The tiger cannons were all left behind when the Ming army retreated from Liaodong. Because the defeat was too fast and sudden, the Ming army had no time to destroy them. Hundreds of intact tiger cannons were captured by the Jurchens.
But the Jurchens are accustomed to swords and arrows, and they trust their bows, arrows and scimitars more. In the war in the north, they have never used the Tiger Cannon. They only used it occasionally when fighting against the Ming Dynasty.
Hundreds of tiger cannons were installed in various cities and towns in eastern Liaoning. There were dozens of them in Guangguangning City. Nancheng Gate was the front line of the direct confrontation between Jiannu and Daming at that time. Fifteen tiger cannons were installed. .
The Jurchens do not make spare parts for the Tiger Cannon, let alone repair and maintain the Tiger Cannon. This kind of battlefield weapon is gradually becoming obsolete. The Tiger Cannon at Nancheng Gate is now only five of them that can be used normally.
The soldiers loaded the five-door tiger cannon on the carriage and went to the warehouse to look for solid bullets.
The solid bullet was covered with a thick layer of finger-thick dust, apparently no one had wiped it for a long time.
The soldiers turned the solid bullets out one by one and wiped off the dust on the surface. If a large amount of rust is formed on the surface of the solid bullet, the solid bullet cannot be used. It must be polished to remove the rust on the surface. Otherwise, when launching , The volume of the solid bullet is too large or not smooth enough, if it can’t be launched, it will explode.
The soldiers of the Ming Army had no time to polish the rusty solid bullets, so they had to look for the rust-free bullets from the thick dust.
The soldiers spent a lot of time wiping off the solid bullets. When they transported all the tiger cannons and four hundred solid bullets to the Mongolian camp, the sky was already approaching dusk.
Shen Shiqiang immediately ordered the soldiers to install the Tiger Cannon. In order to increase the hit rate and the kinetic energy of solid bullets, the Tiger Cannon was installed only 400 steps away from the Mongolian camp. Target shooting.
The 400 paces was already close to the blind spot of the Tiger Cannon. The soldiers raised the back seat of the Tiger Cannon with stones and adjusted the muzzle of the Tiger Cannon to the lowest position.
"Master, it's getting late now. If you destroy the barracks with tiger cannons, the Mongols may burst out, and they may sneak away with the cover of night."
Shen Shiqiang raised his head and looked at the sky. The sun had already set, leaving only a faint red afterglow. In late autumn in the north, the weather was dark early and night would soon come.
"A full-scale offensive will be launched tomorrow morning, and a few shots will be fired to debug the tiger's cannon well."
Some of the Ming army were artillerymen, they quickly loaded their ammunition, and lighted the fuse of two tiger cannons.
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
Neither of the two solid bullets hit the third barracks. One solid bullet went to the left and hit the wall of the second barracks. The wall trembled slightly and dust fell on the ground, but the wall did not collapse.
Another solid bullet landed in front of the third barracks, ten steps away from the barracks. The solid bullet was bouncing and rolling forward. By the time it hits the wall, the kinetic energy has been consumed almost, but it’s just coming to the wall. An intimate contact.
Shen Shiqiang was not disappointed. It would be good for these tiger guns to fire solid bullets normally. It doesn't matter if there are deviations, a few more solid bullets are a big deal.
"Adjust the muzzle and shoot again."
The solid bullet fired by the Tiger Cannon on the left was left to the left. The gunners moved the muzzle to the right a little bit. The solid bullet fired by the Tiger Cannon on the right was forward. Obviously there were too many stones under the gun mount, and the gunners raised it. Get up and remove some of the rocks below.
After the two tiger guns were debugged, the gunners started to ignite.
"Boom... Long..."
The two solid bullets drew two black arcs and whizzed towards the third barracks.
This time, both solid bullets hit the front wall of the third barracks. The first hit above the lintel, and the other hit the right side of the window.
The kinetic energy of the solid bullet was completely transmitted to the wall, and the wall trembled violently. Four hundred steps away, Shen Shiqiang's naked eyes could see the wall tilted inwards and quickly returned to its original position.
To destroy the wall, two solid bullets are not enough.
"Five gun salvos, we will destroy this barracks first." Shen Shiqiang also wanted to see how many solid bullets it would take to destroy a Mongolian barracks.
The gunners hurried to debug the remaining three tiger guns.
"Master, all the Tiger Cannons have been debugged, waiting to be launched."
"Okay, ready to launch, and the gunmen are also ready. If the Mongols come out of the barracks, they will shoot them immediately." Shen Shiqiang waved his right hand downward, and the gunners immediately began to fire.
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
…
Of the five solid bullets, four fell on the wall, and one hit directly on the top beam.
The wall suddenly tilted inward, and the foundation of a large section of the earth wall was cracked. The wall was about to fall inward, but the upper edge of the wall was hung by the roof rafters and beams and would not tilt.
Shen Shiqiang sneered: This Mongolian barracks is quite sturdy.
"Master, as long as you fire another round of solid bullets, the barracks should collapse."
"Then shoot one more salvo, this time fight to crash the earth wall." Shen Shiqiang made a strike gesture to the gunmen. Once the wall collapses, the Mongols may rush out desperately.
The gunmen were ready a hundred steps away from the barracks. The flintlock rifles were filled with ammunition, and the muzzle of the guns was facing the earth wall that was about to collapse.
