The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Boom, boom, boom"

The battlefield was once again filled with dense artillery fire. After more than ten consecutive rounds, the battlefield fell into a brief silence, and then there were bursts of wailing from the soldiers.

However, this time the target was reversed.

The artillery in front of the Burmese army was firing, while the Ming army's gunners were carrying the Portuguese cannons forward.

As the soldiers walking in the front, they naturally suffered the heaviest casualties.

From the gunners' position to the back, a straight blood alley appeared in the Ming army's formation.

The Ming army officers and soldiers who were just in high spirits and chasing the Burmese army were stunned.

The range of the opposite artillery exceeded their imagination, much longer than the Portuguese cannons they used, which was why the Ming army's front team officer did not choose to prepare for battle immediately after seeing the Burmese army's formation.

At this distance, he never thought that the Burmese army's iron pipes could hurt them.

In the Ming army formation, the dead were just lying quietly in the bloody alleys, and the wounded soldiers had already dropped their weapons and wailed while holding their broken limbs.

The sudden attack made their comrades beside them a little overwhelmed, and for a while, no one from the rear team came to make up.

Just when the Ming army was in a situation of being at a loss, cheers broke out from the opposite Burmese army formation.

Their previous experience finally came back to the Ming army on the opposite side, and they were relieved.

"Load the shells, hurry up."

Santos was not flattered by the cheers of the Burmese army behind him. He knew that this was a big war, a large-scale war.

Myanmar can be said to have put all its efforts into it, with an army of 200,000 or 300,000, and the Ming army on the opposite side may not have so many people, but there are still hundreds of thousands.

This is still a case of catching the other side off guard. If the Ming country on the opposite side starts to gather troops to counterattack, it is simply unimaginable.

He has heard that the Ming country has more than one million troops.

What kind of country is this, how many people are there, it is simply unimaginable.

The Portuguese began to operate nervously, cleaning the barrel, and then loading gunpowder and shells, preparing for the second round of firing.

At this time, the captain of the Ming army had already reacted, the other side had a bronze cannon similar to theirs, so the range was so far.

Yes, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty actually saw from the trench mirror that the field cannons used by the European army at this time had a longer range than the falconet cannon, but the firing speed was much slower.

This cannon is not difficult to make, the key is still casting the barrel, and any flaws will be scrapped and returned to the furnace.

Relying on the existing experience in making cannons, they can easily make it, but the scrap rate is relatively high.

Therefore, this kind of field cannon is best cast with copper.

Naturally, the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty will not miss the manufacture of this weapon, but because of the scarcity of copper, the number of cannons manufactured is relatively small, not as large as the falconet cannon.

Moreover, after this kind of cannon was cast, a lot of it was taken away by the navy.

According to convention, it was impossible for the southwest to be allocated this kind of artillery, and it was already very good to be able to allocate some Portuguese cannons to them.

But who asked for the cannons? Although there were few bronze cannons, Li Chengliang still wanted ten such cannons.

After seeing the range of this cannon, he was also very happy, so he always brought this artillery team with him.

This weapon, which seemed extremely backward in later generations, was actually a strategic weapon of this era. In the previous Baoshan City Defense War, Li Chengliang did not move this kind of artillery to the city wall to fire, and still mainly used the old-fashioned Portuguese cannon.

However, everyone in the generals of the Ming army still knew about it.

There was an artillery team around the marshal, and the artillery equipped had a long range and great power.

The team leader had already reacted. They had entered the range of the Burmese artillery. If they started to charge the enemy from this position, although they could reduce the damage of the enemy's artillery, the formation would be messed up.

The scattered formations faced the neat formations, and the archers on the opposite side fired volleys. The casualties on their side would probably not be small.

Perhaps some people would think that they could withstand the casualties and just charge to the front of the enemy's army.

But in fact, when the casualties of the charging army reached a certain proportion, the morale of the attacking soldiers was damaged, and they would unconsciously choose to escape, that is, find a place to hide, and would not be willing to continue charging.

The defending army was actually similar.

When the casualties reached a certain proportion, they would flee.

It is impossible for people to be indifferent to the possibility of death, and they would choose the safest way to protect themselves.

Is there anything safer than running away on the battlefield?

Even if there is a supervisory team behind them, a guy who kills without blinking an eye.

The distance is too far, and the Ming army may be defeated by the Burmese army before they can reach the opposite side.

