He reacted instinctively and flattened himself to the ground.
Then he heard screams erupt from behind him!
He rolled over from the ground and looked back.
The gatehouse had become a living hell!
The dense formation allowed the shell to unleash its full destructive power!
At least thirty to forty men were left with missing limbs.
Several had lost half their bodies.
A headless corpse slammed directly onto General Gou on the ground.
Charge out! Charge out quickly! You all know the Emperor; anyone who dares retreat will have their entire family killed!
General Gou quickly dodged the corpse, scrambled to his feet, and roared at the other soldiers.
The soldiers shivered at his words.
Yes, charging out meant the worst-case scenario was their own death.
But retreating meant their entire families would die!
There was no choice!
No way back!
The soldiers trampled over their fallen comrades and charged out of the city gate.
They then scattered and rushed towards the cannons.
Outside, thousands of archers who had been drugged lay on the ground.
He wondered how much soporific powder those craftsmen from the Ministry of Works had added.
While the cannons roared incessantly, the Liang soldiers on the ground snored like thunder.
Occasionally, a few cannons had less powder, failing to reach the city walls.
Some unlucky souls were taken away in their dreams, mercilessly.
These soldiers were covering their mouths and noses with wet cloths.
The soporific grenades had limited effect.
Fang Er directly ordered the musketeers to charge towards the Liang army.
They advanced to about two hundred paces from the city walls, maintaining a hundred-pace distance from the Liang army, and began to fire in formation.
Cheng Yaojin also led a thousand soldiers forward, guarding the musketeers on either side.
The cannons did not stop!
The soporific grenades on the trebuchets were replaced with explosive charges.
Solid cannonballs and explosive charges flew over Fang Er and his men, crashing into the Liang army.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sounds of cannons and explosive charges were continuous.
The charging Liang army, though their formation had dispersed, suffered heavy casualties due to the limited space.
The musketeers also began their ordered volleys.
Fang Er took out his four-times scope and scanned the city walls.
A figure in a dragon robe was staring in his direction, the bulging veins on his face indicating his current mood.
This guy must be Liang Shidu.
Fang Er took his sniper rifle from his back and attached the scope.
It was called a sniper rifle, but only in relative terms.
The breech of this rifle's barrel was encased in steel ingots, nearly three inches thick, making it look like a metal lump.
He had also specifically melted down a drill bit to fashion a pull hook, creating three shallow rifling grooves inside the barrel.
The loading mechanism was also changed to a breech-loading system.
The loading port was a five-inch thick steel plate; once opened, a fixed ammunition cartridge could be inserted.
Then the steel plate was closed and secured with a steel pin.
If he hadn't insisted on physical training, he might not have been able to carry this thirty-plus pound behemoth.
He had Zhao Hu and Sun Zhou each grab a bipod beneath the barrel and lift the rifle.
Fang Er slowly brought his target into the crosshairs through the four-times scope.
He had shot guns in his previous life, but only occasionally when handling affairs for the military, and his skill was very average.
Therefore, he didn't take unnecessary risks and aimed for the chest.
Liang Shidu was completely unaware of the impending danger.
With a grim expression, he watched the almost one-sided battle outside the city.
With a loud "bang!"
The five-times larger powder charge compared to ordinary firearms generated immense recoil.
The rifle body violently impacted Fang Er, nearly knocking him to the ground.
The finely crafted steel half-plate armor evenly distributed the force to Fang Er's chest, almost sending him to the ground.
Zhao Hu and Sun Zhou held onto the bipod tightly.
The counter-shock force cracked the webbing of their thumbs.
And similarly, the specially crafted bullet in the barrel, propelled by the immense force, shot out of the muzzle with a trail of flame.
On the city wall, Liang Shidu's body trembled violently, his right arm was directly blown off, along with half his shoulder!
He then let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
Damn it! Just a little bit more!
Fang Er cursed.
By the time he wanted to reload for another shot, Liang Shidu's trace was already gone from the city wall.
Damn it, at two hundred paces, it turned out like this!
He had aimed for the very center of his chest.
That bullet was his self-made pure copper hollow-point slug!
After hitting a human body, it would deform rapidly, and even after hitting bone, it would shatter.
Fang Er was confident that if this bullet hit his chest, or even his abdomen.
As long as it hit the torso.
Even a celestial being couldn't save Liang Shidu!
This is ridiculous!
It seems I truly don't have the potential to be a sniper.
Cheng Yaojin heard the distinct gunshot and looked towards Fang Er.
He saw him holding a firearm and pointing it at the city wall.
The city wall, however, was in chaos, and people rushed over to ask about the situation.
What happened? What's going on at the city wall?
Bad luck, I didn't manage to kill Liang Shidu with one shot, only broke his arm.
Fang Er said with dissatisfaction.
Cheng Yaojin ignored Fang Er's rifle.
He directly shouted towards Yan'an City: Liang Shidu is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!
After shouting, he called out to the soldiers around him to join in.
Liang Shidu is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!
Liang Shidu is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!
Liang Shidu is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!
The Liang soldiers had already lost all fighting spirit. Upon hearing this, they quickly looked up at the city wall.
They saw that the figure in the dragon robe on the city wall was gone.
Moreover, the city wall was in disarray, with soldiers running about in panic.
They instantly believed ninety percent of the Tang army's shouts.
General Gou was fortunate not to have been hit by fragments from the explosive charges or struck by the cannonballs.
After confirming Liang Shidu was dead, he immediately dropped his weapon.
He knelt down facing the Tang army.
Seeing this, the soldiers around him also dropped their weapons and surrendered.
Fang Er was amazed by Cheng Yaojin's maneuver.
Damn it, it was that simple?
But what about his mission?
Liang Shidu wasn't killed!
As he was feeling dejected, a messenger suddenly arrived and relayed military intelligence to Cheng Yaojin.
Report! General Cheng! Liang forces have broken through the East Gate.
What's going on! Speak quickly!
Cheng Yaojin was startled, what was happening? Weren't the cannons guarding that side?
He didn't even dare to ride his horse over the horse traps littered on the ground. How did the Liang army do it? Were they not afraid of death?
Reporting, General! The Liang army, for some unknown reason, with twenty thousand soldiers charging headfirst into the cannons, General Zhang's thousand soldiers couldn't stop them!
This is a desperate attempt to abandon the city and break through at any cost!
They're abandoning the capital?