Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 415 Just Kill Me!

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

As the sounds of muskets were fired one after another, several military formations composed of thousands of troops continued to advance towards Yangping Pass. While the Qing army on the city was suppressed by the dense bullets, one artillery shell after another flew into Yangping Pass.

It is obvious that at this time the mission of the Ming army's artillery had changed from breaking down the city walls to suppressing the enemy, and such cooperation had some meaning of coordination between infantry and artillery.

I can say responsibly that when the musket army began to cross the river while the artillery positions were still firing, Zhu Cilang was indeed shocked.

But when those small black dots flew over the city wall and fell into Guanzhong, all that was left in his heart was surprise and astonishment.

He did do a lot of work on the production and use of firearms, but all of this work was of a guiding nature and did not involve much in the specific aspects.

Just like the fixed ammunition, he just said that it was inappropriate to take the quantity at the last minute, and Li Yongmao gathered the relevant workers in the Yingtian factory together.

As for how the various scientific unions would avoid this "inappropriate" occurrence, it was not within the consideration of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the results were predictable.

After being given matching remuneration and sufficient respect, it did not take these skilled workers long to produce the first batch of samples, and after some testing, the specifications were finalized.

Such things are not uncommon.

Whether it was the Yingtian Factory directly under the charge of Li Yongmao, or other institutions controlled by Zhu Cilang's confidants, they would show sufficient initiative after receiving the information from the Ming Emperor, so that the task could be completed in excess.

With this background, it seems that Zhu Cilang shouldn't behave like this because of such tactics.

However, Mei Chun was just a marginal figure who had been watching the imperial mausoleum for half his life, and the soldiers under his command had only fought in a few battles. Without sufficient experience to support it, it was a bit outrageous for him to come up with such a tactic.

"Mei Qing, aren't you afraid of hitting the people in front of you by firing the cannon like this?"

After staring at the trajectory of the shell for a while, Zhu Cilang asked Mei Chun a question after confirming that the angle of the gun had been adjusted. After hearing his question, Mei Chun began to show off with some pride.

"Your Majesty, the direction of the artillery shells is fixed. As long as we control the key points, the artillery can continue to suppress the enemy while the infantry advances."

"Points?"

"That's right. Not only the height of the muzzle and the amount of gunpowder can affect where the shells land, but the differences in the artillery itself also have a significant impact. In addition, there is an old tactic of archers suppressing the infantry who are responsible for charging. I just replaced the archers with artillery."

At this point, Mei Chun seemed to have a lot more to say, but when he saw the seemingly wooden look in His Majesty's eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words back.

Have you said too much?
Thinking of this, Mei Chun immediately became a little nervous, and obviously didn't know whether he should continue speaking.

This was not surprising. In his opinion, although his Majesty attached great importance to firearms, he probably only regarded them as weapons to defeat the enemy and was not necessarily interested in knowing the details. However, his words were full of trivial matters, so it was understandable that his Majesty showed impatience.

"Are you literate?"

"what?"

Just when Mei Chun felt a little regretful for showing off, the Majesty's voice came again. After hearing this incoherent question, he couldn't help but be stunned.

"I know a little bit."

"Well, when you're done, find a clerk to compile all of your thoughts into a book," Zhu Cilang paused, and after a moment's thought, he continued, "And pick a few artillery officers from the prisoners you captured to help with the review."

After he finished speaking, Mei Chun seemed slow to react. It was not until Hu Yiqing beside him coughed that he came back to his senses.

But he was still stunned for some time, and before he could open his mouth to receive the order, he had to listen to His Majesty continue speaking.

"This is not a trivial matter. Although most artillery is only used for attacking and defending cities, one day it will become a supreme weapon that can influence the outcome of a war. Now that you, Mei Qing, have gained something, you will set up the Ming Artillery Academy after this war."

"Minister, lead me?!"

"Yeah, you."

In Mei Chun's mind, the word "academy" must be associated with scholars. But now His Majesty has asked him to set up the Ming Artillery Academy, which has made this man who dared to launch a desperate charge against the Tartars back down.

"Your Majesty, I can't even recognize a few words, how can I..."

