Chapter 27: Indulge in Shooting

  The crossfire continued, and the strong "Night Unrecovered" did not stop shooting arrows. The large formation of Jian Nu's army was unable to advance.

  "Grandma's, the arrow is gone!" A "Night Not Collected" shouted in the darkness:

  This slow and steady shooting is actually very physically demanding, and it requires a lot of arrows. The "Night Unretrieved" had prepared thoroughly and brought a large number of arrows, but in this dark night, how long can they keep shooting? This exchange of fire is too costly in terms of arrows, and the truth is that all the "Night Unretrieved" are already running low on arrows.

  To pin down Jian Nu, we must continue shooting, even if there is no damage.

  Gao Liang commanded the soldiers without hesitation: "A few of you go and pick up Jianluo's arrows, continue to shoot for me!"

  The arrows in the Jian Nu formation seem to be sufficient and are still being shot out continuously, but as time goes on, the physical strength of the archers will decrease, and the arrows shot by both sides will get closer and closer, with less and less power. Going forward to pick up the feathered arrows shot by Jian Nu won't be very dangerous either.

  "Lord of a Thousand Households! The vanguard's square formation is on the move!"

  A "Night Not Collect" began to remind Gao Qiang, in fact, Gao Qiang had already seen the slow movement of Jian Nu's team, although it was very slow, but now Gao Qiang needed to think of a way to stop Jian Nu's movement.

  It's hard to stop this iron barrel formation, although the enemy's archers are not strong, but Gao Gang can't choose close combat, and the loss is unacceptable. There is no other way now, the current method can only be a long-distance battle, constantly using bows and arrows to harass the enemy, this is Gao Gang's only choice now.

  Jian Nu's troops were like fierce bulls, moving slowly but relentlessly towards their goal. Despite the exhaustion creeping in, Gao Qiang and others continued to shoot arrows from their bows, their physical strength limited, Gao Qiang was tired, and his men must have been exhausted too.

  Just as Gao Fang was helplessly continuing to insist, a long and shrill voice suddenly came from behind him.

  "Great, reinforcements have arrived!" It was just in time. At this moment, this voice was so familiar to Gao Qiang and others.

  Jian Nu's troops were still slowly moving forward, while Gao Qiang's "Night Unrestrained" was shooting arrows at a steady pace. In the darkness of night, nearly a hundred people merged into Gao Qiang's "Night Unrestrained" army.

  "I'm here!"

  "Master, how is it you?"

  The faintly familiar voice was unmistakably Zhou Huchen, and Gao Qiang was somewhat surprised. How could this young master be allowed to participate in the perilous night battle?

  "This is beyond your understanding! You just watch out, Uncle Gao!" In the darkness, Zhou Hu's expression couldn't be seen, nor could the weapons they were carrying, but his voice was full of confidence:

  "It's about time!!!! Everyone get ready for me!"

  In the dark night, the stars twinkled one by one.

  This is the scene of igniting fire lances in the dark, Zhou Huachen brought with him fire spears, and dozens of archers as well as soldiers who could ignite fire spears.

  There were only thirty, but thirty Lu Mi guns were enough. These thirty Lu Mi guns were brought by the family guards who chased Zhou Huachen, and no one knew why this young master Zhou was so meticulous in his planning, that at the same time he left Zijinguan, his family guards had already prepared the Lu Mi guns for him. In this way, the thirty family guards who chased after him brought with them thirty Lu Mi guns and related gunpowder and other items.

  There was no moonlight, and loading the arquebus in the dark was slow and cautious, for it was necessary to prevent the match from igniting the powder while feeling around.

  But once the loaded Lu Mi Chong started firing, it was a nightmare for the enemy. The Jinu had no counterattack capability and had to endure the devastating effects of continuous shooting. As for those wooden shields, Zhou Hu Chen had experimented many times, and in the face of the powerful Lu Mi Chong, they were simply useless.

  "Fire!"

  The massacre of the Jian slaves was exhilarating! How could Zhou Huchen possibly give up command, he raised his right arm high, although the soldiers really couldn't see his raised arm, they could see the Jian slave phalanx burning with torches.

  The deafening sound of the fire musket was so clear and shocking in the dark night, the scorching lead bullet was a bloodthirsty demon, within 100 steps, the Lu Mi musket could penetrate all ordinary shields, and now the distance was only 60 or 70 steps, the consequences of being hit were imaginable.

