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Mikhail asked: "Then how should we fight? Do you want to increase the strength of the sub-fort?"

Bashkov shook his head: "No need, the only function of the soldiers in the sub-fort is to delay time. As long as it can be delayed for a month or two, and reinforcements arrive everywhere, the strength of the mother fortress will be tens of thousands, and the Khitans will definitely not be able to attack it. As for Soldiers of Zibao, who died for His Majesty the Tsar, and the Lord will accept them in heaven."

"Boom boom boom!"

While the two were talking, the Datong army suddenly fired.

This time, instead of bombarding the soldiers on the city, they bombarded the wooden fence outside the sub-fort.

Bashkov climbed up to the wall of the mother castle, observed it with a telescope, and muttered, "The Khitans are preparing for the attack."

After a day of continuous shelling, the outer barriers of the enemy's sub-fort and the wooden wall on the east side were all smashed down.

The next day.

Three hot air balloons take off.

The ropes carried by the army are all tied up and can only be used for high-altitude bombing by two hot air balloons.There is one hot air balloon left, with a very low launch height, which is specially used for battlefield observation.

A hot air balloon bombarded the bastion at the northeast corner of Zibao.A hot air balloon bombed the bastion in the southeast of Zibao.

Two artillery positions, one for shooting the east wall in parallel, and one for shooting the south wall in parallel.

In this way, the enemy's northeast and southeast bastions, as well as the east and south city walls, were all exposed to the firepower of the Datong army.Only hit people, don't blow up city walls!

The attack was launched from the east of the sub-fort. Under the cover of our army's long-range firepower, the two bastions that could cause crossfire could not concentrate on the battle.

There are only more than 80 Cossacks in the garrison in the sub-fort, and the remaining one hundred people are all indigenous servants.

The two artillery positions of the Datong Army took the lead in attacking.

After adjusting the angle, one shot after another was fired, completely ignorant of saving ammunition.The defenders dared not stand in the middle of the south wall and east wall of the enemy's castle. They all squatted close to the parapet for fear of being hit by ricochets.

Immediately afterwards, two hot air balloons began to bomb.

In the two bastions below the hot air balloon, the indigenous servants fled first, followed by the Cossacks.They would rather run to the east wall than not necessarily be hit by artillery, and they would definitely be bombed if they stayed at the bastion.

If the defenders abandon the bastion, half of the castle will be abandoned. It is no different from a traditional fort, and it cannot form crossfire without dead ends.

Moreover, the Cossack forts were all set up on the bastions, and the artillery was completely abolished.

The officers and men of the Datong Army began to cross the river, and several of them carried a baffle.This kind of baffle is similar to the baffle of the tartars. The inner layer is hardwood, the outer layer is wrought iron, and the outermost layer is cowhide, which can effectively defend against bullets.

"Push the artillery over here!"

The Cossack general gave orders to the artillery officer.

A few gunners took courage and led the local servants to transfer the artillery, trying to tear down the east wall and bombard the Datong army crossing the river.

As soon as these guys approached the fort, Shen Kaizao dropped an enemy.Moreover, he still had experience, he held it in his hand for two seconds before throwing it, and it exploded directly over the bastion, and pieces of iron and iron sand flew out like a goddess scattering flowers.

"what!"

A group of gunners and indigenous servants yelled in pain, and a few had their skulls pierced by iron plates.

The defenders of the east city wall crackled and fired into the river, and the bullets were all blocked by the baffle.To be honest, with such a long distance, even if it hits someone, it won't be very powerful.

Before the soldiers crossing the river landed, a shell suddenly made a contribution.

At that artillery position, the previous 30 shells only hit one enemy.This time, it performed exceptionally, the shell hit the city at a small angle, and bounced forward against the parapet—there were people behind the parapet!

The shell flew over the head of one Cossack and directly smashed the head of another Cossack.Then it fell onto the city wall and bounced off, breaking the neck of a native soldier, and then smashing the head of another native soldier... Just like this, bloody mist burst out all the way, and finally rolled forward rapidly, taking away several legs one after another.

