Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 440 The Great Alliance Marches Forward (Thirteen)

The howls of light cannons might be drowned out by the drumbeats, and the roar of mortars might be confused with the sound of gunfire.

However, nothing could drown out the roar of heavy artillery—no war drums, no bugle calls, no shouts, no hoofbeats…

Therefore, upon hearing the thunder coming from the opposite bank, Colonel Skull immediately realized that Sanel and Chloe had also brought Maple Leaf Fortress's defensive artillery to the battlefield. Their previous actions, whether creating smoke screens or attacking River Valley Village, were all aimed at covering the deployment of heavy artillery.

Eight deafening thunderclaps resounded in succession, as if a god were hurling eight giant hammers at the earth.

“Eight gates.” Colonel Skull calmed his restless warhorse while thinking to himself, “Did Sanel bring all the heavy artillery from Maple Leaf Castle? Or did Kings Castle transport it to him by water?”

Colonel Skull had many questions in his mind, but now was clearly not the right time to think about them.

The sheer noise of heavy artillery firing alone had already sown seeds of panic and unease in the hearts of the soldiers in Leiqun County and Bianjiang County.

Moreover, the source of the noise was practically within reach—eight booming sounds crashed down the hills on the east bank, rolled across the blood-red, nameless stream, and pounded against the chests of Skur's soldiers, one after another.

The 32-pound bronze cannons deployed on the hills of the east bank were all clumsy, heavy old machines, about the same age as most of the soldiers' fathers, and some of them had even served under Field Marshal Ned.

After the end of the Sovereignty War, they enjoyed twenty-nine years of peace in Maple Leaf Castle. Apart from firing a few rounds of cannon salutes in the square on Victory Day each year, they almost never left the dark and cold armory beneath Maple Leaf Castle.

People regard these ancient relics as relics of a bygone era, but when they roar again, all living beings on the battlefield will still tremble involuntarily.

After eight rounds of firing, the cannons fell silent for a moment. The sporadic gunfire from the direction of River Valley Village also ceased, and the battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

The new recruits in Bianjiang County and Leiqun County were still looking around in fear, while the veterans were desperately praying that the shells would not fall on them.

The advent of cannons turned battles into a game of roulette; courage, skill, and armor were all meaningless in the face of artillery fire. In some ways, this uncertain risk of death was more agonizing than actual hand-to-hand combat.

Skull raced along the left flank of the Allied forces, confirming that no one on the left flank had suffered casualties in the recent shelling, but he also observed the detrimental effect the shelling had on morale.

Colonel Skull knew very well that no matter how much training the recruits from Thunderband County and Border River County received, they did not have the courage to face artillery shells or the strong enough will to ignore the blood and flesh of their comrades.

The smoke screen stubbornly refused to dissipate, still obscuring the battlefield. The colonel could only faintly hear commands and shouts coming from the hills on the opposite bank—enemy artillerymen were preparing for the next round of firing with great enthusiasm.

After assessing the latest enemy situation, Colonel Skull made a decision.

He quickly summoned the commanders of all the battalions and issued the order: "We cannot remain exposed to enemy fire like this. The entire army shall turn immediately—each formation shall retreat westward in turn. The defensive artillery of Maple Leaf Fortress is all old-fashioned cannons; we have at least five minutes left."

"Yes... wait, what did you say?" The astonished adjutant even forgot about the superior-subordinate relationship. He asked incredulously, "Withdraw? The puppet government troops shelled River Valley Village!"

Meeting the gazes of his six battalion commanders, Colonel Skul pointed his whip toward the smoke-shrouded east bank: "That's because they can't find any other targets for the time being. All indications suggest that the enemy's heavy artillery is on the hills across the river—right in front of us. Once the smoke clears, those heavy guns will turn and bombard us."

Because the left flank of the Allied forces consisted of troops from both Leiqun County and Bianjiang County, Colonel Skull's adjutant was Captain Sakashi from Bianjiang County.

Captain Sakashi, hot-tempered and unlike the officers of Ryke County who were subservient to Skull, retorted sharply: "But Colonel Bode's orders to us are to hold the riverbank! Not to allow any enemy troops to cross the river in an organized manner!"

