Chapter 194 The truth is only within the range of the cannon
Chapter 194 The truth is only within the range of the cannon
As the saying goes, there is always something to conquer something, and brine can be used to make tofu.
Siege artillery is designed to attack fortifications and fortresses. Especially when the defenders are suppressed by firepower and have no way to counterattack the attacking artillery positions, and the range of the city defense artillery is not as long as that of the siege artillery, then they can be fired freely.
The cannon, which is more than three meters long and weighs more than nine tons, roars earth-shaking every time it fires a shot.
Artillerymen received three taels of silver more in salary each month than other branches of the military. The consequence was that almost all of them were deafened by the deafness of the cannons.
The eight-inch diameter muzzle spewed out white smoke, and the 180-pound solid shell hit the general fortifications, directly collapsing the houses.
The fortress was originally built to defend against the Qing army's old-style muzzle-loading earth cannons, but it was bombarded by Armstrong's breech-loading siege artillery and instantly turned into a shoddy project.
The designed firing rate of this huge cannon was one shot every seven or eight minutes. The actual situation was that because the gunners were all new, they could only fire one shot every half an hour, and it was not very accurate.
But the Huai Army was in no hurry this time. The cannons began bombarding at daybreak. The artillerymen used live ammunition to practice aiming, gain experience, and their shooting became more and more accurate at a noticeable speed.
The enemies in the fortress were beaten and could not fight back.
Some rushed out desperately to destroy the artillery positions, but they were greeted by a hail of machine gun bullets and rapid-fire cannons that broke bones and tendons and turned them into meat paste.
The Huai Army experienced the sense of superiority of the great powers. It felt great to bully others with firepower. The deep-rooted fear of insufficient firepower among Chinese soldiers was finally cured.
Grant was filled with emotion and repeated a famous sentence that Bismarck said in a speech in the House of Commons two and a half years ago when he was Chancellor and Foreign Minister: "Truth is only within the range of artillery. America does not have such a large number of siege artillery. I am fortunate to witness the first concentrated use of the siege artillery regiment. It is an honor as a soldier."
The bombardment continued for half a month. The Huai Army advanced ten miles without any casualties and destroyed all the fortresses in the circular defense belt within a ten-mile radius. The main base of Jinjibao could be seen clearly with the naked eye.
Most of the bandits in the fortress were crushed to death in the fortifications.
They had originally thought of continuing to advance for a few more days, but the remaining bandits in the fortress had become frightened and could not run back to Jinjibao. They were completely desperate and walked out of the fortress and surrendered collectively without any prior agreement.
The railway from Longjuzhai to Xi'an has been completed, and the railway line is being extended to Baoji. The first batch of railway soldiers in the Qing Dynasty, whose eating tools have changed from steel knives and matchlock guns to whips, are about to receive 5,000 new eunuch slaves...
Well, considering the unprofessional "veterinary" skills of Haiqing and his eunuch comrades, this number is likely to become four thousand five.
All the soldiers, together with the newly replenished engineering battalion, dug a double trench around Jinjibao. The isolated Jinjibao was finally completely surrounded by the Huai Army.
Having lost all its barriers, Jinjibao was like a trembling weak woman, with all its defenses torn away.
What they faced was an expanded force of 50,000 Huai Army soldiers who were as fierce and vigorous as wolves and tigers.
Yes, the Huai Army was overstretched.
The original plan of 40,000 people has expanded to 50,000 people after absorbing a regiment of Gansu Army and adding another regiment of siege heavy artillery, adding greater pressure on logistics.
Tian Xing was slow to wake up from his coma, but as one of the most powerful martial arts masters in China, his physical condition was top-notch.
After leaving the critical period, he recovered very quickly. Twenty-five days later, he was able to walk slowly with the help of crutches.
According to Doctor Wu, he will recover in a few months and won't even become a cripple.
However, his broken tendons and injured thigh bones could no longer sustain parkour, and his damaged abdominal organs also made him unable to hit anyone. "Skywalker" fell from the clouds and became an ordinary person.
