Chapter 2162 The critical moment of Guizi Volume is just right
As soon as Zhao Qianshan and Wang Wenyan led the army to Changle Town, they encountered a small group of rebels. With lightning speed, they eliminated a group of less than 200 people, and the army took a short rest.
At this time, a thunderous explosion was heard from the northeast.
"What is this sound?" Zhao Qianshan was startled. He got back on his horse and looked to the northeast. The sky was blue and white clouds. It couldn't be thunder, and the sound came from the direction of Siyancheng. "It sounded like gunpowder explosions."
Wang Wenyan looked gloomy and nodded.
He was more sure than Zhao Qianshan. He had been to the weapons workshop countless times, especially after the Gyeonggi Military-Industrial Complex took over the Zunhua Iron Works and the gunpowder workshop of the Ministry of War. He had also been there several times to see gunpowder in person. Explosive situation.
Feng Ziying attaches great importance to the improvement of gunpowder formulas, and specifically requires gunpowder workshops to trial-produce granular gunpowder from powdered gunpowder by adding flour and rice soup, and has achieved success. Currently, the gunpowder and cannons in the ordnance workshop have begun to be converted to use The effect of the newly produced granular gunpowder has also been greatly improved, but it has not yet spread to all places, especially the guards here in Shanxi and Shaanxi.
But he could hear the explosion of gunpowder.
"This is the sound of a gunpowder explosion. Could it be that the stored gunpowder accidentally exploded?" Wang Wenyan then shook his head: "It doesn't look like it. The continuous explosions are more like a deliberate arrangement. Could it be that Si Yancheng's guard The army is using gunpowder explosions to stop the enemy?"
"Never mind this, we must rush to Si Yancheng as soon as possible. Once the rebels get the salt and silver from Si Yancheng, their morale will definitely rise. Our few soldiers and horses are still far less than the rebels in number, and they may not be able to do it in the field. How many advantages do they have?" Zhao Qianshan was still very objective, "It would be best if they were attacking the city and we could catch them by surprise."
Wang Wenyan’s guess was not right but not too far off.
This was the time when Mangui made a desperate move and kept lighting double barrels and then throwing them down the city wall to detonate. This kind of double barrels contained gunpowder inside and sharp objects such as nails and iron **** on the outside to enhance the lethality. Large bombs, but the explosive power of this kind of black powder is indeed limited. Although more than a dozen "large bombs" were thrown, most of them exploded, but to be honest, the lethality was very limited.
However, although the lethality was limited, this sudden explosion and the flying nails and iron **** still caused confusion to the too dense rebel army and had a very good blocking effect on the enemy.
Continuous explosions left the west city wall in a mess.
In fact, the power of this kind of black powder is limited, but the damage caused by the splashing of iron nails and iron **** still caused considerable confusion among the rebel army, which itself had limited fighting will. For a while, they did not know what happened. Many soldiers of the rebel army They even thought that the army had invited heavenly thunder to help them, but their morale suddenly collapsed and they turned around and fled, which directly brought down the entire offensive.
It can be said that a "tinderbox bomb" at a very low cost completely defused the wave of offensive that was finally set off. The two hundred cavalry took the opportunity to launch a surprise charge on the periphery, but they also achieved very good results. Easily dispersed more than a thousand rebel reserve troops without even suffering many casualties.
Looking down at the city with a knife in his hand, Rao boasted of his extraordinary energy, but Man Gui was a little overwhelmed. The continuous fierce battles made him a little exhausted.
Duan Xipeng on the side has not experienced such a fierce battle for a long time. It can only be compared with the battle with the Tumut people on the border wall of Datong ten years ago.
This does not mean that the combat effectiveness of these rebels is very strong, but the huge numerical advantage of the rebels is enough to offset everything.
Continuous rolling attacks, especially in the end, the rebel army also used the supervising team to force the soldiers to charge, which had not happened before.
Man Gui had no choice but to use the powder keg bomb as his trump card. It did have a miraculous effect in achieving success in one blow, but everyone also understood that this was just a one-shot deal.
Not to mention that there are only a few powder keg bombs left. Even if there are enough, it will be difficult to achieve such an effect.
Although the rebel army retreated in an embarrassing situation, both Man Gui and Duan Xipeng could see that the actual losses of the rebel army were not large. The charge of more than 4,000 people actually left only more than a thousand corpses and wounded soldiers. , has not damaged the vitality, and it can be seen from the opponent's back-end camp that the opponent still has enough energy left to invest, so can it survive tomorrow?
"Old Duan, I guess today the rebel army will not be able to muster up the courage to fight again. Maybe there will be attacks at night, but it's not a big problem. But tomorrow, hey, I guess the leader of the rebel army should also realize that the longer the delay, the more likely it will be." Their losses will only increase if they continue, and I'm afraid they will have to fight to the death tomorrow."
After several life-and-death battles, Man Gui's impression of Duan Xipeng became better and better, and the two of them became more relaxed when talking.
