Rows of bamboo rafts were pulled into the river. Soon, with the concerted efforts of 20,000 troops, more than 5,000 bamboo rafts suddenly appeared on the wide river.
Each bamboo raft carries 4 dojo soldiers. In addition to the ordinary first-order ashigaru and some cannon fodder, there is also a samurai leader as the commander of this bamboo raft.
The coalition forces on the opposite side suddenly saw the densely packed bamboo rafts on the river, covering half of the river. The coalition forces had never seen such a big scene at the speed and scale, and they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
The entire Chikuma River is not wide, only about a hundred meters wide. This is the widest river in the entire river, and the narrowest one is only more than 30 meters.
The bamboo rafts laid out by the dojo army suddenly covered less than half of the river. When the number reached a terrifying level and they were piled densely together, it was hard to add to the shock.
Therefore, many people were frightened by the coalition forces facing them who were not very elite and did not have a strong will to fight.
There was a commotion in the originally untidy military formation, and there was a buzz of discussion.
"Quiet, quiet, you untouchables."
Allied warriors holding samurai swords and wearing samurai uniforms kept wandering in the military formation, staring unkindly at the fearful conscripted untouchables who were whispering to each other.
Under their intimidation, out of their natural fear of the samurai masters, these untouchables who were forcibly recruited to fight for the coalition forces fell into silence and no longer dared to speak.
As the dojo army continued to catch up with the bamboo rafts, some of the bamboo rafts in the front row had already begun to swim, and soon they reached the center of the river, and they could reach the other side of the river in almost a few minutes.
This speed could not help but frighten the coalition forces. Their commander Murakami Yoshikiyo couldn't help but became anxious and urged in unison.
"Quick, quick, archery team, shoot arrows for me."
Without Murakami Yoshikiyo's orders, the lower-level samurai under the coalition forces were already urging their soldiers to start resisting.
Following the urging of these warrior masters, each of the archers couldn't help but open their simple bamboo bows, mount their extremely crudely made arrowheads, and began to aim at the arriving troops on the river, and then continued to throw them out.
The various archers of the coalition belong to different camps, and there is no strict synchronization with each other. There are dozens or hundreds of people in each bow and arrow array, and each of them shoots arrows crosswise according to the urging of their respective leaders.
This kind of shooting is extremely chaotic and cannot fully utilize the archer's most powerful attack method, which is to launch a dense wave of arrows to attack the enemy in a large scale and area.
Although the sparse bows and arrows were powerful, they caused great trouble to the dojo army that was crossing the river. Many people fell directly into the river and were submerged.
But as more bamboo rafts were added, this attack became weaker and weaker, and it became difficult to stop the coalition forces from crossing the river.
"Iron artillery team, come on."
Seeing the weak resistance of the archers under his command, Murakami Yoshikiyo couldn't help but grit his teeth, hating these useless archers in his heart.
He secretly vowed to rectify the situation in the future or simply abolish these useless arms.
But now is not the time to talk about this. Murakami Yoshikiyo can't help but look at the iron artillery team that he has great expectations for and is also the most elite iron artillery team in the coalition.
To put it bluntly, these iron cannons are simple matchlock guns, and they are also extremely crude and primitive ones. The effective range is only about 30 to 50 meters, and there is no guarantee of accuracy.
Moreover, this kind of iron cannon also has an extremely fatal flaw, that is, the reloading is very slow, and it often takes one or two minutes to load one round, and the kakko misfire often occurs.
Moreover, the iron cannon cannot be used in rainy weather, otherwise it will be extremely susceptible to moisture.
Although these iron cannons have various flaws, it cannot be denied that these iron cannons are extremely powerful.
As long as he is hit by an iron cannon, even if he is a powerful samurai, he will be killed.
Moreover, the wounds caused by iron cannons are extremely large. One shot can create a wound as big as a bowl, dripping with blood, and the surrounding skin and flesh will burst open, making it basically difficult to heal.
Moreover, the iron cannons still have some infections. If they are not treated in time, they will soon suffer from diseases such as tetanus, and then die in pain.
The number of these iron artillery teams is not large. Even if the entire coalition forces grit their teeth, the total number will be about 2,000, but this is already an extremely powerful force.
After the two thousand-man iron artillery team joined the battlefield, they quickly formed formations, forming three rows.
This is the classic three-part shot.
During the long Warring States Period of the Japanese Kingdom, this classic shooting formation had long been explored, and it was quickly carried forward and accepted by wealthy families in various countries.
More than 2,000 people formed three arrays, and each row could distribute about seven to eight hundred people.
The seven or eight hundred people in the first row quickly raised their iron cannons and aimed at the dojo army coming from the opposite side.
Bang bang bang.
As bursts of black smoke filled the air, a thunderous sound rang out, covering up the entire noisy battlefield.
On the opposite side, the dojo army that had crossed most of the river and was about to reach the river bank could clearly see the joyful expression on their faces by the coalition forces on the opposite side.
But before they could be happy, the sound of cannons destroyed them.
Countless blood splashed, and with the sound of the cannon, more than a hundred strong and healthy soldiers fell to the ground, stained red with blood.
Then the soldiers in the next row stepped forward and there was another banging sound. The army in front continued to fall, and the originally unsustainable defense line became stable.
"As expected of the Iron Cannon Team, which has high hopes, it has had such a great effect just after it came out. It seems that this line of defense can be stable for a long time."
However, they ignored the determination of the dojo army on the opposite side to seize the river.
Even with the appearance of the Iron Cannon Team, the dojo army lost more than two thousand people in a short period of time, but under the pressure of their coach, more troops arrived to press forward.
Under the attack regardless of losses, even if the Iron Leopards continued to exert their huge power, they could not withstand the seemingly endless offensive at the dojo.
There are many people in the iron artillery team, but there are more people at the dojo, and their bullets cannot stop their flesh and blood.
Finally, when half of the iron cannons of the iron artillery team were scrapped.
That is, when the first batch of coalition forces stepped onto the river bank, the coalition's crossing the river blockade was completely declared over.
(End of chapter)