"Woo ~" Yang Ling was awakened by the agitated sound of the horn, and he jumped up. Since Han Youniang was by his side, it was inconvenient for Yang Ling to stay in the shared room of Yue Lou with Deputy Huang and the others. Yang Ling slept in the Jade Emperor Pavilion between the east and north city gates.
Young Lady Han rubbed her eyes and woke up. Yang Ling jumped off the ground and shouted while running,"" The Tartars are attacking the city. Stay here obediently, I'll go take a look."
There were shouts and shouts everywhere. Soldiers ran back and forth on the city wall, constantly swinging their swords to cut off the hooks and ropes thrown from below the city wall, and returning fire with sharp arrows. Inside the city wall, there was a winch every ten steps or so, tied with a thin iron chain. In the middle of the winch was a round log with a diameter of one foot and a length of about ten feet. On the round log, there was a dense forest of iron nails about five inches long, which looked a little like a giant spiked club.
The two soldiers who were hiding under the battlements only needed to lift the wooden club and throw it down the city wall. Then, they heard a series of miserable screams. Then, they shook the wheels at both ends and twisted the 'spiked club' back.
Although this kind of city defense tool was a little cumbersome and time-consuming, there were a few archers on both ends to assist, which was enough to make up for the shortcomings. Its lethality was not small.
He hurriedly ran to the battlement, and just as he held onto the battlement, a sharp arrow flew past his face with a whoosh, hitting the lintel of the Jade Emperor Temple with a thud. The tail of the arrow buzzed and shook, causing Yang Ling to break out in cold sweat.
Yang Ling composed himself and hid behind the battlements to look down. He could not help but be shocked. Why did so many enemies suddenly appear?
？They saw Tartar soldiers everywhere. The city wall was several feet high. They used hooks and ladders to throw up the wall and climbed up without fear of death. Behind them, a large number of archers rode back and forth to shoot arrows to protect them from attacking the city. The archers on the city wall also kept firing back. However, the enemy was outnumbered. Although they had the advantage of geographical advantage, they were still suppressed to the point where they could not raise their heads.
Yang Ling crouched down as he rushed towards the southern city gate. Just as he reached the top of the city tower, he heard a loud bang, and the ground shook violently. Smoke rose everywhere, giving Yang Ling a fright. He looked down at the city wall and saw a large crater on the ground. There were more than ten people lying on the ground, and a horse with a broken leg was lying in a pool of blood, still crying in pain.
Yang Ling was secretly speechless. He didn't expect the cannons to be so powerful. Did explosive bombs exist in this era? He had thought that the cannonballs were solid iron balls.
However, the smoke released from the cannon was really thick. Yang Ling had just run over, and his breathing became hurried. He was coughing non-stop from the gunpowder, and the smoke slowly dissipated. County Deputy Huang, who was hiding behind cover in the city tower, appeared. He waved at Yang Ling anxiously and said,"" Nephew, quickly come over. Be careful not to get hurt by the arrows."
Yang Ling bent over and ran over. He saw three cannons in front of the city tower, facing the city walls. A few cannoneers were nervously reloading and reloading the cannons. The fuse of the cannon on the left had ignited, and the cannoneers covered their ears and closed their eyes. They heard a loud boom, and the position of the cannon was instantly filled with smoke, and no one could be seen clearly.
Yang Ling's eyes were red from the smoke. When the smoke in front of his eyes slowly dispersed, he saw the cannon in front of the city tower with a support at the bottom being pushed back more than ten feet. This was only because the cannon was anchored. Otherwise, he didn't know where the cannon would have gone. A few cannoneers were pushing the cannon back to its original position.
As the Tartars under the city scattered and avoided the front, although this cannon was earth-shattering, it only killed one person and injured a few others. It was like a cannon hitting a mosquito.
"Sir Huang, why did so many Tartars suddenly come?" Yang Ling asked loudly. Where's President Jiang?"
County Deputy Huang pointed to the front and shouted,"" Erliban Posthouse has fallen. The Tartars have sent more troops. Chief Jiang is supervising the battle at the front. There are only a hundred soldiers on the city. We can't afford to worry about one thing and lose the other. Quickly go to the Posthouse Office and ask the people from the Posthouse Office to come up and defend the city."
"Good!" Yang Ling agreed, turned around, and ran down the city wall. At this moment, Liu Dianshi led more than two hundred strong civilians up the city wall, and they were scattered around the city wall under the command of a sentry chief. These strong civilians were just ordinary civilians, and they had not received any military training. They were flustered, and after listening to the soldiers 'explanations, they grabbed the stone and threw it down, not caring if there were enemies below the city wall. The soldiers were so angry that they stomped their feet.
These people didn't know how to protect themselves. One of them was shot in the chest by an arrow. Han Youniang, who had just run over, held him back. The other people were frightened when they saw him. Although the soldiers shouted, they refused to show their heads.
