At noon, the sun shone directly on the battlefield filled with gunsmoke, and it seemed that the sound of artillery fire, which had just calmed down, sounded again in the east."
Boom, boom, boom" Outside the east gate, the artillery battalion that had just been lined up had already erupted into its roar.A hundred cannons fired at the city wall of the east gate in an orderly manner, and the rumbling sound of cannon fire completely covered the entire east city wall, and the tall and hard city wall suddenly rose up with puffs of white smoke, bricks and stones splashed, and dust flew up.Because the process of casting guns is far more difficult than casting guns and bullets, the Suzhou Ordnance Institute can only cast some small-caliber field guns under the current conditions.Qiao Zhiqing also purchased artillery pieces of various calibers from various channels, and the former special operations brigade was officially renamed the artillery brigade, and Qiao Zhiqing personally served as the brigade commander.The artillery brigade had one hundred sixty-four-pounder Armstrong heavy guns, two hundred thirty-six-pounder medium guns, and three hundred twelve-pounder light field guns.This time, the artillery left regiment was responsible for assisting the new 1st Division in the siege, carrying a total of 200 artillery pieces and 1,000 shells.To the surprise of all the Qing army, under the powerful fire volley of the artillery left regiment, there were ten artillery pieces on the city wall to launch a counterattack.Because the height of the city wall extended the firing distance of the artillery, two or three shells actually hit the artillery position, and they also used flowering shells, which were the same as those of the Qing army, killing five gunners on the spot and blowing up one heavy artillery.At this time, Zhang Tiejun, the commander of the left artillery regiment, was half angry, and immediately ordered to adjust the angle of the artillery and bombard intensively in the direction of the ten guns.Sure enough, after a volley, there was a cracking sound on the city wall, and not a single shell returned fire.After half an hour of shelling, the Taiping army, which had been heavily defended on the city wall, was blown to pieces by intensive artillery fire, and huge gaps appeared in several sections of the city wall, and the masonry fell in half, more than five meters high.The gates were also blown to pieces, and there was nothing to cover them.Zhang Zongyu took a telescope and carefully examined it, and finally let the herald blow the military horn, and the left regiment of the left brigade launched the first wave of impact, and the middle brigade and the right brigade feinted to attack the other three gates at the same time.Huang Wenjin saw clearly the situation in front of him through the gap in the city wall of Weng City, let out a long roar of great arrogance, and ordered the foreign spear team around him to prepare for shooting.More than 1,500 people of the left regiment of the Qing Army launched an attack on the four openings and the city gate at the same time, and marched forward in dense steps and guns in accordance with the formation of ordinary drills.At a distance of 100 meters, there was not a single Taiping army on the city wall to counterattack.The soldiers of the left regiment were instantly high-spirited, shouting the slogan of the Qingzi Army, "The Qingzi Army will win, and the Qingzi Army will win." ”The momentum is high, and the sonic boom mine."
Division, how do I feel that something is wrong Luo Sanyuan looked around the direction of the city wall with a telescope, and shook his head uncontrollably, I don't know what Huang Wenjin is doing."
Wait, just see."
Zhang Zongyu didn't care, looking ahead with a pale face.After the men and horses of the left regiment approached the urn city, there were suddenly bursts of gunfire in the city.The dozen or so soldiers of the left regiment who had just climbed the gap along the pile of rocks were pierced by the bullets fired in a dense manner, and rows of them rolled down the pile of rocks.It turned out that Huang Wenjin had long been aware of the equipment of the Qing army, and knew that it was not the opponent of the Qing army, so he took the initiative to preserve his strength, and built a long row of bamboo and wood scaffolding on the wall of the urn city, and concentrated the foreign gun team in the army for defense.Only when the Qing army climbed the gap could they see a long line of foreign guns on the scaffolding.And the artillery could only blow up to the top of the city wall, but it had no effect on the scaffolding on this half-waist.At this time, on the city wall of the urn city, halfway up, and under the city wall, a total of three layers of foreign guns fired intensively without dead ends, and the Qing army had no room to dodge at all.In just a moment, twenty or thirty people rolled down from the gap, and the city gate was even more deadly and wounded, because the city gate was transformed by the Taiping army, only five or six people could be allowed to rush through side by side, rushing into a batch, and before they could line up the formation, they were killed by the three layers of fire on the opposite side.Commander Zuo gritted his teeth and roared, and after five consecutive impacts, he finally couldn't help but order a retreat, and the corpses of the Qing Zi Army rolled to the ground, as many as hundreds of people.The artillery regiment of the Qingzi Army also opened fire at this time to cover the retreat of the left regiment.Luo Sanyuan stomped his feet and scolded, since the establishment of the Qing Army, there has never been such a sacrifice of so many soldiers.This left regiment commander knows the intensive impact, and he doesn't move his brain at all, isn't this hitting the muzzle of someone's gun in vain.It was nearly dusk, facing the east city gate at their fingertips, but the Qing army could not attack the city wall for a single step."
Commander, I can't stand you, so many brothers have died, you can punish me."
