Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 51 A Fierce Battle ([-])

The trebuchet has a long history. Before the artillery appeared, it was a powerful heavy artillery!Once a trebuchet with sufficient weight is launched, the sound is like a thunderbolt, and a stone ball weighing one or two hundred catties whizzes out. With one blow, the earth shakes and the mountains are shaken, and people and animals are all turned into meat sauce, which is frightening.In the west, in the face of those castles made of rocks, trebuchets are the most ideal weapon for attacking fortifications. Once hit, the walls often collapse, and then the attackers swarm in, and the castles are lost like this; however, in In China, trebuchets are not so good. That is because the habit of building cities in China is different from that of Western countries.Chinese fortification, in addition to two layers of extremely thick brick skin, there is an extremely solid earth wall inside, the principle is similar to modern composite armor, the stone ball thrown by the trebuchet can crack the brick skin However, the kinetic energy will be absorbed by the earth wall, and there is no way to knock it down like dealing with a stone wall.For example, the city wall of Nanjing City has experienced thousands of years of wind and frost, and countless wars, but it still stands as before.During the Anshi Rebellion, when Li Guangbi was defending the city, he used a trebuchet that could be turned by hundreds of people to throw boulders weighing hundreds of catties at the Anshi rebels. After a blast, countless rebels were smashed into meatloaf.When the Mongol army went south, they also used giant trebuchets when they stormed Xiangyang City. The rocks fell like rain in Xiangyang City, and all the houses and warehouses were reduced to ruins.

However, with the emergence of artillery, weapons such as trebuchets, which were too bulky and poorly accurate, gradually withdrew from the battlefield and were replaced by lighter and more powerful artillery.But this does not mean that trebuchets have no use. No, the Mongols have used those simple trebuchets to play new tricks. Their power is unmatched by artillery!

The trebuchet is good, but the loading is too slow. After firing a round, it has to stop to load stones, so the defenders have a chance to breathe.However, these exploding fireballs have already implanted deep fear in the hearts of the Ming army. The fireballs landed and caused continuous explosions and sparks. Terrified, even Chen Baihu was no exception, screaming with a pale face: "Monster, demon! Tartars know demon! Run, everyone!"

Yang Menglong jumped up and kicked down Chen Baihu, who was waving a big knife and screaming wildly, and roared: "Scream, scream, you are so stupid!"

Chen Baihu, who was kicked, didn't seem to know the pain at all, and was still shivering and screaming: "Monster, demon, Tartar knows demon!" Struggling to get up, Yang Menglong kicked him down again.The defenders on the city wall are already in a mess. Those few explosive rocks just now caused a lot of damage to them, and even caused serious psychological panic. Chen Baihu's yelling made them feel scared out of their wits , yelling and about to run away, Yang Menglong yelled: "Jiang Zheng, Zhang Zilong, Li Yong, kick down these yelling guys!" Although this group of servants and Ye Bushou were also very scared, no matter what their quality They are also a little bit stronger than those ordinary soldiers. They are afraid of returning home, but they absolutely obey the order. Without saying a word, they rush up and pick up the scabbard.For a moment, there were screams on the city wall, and those who yelled the most were beaten to the ground and couldn't stand up for a while.Fang Yizhi rushed up panting, the magistrate even lost his black gauze cap, his hair was disheveled, his face was pale, his legs were trembling badly, but he could speak clearly, and hissed: "Soldiers, this is just a little skill. , those who can’t get on the stage, everyone, don’t panic! As long as you remain loyal and always remember the mighty kindness of the emperor, there will be no demons that can hurt you..."

Yang Menglong's heart was on fire, you are adding to the chaos!He roared at Fang Yizhi as a lion: "Shut up!!!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone was shocked. Everyone was stunned, even Fang Yizhi was no exception. He looked at Yang Menglong stupidly, unable to believe his ears.How dare a young man without official status dare to roar like a lion at the county magistrate?On the contrary, not even Qianhu would dare to do this!Extreme astonishment overwhelmed fear, and the city wall, which had been in chaos just now, fell into an eerie silence.Yang Menglong pointed to the outside of the city, pointing at the Mongolian Hercules who was shoveling stones from the fire pond and putting them into the net pocket of the throwing machine, and shouted sharply: "Keep your eyes wide open! What kind of demon method, is this what you call demon method? It’s nothing more than throwing flint into the fire and burning it red, and this little trick scares you? Are you still men? Shame on you!”

