Chapter 123: Wu Qing's Decisive Battle No. 6
The Qing infantry lined up in a neat formation, advancing step by step, approaching a position that was still 500 steps away from the Wu army. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info
"Fire!" Xia Guoxiang, the commander of the Wu Military Firearms Battalion, gave an order.
More than 100 direct-fire cannons of various calibers of the Wu army roared, the artillery on the left and right flanks spewed fire, and the solid shells that burst out of the muzzles formed crossfire, which pierced into the Qing army's formation from two angles. The shells bounced and rolled in the formation of the Qing army, plowing out a bloody mess, and the severed limbs and fragments of weapons of the Qing army in the Ganshan Green Battalion that were hit were scattered in all directions, and the Qing army suddenly fell in a large area.
"Up! Wu dog reloads not so fast! Zhao Liangdong yelled and asked the soldiers to move forward.
This round of artillery fire by the Wu army knocked down at least more than 700 Qing soldiers. The distance between the two sides was still 500 paces, and the Wu army could fire at least three more rounds before the Qing army could reach the Wu army.
After all, the Ganshan Green Battalion was a strong force, and the men of Qindi were not afraid of death, and they lost more than 700 people, which had almost no impact on the morale of the Ganshan Green Battalion. Under Zhao Liangdong's strict orders, the soldiers waved flags to command, the drummers beat the war drums, the commanders and commanders of the Ganshan Green Battalion shouted, and the commanding soldiers lined up in a dense formation and continued to advance.
However, after all, the Qing army is not a strong force that has undergone modern training, and the formation at this time has been somewhat deformed, starting with a hundred steps before approaching the Wu army, the Qing army needs to re-line, and then it is necessary to re-line after walking ten steps.
According to the standards of that year, the Qi family army walked thirty steps and relined once, and it was already a powerhouse in the world. can line up in a neat formation from beginning to end, in the east only the Qiongzhou Army can do this.
The two sides had not yet approached, and Zhao Liangdong was not in a hurry to let the Qing army stop and re-line, but let the Qing army continue to advance and shorten the distance between the two sides as soon as possible.
The artillery teams of the Green Battalion New Army and the Eight Banners New Army also pushed up, aiming at the Wu army formation more than 500 paces away, the Qing army gunners lit the artillery, and rows of shells pierced into the Wu army formation, and the infantry in front of the Wu army artillery team was knocked down a large area.
"Reload the shells! Keep bombarding the Qinggou infantry! "Xia Guoxiang asked his soldiers to pass the order.
The smoothbore guns of that year were very inaccurate at long distances, and in order to suppress the opponent's artillery team at long distances, it was necessary to concentrate more than a dozen guns or even dozens of guns to destroy one cannon. Neither the Wu army nor the Qing army was as rich as the Qiongzhou army, which could invest hundreds or even thousands of cannons at one time, forming an absolute artillery superiority. Therefore, for the Wu army and the Qing army, in fact, the cannon was completely used against the infantry, in fact, it was used as a large musket.
The Qing army had advanced to within 400 paces, and the Wu artillery team, which had completed loading, opened fire again, and the dense shells drilled into the formation of the Ganshan Green Battalion, knocking down hundreds of people again.
"Ready!" On the mortar position, the artillery officer of the Wu army shouted.
Lined up on the mortar positions behind the frontal infantry phalanx, the Wu gunners were so nervous that beads of sweat were dripping from their heads, and they were fiddling with the direction of the muzzle, and the flowering shells with cut fuses were stuffed into the muzzles, and the gunners holding torches were waiting nervously.
The rumbling cannon sounded again, this time it was the Qing army's artillery that roared, and the cannonballs smashed into the Wu army's formation, and the Wu army's infantry immediately flew flesh and blood.
The loaded Wu army's direct-fire artillery opened fire again, and the Qing army, which had advanced to a distance of 260 steps, was shelled, and a thick blood mist rose in the crowd, and gaps appeared in the Qing army's formation.
"Put!" When the Qing army approached two hundred paces, the mortar officer of the Wu army gave an order.
Thirty-six flowering shells rose into the air, the fuse of the burning fuse pulled out a line of bright marks in the air, and the shells whistled and smashed into the Qing formation. The flowering shells fell in the formation of the Qing army, exploding a ball of fireballs, sharp shrapnel shot in all directions, and many blank spaces immediately appeared in the formation of the Qing army.
The artillery of the Qing army also spat out tongues of fire again, knocking down many Wu troops.
On the Wu army's direct-fire artillery position, the gunners have already loaded the propellant and are loading the new howitzer into the chamber. The Wu artillery that had been loaded was aimed at the Qing infantry that was about 150 paces closer, and only waited for the officer's order.
"Fire!" When the Qing army was still one hundred and thirty steps away, Xia Guoxiang ordered again.
More than 100 artillery pieces let out a deafening roar, and new howitzer shells burst out of the muzzles, and when the guns were discharged, the expanded gunpowder gases had already penetrated into the shells, causing the shells of a thin layer of iron sheets to swell. After the shell flew more than 100 steps, the shell could no longer be supported, and exploded in the air, and the dense shrapnel rained down on the Qing army.
Countless tiny projectiles rained down on the pile. The blood mist brought up was no longer a cluster, but a clump of it. The blood spurting out of the Qing soldiers' bodies seemed to be gushing, splashing on the ground, and this round of artillery bombardment knocked down thousands of Qing soldiers at once.
"Ready to take the enemy!" Wu Jun General Ma Bao shouted.
The infantry of the Ma Bao Department originally broke into the camp, but later defected to Nanming. Later, after Ma Bao surrendered to Wu Sangui, he was adapted by Wu Sangui. Ma Bao's infantry are all veterans who have been licking blood from the knife edge since the Chongzhen period, and they have rich combat experience. Just now, Ma Bao's troops were subjected to three rounds of artillery shelling by the Qing army, and many people were killed and wounded, but the formation did not loosen at all.
Hearing the order, the Wu infantry archers stretched their bows and arrows, and the sword and card players formed a shield formation in front, followed by pikemen. When the Wu infantry was in full array, the artillerymen put away the artillery, brought the mules, pulled the cannons, and moved backwards to avoid the artillery being threatened by the Qing infantry.
The Qing army was already within 100 paces, and the archers of both sides began to shoot at each other, and the arrows like locusts flew into the sky and fell into the opponent's formation. Arrows were thrown into the crowd, some blocked by shields, but more were pierced into the people, and the infantry on both sides fell in a large area with screams.
While the two sides were firing with bows and arrows, the Qing infantry temporarily stopped, began to form formations, and then advanced.
Random arrows kept falling, and the crowd screamed again and again. However, the soldiers on both sides did not flinch, for the heavy infantry with armor protection, the feather arrows did not kill many people, except for a few unlucky ghosts who were shot in the face or throat, and the general wounded were shot in the limbs, and there was no danger to life.
The two sides continued to approach, and just when the Qing army formation appeared in front of Wu Jun, Ma Bao shouted: "Kill!" ”
Wu Sabre player was in front, took a step, and slammed into the Qing army. The pikemen in the back followed, and the infantry on both sides slammed into each other, the swords flashed, and the spears in the back were swallowed, and the infantry on both sides in front fell one after another. The infantry in the back came up, and the two sides continued to slash and stab.
Just as the infantry of the two sides approached, a group of Eight Banners cavalry rode up from the side. These Eight Banner cavalry were all archers on horseback, and when they arrived at the flank of the Wu army's formation, the Eight Banners dismounted one after another and took down their bows and arrows.