There were a few lucky ones, the shells bounced over their heads. Although they had nothing to do with them, they were frightened stupid on the spot when they looked around.

It was too bloody, all kinds of headless corpses.

Those who lost their legs cried heart-rendingly, shaking their morale even more.

Unable to bear the psychological pressure, the native servants turned around and fled away from the city wall, leaving only dozens of Cossacks defending.

Seeing that the Datong army had already landed, the bastion was guarded by hot air balloons.The remaining Cossacks were also unwilling to stick to it. Before the Datong army could kill them, they abandoned the castle and fled to the north, rowing a boat back to the mother castle.

Bashkov watched the whole battle, his face expressionless at the moment. He thought that Zibao, which he thought could hold on for a month or two, fell on the third day after his arrival.

He turned to the adjutant and said: "Send people back to Chita immediately. All the reinforcements are gathered in Chita. Don't come in batches. I can still hold on here. Let them gather before starting from Chita. The upper reaches of the castle will be blocked. The enemy is cut off, let them land in advance, and come to support by land."

There are three obstacles on the periphery of the mother castle, and it is difficult to set up the artillery positions of the Datong Army.Due to the distance and wind direction, the hot air balloon can only bomb the nearest bastion.

The next battle is still not easy.

Chapter 991 [Reprint of the Battle of Guandu]

Have you read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"?

In another time and space, the Qing army in the Battle of Yaksa, someone in the army must have read it.

At that time, the Qing army stormed the bastion as soon as it came, and did not dare to confront it head-on after suffering heavy losses.He also deliberately built siege equipment by the river to lure the Cossacks out of the city. As expected, the Raksha ghost sneaked up in the fog and was ambushed by the Qing army and killed nearly a hundred people.

From then on, neither of the two sides moved, just confronted each other.

The Qing army found out that the enemy's wells were outside the city, so they destroyed the wells.The Cossacks had no choice but to go out of the city to fetch water from the river. The Qing army aimed their guns at the city gate. Every time the city wanted to fetch water, they had to rush to the river with the shells.Or, stealthily fetching water at night, sometimes the Qing army couldn't find it.

Next, the Qing army used the style of the Battle of Guandu to build a high platform to confront the enemy's castle.

There is really nothing to do. The high platforms built by the Qing army turned into castles.It's still nothing to do, let's continue to build earth walls. The Qing army built three earth walls and directly surrounded Yaksa.

For half a year, the soil was built, the shelling, the soil was built, the shelling... the whole process was boring.

But standing still is the most unsolvable thing. The Qing army fired artillery from time to time, and when they saw that they could not cross the city wall, they shelled the buildings in the city.Food was cut off and water sources were limited. Not to mention how many indigenous servants died, less than 800 of the more than 150 Cossacks died.Many Cossacks starved to death!

The Qing army was also miserable. The weather was cold and supplies were difficult. More than half of the more than 2000 soldiers died.

Then the two sides negotiated a peace, because Tsarist Russia and Ottoman fought, and the Manchu and Qing wanted to use troops against Geer. Neither China nor Russia wanted to waste time in Yaksa.

Coincidentally, Li Zheng also read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and he learned Cao Cao and Yuan Shao without any suspense!

After taking down Zibao, Li Zheng divided his troops to camp upstream to block possible Cossack reinforcements.The remaining soldiers and civilians built a high platform in the sub-fort. He wanted to fire from the heights and kill the fort of the enemy's bastion.

"Huh, I'm so exhausted!"

Qiao Guang collapsed on the ground with his whole body, looked up at the sky and said to himself: "This is a war, so why do soldiers eat and sleep well, and we civilian husbands are exhausted to death?"

The second treasurer, Qiao Nian, leaned on the soil slope: "Li Duhu is learning from Cao Yuan, building a high platform, and the cannons are thundering."

"Don't lie down, those who are resting on shift, go over to eat!" A cook shouted.

Qiao Guang got up slowly and moved with difficulty.