“The enemy situation has changed, and the deployment must also change.” Colonel Skull frowned and glanced at the other battalion commanders: “You may have questions, but you must carry out my orders first.”

The captains dared not delay any longer, raised their hands in salute, and rode away.

Captain Sakashi delayed until the very end, waiting until all the other officers had left, before he warned with worry and indignation: "Colonel, if we give up the riverbank, it will be tantamount to completely exposing the flank of River Valley Village to the puppet government forces!"

"Choose the lesser of two evils," Skull replied coldly.

Sakahich couldn't refute this reasoning, so he steeled himself and volunteered for battle: "Please allow me to lead my troops across the river for a battle!"

Skull glanced at the captain: "No."

"Why?" Sakahich was filled with grief and indignation: "The enemy's heavy artillery is right under our noses! We have every opportunity to destroy them! We could even take them!"

"Don't underestimate Sanel!" Skul completely lost his patience and shouted angrily, "We've already paid a heavy price just because we thought he was a hapless incompetent fool! Since he dares to put his cannons there, he's not afraid of your attack!"

Colonel Skull pointed to the freshly harvested wheat fields on the east bank: "See that open field with absolutely no cover? If the enemy walks through there, they'll be our targets. But if we step on it, it'll become our slaughterhouse! Want to die? Then go ahead! In this battle, not a single soldier can be wasted!"

Sakasich was so badly reprimanded that his face turned pale and then red. He raised his hand in salute and left without saying a word.

It is unknown what special ingredients were used, but the smoke released by the Grand Council's army dissipated much more slowly than the thick smoke produced by simply burning wet firewood; it did not rise into the sky with the hot air currents, but instead floated on the ground for a long time, drifting with the wind.

Therefore, it wasn't until the eight heavy cannons on the eastern hills finished loading and fired another round of rounds of bullets towards the river valley village that the smoke covering the battlefield thinned to the point where the view on the opposite bank of the river could be vaguely seen.

Upon seeing this, the artillery commander of the Grand Council immediately ordered the guns to be reloaded with shotgun shells and turned them to face due west, waiting for the left flank of the rebels to appear in their field of vision.

However, when the east wind finally lifted the veil covering the land, revealing the deployments of both armies without any concealment, the Grand Council's artillery commander was surprised to find that the rebel left flank had retreated at least half a kilometer.

The Grand Council's artillery commander reluctantly ordered fire. Walnut-sized lead balls swept across hillsides, rivers, and fields, scattering over an area several tens of meters wide. In the end, they only managed to take down two or three unlucky victims, failing to achieve the desired killing effect.

The artillery commander of the Grand Council ordered the reloading of round shells—although the enemy had retreated half a kilometer, they were still within the effective range of the heavy artillery.

However, the retreating rebel left flank units began to change formation, gradually thinning their squares into rectangles and widening the distance between soldiers. Clearly, the rebel commander was not prepared to retreat any further; he withdrew his troops to the edge of the effective range of heavy artillery, determined to withstand the artillery bombardment with a loose formation.

Just as the Grand Council's artillery commander could see through the rebel commander's strategy at a glance, the rebel commander seemed to be fully aware of the Grand Council's thoughts as well.

Both sides are well aware of each other's tactics and ways of thinking, and are doing their best to gain an advantage by utilizing their knowledge of the other side.

The artillery commander of the Grand Council army walked up to the cannon and tried to touch the barrel.

After just three shots, the outer walls of the eight heavy cannons were hot enough to fry an egg. Even through a glove, one could feel the immense heat stored within the thick bronze.

The gunners, originally belonging to the New Reclamation Army Corps, were cooling down the cannons. They poured buckets of rapeseed oil into the muzzle, then poured it out after a few moments, and refilled it with cool oil. The whole process required repeatedly raising the cannon, leaving the gunners exhausted, drenched in sweat, and panting heavily.

