My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 310: The Age of Artillery
Since ancient times, siege has never been an easy task.

The Sun Tzu's Art of War states that the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Attacking cities is a last resort.

Sun Tzu believed that in war, the most brilliant strategy was to use strategy to make the enemy surrender, followed by winning through diplomatic means, and using force to fight was the next best. Attacking a city was the lowest strategy and should only be used when absolutely necessary.

Repairing the oars and carts and preparing the equipment took three months; and building the fort took another three months.

In order to attack the city, it would take three months to build various equipment such as large shields and siege chariots, and another three months to pile up the earth hill for the siege.

If the general cannot control his anger and his soldiers follow him like ants, and one third of his soldiers are killed but the city is not taken, this is a disaster for the attack.

If a general cannot control his anger and drives his soldiers to attack the city by climbing ladders like ants, it will often result in heavy casualties among the soldiers and the city will be difficult to conquer.

Historically, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongolian army besieged Xiangyang for six years.

During the Taiping Rebellion, the Qing army besieged Nanjing for three years.

Today's Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty, is the largest city besides Chang'an.

It is so difficult to attack by force.

Li Jing's strategy still brought a lot of trouble to Li Chengqian.

In addition to Li Jing, there were also the Five Surnames and Seven Families who secretly fanned the flames, causing people in Luoyang City to feel uneasy.

After all, Li Chengqian only had 50,000 elite troops from Liaodong, and he did not dare to use the more than 20,000 soldiers in Luoyang City.

As for the civil servants, almost all of them were loyal to the imperial court. The news in Luoyang City was open to the imperial court and there was no secrecy at all.

The only one you can rely on is the Shenwu Army.

Of course, with the artillery in hand, Li Chengqian was not too worried.

But now it seems that it is time to take action.

"Wen Zhong, ask Su Dingfang to come over."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Soon, Su Dingfang came to the palace from the military camp.

"Greetings to Your Highness."

"I will give you a seat without any gift."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Li Chengqian got straight to the point: "General Su, Luoyang is now under blockade. It's fine on land, but the court has set up checkpoints on all the waterways of the Grand Canal that enter Luoyang. Although there is enough food in the city, people are in a panic."

"I intend to dispatch the navy to break through the blockades of the imperial court's waterways. We now have dozens of warships. You are to use them as a foundation to quickly form an elite navy, equip them with artillery, and break through the Tang army's waterway blockade."

"But you must remember that this is a civil war in the Tang Dynasty. The purpose of artillery fire is to deter others. We must ensure that as few lives as possible are lost. General, are you sure?"

Su Dingfang clasped his hands together and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will spare no effort and go all out to achieve your goal."

After saying this, he paused for a moment and then said hesitantly, "But I still have a hidden worry in my heart. If I use artillery now, what should I do if the imperial court comes up with a countermeasure in the future?"

"After all, this is a new weapon of extraordinary power. Once it is unveiled, the imperial court will certainly try every possible means to prevent it."

Li Chengqian smiled softly and said, "This cannon can be installed on warships and used in field battles. How can we defend against it? How can we defend against it?"

"Even if the imperial court gets this cannon, without the associated gunpowder, it will just be a bulky thing, and it might even be melted down to make copper coins."

"You just need to follow the plan and use this artillery well, and you will be able to defeat the enemy."

"It will also make Li Jing worried. Let's see what methods he can come up with to deal with it."

"If so, I'm quite curious."

There is no good way to deal with artillery, something that spans an era and changes the battlefield landscape.

After hearing this, Su Dingfang replied: "Your Highness is thoughtful and far-sighted. My doubts are gone and I will definitely live up to your trust."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "General Su, this battle is related to the survival of Luoyang, and even more so to the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty."

Su Dingfang said seriously: "Please rest assured, Your Highness."

If he still loses even with such a magical weapon, Su Dingfang would just kill himself by running into a wall.

After receiving the order, Su Dingfang immediately devoted himself to the formation and preparation of the navy.

He personally selected soldiers who were strong, good at swimming and had rich combat experience, and trained them day and night to teach them how to coordinate the operation of warships, use artillery and deal with enemy tactics.

At the same time, craftsmen were racing against time to modify the warships, installing the cannons firmly on them to ensure that they could still fire accurately when they were bumping on the water.

