Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

As the sun rises, the Ceylon troops set out.

But a few dozen ragtag soldiers were left behind to guard the grain halfway up the mountain.

The remaining provisions were running low, not even enough for the entire army to return to the victorious capital.

"Choo Choo Choo!"

Zhu Yu imitated a few bird calls, and soon armored soldiers landed on the ground, followed by several soldiers sliding down the tree trunk.

They threw away the small burlap sack with utter disgust; the sack was full of excrement.

The groin area of ​​everyone's pants reeked of urine.

"Damn it, my whole body aches, I'm suffocating!" one soldier complained.

Zhu Yu said, "Let's stretch our arms and legs and rest for a while."

Zhu Yu was also one of Zhao Yuan's adopted sons. This group of people was very valuable because the Liangshan emperor had long since stopped accepting adopted sons.

Upon returning home after completing their mission, Zhu Xiaozhong, Zhu Yu, and others will all be promoted. They can choose to remain in Luoyang as military officers or lead troops on the front lines.

"Snapped!"

Zhu Yu reached out and swatted a mosquito to death.

They had applied medicine to their bodies to repel snakes, insects, and rodents, but it's estimated that the medicine has lost its effectiveness due to the long time that has passed.

The soldiers began to stretch their limbs, some even rolling on the ground.

Zhu Yu raised his binoculars to observe and saw the Ceylon soldiers gradually disappearing into the distance.

After a while, Zhu Yu gave the order: "Put on your armor!"

Their armor had been hidden in the treetops.

A total of six soldiers, fully armored, stealthily made their way towards the mountainside.

There were dozens of Ceylon soldiers there, left behind to guard the grain. At this moment, they were lying or sitting in all sorts of crooked positions, chatting and resting without any precautions.

Six Ming soldiers raised their bows and arrows one after another.

The rainy season in Ceylon has been over for more than a month, and the air humidity is not high.

"Shut up!"

Zhu Yu blew his bronze whistle, and six arrows were immediately fired, accurately hitting the six seated enemies.

"kill!"

The Ceylonian soldiers were terrified and instinctively got up and fled, thinking they were being attacked by a large army.

Zhu Yu led his men in pursuit down the mountain, then blew his whistle to withdraw and return.

They took out their flintlock pistols and lit them, which not only ignited the grain and fodder but also set fire to the dry branches and fallen leaves.

"Cut some fresh branches and leaves to cover it up, make lots of smoke!" Zhu Yu shouted.

Not only here, but also in the mountains to the north and south, several plumes of smoke rose one after another.

As Parakramama led his army toward the port, he suddenly heard his attendant shout, "Your Majesty, look!"

He turned around and saw that the forest where his troops were hidden seemed to be on fire.

The Ceylon soldiers became somewhat flustered.

Parakramama drew his sword and shouted, "There aren't many enemies at the port. Let's storm in and loot all the goods. Once we take it, we'll have more food than we can eat!"

The king was highly respected, and the soldiers were no longer afraid. They followed him and rushed toward the port.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Ming warships in the harbor had already pointed their cannons at this direction, and had even tested the cannons a few days ago to determine the landing point.

The shot was incredibly accurate, and the shells landed precisely in that area.

One cannonball even flew over Parakramama's head, killing and wounding five of his personal guards.

"Magic, magic!"

"It's the Heavenly Demon Mara leading his army!"

"..."

Seeing that some soldiers had already begun to flee, Parakarama shouted, "With the blessing of Mahakasyapa, we fear not even the heavenly demons! Charge with me and we will win! Kill!"

His supervisory team also began to act, using swords to stop the fleeing soldiers from scattering.

After finally managing to gather the fleeing troops, another round of artillery bombardment began.

This time, they couldn't hold on any longer. Actually, there weren't many deaths or injuries; the main problem was that they couldn't overcome their fear.

A soldier standing on a rooftop in the harbor shouted through binoculars, "The enemy is showing signs of collapse!"

"Mount up!" Xia Yuqing shouted.

These five hundred soldiers from Shamen Island learned horsemanship at Iwami Castle.

However, Japanese horses are too small; they can be ridden while wearing cloth clothes, but once they put on armor, they can't ride them.

Later, some horses from the southwest were transferred over, and finally, they were able to ride horses into battle.

Right now, they're riding all the best stuff!

There were Arabian horses sold by Bedouin, Persian and Akhal-Teke horses sold by Seljuk, and Rajput horses (Indian Mawari horses, which are crossbred with Arabian horses) sold by Solanchi. Mawari horses had already appeared at this time, but in small numbers and were temporarily not for sale.

The fine horses from various countries, many of which had fallen ill while adrift at sea, were now able to come ashore to recuperate and recover.

All the horses that were not sick were now being ridden into battle.

Xia Yuqing, a former Song Dynasty convict who came from a poor scholar background, was now wearing medium-sized armor and carrying a long spear, leading the charge.

The Ceylon soldiers, on the other hand, had only a small number of warhorses, which were ridden by mid- to high-ranking officers.

After two rounds of shelling, the desertion of the Ceylon troops became increasingly severe.

Parakramama had only recently unified the island, and most of his main forces were defending the city. At this moment, many of his troops came from local nobles.

