The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 240 Firearms Unleash Their Power
Zhu Xiong Ying looked at Xu Da with a face full of excitement.

"General, please let us go this time. The troops at the front cannot be recalled. Although the troops under my command have never been on the battlefield before, they are still soldiers of the Ming Dynasty and should fight for their country!"

Xu Da was very frustrated, as he originally did not want to use Zhu Xiong Ying's army.

Although this army achieved a good ranking in the previous military exercises.

However, martial arts exercises are just that—martial arts exercises—and there is still a significant difference between them and real warfare.

Who could have imagined that their plan would backfire, leaving them with only this one organized army unit besides the artillery protecting the central camp?

Xu Da was in a dilemma. Looking at Zhu Xiong Ying in front of him, he said, "Your Highness, my central army camp is also equipped with a lot of new firearms. Together with those cannons, it is enough to deal with Kökö Temür's sneak attack!"

"With so many troops here, you have absolutely no need to take this risk!"

Chen Heng also stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, that is indeed the case. Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. You are the future of my Great Ming Dynasty, and we cannot joke about such things!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince is directing operations from the central camp. This humble general will lead the troops into battle!"

Zhu Xiong Ying was extremely frustrated. He only wanted to go to the battlefield, but he didn't expect it to be so troublesome.

However, these are all seasoned veterans, and at this crucial moment, we really can't let them hold us back.

"Alright, since that's the case, I won't make things difficult for you. This time, Chen Heng, you are responsible for leading this army to infiltrate their rear and cut off Kökö Temür's escape route. You must not let him escape!"

Chen Heng turned his gaze to Zhu Xiong Ying beside him, his eyes filled with determination: "This subordinate obeys!"

Xu Da looked at Chen Heng and the others with satisfaction. These were all rare and capable generals. He wondered where Zhu Xiong Ying had found them. They were truly exceptional.

At the same time, Kökö Temür led his 20,000 elite steppe troops in a fierce attack southward, quickly breaking through the Ming army's blockade.

As more and more Ming soldiers gathered around, they saw that the number of soldiers was increasing.

The deputy general standing to the side was getting a little anxious.

"Your Highness, if we go any further in, we'll probably reach the enemy's central camp. The number of people gathering here is increasing. I think Xu Da is probably in there. I heard that the Crown Prince of Ming, Zhu Xiong Ying, has also come with Xu Da. If we can capture this Crown Prince, we might be able to force the Ming army to retreat!"

Kuo Kuo, thinking of Zhu Xiong Ying, said angrily, "It was this Zhu Xiong Ying who killed a group of nobles of my Northern Yuan, including my uncle. This time, I will make them pay for their blood debt!"

"Instruct all soldiers to discard all food and baggage, advance lightly, and vow not to return until the enemy is defeated!"

Encouraged by Kökö Temür's words, the elite light cavalry of the steppe charged toward Xu Da's camp.

An army was already prepared in front of the main camp at this time.

The leading general, clad in armor, looked at the Northern Yuan cavalry before him with heavy breathing. This man was Zhang Yu, one of the four Dukes of Jingnan whom Zhu Xiong Ying had recruited from the north.

With the enemy about to enter firing range, all kinds of firearms were ready in front of the camp.

Upon reaching the first battle line, all the wind-chasing cannons began firing.

The Great Northern Yuan soldiers who had just charged forward were at a loss. According to past practice, it was impossible for artillery to reach such a distance. How come the Ming Dynasty's artillery could now reach such a distance? Kökö Temür's face was grim: "When did the Ming Dynasty's artillery become so far-reaching? Even our Huihui cannons back then couldn't reach this distance!" When they reached the second defensive line, the Frankish cannons, the Hongyi cannons, and various modified cannons began to attack simultaneously.

Outside the camp, a deafening roar echoed, and the entire battle line was divided into two distinct fire networks. Every charge by the steppe cavalry inflicted heavy casualties on them.

The lieutenant was getting anxious: "Your Highness, we can't continue fighting like this. We only have 20,000 men, and the enemy's artillery fire is so intense. We've already lost nearly a thousand men!"

Kökö Temür was extremely unwilling, his tiger-like eyes blazing with malice: "This is the closest I've ever been to Xu Da. I must capture him no matter what. Once we take him down, all these cannons will be ours. In time, our Great Yuan can still launch a counterattack. For the entire Great Yuan, for the glory of the Golden Family, and for the faith of the Eternal Heaven God, all soldiers, charge with me!"

Encouraged by Kökö Temür, the remaining soldiers began to rush madly toward the camp.

After paying a heavy price, they finally broke through the shelling.

Before these people could even catch their breath, a series of smaller cannons, including the Tiger Crouching Cannon, began firing from the third line of defense.

The range of this tiger-squatting cannon is not particularly long, but its direction and distance can be corrected at any time.

In addition, the improved gunpowder inside is very easy to use and has a much greater power.

It quickly inflicted heavy casualties on the Northern Yuan soldiers. Kökö Temür gritted his teeth, thinking that if they made such a huge sacrifice and there was no result, their tribe would really be finished.

After breaking through the third line of defense, Kökö Temür felt a little nervous looking at the remaining soldiers.

It's estimated that these firearms were the Ming Dynasty's trump card. It's unbelievable that in just a few years, the Ming Dynasty's firearms have become so powerful; it's truly terrifying.

However, with all the cannons in use, they probably only had one row of archers and one row of muskets in front of them, which wouldn't last long. Victory ultimately belonged to them, and they then led their soldiers to continue the charge.

Just then, sparks flew across the sky as a barrage of rockets rained down on them. There were so many of these rockets, covering a wide area, that they would explode upon hitting their targets. The series of explosions terrified the horses on the grassland, and many grassland cavalrymen were unable to control their frightened horses and fell off.

Seeing the horrific scene before him, Kökö Temür gritted his teeth and said, "Cover all the horses' eyes and plug their ears, and charge straight ahead. I don't believe these people can do anything else!"

Kökö Temür led his cavalry towards the battle line.

Everyone turned their attention to Commander Zhang Yu, who was standing to the side.

At this moment, Zhang Yu was breathing heavily, but he still stood there without making a sound.

The deputy general standing to the side was getting a little anxious.

"General, aren't we going to make a move? If we don't, they'll charge in!"

Zhang Yu shook his head: "It's not the right time yet!"

As the enemy drew closer and closer, and once they were within firing range, Zhang Yu waved his hand.

"Rockets fired in volleys!"

(End of this chapter)