Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 887 A Long March Across the Yellow River and Luo River (Part 2)
The troops that Xijin brought to the battle this time were all elite veterans. The advantage of veterans on the battlefield is that they are able to assess the situation and adapt to changing circumstances, which is much better than that of new recruits.

Take the current situation as an example, all the Jin generals know the necessity of continuing the offensive.

If we don't attack now that only 3,000 Han soldiers have crossed the river, and instead allow tens of thousands of Han soldiers to cross, then it will be even more impossible to fight.

However, they also knew what cannons were all about, and being bombarded by iron bullets from hundreds of paces away had a severe impact on morale.

Everyone knows that iron bullets can't kill many people, but a five-pound iron ball, if it hits someone, even if that person is made of stone, will surely kill them.

In particular, Boshulu had previously attacked with a dense formation of armored soldiers. When the cannonballs hit the crowd, it was not just one or two casualties, but more than ten people were torn apart and their flesh and bones were broken.

Having learned from Boshulu's lesson, Wanyan Daye, the leader of the first army, simply ordered that two Moukes form a team and line up in a horizontal row, with the horizontal rows thirty paces apart, in order to reduce the area to be killed by the enemy by stretching the space horizontally.

If Liu Huai were here, he would definitely look at the Jin army with new respect.

If each of these Jin soldiers carried a flintlock pistol and removed their armor, and if there were more officers, then they would be similar to modern infantry.

Of course, the Jin army did not have flintlock muskets or cannons, and had never even seen them.

Wanyan Daye watched helplessly as a burst of fire and smoke appeared on the Han army's position, followed by thunder. Several objects the size of human heads on the horizon gradually grew larger and crashed down on the Jin army's front line, seemingly slowly but actually very quickly.

It must be said that the Jin army's response was quite effective; most of the dozen or so iron balls missed their mark, with only one hitting an unlucky fellow in the chest.

The Jin soldier didn't even have time to scream before his torso was smashed through, and his limbs, along with bits of flesh and organs, flew out in all directions.

The salvo from twelve five-pound cannons in a line only inflicted minimal damage, but its impact on morale was immense.

The unfortunate man's companions were covered in blood and bits of flesh. The two closest to him, in particular, disregarded military law and jumped up in terror, turning to flee.

On a normal day, officers would have already come to enforce military law, but the officers who were nearby were also stunned for a moment by the scene. As a result, the two soldiers covered in blood fled to the second row and caused some chaos before they were stopped and beheaded.

Chaos is contagious.

Soon, the first few lines of the Jin army had to stop and begin to regroup.

In the brief moment of delay, the Han army's second volley of fire arrived overhead.

This time, the five-pound iron balls had a slightly better result, but only killed two people. However, three or four iron balls skipped across the ground and rolled on the water, knocking down more than a dozen Jin soldiers before stopping.

The five-pound iron ball rolled over with immense potential energy, completely beyond human control. More than ten wounded soldiers immediately suffered severe injuries, including loss of limbs.

Then came the third round, the fourth round...

Of course, although the Jin army appeared to be in a passive and defensive position and its morale was rapidly declining, its casualties were not too high.

The Han army's artillery, which had been displaying its formidable power, unsurprisingly made all sorts of strange and bizarre mistakes.

While directing the artillery to fire, Shi Wang used a ruler to readjust the angle of the cannons, and kept an eye on the artillery's movements out of the corner of his eye.

These artillerymen had been trained for a year, and by all accounts, they should have memorized all the procedures.

However, the battlefield environment is quite different from ordinary environments. In the face of life and death, and with the enemy's overwhelming force, a large amount of adrenaline is secreted, which leads to distorted movements.

"When Liu Zheng tore open the gunpowder packet, he ripped the paper packet to shreds. That won't do. From now on, the sides should be wrapped with burlap and the ends should be plugged with paper."

"The shells should be piled up in front of the side of the cannon."

"If there's time, we still need to use mounds of earth to stop the cannons from moving backward; even sacks of earth will do..."

"Clean the barrel, install the fuse, load the gunpowder, press the gunpowder... Hmm? Why won't the push rod go in?!"

Shi Wang was startled and quickly hung the measuring rod around his neck, taking three steps at a time to reach the fifth cannon on the left.

"Why can't I get it in..."

The gunner was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"I'll do it!" Shi Wang grabbed the putter, but after just one push, he realized something was wrong. After holding the putter up against the cannon a couple of times, he found it all even more absurd.

At this point, disregarding his own safety, he directly peered into the cannon barrel.

An iron ball that shouldn't have been seen suddenly appeared before Shi Wang's eyes.

Shi Wang was quick-witted and immediately realized that the first shot must have misfired, and the artillerymen, in their tension, had not noticed and were simply continuing to stuff explosives and shells into the cannon according to the manual.

Fortunately, the fuse did not ignite it; otherwise, the bronze cannon would have exploded, and the entire first artillery unit of the Han army would have perished in the explosion.

