Chapter 57

The normal range of a cluster of rockets is a hundred paces, but the cluster of rockets that Zhu Chonghua bought for a hefty price had a range of less than eighty paces. During the first launch, ten tubes of cluster rockets failed to even reach the bandits, wasting the shots entirely.

Now, the bandits had already rushed to within fifty paces, and Zhu Chonghua shouted for his servants to fire all the remaining ten tubes, totaling three hundred and twenty arrows.

"Damn it, you still won't die!" Zhu Chonghua's face was flushed, his expression like that of someone suffering from severe constipation. He clenched his fists tightly and stared intently at the rockets flying towards the bandits like a swarm of bees.

Smoke filled the air, and each rocket, trailing fire, buzzed like honeybees in a garden of flowers.

The more than a hundred bandits were instantly enveloped by the chaotic swarm of ten tubes of cluster rockets.

At the rear of the battle formation, Li Chunjiang, holding a telescope, watched everything clearly. When he saw the bandits enveloped in the smoke, he excitedly waved his fist, "Got them!"

Liu Jun also held a telescope, but without orders from Zhao Cheng and Mei Zhihuan, he remained at the rear, not advancing a step. The fact that Zhu Chonghua had brought a cluster of rockets surprised him, but even more surprising was that the first round had completely missed. Although the second round had completely enveloped the bandits, Liu Jun was not at all excited. He shook his head and muttered, "So what?"

"So what? What do you mean?" Li Chunjiang was puzzled.

"It means it's useless," Liu Jun replied, shaking his head. Despite the impressive sound and effect of the cluster rockets, in reality, this weapon was mainly for creating a spectacle and causing chaos. To put it bluntly, a cluster of rockets was essentially just a fireworks effect.

Even with the smoke and chaos, the cluster rockets, even when facing a dense formation, were unlikely to cause significant damage.

"It can't be," Li Chunjiang was stunned by the impressive sound of the cluster rockets and didn't believe Liu Jun. But the next moment, he saw bandits suddenly leap out of the thick smoke.

The wind dispersed some of the smoke, and Li Chunjiang was shocked to see that more than a hundred bandits who had charged down the hill seemed to have suffered no losses after two rounds of cluster rockets.

"Hmm, not bad, hit three. One in the face, one in the chest, and one in the arm. Two dead, one injured, not bad," Liu Jun, holding his telescope, quickly tallied the results of the impressive cluster rocket attack.

Excluding the first round that was out of range, the second round of ten tubes, three hundred and twenty rockets, hit three people, two dead, one injured. This result surprised Liu Jun, not because the casualties were too few, but because he thought the casualties were quite high.

Three hundred and twenty rockets, two dead, one injured. Liu Jun still thought it was high. Indeed, the effectiveness of these cluster rockets was extremely low.

Compared to Liu Jun, who had expected this, Li Chunjiang was so shocked that his mouth hung open. Despite the impressive launch, only three out of three hundred and twenty rockets hit at fifty paces.

"Don't be surprised. Whether it's a single rocket, a cluster of thirty-two, or a hundred, they are more about creating a spectacle. Relying on these to kill enemies is unrealistic," Liu Jun bluntly told Li Chunjiang.

However, the one who was hit even harder was Zhu Chonghua and his military household.

Seeing the bandits almost intact after two rounds of cluster rockets, the military household, who had been cheering, were now trembling with fear, their faces pale. Some even shouted, "The bandits have magic protection!"

Then someone shouted, "Run!"

Zhu Chonghua didn't have time to control them; his one hundred and fifty military household almost turned and fled in unison. These fleeing military household first rushed towards Zhu Chonghua's servant squad, and the servants, seeing the fierce bandits and the panicked military household, also turned and fled.

"Sir, run!"

"Retreat to the rear."

Zhu Chonghua was pushed back by his servants, or rather, they were fleeing.

Seeing Zhu Chonghua's banner retreating, the bandits became even more excited. A group of useless soldiers, kill them.

On the other side of the hill, Zhao Cheng's face was so dark it could have dripped water. The two hundred guards in the front formation had fired two rounds of cluster rockets and then fled in defeat.

Mei Zhihuan, however, seemed unsurprised. "Military Commissioner, let Zhu Chonghua retreat and reorganize his troops, and let my men take over," Mei Zhihuan was confident in his local militia.

Zhao Cheng could only nod with a dark face.

Mei Zhihuan waved his hand, and immediately, flag bearers began to wave flags. Behind the guards, the Baosheng Fort local militia began to sound trumpets and drums, and the main battalion marched forward, with cavalry on both sides.

Zhu Chonghua and his men fled towards the slowly advancing main battalion of the local militia. Several of the fastest military household tumbled and crawled to the front of the formation, trying to squeeze in.