"Almost. No matter how stupid you are, you should understand that this tactic of adding firewood cannot defeat us, and the price will be higher. It is better to put all your money into it. In fact, they came with this idea today, but they did not expect it. Our move, coupled with the cavalry's surprise attack, destroyed their support team and made them return in despair. If they are willing to double their investment tomorrow, we will hardly be spared."
Duan Xipeng pondered and said: "If there are no other unexpected factors, we may need to consider how to retreat."
"Retreat?!" A look of shock and frustration appeared on Man Gui's face. "How to retreat in this situation? Everything we can think of, the rebel army can also think of, and once we withdraw from Si Yancheng, we will fall into the rebel army Now Anyi and Xia County have probably fallen into the hands of the rebels. At least they have controlled the countryside in these areas. It is impossible for us to escape their pursuit. By then, we will only die without a burial place. , there is no possibility of escaping.”
Duan Xipeng is also a little bitter. Of course he understands this truth, but now he is not thinking about the fate of other people, but the issue of safely sending the concubines of the three governors in the city out. Of course, hundreds or even thousands of people cannot escape. , but a few people disguise themselves as men, and then pretend to be rebels and attack the city together, so that they can escape while the city is broken, which may not be impossible.
But on this topic, he couldn't explain to Man Gui that he was Feng Ziying's personal soldier, and it was his duty to **** the concubine. It was a convenient favor to help Man Gui fight. It made sense to find a way out if he couldn't win, but for Man Gui, holding Si Yancheng was the most important thing. , even if you die in battle, this is a duty that cannot be flinched from.
Seeing that Duan Xipeng remained silent, Man Guiye could guess Duan Xipeng's concerns, but thinking about the fact that more than a hundred people on the other side risked their lives to help him defend the city, and that twenty or thirty people were also killed or injured in this battle, he also It is indeed difficult to put higher demands on Duan Xipeng.
Sighing, Man Gui waved his hand a little lonely: "Old Duan, I understand your difficulties, but is the governor's concubine more important than Si Yancheng? In addition to our more than two thousand people here, there are several Ten thousand taels of silver and thousands of stones of warehouse salt. This does not include how many armors and weapons and hundreds of stones of food we will leave for these rebels if we are defeated, die or captured. These supplies are obtained by these rebels. , I’m afraid that Pingyang Mansion will really be taken down by them in one fell swoop, and Zezhou and Lu’an Mansion as well as Huaiqing and Weihui Mansion will not end well.”
Duan Xipeng also sighed for a while before slowly shaking his head: "Lao Man, what you said is correct, I understand it, but I am not a member of the army, nor a member of the government. I am just a soldier of the governor, and my duty is to **** Dear family members of the governor, I came to Siyancheng this time not to help you defend the city, but to take advantage of Siyancheng's protection. But I didn't expect that the rebel army was so powerful that they couldn't escape. If you can rely on me, If I can defend this Yancheng with my own strength, and the governor's family can be safe, of course I don't hesitate, even if I die in battle, it's worth it, but the situation is obviously not optimistic now, and I have to think more about it..."
Seeing Duan Xipeng's attitude, Man Gui couldn't push anymore. Having said that, what they said was right. If he could hold on, of course he would spare no effort, but judging from the current situation, it was difficult to do so. No wonder they wanted to It's time to find a way out.
The two of them were relatively speechless, but they heard a rush of footsteps coming from one end of the city wall. A soldier with a red face and shining eyes rushed in front of the two of them. His nostrils seemed to be a little bigger with excitement: "My lord, my lord, the bandit army is in chaos. It's completely in chaos. Go to the top of the city and take a look. The bandit army is in chaos! Really, the bandit army is in chaos..."
The stammered man could only say one sentence: "The rebel army is in chaos." Man Gui and Duan Xipeng were also confused and confused. Duan Xipeng reacted faster: "But their cavalry rushed into the formation and disrupted the rebel army's position?"
"No, no, sir, you will know when you go and take a look. The bandit army is in chaos and running around aimlessly. It seems that the entire rear formation has collapsed. How can our two hundred cavalry have such skills?! "
Although the soldiers couldn't explain clearly, they also knew that it was definitely not the two or three hundred cavalry that could shake the enemy's formation of ten or twenty thousand. Even the most powerful Xuanfu cavalry or Datong cavalry could not do it. .
Duan Xipeng jumped up, and Man Gui followed closely. The two of them ran to the crenellations of the city wall in three steps and two steps at a time. Duan Xipeng simply stood on the crenels and put his hands on each other. He couldn't see enough and quickly used his telescope.
I saw that the entire enemy's rear formation was in chaos. An army was deeply embedded in the center like a wave, blooming in the center, completely smashing the enemy's rear formation that was still intact. The entire enemy's rear formation had been stabbed into a mess, and other The trend of chaos is still expanding rapidly.
(End of this chapter)