Maple Leaf Castle's eight heavy cannons are all old-fashioned cannons that are extremely difficult to maintain. Although they are very powerful, they also come with many problems—heat dissipation is just one of them.

Therefore, every shooting opportunity is extremely valuable.

The Grand Council's artillery commander surveyed the loosely organized left flank of the rebels in the distance. After a brief assessment of the potential damage, he decided not to waste precious firing attempts on tickling the enemy.

With battle flags waving and the thunderous sound of war drums echoing across the east bank, the Grand Council army, under the cover of smoke, launched a frontal offensive as they reached their attack positions.

The various formations on the left and right flanks began to advance towards the opposite bank, appearing from the top of the hillside as small, light brown squares slowly moving across the land.

Even the central formation—the various units of the New Reclamation Expeditionary Army—which had suffered setbacks in the previous offensive, were regrouping and preparing for the next offensive.

"Adjust your position." The Grand Council's artillery commander aimed at the small village on the high ground across the river: "Continue bombarding the rebel's central force."

Although the eight heavy artillery pieces failed to inflict significant casualties on the rebel left flank, successfully forcing the rebels to withdraw from their riverside positions had already achieved the intended objective. Compared to the rebel units on the left flank, which were located at the edge of their effective firing range, the defenders of River Valley Village, who were closer at hand, were easier targets.

The Grand Council's artillery commander personally inspected the firing angles of each cannon, while repeatedly issuing the order: "Listen up! No one is allowed to fire at the church. This is Colonel Sanel's order! Aim at the riverbank and destroy their defenses!"

Moments later, the reloaded heavy cannons fired again. The veterans who had served under Field Marshal Ned roared as they fired the 32-pound iron balls; if they weren't weapons, they might have felt a pang of pain.

Meanwhile, on the riverbank north of River Valley Village, Captain Sakashi watched the plumes of cotton-like smoke rising from the hills on the opposite bank and clenched his fists involuntarily.

With each rumble of thunder across the river, a cloud of gravel and mud would fly up from the valley village to the captain's right. Farmers' houses collapsed with groans, thick smoke rising from the ruins. Several thick, tree-like objects were also flung into the air, spinning as they landed. The captain didn't have time to identify them, but he felt they were human limbs.

Beside Captain Sakashi, more than 500 musketeers from various battalions lay prone behind the embankment along the riverbank, each about a meter apart.

The embankment where they were standing was only a little over a meter high, made of gravel and mud, with some low shrubs planted on it to stabilize the soil.

This field embankment served both as a boundary marker and as a low dike to prevent river flooding during the rainy season. However, at this moment, it was primarily a breastwork for the musketeers of Leiqun and Bianjiang counties.

Captain Sakahich pushed aside the bushes and watched as soldiers in light brown uniforms marched down the hillside in rows to the beat of drums.

The densely packed gun barrels resembled the aerial roots of a banyan tree, their blades gleaming in the sunlight. Banners adorned with galloping horses protruded from helmets and gun barrels, and the standard-bearers were protected in the center of the formation.

Judging from the military flags, the troops attacking the left flank of the Allied forces came from the "Reorganized New Reclamation Corps," which was originally directly under General Adams.

Because Captain Sakasich uses a flag with a similar design to theirs, with only slight differences in details.

Although unwilling to admit defeat, the captain had to acknowledge that Colonel Skull's judgment was accurate.

The enemy deployed six infantry battalions in front of their artillery positions, with cavalry on both flanks.

If Sakasich really goes all in and launches a forced attack on the artillery positions across the river, then the freshly harvested wheat field on the east bank will become his slaughterhouse.

But at this moment, it was not Sakahichi's men who stepped into this killing zone, but soldiers of the Grand Council in light brown shirts.

Utilizing the superior range of their artillery, the Grand Council forces successfully forced the left flank of the "rebels" to withdraw from their riverbank defenses. Seizing the opportunity presented by the retreat of the "rebels'" left flank, the Grand Council forces' right flank began to advance.

However, if the commander of the right wing of the Grand Council Army thinks his enemies will surrender their defensive line, then he must not know Colonel Skull very well.

