blogombal Page 498
Page 498
Pang Ban looked at the mastermind behind the plan—the little demon master Fang Yeyu—and shook his head.
It's true that the masters of the Central Plains are all fiercely independent and that with a little strategy, they can basically turn each other into enemies.
The key is that this scheme must not be exposed, otherwise it will backfire on them.
"If you want to sow discord among these experts from the Central Plains, then you must eliminate one of them."
Otherwise, with this person present, these grandmasters from the Central Plains wouldn't have fought at all; in fact, they would have united to put pressure on the grasslands.
"What Master said is true..."
"Which member of the Zhang family!" (Li)
Chapter 580 The Power of Firearms as Foreign Races March South
Dark clouds loomed over the city, their aura overwhelming!
Hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen approached Yanmen Pass, their momentum sweeping across the mountains and rivers. Even the Yanmen garrison commander looked solemn.
Even though they were thirty miles apart, the sheer number of imposing iron cavalry was enough to shake the confidence of all the soldiers guarding the pass, after all, this was a battle with a huge disparity in strength.
Even with natural barriers as a defense, it would likely still be unable to stop the overwhelming force of the Northern Yuan cavalry.
Moreover, the Northern Yuan army consisted of more than just hundreds of thousands of cavalry. The towering catapults, some four or five zhang tall, were a sight to behold.
Clearly, this was a well-prepared event.
These specially designed, enormous catapults were built to break through the formidable natural barrier of Yanmen Pass.
"General, the Northern Yuan is coming with overwhelming force this time, and we have no support whatsoever..."
"presumptuous!"
He glanced at his deputy general; if it weren't for the fact that the deputy had been by his side for over ten years, he would have killed him with a single sword strike for those words that had just disrupted the morale of the army.
This time, the empire mobilized a large number of border troops to fight against the invasion of the Later Zhou Empire, making the nine passes the weakest point.
After all, the northern frontier is protected by natural barriers, while the central plains and inland areas only have a few major passes—Tongguan, Hulaoguan…
Most of the land is flat and level.
This is also why the alien races used the "4-6-3" strategy to break through the nine passes—
Advance to attack, retreat to defend!
Having captured a strategic pass with nine passes, the Central Plains of China became their backyard, ready to be plundered from the south at any time.
"Don't worry, this time the enemy of Beiyuan is not us, but those martial arts practitioners who have been frequently emerging from seclusion recently!"
"Those江湖草莽?"
The lieutenant was somewhat skeptical, but the general knew that these outlaws were no ordinary outlaws.
Ordinary rabble would not be so scary, but a cunning fox-like wolf has emerged from a pack of lone wolves.
The lone wolf's strength and the jackal's cunning were such that even an experienced hunter dared not confront them head-on.
"Just wait and see, those martial arts figures are no ordinary bandits."
Moreover, our mission is to defend the pass and the newly built fortifications, and test the power of the Zhang family's red-coated cannons!
"Yes!"
The Ming Dynasty had no shortage of cannons from the Red Barbarians.
However, the Zhang family possesses top-notch steelmaking technology, and the red cannons they sent this time were ten upgraded versions of the Hongyi Cannons, specially transported by those experts.
Each cannon was two zhang long and weighed ten thousand jin. The cannonballs had to be specially made and were a full chi in diameter.
The artillery emplacements were also provided by the Zhang family, featuring a 75-degree rotating emplacement. Their power and range were absolutely formidable.
"Adjust the firing angle, aim at those catapults, and prepare white phosphorus bombs!"
The white phosphorus shells were special shells provided by the Zhang family, totaling one hundred.
A white phosphorus bomb with a diameter of one foot can have a kill radius of ten feet.
Moreover, the white phosphorus and poison gas that splashed out were poisonous fire enhanced by Zhang Xiaoshan; they were indeed poison gas bombs, terrifying weapons of mass destruction!
The incendiary properties of white phosphorus bombs, in particular, caused enormous damage to catapults.
The ten newly built forts were not only for convenience, but also because the Hongyi cannons had such a large recoil that they could only be used against external forces, not internal ones.
Otherwise, ordinary turrets simply couldn't withstand the recoil of this upgraded Red Coat Cannon.
"Fire! Destroy their catapults!"
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Each gunner on the turret had over ten years of experience, and with the Zhang family's precision calibration equipment, although they couldn't achieve accurate strikes, they still managed to affect three catapults.
In an instant, the terrifying power of the Red Barbarian Cannon startled the Northern Yuan cavalry, who were twenty kilometers away.
Moreover, the plumes of white smoke that followed the loud bang were not gunpowder, but white phosphorus.
If it gets on your skin or leather clothing, it can cause burns or even be completely burned.
"Water! Water..."
"Ah, help me, help me..."
"It hurts so much, my hand is burned through..."
The screams and wails were deafening; even before they reached Yanmen Pass, at least a thousand men had been lost.
Moreover, the destruction of the three catapults startled even the Prince of Ruyang.
We've been fighting these border armies for years, and we've even been suppressed by them, relying solely on natural barriers for defense. When did they acquire such terrifying weapons?
In the past, the red-coated cannons could only injure a few cavalrymen at most, but now the number has increased by tens or even hundreds of times.
The main reason was the power of the shells, coupled with the terrifying burning of white phosphorus as it turned into flowing fire.
There is also a toxic gas and a foul odor; if it lasts more than three seconds, it will cause dizziness and other signs of poisoning.
