Boom, boom, boom... the artillery of the Qing army made a deafening roar, and the sound of the artillery echoed in the mountains for a long time.

Cannonballs fell on the Ming army's position one after another, kicking up clouds of splashing soil. The Ming army soldiers squatted in the trenches, listening to the roaring cannons and feeling the trembling of the earth.

But soon, these soldiers who had undergone short-term training discovered that although the Qing army's bombardment was astonishing, the damage it caused was minimal.

The probability of a solid artillery shell running in a parabola directly hitting a trench is very small. Even if it happens by chance, it will not explode and cause little harm to personnel.

The anti-artillery mounds on the position also played a big role, absorbing the kinetic energy of the artillery shells, causing them to quickly lose their bounce speed.

"When I followed His Highness to attack Yiling, the artillery on the city was more fierce than this, but it was just a noise, it was no big deal." A bearded general squatted in the trench, comforting the surrounding soldiers with a relaxed expression.

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This is the second batch of task forces coming to Shuixi. They are all experienced veterans and have become the backbone of the two thousand troops.

"I heard that when Yiling was attacked, His Highness was the first to climb into the city and was the first to rush into the city?" A soldier seemed to be less nervous and asked curiously.

Mr. Ba smiled and said: "Why did you hear it? It's true. Your Highness put a dazzling light in his left hand and held a knife in his right hand. When the smoke and dust filled the air, he rushed in first, slashing left and right, and killed from the west gate.

At the east gate, there is no general who can unite..."

Everyone made up the image of His Highness in their minds. He was over ten feet tall, broad-shouldered and round-waisted, with eyes like copper bells and a mouth like a basin of blood...

"At that time, I was only a dozen steps away from His Highness, and I saw it really well. Later, His Highness changed his bow and arrow, and the arrow fired without any miss, and he was shot to death..."

Seeing Liu Xiang crouching and walking along the trench, the general manager quickly shrank his neck and shut his mouth. This is the real person who is following His Highness, don't brag!

"General Liu was beside His Highness at that time. He was His Highness's bodyguard and had the courage to be unstoppable..." After Liu Xiang left, he started boasting about his talent again.

The hundreds of veterans in the trenches looked calm, which greatly boosted the morale of the new recruits. Seeing that there were very few casualties, most of the fear of artillery was eliminated.

In the distance, An Kun and others were holding telescopes and observing the Ming army's position. An Ruding and several Yi leaders were discussing with a startled expression.

"Using mounds of earth to weaken the power of artillery is a tactic taught by His Highness himself." Pi Xiong explained to An Kun, "It can be seen that it is very effective."

An Kun nodded and said: "It is indeed effective. I did not accept good advice before, which caused a lot of casualties to our army. I regret it now."

Times have changed, and perhaps it is more applicable to Shui Xi Ankun and others. In the battle with Wu Sangui's troops, they still followed the same old methods, without considering using their strengths and avoiding weaknesses at all.

Bloody lessons are the most educational. Looking at the arrangements of the Ming army, the facts are the most convincing.

The bombardment came to an end, and the Qing army rushed towards the mountain with shouts. The forwards were wearing heavy armor and looked very clumsy; behind were the gunmen and archers in light armor who were responsible for covering.

The position was quiet, there was no counterattack firepower, and there were very few people running around. This was a scene that had not happened in previous battles.

Wu Sangui stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes slightly. Intuitively, he realized that the enemy was different. But in his heart, he didn't care much.

More than a dozen trebuchets were launched, and stones the size of a human head, as well as thunderbolts emitting traces of green smoke, flew through the air, crossed the bamboo stick array, and landed on the hillside, bouncing and rolling downwards. Go.

Many Qing troops were hit and fell down and rolled howling. The explosion sounded, and thunder shot out dense shrapnel, causing casualties and chaos to the Qing troops.

"It's not rolling wood and stone, but a trebuchet that has been eliminated for a long time?" Wu Sangui frowned slightly, feeling confused and surprised by this change.

The officers and soldiers of the Ming army were already in full formation, and the gunners and crossbowmen were ready to fire, keeping a close eye on the enemies rushing up the mountain.

The trebuchets were still firing continuously, and were no more powerful than the dense rolling logs and stones, but such counterattacks also gave the attacking Qing army an illusion.

One hundred meters, or sixty steps, was marked more clearly on the ground. When the Qing army just crossed it, the roar of the guns became the main theme of the battlefield.

The riflemen fired in turns, shooting out heavy lead bullets like raindrops. The heavy lead bullets sprayed bright blood on the Qing soldiers, causing shrill screams.

The heavy armor has also lost its effect. The lead bullets carry huge kinetic energy and hit the Qing soldiers. Even if they cannot penetrate the armor, the impact force will be completely transmitted to the Qing soldiers, damaging their internal organs and breaking their ribs.

Row after row of Qing soldiers fell, and screams and wails could be heard endlessly. But the roar of the muskets remained the same, and the output remained stable.

Arrows flew into the air, and the Qing army began to attack, covering the forwards and continuing the attack.