The ammunition was loaded, the matchlock was set, and the musketeers from Leiqun County and Bianjiang County, lying in ambush behind the dikes and bushes, held their breath involuntarily.

"No one is to open the powder keg without orders! Anyone who fires without permission will be killed!" Sakashich warned in a low voice, his eyes flashing with menace. He shoved the musketeers on either side: "Pass it down!"

Meanwhile, the six phalanxes of the Grand Council's army were advancing directly towards the riverbank.

The soldiers in light brown uniforms stood in neat rows, their steps steady, their military bearing truly impressive.

Soldiers in halberds and helmets walked at the front of the formation, while soldiers carrying muskets were positioned at the four corners. The spearmen in the first row were equipped with breastplates with iron skirts, and most of the soldiers in the back rows also wore iron helmets.

However, about fifty meters from the riverbank, they encountered a head-on attack.

Sakahich steadily aimed at a white-tasseled soldier at the front of the formation, deftly opened the powder bath, and mercilessly pressed the firing lever: "Fire! Shoot their halberdiers! Shoot their double-paid soldiers!"

Wisps of white smoke billowed from the riverbank, like pot lids lifted by steam. Gunfire erupted from the riverbank, and many of the front-line soldiers in brown uniforms fell to the ground.

Sakahich had just fired a shot and, without even having time to confirm the result, immediately took another loaded matchlock gun from the soldier behind him.

When he pressed his rifle butt against the gun again, he saw that the white-tasseled sergeant he had just aimed at had collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest. So he turned his gun around and aimed at another "double-paid soldier" in the first rank, calmly opening the powder chamber and pressing the firing lever.

The other musketeers did the same, firing one shot and then switching to another. Because of their prone position, it was difficult for them to pour gunpowder into the barrel, and they had to rely on their comrades behind them to help them load it.

After two rounds of firing, the gunfire on the west bank subsided—the musketeers were busy reloading.

The Grand Council's army had recovered from the brief panic of the attack, and the phalanxes at the far end of the battle line continued to advance, attempting to outflank the defenders on the riverbank. At the same time, the musketeers of the phalanxes on the front quickly moved forward and deployed.

This time, it was the east bank that heard a barrage of gunfire.

Captain Sakahich was momentarily overwhelmed, his head drooping as lead bullets struck the field embankment and bushes, raising clouds of dust and sending branches and leaves flying.

The captain laughed heartily and shouted to his men behind the embankment, "Where are those idiots aiming? Tree branches? Mud? Ladies, we can play with them here all day!"

That being said, the gunfire on the east bank was indeed more frequent and rhythmic than that on the west bank.

However, just as the right-wing commander of the Grand Council Army thought he had successfully suppressed the enemy in front of him and was waiting for the friendly forces on the flank to get in place, Colonel Sanel, who rushed to the artillery position following the sound of gunfire, was almost driven mad with anger.

Perhaps due to the terrain, the frontline commander in the farmland could not confirm the enemy's strength, but Sanel, who was on high ground, could see it clearly.

The left wing of the "rebels" were still huddled at the edge of the effective range of heavy artillery. What enemy troops were there on the riverbank? There were only some musketeers putting up a last-ditch resistance.

Moreover, the "rebels" hid behind field embankments and bushes, making it difficult for the parliamentary musketeers to effectively kill them. On the other hand, the parliamentary soldiers stood foolishly in the freshly harvested fields, making them easy targets.

The artillery commander, who had hastily switched from round bullets to shot, also found himself in a difficult situation—bombarding the musketeers scattered behind the field embankment with heavy artillery would be a waste of ammunition; but if he didn't use the cannons, he could only watch helplessly as his allies were attacked.

Without waiting for the artillery commander's instructions, the furious Sanel had already spurred his horse down the hill. He cursed the incompetent square commander and ordered him to charge, while simultaneously mobilizing the cavalry detachments on both flanks to cross the river and outflank the enemy.

Captain Sakashich saw a colonel gallop down the earthen slope on the opposite bank of the river, and then the clumsy, sluggish enemy phalanx "awakened," and the enemy cavalry on both flanks also made their movements.

