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The slanting evening sun cast a red hue over Songzhou City.
Dust swirled on the yellow ground, and the battlefield was filled with a sense of grim determination.
Luo Quan, Qi Guangyi, and Lu Fei stood together, using telescopes to observe the defenders on the Songzhou city wall not far away.
After a string of curses directed at Songzhou City, Lu Fei said, “General Luo, from the looks of it, there aren’t many barbarian defenders inside Songzhou City. It’s not too late to attack the city before the sun sets.”
If it had been before, Luo Quan would have certainly thought Lu Fei was boasting. But now, the Great Yu Empire’s military reforms and equipment gave the Great Yu Empire the ability to breach the city gate within two hours.
Moreover, this time, Lu Fei was leading soldiers equipped with new weapons.
“If we can capture Songzhou City, that would of course be for the best. That way, we can trap Bodo here and annihilate him little by little.” Luo Quan nodded.
Qi Guangyi agreed, “That’s right. Coupled with the trenches, the barbarian cavalry will not be able to charge into the city from the trenches under the musket fire.”
Lu Fei rubbed his hands together eagerly. He loved fighting the most. During his time in Jinling Province, besides daily training, he was bored to death. Upon receiving the military order, he was so excited he barely slept a wink.
“Hehe, since that’s the case, let’s try this new firearm provided by the military machinery department.” Lu Fei’s eyes narrowed into a line.
When he saw these new firearms in Jinling Province, he almost drooled with envy. After trying them out, he was even more eager to equip his soldiers with these firearms.
If not for strict military law, he would have been tempted to keep these firearms.
Having decided to attack the city, the army below Songzhou City immediately moved. Lu Fei had all the soldiers carrying Conqueror Muskets stand at a hundred and fifty meters from the city wall.
According to the information provided by the military machinery department, the Conqueror Musket had a range of nine hundred meters and could maintain accuracy within five hundred meters, but at this distance, its accuracy had dropped to fifty percent. Therefore, the optimal firing position for the Conqueror Musket was three hundred meters, and of course, accuracy within three hundred meters would be higher and higher.
From the time firearms were invented, Lu Fei had followed Xiao Ming on numerous campaigns. He naturally knew how to utilize the characteristics of the Conqueror Musket.
When facing defending infantry, he naturally did not need to extend the distance. The important thing was to ensure accuracy while also protecting his own soldiers from arrow wounds.
So, a distance of one hundred and fifty meters was very suitable.
Under his command, the soldiers carrying Conqueror Muskets formed three ranks in front of the city gate. Within the six hundred-meter range of the city wall, over three thousand soldiers aimed their gun muzzles at the soldiers on the wall.
Unlike previous indiscriminate firing, this time the Conqueror Musketeers carefully aimed at the barbarian defenders on the city wall.
Besides being arrayed in formations, there were also two hundred Conqueror Musketeers acting as skirmishers. They were spread out in different positions, looking for opportunities to shoot down enemy soldiers.
“These are…?” Luo Quan had departed in a hurry and had not yet understood the role of these skirmishers.
Lu Fei explained, “These soldiers are the more accurate shooters selected from the army. They are responsible for shooting down enemy generals under the cover of the main formation.”
Luo Quan’s eyes lit up. He nodded, “Catching the bandit chief first, excellent!”
While the two were speaking, the formation was quickly completed. Glancing at the sky, Lu Fei roared to Artillery Captain Chen Ting, “Bring up my field cannons! Blast open that city gate for me!”
“Yes, General.”
Chen Ting was originally a subordinate of Luo Xin. After the army reform, the artillery was split, and the formerly excellent artillery generals were dispersed among various armies.
Hearing this, he immediately had the soldiers pull up the field cannons, which were pulled by horses, and deploy them directly facing the city gate.
All preparations complete, Lu Fei roared, “Fire!”
As his order was given, the Conqueror Musketeers pulled their triggers one after another. The percussion caps produced sparks that ignited the gunpowder. With a “bang” of gunfire, conical bullets flew straight towards their targets from the muzzles.
As the Great Yu Empire army appeared below Songzhou City, the barbarian soldiers within Songzhou City fell into chaos. Especially with the subsequent arrival of the firearm unit, the barbarian general in charge of defending the city felt even heavier in his heart.
“What are these Great Yu Empire soldiers doing? This is at least a hundred and fifty paces away,” a barbarian chiliarch asked, puzzled.
The myriarch (commander of ten thousand) inside the city shook his head, “As far as I know, the Great Yu Empire’s firearms don’t have such a long range.”
As his words fell, a flash of fire erupted from below the city. The chiliarch (commander of thousand) grunted and suddenly fell. Seeing this, he was greatly alarmed.
And when he looked at the chiliarch, he saw blood continuously gushing from the chiliarch’s chest.
In shock, he looked at the Great Yu Empire army outside the city. At this moment, a bullet flashed past his eyes. Before he could react, the bullet struck him between the eyebrows.
In an instant, the myriarch and chiliarch inside the city fell into pools of blood. The barbarian soldiers, without command, fell into disarray.
As the two fell, any barbarian soldier who exposed themselves continuously dropped, which exacerbated the barbarians’ confusion.
The three, Luo Quan, had been observing the top of the city. Luo Quan was shocked. The accuracy and range of the Conqueror Musket had indeed improved greatly this time.
“Hahaha…” Lu Fei laughed heartily. The Conqueror Musket had once again proven its capability on the battlefield. He said to Chen Ting, “Fire the cannons!”
“Boom, boom, boom…”
While the city wall fell into chaos, the artillery began to fiercely bombard the city gate. After three volleys, the Songzhou city gate collapsed with a roar.
“Charge!” Following Lu Fei’s order, the musketeers with fixed bayonets swarmed into the trenches and moved towards the city gate.
Climbing out of the trenches, they flowed into Songzhou City like a tide.
And the Conqueror Musketeers were not idle either. They continuously suppressed the barbarian soldiers on the city wall, preventing them from attacking the soldiers at the city gate.
Luo Quan had only theorized about warfare in the military academy, but now he was experiencing firsthand the practical combat of a firearm siege on the battlefield.
Amidst his shock, he realized that the era of swords, bows, and horses was gone forever.
Accompanied by the stirring sound of the charge bugle, the musketeers surged into Songzhou City like a tide.
Inside the city, the remaining barbarians still resisted fiercely. They held scimitars, their faces ferocious, and charged at the invading musketeers.
Facing the barbarian soldiers within the city, the Great Yu Empire soldiers’ eyes were grim. National enmity and personal hatred made them even colder and more ruthless than the barbarian soldiers.
Looking at the charging barbarian soldiers, the musketeers flexibly changed formations, sometimes gathering to unleash a volley of fire.
At other times, they collectively raised their bayonets and charged, engaging in close combat with the barbarian soldiers.
In the memory of the Great Yu Empire people, barbarian soldiers had always been savage and fierce, but now, on this battlefield, the Great Yu Empire soldiers performed with even greater bravery.
In six years, the Great Yu Empire army had truly transformed from a flock of sheep into a pack of wolves.
The barbarians had always been fond of fighting fiercely, but at this moment, they suddenly discovered that the formerly weak Great Yu Empire soldiers had become even fiercer than them.
These men, wielding bayonets, were like reapers of death, often killing a barbarian soldier with a single thrust.