Chapter 63: Fierce Artillery Fire

  On the city wall of Maqu, a group of Qinghai cavalry soldiers stood in array, looking at the row of large cannons outside the city. Their hearts were filled with infinite fear. The slightly raised and ferocious cannon mouths seemed like the mouths of monstrous beasts that could swallow people whole. Many of the Qinghai cavalry soldiers knew about the power of Sichuan's military cannons, although many had not seen them with their own eyes, but through word of mouth, they also knew about the strength of Sichuan's military cannons. They were absolutely unwilling to try it themselves. However, the order they received now was to defend Maqu City to the death, which plunged these defending soldiers into despair.

  "We only have 4,000 people, but the Xichuan army outside the city has as many as 20,000 people! How can we defend Maqin?" Many of the Qinghai cavalrymen thought in despair.

  The strange occurrence at Ximen also caught the attention of Wei Yuan, the commander of the 15th battalion of the Qing army stationed here. Lu Haoran, the commander of the 5th battalion, also rushed over. However, as soon as they saw the formation of the Sichuan Army, their faces turned gloomy and worried. They were also uncertain whether they could withstand the attack of the Sichuan Army.

  "General, the Western Sichuan Army is going to attack the city. It seems that this place is their main target!" Wei Yuan's face turned slightly pale.

  "I will order other troops to be ready to support you at any time!" Lu Haoran said with a serious face.

  "General, with just us, we can't withstand the attack of the Western Sichuan Army. It's better to send someone to inform Commander-in-Chief to come and rescue us as soon as possible!" Wei Yuan proposed. Now it seems that only when reinforcements arrive can the siege on Ma Xing be lifted.

  "The Admiral's troops are already on the way, and if we calculate the time, they should arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow!" Lu Haoran said. However, he also had a worry in his heart. If Ma Haiyan was to wait for the Hezhou Ma family army and the Ningma army to arrive together before attacking the Chuanxi army, then Maren would probably have to hold on for more time. And relying on Maren's four thousand garrison troops, it was simply impossible to do so.

  When he heard that reinforcements were about to arrive, Wei Yuan's complexion improved a lot.

  Outside the city, in the artillery position of the Western Army, the artillerymen were busy, a large number of shells were transported out and piled up on one side of the big guns, so that they could be loaded faster during intense shelling. According to the artillery manual, this was not allowed. Because once hit by the enemy's artillery, it would cause huge losses. The place where the shells were placed was a distance away from the big guns. It's just that, against the Green Horse Army which didn't even have two cannons, there was no need to strictly follow the rules for the time being.

  When the time reached nine o'clock, all preparations were completed. The commander of the 10th Travel Cannon Battalion, Zhou Nan, looked at his watch and then gave the order to prepare for shelling. As the artillerymen loaded shell after shell into the barrels, the faces of the Qing Ma Army on the city wall turned white.

  "Hurry down from the city wall, the Western Sichuan Army is about to start shelling!" Commander Wei Yuan of the 15th Regiment of the Green Horse Army shouted loudly. At this time, anyone still on the city wall would undoubtedly be a living target for the Western Sichuan Army's artillery fire.

  After hearing Wei Yuan's order, the soldiers of the Qingma Army gathered on the city wall rushed down to the foot of the city like a swarm of bees. No one wanted to stay on the city wall and receive the baptism of artillery fire from the Chuanxi Army. Everyone knew that this was a fatal thing!

  At this chaotic moment, the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army opened fire. The 82-style infantry guns burst out with fierce flames and loud noises, and the sharp whistling sounds pierced through the air. A few seconds later, a violent explosion occurred on the city wall of Maqu City. Flames shot up in all directions, smoke billowed, and shrapnel flew everywhere. Those Qinghai soldiers who had not yet retreated to the foot of the city wall were either blown into the air and fell to their deaths at the foot of the city, or were directly cut down by shrapnel and lost their lives.

  The artillery fire of the Kansai army was extremely fierce, and the ammunition handlers loaded shells into the cannons one by one, rapidly firing at the Maicheng city wall. In the blink of an eye, there were no living things left on the city wall, and after the shells exploded on the city wall, stones flew everywhere, each explosion creating a gap in the city wall.

