Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

The town of Qianshan is about the same size as the town of Yushan, but the city wall has obviously been repaired and reinforced, and is much thicker than the city wall of Yushan.

The Xingfu Army stopped 500 meters away from the city wall, which was just outside the maximum effective range of the Hongyi cannons on the city wall.

Three of the eight new cannons have been delivered, two are stuck in the silt of the Qianshan River, and the remaining three are on their way.

Five hundred meters from the city wall of Qianshan, three cannons were set up, their angles adjusted, aimed at the city gate, their positions fixed, and solid shells loaded before they were fired at the city gate of Qianshan.

The first volley of cannon fire missed the city gate. The solid cannonballs struck the city wall with a loud bang, causing sand and stones to crumble and the entire city wall to shake. The defenders on the city wall turned pale with fright.

Li Chengming shook his head. If the city wall collapsed, it would have to be repaired after the city was captured. Compared to the city wall, the city gate was too small. It would be easier to hit the city gate from a distance of nearly 300 meters.

However, if they approached within 300 meters, they would have to deal with the cannons on the city wall. The five Hongyi cannons on the Qianshan city wall also opened fire in return, but unfortunately, the distance was more than 500 meters, far beyond the effective range of the Hongyi cannons. The Hongyi cannons fired two rounds but did not hit a single hair on the Xingfu Army.

"It's your turn," Li Chengming said to Yan Huidong. "Throw the grenade!"

Yan Huidong nodded and controlled the drone to drop grenades onto the Hongyi cannon emplacement on the city wall.

After several loud explosions, the artillerymen of the Hongyi cannons were either killed or wounded, and for a moment no one dared to operate the cannons.

The scene of the drone dropping bombs was recreated. The soldiers on the city wall who were not hit by the bombs watched in astonishment as the drone flew away, and they discussed among themselves:

"I heard that a divine bird appeared in Xinzhou City. The thunderous lightning it unleashed blasted up vast areas, leaving nothing but barren land!"

"It's over! With the divine bird aiding the Restoration Army, Qianshan City can't be defended!"

"It's not just the divine bird; the Restoration Army's cannons are also terrifying. A few more shots and the city walls will collapse sooner or later."

"Wasn't the Restoration Army still attacking Goose Lake Town? How come they've arrived here so quickly?"

Upon hearing this, Officer Zheng quickly shouted, "What divine bird? Those are clearly the enemy's demonic birds! Go back to your posts and hold your ground! The garrison commander is watching down below. Anyone who dares to escape from the city wall will have their head chopped off!"

Zheng Jun's soldiers dared not discuss it any further, but the fear in their hearts did not dissipate as they looked at the horrific state of the soldiers killed or wounded by grenades.

On the side of the Restoration Army, three new cannons were pushed to a position 300 meters away from the city wall. At Li Chengming's command, the three cannons were fired at the same time... but they did not hit the city wall.

The first round was a test firing; the angle was quickly adjusted, and the cannon was aimed at the city gate.

The cannons roared again, firing three solid cannonballs at high speed. One cannonball missed, while the other two hit the city gate squarely.

Two loud crashes came from outside the city gate, splinters flew everywhere, and two large holes were smashed into the city gate, which was more than ten centimeters thick!

Liu Xing, the garrison commander of Qianshan City, was alarmed: "Quickly, quickly block the city gates!"

Several men carried forward the wooden planks that had been prepared beforehand, intending to repair the hole in the city gate.

Unexpectedly, the Restoration Army fired another round of artillery fire, and this time all three solid cannonballs hit the city gate.

This time, both of the city gate's bolts, which were as thick as a thigh, were broken. One of the cannonballs pierced through the city gate and smashed two soldiers who were trying to repair it into a bloody mist!

Upon seeing this, the garrison commander Liu Xing hurriedly ordered, "Where are the cannons on the city gate? Why aren't they firing back? Fire back now!"

The messenger replied, "Sir, the gunners up there are either dead or wounded; no one knows how to use the cannons anymore!"

Liu Xing roared, "Don't the others need to fire? You go and fill in! Quickly, musketeers and archers, go up too! Anyone who dares to disobey orders will face the ruthlessness of military law!"

Liu Xing's men wanted to say that muskets and arrows couldn't shoot that far, but seeing Liu Xing's face as black as the bottom of a pot, they swallowed their words.

Not only that, Liu Xing also ordered the garrison troops from other city gates to be transferred over, which made his subordinates shake their heads.