A few days later, the navy was ready. Dozens of warships were lined up neatly on the banks of the Luo River, with flags flying on the warships. Soldiers were wearing armor and holding weapons, ready to fight. Su Dingfang came to Li Chengqian again and reported: "Your Highness, the navy is ready and can go out at any time."

Li Chengqian looked at Su Dingfang firmly and said, "General Su, this trip carries a heavy responsibility. You must act with caution and achieve the greatest victory at the lowest cost."

Su Dingfang saluted with his fists, turned around and boarded the flagship, and gave the order: "Set sail!"

The fleet sailed downstream along the Luo River in a mighty manner, heading towards the Tang army's water defense line.

At this time, there was fog over the Luo River, and the warship was looming in the fog, like a dormant dragon.

Inside the Tang army's naval camp, General Zhao Meng and his lieutenant general Wang Hu and lieutenant general Li Bao sat around a desk piled with documents.

Zhao Meng frowned, picked up a bowl of wine, but had no intention of drinking it. He slammed the bowl heavily on the table and said in a muffled voice: "Li Chengqian is already the crown prince, the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty, enjoying all the glory and wealth, and he can get whatever he wants. Why would he start a rebellion? It's really hard to understand!"

Wang Hu scratched his head, looking confused: "Yes, General, we work so hard for the court, hoping to be successful one day. But he was born in heaven, but he has to make trouble for the good prince. Isn't this stupid!"

Li Bao also shook his head, his face full of confusion: "I heard that he usually behaves strangely. Could it be that he was bewitched by some evil spirit? Otherwise, how could he do such a treasonous thing."

Zhao Meng frowned and thought: "Could it be that he listened to the slander of the treacherous villains around him and was bewitched? Or is he coveting the supreme throne and can't wait any longer?"

Wang Hu curled his lips and said disdainfully: "No matter what his reason is, his rebellion is an enemy of the world. The foundation of our Tang Dynasty is solid, how can he shake it? With his small force in Luoyang, compared with our regular army, it is like an egg hitting a stone."

Li Bao nodded and agreed, "That's right. Look at his warships. Most of them were brought from Liaodong. How can they compare with the warships carefully built by our court? And his Shenwu Army, although the cavalry is powerful, they can't display their power on the water. They are just a bunch of landlubbers."

Zhao Meng picked up the wine bowl, took a gulp, and then said, "But I heard that when Li Chengqian was in Liaodong, he also won many battles, and his soldiers were quite convinced of him. Maybe he has some tricks."

Wang Hu waved his hands nonchalantly: "General, those are just some minor fights. How can Liaodong compare to the Central Plains? Once our imperial army arrives, it will be easy to crush them."

Li Bao's eyes turned and he said, "However, General, we can't let our guard down. If Li Chengqian really has some powerful tricks up his sleeve, we'll be in trouble."

Zhao Meng pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "You are right. Pass the order down, let the brothers be vigilant, patrol day and night, and don't give Li Chengqian an opportunity to take advantage of you."

Wang Hu stood up and clasped his fists, saying, "General, rest assured, I will arrange it right away. Once we defeat Li Chengqian, we will surely make great contributions in front of His Majesty."

Not everyone is familiar with the magical weapon Thunderbolt.

In fact, most people are not very clear about the crown prince's achievements and process in pacifying Liaodong.

This is not like later generations, where most of the stories were passed down by word of mouth.

A sentence, after being passed on by ten people, has basically nothing to do with what it was before, especially now that accents are mixed.

Besides, they don’t have any channels to get information, so they just listen to what others say.

Zhao Meng slammed his hand on the table, his eyes determined: "As long as we strictly guard this waterway defense line this time, Li Chengqian will not be able to escape. When we capture Luoyang City, we will have made great contributions to His Majesty!"

For military generals, as long as they fight, all they think about is merit.

Wang Hu's eyes flickered as he said with longing: "Yes, by then, you will be promoted to a higher position, and you will have wealth and honor. Li Chengqian, that fellow, still wants to go against the court. He really overestimates his own abilities."

Li Bao was full of pride, shaking his head and saying, "He doesn't even think about it. With his limited strength, how can he possibly defeat the regular army of our Tang Dynasty? We will definitely win this naval battle easily."

After all, General Zhao Meng held a higher position and knew a few tricks.

He immediately shouted, "How dare you! Shut up."

"How can you just call the prince by his name?"

"You don't want a future, or do you want to stop living?"

"If you do this, no matter how great your achievements are, they will be a death warrant."