Relying on the cover of the trench parapets, the Ming army soldiers remained unmoved. When the Qing army approached thirty or forty steps, they opened fire with muskets and crossbows, shooting fiercely at the Qing army.

At this time, the attacking Qing army found a dense formation of bamboo sticks in front of them, stretching for tens of meters, blocking their progress.

To be precise, you have to step carefully, and it is not impossible to pass. But you are staring at the ground and moving extremely slowly. How are you different from a living target?

Black arrows flew across the sky, and the two sides engaged in a fierce exchange of fire. The Ming army, protected by the trench parapets, gradually gained the upper hand.

Wearing simple bamboo plate armor and rattan helmets, the Ming army soldiers found that this kind of equipment also had a good protective effect.

Under the fierce attack of the three-dimensional firepower of the Ming army, the Qing army suffered many casualties. In front of the bamboo stick formation, corpses were soon lying on their pillows, and blood flowed into rivers.

In fact, there is a narrow passage in the bamboo stick formation. But under the intensive firepower, entering this passage will enter the countdown to death.

Boom, boom, boom... More than a dozen thunderbolts fell from the sky, rolling among the Qing troops, bursting out with loud noises of death and dazzling firelight.

The heavy armored soldiers continued to suffer casualties and could no longer stop the archers behind them. The muskets and crossbows on the defensive positions would also cause great harm to these lightly armored enemies.

Liu Xiang squinted his eyes slightly and observed the battlefield. At this point, he was already convinced of victory.

"The next time they attack, the Qing army will have to change their swords and shields. While blocking, they can clear the bamboo sticks. But the bamboo stick array is only visible, and the mines will catch the Qing army off guard.

General Wang Hong was still urging the soldiers to rush upward. He had no choice but to do so. Ming Jin had not received the order to retreat, so he did not dare to retreat without permission.

"These are definitely not soldiers, let alone any Ming army I have ever seen." Wang Hong could already see the slightly exposed enemy, and was sure that it was a Ming army holding its position.

"Pi Xiong's men and horses?!" This thought flashed through Wang Hong's mind, but he had greater doubts, "It's impossible for them to be so fierce!"

The roar of a gun interrupted Wang Hong's thoughts and completely ended his life.

A lead bullet hit his face, leaving his flesh and blood bruised. Without even a groan, he shook his head suddenly and fell straight like a log.

Wang Hong lost his life because he did not see the volley of wooden cannons in front of the Ming army's formation. He finally broke into the Qing army within a short distance and suffered heavy casualties.

Continuous bombardment by dozens of wooden cannons, hundreds of dense pellets... shot out like raindrops, and bamboo sticks under their feet that could pierce the body, making it almost impossible for the Qing army to evade.

This was the final blow, shattering Wu Sangui's illusions and declaring the failure of the Qing army's offensive.

The sound of ringing gold rang out, and the remaining Qing troops fled in embarrassment. Under the pursuit and attack of guns, crossbows, and blunderbuss behind them, another batch of corpses and wounded soldiers were left behind.

Liu Xiang sent out spearmen and sword and shield men to clean up the battlefield, and soon a rough statistical report came up.

They killed 1,362 Qing soldiers and seized more than 600 pieces of iron armor, more than 1,400 pieces of iron helmets, more than 600 pieces of leather armor, hundreds of sets of bows, arrows, birds and muskets, not counting swords and guns.

The casualty statistics here have also come out, with 103 killed and more than 270 injured.

The casualty ratio was huge, but Liu Xiang was not too satisfied.

Because this was the result of no close combat. He expected that the casualties would be even less.

"It's still a matter of combat experience. There is no need to be harsh in the first battle. In the following battles, the soldiers should make better use of fortifications for protection. With these 600 pieces of iron armor, they will be repaired immediately and distributed to the pikemen for use."
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Liu Xiang was thinking this when he saw Zhang Yaoer coming with women and starting to treat the wounded, so he hurried over.

In Yiling, the guards followed Huang Li to participate in the treatment and learned some knowledge.

Huang Li also listed common battlefield treatment methods as one of the training subjects for soldiers, and did his best to prepare treatment supplies for the army.

Although it is very simple, it will work to some extent. For example, disinfection with high alcohol, boiling bandages in boiling water, suturing wounds, etc. Under the conditions at the time, Huang Li could not quickly improve the level of medical care.

The veterans have started to treat the wounded. Although they are not particularly skilled in their movements, they have not forgotten the methods they learned.

There were also doctors in the ancient army, but the number was very small. In the event of large-scale wars, they could basically only rescue officers and generals

"This is the method taught by His Highness." Liu Xiang said to Zhang Yao'er who was in a daze: "Using strong alcohol or white sugar can disinfect the wound, and using a bent needle and silk thread to sew the wound together will help stop bleeding and heal. These strips of white cloth are all

It is boiled in boiling water, which is also a means of disinfection."

Disinfection?! Zhang Yaoer didn’t understand what was poisonous and why he paid so much attention to it. Could it be that the arrows and lead bullets were poisonous?

In ancient wars, the mortality rate of soldiers was very high. However, many soldiers did not die directly from being hit by the enemy. They usually died due to heavy bleeding, painful death, and wound infection.
Chapter completed!