Count Tuye’s calculations were sound. Had he faced a cunning opponent, they would have played the game most agreeably.
Unfortunately, he encountered an opponent whose eyes could not tolerate a single grain of sand.
Yan Naier cared nothing for his theatrics. Once provoked, her sole intention was to destroy him!
After Tuye completely abandoned his river crossing, she immediately ordered the gun carriages raised, aiming at Tuye’s army positions on the northern riverbank.
“Fire, fire, fire, fire…”
Half canister shot, half solid shot.
Crossing more than two hundred metres of river, they crashed down upon Tuye’s northern riverbank positions.
“Whoosh…”
At this distance, the lethality and accuracy of canister shot were somewhat wanting.
Yet still, soldiers fell in waves!
As for solid shot, at this distance the killing power was utterly devastating.
Although the northern bank of the Nu River had been prepared, it remained rather narrow. Several tens of thousands of troops arrayed here were already packed shoulder to shoulder.
Every time a solid shot struck.
“Bang…”
After one tremendous crash, it would directly plough a bloody furrow.
Moreover, because the ground here was hard, it easily caused ricochets.
Cannonballs weighing several dozen jin charged rampantly through the crowd. Wherever they passed, legs were severed and bodies broken.
A single round of artillery fire from over two hundred metres away had actually inflicted several hundred casualties.
Count Tuye nearly jumped from his feet. Soron’s wife, are you bloody stupid?
I’ve stopped crossing the river. I’ve already begun my performance. And you’re still firing at me?
And just at this moment…
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Suddenly, whistling sounds came from the air once more.
The giant trebuchets hidden in the trenches began to show their might!
Gunpowder charges weighing several hundred jin, as if thrown by a massive hand, hurtled over and fell into Tuye’s army formations.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom…”
Earth-shattering explosions!
Countless soldiers were torn to pieces, corpses flying through the air!
At this moment, Yan Naier felt that although cannons were extremely powerful.
At medium to long range, their killing power was still inferior to trebuchet-launched gunpowder charges, especially when enemy troops were extremely dense. The explosive power of several hundred jin of gunpowder far exceeded any cannonball.
The advantage of cannons lay in their range, and their accuracy was higher than trebuchets.
Their greatest advantage, however, still lay in firing canister shot at close range. The killing power was simply unmatched.
Instantly, Count Tuye was left with tears he could not shed.
…
The Wind and Thunder Fortress defensive line battlefield!
Just now, several hundred cannons on the city walls had fired, and trebuchets had hurled out several hundred primitive cluster bombs. (The explosive charges wrapped with lead shot, fragments, and so forth were actually quite different from cluster bombs, at least these small projectiles did not explode.)
In an instant, over a million projectiles burst across that ground of one to two hundred thousand square metres.
Whether it was Zhili in the air, or Soron on the city walls, both clearly saw.
That area was instantly emptied!
Then, the entire battlefield fell into a terrifying silence. (Relatively speaking.)
And Zhili seemed to have lost all sensation.
His eyes could not see, his ears could not hear, there was only a constant roaring.
Only after quite some time…
Did all sensation gradually return to his body.
Then, he saw upon the battlefield below the Wind and Thunder Fortress walls, soldier after soldier climbing to their feet.
Every person was covered in blood, though whether it was their own or the enemy’s, none could tell.
When those over a million projectiles had suddenly burst open just now, that area had been instantly emptied, as if everyone had died completely clean.
In truth, this was not the case!
This was not at sea, nor was it the Nu River. Once struck, one would likely fall into the water and vanish entirely.
This was on land. Many projectiles and fragments, after piercing into bodies, were not necessarily immediately fatal.
Moreover, the crowd was packed tight. It was very likely that some people were struck by several dozen or even over a hundred projectiles at once, dead beyond any doubt.
While others, shielded by their comrades before them, were merely grazed by fragments and projectiles.