Wang Dahai, the head of the left regiment, reported the situation in the handsome tent with a flushed face, and introduced the defense of the Taiping army in the urn city.Hurriedly and ruthlessly ripped off the beret on his head, covered his face and squatted on the ground in shame, and the five-foot man choked up anxiously.At this time, the attack on the southern, northern, and western city gates also stopped, and the right brigade commander Luo Changfeng did not listen to Zhang Zongyu's order but only feint, but he desperately led his brothers to rush towards the north gate.As a result, the situation was the same, and he suffered a big loss in the urn city unexpectedly, and he didn't know how to change the formation for a while, and he retreated after killing and wounding more than 200 brothers.The defenders at the north gate were far less powerful than the firepower at the east gate, and some of them still shot with dense bows and arrows, but Rao was like this, and Luo Changfeng still suffered a big loss.The same ashamed blushed, and after entering the military tent, he did not say a word, hanging his head in silence."
Whoever you show in despair, lift up your head for me."
Zhang Zongyu slammed his hands on the table and shouted at the generals in front of him."
Division commander, I was wrong, I underestimated Huang Wenjin too much, my brothers were seriously injured and injured, you can punish me."
All the generals were taken aback, and hurriedly raised their heads and straightened their military postures.The right brigade commander Luo Changqing no longer had the momentum he had before, and admitted his mistake with a red face."
Punishment, punishment, you know that you have to be punished, don't you know if you use your brains, failure is not terrible, fear of failure is terrible.Cheer me up, rest well tonight, and fight again tomorrow. ”Zhang Zongyu scolded, turned around and took a long breath."
Subordinates receive orders."
The generals clenched their fists and replied, carefully exiting the military tent."
Division commander, the marshal has news."
At this moment, the voice of the herald suddenly sounded outside the tent."
Come in, it's just the right time."
Zhang Zongyu breathed a sigh of relief for a while, and hurriedly ordered outside the tent.After the herald put down the secret letter, he carefully retreated.Zhang Zongyu opened the secret letter, which explained to Zhang Zongyu in detail the specific process of the city's fortification, and it was the same as Qiao Zhiqing who came to the battlefield to check, and said everything in Zhang Zongyu's heart.Qiao Zhiqing divided the city into three stages, the first stage was to "tear apart the city defense".This stage has been well solved by the artillery regiment, in front of a hundred guns, even if the walls of Huzhou City are tied with iron barrels, a few gaps can be blown out.The second stage is the "Expansion Breakthrough".At this stage, it is necessary to devote as much as possible to a large-scale troop offensive in order to ensure a strong breakthrough.However, the three brigades were all tactics of adding fuel and vinegar, which just verified this point and did not play the slightest breakthrough role.Moreover, in terms of timing, it is necessary to use the effect of the firepower breakthrough to break through quickly, and once the defender reacts, the opportunity will be missed.Finally, it is necessary to maintain continuous assault to ensure that the follow-up troops follow up in a timely manner and maintain the results of previous operations.The key point is to get the timing right, to deploy troops, and to maintain continuous assault."
God, it's really God, it's exactly the same as what the big boss said."
Seeing this, Zhang Zongyu couldn't help but pat the table and stood up, praising loudly.The third and final stage of the war of annihilation, "street fighting".According to the various information gathered in front of the station, this kind of stage is going to happen.Huang Wenjin is fighting to the death, and he will never surrender until the last person.The city has also undergone large-scale defenses, which is in line with the situation of street fighting.This old fox must have set up a large number of bright and dark sentinels inside, if he didn't know the terrain and suddenly rushed in, he would definitely become his live target.Qiao Zhiqing also gave corresponding countermeasures, and Zhang Zongyu was addicted to watching it.In view of this, the attacker should first prepare sufficient fire support when attacking, suppress the defender's firepower, reduce its own casualties, and achieve a breakthrough quickly.After the breakthrough, the troops should encircle and separate the defenders, encircle and annihilate them, and break through each one."
Yes, divide and surround, encircle and annihilate, and break each one."
Zhang Zongyu kept repeating this sentence in his mouth, and suddenly realized thoughtfully, isn't this the former tactics of the Twist Army, which can be summed up so accurately by the marshal.Zhang Zongyu was excited all night and did not sleep, and immediately combined with the specific situation of Huzhou City to apply Qiao Zhiqing's meaning.After dawn, all the generals above the regimental level were summoned to come to the military tent for a meeting, and explained Qiao Zhiqing's tactics for attacking the city to the generals, which instantly caused countless exclamations."
Division Commander, as soon as you say this, I understand everything, and the commander's tactics are all in my heart."
Wang Dahai touched his head honestly, smirked, and immediately figured out the offensive routines in his mind."
Yes, division commander, if the marshal had written earlier, we wouldn't have been at a loss."
Luo Changfeng also sighed with emotion, and secretly said in his heart, he is still handsome and wise."
Commander, give an order to avenge the brothers who died yesterday."
Luo Sanyuan's face was full of depression, and he clenched his fists and asked for battle."
Division Commander, give the order."
All the generals clenched their fists and begged for their lives, and their words were full of confidence."
Yesterday's casualties are valuable lessons, and we need to be prepared for even greater sacrifices.Huang Wenjin's remaining 20,000 or 30,000 Taiping troops are all veterans of the Southern and Northern Wars, and their combat effectiveness is not inferior to ours at all, and they are also equipped with a large number of foreign guns and artillery.Today's battle must take the outer city wall, and those who dare to retreat will not be spared.Do you understand" Zhang Zongyu nodded with satisfaction, stood up, and shouted with a cold expression."
Understood, fight to the death, take revenge."
The generals shouted, and all of them clenched their fists with resolute faces
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