Ming troops, their firearms were invincible!

At this moment, a trace of fear finally surged in Chen Zuyi's heart. If things continued like this, not to mention that he only had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, even if he had hundreds of thousands, they would not be enough for the Ming army to kill!

Unlike Chen Zuyi, the pirates on the beach were experiencing life and death in the hail of bullets. At this time, after experiencing several rounds of rapid fire, they were already terrified when they saw their companions being shot through by bullets. How could they have the courage to fight the Ming army again?
Even if there was a reward of 10,000 taels of silver for killing a Ming soldier, he would not do it. Nothing is more important than his own life!
The battle hadn't lasted a quarter of an hour when the pirates became frightened and showed signs of retreating. Chen Zuyi was extremely anxious. If he failed, his doomsday would be here!
"Archers, where are the archers? Quick, organize the archers to shoot for me!

And the musketeers, the musketeers, and the archers, hit them hard!"

In a desperate situation, Chen Zuyi finally thought of it. Just sending people to charge forward like this would be simply seeking death. They should use long-range weapons to attack the Ming army!

It’s not that he didn’t think of using archers, but this weapon is too scarce in Sumatra!

Bows and arrows were scarce weapons in Palembang, and even in Srivijaya. Of course, the bows and arrows that Chen Zuyi wanted were the standard hard bows used in the Yuan Dynasty army with a strength of more than one stone, not the toy-like bows and arrows used by the natives.

To make a qualified bow and arrow, not only does it require skilled craftsmen and a lot of time to make, but more importantly, in an island country like Srivijaya, there is simply not enough raw materials.

Apart from anything else, just to produce the best beef tendons, one needs to raise a large number of cattle, which is not something an island country can afford.

Not to mention Srivijaya, even looking at the entire Malacca Strait, no vassal state could equip standard bows and arrows in large quantities.

Even a tyrant like Chen Zuyi in Malacca only had a few thousand men equipped with bows and arrows!
Firearms were even rarer. The few firearm craftsmen in Srivijaya were all escapees from the Ming Dynasty! Soon, the archers and firearmsmen took their positions, and under Chen Zuyi's urging, they finally started their first round of long-range attacks.

"Shhhhhh!"

Just as the musketeers were loading gunpowder bullets, the archers had already shot their arrows. For a moment, a rain of arrows flew towards the Ming army, and the scene was quite spectacular.

"Bows and arrows are coming, take cover!"

"Find cover and hide!"

Although the speed of bows and arrows is fast, it is far slower than that of bullets. Therefore, the Ming army soon saw the rain of arrows coming with their naked eyes.

Under the orders of the thousand and hundred households, all the Ming troops hid on the spot in any available places. Reefs, dock planks, boats, coconut groves, etc. all became their shelters.

Since the Ming army's combat mode had long surpassed this era, it had completely abandoned dense formations and instead adopted a relatively dispersed three-three system. Compared with before, the flexibility and maneuverability were a world of difference.

Therefore, they can quickly hide themselves when the enemy's long-range attacks come, and the loose formation also makes it impossible for the archers to effectively find their targets.

You know, the time when bows and arrows can exert their greatest power is when the enemy army adopts a dense formation to attack. In this way, archers can be concentrated to shoot arrows in a unified manner and effectively kill the enemy. At this time, the archers under Chen Zuyi's command were more likely to shoot arrows in the general direction of the Ming army. As for whether they could hit the target or not, it depended on God's blessing.

Moreover, these archers had not undergone long-term and rigorous training like the Central Plains army. In their eyes, as long as they could shoot the arrows, they were qualified.

At this time on the beach, except for a few unlucky guys who couldn't find any cover and were shot in the legs or arms, the Ming army suffered almost no losses.

"Clap clap clap"

After a flurry of activity, the musketeers finally lit the fuse and fired bullets towards the beach.

For a moment, thick smoke filled Chen Zuyi's position, and the strong smell of gunpowder made them cough.

After the smoke cleared, Chen Zuyi discovered that bows and muskets could actually slow down the Ming army. He immediately became alert and shouted:

"Someone, aim at the beach and bombard them with artillery!"

At this moment, he didn't care about any fighting methods. As long as the weapons were useful, he would use them.

On the beach, the captain in charge of commanding the battle ordered the captain of the third battalion, "Qian Benyi, I order you to take the second battalion and outflank the enemy's position from the side. Those archers and musketeers are so annoying!"

(End of this chapter)