This thought appeared in the mind of the captain. Seeing those weirdos on the opposite side start to operate skillfully again, as if they were loading ammunition into the cannon, he knew that he could not wait.

"Retreat."

This time, the captain reacted very quickly. After shouting, he took the lead in retreating.

The surrounding Ming soldiers followed decisively after hearing the captain's shout and subsequent actions.

Now, even those soldiers who didn't hear the order knew what to do and turned around and ran.

The Ming soldiers who were not seriously injured retreated behind the brigade, while those who were seriously injured, some retreated with the help of their friends, and some were directly abandoned on the battlefield, waiting for them to suffer severe pain and eventually die from excessive bleeding.

But at this time, no one would care about them.

They had been abandoned.

Soon, the Ming army withdrew a long distance. Although there was another burst of artillery fire behind them, they had already run out of the effective range of the artillery. Even if there were shells hitting them, the damage was much smaller.

Seeing the Ming army running away, the Burmese army on the opposite side became more excited, waving their weapons and screaming desperately.

Santos also smiled as he watched the Ming army retreat.

Although only the first volley hit the opposite side, the power of the cannon was terrible under the strict military formation.

And behind the Burmese army formation, several Burmese soldiers who witnessed all this looked at each other and sent one of them back to the riverside.

He went to inform the Burmese king Mang Yinglong that the Portuguese mercenaries were indeed powerful and the power of the cannon was also great. Just one shot made the previously majestic Ming army on the opposite side retreat.

It is necessary to report what you see to the king truthfully. In the past, the Burmese people thought that the price of cannons was too expensive, which was only useful when attacking the city.

But this actual combat made them see the power of cannons in field battles, which was also extraordinary and could directly defeat the opposing army.

In the past, this was a record that required countless soldiers to fight desperately.

"You go and move the cannons in front back."

There were still a dozen or so Portuguese cannons abandoned where the Ming army was just hit by the cannons.

Although the Portuguese cannons were more advanced, for the Burmese who did not have such cannons, the backward weapons of the Ming army were also very important equipment.

The Portuguese cannons made by the Ming Dynasty that were seized by the war elephants in the raid before, although Santos recognized that they were weapons that the Portuguese had only used in large quantities decades ago, and they were not interested at all.

But the Burmese king still protected these cannons as treasures and paid Santos to teach his soldiers how to use them.

Now, there are cannons in front again, so they have to be moved back, regardless of whether they can be used or not.

It is worth mentioning that the Burmese also know that the tube is the most important and cannot be bent.

Because three of the captured Portuguese cannons were trampled by elephants, Santos directly told the Burmese king Mang Yinglong that these three cannons were useless and could not be used.

Although he didn't know what happened to the cannons left by the Ming army, there were still Portuguese in front of the battle. He would know if he asked them.

Soon, seven or eight cannons were carried back by the Burmese soldiers.

They were also afraid that the Ming army in the distance would attack them, so they moved very quickly.     "Lord Santos, can you see if this cannon can still be used?"

The Burmese general smiled flatteringly and walked up to Santos and asked flatteringly.

"This cannon is useless. It should have been hit by a shell. The other ones should still be good."

Santos just took a simple look and said.

Even if the Burmese army obtained this old-fashioned cannon, Santos had nothing to be afraid of.

Just like this battle, no matter how stupid the Burmese were, they should know that cannons were different.

The battle situation on the front line was sent to the leaders of the Ming and Burmese armies at the first time, but this place is closer to Lujiang River, so the Burmese king Mang Yinglong knew the result of the battle first.

"Good, great."

Mang Yinglong walked back and forth excitedly for a few rounds, but at this time Hanbayou came over and asked in a low voice: "My king, do we still need to retreat across the river?

With the help of Portuguese mercenaries, we may be able to defeat the pursuing Ming army."

Mang Yinglong also came back to his senses after hearing this. Yes, the Portuguese equipment is really useful. Perhaps with this army, he can defeat the Ming army head-on and then return home.

However, in fact, the Burmese army was also in a dilemma at this time. The news that their home nest was attacked by the Ming army could no longer be concealed and had long been circulated in the military camp.

Otherwise, how to understand the sudden withdrawal of the Burmese king and the disappearance of the eldest prince Mang Yingli.

Defeat the pursuers behind?

The thought appeared in Mang Yinglong's mind, but he quickly shook his head.

