Chapter 263 Let’s Hate It For Now

"Boom..." After countless test firings, a cannon finally rang out, and the shell hit the upper edge of the wall of the old city of Huai'an, smashing one of the battlements directly. On the artillery position, the artillery commander Huang Jingting shouted excitedly: "Good, good! Hit the target! This shot is well fired!"

"Come on, tell all the gun positions to use the data of the second team's No. 3 gun position as the standard, and make fine adjustments and reduce the spacing."

"Team one is ready."

"Team two is ready."

"Team three is ready."

"Team four is ready."

...

"All teams and gun positions, all ready, fire in turn in teams, ten rounds of bombardment, ready."

"Ready..."

"Ready..."

"Fire..."

The rumbling explosion sounded throughout the world, and every shell fired was like a bolt from the blue, breaking people's eardrums.

The Fu Han army arranged four artillery positions outside the city, with hundreds of large and small artillery pieces. Huang Jingting's position was just one of them, but even so, it also had thirty five-jin and three-jin cannons. For the Qing army of this era, more than a hundred cannons were completely unimaginable dense firepower, and it was a completely non-existent concept.

On the canal not far away, a number of canal boats loaded with munitions and food were moored by the embankment, waiting for their own unloading time. Most of the canal boats were operated by canal workers and hungry people, and of course, there were also escorted logistics soldiers. Except for those logistics soldiers who had seen such a formation long ago, they no longer cared about it. The rest of the canal workers and hungry people were all panicked. Some of the older ones, even the old bosses in their forties and fifties, had weak legs and squatted on the boat board with their hands covering their ears, but their eyes were reluctant to watch the rare scene of cannons bombarding Huai'an City.

This is a great treasure, a treasure that will allow them to spend the rest of their lives in the Longmen formation and win countless respectful glances.

However, many hungry people and water transport workers still fell to the ground with their legs unable to support themselves. They couldn't straighten their backs even if they wanted to see it. The logistics soldiers of the Fu Han Army who escorted the ship looked down on such people: "What a coward. They were scared to death by a cannon..."

Many water transport workers and hungry people heard the ridicule of the Fu Han Army soldiers. They saw the Fu Han Army soldiers who were at ease in the fierce cannon fire, and then looked at their own side. I don't know how many people blushed at this moment.

And the Fu Han Army soldiers who were talking and laughing in the cannon fire suddenly became tall in the eyes of these water transport workers and hungry people.

This kind of tallness is spiritual, not from the swords and guns in the hands of the soldiers, but purely a kind of spiritual oppression.

...

How big is Huai'an City? The old city is only ten miles around. That is, it is less than three miles long and wide. The new city is much smaller than the old city. If you add the one-li Liancheng and the entire Huai'an city, it is a rectangular block with a circumference of 17 li and an area of ​​about 4 square kilometers.

The circumference of the city area of ​​17 li is of course an absolute big city in this era, and there are also rich places like Qingjiangpu outside Huai'an. But such a city was bombarded by dozens of cannons, and all the landing points were on the old city walls. Haha, how can the Qing army guarding the city and the people on the city walls be good?

In such a small place, 20,000 Qing troops have gathered, and the Yingxun Gate [South Gate] that the Fu Han Army responded to has gathered two general flags, three deputy generals and lieutenant generals. What kind of concept is this?

In less than an hour of bombardment, the southern city wall of Huai'an was destroyed. Although the shells did not crack the walls of Huai'an City, the battlements and parapets were almost completely wiped out, leaving only a bare top of the city in many areas, and the artillery of the Qing army on the city wall had disappeared in the continuous artillery fire.

The Qing soldiers who were originally full of the top of the city are now invisible. The firepower of the artillery can directly suppress the top of the city. Huang Jie waved his hand, and the front line of the Third Brigade moved forward one mile, and the front line directly approached the distance of about 200 meters under the city of Huai'an.

The artillery position was still moving. Anyway, the artillery position [the gun position needs to dig a pit and pile up the earth] was set in advance. There were four or five red-hot solid bullets in the large braziers where red charcoal was burning, and there was also a box of new artillery shells - shrapnel shells prepared on the side.

"Boom boom boom -"

When the continuous artillery sounded again. For the Qing soldiers and supporters in Huai'an City, they really couldn't tell the difference between solid bullets and shrapnel shells. The shrapnel shells, which were used by the Chinese army in the war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, were no longer even a legend by the middle of the Qianlong period.

In a courtyard not far from the south gate of Huai'an City, the exquisite screen walls, flowers, bonsai, attics, galleries, rockery... were blown to pieces by shells, and earth and stone fragments were flying everywhere. The Ruan Jia Ning Garden in Huai'an City, which was once decorated with exquisite shapes and was known for its elegance, exquisiteness and ingenuity, was completely ruthlessly destroyed by artillery fire.

"Old man, be careful--" As soon as the exclamation of a close follower reached his ears, Ruan Xuehao was heavily pressed to the ground before he could react. A shrapnel shell fell in front of the window sill outside the room. The shock wave of the explosion shattered and ignited the entire window. The violent heat accompanied by countless flying wood chips swept the entire room.

It was already afternoon, and the rain of shells was still baptizing Huai'an City.

