Chapter 999: Not a Single Blow
Meng Hu soon discovered that eight peculiar, heavy armored vehicles had emerged from below the mountain. Upon reaching the mountain's foot, these strange machines executed a synchronized pivot, bringing the eight large cannons hitched to their rear to bear directly upon Zhougong Mountain.
Meng Hu was momentarily stunned. “What the devil is this vehicle? How on earth does it move?”
Du Hu shook his head. “I don't know.”
Meng Hu exclaimed, “Brother, you're the smartest one! Everything I don't know, you've taught me. And this time, even *you* don't know? Heaven help us!”
Du Hu could only spread his hands in exasperation. “Although I don't know what those strange things are, they are clearly positioned too far away. That location is much, much too distant from us, and it's at the foot of the mountain, too low an elevation. Their cannonballs can't possibly reach the mountain from there.”
Meng Hu mused, “Oh? They can't reach, you say? I was really hoping to order our cannons to fire on them.”
Du Hu stated, “They can't reach. Don't waste cannonballs.”
In truth, the rebel artillerymen had already begun estimating the range the moment they saw the cannons deployed at the mountain's base. Whether they judged by eye or by reference points, they all felt the distance was simply too vast. Even firing downwards from their elevated position, they couldn't reach, let alone firing upwards from below.
The rebels burst into strange, mocking laughter. “Firing cannons from that distance? The government forces must be insane!”
It was clearly impossible to hit anything from there!
Yet, how could the Xiaolangdi militia be so earnestly adjusting their cannon muzzles at such an obviously excessive distance?
Everyone was filled with doubt, save for the artillerymen, who were buzzing with excitement.
The artillerymen of Gao Family Village truly rarely had a chance to shine, perhaps once in a hundred years. Thus, every deployment filled them with a joy akin to New Year's celebrations. It was a grand occasion, worthy of great fanfare.
“Brothers! Time to get to work!”
“Wahahaha, it's my turn to show what I can do again!”
“I've been practicing for a year just for this day!”
“Elevate the muzzle ten degrees! No, bring it down one degree.”
“Load ammunition!”
“Prepare to fire!”
“BOOM!”
With a single thunderous roar, the first cannon fired. The shell soared high, streaking towards the impossibly distant mountaintop, directly at the rebel artillery positions.
Everyone's gaze followed the shell, but its speed instantly outpaced their vision, leaving only a lingering streak in the sky.
“CRASH!”
The shell landed some thirty meters from the rebel artillery camp, then exploded.
Shrapnel scattered, striking trees with a chorus of rattling, thudding, and resounding impacts.
The rebels on the mountaintop were instantly dumbfounded.
Although the shot missed, it had undeniably reached the mountaintop.
“What kind of demonic cannon is that? Why does it shoot so much farther than ours?”
“And their shells are fragmenting!”
“Damn it, that's impossible!”
Of course, rifled cannons had a superior range to smoothbore cannons. Unfortunately, the rebels had no such understanding.
The rebel artillerymen on the summit grew frantic, for they knew that even if the enemy's first shot was off, what about the second, third, or fourth?
With continuous fine-tuning of the muzzles, one of those shells was bound to hit them.
At that very moment, the Gao Family Village artillerymen began their adjustments. “Muzzle traverse half a degree left, elevate half a degree... Prepare... Fire!”
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”
The other seven cannons roared to life in unison.
Shells streaked wildly towards the mountaintop.
The rebel artillerymen, without a moment's thought, immediately hit the dirt.
Another round of thunderous explosions echoed from the mountaintop. Shrapnel shells burst, and the rebel soldiers on the summit suffered greatly, a swathe of them falling in an instant.
“Too bad, still slightly off. We didn't hit their artillery positions dead-on.”
“Fine-tune. Continue fine-tuning.”
“Muzzle half a degree further left... elevate half a degree...”
The Gao Family Village artillerymen were as ecstatic as children who, after much pleading, had finally been allowed by their mothers to settle down and play games at an internet café.
In that moment, they poured a year's worth of pent-up eagerness into every shell.
Morale +32%
Reload Speed +32%
Accuracy +32%
“Fire!”
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!”
The cannons fired once more.
This time, the rebel artillery camp wasn't so lucky. A shell landed precisely between two of the rebel cannons. With a thunderous explosion, a plume of black smoke billowed up from the rebel battery.
“Direct hit!”
The artillerymen cheered, “We've taken out the enemy's artillery positions!”
Bai Yuan immediately, without hesitation, gestured with his hand. “Advance!”
The Gao Family Village Militia immediately began their advance.
With the rebel cannons neutralized, their only remaining offensive weapons were arquebuses and repeating crossbows. The positions of all the rebel arquebusiers and crossbowmen, however, had already been thoroughly reconnoitered and mapped out by the reconnaissance hot air balloons.
From the day of its inception, the Gao Family Village Militia had been trained and grown proficient in indirect attacks. They understood the range of arquebuses and bows like the back of their hand.
They advanced, stopping precisely where the arquebuses and arrows could not reach them.
Then...
Someone shouted, “Battalion Commander Two, bring out our small grenade mortars!”
A large group of artillerymen, each carrying a small, arm-thick mortar, dropped to one knee with a thud, planting the small mortar tubes they carried on their backs firmly onto the ground.
“On the slope to our right, behind that crooked-necked tree, an enemy arquebus squad is lurking.”
“Behind the large rock to our left, there are enemy crossbowmen.”
“Adjust the angle...”
An artilleryman named Li even held up his thumb, using his finger as a measuring device, gauging the distance to a rock on the mountain. Then, with unwavering confidence, he loaded a small grenade into the mortar tube.
“Fire!”
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!”
The small mortar tubes belched forth a volley of compact grenades.
Then, the targeted defensive positions erupted in vibrant, deadly blooms.
The rebel soldiers screamed, flying out from their hiding spots, tumbling pell-mell down the mountain slopes.
Meng Hu and Du Hu, the two brothers, were utterly dumbfounded. They realized, with dawning horror, that their own forces had yet to even engage. Neither their cannons, nor their arquebuses, nor their repeating crossbows had fired a single shot.
Bai Yuan spread his hands to Cao Wenzhao, who stood beside him. “General Cao, the enemy's key defensive positions have been broken by our forces. However, our troops are not skilled in close-quarters combat. Charging up the mountain to clash blades with the enemy is not our forte. The rest, General, falls to you.”
Cao Wenzhao let out a hearty laugh. “Hahahaha, from here on, leave it to the Guanning Iron Cavalry!”
He turned his gaze to Cao Bianjiao.
Cao Bianjiao, without a word, drew his long spear. Leading from the front, he let out a furious roar and charged up the slope. Over two thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry followed close behind.
With the rebel defenses on the mountain shattered, the arquebusiers and crossbowmen couldn't effectively engage. They could only loose a few sparse arrows. The Guanning Iron Cavalry, raising their shields, easily weathered the scattered projectiles and surged up the slope.
What followed was a brutal melee...
In close combat alone, the Guanning Iron Cavalry could rout a rebel force ten times their size!
In but a few moments, the rebel forces were sent scrambling in disarray across the slopes, utterly incapable of holding the mountain.
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