Although they had the support of the Santos cannon, their number was too small.

Mang Yinglong had seen the previous battle with the Ming army, and he was very clear about the effect of the dozens of cannons roaring in front of the Ming army.

Many of the war elephants that he regarded as treasures were beaten and wailed.

The war elephants were thick-skinned and hard to be hurt by swords.

The Burmese had to use traps to capture them, and then tame them little by little.

They were a group of subordinates who didn't know pain, but they were vulnerable in front of the Ming army's cannons.

Some war elephants were even fatally injured and killed by cannons in front of the battle.

These had a great impact on Mang Yinglong.

At this time, he had completely given up the idea of ​​continuing to develop elephant soldiers, and planned to do business with the Portuguese after returning home and buy more cannons.

Forget about the muskets, the Burmese have bows and arrows, and they don't think that thing is more powerful.

But cannons that can shoot farther must be bought.

Thinking of this, Mang Yinglong decisively gave up the idea of ​​a decisive battle with the Ming army on the bank of Lujiang River.

The number is not enough, even if he wins, it will be a miserable victory. He needs more troops to return to the country to destroy those Ming troops.

He has seen the combat power of the Ming army, and he needs to lead more troops back.

"Settle the soldiers and let them cross the river in an orderly manner."

Mang Yinglong said: "We can't stay here in this messy situation, we must return to the country as soon as possible.

If the Ming army is entangled here, the Ming army in the south will be in uninhabited territory in Myanmar, and there will be no domestic power to resist. "

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although he was not recognized, Kehanba had no choice but to nod and obey the order.

Who is calling the person opposite is the king of Myanmar? He is his king.

After Li Chengliang learned that the front line had suffered another setback, although the Ming army stabilized the front line again and would not collapse, he was still extremely angry.

"Call someone here, I want to ask myself what's going on."

Li Chengliang ordered.

Soon, the Sichuan guerrilla general who was commanding the battle on the front line was escorted over by his own soldiers.

Li Chengliang asked with a bad look on his face: "Why did you retreat?"

"Commander, I."

The guerrilla was also frightened. He was a little awkward when speaking, and his lips kept bumping up and down.

"Poor command."

"Injustice, injustice. Injustice."

Li Chengliang was about to issue a punishment order for him, when the guerrilla fell to the ground and started wailing.

"It's very good to still cry out for injustice after losing the battle."

"Hit them. Their cannons can hit farther than ours."

Li Chengliang's words were interrupted again. Although he stuttered a little, he still made the main idea clear.

“Cannon, do they have cannon?

Oh, I remembered, the ones I lost before. "

The contemptuous smile on Li Chengliang's face faded, and a fierce look overflowed.

"No, yes, there is a group of weirdos in the army opposite. Their cannons are also very powerful. They are more powerful than our cannons."

The guerrilla seized the last chance and told the situation.

Just now, Li Chengliang had planned to drag the guerrilla out and whip him to death, but after a moment, the murderous look on his face disappeared, and he asked curiously: "What weirdo, what kind of cannon are they?"

"Pull the artillery team up and ask them to be careful so as not to be attacked by the enemy."

After Li Chengliang learned from the guerrilla that the Burmese army had artillery that was more powerful than the Fran machine gun, he naturally thought of the treasures in his hands.

He had naturally heard of the origin of those cannons, because most of the Ming army's advanced firearms at this time came from trench mirrors.

Li Chengliang had never seen the Yi people, but he had heard of them, which was consistent with what the guerrilla said.

Since there are advanced artillery on the opposite side, he has to carefully consider how to fight the Burmese army.

However, after this personal experience, Li Chengliang did not forget to write a report on the entire war situation in the capital and send it to the capital.

The Ministry of War needs to understand every battle, which means that frontline officers need to write documents and hand them back.

This kind of thing was of course done by military Chinese documents. He only needed to read it one last time and make some modifications.

Although this is a failure, it must be written down.

In the army, there are also people from the Jinyi Guards and the Ministry of War, who are responsible for supervising the frontline generals.

Moreover, even if they don't care, isn't there Luo Rufang?

But he said that supervising the censor is equivalent to supervising the army.

He will definitely write down the news of victory and defeat.

But he didn't know that after this document fell into Wei Guangde's hands, he felt the difference in weapon generation for the first time.

Before this, Wei Guangde had not noticed the huge difference in power between the two cannons.