Ming Taizi's Total War

Chapter 158 Recruiting Warriors
"General, let's go down quickly and take shelter. Minggou's cannon will fire again soon." As soon as the bombardment stopped, Tian Hu's deputy general came over and pulled him down to find a place to take shelter.

The lieutenant general is also a veteran of many battles, otherwise it would be impossible to sit in the position of the lieutenant general of a Jiedushi.

He knew what artillery meant, and he knew even more how terrifying the red cannon was. Although he had never used it, he had been bombarded by it before when he was attacking a city or fighting with the government.

This kind of heavy artillery weighing a thousand catties has a maximum range of several kilometers. Although the projectiles used are solid iron bullets, a single shot can still turn people into blood mist in an instant.

"No, it can't just be like this." Zeng Xiang Tian Hu's feet seemed to have taken root, and the lieutenant couldn't pull it no matter how hard he tried.

"General, if you don't go down, it will be too late." The lieutenant was very anxious. He was not afraid of being killed by artillery later, but he was afraid that if Tian Hu died, the morale of the city would drop, and the city would no longer be able to defend. All their hard work for so many days was in vain.

"If you die, the lives of the brothers will be in vain." The lieutenant persuaded earnestly.

"No, if I go down to avoid the shelling, it will be all in vain." Tian Hu's eyes were fixed on Zhang Yong's artillery position outside the city.

He knew what would be the consequences of being passively beaten if he defended the isolated city. If these red cannons could blast for a long time, even if they did not cause any damage to the city, their morale would be ruined.

Being beaten all the time without being able to fight back is unbearable for anyone, not to mention that the iron bullets from the red cannon are flying in the air and there is no telling when they will fall on your head, no matter how mentally strong the man is It won't last long.

In fact, they could also use artillery to fight back, but when Kaifeng City was flooded by the Yellow River, most of the artillery was soaked in water and rusted. If they dared to charge and ignite, they would explode immediately.

The remaining part of the artillery that was not flooded was also blown up before Yue Qijie, Chen Qianfu and others left Kaifeng.

In fact, even if it was not blown up, Tian Hu can't use artillery now, because he has almost no gunpowder and projectiles, so giving him artillery is better than giving him a few fire sticks.

"General, what nonsense are you talking about? Could it be possible to stand here and wait for someone's cannon to kill someone?" The deputy general didn't understand what Tian Hu meant, and he thought his chief was crazy.

"Instead of sitting and waiting for death, it's better to rush out and fight. If you succeed, you can destroy all their artillery. Even if you lose, you may be able to come back and continue to defend the city." Tian Hu said to himself.

He wanted to organize the warriors to charge out of the city and blow up all the artillery, so that they could continue to hold on to the city.

"No, general, that's not going to die. We don't have many soldiers. The young and strong have only weapons and no armor. Wouldn't they be sent to die when they go out to fight in the city?" the lieutenant exclaimed.

He could not have imagined that his chief would be so crazy. You must know that although Zhang Yong's army outside the city was only a little higher in military quality than the young men like them, they were fairly well equipped, including swords, swords, halberds, bows, crossbows, and firearms.

Most of the people were equipped with old cotton armor and iron armor, and those who could not get these armors also wore paper armor.

But they are young and strong, they don't even have thick clothes, and they don't have anything that can provide them with defense.

"Kaifeng City is a provincial capital. It has high walls and thick walls. The red-clothed cannons can't beat them. As long as we hide behind the city walls, we won't be afraid of their artillery." The lieutenant general made a lot of sense.

The city walls in ancient China were basically made of rammed earth. The height of the city walls might not be too high, generally ranging from four to five meters to less than ten meters.

But the thickness of the city wall is exaggerated. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was more than one to one with the height of the city wall. That is to say, the city wall of Kaifeng City was [-] meters high, and the thickness could also be [-] meters.

A city wall of this thickness is not afraid of artillery at all. Even if the Urban cannon that the Turks attacked Constantinople in 1453 was pulled over, the city wall would not collapse.

Even in modern times, the aircraft and cannons of the Japanese invaders could not do anything against the rammed earth walls of China.

"I know, but don't forget that there are many gaps in the city wall that have been made in the past few years. We just repaired those gaps hastily. Now that the cannons are here, just a few shots are fired, and those gaps will be opened again. "

"When the Ming army pours in through the gap, we will lose the advantage of the height of the city wall, and we will definitely not be able to stop them." Tian Huyu said earnestly to his lieutenant general.

In fact, if possible, he didn't want to let people go out to die, but the situation he faced was too bad, and he had no choice.

"Now you send me an order to let everyone go down to avoid the artillery, and then select a group of warriors." Tian Hu knew that time was running out, and if he didn't take action, the next round of artillery would fall on them.

"Yes, General." The lieutenant-general complied.

Soon, all the young and strong people on the city wall came down. After all, no one wanted to stand on it and be hit by artillery, and there was not even a whole body when they died.

"Now, Master Jiedu wants to recruit warriors to go out of the city to blow up the enemy's artillery. Which of you is willing to go?" The deputy general called a group of young men and said to them.

The faces of these young men were full of nervousness and uneasiness. They knew that if they defended the city, their chances of death were not high.

But what if you go out of town?As for this group of young and strong people who can't even do one person with a shield, wouldn't they be sent to die if they went out, saying that nine deaths and one life would be lighter, basically ten deaths and no life.

They looked at each other in blank dismay, but no one was willing to stand up, and some even began to whisper, thinking that the Shun Army wanted them to go out as cannon fodder to attract firepower and consume the ammunition of the Ming Army.

Except for the lieutenant general, most of the other young men also had the same idea. In short, no one wanted to be cannon fodder.

It's not that they fear war, nor do they have no hatred for the Ming army, they just think it's not worth it.

"What's the matter, is anyone willing to go out?" Just when the lieutenant general was helpless, Tian Hu suddenly came over and patted him on the shoulder and said.

"General, no one is willing. They all said they don't want to die in vain." The deputy general said to Tian Hu with an embarrassing face.

He blamed himself for failing to complete the general's task, and he felt that he had lost face in front of the general.

"It's okay, you can find a place to rest first, you must be very tired after fighting for so long." Tian Hu saw through the lieutenant's mind and comforted him.

The lieutenant general has been fighting with Tian Hu for many years. Although he is his subordinate in name, in fact the relationship between the two is as good as old friends for many years.

(End of this chapter)