"What a vicious incendiary bomb!"
Beside the Prince of Ruyang stood a handsome middle-aged man in black robes, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.
The incendiary power of the shells, the imposing middle-aged man in the gold-trimmed black robe—how could he not understand what kind of method this was? It was none other than the domineering weapon of the Zhang family's Blood Droplets.
Unexpectedly, it's now being used by border guards, and its power is terrifyingly strong.
"This is an incendiary bomb!"
On Yanmen Mountain not far away, Luo Rulie watched the power of the incendiary bomb, his eyes gleaming with intense light.
The Zhang family's incendiary bombs were so powerful that they had only appeared a few times in the martial arts world. This was the first time she had ever seen their legendary power.
Not to mention Luo Rulie, everyone who witnessed the power of the incendiary bomb dared not stand still.
If it were an ordinary thunderbolt, their agility and protective aura would at most cause their blood and qi to surge.
This is still under the condition that they were able to ambush them!
But this Burning Island is different; it leaves no way out. The explosive power, terrifying combustion, and toxic gas properties combined are not as simple as one plus one.
Even Wei Zhuang and Chi Lian were wary of it.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Three minutes later, another round of artillery fire continued. With the first round of test firing, the second round of precise strikes affected a total of five catapults.
Moreover, in densely packed areas, a single cannon shot not only severely injured dozens of cavalrymen, but the power of the flying sparks, combined with the cumulative spread of poison gas, caused the Prince of Ruyang to go berserk.
Unfortunately, even the experts around him couldn't simply leap through the air and dismantle those cannons that were at least three zhang high on the chasm.
Moreover, the fortifications were located inside the city walls, where even catapults couldn't achieve such precise strikes.
Moreover, the attack range of the projectile vehicle is at most within thirty or forty feet!
"Speed up!"
The time it took to replace the gunpowder was their fatal moment, as the iron cavalry charged forward at breakneck speed.
But with hundreds of thousands of cavalry, it took four or five rounds before the white phosphorus incendiary bombs were exhausted before they were replaced with other red-coated cannons.
The distance is too close; the super cannon cannot be deployed.
But at this moment, the "small" cannons launched round after round of gunpowder attacks. Although there were no white phosphorus shells, the power of the black powder still caused the Northern Yuan cavalry a lot of trouble.
However, compared to the attack range of a super cannon, the terrifying power of white phosphorus bombs is child's play.
"General!"
Looking at the hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry that were already at the city gates, the seemingly domineering attack had actually only wiped out one-tenth of the enemy's iron cavalry.
In normal times, this would definitely be considered an extraordinary feat of war.
Unfortunately, their hopes remain slim.
These Northern Yuan cavalrymen were like wild wolves; a round of incendiary bombs not only failed to frighten them but also ignited their ferocity.
"Prepare to defend!"
Rolling logs, falling rocks, tung oil... and tear gas, small incendiary bombs, and twenty-tube rocket-propelled grenades sponsored by the Zhang family...
The general had met Xingyin and knew that the Zhang family would not make a move this afternoon.
After all, in a direct confrontation, a group of martial arts masters would definitely suffer a great loss against the Northern Yuan cavalry; a night raid is the best way for assassins.
However, in order to help them resist the attack of the Northern Yuan cavalry, the Zhang family provided them with a lot of supplies.
For example, rockets; the Empire already had similar gunpowder arrows, but they were severely restricted.
The Zhang family's rocket launchers were reinforced, and they were arranged in four rows and five columns, with each rocket containing white phosphorus gunpowder resembling a giant incendiary bomb.
This is a concentrated, terrifying attack!
Thump! Thump! Thump...
Woo! Woo! Woo...
The drums beat loudly, and the bugle calls for attack sounded simultaneously.
As for catapults?
Because of the difficulty of transporting them, even the few vehicles that were not destroyed were still ten miles behind.
Moreover, with only a few catapults, their effect was negligible; at this point, they had no choice but to launch a direct attack themselves.
In an instant, iron cavalry charged forward, and a group of warriors carried siege ladders, preparing to attack the city.
The deputy general, witnessing this scene, looked on with resentment and worry.
betray?
He was also a veteran of the battlefield and knew that from the time of the white phosphorus bombs, once these foreign cavalrymen entered the pass, none of the garrison troops stationed at the pass would be spared.
Surrender? Utterly useless!
That's the nearest city behind them; there's a 90% chance it will be slaughtered!
Each time these foreign tribes raided southwards, the greater the losses, the more bloodthirsty they became during each raid.
Slaughtering villages and towns was commonplace.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Suddenly, a series of loud explosions rang out, and the alien cavalry that had just charged forward were instantly turned into a bloody mist, along with their horses.
Moreover, its domineering power and the splashing iron nails caused many cavalry to be caught in the crossfire.
Leaving aside the alien cavalry, even the defenders on the city walls stared in disbelief at the exploding lightning bolts hitting the ground, each one taking away at least one cavalryman.
In a short moment, all the alien cavalry looked in terror at that vast open space.
Even the fierce aura from before was shattered by the sudden explosion, leaving his mind blank and unable to take another step forward.
After all, the deaths of those vanguard soldiers who were blown into a bloody mist were too shocking.
Moreover, they had no idea where this gunpowder came from, or how much more was ahead of them.
Nobody wants to risk their life by walking on a landmine!