Chu Ye had become commander of the Northern Legion not because he was particularly outstanding, but because his seniority was sufficient.
Secondly, he appeared coarse and uninhibited on the surface, cursing fathers and mothers at every turn, **ing heaven, earth, and air. But inwardly he was cautious and meticulous, his attitude humble.
Today upon meeting Zhi Li, his pair of knees seemed to lack bones, kneeling at every opportunity, declaring his sworn loyalty to His Highness with every breath.
Tomorrow upon meeting Tu Lingtuo, his waist seemed to lack bones, calling him Old Marshal, Old General, declaring at every moment that he was but a small soldier under his command.
Have you no shame? You, Chu Ye, were born into a traditional noble family, always gilding yourself in the Northern Legion. Only when attacking the Yelan Duchy did you once lead a supporting division to aid Tu Lingtuo, and before you even reached the Yelan Duchy, the war had already ended.
When did you ever serve under Duke Tu Lingtuo’s command?
But it was precisely such a man who could navigate between Tu Lingtuo and Zhi Li, holding the position of Northern Legion commander securely for all these years.
Speaking of military ability, Chu Ye had but two characteristics: thick skin, black heart, and beyond that, caution!
This caution did not mean he was very careful, but rather that he was steady and conventional, fighting according to the textbook.
Such a man, neither high nor low in insight.
However, it was precisely such a man who, when he saw over a hundred cannons on the southern bank positions fire simultaneously, and then the river-crossing troops fall like harvested wheat,
felt his heart seize violently, almost stopping.
Then came bone-chilling cold, cold sweat bursting from his back.
“Big trouble, big trouble…” Count Chu Ye muttered repeatedly, “I only hope these things don’t shoot too far, otherwise…”
Now, his considerations were no longer limited to his own battlefield, but the entire situation, especially Zhi Li’s central army.
His first thought was to immediately send someone to notify Zhi Li to beware of Suo Lun’s new weapons.
Very quickly he realised he was overthinking. His side had already begun battle, so Zhi Li’s central army must certainly have begun battle as well.
Standing at the high vantage point, he saw that the front row of the river-crossing troops had almost entirely perished.
Those hit by the small pellets fared better, merely dying. But those struck by chain shot were truly miserable, their bodies cleanly cut in half alive.
The first wave of twenty thousand river-crossing troops, after merely one round of cannon fire, had at least two to three thousand killed.
The remaining river-crossing troops were completely stunned, momentarily at a loss.
Many didn’t even understand what had happened. Why did a thunderous sound ring out, then many things rain down like a tempest, the sky seeming to darken, and the people in front all die?
At this moment, Count Chu Ye shrieked, “Continue crossing! Charge through, charge through…”
Immediately, the remaining over ten thousand river-crossing troops came to their senses, desperately rowing, attempting to cross these several dozen metres of river surface to reach the southern bank positions.
But the previous round of cannon fire had killed countless frontmost soldiers of the river-crossing troops. Several hundred bamboo rafts and wooden floats lost control, colliding chaotically, completely blocking the bamboo rafts behind.
Across a four li stretch of river, having one to two thousand bamboo rafts crossing simultaneously was truly too dense.
Count Chu Ye immediately ordered, “Cover the army’s river crossing!”
“Trebuchets, fire.”
“Giant crossbows, fire.”
“Archers, fire!”
Chu Ye’s army attempted to use dense ranged attacks to cover Suo Lun’s positions, covering the army’s river crossing.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…”
Over a hundred stone projectiles arced across several hundred metres of river surface, smashing towards the Suo clan’s southern bank positions.
Without city walls, these stone projectiles were truly astonishing in power.
But again, the accuracy of trebuchets was truly moving, completely dependent on luck.
The momentum was astonishing, but the casualties inflicted were limited.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…”
Immediately after, the sky seemed to suddenly darken.
Several thousand giant crossbows fired, tens of thousands of archers loosing simultaneously.
Arrows, like raindrops, suddenly fell upon Suo Lun’s southern bank positions.
