The Northern Barbarians who were surrounding the city would never have thought that the Ming Army within the city had already undergone a complete transformation, and their equipment had also been upgraded.
Right now, the Ming Army within the city was using this era's most advanced firearms and the most valiant cavalry to fight against them. They were completely different from the previous batch of people who only knew how to cry and run away.
Other than the terrifying Red Barbarian Cannons, there was also a special troop following by Xiao Ruxun's side.
Of the one thousand musketeers that Xiao Ruxun brought, three hundred were Xiao Ruxun's personal bodyguards. They used rifled flintlocks, and their shooting accuracy and range were guaranteed. Basically, they could hit anywhere within eighty meters, and they could also hit fairly accurately beyond a hundred meters.
After a long period of meticulous training and the feeding of large amounts of ammunition, the shooting ability of this team of musketeers could not be said to be unparalleled in the world, but at least Daming, there was no other firearms troop that could compare to them.
Currently, in Xiao Ruxun's army, other than a small number of rifled flintlocks, there were only smooth-bore matchlocks. Some generals suggested that Xiao Ruxun give up on rifling and manufacture more musketeers, because they felt that musketeers were more convenient to use. However, after doing some economic calculations, Xiao Ruxun decisively rejected their request.
In terms of ignition rate, musketeers were not much higher than matchlocks. It was just that one used an open flame, while the other didn't. There was one less firing step, and it would be the same as meeting rainwater. Furthermore, musketeers required high requirements for flint, and the cost of flint was higher than the matured matchlocks.
In terms of shooting efficiency, the smoothbore flintlock musket wasn't much better than the matchlock musket, and it wasn't accurate either. If it wasn't for the improvements in rifling and casting techniques, the smoothbore flintlock musket wasn't any better than the matchlock musket in a large scale battle.
The true advantage of musketeers over matchlocks lay in the innovation of musketeer infantry tactics. Musketeers required a lot of individual space to maneuver, and were unable to form a tight linear infantry formation. However, musketeers did not require that.
The flintlock could allow soldiers to stick closer together, greatly increasing the firepower density, thus influencing the innovation of firearms tactics.
As for the firearms workshop under Xiao Ruxun, the amount of spring steel that could be produced was still very little. It was not enough to meet the requirements of the flintlock muskets. The cost was also very high. Even though Xiao Zhennan was a wealthy landlord, he could not afford to spend hundreds of thousands of silver on it.
Therefore, before the successful opening of the European sea route, before the technological innovation, the use of flintlock muskets was unrealistic. They could only make up for it with more muskets, and the reason for the existence of these rifled muskets was to set an example for the future. Instead of making muskets, it was better to make more advanced rifled muskets.
These flintlock musketeers were trained by Xiao Ruxun to be snipers. Their goal on the battlefield was not to swarm and kill the enemy's soldiers, but to target the conspicuous officers. When the musketeers fired indiscriminately, Xiao Ruxun needed them to fire accurately, specifically targeting the enemy's officers.
In the few battles with the pirates, including the battles with the Spanish and the natives of the Philippines, these flintlock musketeers had made great contributions. This time, Xiao Ruxun specially brought this group of treasured soldiers over, all for the sake of giving these Northern Barbarians a taste of foreign meat.
The Northern Barbarians began to command the captured soldiers to operate the siege weapons. Cannons were loaded with thick long arrows and stones were placed on the ballistae and catapults, ready to launch an earth-shattering attack on the Ming Dynasty Army at any time.
This kind of situation happened frequently in the past half a month.
But today, the situation changed.
"Admiral, the cannoneers are ready!"
"Admiral, Commander Li is ready!"
Xiao Ruxun nodded, glancing at the black mass of Northern Barbarians outside the city, and pointed his sword at them.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Following the furious roar of the herald officer, the first batch of ten Red Barbarian Cannons began to rumble. Thunderous booms exploded in everyone's ears, louder than any other cannons that had been used before. The intense vibrations caused the bodies of the soldiers on the city walls to sway.
Only now did Chai Guozhu understand why Xiao Ruxun wanted them to block their ears.
Only now did Li Rusong and Nurhachi understand why Xiao Ruxun wanted them to block the ears of the horses.
They would really go deaf!
The horses would definitely be startled!
These cannons were really different from the previous cannons!
Thick smoke instantly filled the entire city walls, and the howling cold wind quickly dispersed them. For the Ming Army, the side effects of the Hongyi Cannons ended here, but for the Northern Barbarians, the destructive power of the Hongyi Cannons had just begun.
They knew the firing range of the Francon cannons, so most of their forces hid outside the firing range of the Francon cannons, and let the captured soldiers operate the catapults and ballistae into the firing range of the Ming Army cannons.
Because the range of the ballistae and catapults couldn't match the Francon cannons, they forced the captives to do so, and used bows to drive the captives from behind.
If they didn't go, they would die, but if they went, they might survive. It was a simple choice.
Just like before, the captured guards waited for the order to attack with despair in their hearts. But unlike before, the Ming army's cannons sounded before they did. The sound was earth-shattering and so terrifying that they all fell to the ground in fright. The ear-piercing sound made them cover their ears involuntarily.
They awaited the arrival of death in despair and fear.
However, this time, death didn't descend as promised.
The Red Barbarian Cannon was not aimed at them, but at the Northern Invading Army behind them, which was obviously a distance away. The solid projectile, wrapped in thick smoke and carrying scorching heat, roared as it smashed towards the Northern Invaders.
The Northern Invaders watched helplessly as the smoke-shrouded objects flew towards them. Following that, they fell to the ground in fright from the terrifying sounds. Then, the terrifying objects crashed into the ground with a loud crash, causing violent tremors and a cloud of dust to rise up.
In this instant, they heard countless mournful screams. Some even felt warm blood splashing onto their faces. They screamed in terror, and the mournful screams never stopped.
After the solid bullets fell to the ground, they could still bounce back up, and launch a second and third attack on the dense infantry formation. Only when there were no more soldiers in their path, or when the bullets could no longer bounce forward, did the attack end.
Therefore, the saying of carving out a bloody path, was proven by these Hongyi Cannons.
That was to charge and kill all the way, carving out a bloody path to hell that was covered in broken limbs and internal organs.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
