That evening, Zu Dashou's report of victory was once again sent by horse into the pass.
Early the next morning, the Liao Dong army set off once more, pressing towards Yizhou City.
Sixty li passed in the blink of an eye.
Upon seeing Yizhou City appear in their sights, the army halted.
Wang Xuance sat atop a gun turret, observing the city's defensive strength with a telescope. Suddenly, he saw dark, gaping muzzles protruding from the city walls.
He quickly beckoned to Cao Bianjiao, "Brother, do the Tartars have cannons?"
Cao Bianjiao's heart tightened at the question. He asked urgently, "General Wang, did you see cannons on the city walls?"
Wang Xuance nodded, then handed him the telescope. "Take a look yourself. Have you ever seen these types of cannons on city walls before? What is their power?"
After Cao Bianjiao lowered the telescope, his expression became extremely grave.
"General Wang, these cannons were made by the Tartars using captured Ming craftsmen. They are called Hongyi Cannons, and their range can reach two li.
The cannonballs are solid iron balls, each weighing fifteen to sixteen jin. I just counted; there are thirty cannons. If they fire in unison, I fear our brothers will suffer heavy casualties.
I don't know if these gun carriages can withstand them."
However, upon hearing this, Wang Xuance immediately chuckled. Pointing at the distant city wall, he laughed, "Those cannons look imposing, but they can only fire iron balls weighing a mere dozen or so jin?"
Cao Bianjiao was stunned into silence. He couldn't understand how such powerful cannons were treated like a joke by this Tang general.
So, he began to persuade him, "General Wang, I believe it is best not to be careless."
Wang Xuance jumped down from the gun turret, mounted Cao Bianjiao's warhorse, and then looked at Yizhou City, laughing disdainfully.
"Hahahaha~~ These are nothing more than child's play. Order the army to retreat, out of the Hongyi Cannon's range!
Next, I will show you what true annihilation looks like!"
Cao Bianjiao wished to stay and observe the battle, so he ordered his deputy to lead his subordinate troops to retreat rapidly.
Later, Zu Dashou, Wang Tingchen, and other commanding generals who received the news also converged.
They saw the dormant tanks once again move forward, charging directly towards Yizhou City.
Wang Xuance, leading fourteen special forces, rode their warhorses, fanning out around the tanks, and charged forward without hesitation.
"This, this, this Tang soldier is so brave?" Zu Dashou exclaimed with his mouth agape.
Huang Taiji stood on the city wall, watching the five tanks and the dozen or so cavalry led by Wang Xuance charging towards Yizhou City. He immediately gave the order to fire.
"These gun carriages are too monstrous; they must not be allowed to approach the city walls!
Convey my order: all Hongyi Cannons, aim at those gun carriages, and fire!"
"Yes!"
A personal guard beside him knelt in acknowledgment, then relayed the order to the soldiers operating the Hongyi Cannons.
However, this order made the cannon crews hesitate.
How could the two to three thousand jin Hongyi Cannons be adjusted so casually?
While these things were indeed powerful for defending cities or attacking fortifications, they could only be used against large formations of troops or large targets like city walls.
Asking them to use the cumbersome Hongyi Cannons to target tanks was far beyond their capabilities.
After struggling for a long time, just as they finished adjusting the cannon muzzles, they were forced to confront the fact that the tanks had changed positions.
Huang Taiji waited for a long time. He saw the tanks getting closer and closer to the city, but his own Hongyi Cannons remained silent. He angrily exclaimed,
"What's going on? Why aren't they firing yet?"
"Reporting to my lord, the Hongyi Cannons are too clumsy and cannot be aimed at them. If we fire now, it will be futile!"
The personal attendant, who had witnessed the entire process of the artillery operation, explained from the side.
The five speeding tanks suddenly stopped a thousand meters away from the city wall. This excited the artillerymen on Yizhou City's walls, and they hurriedly readjusted their cannon muzzles.
But before they could complete this, they were startled by thunderous cannon fire and ducked behind the battlements.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom~~
Five consecutive shells were fired under Wang Xuance's command.
Boom!~
Puffs of smoke rose from Yizhou City's walls.
In the smoke, one could even see a cannon barrel being tossed high into the air, only to crash heavily onto the city wall.
Bouncing, spinning, it never stopped~~~
The soldiers could only watch in despair as the Hongyi Cannons, previously revered as divine objects, crushed them into minced meat!
Huang Taiji was stunned!
If one cannon being blown up could be considered a coincidence, then the enemy had only fired five shots, yet four of his own cannons had been blown to smithereens!
To call this a coincidence now would make him the biggest fool in the world!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom~~
Another round of shelling jolted Huang Taiji out of his stupor.
Watching the Hongyi Cannons being disabled one by one, he realized the gravity of the situation.
If the Ming army's gun carriages outside the city continued their onslaught, the Qing army inside Yizhou City would become like whores stripped bare!
He roared at his personal attendant in frustration, "Convey my order! Order Aobai to lead elite cavalry with gunpowder out of the city and blow up those gun carriages!"
"Yes!"
The personal attendant knelt and left. Shortly thereafter, the gates of Yizhou City were opened, and a contingent of about three thousand Plain Yellow Banner cavalry charged out from the city, heading straight for Wang Xuance and his men.
Leading them was the foremost Baturu of the Manchus, Gūwalgiya · Aobai!
Wang Xuance looked at the three thousand cavalry charging out of the city and smiled, especially at the guy in the middle of the cavalry, who was as strong as a bear, sparking his interest.
He picked up the walkie-talkie and said to the others, "Pay attention to that big bear. Keep him alive; I want to spar with him."
"I bet a cigar that boss wins!"
"Damn it, you're too sly! Isn't this an obvious victory?"
"Exactly. How about we bet on how many moves it takes boss to win?"
"Alright then, I bet a cigar that boss takes down that bear within ten moves!"
"Three, five moves!"
"One, instant kill!"
The thousand-meter distance was covered by the cavalry charge in mere moments.
As the special forces were laughing and making bets, Aobai had already reached within a hundred meters of them.
Wang Xuance grinned, "Open fire with the machine guns! Aim around that big guy. Anyone who dares to harm him will be my training partner for three days!"
Upon hearing the order, the special forces operatives shivered. Three days of training as a partner – that sounded like a death sentence!
The machine gunners also heard this and subconsciously shifted their aim away from Aobai, targeting the cavalry formations on his flanks.
"Fire!"
With another command, the iikt7.62mm machine guns began to pour a hail of bullets onto the opposing cavalry.
The dense gunfire sounded like popping beans.
Seeing this, Huang Taiji gritted his teeth and descended from the city wall.
"The soldiers of the Two Yellow Banners, follow me out!"
ps: I apologize. I took the child out to broaden their horizons during the day and returned quite late. Please forgive me! Sorry!