choke element

Chapter 993 Iron Fire (End)

"How is that possible..." Mu Huali replied.

"That means we have more iron cannons on hand?" Yeliyas's face lit up with joy.

Mu Huali looked at Yeliyas calmly, feeling a little disappointed in his heart but appearing calm on the outside.

In recent years, the Mongolian army fought fiercely in Hezhong and other places, integrated several major countries in the Western Regions, and absorbed many of their officials and craftsmen. Only then did it barely have the ability to reverse-engineer the weapons used by the Han people in the Central Plains.

Mu Huali was the actual person in charge. Although he had just started with some bumps and bruises, he put a lot of effort into it. To be honest, the more he put in, the more he realized the difference between barbarism and civilization, and the origin of civilization.

But Mu Huali never forgot that he was a Mongolian, and never forgot that bravery and fighting skills were the basis for the Mongolian iron hoof to conquer the world. He firmly believed that the so-called civilization could bring sophisticated weapons, but it would also inevitably lead to fragile skin and soft body. No matter how good the weapons fell into the hands of useless people, they would eventually be taken away by brave warriors.

Countless victories in the Western Regions, the mountains and grasslands of the river, all emphasize this point. The Mongols who experienced the Western Expedition destroyed countless cities, rural areas, roads and water conservancy facilities with their own hands, and they all saw this clearly. They walked out of the shadow of failure, still proud, still believed in their own strength, and regarded all enemies as prey that would eventually be killed.

But Qianhu Nayan like Yeliyasi had stayed in the grassland for too long. They had experienced the failure of the Central Plains and witnessed the erosion and infiltration of the Han forces into the grassland. They were afraid in their bones and no longer had the confidence to defeat the enemy, but they were unwilling to admit it.

That is why Yeliyas attributed the enemy's strength to a weapon that the Mongols did not possess. When the Mongols mastered this weapon, he placed too much hope on it, as if with this weapon, the Mongols would no longer have to fight and bleed.

This is so disappointing.

Weapons are dead, but people are alive. I am afraid that the next combat mission will have to be placed on the heads of those surrendered Semites.

Many Mongols gained unimaginable wealth because of the rise of the Yekh Mongol Ulus. But they did not understand that the Yekh Mongol Ulus was not a country in the general sense, and it never relied on a certain ethnic group. It was just a tool of conquest created by Genghis Khan for himself.

Only warriors who are truly bloodthirsty can be considered tools, regardless of their ethnicity. Among all tools, hounds may be the most favored, but hounds that have lost their courage and are overfed are worthless!
"We have another batch of iron cannons, which are slightly different from the ones in front of us, but are also very powerful. However, considering the time, they should all be used by now. This battle will not be as simple as Haner imagined. Not to mention the scale of the troops, and... ahem, don't worry, the Khan is wise and has already made proper arrangements!"

Mu Huali remained calm and said slowly: "We Mongols are the best warriors and herdsmen, but not the best craftsmen. No matter how hard we try, we can never make more or better iron cannons than the people of the Central Plains. So, this is all we have. We should use them all up in one go and let the people of the Central Plains know that we have iron cannons, which is more important than actually having them!"

This was becoming more and more difficult to understand. Yeliya wanted to ask for clarification, but he could vaguely see that Mu Huali was unhappy. Besides, since it was the Khan's decision, how could others dare to ask more questions? So he bowed his head and said no more.

As Mu Huali said, the southern Han people might have expected the Mongol cavalry to charge against the strong barriers repeatedly until they failed. But the Mongols were not obliged to follow the Han people's command. What Genghis Khan planned was a real counterattack, and the scale of the war was larger than anyone imagined.

In the western section of the boundary trench defense line, while the continuous mountainous area from Jinshan to Datong Prefecture was fiercely harassed by the Mongolian army, the eastern section of the boundary trench defense line was also under tremendous pressure.

The first to be hit was the part of this defense line that extended farthest north into the grassland, Linhuangfu, the capital of the old Liao Dynasty.

Shi Qing was originally prospecting for minerals deep in the grasslands. When he learned that the Mongols were launching a massive attack, he left immediately without hesitation, running all the way to Linhuang Prefecture. He moved so fast that even the Mongols could not catch up.

But after arriving in Linhuang Prefecture, he could no longer escape.

