New Shun 1730

In mid-to-late May, the Qingqi scattered around brought back news of the enemy's attack.

Wu Fangrui looked at the city that already had a prototype of defense, and asked the Qingqi who brought back the news. When he learned that the opponent might only have five or six thousand people, he didn't know how to fight.

A force of five to six thousand people does not have heavy artillery or enough muskets. Many of them are still using bows and arrows... Just want to capture this city?

Are the Junggar people crazy?

Someone was quickly sent to bring the news back to the rear camp, and alarm bells sounded in the city.

The horses, camels and sheep that were grazing outside as military supplies were quickly driven back to the city.

The cavalry entered the city, and the infantry immediately deployed in all directions according to the established plan. Some cannons brought by the military government to defend the city were also waiting on the city wall.

It is a simple bastion structure, but it also has an external protective slope, and the nearby shooting range is completely cleared.

According to Wu Fangrui's calculations, if the opponent does not have enough artillery for such a city, there is no other way but to besiege it.

Digging a hole to get closer like Lord Liu did in the north? Wu Fangrui thought to himself, would these Junggar people know how to dig trenches?

Standing high in the city, overlooking the quasi-unit's camp and the cavalry galloping back and forth, Wu Fangrui threw the binoculars to the adjutant in boredom.

He had a regiment of Qingzhou Army infantry, most of the engineers, more than 300 cavalry, and auxiliary troops for building the city.

There are also many cannons.

Even if the Junggar people dig holes, they can't dig out these specially trained engineers. And he also has a company of grenadiers in hand, just to use in counterattack digging tactics.

Since the Junggar people want to besiege the city, they might as well give it a try.

As for going out of the city to rob the camp, he was not interested.

He is one of the few core figures who knows Liu Yu's strategy. He knows that Liu Yu's strategy is "to show what is not possible". Don’t the Dzungars think they can only build and defend cities? That makes them more certain.

outside the city.

Xiao Cering Dunduobu set up his camp on a flat land to the west of the city. Looking at the fortress unfolding like a hedgehog from a distance, he was helpless.

Without a thick base and anti-gun slope, it is bullying the Dzungars who have few artillery. Not having a strong anti-gun base saves a huge amount of engineering work. This is also a way to adapt to local conditions.

He had seen the fortress at Lake Amesh and knew that such a fortress would be difficult to attack. It's just that the Russian army at Lake Yamesh does not have enough flintlock guns. Most of them are old shooting muskets and some Cossacks.

Dace Lingdunduobu fought siege battles and never fought in the field with the fusiliers.

Even so, looking at such a familiar, star-like castle, Xiao Cering Dunduobu felt depressed.

It cannot be said that he did not have cannons, but what he considered cannons, in the eyes of Wu Fangrui, who was guarding the city, were just large guns and not cannons at all.

The elite "Baoqin" artillery team only has twenty or thirty guns. The Swede was just a sergeant, and his level of cannon casting was only that much, and the great strategy Ling Dunduobu did not want to expose the main force here in advance.

Darling expressed his views on the city.

"We can't take it down."

"Yes. So, we have to lure them out. Otherwise, if they cross the mountain and build a city at the southern foot, we will be even less able to attack them."

Xiao Ce Lingdunduobu took a telescope captured from Russia, observed it for a while, and then ordered: "Get ready to try to attack. Don't kill too many people, scare them, and let the Han army from the big city come out." Okay. Let’s go after the Han troops from the big city come out.”

The order was passed on, and the Bukhara gunners who had escaped from the west pushed the small artillery and drove the camels carrying the revolving guns and began to advance.

The musketeers dismounted, and the heavy Zambalak matchlocks could be fired slightly farther, and they formed a thin formation in the city.

The cavalry dismounted, raised their scimitars, and made siege ladders from nearby fir trees.

Wu Fangrui, who was observing the situation on the city wall, found it a bit funny. Is this how they attacked the city?

Observing the dozens of small-caliber camel cannons, Wu Fangrui thought about the course Liu Yu taught.

This thing was introduced to the Ottomans during the Zhengde period of the previous dynasty, and the Ottomans spread it to the countries in the Western Regions. After calculating the Zhengde period, I thought it was already 250 years ago. What is the use of this cannon?