  When the smell of gunpowder arrived, with the enemy's torches, it could be clearly seen that a gap was easily opened in the Jian Nu formation. The Jian Nu behind the shields were hit, and people kept falling down. Then, the mournful cries echoed in the night sky.

  The first salvo was very effective and had already caused a commotion among the adults.

  "Fire at will!"

  Under such conditions, the soldiers were not professional gunners, and Zhou Huchen's requirements were not high. As long as the guns continued to fire, it was enough, and as long as the slaves were constantly being hit, time would make these slaves collapse. As for their desire to go to the lake to fetch water, it seemed like an impossible task.

  The firing rate of the fire lance is not high, but with a fixed target, the hit rate is very high, and the damage caused is also fatal. When the fire lance fires for a period of time, as the number of deaths and injuries increases, the fear caused by death begins to spread. No one ignores their own life and death, cannot counterattack, even the strongest soldiers facing this helpless despair will choose to escape, let alone these slave soldiers who are not all combatants.

  The attacked Janissary troops were completely routed, as they no longer had shields and the protection of their comrades. The Janissaries in front, exposed to the firearms, began to flee, and the result of fleeing was to retreat backwards. However, nobody wanted to fall into the endless darkness, where life or death was unknown. The most ideal thing was to hide behind their own people, which was undoubtedly a good choice.

  "Give me a strong shot! A shot is all I need!"

  Still the usual tone of Young Master Zhou, Zhou Huchen's howl makes people start daydreaming...

  "Fire! Fire! Just fire away......!"

  The gunfire never stopped, and Zhou Dashi's morale-boosting roar continued unabated, although it was always drowned out by the gunfire.

  So passive, Jian Nu's leader thought of counterattacking, but the soldiers were constantly retreating backwards. The Ming army's firearms team was slowly following up, and from time to time, there would be arrows shot over. Jian Nu's leader couldn't organize a counterattack at all. His infantry was completely chaotic, orders were given, but no one executed them. The soldiers only wanted to escape backwards. These soldiers weren't real fighting soldiers, they didn't have the iron blood and ferocity of true warriors.

  The defeat is already revealed, when soldiers are no longer going to execute orders, when the sound of gunfire is still rising ceaselessly, Jian Nu's failure has become inevitable.

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  The sky was faintly bright, and Duma's cavalry began to move.

  Duma'er didn't see the shadow of the Ming army, but in a not-too-distant place to the east, there were headless corpses everywhere. This was the masterpiece of the Ming army's "night not collecting". In one night, several thousand people lost their lives nearby. Following their usual practice, these slave soldiers had already had their heads cut off by the Ming army.

  The Ming army cavalry must not have left yet. After a day and night of fighting, Du Ma Le knew the strength of this Ming army, they would not give up like this. The only explanation now is that they are resting, waiting for another attack.

  Jian Nu's main force did not head directly northeast, but instead began to move south, in the direction of Wuqing Lake. Having been thirsty for a whole night, many livestock had begun to show abnormal signs, and if this continued, it was feared that many livestock would be lost. Without the livestock, the large carts loaded with supplies would be difficult to transport, so Jian Nu's main force could only head to Wuqing Lake.

  The corpses on the ground were frozen stiff, some were shot and killed by arrows, while others had terrifying blood holes, and some even had their brains blown out, which was clearly a sign left by firearms. Moreover, it must have been a kind of firearm with exceptionally strong power. Duma and these slave soldiers did not bother to collect the bodies of their comrades because there was no need for that anymore. The corpses whose heads were cut off were worthless and could only become a burden. What they needed now was to get water and leave as soon as possible.

  A few miles away in the woods, Zhou Yuji's usually serious face wore a rare smile.

  Thousands of enemy heads were piled up like a small mountain not far away, and the brave warriors who had fought for almost a night, still bearing the spoils of war, huddled together, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, covered with a thin woolen blanket, making pleasant snoring sounds.

  Not a single casualty, still in the chaotic and dark night, this is the result of hard training, flexible and correct tactics!

  Qian Zong Gao and Zhou Hu Chen were both leaning against each other, lost in a sweet dreamland. Zhou Yu Ji slowly walked forward, then gently crouched down, gazing at Zhou Hu Chen's still slightly immature face, with an expression of tender love on his own face.