met free Chapter 546, Round 1
Chapter 546, Round 1
After Su Hongtu gave the order, the first rank of soldiers in each small square formation remained crouched, holding their rifles at an angle with their bayonets pointing forward at a 45-degree angle, in preparation for enemy cavalry charges. The second rank of soldiers all stood up, raised their rifles, and aimed at the Mongol cavalry trapped in the center. Unlike the usual firing pattern, the muzzle was raised two inches, and the shot was not fired horizontally. This way, the trajectory of the lead bullets would not pass through the enemy and injure their own men, but would just reach the Mongols on horseback.
Arslan had learned his lesson from these muskets; the short guns were already so powerful, and now these thousands of long guns were even more deadly. He shouted, "Don't let them fire leisurely! Charge forward and fight! Staying put will only lead to death; charging forward offers a sliver of hope!"
These Mongol cavalrymen were seasoned veterans, having participated in numerous raids and plunders with the Later Jin dynasty before. While their fighting spirit was average, their experience was abundant. Even without Arslan's emphasis, they knew the consequences of being pointed at by thousands of muskets. Immediately, howling and brandishing their sabers, they charged towards the hollow square formation of bayonets. They knew that they wouldn't gain much advantage in a direct exchange of arrows against muskets, especially at such close range; only hand-to-hand combat offered them a sliver of hope.
The Mongols were going all out, treating themselves as heavy cavalry. However, before they could even engage in close combat, the soldiers opened fire as Su Hongtu's command sword swung down.
"Bang, bang, bang!" A hail of lead bullets enveloped the Mongols, who, wearing only thin leather armor, were riddled with bullets and their flesh was torn to pieces. Their warhorses were also hit by the lead bullets and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
With nowhere else to go, the remaining Mongol cavalrymen took advantage of the soldiers' lull in reloading, leaping over the corpses of their comrades and horses, howling as they charged towards the bayonet formation. Driven by their animalistic instincts to avoid danger, the horses were reluctant to approach the gleaming bayonets. The Mongols then kicked their bellies, the spurs piercing the horses and drawing blood. In pain, the horses leaped high into the air and charged into the bayonet formation.
The soldiers who were loading their rifles were shocked to see this. They didn't bother to load the ammunition, but instead raised their rifles and used their bayonets to stab the enemy and their horses over the heads of their comrades in the front row.
Countless Mongol cavalrymen, horse and all, fell into a forest of bayonets, riddled with holes by the bayonets. Their massive horses pinned the spear-wielding soldiers beneath them, causing them to cough up blood. Both sides suffered casualties, but the situation was far more unfavorable for the Mongols—their cavalry, rendered immobile, were heavily surrounded by infantry resembling spearmen, and their annihilation was only a matter of time.
Outside the castle, the Han army launched their first charge. Under the supervision of the Later Jin armored soldiers, they gripped their weapons tightly and charged forward with their heads down. The mountain cannons on the protruding corners fired incessantly, with shells frequently landing among the crowd or bouncing off the ground and injuring people. The Han soldiers were all familiar with the cannons used to the artillery and were used to the casualties caused by artillery fire. In their eyes, this density of artillery fire was not as terrifying as the swords of the supervising soldiers. Only by charging forward and scaling the city walls could they have a chance to survive; otherwise, if they dared to turn back, they would be beheaded instantly.
The Han army, seeing the seemingly low city walls ahead, had a misconception: they thought they wouldn't even need siege ladders to attack such a castle; a few men could easily form a human ladder and climb up. They believed that as long as they captured the walls, creating an opportunity for the main army to breach the city, the credit would be theirs, and with luck, they might even be able to raise the flag. Supported by this belief, they braved the artillery fire, sacrificing their lives, and gradually approached the city walls.
However, they did not know that the seemingly low city walls were not a weakness in the city's defenses, but rather a deliberate design to better utilize the advantage of crossfire on the walls. While overly tall walls certainly created difficulties for the attacking side, the cannons and muskets on top of the walls would also have considerable blind spots, thus limiting the firepower output of the defending side.
After suffering several hundred casualties, the two thousand Han soldiers finally approached the front of the city wall. However, faced with the recessed wall and protruding edges, they were somewhat at a loss, and their previous experience in scaling the city walls seemed useless.
Some people started trying to build human pyramids, climbing up the walls by stepping on each other's shoulders. No logs or anything like that fell from the top of the wall, but the dense crossfire from the bastions on both sides told them that attacking the bastions would come at a deadly cost.
The attacking Han army endured an unprecedented hail of bullets. Lead bullets flew from both sides, crisscrossing through the crowd, leaving almost no blind spots, forming a meat grinder in a confined space. Amidst the thick smoke and screams, Han soldiers fell in droves, utterly powerless to fight back.
The soldiers on the bastion didn't need to consider anything else; they just needed to mechanically load and fire. At such close range and with such a dense crowd, they could hit their targets even with their eyes closed. The thick smoke couldn't stop the barrage of fire. Soon, the barrels of their guns became quite hot from the continuous firing.
Abatai, Gartu, and the others stared in disbelief at the one-sided massacre before them; this strangely shaped fortress was indeed not easy to deal with.
Gartu couldn't help but ask, "Won't these Ming soldiers' muskets explode?" Based on past experience, Ming soldiers' muskets would have a chance of exploding after firing two or three shots, and the wounded musketeers would have to withdraw from the battle. But these men's muskets didn't seem to have the possibility of exploding, and they could fire continuously, completely different from the other Ming soldiers.
No one could answer his question. Abatai, his face ashen, stared at the battle in front of the fortress without uttering a sound.
Soon, the Han army collapsed under the intense firepower. Watching their comrades fall one by one in pools of blood, while they couldn't even touch the enemy, such a situation easily led to psychological breakdown. The remaining Han soldiers lost all will to fight and fled in droves. Even after the supervising officers chopped off several heads, they couldn't stop the rout.
Of the more than two thousand Han soldiers, only five or six hundred managed to escape. The number of men lost in front of the castle, including those who were too wounded to escape, was as high as 70%. In the era of cold weapons, such a casualty ratio was devastating.
Having repelled the first probing attack, Liang Xiaoming's confidence soared. In his view, these Han soldiers, lacking long-range weapons and attempting to scale the city walls using human sandbags, were less effective than the Guangdong troops who had attacked Bofu years ago. He ordered his soldiers to rest briefly, allowing their guns to cool down, in preparation for the next attack.
The first round of fighting on the wall has ended, and the strangulation within the city is also nearing its end.
The Mongol cavalry were cornered by the hedgehog-like bayonet formation; their light cavalry, unable to charge, were less intimidating than ordinary infantry. In desperation, the Mongols drew their horsebows, preparing to use arrows against the muskets, determined to take some down with them even if they died.