There are swivel guns on warships, but they are not used for direct bombardment at all, but for cleaning the deck after close combat. This thing... can be used as a musket in the field to enhance the firepower of a matchlock gun, but can it be used to attack a city?

Wu Fangrui couldn't help but shake his head.

The largest cannon of the artillery in the rear camp weighed more than three thousand kilograms. Not to mention that the camel could not carry it back, but the recoil could kill it directly.

If you think about it for a moment, you can understand the power of this camel cannon.

Seeing the camel cannon under the city slowly approaching, and estimating that the range of this "big gun" was between a hundred and two hundred steps, Wu Fangrui issued an order: the artillery was not allowed to fire, luring them to assemble within the range.

After the order was conveyed, the artillery officers began to fine-tune the artillery's altitude angle according to the previously determined angle. Soldiers armed with flintlock muskets crouched behind the parapets on the corners, restrained by the officers not to fire.

From time to time, Dzungar riders whizzed past, throwing a few meaningless arrows at the city wall, or firing a quick shot outside the moat and retreating quickly.

Small-caliber artillery and camel cannon began to advance, and the musketeers prepared to move forward in sparse formations. The riders who dismounted and fought on foot carried the ladder across the moat and formed a team in front.

Bang bang bang...

Camel cannons and small cannons roared, hitting the earth walls in vain.

The artillery scattered and hidden on the corners has adjusted its angle, just like the content of the classic textbook in the fortress engineering course, waiting for a suitable distance to bombard.

Below the city, Darin, who came all the way from Almaty, was giving encouragement before the siege.

"Warriors!"

boom……

He only said three words, and the artillery on the city roared almost at the same time, and a large number of iron balls were thrown at the crowd who gathered to approach.

An eight-pound iron bullet hit the dry and hard ground and bounced smoothly.

With a swipe, Darin's head was directly hit by the iron pill. His head was gone, and his whole body was carried backwards.

A single artillery fire killed and injured more than eighty quasi-troop soldiers. The first wave of infantrymen who tried to attack only numbered three to four hundred, and the offensive collapsed instantly.

Seeing Darin's head being smashed so that there was no trace of it, the men screamed and fled backwards. The covering musketeers could only shoot randomly at the city.

The city's artillery quickly moved to the camels kneeling on the ground. The camels were big, but they were still flesh and blood.

Iron balls weighing seven or eight kilograms fly at a speed of three to four hundred meters per second. If they touch even slightly, they will be injured.

The musketeers on the city wall also began to fire back, and the angled crossfire instantly suppressed the musketeers below the city who were too close.

The Junggar tribe's first probing attack ended without even a splash. The tribesmen snatched back Darin's headless body, but the head that was hit by an eight-pound iron ball was nowhere to be found.

Wu Fangrui thought about what he learned in class: [The artillery on the defensive side must be destroyed. If there are reinforcements nearby, bombard the enemy's artillery to slow down the siege; if there are no reinforcements, wait until the infantry attacks the city to kill and injure the enemy's infantry].

The course is absolutely correct. Wu Fangrui looked at the corpses under the city, smiled and said to the officer beside him: "I think there should be another lesson added to this course. If the siege side does not have artillery, then the artillery defending the city can do whatever they want. ”

The engineer officers had specially studied these courses and greatly agreed with the idea that "with guns, you can really do whatever you want."

Looking at the Junggar people's camp from a distance, the engineer officer said: "Master Wu, after these Junggar people tried it once, they should stop attacking. What should we do?"

"what to do?"

Wu Fangrui looked at the Junggar camp in the distance and thought that although he was just a chief of staff, or a marching commander. But the combat effectiveness of the quasi-unit is really not strong. If there are only a few thousand people in front of them, with a regiment of infantry, 300 cavalry and the best engineers in the world, it will not be a problem to directly attack their camp.

But after thinking about Liu Yu's strategy, he resisted the idea of ​​attacking.

"Do nothing. If they are willing to live outside and be surrounded by people, then let's live outside and be surrounded by people. Anyway, the news has been spread, and Mr. Liu will make a decision."

…………

In the camp dozens of miles away, Liu Yu jumped up excitedly after receiving the news.

