When the commander of Desay and his coffee pot returned to the French position, the exchange of remains of humanitarian spirit had been completed, with a total of 216 Spanish defenders and 186 French soldiers. Captain Delney, acting battalion commander of the first battalion, and Lieutenant Kerle, the company commander of the artillery, came over to report to the commander: the infantry completed the construction of a half-man-high circular barrier and a turret, and the four artillery pieces had been installed and pushed to the 3-meter-high turret. All officers and soldiers were in a state of war, waiting for the Spanish to die.

Behind the monastery and barricades, more than a dozen priests from Notre Dame de Pilar, raised a statue of the Virgin and paraded in the crowd, which was to inspire the warriors who were about to set out. Countless people flocked to the front and knelt on both sides of the passageway where the Virgin statue was advancing, praying, making wishes or thanking. During this period, they were also mixed with crying, shouting, and kissing the ground. The devout people showed extremely excited expressions, without the solemn atmosphere that should have been in the church.

Because of the obstruction of vision, the French could not see it, and only felt the enemy's position was in chaos. Desay and the officers believed that the Spanish were just praying. If they knew the truth, the officers might have to be excited and had a headache. Because the statue of the Virgin Mary was enshrined in Notre Dame, "The gems on the Virgin Mary were dazzling, the forehead was shining, the gilt and diamonds on the collar and ring on the chest were also shining... The Holy Infant Jesus was held in her left arms, and in the silk, he could only barely see his dark little face in the middle of the gems." In the eyes of the French, this holy object in front of the Spanish was a treasure covered in gold and francs. Once discovered, the soldiers might instigate their commanders to take the initiative to attack so as to snatch the Virgin Mary.

A few minutes later, the parade was over, and the statue of Our Lady returned to Notre Dame in Pilar, and the Spaniards were ready for the final preparation. When Desai just opened the pocket watch in his hand, the enemy's attack began.

After a priest finished chanting blessings, countless Zaragoza people rushed out of the room, from the barricade, from the monastery. People of all classes and ages had them. They quickly gathered into two tides of people, like opening the floodgates, and quickly attacked the French positions. The weapons in their hands were varied, including rifles, sabers, bayonets, spears, table legs, and benches. There were also chefs waving a large pot and spoon, and five or six thousand people were chanting various slogans, but they had only one purpose in their hearts: to kill all the French and drive them out of the city of Zaragoza.

"This is the damn sea of ​​people tactics. It's simply an upcoming massacre drama!" Desai groaned while touching his forehead. He also understood that if his soldiers could not hold on to their positions, they would be massacred, including all the French. The second and third battalions deployed on the left and right wings were also besieged by the Spaniards. Although the enemy had not invested much troops, it was enough to restrain the two seriously lacking infantry battalions, making them unable to provide any support to the main positions.

The soldiers of the first battalion were already on high alert. Under the orders of the soldiers, everyone checked their guns for the last time, and divided into three rows of guns on the inside of the circular barricade, waiting quietly for the Spaniards to rush to the effective range of the rifle. Only the acting battalion commander Captain Delney could walk back and forth and visually observe the enemy's travel distance.

At 150 meters, the oncoming Spanish fired, with only a few sparse sounds of fried beans. As for where they can shoot, God knows. If you look down from the air, it is like a group of countless ants driven away by themselves, layer by layer. These people have no thoughts and no minds, but are just playing a group of martyrs, rushing to die.

The infantry battalion commander patted a soldier on the shoulder and shouted at everyone: "Relax, relax, soldiers! The Spanish are all natural cowards, afraid of your eyes, and even our French guns and cannons. Well, gentlemen, please take a rest and let the artillery gentlemen who will always hide behind us show their attention."

Not far behind the infantry battalion, the artillery lieutenant standing in the command of the artillery pursed his lips, obviously not very happy with the last sentence the infantry commander said. He pulled out his saber and shouted at the gunners beside him, "Hey, brothers artillery, take it easy, show the infantry gentlemen the power of our cannons, and let the Spanish guys shit in their crotch!"

The 20 gunners catered happily, unlike the silent infantry who stood upright like a benchmark, whistling happily, jumping up and down the turret, and sometimes ridiculing the infantry under their feet.

As Lieutenant Kerer issued a fire order, the four gunmen locked and fired the elements for the last time in their respective turret positions. The gunner holding a long hook-shaped scythe ignited the fire door, and the gun positions No. 1 to No. 4 fired one after another. The huge recoil made the gun rebound far after firing, almost rushing up the built turret slope, and then slowly fell back to the starting point. With the recommendation of the gunners, it was reset.

Flashes of white smoke came out, and whistling sounds followed one after another. One 6-pound solid bullet and three 4-pound solid bullets were at a speed of 420-500 meters per second, like a grim demon, drew a perfect parabola, and instantly flew over the heads of the infantry. In the afterglow of the sunset, they rushed to the dense crowd in the distance.