In the end, the soldiers who climbed up from the ground still numbered over twenty thousand.
Soron estimated that the simultaneous canister shot from several hundred cannons just now, plus the primitive cluster bombs hurled by several hundred trebuchets, should have inflicted over ten thousand casualties upon the army below.
So of the first wave of soldiers charging to attack the city, a large majority actually remained.
Zhili’s body seemed to have completely regained its warmth, and he said in delight, “They didn’t all die. Many remain.”
Only Tulingtuo knew that even if over twenty thousand remained, it was useless, because the momentum of the siege had been halted. Order and formation had been completely shattered.
Originally, the distribution of fireproof shields had been carefully arranged, so as to protect the majority of soldiers.
But now…
These so-called fireproof shields, bought at high prices, had all been discarded upon the ground.
Sure enough…
“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”
Many openings on the city walls slid open, and countless barrels of burning oil rolled down.
On the city walls, countless strongmen raised barrels of burning oil and smashed them downward.
Then, countless fire arrows were shot down…
Many medium and small scorpion trebuchets began to hurl.
Still those terrifying gunpowder charge cluster bombs.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”
Soldiers who had lost organisation and command could only be a scattered rabble.
What awaited them was one-sided slaughter!
Burned to death by fire!
Blown to death by gunpowder charges!
Pierced through the body by countless projectiles!
In the end, the fifty thousand soldiers of the first siege wave were completely annihilated.
They had not even effectively scaled the city walls!
…
And just at this moment, the second round of artillery preparation at the Wind and Thunder Fortress defensive line was complete!
“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…”
Several hundred cannons fired simultaneously.
The target was Zhili’s position of giant trebuchets!
Fifty percent solid shot, thirty percent explosive shells, twenty percent chain shot.
This was an experimental barrage, meant to prove, under existing technological conditions, how effective explosive shells were?
Furthermore, at medium to long range, a comparison of killing power between cannons and giant trebuchets.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Several hundred projectiles swept past like black lightning.
The results were optimistic, yet also very much not optimistic.
Optimistic because, whether solid shot or chain shot, even in land warfare the killing power was considerable.
Because Zhili’s army was simply too numerous, their formations too dense.
Solid shot fired out directly ploughed a bloody furrow. Wherever it passed, corpses flew through the air.
And chain shot was even more terrifying, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, flying past and severing countless heads. But its power was far inferior to naval warfare, and it was not well suited to land warfare. Its range was also relatively unsatisfactory.
As for explosive shells, they proved exactly as anticipated. Each explosive shell contained over ten jin of gunpowder, and the killing power was truly mediocre, far inferior to giant gunpowder charges. Moreover, the dud rate was quite high.
Before high explosives appeared, explosive shells truly held little significance.
Not optimistic, because Soron’s target for this barrage was the enemy’s trebuchet positions.
But after one round of firing, fewer than ten giant trebuchets had been damaged.
This result was acceptable, but it was merely comparable to the results of one hundred giant trebuchets.
Giant trebuchets had even lower accuracy, but could hurl several hundred jin of gunpowder spheres. Once they exploded, all targets within the radius would be affected.
“Use giant trebuchets to destroy the enemy’s trebuchets and giant crossbow positions.” Soron ordered. “All cannons, use solid shot to attack Zhili’s army at long range!”
“Yes!”
…
The slight warmth that had just returned to Zhili’s body now turned cold once more!
Just now, he had watched with his own eyes as the first wave of fifty thousand siege troops died completely.
Not only him, but all the feudal lords behind him had watched clearly as well.
To everyone’s confidence, this was truly a devastating blow!
Zhili’s gaze involuntarily turned towards Tulingtuo!
He saw this kingdom’s foremost commander seemingly aged several years. Because of his frown, his originally very faint wrinkles now looked as if cut by a knife.
“Should the second wave of siege troops go up?” Zhili asked.
Tulingtuo shook his head.