But…
The killing power remained minuscule, because Suo Lun’s troops were in the crisscrossing trenches, all cannons inside hidden fortifications and blockhouses.
When the arrow rain came, the soldiers in the trenches merely had to raise their shields to completely block it.
“Swish, swish, swish…”
Chu Ye’s army, to cover the river-crossing troops, tens of thousands of soldiers continuously drew their bows and fired.
Countless arrows truly rained down like a tempest.
In a short time, the entire southern bank position was like a hedgehog, covered with countless arrows.
But seven minutes later!
The over one hundred cannons in Suo Lun’s southern bank positions had prepared their second round of firing.
And Count Chu Ye’s over ten thousand river-crossing troops had once again closed to within several dozen metres.
And this time, Yan Naier ordered all cannons switched to canister shot.
At the command!
“Fire!”
“Boom boom boom boom…”
Over one hundred cannons once again spat flames, thundering!
Then, an even more frenzied and terrifying tempest smashed forth.
Then…
Once more, the sound of rain striking sand!
Count Chu Ye painfully closed his eyes, completely unable to look.
Because this time, the casualties were greater than the first round of cannon fire.
This time all canister shot was used. In the several dozen jin shells were well over several hundred steel balls each.
And because the formation had collapsed, the over ten thousand river-crossing troops were all crowded together, scrambling to land on the southern bank.
The result…
After a rain of iron pellets, one could see the soldiers on countless bamboo rafts simply emptied.
Countless corpses densely fell into the water, carried away by the Furious River’s waters.
The originally turbid Furious River waters were now a sheet of bloody filth.
The first wave of twenty thousand river-crossing troops, after two rounds of cannon fire, had directly lost nearly half.
And the remaining half, wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, had already been scared out of their wits.
Chu Ye’s face trembled, his entire body shaking.
Should the remaining over ten thousand continue charging forward? That would be no different from delivering themselves to death.
But if they retreated just like this, what a blow to morale that would be!
And right at this moment…
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…”
From Suo Lun’s southern bank positions, tens of thousands of soldiers in the trenches drew their bows and fired.
Arrow rain, round after round, rained down upon the river surface.
One had to admit, tens of thousands of soldiers firing simultaneously, though dense, was far inferior in killing power to cannon canister shot.
After all, Suo Lun’s soldiers stood in trenches firing upwards in an arc, the hit rate truly very low.
And the cannons aimed at the crowds, firing suddenly, countless pellets surging forth like a giant net, impossible to dodge.
Though the arching arrow fire had very low accuracy, the river-crossing troops on the bamboo rafts still continuously fell into the river waters.
The remaining over ten thousand river-crossing troops were even more panicked and狼狈, not knowing whether to retreat or continue advancing.
“Sound the gong, withdraw troops!” Count Chu Ye said painfully.
Immediately, gong sounds rang out from the army’s rear.
The remaining river-crossing troops desperately turned their bamboo rafts, rowing towards the northern bank in escape.
But…
Just as they had rowed halfway.
The third round of cannon fire was already prepared.
“Boom boom boom…”
Countless pellets once again smashed forth like a tempest.
Because the distance was somewhat farther, the killing power was also somewhat less, but still countless soldiers were hit, dying instantly!
Immediately after, Suo Lun’s arrow rain, round after round of arcing fire.
In the end, the surviving river-crossing troops狼狈 fled back to the northern bank. Of the twenty thousand troops, only a mere five thousand returned.
The remaining fifteen thousand had already been buried in the Furious River.
Count Chu Ye felt waves of dizziness.
Fifteen thousand dead, for an army of two hundred and fifty thousand, was not many, not even ten percent.
But…
From the start of battle, less than one hour had passed.
A mere two hundred metres of Furious River had claimed over ten thousand lives.
The crucial point was, with this manner of fighting, there was completely no hope of crossing the river.
If it were arrows, shields could still block them. But the pellets fired by these cannons directly pierced through shields, claiming lives.
Of these fifteen thousand, five thousand were the so-called Southeast Pacification Army. A full ten thousand were his Northern Legion soldiers, the foundation of his family’s survival.