"No problem, just follow my orders."

Faced with Zhu Cilang's insistence, Mei Chun felt his head dizzy, but the emperor's words were golden and he would not take back his order because of him. After calming down his emotions, he could only kneel on the ground.

"Your Highness Meichun, I obey your orders!"

"boom!!!"

"Bang!!"

As Mei Chun bowed, a mixed sound of gunfire roared, followed by cheers, as if there had been some breakthrough ahead.

Faced with such a commotion, Zhu Cilang did not move. He just looked at Mei Chun who was kneeling on the ground, as if he had seen a treasure.

For most people, as long as they put their energy into it in an effective way, most things in this world can be learned.

But the ability to draw inferences about other situations is another matter. Not only does one need to understand the whole thing, but one also needs to be able to discover the inner connections between various things. The difficulty of this is not the same as simply learning something.

Of course, as Mei Chun said, the combination of long and short range soldiers has always existed, and even the cooperation between archers and infantry during sieges has long been a matter of course.

At first glance, this tactic only replaces melee infantry with musketeers and bows and crossbows with artillery. There is no need for such a response.

But then again, who in this era can be more forward-looking than Zhu Cilang?
Seeing the effectiveness of this tactic, the army will inevitably place higher demands on the accuracy of artillery.

With such requirements, not only will various production technologies be promoted, but a series of disciplines such as mathematics and measurement will also be able to develop rapidly.

Zhu Cilang knew very well that technological progress was important, but the emergence of application scenarios was equally important. Just like the steam engine, it did not appear in China, where people usually drink hot water, but appeared in Europe, where people hardly drink hot water. On the one hand, this was attributed to the Qing Dynasty's suppression of "strange and lewd techniques", but on the other hand, it had to be admitted that there was no soil for such an instrument to survive in the Qing Dynasty, which had a huge human resource base.

With such an understanding, Zhu Cilang naturally pays more attention to application scenarios than the technology itself, and it is not surprising that he has such a reaction.

"Your Majesty, the central army has entered the pass."

Just when Zhu Cilang was excited about this discovery, Hu Yiqing, who had already focused his attention on the battlefield, shouted excitedly. When Zhu Cilang turned around, he saw that the rear army had stopped advancing and was just continuously pouring fire on the city. The central army that replaced them at the front had already sunk into the gap in the city wall.

According to his original idea, entering the pass was only the first step, and it would take some effort to completely capture the pass.

After all, this pass is of great importance. Once it falls into our hands, subsequent large groups of troops and supplies will be able to enter the plain area without any hindrance.

As long as Hanzhong has not been broken, the Qing army will probably have no choice but to retreat in disgrace, and the Qing army inside the pass will have to fight to the death.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang planned to take a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, the two armies of the Suwei and the Hou would continue to fight the Tartars inside the Great Wall. On the other hand, he would send Li Guo's cavalry to wander around Hanzhong.

With this idea in mind, he planned to call Li Guo's cavalry over after making sure that the central army had gained a foothold inside the pass. However, before he could issue the military order, he saw billowing black smoke rising into the sky from Yangping Pass.

"The Tartars probably knew they couldn't hold the place, so they burned the food and fodder first."

Mei Chun's words were recognized by the generals present, and the atmosphere under his command became more heated, as if victory was within reach.

just
"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?"

Just as everyone was talking to each other, Zhu Cilang frowned again. After seeing his expression, Mei Chun asked tentatively.

"Didn't the fire start too quickly?"

In his opinion, Yangping Pass should have been the top priority of the Tartars before Hanzhong was captured. Even though the combat power of the Tartars had been reduced to an extremely low level due to various reasons, it was still necessary to pretend to be strong.

As soon as the central army entered the pass, the huge fire had already started. If you think so, it seems that the Tartars inside the pass don't even have the interest to pretend?

"Your Majesty, I think the Tartars didn't expect that we would find a way to cross the river so quickly."

Having said this, Mei Chun paused, as if hesitating whether he should say so much. After seeing his expression, Zhu Cilang's voice came over.

"Just say it."