The messenger rubbed his hands and asked for the report: "Are you sure there are only five or six thousand people besieging the city?"

"My lord, it's absolutely true. But if there are still ambushes hiding in the distance, then I don't know. Lord Wu heard the warning and closed the city gate tightly."

"Good! Well done."

After letting the messenger go down, he walked around the military tent for a few times, and his excitement was palpable.

Seeing this, Jiao Laobutu on the side recalled the military manual he had read and said, "Sir, could this be a trick by Junggar to lure the enemy?"

Liu Yu stopped and laughed: "I don't care if it's a trick to lure the enemy?"

"It's not a tactic to lure the enemy. After defeating Xiao Ce Lingdun Duobu, he went straight over the mountain. It's a tactic to lure the enemy. I just hope he will lure me into the bait. With these more than 10,000 Qingzhou soldiers walking sideways, who in the army dares to stop them? ?”

"You can't win a field battle, and any strategy will be useless. Just like the Battle of Saarhu I mentioned that day, if there were tens of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers that day, no matter what strategy they used, they would just do it. The difficulty of the Quasibu Battle, It’s not about the battlefield, it’s about the subsequent stability, I don’t care, I’m here to take the credit!”

Jiao Laobutu knew that Liu Yu was the best at grabbing credit, and he was overjoyed when he thought of the past events in Heilongjiang.

Back then in Heilongjiang, he was so bold in grabbing the credit that no one expected him to win. Jiao Lao Butu was also one of the people who got the big glory. How could he not be excited at this time?

"Since your lord wants to take the credit, I am extremely happy. What I was most afraid of before was the sudden advance of lightly armed troops. My lord is not very good at reading the art of war."

"Hahaha, this is one moment and the other is the same. The art of war is so wonderful that it lies in one's mind. Have you ever seen a tiger afraid of a group of sheep and use the art of war to lure the enemy deeper?"

Jiao Laobutu also laughed, and Liu Yu called the adjutants and asked them to ring the bell and raise the tent.

Two messengers were called, and after waiting for a while, they handed the two letters into their hands, and then ordered: "Go to the rear camp and give these two letters to Duke E. Tell Duke E, Please ask the Duke of E to move the camp and come here."

After the messenger ordered him to leave, Liu Yu called the officers of the other troops stationed here and said: "After I leave, you will stay in the city. Prepare the food and ammunition that I have arranged before. Once you get me The news, immediately escort these things to catch up with me. "

Two staff officers and 300 infantrymen were left to help defend the city. One staff officer asked, "Sir, if...if something happens on the front line..."

Liu Yu raised his head and smiled, saying indifferently, "If something happens in front, hold on and don't go out. No rescue is allowed."

"Yes."

After arranging things in the city, the troops had assembled by noon.

More than 500 carts followed, filled with food and ammunition. Everyone was given dry food to carry, but they were not allowed to eat. In the gunpowder bag, each person was given 90 paper-wrapped lead bullets.

The light cavalry for reconnaissance spread out and closely investigated the situation within 40 miles around.

The light cavalry was on both sides, and the army marched slowly out of the city in the battalion formation.

The staff asked Liu Yu about his requirements, and Liu Yu gave a requirement of "march slowly, don't let the enemy know how fast we are walking. Camp at night to prevent camp robbery."

The Qingzhou army marched very fast. This is considered an uninhabited area, and supplies need to be carried by themselves.

The four-wheeled carriage with steering mechanism can make the horse not bear the weight of the body, and has a large carrying capacity. Although it may not be able to cross the Altai Mountains, it can still be used in the march here.

The Qingzhou Army did not divide the army into forwards and rear guards like the other troops to stretch out a line.

Instead, the army relied on its organizational ability and confidence in the speed of changing formations to act collectively. Just let the light cavalry ensure the military intelligence within forty miles.

The small town newly built by Wu Fangrui is only a few dozen miles away from the big city. If it marches quickly, it can be reached in a day and a half. However, the staff divided this journey into three days according to Liu Yu's request, and Liu Yu still disliked it a little too fast.

The soldiers had enough food and warm clothes this winter, and they also ate a lot of sheep. They were fat for a winter, which was just enough to survive a hard time.