“Let others fight for the merit. Don’t blame me for being消极怠战 from now on.” Count Chu Ye thought inwardly.
Then, he suddenly ordered, “All trebuchets, giant crossbows, archers fire, annihilate the southern bank enemy.”
At these words, the other generals were stunned.
A Southeast Province civil official beside him said, “Count, are we not… crossing the river anymore?”
“** your mother’s hole.” Count Chu Ye thought inwardly.
Next…
On the northern bank of the Furious River, the fighting raged with great fervour!
Chu Ye’s army’s giant crossbows, archers, and trebuchets madly fired towards the southern bank positions.
The accuracy was very low, unable to inflict many casualties on Suo Lun’s army. Chu Ye knew this, but he only needed to show he was fighting desperately.
After all, the arrows were provided by Zhi Li, essentially free. But every soldier of the Northern Legion was the foundation of the Chu clan’s survival. Every death was a pity.
Anyway, I’ll just keep fighting. As for how many enemies I can actually eliminate, well… I’ll say whatever I please.
Having just begun battle and already smashed his head bloody against the Suo clan’s Furious River southern bank defence line, Count Chu Ye prepared to start slacking off and fighting消极怠战.
…
Count Chu Ye could slack off and play tricks, but Zhi Li could not, nor could Tu Lingtuo. They had no retreat.
The fierce battle at the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line began with full commitment from the very start!
Facing a four li long defensive line, Zhi Li’s first wave of siege troops numbered a full one hundred thousand.
His strategy was simple: directly pile up human lives!
Over twenty infantry formations, under the cover of giant shield carts and giant siege towers, continuously advanced.
Dense arrays of giant trebuchets and giant heavy crossbows moved to within five hundred metres.
“Fire… fire…”
Zhi Li’s trebuchets began volley firing, several thousand giant crossbows began volley firing.
Several hundred massive boulders smashed heavily upon the Wind Thunder Fortress defensive line’s walls, countless giant arrows striking the walls.
The momentum was astonishing, feeling as if the entire wall was trembling.
But…
The Wind Thunder Fortress defensive line’s walls were over ten metres thick. They were simply not something mere trebuchets could smash through.
After the trebuchets and giant crossbows fired.
Tu Lingtuo, upon his griffin beast’s back, roared loudly, “Army charge! Capture the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line! Exterminate Suo Lun!”
Amidst earth-shaking war drums, countless infantry surged like a tidal wave towards the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line several hundred metres away.
Zhi Li and Tu Lingtuo had gone mad!
In the first wave of attack, they directly sent forth fifty thousand infantry.
On a battlefield over four li wide and over one li long, they actually committed fifty thousand infantry. And the second wave of fifty thousand infantry was also prepared to charge out at any moment, relaying the siege.
This was completely piling up human lives. What battlefield was so densely packed?
Amidst the earth-shaking war drums, Zhi Li’s siege army very quickly entered within five hundred metres range!
“Fire, fire…”
At Suo Lun’s command!
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…”
Several hundred trebuchets on the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line, countless giant crossbows, fired madly.
At this distance, Suo Lun did not use cannons!
Although cannons shot farther and with higher accuracy. But each volley required a full six to seven minutes to prepare, and in that time Zhi Li’s infantry could already charge across several hundred metres to below the walls.
Moreover, Suo Lun currently only had gunpowder, not powerful explosives. So even with explosive shells, the killing power was very small.
Using solid shot against infantry, though the killing power was decent, it was still inferior to trebuchets, and even more inferior to using trebuchets to lob gunpowder packs.
So unless he had high explosives, Suo Lun absolutely would not use explosive shells against infantry. Too鸡肋.
His strategy for the several hundred cannons was very clear: wait until the enemy was close, then fire canister shot!
…
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…”
What the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line’s several hundred trebuchets lobbed out were uniformly gunpowder packs, from several dozen jin to several hundred jin gunpowder packs!
“Boom boom boom boom…”
Several hundred gunpowder packs smashed into Zhi Li’s army formation, a series of earth-shaking, heaven-moving explosions.