"You all retreat to the rear camp and leave this cannon alone!" Shi Wang was also a little flustered. He chased away all the gunners, but did not let them pull the cannon away to clean the breech. After a moment, he realized his mistake and regretted it.

Keeping this cannon, which has turned into a bomb, by your side is like asking if you've lived too long.

However, the battlefield was in complete chaos. At this time, the Han soldiers behind them had already assembled and formed ranks, and the auxiliary troops had retreated to the rear camp. If they continued to make trouble at this point, they might disrupt their own army's formation.

"Screw it, light it! Fire!" Shi Wang steeled his heart and instantly calmed down, continuing to fire according to the previous plan.

As one of the first artillerymen to engage in actual land combat, Shi Wang knew that once the fighting began, all the strategies and tactics would inevitably be riddled with flaws.

But what he knew even more was that, as the ones who did the beating, they were still much calmer than the ones who were being beaten, no matter how flustered they were.

Just as Shi Wang had expected, Wanyan Daye was sweating profusely at that moment.

The Han army's few cannonballs had little effect; after seven or eight rounds of bombardment, the Jin army suffered only a few dozen casualties. However, being unable to retaliate while being attacked caused the Jin army's morale to plummet. Their already difficult-to-maintain horizontal formation became even more crooked and disorganized.

"Go and report to the Grand Marshal! My first attack is destined to be useless. Tell him to send cavalry for the second attack!"

After Wanyan Daye grabbed a military officer and gave him the order, he shouted to a soldier behind him, "Asizhun! Form ranks and follow me!"

Having said that, Wanyan Daye snatched the gyrfalcon flag from the flag bearer, and instead of trying to straighten the ranks, he shouted and led the way with the flag in hand.

Upon seeing the Meng'an banner move, the more than a thousand Jin soldiers, with their years of marching experience, followed suit. However, their formations were completely disrupted, turning into scattered groups of soldiers, and they quickly approached the vicinity of the Han army's camp.

Chen Zhongkan led a thousand armored soldiers across the artillery position, and he even had time to give Shi Wang a thumbs-up to show his admiration.

If armored soldiers fight in formation, then the battle becomes a contest of who has more stamina.

Elite armored soldiers are incredibly difficult to kill on the battlefield.

The Jin army's numerical advantage meant they had more reserves, a disadvantage for the Han army.

But now things are different. Due to the artillery bombardment, the Jin army had to abandon all formations and charge in scattered formations.

Chen Zhongkan almost laughed his head off.

He even dared to make a pledge: if he couldn't defeat these disorganized Jin soldiers within a quarter of an hour, he would cut off his head and give it to the King of Han to kick around like a ball.

"Array up!"

"Crossbowmen, advance!"

"put!"

"Spears forward, hold tight! Second row of axes, prepare!"

Chen Zhongkan held up a tin megaphone, his throat aching from shouting. But Wanyan Da, the Jin general facing him, had more than just a sore throat.

As the general who charged ahead carrying the flag, Wanyan Daye was too conspicuous. He immediately attracted the attention of the sharpshooters in the Han army, and more than ten heavy arrows were fired at him, turning him into a beehive.

However, his fierce spirit remained unchanged. Even after being hit by an arrow, he continued to charge forward until he reached the front of the battle line, where he was stopped by a spear and felled by a large axe. However, due to the intense fighting, no one bothered to cut off the head of this brave soldier.

"kill!"

"You Han traitor!"

The Jin army charged into the Han army's formation with fierce courage, seemingly overwhelming, but their momentum crumbled like waves crashing against rocks.

The Han army's formation wasn't even pushed aside; spears, axes, and crossbows worked together to reap the lives of the Jin soldiers.

The Jin army, whose formation had been completely scattered, often found themselves fighting one-on-one. As soon as they entered the fray, they felt surrounded by weapons and were torn apart on the spot before they could even react.

After the Jin army's first offensive was crushed, the morale boosted by sheer bravery dissipated completely, and the consequences of losing organization were now fully exposed. The retreat immediately triggered a massive rout.

Chen Zhongkan had not expected it to be so simple. He immediately ordered his swordsmen and shieldmen to advance and pursue, and then more than a thousand armored soldiers slowly advanced in formation, forcing the routed troops to charge the Jin army's lines.

Asizhun, in the second line of the Jin army, was caught off guard. His line was broken up by the fleeing troops, and his fate was unknown in the chaos.

The first attack by the loyal and righteous army, which had gathered three thousand elite troops, collapsed in a confused and chaotic manner.

This outcome not only left the Jin army dumbfounded and terrified, but also filled Wang Youzhi, who had just organized the second battle, with deep resentment.

If they had known the Jin invaders were this strong, why bother with the front and rear formations? The Tianxiong Army could have just swarmed in and probably already killed Pusan ​​Zhongyi!
Only Shi Wang, the artillery commander, was still busy cooling down the cannon barrels, meticulously following the requirements of the primary artillery manual, completely unaware that he had already achieved the greatest merit in this battle.

(End of this chapter)