Wang Hu and Li Bao were a little confused as to why they were scolded.

Wang Hu asked hesitantly, "General, wasn't he abolished?"

Zhao Meng was so disappointed that he said, "You are stupid. His Majesty did depose the crown prince, but the crown prince is his son."

"As a father, if your son is disobedient, will you allow outsiders to beat and scold him?"

After thinking about it from another perspective, Wang Hu understood and said with some fear: "It was the general who almost caused trouble by his words."

"If His Majesty knew about this, I'm afraid it would be a serious crime."

Deposing the crown prince was not something that these little minions could casually say.

No one dared to talk about this topic anymore.

At this moment, a scout ran into the tent in a panic, "General, something terrible has happened!"

"There are a large number of warships coming from the direction of Luoyang City. Judging from the flags, they are the Luoyang navy. There are about dozens of ships, and there seem to be strange large equipment on the warships."

Zhao Meng's face suddenly changed. His confident expression instantly disappeared, replaced by a trace of panic. However, he still pretended to be calm and shouted loudly: "Strange large equipment? What kind of strange thing can it be!"

"Pass the order down, all troops are on alert, and keep a close eye on the enemy's movements."

"Wang Hu, you take a team to guard the left wing. Li Bao, you go to the right wing and guard it tightly. If there is any unusual movement, report it immediately!"

Although Wang Hu and Li Bao were somewhat nervous, they immediately followed the order and left in a hurry.

Zhao Meng knew some things, especially about Thunderbolt.

This strange device, could it be that the prince installed Thunderbolt on the warship?

If that were the case, it would be troublesome.

The Luoyang navy quickly approached the imperial navy.

Su Dingfang stood at the bow with a stern look on his face. When he was about an arrow's distance from the Tang warship, he shouted, "Ignite, fire!"

In an instant, the cannons on the warships roared in unison, as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting apart.

The originally calm Luo River was shaken into turbulent waves, and the huge noise echoed on the water for a long time.

I saw the shells trailing long black smoke, cutting through the sky like meteors and rushing towards the Tang army warships.

Boom boom boom! ! !
There was a roar in the sky and water splashed everywhere, as if a huge wave was rising.

The surface of the water on the imperial side suddenly felt turbulent, as if the gods were roaring and bringing down punishment from heaven.

"What kind of magic is this!"

Zhao Meng shouted in horror. He had never seen such a powerful weapon.

At this time, Wang Hu hurried over, his voice trembling: "General, the enemy's weapons are too powerful, the brothers are panicking, what should we do?"

Zhao Meng gritted his teeth and shouted, "Why are you panicking? Pass my order on. Use the warships to ram them. We can't let them succeed!"

Wang Hu looked embarrassed, but still turned around to pass on the order.

The imperial navy soldiers were so frightened that their faces turned pale. Some of them collapsed directly on the deck, their legs trembling and unable to stand.

Some people fled in panic, completely ignoring the generals' orders, while others stared blankly at the flying shells with fear in their eyes, not knowing what to do.

"Quick, find a way to resist!"

Zhao Meng shouted at the top of his lungs, but the army was already in great chaos at this point and the soldiers had no intention of following his orders.

Su Dingfang saw that the artillery had a significant deterrent effect, so he ordered again: "Keep firing."

The artillery fired again, and this round of attack was more fierce.

Even if it was fired towards the water surface, it would be near the imperial navy.

The soldiers felt as if the sky had really fallen.

Faced with this unknown, god-like means, my mind went blank and I was dazed, not knowing what to do at all.

At this time, Li Bao said anxiously: "General, the brothers all want to withdraw..."

Zhao Meng's eyes widened with anger: "Retreat? Where to retreat? Hold on!"

But his voice sounded so weak in the chaos.

Seeing the Luoyang warship coming over, the navy here did not move at all, and many of them even knelt on the ground.

This kind of epoch-making blow is something that ordinary people could never even imagine in their dreams.

Some of the timid ones were even crying for their parents and wetting their pants out of fear.

The idea of ​​gods and ghosts has a long history since ancient times.

No matter how brave a person is, facing such a situation, he would not be able to muster any fighting spirit.

At this moment, Zhao Meng finally understood the feelings of the Goryeo soldiers when the prince pacified Liaodong. He truly felt the same way.

He thought the rumors were outrageous enough.

When I faced it myself, I found that it was actually even more outrageous.

(End of this chapter)