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Tartars have been marching south for several months. During this time, they were severely beaten twice by Zhang Xianzhong. The hot and humid weather also made it unbearable for the soldiers. This time, our army unexpectedly crossed the Han River. Even if Luo Luohun is determined to defend to the death, the ordinary soldiers will probably have no desire to fight."

I have to say that Mei Chun's words make a lot of sense.

The Ming troops led by Zhu Cilang were either from Shaanxi or Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Such weather was nothing to them, but it was a big deal to a group of Manchus who grew up in a bitter cold place.
I'm afraid I'm overthinking it.

As his thoughts turned, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but laugh at himself in his heart. Then he looked towards Yangping Pass on the other side of the Han River for a while. When he saw that most of the central army had been captured, he gave military orders to the guards beside him.

"Order Li Guo's cavalry to set out immediately and make sure Hanzhong is informed that reinforcements have arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards went to pass on the order, but when the generals present turned their attention back to the other side, they saw teams of Qing troops filing out of the east gate of Yangping Pass.

"Hey! The Tartars are running away so fast!"

Seeing this, all the generals felt sorry. Hu Yiqing, who seldom spoke, even shouted out loud without caring about being impolite in front of the king.

At this time, Zhu Cilang also felt regretful for not having a cavalry to pursue the enemy. However, if the Tartars inside the pass did not escape, the army would have to spend several days here, delaying the rescue of Hanzhong and it would not be worth it.

In the final analysis, all kinds of magic skills are based on one mind, and in normal times they can have the main purpose of killing the enemy. However, compared with the gains and losses of a strategic location like Hanzhong, killing and injuring is less important.

Things had come to this point, and the outcome of the battle was no longer in suspense. Zhu Cilang did not wait for any report from the front. He glanced at Mei Chun and then took him aside to talk about his plan for the Artillery Academy.

I have to say that since the prisoner exchange, each battle has become easier and easier than the last.

Under the influence of these victories, not only the generals of the Ming army, but even Zhu Cilang began to look down on the enemy soldiers.

But then again, the Ming army in Hanzhong was not limited to Zhu Cilang's. While they were advancing triumphantly, the three generals of Hanzhong were already in a spent force.

In order to attack the granary, He Zhen used his familiarity with the terrain to set fire to several granaries. Then the three families attacked separately. By the time they had completely cleared out the large group of Tartars inside, the fire had burned most of the granaries to ashes.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. After some effort, they finally managed to snatch some food. Together with what He and Sun had originally brought, after controlling the daily rations, it was enough for them to last for more than half a month.

But the shortage of food and fodder was not the biggest difficulty they faced.

The troops under Sun Shoufa were all soldiers who had followed him in guerrilla warfare for three or two years, while the troops under Li Guo were the elite of various armies.

These two men can be said to be determined. Even if they were not in Hanzhong, there would not be many deserters. Only He Zhen was...
"You have to think of a way. If Dingguo hadn't been alert today, we might have been opened by those people."

At this time, the three generals of Hanzhong were not patrolling the city, but gathered in the custody room in the warehouse. When Sun Shoufa said this, the already gloomy atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

The Tatars finally did not give them enough time to repair the city defenses. Just as the three armies reached an agreement to hold on to Hanzhong, Hauge's army had already reached the outskirts of Hanzhong.

Faced with such a situation, the three of them did not have many choices. After delaying for half a day by leaning against the ruins, they all retreated into the granary.

At first, the three of them were divided into three places according to their respective military strength. Although they were in danger under the Tartars' reckless attack, they finally managed to hold on.

But as time went on, the morale of He Zhen's soldiers gradually became unstable, and today there is even a deputy general-level leader who launched a surprise attack on the gate.

It was indeed that guy's luck that made him engage in a battle with the defenders at the city gate. Li Dingguo passed by here with his rotating soldiers.

Needless to say, there was a fierce fight that followed. It only took about three or four cups of tea to wipe out the hundred or so rebels.

The three of them had all led troops for many years, so they naturally knew what this meant.

They gathered in the detention room at this time to eliminate hidden dangers.

"What can I do? I am a slave who has surrendered to many people, and my subordinates are all cowards. You might as well kill me with a knife, so that you won't have to worry!"

(End of this chapter)