Chen Baihu glanced over there, but no, it was really just a piece of rock.The fear in my heart eased a little, but I was still trembling, and said in a whisper: "But...but that stone will explode..."

Yang Menglong kicked him again: "Are you an idiot? You have always used a fire sickle, right? The kind that makes sparks fly when you touch it! This thing is an extra-large spark striker. After it is red-hot, it will explode when it is hit... and Don't you understand? It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Just stay down for me and don't run around and scream!" He glared at the soldiers who were still at a loss and said, "Get down for me! Who dares to run around anymore? Anyone who shouts and disturbs the morale of the army will have his head cut off with one blow!"

This anxious fool stared with murderous intent. The soldiers of the Ming Army felt that their hairs were standing on end when he stared at them like this. They did not dare to say a word and lay down obediently.At this moment, there were several loud noises from the other side, and several pieces of flint flew over like fireballs. Two pieces fell into the city, and three pieces hit the city wall. The fire flashed randomly and the gravel flew. The sound was like thunder, very frightening.The Mongolian soldiers cheered loudly, but the Ming army soldiers were heartbroken.Yang Menglong sighed and said: "Young man, are you trying to do this in front of me? You are still young! Gunner, shoot them to death!"

The gunner said with a bitter face: "Little General Yang, it's too far away, we can't hit it!" Yang Menglong's calmness just now left a deep impression on everyone, so he stopped calling him Mr. Yang and called him General Xiao Yang.

Yang Menglong said: "Whether you can hit is a matter of character, whether you can hit or not is a matter of attitude. Stop talking nonsense and fire! Even if you can't hit, it's still good to scare them!"

Okay, you said it!
The gunner didn't say anything else, loaded gunpowder and shot put on the Mongols and it was a shot!boom!The entire cannon retreated more than ten feet back, and a large cloud of black gunpowder smoke rushed into Lao Gao, smoked the gunners into blacks, and only the few teeth left on their bodies were still white.The shot put flew out with strong wind and landed [-] paces away, kicking up a large cloud of ice slag and snow powder. It failed to achieve any results, but provoked a wave of ridicule instead.Yang Menglong sighed, he had given up on the artillery.The range and damage radius of cannons these days is poor. As for the accuracy, it is a mass grave. What kind of precision strikes do you want to use with such artillery?It would be more realistic to become a superman by yourself, lift a huge boulder weighing several hundred kilograms into the air, and see which group of people are not pleasing to the eye and throw the boulder down to kill them.

His eyes fell on the barrels that had been placed on the city wall according to his request, and he showed a strange smile.

The Mongolian trebuchets continued to fire, and the most primitive incendiary bombs flew over like hail, shaking the city walls and shattering the city walls.It can be seen that the Mongols' target is the city disk. As long as these annoying city disks can be cleared away, the Ming army will lose cover and be exposed to their bows and arrows. At that time, whether it is throwing spears or shooting arrows, they will kill and injure the Ming army. For soldiers, it becomes simpler.The accuracy of the trebuchets was worse than that of artillery, but they could not hold up in large numbers. Under the continuous and indiscriminate bombardment, several city plates were smashed to pieces, and many small gaps appeared in the defense system of the city walls. The Ming soldiers who were injured by stones screamed in agony.Fortunately, they followed Yang Menglong's order and lay down obediently, avoiding most of the debris, otherwise their casualties would have been even more severe.Fang Yizhi was helpless. His forehead was scratched by a fragment the size of a fingernail. Blood flowed all over his face. He groaned while covering the wound.Yang Menglong crawled over and pushed him down, shouting: "My good lord, please don't cause trouble here, get down quickly!"

Fang Yizhi said seriously: "As a local parent official, it is his job to protect the environment and the people. Now the situation is critical, and he should take the lead. How can he avoid disaster..."