The streets were empty at the moment. The commoners stayed at home under the yamen runners 'orders, not daring to run around. Yang Ling had just reached the crossroad when he saw Deputy Ma leading a dozen or so messengers and three horse carriages rushing towards him. Yang Ling quickly stopped in his tracks and shouted," Lord Ma, the Tartars have split up to attack the city, and the defenders are lacking manpower. County Magistrate Huang requests that you send all the messengers to the city to help defend."
Ma Yi Cheng jumped off his horse and said,"How can we have any more manpower? There are also large numbers of Tartars attacking the city at the east and west gates. They don't have enough siege weapons, so they've spread out to climb the city walls. I've already sent out all my men, and only these are left. They're delivering cannons to Lord Jiang."
When Yang Ling heard that there were cannons, he could not help but feel delighted. However, when he thought about the effects of the iron tool, he felt a little disappointed. He stomped his feet and said,""Now that the Tartars are spreading out in all directions, the main reason is that the soldiers guarding the city can't take care of them. I'm afraid the cannons won't be of much use."
Deputy Ma commanded the two carriages to drive to the east and west gates respectively. He led a carriage and continued to move forward."Nephew, you're wrong. This isn't the Great General Cannon. This cannon is the 'Thief Killing Divine Armament Stone Cannon',' Weiyuan Stone Cannon', and 'Ten Thousand Man Enemy Lychee Cannon'. It's the most flexible when used to defend a city."
Yang Ling was baffled by what he heard. Ma Yi Cheng saw that he did not understand, so he explained it to him. The cannon that Ma Yi Cheng was talking about was actually a bomb. The " Thief-killing Divine Armament Howitzer " was somewhat similar to modern grenades. It was cast from pig iron and shaped like a large ripe pomegranate.
The Weiyuan Stone Cannons were made of stone and were filled with gunpowder. Each stone bullet was mixed with 100 small stones. When it exploded, it was extremely lethal. The '10,000 Enemy Lychee Cannon' was the largest. The clay jar was filled with gunpowder, crushed stones, broken iron pieces, and caltrops. When it exploded, the shrapnel flew hundreds of steps away, injuring many enemies.
Yang Ling was overjoyed when he heard this. He remembered watching " Burning the Old Summer Palace," when the Qing Dynasty fought against the Eight-Nation Alliance. The Qing Dynasty used a large number of people to fight against the Japanese. He did not expect the Ming Dynasty's firearms to be so advanced. With such weapons, even a scholar like him could easily defend a city wall. He could not help but rub his fists in joy.
The arrival of this batch of bombs had a great effect. Although the Ttar cavalry who used cold weapons were not afraid of death, they could not resist the explosives at all. As the explosions sounded everywhere, countless people were killed and injured, and the siege temporarily stopped.
There were more than 40 Ming soldiers who had died on the city wall. Including the civilians who did not know how to protect themselves, there were about 100 people in total. The military and the civilian doctors who had been temporarily recruited were busy treating the injuries.
Chief Jiang personally killed a few Tartar soldiers. He was in the mood to kill. Holding two bloody Zhanmadao, he scolded the civilians for their stupidity. From time to time, he would kick their butts and scold the soldiers for teaching them how to fight. County Magistrate Huang, Liu Dianshi, and the others went to the east and west cities to inspect the casualties.
Yang Ling climbed up the city wall and saw that the Tartars had retreated beyond the Three Arrows 'Range, preparing for the next round of attacks. The Tartar soldiers outside the eastern and western cities had also begun to gather there, and there seemed to be more than three thousand of them. Han Youniang asked for a sentry stick from a familiar bailiff and stood by his side to guard him carefully. Although she was petite, she had a valiant and heroic bearing.
Yang Ling saw that there were still so many enemy troops outside the city. Even if they were to fight to the death, he did not know if the remaining soldiers would be able to defend against the second wave of attacks. Moreover, there were less than twenty bombs left of the most powerful weapons used to defend the city. He could not help but feel worried.
But now, the feeling that the Ming army gave him was already beyond his expectations. He did not expect the military technology of the Ming Dynasty to be so advanced. In his impression, the Ming Dynasty had always been weak and vulnerable. The emperor did not do his job properly, the eunuchs wreaked havoc on the world, and he did not know anything else.
However, for an ordinary person who was more familiar with Qing Palace dramas, he could only know so much. If he did not know that the current Crown Prince was called Zhu Houzhao and happened to watch the movie " The Dragon and the Phoenix," he would not know who would be the next emperor after Emperor Hongzhi, let alone know more about the Ming Dynasty.
Since the history of the Ming Dynasty was written by the Qing Dynasty, the hidden secrets were self-evident. The jokes and romance derived from it were of course even more unreliable. A copy of " Ten Diaries of Yangzhou " and a copy of " A Record of the Massacre in Jiading " had been lost in China for more than 200 years. They were only found in Japan more than 200 years later. From this, one could see how thorough the literary inquisition was in the Qing Dynasty.