Shrapnel shells accompanied by hot incendiary bombs, and seven or eight large and small fires had started in the old city of Huai'an. Fortunately, there is no wind today, otherwise the whole Huai'an city would be reduced to a sea of ​​fire.

In addition to Ruan Xuehao himself, there were also Su Yishan, a fellow magistrate of Huai'an Prefecture, and several senior officials in the room. Suddenly, Su Yishan and a government official were unable to escape, and now they fell to the ground covered in blood and were dying. Several other injured government officials could not help but cry out in pain.

After Ruan Xuehao stood up, he quickly dusted himself off and glanced gratefully at the government servant beside him. Thanks to this man's cleverness, otherwise I would have followed in Su Yishan's footsteps.

"Sir, we can't stay in this place any longer." The officer said in shock.

Ruan Xuehao was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign. He was reviewed by the Hanlin Academy, edited the "Records of the Four Dynasties", admiral of Hunan's academic affairs, presided over the Shaanxi and Shanxi provincial examinations, served as a co-examiner in the Kyoto Metropolitan Examination, and was presented as a counselor to the general affairs envoy of Zhongxian Dafu. In the 16th year of Qianlong's reign, 49-year-old Ruan Xuehao resigned from office and returned to his hometown to honor his mother. He built the Shaohu Thatched Cottage, which was later changed into an academy, where he studied and taught and educated hundreds of disciples. Raise funds to repair county schools and government schools. In the 22nd and 27th years of Qianlong's reign, the emperor made two southern tours. Ruan Xuehao welcomed Ruan Xuehao at Honghua Port in Huai'an and presented a book of poems. Both were given a piece of large satin. Ruan Xuehao was married to Chen Gong as his wife, and was awarded a first-class wife. His two sons, the eldest son Ruan Kuisheng and the second son Ruan Zhisheng, have both graduated from high school and entered official careers. It can be said that in the entire Huai'an city, apart from the big bosses in office, Ruan Xuehao, a civilian, is the most important person.

Hearing the explosion, the housekeeper of the Ruan family outside hurried over to take a look. Su Yishan's appearance shocked him. Fortunately, Ruan Xuehao was fine. He hurriedly advised Ruan Xuehao: "Master, I can't stay here anymore. I really can't stay here."

The Ruan family is Ruan Xuehao's home. Although it has been bombed many times since today, and the Yamen has sent people to invite him many times, Ruan Xuehao still does not want to leave the home that his ancestors have managed for several generations. But looking at it now...it's impossible not to leave.

Ruan Xuehao's eyes were a little dull. He was thinking about the choice he made four years ago. If he had chosen another path, like those of the Salar tribe, and was unmoved by Ma Gasan, would the Ruan family still have this disaster today?

Ruan Xuehao is not a fool. He didn't know whether the overall situation in Huai'an City was bad or not, but the South Gate area was really not safe.

If the city of Huai'an is lost, the Ruan family's property and industry will definitely be completely destroyed in order to restore the Han army's bad reputation. For generations, our ancestors have worked hard and worked hard to achieve what the Ruan family has now. The reputation of the family in the first place in the city is all over because of their own stubbornness.

Painful regret was devouring Ruan Xuehao's heart like a poisonous snake. If he had known it, he should have transferred his extravagant wealth months ago.

Even when Chen Ming crossed the Yangtze River and went north, it was time for him to transfer his family property; when the elite officers and soldiers of northern Jiangsu Province were defeated in victory, it was time for him to transfer his family property. Were you confused at that time?

At this moment, Huai'an City seems to be guarded by 20,000 troops, but Ruan Xuehao's confidence and thoughts have already been shaken. Chen Ni's cannon outside was too powerful. If Jiangning City can't be defended, can the small Huai'an City be defended? Ever since the Fuhan army came to the city, he had not had a good night's sleep in the past few days. Now Ruan Xuehao's hair is still neatly combed, but his complexion is dark blue, his eyes are immediately bloodshot, and he is full of energy.

But it is impossible for Ruan Xuehao to still coexist with the old house at this time. I could only cast a nostalgic glance at the completely messy room. Like an old dog, exuding endless decadence, I ordered to the people around me: "Move immediately and tell everyone to only pack valuable things and throw away everything that needs to be thrown away." Bar."

As a prosperous place along the Grand Canal, there are not too many inns in Huai'an city, and with the Ruan family's status, they naturally don't have to search the streets for accommodation. The doors of the most upscale inns in the city are always open to the Ruan family.

The Fu Han army's position outside the city. Huang Jie looked up at the sky, and the hot sunshine forced him to squint his eyes, "God is so shameless, it would be great if there was a strong wind!" Water and fire are the most ruthless, and their destructive power needs no words. As for whether the fire would affect innocent people, the governor didn't care about the artillery team firing hot bombs. What was he thinking about?

As long as there is a strong wind, Huai'an City, which is filled with flames, will not turn into a sea of ​​​​fire. But it will definitely give the Qing army defending the city a headache. The people will also panic, which will do no good to the Qing army's defense of the city. Perhaps arousing the resentment of the people in Huai'an City is a disadvantage, but how important is the public sentiment in Huai'an compared to the overall situation? The Fuhan Army now needs to take over Huai'an City as soon as possible and wipe away the shadow of the defeat in the Fujian Naval Battle. If the people here hate, then let's hate first.