Chapter 938

“Boom, boom, boom…”

Amidst the massive roar of cannons, black shells whistled across the river surface, flying straight towards the Tsarist Russian soldiers on the front city wall.

Immediately, the shells striking the city wall exploded with a “rumble.” Flames, gunsmoke, shrapnel, and shockwaves caused the Tsarist Russian soldiers within the blast radius to sway back and forth as if in the epicenter of an earthquake.

The Tsarist Russian soldiers at the center of the explosion were sent flying into the air. Some soldiers’ clothes were torn to shreds by the shockwave, and they fell naked from the sky, their severed limbs scattered across the ground, blood splattering.

Barov was stunned by the Great Yu Empire army’s sudden bombardment. Looking at the sixteen cannons continuously firing at them from the opposite bank, he hysterically shouted, “You fools, what are you waiting for?! Quickly destroy their cannons!”

The Tsarist Russian soldiers on the city wall were somewhat surprised, but they did not fall into disarray because the Great Yu Empire used explosive shells. They had encountered explosive shells more than once in European wars. The only difference was that the accuracy of these explosive shells was incomparable to theirs.

“Use explosive shells to eliminate them!” Barov roared with bloodshot eyes. The Great Yu Empire army was very cunning. They had secretly deployed their artillery positions while in a stalemate.

These cannons were hidden by them on the raised riverbanks opposite, and covered with white cloth. They were difficult to spot without close attention. It wasn’t until they were bombarded that the flashing fire of these cannons revealed their positions, but this cost them the initiative.

Now, after just a round of bombardment, they had lost six cannons.

Receiving the order, Tsarist Russian soldiers immediately opened the ammunition boxes on the side of their cannons, taking out explosive shells. These explosive shells were similar to the Great Yu Empire’s phased-out explosive shells, requiring the fuse to be cut to determine the shell’s detonation time.

An artilleryman gauged the position of the Great Yu Empire’s artillery. After trimming a portion of the fuse, he inserted it into the muzzle.

“Fire!”

With a command, a Tsarist Russian soldier holding a torch covered his ears with one hand and skillfully lit the fuse with the other.

“Boom…”

A massive roar sounded. A twenty-four-pound shell shot straight towards the Great Yu Empire’s artillery position. The black shell accurately landed in the Great Yu Empire’s artillery position.

“Damn red-haired devils!”

The artilleryman who was reloading was startled by this sudden shell. After seeing the fuse about to burn out, the three men in front of the cannon quickly ran a few steps and then immediately dove to the ground. They had used these shells before and naturally knew how to avoid them.

“Boom…”

The explosion swirled, sending snow flying into the air. The Great Yu Empire field cannon that was hit was sent one meter into the air before falling back to the ground.

“Pah, pah, pah…”

After the explosion, three artillerymen scrambled to their feet and immediately went to check the cannon for damage.

“The cannon wheel came off. There’s nothing wrong with the cannon barrel,” the young artilleryman immediately reported.

“Damn it, how unlucky. Why were we the ones hit?” The old artilleryman looked at the other cannons. Tsarist Russian shells continuously exploded around their positions, but none of them hit their cannons.

“This is truly embarrassing! No, we must retaliate, otherwise, people will just laugh us to death!” With that, another young man picked up the detached wheel, took out screws, nuts, and other parts from his bag, and began to repair it.

While they were scrambling for repairs, the artillery duel grew fiercer. With twenty cannons, Tsarist Russian soldiers furiously bombarded the Great Yu Empire’s artillery position. Some shells even landed directly in the camp that was being set up, causing casualties.

However, Tsarist Russia’s losses were even greater. Although the Great Yu Empire’s artillery was slightly outnumbered, the explosive shells with fuses were precisely detonated.

In the exchange of fire, another thirteen cannons were destroyed, while the Great Yu Empire lost a total of two cannons.

At the same time, utilizing the firing range of the Falcon Rifle, Zhu Sansi suppressed the Tsarist Russian soldiers on the city wall, preventing them from even lifting their heads. The Tsarist Russian soldiers, armed with flintlock guns, could only take a beating.

“Hmph, I’ll see how arrogant you still are!” Gao Yingfeng felt satisfied now. In this exchange of fire, they gained the upper hand in both artillery and firearms.

Zhu Sansi then said, “These Tsarist Russians are indeed fierce in battle. We have the upper hand in weapons. If the weapons were equal, the casualties would not be so disparate.”

From the Army Academy, he learned a principle: not to be blindly arrogant, nor blindly humble. One must see one’s own strengths and also the enemy’s strengths.

Only this way could one avoid losing a sure victory due to arrogance. Simply put, strategically, one must despise the enemy, but tactically, one must take the enemy seriously. He was confident he could win this war, but in actual combat, he had to be cautious.

Gao Yingfeng nodded. He understood that Zhu Sansi was not underestimating himself. When he fought Vasily in Morgan, he could already see that these Tsarist Russian soldiers also had their own beliefs.

Precisely because of this, they fought them desperately, regardless of the consequences.

“When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the braver one wins! Let’s see whose swords and guns are sharper!” Gao Yingfeng’s voice was a bit rough.

Zhu Sansi smiled. What he admired most was Gao Yingfeng’s fearless spirit. He said, “Under equal weapons, we would not be afraid this time either. However, since we have the advantage in weapons, we must utilize this advantage. Isn’t this how they bully the natives?”

With that, the two laughed simultaneously.

At this time, Barov inside Albazin City was almost on the verge of collapse. Wounded and dead soldiers were continuously carried down from the city wall. Now, four hundred men had been killed and two hundred wounded, suffering more than a quarter of their forces lost.

And until now, they had only been exchanging fire for one hour.

He had to admit a fact: this army from the southern country was not so easy to deal with.

“Father, this army is not just this number. They have follow-up soldiers. We cannot continue to suffer losses now, otherwise, Albazin will truly be unable to hold out,” Vasily said, his body covered in scars. Having been beaten and starved along the way, it was a miracle that he returned to Albazin alive.

Having suffered a defeat at the hands of the Great Yu Empire soldiers, he clearly understood the current situation. Only by holding out in Albazin and waiting for reinforcements could they wear down this army.

After all, supplying an army of ten thousand men was a serious problem.

“You’re right, my son. We cannot fall into the Great Yu Empire’s trap again.” Barov’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

No matter what, he could not lose Albazin. Before heading to the Far East, he had personally sworn to the Empress to defend Albazin with his life.

Now, he had no choice.

Ordering his soldiers to retreat from the front city wall, Barov abandoned the engagement between the two armies. And after their artillery fire ceased, the Great Yu Empire army’s cannon fire also disappeared.

Albazin City suddenly fell into an eerie silence.