In fact, the Ming Dynasty was not far away from capitalist society. Iron production was the sum of all of Europe. One-third of the world's silver went to China because of trade, and industrial production accounted for more than 60% of the world's total. During the so-called golden age of Qianlong, production only accounted for 6% of the world's total.
It was no wonder that the Ming Dynasty missionary Matteo Ricci's " Notes on the Celestial Dynasty " recorded the Celestial Dynasty like this: " The material production here is extremely rich, and there is everything. The sugar is whiter than Europe, and the cloth is more exquisite than Europe…The people are luxuriously dressed and elegant. The people are cheerful, polite, and elegant.”During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the British envoy Macarney said," Astonishing poverty everywhere... Many people have no clothes to wear... The army is as ragged as beggars."
The Ming Dynasty was somewhat like Japan in the future. If they could invent something, they would invent it. If they couldn't, they would spend a lot of money to buy foreign goods and study and imitate them. At that time, the "Divine Arms Battalion" in the capital had 5000 people in each battalion. They used 3600 Thunderbolt Cannons, 200 Multi-Shot Cannons, and 400 handguns. What modern equipment was this!
However, economic and cultural advancements were irreconcilable with political and military corruption, allowing a more backward culture to enter the relatively civilized China. Time miraculously turned back, scientists disappeared, and advanced firearms were buried.
The musket was denounced as a "strange skill" and was abolished. In the "Jacques War", the Qing army seized the trigger firing musket, but Kangxi only kept two for himself to play with. He ordered the Qing army to ban the use of this new musket, the reason being that "the bow and arrow spears taught by predecessors must not be interrupted". During the Opium War, the Qing soldiers, who were armed with sabers and spears, were completely unfamiliar with firearms. They actually regarded them as evil things and thought that they could be broken with dog blood.
Yang Ling naturally did not know much about these matters. He only saw that the weapons used by the Ming army were too unexpected, and he recalled that the Eight Banners Army had swept through the entire Chinese Empire. He could not figure out the reason behind it.
The chief clerk Wang and the old man from the village led people to the city to deliver food. The owner of the "Wild Goose Restaurant" specially killed a big fat pig to reward the soldiers. Young Lady Han went over to get two bowls of rice and a bowl of fat pork stew. She called out, Husband, let's eat."
Only then did Yang Ling snap out of his daze. He quickly took the food from Young Lady Han and placed it on the snow-covered city wall. The two of them stood by the wall and ate. Yang Ling was really starving. He stuffed half a bowl of rice into his bowl and realized that Young Miss Han was eating her food in small bites, smiling at him. He couldn't help but ask curiously,""Why are you looking at me?"
Young Lady Han smiled and said gently," I'm happy to see husband eating so well."
Yang Ling's eyes were a little wet. He saw that Young Lady Han was fighting with him over the vegetables again, leaving the meat in her bowl. The weather was cold, and the oil was about to congeal. He quickly took two pieces and placed them in her bowl."Hurry up and eat all the meat. Husband doesn't like to eat fat pork, understand?”
Young Lady Han sweetly agreed. She used her chopsticks to cut off the meat and sent it to Yang Ling's bowl. She ate the rice herself, her eyes peeking out from the edge of the bowl and blinking at him. Yang Ling smiled helplessly and obediently pulled the meat into his mouth to chew. Young Lady Han saw that he was eating quite well, and her large eyes curved into crescent moons in satisfaction.
After finishing her meal, Young Miss Han obediently snatched the bowl back to bring it back. Yang Ling saw a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth and could not help but raise his finger to scratch her lips in amusement. Young Miss Han was stunned, and when she saw the grain of rice stuck to his finger, she could not help but feel a little embarrassed. Seeing that Yang Ling didn't flick the rice away, but instead put the rice into his mouth, her face instantly flushed red.
She hurriedly looked around and found that no one noticed her husband's intimate behavior that was almost teasing. Her shoulders that were raised because of nervousness finally relaxed. Seeing her husband still smiling at her, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him shyly. She hurriedly picked up the bowl and turned around to escape.
Yang Ling saw that even though she was also wearing a male robe, her waist was still slender, and there was a kind of alluring charm when she swayed. He could not help but feel his heart skip a beat. He thought about the possibility of her giving her gentleness and love to another man one day, and his heart was suddenly filled with jealousy."Now that the atmosphere is like this, Young Mother will definitely not remarry, right? Then can I?"
He suddenly turned around and grabbed a handful of white snow to rub against his face."Damn it, what did you think? If she invested too much in her relationship, wouldn't it make her feel even more miserable? You haven't tried, how do you know you can't let her fall in love with someone else?”
"Falling in love with someone else?" As soon as this thought popped up, he found it even more unbearable than losing her again. The balance of love began to waver between selfishness and "greatness". The snow on her face melted like tears.
" Woo…" The horn sounded out of nowhere. Yang Ling wiped the snow off his face and bent down to pick up a twenty-pound stone.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]