Captain Sakasich knew it was time to retreat, but he couldn't resist taking another gamble.

"Quick! Give me a gun! Hurry!" Sakahich stared intently at the figure in a field officer's uniform on the opposite bank of the river, impatiently urging his subordinates, "Give me a gun with ammunition loaded!"

The musketeer behind him quickly pulled the lance from the barrel and handed the matchlock gun to the captain.

Sakasich personally attached the fuse, steadied the rifle, aimed at the distant officer who was waving his arm and giving orders, and prayed as he pulled the trigger: "Let me end this slaughter! Merciful Lord!"

A flash of light, the lead bullet left the barrel, and when the smoke cleared, Sakahich was disappointed to see that the officer was still sitting perfectly fine in the saddle.

At the same time, Colonel Sanel touched his cheek, spurred his horse on the flank, and turned to leave.

Seeing the enemy flee, Sakahich punched Tian Di and ordered, "Sound the horn! Retreat!"

The piercing bugle call shattered the noise of the battlefield, and the musketeers behind the field embankment scrambled to their feet and rushed toward the distant square formation. Sakashich also drew his sword and strode toward the square formation he commanded.

However, at that moment, the Grand Council's artillery commander seized the opportunity when the "rebel" musketeers left their positions and ordered the cannons to fire.

Thirty-two-pound cannons spewed thick smoke, raining down a merciless barrage of lead bullets upon the fleeing figures.

The wheat fields on the west bank looked as if they had been combed, instantly revealing many new "scratches." Many musketeers, while running, suddenly collapsed without warning and never got up again.

Upon hearing the thunder behind him, Captain Sakashi immediately roared at his men, "Scatter!"

But he uttered no sound; his final command vanished from his chest. Sakahich was torn to shreds by the lead bullet the size of a walnut, and he fell heavily into the wheat field, bidding farewell to all that followed.

The six squares of the Grand Council's army charged across the nameless stream with shouts, while light cavalry flanked them from both sides, intending to kill all the "rebel" musketeers.

However, the various formations on the west bank also sounded their war drums and waved their banners, with six formations from Leiqun County and Baishan County meeting off against the six formations of the Grand Council army.

At the same time, the Leiqun County cavalry, which had been concealed behind the high ground of the river valley village, suddenly attacked from the side and cut off one flank of the "puppet army" cavalry.

In the fields north of the river valley village, the two armies clashed violently.

[I was wrong (T_T)]
[Supplementary Explanation: Naming of Artillery]
[The naming of artillery, like the differences and connections between "guns, spears, lances, and halberds," is a topic that is inextricably linked, tangled, and incredibly troublesome.]
[Generally speaking, early artillery did not use the "XX pounds" designation. Due to the limited casting technology, each early artillery piece required a specialized gun, much like the PPSh-41 and its accompanying drum magazine during World War II... Therefore, the "XX pounds" naming convention did not exist.]
[Therefore, people at that time named cannons arbitrarily. Some names were symbolic, such as lizard cannon, falcon cannon, and snake cannon; others were more practical, such as long cannon, short cannon, and cannon. Different countries, regions, and even different arsenals had different naming habits, resulting in extremely chaotic naming of artillery.]
[The Celestial Empire was the same in this respect, with cannons like the Mountain-Splitting Cannon, the Nine-Section Cannon, the Tiger-Squatting Cannon, the Mother-and-Child Cannon, the Great General Cannon, the Second General Cannon, and the Third General Cannon (they really existed), all sorts of XX General Cannons, as well as foreign cannons like the Red Barbarian Cannon and the Frankish Cannon, it was dazzling and incomprehensible.]
[Starting in the 16th century, European countries gradually adopted the naming system of XX pounds. While seemingly just a name change, this actually signified that artillery was entering an era of "standardization"—though still a long way from the standardization of the industrial age.]
However, the old naming conventions have also been inherited, so you often see a dual-track naming scheme (points represent caliber, name represents type)
[To avoid redundancy, this book uses pounds throughout.]
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(End of this chapter)