The defenders on the city wall hurriedly loaded shells and gunpowder into the five cannons. Due to their lack of experience, they loaded too much gunpowder, and one of the cannons exploded on the spot after being lit. The shells fired by the other four cannons also went astray.

At this moment, the Restoration Army's artillery fired two more salvos, all of which hit the city gate, completely destroying it.

Seeing the cannons on the city wall fire again, Li Chengming frowned and said, "Weren't the gunners killed? How can the cannons still be firing?"

Yan Huidong said, "Those gunners were either killed or injured by the explosion. Look at how off-target they were firing. One of the cannons even exploded. You can tell at a glance that it was operated by ordinary soldiers."

Li Chengming looked at it carefully and realized that it made sense, but it was also inappropriate to let the cannons continue to fire from the city wall. Even if they didn't hit anyone, hitting the flowers and plants would be bad.

The grenades were all used up, and because of the crenellations on the city wall, it was difficult to aim rifles at the soldiers operating the cannons from behind.

Seeing that the city gate had been blasted open, Li Chengming ordered: "Load the cannons with grapeshot and aim at the defenders on the city wall. Anyone who shows their face will die!"

The cavalry unit quickly entered the city and cleared out an area.

Musketeers and archers followed, with the other troops lined up behind them, and they entered the city to eliminate the enemy and then capture the city walls!

Each unit first lines up in front of the city gate, then enters the city in turn!

After giving orders to the troops below, Li Chengming said to He Mingqiu and Zhou Lei, "During the intervals between cannon shots, you two come with me to suppress the defenders on the city walls with rifles. We can't let them show their faces and hinder the Xingfu Army from entering the city!"

After the high-altitude drone returned due to a power outage, Yan Huidong released the racing drone.

Footage taken by the drone shows that the guards at other city gates are rushing toward the east gate.

To focus on one thing while neglecting another is a cardinal sin in warfare!

The defenses of the other city gates are now weak, so it would be much easier for the Restoration Army to divide its forces and attack the other gates.

However, Li Chengming had no intention of dividing his forces to attack other city gates. He only wanted to quickly capture Qianshan City to prevent reinforcements from Fenshuiguan from arriving and leaving him vulnerable to attacks from both sides!

Too many people? We'll take you on because you have too many people!

Concentrate our forces on the east gate and take them all out at once. We can decide the outcome in one battle and save time from having to capture the other gates.

At this time, the three new cannons behind had also arrived. After adjusting the firing angles of the cannons, all six cannons fired at the same time, making it even more impressive!

The defenders on the city wall were suppressed by cannons and rifles and dared not show their heads. Everyone was terrified!

Before they even made contact with the Restoration Army, the moment they showed their faces, their heads would be punched through, leaving a bloody hole. Their deaths were gruesome and terrifying!

If it weren't for the supervisory team guarding the area below, the soldiers on the city wall would probably have fled long ago.

The Restoration Army's cavalry stopped 100 meters from the city gate, waiting for the musketeers, archers, and other infantry to catch up and assemble!

Because the defenders on the city walls were completely suppressed, the Restoration Army was able to assemble so calmly and orderly so close to the city gate.

After the restoration army assembled, the cavalry took the lead and rushed towards the city gate.

The cavalrymen were all clad in light armor, making them difficult to harm with ordinary swords and arrows. They were infantrymen on horseback and also an elite infantry force when dismounted.

The musketeers and archers followed closely behind, while the other infantrymen, armed with spears of various sizes, caught up at the very end.

Fearing artillery fire, Liu Xing, the garrison commander of Qianshan, dared not send troops to repair the city gates after they were breached.

The city gate is so badly damaged that it can't be repaired.

Liu Xing dispatched a large number of troops to guard behind the city gate, intending to use several times the number of troops to wipe out the Xingfu Army's infantry as soon as they entered.

But what no one expected was that the first to rush in were the Restoration Army's cavalry!

The cavalry charged the infantry as if they were in an empty field, raising their sabers and slaughtering them indiscriminately.

The Zheng army at the city gate was routed and retreated, clearing a space at the city gate.

Liu Xingren, the garrison commander of Qianshan, was dumbfounded: "When did the Xingfu Army start having cavalry?"

But seeing that the Restoration Army cavalry numbered only about a hundred, they decided to use their superior numbers to stop the cavalry's attack and then counterattack.

Liu Xing roared, "Form ranks! Form ranks quickly! If you can annihilate this cavalry, you'll be rewarded with ten taels of silver!"