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
…
Five solid bullets fell on the wall almost at the same time, and a large part of the wall broke free from the shackles of the roof and tilted toward the house at a rapid speed.
"Boom... Boom..."
The wall collapsed, and the bottom beam fell to the ground. The roof tilted downward, and even the thatch on the roof was scattered all over the floor.
The three Mongolian soldiers were completely exposed to the sight of the Ming army. They rushed out of the sloping ceiling, each with a bow and arrow in their hands. They ran and aimed at the Ming army gunmen.
The gunmen who had prepared for a long time did not give them a chance to shoot arrows.
The sound of gunfire was loud, and the bows and arrows in the hands of the three Mongolian soldiers slowly sank and fell weakly to the ground.
The Mongolian soldiers stood silently at the empty exit of the barracks. Their pupils were dilated, and the red blood flowed down the corners of their mouths to the cheeks and then into the collars.
Shen Shiqiang was pleased, the tiger's cannon really worked, and he cleared the third barracks. There were no casualties among his soldiers.
"Take turns eating and be prepared at any time to prevent the Mongols from breaking through."
The soldiers of the Ming Army lighted countless torches at sixty steps in front of the barracks and illuminated all the exits in the front of the barracks like daytime. Six hundred gunmen lay quietly fifty steps behind the torches.
As long as the Mongols dare to walk out of the barracks, they will never escape the light of the torches and the bullets of the flintlock.
In order to prevent the Mongols from breaking through the roof, Shen Shiqiang also lit torches on the left, right and back of the barracks. There were more than a hundred gunmen hiding in the darkness in each direction.
The outside of the barracks returned to calm, only the torches were playing with the night breeze, and the flames continued to burst out.
The air was getting heavier and heavier. The Ming army gunmen lying in the dark were completely exposed to the air. Their coats were almost soaked. By the time of Hai, the night wind suddenly rose, causing the barracks to scream. The top thatch stands up like hair.
A young gunman shuddered.
"Sanzi, is it cold?" The Ming Army gunman on the right was obviously much older. He asked casually, his eyes still fixed on the torch in front.
"A little bit, Lao Liang, how about you?" The third son glanced sideways at Lao Liang.
"Well, the wind suddenly increased, and it drilled straight into the neck. However, it is now the time of the sea, and in another hour, someone should come to replace us." Lao Liang remained motionless.
"Lao Liang, do you think the Mongols will break through?" Sanzi hopes to use words to divert his attention. As long as his attention is shifted, he won't feel so cold.
"I don't know, but it's almost midnight. Be especially careful about the Mongols breaking through."
"Well, I've been watching!" The third son moved his gaze away from Lao Liang, staring at the shadow in front of the torch again, "Lao Liang, can the Mongols escape?"
"Escape?" Old Liang looked quite disdainful, "If they break through, they will definitely die under the flintlock, if they don't break through, they will die under the tiger's cannon tomorrow--their only way to survive, Just like those Han troops, surrender."
The third son nodded in the dark, and he did not realize that the Mongols had the possibility of escape.
The door of a barracks opened silently, a head slowly protruding from the door, wearing a leather cap, full of beards, and a round face.
Seeing that there was no movement outside, the burly body under the round head was quietly squeezed out against the door frame, but there was still no movement.
The round-headed body completely left the barracks gate, and the night wind blew his long hair out of his leather cap, blowing upwards like the thin threads of a kite.
He waved to the crack in the door, and three more people with fur on their heads squeezed out quietly.
"Mongolia..." The three sons wanted to shout with excitement.
Lao Liang covered his mouth: "Don't bark, the Mongols have not entered the range of the flintlock. Beware that they return to the barracks."
Fortunately, the Mongols were far away and did not hear the voice of the third son.
The four Mongolian soldiers drew their bows from their backs, and each drew a feather arrow from the quiver, and put them on the bow. The bowstrings stretched like a full moon, and the arrows pointed in the direction of the Ming gunmen.
They seemed to be provoking all the gunmen of the Ming army. Arrows drew a semicircle in front of them, and finally returned to the front.
The Mongol who came out first nodded to the other three, then crossed steps and walked slowly towards the torch.
To leave the barracks and break through, they must pass through torches.
The Mongols' pace is getting faster and faster, and the sound of their leather shoes stepping on the ground is getting louder and louder.
"shooting."
There was a low drink in the dark, short and powerful, very abrupt.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The flintlock bullets whizzed towards the Mongols in front of the torch against the night wind.
The gunfire stopped as soon as it rang. It came suddenly and went quickly.
The four Mongols shook twice, then were blown by the night wind and fell heavily to the ground.
The Mongolian soldier on the far left turned over on the ground and turned his head in the direction of the barracks. Using his hands and feet together, he climbed to the barracks with difficulty.
"Sanzi, do you want to try marksmanship?" Lao Liang asked Sanzi while loading ammunition.
Sanzi has loaded the ammunition, "Okay, I will try."
He held the flintlock rifle to his chest, squinted one eye, and stared at the door of the gun with the other eye.
"boom."
The Mongolian soldier who was just crawling suddenly accelerated his kicking speed with his legs, but instead of kicking the ground, he was kicking the air. Suddenly his legs stopped and his head tilted. Like other Mongolian soldiers, he was lying on the ground. On the muddy ground wet with dew, he was motionless.