It's not that we have to defend the territory, and the court will be particularly demanding. Linhuang Prefecture has been declining since the establishment of the Jin Dynasty. Although it has the reputation of a major city, it is actually just an ordinary stronghold with 200 troops stationed. After the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it infiltrated the grassland more than controlled it, and did not settle a large number of soldiers and civilians in Linhuang Prefecture.

Even if Linhuang Prefecture is connected to the Northeast and Southeast Zhaotao Divisions on the map, its size is here. It is just a small stronghold, so it will be lost.

The problem is that the military nobles of the Great Zhou often acted before the court. This small outpost was of no importance to the court, but it was a transit center specially set up by several large trading companies with backers. Because of the water source of the Baiyingoluo River, Shi Qing also recruited people here and set up a large-scale felt field.

Don't underestimate this felt factory. After Shi Qing resigned from his post as the defense envoy of Tongzhou, he sold several of his shops in Tongzhou. He really wanted to make a fortune on the grassland and brought his family fortune with him. Because all kinds of materials on the grassland were in short supply and Linhuang Prefecture was in ruins, the cost of setting up a factory was very high. So he was looking for new sources of income everywhere.

Now, forget about the copper mine, and don’t even think about mining it in the short term. The Mongolians are surrounding it, and the felt field can’t be operated either.

When he was the king of Mount Tai, he had no wealth anyway; when he encountered the Jurchen army attacking the mountain, Shi Qing only needed to pack up his gold and silver, tie it around his waist, and escape over the mountains. But now he had a huge initial investment, including the purchased equipment and hired craftsmen, which were all in Linhuang Prefecture, so he couldn't give up no matter what. At least, he hesitated for a while whether he should give up.

In the short time of hesitation, the Mongols surrounded Linhuang Prefecture, and it has been ten days now. Shi Qing calculated that at this moment, including Linhuang Prefecture itself, the number of soldiers trapped along the boundary trench was about 20,000. In addition, the number of merchants, camel caravans, and caravans must also be several thousand.

Such a large number of people actually filled the garrisons along the boundary moat and enhanced their defensive capabilities.

Back then, the Jin dynasty spent all its money to build the trench defense line, but it had no money to maintain it, so in the end, tens of thousands of people along the line were called official troops, but in fact they were no different from beggars. The financial resources of the Zhou dynasty were much stronger than those of the Jurchens, and the frontier garrisons they had restored in the past two years were also very solid, enough to accommodate so many soldiers and civilians for a long time.

As the general manager of the Linhuang Prefecture, Shi Qing stopped thinking about it and suppressed his fear. He was the highest-ranking warrior on the entire defense line and was about to lead his men through this battle.

At the beginning of the year, that little brat Lu Shu went deep into the grassland without permission, and defended Wusha Castle with only a group of escaped slaves, waiting for the emperor to personally lead troops to rescue him. What Lu Shu could do, Shi Qing, who had experienced many battles and was a serious frontier defender, couldn't do it?

Linhuang Prefecture is much more important than Wusha Fort. After fighting the Mongols for several days, light cavalry from the Great Zhou appeared in the two directions of Taizhou in the east and Dading Prefecture in the south.

Although the light cavalry could not directly break into the city, they had lit smoke signals several times to communicate with the city, encouraging the defenders to hold their ground and that they would receive support.

In this case, Shi Qing's confidence became more and more sufficient.

Several generals from the Red Coat Army were involved in a case in Tianjin Prefecture earlier. It was said that they hoped that the court would focus on the war with the Southern Dynasty and secretly hinder the affairs of the Northern Frontier. Shi Qing secretly heard about this matter. Although he did not participate, he was suspected of not reporting it. He was doing a good job as the defense envoy of Tongzhou and making a lot of money every day, but he was transferred to the border, which implied a little punishment and a big warning.

At times like this, it was most important to make achievements. If you made achievements, even if you were not promoted, at least you would get more support for mining in the surrounding areas of Linhuang Prefecture!
What's more, Linhuang Prefecture's military preparations are sufficient, enough to fight a good battle.

Today's Linhuang Prefecture, in its inner circle, relies on the city wall near the old Yangde Gate and the remains of a Buddhist temple. The plaque of the temple is still there, called Jieyi Temple. There is also a high-rise building of two layers of rammed earth in the temple, called Duanwan Tower. Legend has it that this is the place where Empress Yingtian of the Liao Dynasty broke her wrist.