The blisters on the palms and soles of the hands and feet burst and reappeared several times, and the soles of the hands and feet were full of calluses.His arms and legs have also become thicker, and he is not as weak as before. He really should pay a fitness fee to the Datong Army.

It was salted fish porridge again, Qiao Guangyong felt like vomiting.

Along the coast of Heilongjiang, the most indispensable thing is fish. There are several boats of salted fish, and this time they are all pulled out to make military rations.

Qiao Guang complained: "When this battle is over, I would rather eat shit than be killed and eat salted fish!"

Qiao Nian said with a smile: "Master, it's good to have meat to eat in the army. I heard people say that during the Chongzhen Dynasty, many civilians didn't even have to eat bran, and they worked hungry until they died." He suddenly lowered his voice, "This place is so dangerous. After the officers and soldiers take it, they must station a large army. We need to open a cargo station here first, and establish a good relationship with the officers in advance. The nearby fur business can be won. Maybe we can get A military supply transfer license, to deliver food for the soldiers here."

"Indeed." Qiao Guang nodded solemnly.

Day after day, build earth and earth.

Many buildings in the castle have been removed, and the mounds are getting higher and higher, and the more they are built, the wider they are.

After building to a height of three feet, Li Zheng finally issued a military order to drag more than 20 artillery pieces along the slope to the high platform.

The artillery surveyors went into action, calculating the distance and height difference between the battery and the target.

All the newly built artillery of the Datong Army in recent years are rifled guns.Straight rifling, round shells, muzzle loading, purely to increase the rate of fire - straight rifling can greatly improve the efficiency of muzzle loading, and slightly increase the range of the gun.

As for the spiral rifling, it was there 100 years ago, but it's really not very useful now.

While improving range and accuracy, the muzzle is extremely slow to reload.You can also change the shape of the cannonball and make it an enlarged version of the miniature bullet, but this thing is useless.In the era when shells cannot explode, conical shells are far less useful than spherical shells, which can bounce and roll in a row!

The rear gun and the rear gun are currently under development, but it will be difficult to use them in actual combat in the short term.

The problem of airtightness was provided by Zhao Han, and the craftsmen quickly solved it.

But the cartridge is always a hurdle. At this time, there is no smokeless gunpowder, and there is no thunderbolt to make the cap.Regardless of whether it is a rear gun or a rear gun, there is a lot of residue after firing, and it is infinitely more troublesome to clean up than a front-loading firearm.

This has to wait for the progress of chemistry, and the technology tree is still missing a link.

"Boom boom boom!"

More than 20 artillery pieces were fired, all aimed at the two nearest bastions, and the artillery range was only allowed to hit there.

Straight rifling, round shells, the accuracy is still impressive.

Even after calculating the parabola, only four shells landed on the bastion.Moreover, one of the enemy's forts missed, but several Cossacks were smashed to death.

"fight back!"

Bashkov roared.

Facts have proved that the traditional method is still very effective.

In history, the Qing army built a high platform, condescendingly fired cannons, and beat the Cossacks without temper.

The same is true today. The forts of the Datong Army are ten meters high, and firing at an elevation angle can easily bombard the enemy's forts.The Cossack's bastion fort was only five meters high, separated by a river of Heilongjiang, and at most it could hit the wall of the sub-fort occupied by the Datong army.

Of course, the Cossack mother castle also designed a defensive fortress, which is 11 meters high.

But this fort was built on the west wall, where there was the only land passage, and it was also the easiest place for the siege side to attack, so it was necessary to focus on deploying firepower.The Datong army shelled in the southeast, but could not hit the enemy's artillery fortress, and the enemy's artillery fortress could not touch the high platform of the Datong army.

After firing a few shots, Bashkov had to give up and ordered the soldiers to retreat into the city.

As for those cannons, let the Datong Army bombard them, anyway, it is not easy for Tie Kian to be smashed after being shot.At night, drag the artillery into the city, and pull it up on the city wall during the actual battle.The three fences and trenches outside the fortress are enough to delay the rearrangement of artillery positions.