Yang Menglong said impatiently: "Well, well, don't endorse me. I know that you are conscientious and conscientious, but what use can you, a useless scholar, do here? Hurry up and organize the people. , appease the common people in the city, don't let them mess up, once they mess up, it's all over!"

The words are a bit hurtful, but they are true. Fang Yizhi looked back, good guy, the people below are in a mess, and the flint that fell into the city lit several fires, crying and shouting one after another, chaotic Unbearable, he didn't dare to be negligent, and said: "Then I will go down to appease the people, and I will ask Mr. Yang here!"

Yang Menglong said: "Don't worry, with me around, the Tartars will not be able to attack!"

Fang Yizhi didn't say any more, and ran down the road, leading a few people towards the chaotic peasants and common people, his voice could be heard from a long distance: "This official is Fang Yizhi, This is just a common trick of the Tartars, it is not worth laughing at, everyone, don’t panic, it’s okay! Don’t panic! Fang will never leave everyone alone, as long as Fang is still alive, the Tartars will never want to enter the city!" Shouting is hoarse.It can be seen that he is quite prestigious. The panicked peasants and common people miraculously regained their composure when they saw him. Under his command, they frantically rescued the wounded and extinguished the fire.At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were fewer officials with integrity than beef noodles. Fortunately, Fang Yizhi happened to be one of the few pieces of beef.Yang Menglong felt very fortunate, if he met an official with no integrity, the current situation would definitely be even worse.

Boom!

Two balls of fire hit the city disk, making two gaps again.The soldiers of Houjin's three Niulu cheered loudly, and hit the shield with their weapons, making a loud sound of metal clashing, which made people's hearts tremble.Qi Hu saw that those ladders and archers in iron armor were moving towards these gaps, apparently taking these gaps as breakthroughs.He worriedly said to Yang Menglong: "Young Master Yang, this is no way to go on like this. If we continue to be suppressed and beaten, the morale of our army will collapse!"

Chen Baihu also regained his composure, and said: "Yes, if the Tartars continue to bombard like this, the city wall will collapse. Anyway, there are few parts of the city plate intact. Once the cover of the city plate is lost, our army will He became a live target for the Tartars!" He stretched out his hand to rub his stomach while talking, just now he was kicked several times by Yang Menglong when he panicked, at that time he was so frightened that his soul went out of his body but he didn't feel any pain, now he is awake, that kind of pain Drill straight to your heart!Tears came out.

Yang Menglong grinned: "I also prepared a big gift for them, just waiting for them to approach! However, since they are so eager to die, I am too embarrassed to refuse them... Get down, I will let you see me What an unconscionable cannon!” Opened a gunpowder barrel, took out a cake-shaped explosive bag from it, put it into a wooden barrel tightly bound by a thick wire, and put it together with the explosive bag There was also some gunpowder that went in.After putting it away, he lit the fire rope, and then crawled 20 meters away.When the people around saw it, their eyeballs almost fell to the ground, Qi Hu yelled sharply: "Are you crazy, do you want to blow up everyone!?"

Yang Menglong shouted: "Lie down honestly, otherwise I won't be responsible if something goes wrong!"

You are already irresponsible enough, okay?

The soldiers who reacted almost went crazy, also, anyone who saw a desperado lighting a dynamite bag in front of him and then stayed by his side would go crazy.That dynamite pack weighs at least ten catties, right?My God, if this thing blows up, how many people will die!Yang Menglong must have been so frightened that he wanted to blow up his own people!Li Yong yelled, and rushed forward to throw the deadly explosive barrel down, but just a few steps away, he heard a muffled bang, and a large cloud of fire and gunpowder smoke spewed out from the mouth of the wooden barrel, and the air surged violently. The deadly explosive was thrown out with a bang, flew a hundred steps away, and fell in a whirl, so that it landed on the middle of the Mongols...

Qi Hu's old eyes suddenly widened, Chen Baihu opened his mouth wide and couldn't close it, as for Li Yong, he froze there as if under a holding spell, with an unbelievably stupid look on his face.That deadly explosive cannon didn't explode, but shot out like a shell?How can it be!

Don't care if it's impossible, anyway, the dynamite bag was really thrown out, and fell among the Mongols, this time it's a big joke...

(End of this chapter)