Empress Yingtian was also a well-known ruthless character on the grassland. Legend has it that after Emperor Taizu of Liao died of illness, Empress Yingtian proclaimed herself emperor and exercised the imperial power, and forced the ministers who disobeyed her to be buried with Emperor Taizu. One of the ministers said, "The person closest to the late emperor was the Empress Dowager, why didn't she be buried with him?" For a time, the public was outraged.

When Empress Yingtian heard this, she replied, "My sons are young and weak, and the country is without a ruler. It's not that I don't want to be buried alive with the emperor, but I can't be buried alive with the emperor." Then she took a knife and cut off her wrist, and ordered people to put the severed hand into the coffin of Liao Taizu to be buried with him. This move frightened the entire court, both civil and military officials, trembled.

Shi Qing liked this woman's ruthlessness, so he went to Linhuang Prefecture and built a new city with Jieyi Temple as the core.

As for the outer perimeter of the defensive circle, it was the foundation of the city built by the Liao people. The layers of ruins were enough to stop the Mongolian cavalry from running, and the layout was similar to Laizhou Haicang Town where Guo Ning started his career. It was easy to defend but difficult to attack. It was easy for the Mongols to besiege the city, but it was extremely difficult to break it.

But every now and then, there would be cavalry galloping back and forth outside the city, making a rumbling sound, and there would also be the sound of foreigners blowing horns and whistles or shouting one after another, which made people a little annoyed.

The elite Mongolian scouts, the so-called Alejinchi, were getting closer and closer. Three or four days ago, they would occasionally rush over the collapsed old city wall, then pass by the tower of Yangde Gate and shoot arrows upwards to intimidate.

Of course, we couldn't just sit back and watch the Mongols approach the city.

Therefore, Shi Qing also sent out his most capable cavalry, trying to fight with the Mongols on the winding roads among the ruins, to drive them out of the ruins, or at least to continue harassing them and not allow them to settle down peacefully.

The generals of the various divisions of the Red Coat Army in Taishan were not quick to accept the reorganization. Shi Qing's elite cavalry were mostly his old subordinates. They might not be very good at fighting head-on on the grassland, but they were very good at maneuvering in narrow and complex environments.

The two sides came into contact from time to time, and the sounds of weapons colliding or bows and arrows being plucked could be heard from between the broken walls.

Many people gathered on the tower, and almost all the soldiers on duty climbed up the wall to look out. Every once in a while, there would be cheers or sighs. Those who were making the noise were the men who had been temporarily gathered from the city. Except for a few retired old soldiers, most of them were urban vagrants or farmers who wanted to try their luck and make a fortune in the north.

These people dared to leave their homes and were considered courageous in the local area, but they had rarely experienced war scenes, so they were all very excited.

One has to admit that the people of the grasslands are fierce. Most of those who fell off their horses were from Shi Qing's army. Seeing the Mongols' cavalry approaching, smoke and dust were floating in the upper and lower reaches of the Baiyingoluo River. The atmosphere on the city wall gradually turned cold from the initial enthusiasm.

Shi Qing patted the parapet and said angrily, "Open the door, send more people, and bring back our injured first!"

Another team of warriors had already prepared themselves and went down to the city wall as soon as they received the order.

In addition, a messenger sounded the horn to signal.

The cavalrymen who heard the order also sent out personnel to cover the wounded scattered everywhere. However, the Mongolian cavalrymen took the opportunity to get close to them and kept shooting arrows. The cavalrymen were not able to get rid of them for a while, but were entangled more tightly. Without the cover of their own cavalrymen, the personnel who were responsible for the wounded did not dare to disperse.

Shi Qing frowned as he looked at the situation, finding it a bit strange.

In the early years, the Mongols had used the method of piling up earth to break the city. Now, the periphery of this garrison is all broken walls of earth bricks left by the Liao people, as well as large pieces of rammed earth. Therefore, if the Mongols surrounded the city from all sides with a large army and attacked the city regardless of casualties, there would be a lot of materials that could be collected and used here.

But the Mongols had besieged the city for ten days and did not launch a violent attack. Instead, they kept sending small troops to approach for deterrence.

There was no real benefit for them to fight with their own side with a small number of people for this ruined area outside the city. Even if they forced the defenders to retreat, the Mongols could not set up camp here, and the defenders could break out of the city at any time and harass them repeatedly.