Four solid iron bombs containing huge energy were flying at high speed. They completely destroyed and penetrated everything that blocked their flesh and blood. The heads, arms and thighs that were forcibly separated, blood was scattered everywhere. Their original owners didn't even have time to say anything, and four terrifying flesh and blood slaughtering areas quickly formed in the crowd. In the blink of an eye, each solid bomb had brought dozens of lives, and a 6-pound shell covered with blood also penetrated the barricade on the left.

At 120 meters, the enemy's firepower gradually increased. A group of Spanish shooters fired a volley. The lucky stray bullets began to hit the unlucky French soldiers. The dead were dragged away, and the empty spaces falling from the front row were quickly filled by the back row. The French infantry remained silent, holding the rifle tightly against their bodies, and continued to wait for the command of the commander.

The infantry battalion commander continued to shout back and forth: "Stay steady, keep calm, brothers! Don't rush to shoot, I'll give the Spaniards a pleasure later. They will thank you for your kindness and award you the Lily Medal! Take a good look, the artillery masters can only bring little trouble to the Spaniards. The ultimate solution to the barbarians is us, the brave and fearless infantry!"

Compared to a rifle that can fire 4 to 5 rounds in a minute (elite shooters, like French veterans on the Spanish battlefield), it is indeed too slow to have a single shot in a minute, and it is difficult to serve. A 4-pound cannon requires a bleacher, a loader, a launcher and a gun captain, at least 4 people (only in combat). The artillery lieutenant didn't care about the ridicule of the infantry captain, because this was just an appetizer before the meal. When the cannon was restored and the barrel was wiped clean by the gunner, he waved his saber and ordered again, "Note that all the cannons replace the grape bullets!"

At 90 meters, the fierce faces of the Spanish were clearly presented in front of French soldiers. The sixty-year-old man was waving his pickaxe in his hand constantly; two priests holding the cross of Jesus were chanting religious scriptures loudly on both sides; a large number of armed soldiers (civilians) raised their guns and fired, but no longer filled the ammunition; whenever they saw a Frenchman fall, the women and children sandwiched in the crowd would be extremely excited and cheered.

Seeing that his subordinates were not suffering many casualties, Captain Delney breathed a sigh of relief. The infantry battalion commander looked back, but his vision was blocked by rows of rattan baskets. He guessed that the gunners above were still busy filling grape bullets, and kept muttering in his heart: God bless, please don’t let those damn artillery fire be silent, otherwise the disaster will be serious. Experience tells himself that to completely collapse the madman in front of him, the weak lead bullets are not very helpful, only bayonets and cannons. The enemy who is several times more powerful and is fighting for bayonets is a fool. Therefore, Captain Delney expects the artillery to interrupt the Spanish's sharpness first.

The infantry battalion commander immediately drew out his pistol and delegated his combat command at the same time. "Everyone has it. Give me the commander of the sergeant and prepare to face the enemy!"

Several sergeant commanders who had been waiting for a long time immediately jumped out and ordered the soldiers:

"A row, raise your gun, aim, shoot! Turn around, return to the tail of the team to fill in the bullets."

"The second platoon goes forward, raises his gun, aims, shoot! Turn around, and return to the tail of the team to fill in the bullets."

"The third row comes forward, raise your gun, aim, shoot! Turn around, and return to the tail of the team to fill in the bullets."

…

White smoke rose and guns shot out. Facing the dense crowd, there might be no need to aim at it. The soldiers were as relaxed and relaxed as if they had completed their daily live ammunition exercises mechanically. A row of guns rang out, eighty or ninety meters away, the row of Spaniards running in the forefront seemed to touch a high-voltage power grid. Their bodies suddenly slammed, and a ball of blood splashed out from their chests, twitching and falling to the ground, followed by the second row and the third row...

Under repeated dense firepower, few people can face the gun and temporarily survive. Any coward who wants to stop or retreat will be swallowed by the rolling crowd behind him. Without mercy, prayer, and forgiveness, they can only be carried forward, forward, and continue to move forward, and welcome death, like onions peeled layers until they are broken up.

All infantrymen completed the same set of actions that were repeated under the unified command of the sergeant. After the front wheel was fired, they took out a paper shell of fixed ammunition, bit off the tail cover of the paper shell with their teeth, held the bullet in their mouth, bite it through, a small part of the gunpowder was introduced into the gunpowder plate (pool), and the rest were placed in the gun barrel. The projectiles contained in the mouth and the paper shell of the bullet were put into the gun barrel together, and they were straightforward, followed the command and continued firing. Usually, after 3 to 4 shots, the gun chamber needed to be cleaned again.

Since the beginning of the battle, Lieutenant Colonel Desay has been standing on the fort and watching the entire battle situation. The soldiers' shooting movements are pleasing to the eye. In the past life, I saw the clumsy performances of enthusiasts with flintlocks in Borodino and Waterloo. In a peaceful environment, three shots in a minute can be excellent. Here, on the bloody and cruel real battlefield, French soldiers can score an average of 4 shots per minute, while 5 shots in the vanguard.
Chapter completed!