"Second brother, I am a useless man, wasting food in the military camp is really too much. I can move now, let me go to Fengyang and replace Wu Ziyi. Le Xiucai is also the camp officer, logistics officer and intelligence director. I think he is exhausted. When he returns to Xi'an one day and is unable to pay the public grain to the Grand Prefect, won't he be beaten with a cane again?"
It takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone, but it also depends on how quickly it heals. After a careful examination, Dr. Wu told Tian Xing to use a cushioned seat on the way back to Xi'an and not to travel more than 20 miles a day, and he should be fine.
Everything is easy once you arrive in Xi'an. There is a train from Xi'an to Longjuzhai, and you can take a boat from Longjuzhai to Fengyang.
Tian Xing can sit safely in Fengyang, leaning on a crutch and scolding the new recruits every day. He will definitely feel better than staying here and doing nothing, and it will also be more conducive to his recovery.
Shao Quanzhong walked the carriage five miles away, looking at the wooden wheels of the carriage moving slowly, seeming to be lost in thought.
A steam tractor came barreling over, a new grain transport team had arrived. As the Xi'an Tractor Assembly Plant continued to operate, more and more of these giants were being used for transportation.
The tractor uses sturdy iron wheels, and the driver really enjoys driving it on the bumpy road.
Only several drivers can take turns driving, and other drivers follow on horseback, and one driver is replaced after a period of time.
"Sixth Lady, send a telegram to my father-in-law who is trying to recruit university lecturers in the United States, and ask him to keep an eye on the technology of producing rubber and see if it costs money and how to get it. Also, find out if pneumatic tires have been invented. Oh, and ask Liao Rong in London and Emery in Berlin to help look for them. This is not a necessary task, so forget it if you can't find them. I don't know if these things exist now."
…………
Forbidden City, Hall of Mental Cultivation, East Warm Pavilion.
The little emperor, who was only ten years old, sat on the throne, twisting his buttocks constantly, looking bored.
Behind the curtain behind him, he heard his mother's serious cough. The little emperor immediately became obedient and well-behaved, not daring to move.
Below, the foreman of the Grand Council, Guaerjia Wenxiang, the Minister of Revenue of the Bordered White Banner Manchu Army Commander-in-Chief, was bending over to report.
"Last time, Shaanxi Governor Shao Quanzhong submitted a memorial requesting an additional 4 million taels of silver for the Western Expedition. The Ministry of Revenue has not yet raised enough. He is asking for too much. The Huai Army is so valuable, but the compensation for one death in battle is 280 taels of silver."
The voice of Master Xifo could be heard from behind the curtain, "He's good at fighting, so there's a reason why he's expensive."
"But he recently bought cannons from the British, spending two million taels. He also built a steam tractor, wasting a million taels of budget, and had to pay the court for it. This Huai Army is really too expensive."
Wenxiang took out another memorial.
"This is Zeng Bohan's report to Shao Quanzhong. He said that he had been on the Western Expedition for almost a year, and the military pay had reached 10 million taels, and the pensions alone had cost 4 million taels. Recently, his army had lost a series of generals, including Dong's militia, with more than 46,000 casualties, and progress was still slow. He said that the remaining Guangdong and Nian bandits have not been completely wiped out, and the Guangdong bandits have destroyed Jiangnan, which is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt. The Northwest is a barren land, so it is not appropriate to start a war. He suggested that the court should use both suppression and appeasement, and give Ma Hualong an official title."
The Empress Dowager Cixi's cold voice came, "Shaanxi and Gansu are the lands left by our ancestors, and Ili Province is the achievement of Emperor Qianlong. Do you prodigal sons want to give it to the bandits? We have to fight no matter how much money we get."
Wen Xiang fell to his knees and said, "But we have no money left. In addition to normal expenses, we need money to provide disaster relief and appeasement in various places after the elimination of the Guangdong bandits, and to suppress the remaining Guangdong bandits and the Nian bandits. Shao Quanzhong also took the lion's share of the money from the Western Expedition. We can't get the money from the customs, and we have to pay compensation to the foreigners. Now there are only 200,000 taels of silver left in the Ministry of Revenue. If we keep spending money like this, I, the Minister of Revenue, will not be able to do my job anymore."
The Empress Dowager also hesitated now, and turned her head to the side, "Sister, should we appease this Ma Hualong bandit?"
(End of this chapter)