Bashkov also has a secret weapon, a cannonball that can explode.

There is a lead wire on the shell, first light the lead wire of the shell, and then light the lead wire of the artillery, and the explosive shell can be launched.It's not a new gadget, it has been around for decades, but its shortcomings are so obvious that the Datong Army doesn't even bother to make it.

Seeing that there was no one on the enemy wall, Li Zheng ordered: "Raise the angle and hit the buildings in the city!"

The artillery shoots at an elevation angle of 45 degrees, and the range is the farthest.

One after another, the shells fell on the buildings in the city, making holes in the roofs from time to time, and occasionally smashing down the walls of the houses.

The enemy troops in the city can only abandon the houses in the middle, and all live near the city wall.

After shelling one after another for most of the day, today's operation came to an end.

The next day, the shelling continued.

However, a few cannons were pushed off the high platform and pulled to the north wall of Zibao for erection.Coupled with the captured Cossack artillery, they bombarded the wooden fence around the enemy's fortress together - the artillery position of the high platform was too high, and the artillery at this time could not shoot down, so they could not bombard closer targets. Suitable.

For eight days in a row, the artillery positions on the high platform bombarded the inside of the city, and the artillery positions on the city wall bombarded the outside of the city.

The defenders in the city hid behind the walls and did not dare to show their faces.

The fortifications outside the city and the two wooden fences outside the city have been demolished.

Li Zheng has no shortage of ammunition, and a batch of large ships have already returned, and supplies will be shipped in a few days.But it can't be delayed until winter. When Heilongjiang freezes, the logistics of the Datong Army will be interrupted.

Bashkov stood in the defensive fortress of the mother castle's west wall, watching through the binoculars the Datong Army destroying its outlying fortifications little by little.There was nothing he could do about it. He only had more than 400 Cossacks in his hands, and the rest were all indigenous servants, so it was impossible for him to go out of the city to take the initiative to attack.

And the shelling is not good, so he can only wait for the reinforcements to delay the time, and he will win if he delays until winter.

"We also build mounds and bombard the enemy!" Bashkov ordered.

But his manpower is too small, so he can only call women and slaves.Go out from the north gate (the west city deliberately does not have a gate), dig the soil and move it into the city to build a pile, and then give up halfway.

Because not only are they few, but they also don't have enough tools, and they don't have enough rattan baskets and sacks.

After another half a month, the outer fortifications of the enemy's south were completely destroyed by the artillery of the Datong Army.As a result, all the artillery moved back to the high platform and bombarded the buildings in the city indiscriminately.

This style of play is a waste of ammunition and cannot cause effective damage.

The only function is to give the enemy psychological pressure.If it was replaced by an army with low morale, and the bombardment continued for a month or two, it is estimated that all the soldiers would run away.

But these Cossacks are really tough, even if they guard the castle and don't leave, they don't know what beliefs are supporting them.

There are more and more soldiers under Li Zheng's command. Every few days, sporadic natives join the army.They were all warriors from Sauron's tribe. They hated the Cossacks. When they heard that the Datong army was besieging the city, many tribal chiefs came from afar with people.

Li Zheng decided to write letters to the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion to recruit some Saurons to join the army in the future.It can not only supply soldiers nearby, but also strengthen the connection with the indigenous tribes.

Seeing that Li Zheng was besieging and not attacking, but just bombarding the buildings, Bashkov knew that he would fight a protracted war.

The soldiers who were killed by shells a few days ago, whether they were Cossacks or servants, were cut up by Bashkov's order, sprinkled with salt and made into jerky.

There is not enough food in the castle. Even if Bashkov succeeds in defending, half of them will starve to death in the winter.

The remaining half are still alive because they can eat dead bodies!

The Dutch and Spanish castles in Southeast Asia can be besieged for a year or two because they have sufficient food sources.The Cossacks can't do it. There is often not enough food here, and sometimes they have to go to the indigenous tribes to grab food.