There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 173 Practical Training
The Qing army's first probing attack failed. The vanguard battalion of more than 1,000 men was routed by Han army mortars, with only more than 800 men escaping back.

The casualty rate reached one in five.

Such a high casualty rate is alarming on the surface, but it is actually even more terrifying.

Although the actual number of casualties was only a few dozen, the shells used by the Han army were all explosive shells. Although the explosive power was not very great, they were filled with a lot of steel needles and iron shot.

These steel needles and iron pellets, all sprayed out at once, could not cause immediate death, but could cause serious disability. Because the steel needles and iron pellets were so small, they often embedded themselves in wounds deeply and were troublesome. Even if the Han army's military doctors came, they would have to perform major surgery to clean the wounds, let alone the Qing army, whose skills were not very good and who had few military doctors.

More than 800 defeated soldiers ran back, leaving behind more than 200 wounded soldiers who were still alive, lying on the battlefield groaning in pain.

The Han army deliberately refrained from finishing off the enemy, leaving them lying there. Whether this created psychological pressure is debatable, but it certainly instilled a sense of shared fate and fear in them.

His bright eyes were serious; the first wave of probing attacks had already gotten somewhat out of his control.

He did indeed have the idea of ​​using the vanguard battalion to test the Han army's strength, but he did not expect that the Han army would fire cannons as soon as they arrived, and even use cannonballs that could explode. The cannonballs could actually explode, and their power was so great.

Looking through the binoculars, one could see that all of their own wounded soldiers on the ground were mangled and bloody, clearly badly injured by the explosion.

"Sir, the vanguard battalion has been reorganized."

"Let the vanguard charge again. Anyone who retreats within a hundred paces will be punished as a deserter!"

The vanguard battalion, which had fled back with more than 800 men, was forcibly killed and driven away by the supervising team. They were then reorganized and launched a second charge against the Han army's infantry formation.

The Han army's infantry formations were also arrayed to meet the enemy, using traditional cold weapon formations. Most of the wolf-tooth rakes had been eliminated, and the front ranks were uniformly composed of spearmen.

"Boom boom boom!"

The second volley of mortar fire has begun.

As soon as the cannons fired, the Qing army's vanguard battalion's formation suddenly fell into disarray, and dozens of cannonballs landed on the army's ranks and exploded instantly.

"Bang bang bang!"

More than 50 people were killed on the spot, and more than 100 others were injured. Even the Qing army's foreign officer commander, who was leading the team, was hit in the knee by a small piece of iron. The iron piece penetrated deep into the knee cartilage, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, unable to get up.

Without officers to command them, and with the terrifying, exploding cannonballs, the Qing army's formation instantly descended into chaos.

"kill!"

Seeing that the distance was about right, Huang Gouzi, the vanguard officer in charge of the Han army, immediately led his troops to charge forward.

With spearmen in front and swordsmen and shieldmen on the sides, the ranks were perfectly aligned, and they charged straight at the chaotic Qing army formation.

Although the Qing soldiers were in disarray, they were already engaged in close combat and knew they couldn't escape, so they turned around and fought back.

Huang Gouzi first slashed and killed one person, then a Qing soldier took advantage of his unpreparedness and slashed him in the back, but it was completely useless!
The Qing soldier was stunned.

As an officer in the vanguard battalion, Huang Gouzi wore two sets of armor: a bulletproof vest and a stab-proof vest, with the two pieces stacked together. His helmet was also made of stainless steel.

"kill!"

Huang Gouzi grinned maliciously, turned around and killed the other man with a single slash, then killed another Qing soldier who was caught off guard with another slash.

The fighting was fierce and they were about to continue when the Qing army's vanguard camp collapsed!

The Qing army was routed in a chaotic and disorganized manner. Many of the remaining hundreds of Qing soldiers fled in panic, led by their own troops, before they had even engaged the Han army in battle.

The Han army fought for half a day, but actually killed only a few dozen Qing soldiers.

The Qing army was routed, and Mingliang then sent out a third wave of troops to attack, while also sending a supervisory team to meet them.

"return!"

The Han army pursued for a while, then immediately withdrew and regrouped.

"Boom boom boom!"

The mortars were ready again and fired at the approaching Qing troops once more.

A barrage of artillery shells inflicted heavy casualties on the Qing army's front ranks, with many falling to the ground. The Han army, having rested sufficiently, launched a counter-offensive, routing the Qing forces.

They launched four rounds of attacks, rotating three different units, but all were repelled by the Han army's mortars combined with infantry charges.

Mingliang knew that this was a losing battle and would only increase casualties. The rebels could afford to fight, but he couldn't: "Send all the artillery forward!"

The Qing army's artillery had been lying in wait in the rear for a long time before finally deciding to move forward. Mingliang hadn't originally intended to use this artillery unit lightly, not as a trump card, but because he knew they definitely couldn't win.

Without cannons, he couldn't even break through the Han army's square formation; he had no choice but to fight anyway.

"The Qing army has finally decided to use their artillery!"

Bai Nan could see clearly through his binoculars that more than fifty cannons were being pushed out of the Qing army camp one after another.

Among them, there were twenty red-coated cannons and thirty-five Weiyuan cannons.

These cannons were clearly not newly cast by the Qing army, but were simply disassembled from the cannons used for the defense of Xiangyang, and craftsmen were ordered to rush to make wheeled cannon carriages.

In other words, if Mingliang loses this battle, Xiangyang will become an undefended city. All the cannons have been taken south by the Qing army; if they are defeated, the army can retreat, but the cannons cannot.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Qing army artillery opened fire first.

The red-coated cannons had a long range, almost the same as the cannons of the Han army, and the Qing army finally had a chance to fire, instead of being attacked right away.