The battalion commander Hu Gongguo rode his horse slowly, his eyes coldly watching the disheveled military household. He reached for his sword, drew it, and then spurred his horse to the front of the battalion, swinging his sword and cutting down three military household who tried to rush into the formation.

Several military household fell to the ground, blood flowing.

This sudden turn of events stunned the fleeing military household. They were at a loss, unable to understand why their own people were killing each other.

Hu Gongguo, holding his blood-stained sword, shouted at the military household, "Anyone who retreats in battle will be executed, anyone who tries to rush the formation will be executed!"

Death was more direct and effective than any military order. The military household, seeing the blood-stained sword, all retreated. Behind them were fierce bandits, and in front were even fiercer local militia. They were trapped.

Zhu Chonghua was also scared pale, not expecting Hu Gongguo, who had a degree, to be so ruthless. But he didn't want to turn back. At this moment, his servant captain was quick-witted, "Sir, let's retreat to the side and regroup."

Zhu Chonghua immediately reacted and shouted, "All military household, follow me to the left, gather under my banner!"

With this cry, he turned left and circled around the advancing main battalion of the local militia. The other military household, seeing this, also followed the banner to the side.

The bandits were now closing in on the fleeing military household, slashing and stabbing, killing several guards. The second-in-command saw the soldiers forming a large formation, and though he was intimidated by the neat formation, he immediately raised his guandao and shouted, "Follow me, stab their butts, don't let them run."

The second-in-command was smart. He had often used this tactic when following the Rebel King, avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, first targeting the weakest part of the official army, then driving the defeated soldiers to charge their own formation. By focusing on the defeated soldiers, they often caused the official army to collapse.

Now, the second-in-command planned to do it again.

Zhu Chonghua finally reached the left side of the main battalion, thinking he could catch his breath, but to his dismay, the bandits were still hot on their heels.

Zhu Chonghua groaned, "Heaven, why are you so persistent in chasing me?" He had no choice but to continue retreating.

Liu Jun, holding his telescope, immediately noticed Zhu Chonghua's and the bandits' intentions.

They had avoided the main battalion and the cavalry, circling around to the left and approaching the rear guard, the Nine-Headed Bird cavalry.

"Jiye, the bandits are coming at us!" Li Chunjiang shouted.

"I see it," Liu Jun was not at all worried. They were not fighting alone; as long as they didn't scatter, the bandits would be walking into a trap. Once the Nine-Headed Bird blocked the bandits, the main battalion and the cavalry could turn around, and the bandits would be trapped like fish in a barrel.

"Winter Dog, shoot the military household at the front!" Liu Jun planned to just play a minor role in this campaign, but since Zhu Chonghua was leading the bandits towards them, he had no reason to retreat.

However, he didn't want the military household to disrupt his formation. The Nine-Headed Bird had only fought one battle, and their training was not long. If the formation was disrupted, they might not be able to withstand the bandits' fierce charge.

To avoid this, Liu Jun decided to follow Hu Gongguo's example.

Winter Dog looked back at Liu Jun, puzzled. The target was a military household, a true soldier of the court.

"Fire!" Liu Jun glared at Winter Dog and shouted again.

Winter Dog gritted his teeth and no longer hesitated. He knelt on one knee, bent the other, and aimed the large musket on a tripod, opened the firing mechanism, and aimed at the running military household.

It was a thin man, probably around his age, perhaps not yet married. His face was full of panic, running for his life.

"Amitabha!" Winter Dog silently recited the Buddha's name and pulled the trigger.

The next moment, a loud bang echoed, and a lead bullet weighing one and a half ounces shot out, the barrel enveloped in smoke. Winter Dog couldn't see clearly, but he knew he had hit the target.

Although this wasn't the first time he had hit a target, his hand trembled after pulling the trigger. He wasn't killing bandits; he had killed a fellow soldier, one of his own.

The smoke dispersed, and he finally saw his target lying on the ground with a bloody chest. The man was still struggling, but he knew he was beyond saving. The Nine-Headed Bird's musket was far more powerful than a regular musket, and a direct hit to the chest without armor meant certain death.

Zhu Chonghua wet himself.

The warm urine soaked his thigh, and if he hadn't been on horseback, he would have collapsed. His servants tightly guarded him, and the servant captain shouted, "To the left, to the left!"

The Nine-Headed Bird's musket injured a military household, and none of the military household dared to continue charging towards the Nine-Headed Bird's formation. They cautiously circled around.

Liu Jun had only disdain for these terrified military household and did not stop them, as long as they didn't disrupt his formation.

"Musket team, aim!" Liu Jun, watching the bandits following the fleeing military household, his eyes cold.