So, what was the Mongols' purpose?
The defending soldiers made a great counterattack. Taking advantage of the slope, hundreds of them rushed at the same time and forced the pursuing Mongols to retreat. The Mongols shouted angrily and screamed, and retreated quickly.

The infantrymen who had not dared to disperse before hurriedly ran out to support them.

Hundreds of people in the outer circle rushed forward, and dozens of people under the city gate suddenly scattered, exposing the open city gate in an instant.

This is not really a flaw. When defending a city, the city gates must be opened and closed at any time to ensure that one can reversely clean up the area around the city. Closing the city gates and passively taking a beating is courting death. Since Linhuang Prefecture is a strong city with no shortage of troops, Shi Qing has no reason to give up the initiative on the battlefield.

But at this moment, a group of men covered with dry grass suddenly jumped up from the broken walls and rushed towards the city gate at full speed.

"Damn it, the captives are treacherous!"

Shi Qing immediately guessed that the Mongols were planning to ambush their elite troops to seize the city gate. He cursed and then turned to leave the city. He ran on the trail, shouting orders and ordering more troops to follow him to stop the enemy.

This little trick is a bit threatening, but there is no need to take it too seriously. The terrain outside the city and the daily comings and goings of the defenders are much more familiar to them than the Mongols. If the Mongols want to deceive the eyes of the defenders, they must have sent out very few people. The defenders only need to deal with it calmly. It is not difficult to force the enemy back. As long as there is no big chaos, there is no need to close the city gates!
Thinking of this, Shi Qing had already rushed to the foot of the city.

In his early years, he was known as a brave man in the Red Coat Army. Although he had been pampered in the past two years, his martial arts skills had not fallen behind. When he reached the flat ground, he pressed his feet on the ground and pushed forward, almost turning sideways to hide behind the iron shield.

If the Mongols shot arrows at him, they would not be able to hurt him at all. If they approached to fight, they would be immediately hit by the iron shield with great force and lose their balance. Shi Qing just used the force of the collision to stop, swing his arm and swing his sword, and cut off his head.

The series of actions were all honed on the battlefield, and the movements were extremely smooth, without even having to look closely at the enemy in front of him. This was battlefield instinct, and he could naturally launch subsequent killing moves based on the sound of the wind or the reflection of his peripheral vision.

But Shi Qing didn't see any enemy movements in his peripheral vision, he only saw several dark balls flying over his head.

The balls seemed to be made of iron, but also of pottery. Some of them slammed into the shields of Shi Qing's companions behind him or into the city gates, leaking black viscous liquid; others exploded in the air, sending broken pieces of iron or porcelain flying everywhere.

This is an iron cannon, a gunpowder weapon! What the hell, did the Mongols learn to use gunpowder?
In the previous battles in the Central Plains, the Dinghai army often used gunpowder weapons as their trump card when attacking cities and plundering land. Although the Jurchens were poor at using troops, fire attacks were not uncommon. As for the Southern Song Dynasty, it is said that they had more bizarre gunpowder weapons.

But this was the first time that the Mongols had used this trick. Not to mention that Shi Qing had not expected it, the Great Zhou had not made any plans to deal with the threat of gunpowder weapons in its entire line against Mongolia.

Everyone was convinced that they had firearms but the Mongols had none. The Mongols' ridiculously crude governance system simply could not maintain the many links required to manufacture gunpowder weapons!
Now Shi Qing suddenly realized that everyone was wrong. When the Mongols got angry, they could actually accomplish something!

He suddenly felt he couldn't breathe.

The huge shock made it impossible for him to run, and he fell to the ground. His ears were buzzing, and when he looked up, he saw thick smoke and rising flames covering the inside and outside of the city gate.

Although most of the soldiers who followed him out of the city to fight used shields to protect themselves, under the explosion, more than half of them were affected by the power and fell to the ground. Someone's broken leg was blown onto the rammed earth of the city wall, and dark red blood flowed out from the wound that should have been the knee, staining the yellow-brown soil red.

Shi Qing saw a very cruel scene in front of him. He opened his mouth to shout to close the city gate immediately, but what came out of his throat were not words, but mouthfuls of blood.

The next moment, he saw his companions rolling on the ground, trying to put out the flames; he also saw someone rushing over and pulling his arm back. Perhaps the force was too strong, Shi Qing felt dizzy, his vision blurred, and then he lost consciousness.

This is really not a reverse cheat code... Read on...

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(End of this chapter)