  The city wall of Maqin is made of stone and mud mixed with earth, although it is solid, but when facing the bombardment of artillery, it still appears so pale and powerless. If this continues, the city wall of Maqin will be bombarded, only a matter of time.

  In the city of Maqin, the soldiers of the Qing army were huddled on the ground, trembling with fear. The bombardment by the Sichuan Army was like a catastrophic event that shook heaven and earth, leaving them pale as death. Those Qing soldiers who failed to retreat under the city walls had already returned to the bosom of their true master.

  "General, the artillery fire from the Western Sichuan Army is too intense! The city walls seem to be on the verge of collapse!" Wei Yuan said with some concern as he looked at the flames on the city wall. In the previous bombardment, his 15th regiment had lost at least two or three hundred men, which meant that his troops had lost nearly a quarter of their strength in one go! If this continued for a few more rounds, wouldn't his entire army be wiped out?!

  "We can't hold on, but we have to! The Commander's order is to defend Majin City to the death. I believe the Commander will arrive as soon as possible!" Lu Haoran said with a gloomy face. If he had known earlier, he shouldn't have agreed to Gu Hongqiang's request for reinforcements in Yushu. That way, Majin City would still have 10,000 defenders. With such a strong force, defending Majin City would be easy. But now? After Gu Hongqiang took away most of the troops, Majin City was left with only 4,000 people. Wanting to rely on this small force to withstand the fierce attack of the Chuanxi Army seemed like a foolish dream.

  "First platoon, switch to high-explosive shells, extend the artillery fire into the city! Second platoon, switch to armor-piercing shells, blast down the city walls!" The commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment of the Western Sichuan Army, Zhou Nan, adjusted his tactics. Using high-explosive shells to bombard Maqu City was undoubtedly intended to inflict massive casualties on the Qinghai Army's living forces. Anyway, the civilians inside the city had mostly escaped, so there was no need to worry about harming innocent people. Armor-piercing shells were a powerful tool for dealing with solid city walls. In this era of China, many cities still had thick city walls surrounding them. Every time they attacked a city, the Western Sichuan Army would suffer heavy casualties in order to climb over the high walls. To address this issue, the Western Sichuan Army's arsenal specifically developed armor-piercing shells for attacking city walls. They were usually fired from 105mm or 155mm howitzers. The 82-style infantry gun also had specialized armor-piercing shells, but they couldn't compare to the larger-caliber shells in terms of power.

  The 82-style infantry gun uses armor-piercing shells, weighing up to six kilograms, with a sharp warhead made of high-strength steel. Although the charge is only one kilogram, it has a very large destructive power against solid targets such as city walls, making it a favorable weapon for the Sichuan Army to deal with the Qing government's strong city walls or fortresses.

  Because the artillery fire of the Sichuan Army had to be adjusted, the bombardment temporarily stopped, which made the Qinghai Army inside the city breathe a sigh of relief. The intense artillery fire from the Sichuan Army just now made them go through cruel torture, and many people's faces were pale.

  However, their joy did not last long and disappeared. The artillery fire of the Western Sichuan Army began again. This time, a battalion of 12 82-style infantry guns put the target of the bombardment in the city of Maqu, and every shell that exploded would raise intense flames, and the houses that were hit would collapse instantly and then catch fire. If the shells unfortunately fell among the soldiers of the Qinghai Army, they would take away countless lives of the Qinghai Army soldiers.

  The other 12 guns were aimed at the city wall of Maqin City. The 12 guns targeted a 20-meter-long section of the base of the city wall, switched to armor-piercing shells, and prepared to blast this section of the city wall.

  When the flames burst out of the muzzle, the scorching cannonball had quickly smashed into the city of Maqin. The tough shell head deeply penetrated the city wall, causing a fierce explosion, directly blasting a not-so-small hole in the city wall of Maqin City. Although the city wall of Maqin City was over one meter thick, it was clear that it could no longer withstand the intense bombardment of the Sichuan Army's artillery for much longer.

  Behind the artillery camp were soldiers from the 11th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army. The performance of the artillery camp also shocked them, and they watched with their eyes wide open. Many of them had been garrison troops in Maqu City before. In their minds, Maqu City was considered to be very solid. But now, under the bombardment of the Western Sichuan Army, Maqu City was already on the verge of collapse. This made those who were not very willing to surrender to the Western Sichuan Army realize the reality once again.

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