The first round of firing was purely a test shot. These Qing soldiers' gunners lacked experience and needed time to adjust the gun positions and directions.

Of the twenty cannons fired, only eighteen fired.

Both cannons misfired due to operator error and because they hadn't been used for a long time.

Of the eighteen cannonballs fired, not one hit its mark. The closest one landed a few meters to the left of the Han army's infantry formation, nearly hitting a Han soldier with a sword and shield standing nearby.

"Boom boom boom!" The Han army also opened fire, with their heavy artillery, which had been prepared in advance, firing a salvo.

Like the Qing army's red-coated cannons, the Han army also had twenty cannons.

In a salvo, the Han army's cannons did not misfire, but they were also off-target, with only one shell hitting the target.

As the shell rained down, an unfortunate Qing soldier, a gunner of the Weiyuan cannon, had his head explode like a watermelon. The surrounding gunners were so frightened by the horrific scene that they abandoned their cannons and fled.

"Boom boom boom!"

Not to be outdone, the Qing army's red-coated cannons fired again.

The second salvo finally hit the target. Two spearmen in the front row of the Han infantry square were unable to dodge in time and were killed instantly by the shells. Three other soldiers had their lower legs broken by the ricochets of the shells.

Under the cannons, everyone is equal; no amount of protection will help.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army followed suit and opened fire, hitting three more cannons in the Qing army's Weiyuan artillery position, and also hitting a red-coated cannon.

Seven gunners died and two were wounded, but more than twenty people were scattered as a result.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Qing army fired their third volley.

Another Han soldier with swords and shields was killed, but the Han army formation remained intact and instead prepared to advance despite the Qing army's artillery fire.

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

As the bugle sounded, the Han army infantry formation advanced steadily, their morale seemingly unaffected.

Mingliang realized that this wouldn't work. His red-coated cannons could fire, but the gunners were not, so the firepower was limited and it wouldn't affect the morale of the rebels at all.

"Pass down the order: let the vanguard charge! If the front ranks collapse, the rear ranks will take over and kill the rebels!"

Mingliang gave the order, and the deputy general immediately dispatched a supervisory team to drive away the vanguard battalion, which had not yet finished resting, and launch another attack on the Han army.

"Boom boom boom!"

To cover the advance of the vanguard battalion, the Qing army's Weiyuan cannons also opened fire.

The Weiyuan Cannon is lighter and easier to operate than the Hongyi Cannon, and it also has a faster rate of fire.

The firing of the thirty-one Weiyuan cannons had almost no destructive power, but it did give the Qing army's vanguard battalion some morale and confidence.

"Kill the Qing dogs! Victory to the Han! Victory to the General!"

On the Han army's side, the officers, including Huang Gouzi, gave a shout to boost morale and then led their troops in a counter-offensive against the Qing army.

The two armies exchanged fire for half a day, and the Han army's muskets were too late to form ranks.

The Han army's spearmen took the lead, thrusting forward with their spears. The Qing army's vanguard also had spearmen, but their formation was scattered, and they were at a disadvantage in the first round of engagement.

"Kill the clear dog!"

"Kill the traitors!"

The soldiers of both armies shouted slogans and immediately engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

"Ugh, my stomach."

"Run!"

More than ten Qing army vanguard soldiers were stabbed to death, and another seven or eight were hacked to death. The morale of the Han army was high, and they fought more and more bravely.

The Qing army was already demoralized and had not had much time to rest before being forced by the supervisory team to rush forward and engage in battle. At this moment, they quickly collapsed and scattered.

The rear command was on high alert, and any fleeing soldiers were killed or driven away. If the front ranks fled, the Qing soldiers in the rear would take their place.

Mingliang used a rotation tactic. Anyway, these were all new recruits who had been temporarily recruited for two months. He wouldn't care if they all died, as long as he could break through the rebels' positions.

The Han army fought continuously, and the Qing army defeated one wave after another. Even with Huang Gouzi's fierce bravery, he was exhausted at this moment: "Hold on, everyone hold on, don't break the formation!"

They said not to panic, but the Qing army kept coming back after they repelled one wave, and even an iron man would make mistakes.

"Kill the traitors!"

A gap appeared in the flank defense of the Han infantry square, and several spearmen rushed forward. Two swordsmen and shieldmen were unable to defend in time, and one was stabbed to death and the other was wounded.

Huang Gouzi reacted quickly, immediately leading a group of men to rush forward. Several Han soldiers with long spears caught them off guard and stabbed all the Qing soldiers who had rushed in to death.

Seeing the situation, the Qing troops on the perimeter knew they couldn't win and subsequently collapsed.

The Qing army's supervisory team was almost numb; wave after wave of defeated soldiers kept coming and going, and they had to rotate through several batches of them.

Under the threat of the executioner's sword, wave after wave of Qing troops charged forward to fight. After losing more than ten men, they were routed and driven away by the executioner, but then continued to fight.

"Kill the clear dog!"

The Han army defeated another wave of Qing troops. Huang Gouzi raised his arms and shouted, and taking advantage of the fact that the Qing troops in the rear had not yet been able to catch up, he stopped forming a defensive formation and took the initiative to pursue.

Several hundred Han soldiers, the vanguard, charged towards the Qing army's routed positions.

The Qing troops who had just arrived were already demoralized by the Han army's imposing presence, and they immediately fled in panic.

This really stirred up a hornet's nest. The front ranks fled, while the rear ranks charged forward, and the Qing army in one part of the battlefield was instantly thrown into chaos.

Despite the chaotic scene, the Han army was in high spirits, and each charge took away dozens of Qing soldiers, while the Qing army's position was already in complete disarray.

(End of this chapter)