Even Zhi Li, several li behind, felt the ground trembling.
And with each explosion, whether giant crossbow or trebuchet nearby, they were directly torn apart like toys, hurled into the air.
As for the soldiers, it was even more astonishing. They were directly blasted to pieces.
Riding his griffin beast overlooking the battlefield, Zhi Li saw clearly. When one giant gunpowder pack fell into an infantry formation.
Though those infantry had already fled frantically in all directions.
But… after one thunderous explosion…
That entire infantry formation seemed to have a huge empty space, not knowing how many had died.
Seeing this scene, Zhi Li’s face turned green!
Suo Lun’s gunpowder was too astonishing!
Earlier, Zhi Li’s trebuchets and giant crossbows’ first volley against the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line had inflicted minuscule casualties.
And one volley from Suo Lun had caused at least several thousand casualties.
“Suo Lun’s gunpowder is indeed anti-Divine Dragon power, anti-traditional. Its power is too astonishing.” Zhi Li said with lingering fear, “Now I finally know how Gui Xingfu lost, and how Uncle Zhi Wei was completely annihilated.”
Duke Tu Lingtuo said, “Your Highness, rest assured. One volley from giant trebuchets requires over half a quarter hour. In that time, our soldiers have already charged below the walls. Such terrifying bombardment can only occur for one round.”
Zhi Li said, “Once they charge below the walls, Suo Lun will also throw down fire oil, correct?”
“Correct.” Tu Lingtuo said, “But our trebuchets’ second volley will also throw fish oil bombs. If they throw fire oil barrels down from the walls, they will likely burn themselves alive. And we have fire-proof shields, fire-proof siege towers, fire-proof cloaks. Suo Lun’s fire oil tactics can no longer have such massive killing power as before.”
“Charge charge charge…”
The soldiers who had survived the first round of gunpowder pack bombardment ran madly, charging towards the Wind Thunder Fortress walls.
The distance drew closer and closer…
Three hundred metres, two hundred metres, over one hundred metres!
Right at this moment…
Suo Lun shrieked, “All cannons prepare!”
“All trebuchets, prepare!”
“Fire!”
The densely packed several hundred cannons along the entire Wind Thunder Fortress defence line all fired!
“Boom boom boom boom…”
It looked as if the entire wall had suddenly spat forth flames.
The soldiers on the walls clearly felt the entire wall tremble violently.
Then, countless metallic glints flashed!
Several hundred thousand pellets, like the densest tempest, suddenly smashed towards the densest siege army.
At the same time, several hundred trebuchets, second volley.
This time the lobbing distance was very close, less than two hundred metres.
But the gunpowder packs lobbed were very large.
Several hundred gunpowder packs fell into the siege army crowds. After earth-shaking explosions.
What shot out was not only flames, but also countless shrapnel, countless pellets, countless lead shot!
The most primitive cluster bomb!
In this instant, on this mere five hundred thousand square metre battlefield, over one million pellets suddenly exploded, flying and shooting madly.
Over one million pellets, flying and shooting chaotically within such a narrow space!
Such a crowded battlefield, densely packed everywhere with soldiers.
Zhi Li in the air saw clearly.
After the flames erupted, that narrow battlefield seemed to have suddenly been swept by a metallic tempest.
Then…
That area seemed to simply empty!
Immediately after, a cloud of blood mist suddenly rose into the air.
Instantly, Zhi Li felt his back turn ice-cold!
Then, his mind went completely blank!
Now, he finally knew why Zhi Li’s one hundred thousand navy had lost so terribly, nearly completely annihilated!
And Tu Lingduo’s body also trembled violently, her eyes instantly widening to their maximum!
This, perhaps, was the most terrifying slaughter in the history of the Raging Waves Kingdom?
The previous fire attack, though it had burned over one hundred thousand to death in one go. But that had after all consumed no short amount of time.
But now, it was truly just a whoosh.
In mere moments, the metallic tempest smashed through.
Then, countless people perished!