The firepower of the Qin Army was greatly improved before and after the founding of the country.
On the one hand, under the order of Xiao Ruxun, the military department of the former Ming Army eliminated all the flashy and outdated firearms, and stopped manufacturing and using them.
For example, the God's Armament Arrow, Bowl Mouth Gun, Five Thunders God Armament, they all stopped researching and manufacturing them, and put all their energy into making guns, cannons, and grenades.
Guns and cannons were traditional research projects, and grenades were also not a new thing.
During the war between the Song and the Song and the Mongols, the Thunderbolt Fireball, the Poison Fireball, the Smoke Ball, and the Sky Tremor Grenade were very high production level weapons.
Especially the Sky Tremor Grenade, which played a very big role in the war between the Jin and the Song and the Mongols.
At that time, the invincible Mongolian cavalry suffered more than one defeat in the hands of these weapons. Later, they used the captive craftsmen of various races to create the same or even more advanced firearms, and then completely crushed the Jin and the Song in terms of military power, leaving them no power to fight back.
This kind of ancestor's wisdom could still be found in ancient books, but the excessive imagination of the Ming Army's firearms manufacturing department limited the development of firearms.
In the past two hundred years, they developed more and more in strange places, and all kinds of strange firearms could be invented, but there were not many of real practical value.
So many old firearms from a few centuries ago were still in service in the army, and had not been eliminated. The Bowl Mouth Gun, the Three-Eye Gun, these firearms from the time of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were still used by people until the end of the Ming Dynasty, and had not been changed.
After Xiao Ruxun established the country, one of the first decrees was to abolish these flashy firearms, and ordered the military department of the Ming Army to completely stop the production of these strange firearms, and return to the normal development path.
Under the leadership of Xu Guangqi, the Light Awakening Lead Bullet and Light Awakening Flintlock, which could shoot very far, were also manufactured.
Although it could not be mass produced, it was still very meaningful to use it as a sniper in the army to snipe enemy officers. He Heli and Hu Erhan both died under the Light Awakening Flintlock.
Cannons were even more important.
Fully aware of the limitations of firearms, Xu Guangqi submitted a memorial to Xiao Ruxun, requesting for the mass production of artillery that was lighter than the ones carried by the army. He also requested for improvements in the manufacturing techniques. The artillery produced today would no longer overheat and explode.
The Red Barbarian Cannons had also been produced on a certain scale. However, since the Red Barbarian Cannons could not use explosive shells, their firepower was limited. Although they had a longer range, their production numbers were limited. Xu Guangqi had organized a group of explosive shell craftsmen to research and innovate the explosive shells in order to increase their quality and firepower.
Therefore, at present, the main artillery of the Qin Army was still the Francis Cannon, which weighed about 300 to 500 catties. As for the Hongyi Cannon, they were also equipped, but they did not bring it with them in this battle.
Under Ma Chong's order, the artillery team immediately arranged themselves into formation, pushed the carriages within firing range, loaded the ammunition, and waited for the order to fire.
"Fire!!!"
The order was given, and the gunners fired.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!
Twenty Francis Cannon fired at the same time, blasting the fake camp of the Jianzhou army into a mess. Some of the female soldiers were unlucky enough to be killed, and a large number of trees on the mountain fell.
"Fire!!!"
The order was given a second time, and the other twenty cannons that had been prepared quickly moved forward, ignited, and fired.
Another round of bombardment, and the trees on the mountain were blown to pieces. Many unlucky Jianzhou soldiers were either killed or injured.
This kind of bombardment continued for five rounds, and many of the 600 Jianzhou soldiers on the mountain were killed or injured. They finally realized that the Qin Army would not approach on their own, so they could only follow the established strategy. They waved a large number of flags and retreated, creating the illusion that the main force was retreating. They hoped that the Qin Army would chase after them, lengthen their formation, and create an opening for Erdu to lead his troops out.
It had to be said that this was a good strategy. If the Jianzhou soldiers had encountered a general who was brave but not astute, and was eager to seize the credit, it would have worked. The dense forest in front was not conducive for a large army to march.
However, Ma Chong and Luo Rong were experienced generals who had fought from the south to the north. How could they be fooled so easily?
Not to mention that Chu Ying had almost immediately pointed out that this was a strategy to lure the enemy in.
If even Chu Ying could see this, the other generals could not.
Ma Chong sneered mockingly and ordered Chu Ying to lead the vanguard to cut down trees to pave the way for the rest of the army. Walk slowly, there was no hurry.
Slowly grind away the courage of the prey, making the prey feel absolute fear, and thus lose the will to resist. This was Ma Chong's strategy.
He knew that he had an absolute advantage. Underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly would only increase the possibility of him failing miserably. As a high-ranking general, he knew what he should and should not do. He could also guess what the female soldiers of the Jianzhou were thinking.
No hurry, no hurry. Take it slow.
No one would rush him.
Chu Ying led the vanguard to cut down trees to pave the way. He found a path he was familiar with and constantly sent out scouts to explore the way. Steadily and surely, he led the army directly through the Saer Hu area, not giving Eyidu a chance to send out troops to fight.
Fighting face to face was courting death. Eyidu was not stupid. Seeing that the Qin Army did not fall for the trap, but steadily advanced step by step, he knew that his strategy to lure the enemy had been seen through. There was no point in continuing the ambush. He could only reach the second line of defense faster than the Qin Army.
The first line of defense was broken just like that. In Eyidu's eyes, it was a huge blow. The Qin Army did not give chase and advanced at a steady pace, which made him feel a little hopeless.
If they always marched like this, with the army in strict formation, even using these trees to set up camp at night, and not giving him the slightest chance, he really could not find a way.
He could only send someone to report to Nurhaci, letting Nurhaci know the attitude of this Qin army and how difficult it was to deal with them. He dared not rashly send out his army to fight with them, for he knew what the result would be.
Nurhaci naturally knew what this meant. After receiving Eyidu's report, he discussed it with Fei Yingdong and Anfeyangu with a worried face, but the two of them did not have any good ideas. At this time, Nurhaci missed He Heli very much, the person who could give him advice and suggestions.
But now he was gone. Nurhachi could only think of a way himself.
"At present, we have forced some older people to join the army. We can barely gather 30,000 people. Although our military strength is equal to that of the Qin Army, judging from the result of the last battle, our fighting strength is obviously not as good as theirs. If there is no good idea, I suggest that we do not fight them head-on."
Anfeyangu's face was very ugly.
Fei Yingdong's face was also ugly.
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