Seeing the Ming army charging towards them on horseback, the nobles led their troops and fled.

Chapter 3654 A Two-Sided Attack

Parakramama was furious and had no choice but to lead his troops into battle.

The nobles could escape, but he could not.

Because he could escape on horseback, but his soldiers had no horses to ride, and if they tried to flee, the entire army would be wiped out.

"Your Majesty, let's go quickly, there are definitely enemies in the mountains behind us."

"If we don't leave now, we'll be attacked from both sides!" the guard pleaded desperately.

"Your Majesty, flee for your life! If Your Majesty dies in battle, the Victory City will surely be taken away."

When Parakramama turned his head, he saw that the fire in the forest where his troops were hidden had grown even larger, with thick smoke billowing from a large area.

The Ming soldiers were closing in, while more and more Ceylon soldiers were fleeing.

Even some of Parakramama's elite troops were taken away by the fleeing soldiers, making it difficult for the king to lead his army to fight.

"Walk!".

Parakramama turned his horse around, cracked his whip, and finally escaped.

The king fled for his life, and the entire army collapsed.

Xia Yuqing led his troops in pursuit, cutting down fleeing soldiers along the way. Corpses were scattered all over the mountains and fields, and many were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy.

To the north and south, there were also armies of local nobles.

When the northern troops saw the fire behind them, they were so frightened that they fled immediately without even approaching the battlefield.

The southern army was more valiant and continued to charge forward, only to be met with repeated fire from the ashore sailors using muskets and crossbows.

Parakramama rode all the way back to the city of Victory, but encountered a soldier who came to deliver a message on the way.

"Your Majesty, the Victory City is gone!"

"Why not?"

"The other side has magic that can summon lightning; they've been hitting the city walls with iron lightning for two days."

"The false prince again shouted outside the city, saying that he would not pursue the crimes of anyone except His Majesty's entire family."

"It was also said that after he ascended the throne, he would promote Buddhism, build Buddhist temples on a grand scale, and invite many eminent monks and scriptures from the Ming Dynasty."

"They even...they promised to give the high monk an official position!"

"The monks in the city were tempted and secretly turned the two generals against them."

"There's a siege of iron mines outside the city, and a general and monks are rebelling inside. So the fake prince led his troops into the city!"

Parakramama stood still on his horse for a long time, then turned and galloped towards his birthplace.

.....

When the two armies clashed, the envoys of each country hid on their ships in advance.

The cannons roared, leaving the messengers utterly horrified.

After the battle ended, the Seljuk scholar Anwari, accompanied by a translator, approached Yingxuan: "Great General, what was that sound just now?"

Yingxuan said, "It is a weapon. A national treasure, it cannot be given to outsiders."

Anwari then asked, "Are they the same iron cylinders that were shipped off the ship a few days ago?"

Yingxuan stopped speaking.

Anwari, feeling foolish, returned to his cabin dejectedly.

He had only taken a few steps when another Zhu Luo envoy came over to try and extract information, but still couldn't get anything out of him.

Finally, envoys from various countries exchanged privately, discussing and speculating about how the weapons of the Ming Dynasty actually worked.

As the conversation progressed, it veered directly into the realm of mysticism.

Envoys from several states believed that firearms were a gift from the gods!

Some messengers also believed that the firearms were some kind of catapult.

Several days later, he fled back to his original territory, Parakramama, where he abdicated his title as king and requested to submit to the new king.

He also inquired about the safety of his family, requested the Ming army to release his relatives, and offered to offer a large amount of treasure.

“This man is considered a hero on the island,” Yu Yunwen said. “We have few soldiers, so even if we manage to break into his territory, it will be difficult to search the entire island and capture him.”

Cheng Yu said, "Since he is willing to relinquish the throne and offer up his treasures, we can accept it."

Hu Quan said, "Victory City is too far from the sea. After the Prince of Ceylon ascends the throne, it would be best to move the city to the port so that we can control it more easily in the future."

“Putalham Port will be left to him as the capital, while we will occupy the northern port of Mantei.”

“That’s a brilliant point,” Cheng Yu affirmed.

Yu Yunwen said, "Ceylon is a feudal system, so we can enfeoff more lords."

“Five more Kasyapas will be established and scattered throughout the island. The monks will elect eminent monks to serve as these monks and grant land to the temples where the Kasyapas reside.”

The civil officials exchanged glances and smiled.

The leader of the monks in Ceylon at that time was called "Mahakasyapa".

They bestowed titles upon five Mahakasyapas at once, and distributed them in various locations on the island, and also granted land to the Mahakasyapas' temples.

With the addition of the aristocratic feudal system, how could this island possibly be unified?

Once the decision is made, take immediate action.

Zhu Xiaozhong, along with the prince who had already ascended the throne, forcibly relocated half of the population of Victory City to the port of Putalem.

From now on, the royal city of Ceylon will be located right by the sea, making it convenient for the Ming army to launch attacks at any time.

After discussing it with the civil officials for a while, Zhu Xiaozhong found Xia Yuqing and said, "You must be quite resentful about leaving me here, right?"

Xia Yuqing replied irritably, "I wouldn't dare."

Zhu Xiaozhong said, "Your wives and children can be sent over next year."