Sending a second wave of fifty thousand men up would be utterly meaningless.
Warfare had been changed, changed by Soron’s gunpowder and cannons.
In the previous age of purely cold weapons, the number of soldiers held decisive importance.
But now, before terrifying war machines, greater numbers were no longer of much use. At best, they were merely offering up heads.
“Hurl fish oil bombs. Destroy Soron’s giant trebuchets as much as possible!” Tulingtuo said.
Tulingtuo had discovered that although Soron’s cannons were astonishing, in terms of killing power they did not necessarily greatly exceed trebuchets.
The giant gunpowder charges hurled by giant trebuchets just now, especially those primitive cluster bombs thrown at the end, had killing power that was truly astonishing, completely no less than cannon canister shot.
Thus, the two armies subsequently began long-range mutual bombardment.
Several hundred of Zhili’s army’s trebuchets madly hurled fish oil bombs.
While Soron’s giant trebuchets madly hurled gunpowder charges.
Countless explosives crossed paths in the air. Then fell into the opposing positions.
One had to admit, these fish oil bombs inflicted no small casualties upon Soron’s army.
Once troops were struck, over a dozen people would be completely engulfed in flames.
And once a trebuchet was struck, it would immediately burst into raging fire.
Most terrifying of all was when gunpowder charges were ignited, exploding directly upon the city walls. Not only were their own trebuchets blown to pieces, but the soldiers manning the trebuchets were also torn to bits, corpses flying through the air.
Thus, the two sides madly bombarded one another.
Before long, Soron’s entire Wind and Thunder Fortress wall seemed to be burning in raging flames.
Soron’s several hundred cannons aimed at Zhili’s army several hundred metres, over a thousand metres away, and fired madly.
The power of solid shot in land warfare completely refreshed Soron’s impression.
In naval warfare, solid shot had not displayed extremely astonishing killing power, inferior to chain shot, grape shot, and canister shot.
But in land warfare, especially when enemy formations were extremely dense, the power of solid shot was incomparably terrifying.
“Bang…”
Once struck, it would actually penetrate several dozen metres deep. All soldiers along the way would have their limbs severed and bodies broken, even torn to pieces.
If one was lucky, the cannonball landed on soft mud ground.
If one was unlucky, it landed on hard stone ground and caused a ricochet. That killing power was even more unmatched.
And in the mutual trebuchet bombardment between the two sides!
Although Soron also suffered heavy losses, by comparison, several hundred jin of gunpowder spheres, compared to fish oil bombs, were far more powerful.
Every round of trebuchet salvo could inflict damage upon seven or eight of Zhili’s trebuchets.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom…”
Thus, the two sides continued long-range bombardment.
The reason Tulingtuo did this was to restore the army’s morale and confidence.
Because attacking the Wind and Thunder Fortress defensive line with burning oil bombs did indeed look visually astonishing.
After just a few short rounds of salvo, the entire Wind and Thunder Fortress defensive line seemed to be on fire.
Thus, visually speaking, Soron’s situation appeared to be at a disadvantage, after all the entire defensive line was ablaze.
In this way, it diluted the tragic impression of the first wave of fifty thousand siege troops being completely annihilated just now.
However…
This superficial advantage was utterly destroyed by Soron’s cannons.
It was simply too astonishing, firing too far.
In previous battlefields, anywhere beyond five hundred metres was absolutely safe.
But now, even two or three li away was not safe.
Every round of Soron’s artillery fire left the entire army trembling with fear.
Because it was simply too terrifying, too brutal!
Several dozen jin projectiles flying over, effortlessly ploughing a bloody furrow, effortlessly taking the lives of over a dozen, even several dozen men.
These cannons either missed their mark, but once they hit, the casualties were countless.
…
Lord Tiemucheng was one of the feudal lords who hated Soron the most.
Of course, Soron had done nothing to him. His hatred mainly stemmed from fear.
Because his territory was in the Southeastern Province, and after Soron became acting governor of the Southeastern Province, he had constantly opposed Soron.
Every day he lived in trepidation, fearing that one day Soron would lead his army charging into Tiemucheng and slaughter his entire clan clean.
Now that Zhili was leading several hundred thousand troops to attack Soron, he was completely overjoyed, simply waiting for Soron’s destruction.
Yesterday, the scandal between Zhili and Tulingduo had been exposed, and he still felt the lingering fear. But so what? His current mortal enemy was still Soron. He stood firmly on Zhili’s side, watching Soron torn to pieces.
After today’s great battle erupted, his blood boiled with excitement. He wished he could take the lead personally, leading soldiers forward to charge and kill.
But once the battle began, he was instantly chilled to the bone.
The first wave of fifty thousand troops had been completely annihilated without even scaling the walls.
Too terrifying…
Subsequently, Zhili no longer sent troops to siege the city, but instead engaged in long-range mutual bombardment.
Lord Tiemucheng burned with anxious impatience, roaring, “Why aren’t we attacking the city? Why aren’t we attacking the city? If fifty thousand won’t do, then a hundred thousand, a hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred thousand! Pile up Soron with human lives, tear him to pieces!”
And just at this moment…
Suddenly, a whistling sound came from the air!
Then a black lightning bolt flew fiercely over!
Lord Tiemucheng’s heart filled with shock. What, what was this?
His dozen or so trusted warriors reacted with extreme speed, immediately using their bodies to shield their lord, raising shields to block!
“Bang…”
One tremendous crash, and that cannonball effortlessly smashed the shield to pieces.
“Puff, puff, puff…”
Then, it directly tore through the bodies of several trusted warriors.
Then, with a bang!
A solid shot of over twenty jin directly smashed into Lord Tiemucheng’s head.
His head, like an overripe watermelon, suddenly exploded, completely pulverised!
After shattering Lord Tiemucheng’s head, this projectile seemed to have exhausted its momentum, crashing to the ground.
“Argh…”
Immediately following came the incomparably mournful shriek of the Young Lord of Tiemucheng.
Because he suddenly felt no sensation in his legs. Looking down, from the groin down, everything was a blur of blood and flesh.
“Argh… argh… argh…”
Instantly, he let out an even more incomparably mournful howl!
…
The death of Lord Tiemucheng brought unparalleled shock and terror to the high command of Zhili’s army.
At that time, he had been a full three li away from the Wind and Thunder Fortress defensive line!
And yet, he was still struck in the head!
Was nowhere safe, even two or three li away? In truth, Lord Tiemucheng was purely unlucky. Being struck at this distance, he could really have bought a lottery ticket.
But these cowardly nobles and feudal lords did not think this way.
If these cannonballs could kill Lord Tiemucheng, they could naturally kill them as well.
Instantly, all high nobles, all feudal lords, all high-ranking civil officials turned icy cold in all four limbs, retreating like a tidal wave.
Once these people retreated, the entire army’s morale instantly plummeted.
“Your Highness, we must withdraw the troops and retreat, otherwise a great rout will occur!” Tulingtuo said.
Zhili’s heart bled, and he said through gritted teeth, “The army retreats five li!”
Instantly, countless gong sounds rang out!
Several hundred thousand troops retreated in disarray, withdrawing to beyond five li away.
Zhili’s four hundred and fifty thousand troops attacking the Wind and Thunder Fortress defensive line, on merely the first day, had lost several tens of thousands, and been driven back several li.
This was not even the most terrifying thing!
The most terrifying thing was the political consequences after his defeat!
Yesterday, he and Tulingtuo had forcibly called a deer a horse, completely suppressing everyone’s inner discontent.
Now, it was very likely to completely backfire!
After retreating to the great camp, would someone challenge him? Would someone rebel?
Or even, taking his, Zhili’s, head to offer up as merit to Soron?