sweeping the world

Chapter 644 Bad things can turn into good things

Dingxiang is not the real capital city, Shihu came here during the strategic retreat, the scope of the palace city is incomparable with the normal capital city.

The walls of Miyagi are neither high nor thick. There are not many palaces and towers in Miyagi, but there is a large square with a large area.

The fact is the same, it is not the real Miyagi, and there are [-] to [-] troops stationed in it. Where there are troops, there must be squares for exercises.

The Han army who entered the city saw the bloody scene like a Shura field. Many people with low mental capacity were already vomiting, but those who had adapted long ago focused on the possible counterattack of the enemy.

The roar of trampling horseshoes sounded as the general had expected in advance. Looking at the center of Miyagi, there was thick dust and smoke, and the sound of roaring horseshoes came from the dust and smoke.

The remnants of the Jie people repeatedly tried to break out of the siege, because the Han army set up many traps against the cavalry outside Dingxiang City. The armored cavalry equipment of the Longteng guards often suffered great losses but achieved little results. The main force of the battle became armored heavy infantry.

When the Han army broke into the city of Dingxiang, the two armies fought in a wave of ruins everywhere, and the unstoppable defenders retreated into the palace city.While defending the walls of Miyagi, another wave of armored heavy infantry was lost, but the loss of armored and cavalry equipment was limited.

"I knew I wouldn't sit back and wait for death." At this moment, Ran Min led the generals to climb onto the battered city wall, watching the dust and mist sweeping in from a distance, and listening to the thundering horse hooves: "Send the car early. The crossbow was hung on the city wall just to wait for this moment."

Cranes existed in the pre-Qin period, but they disappeared in the Han Dynasty for some reason. According to normal history, they would not be rediscovered until the Song Dynasty. Isn’t there still Liu Yan?
The standing army of the Han State has been in a state of war for many years, and it has enough experience in how to deal with cavalry after fighting many barbarians.

When the enemy's cavalry was found to be coming, the leading generals ordered their soldiers to go up, the infantry retreated to the edge of the city wall to form a dense formation, and the cavalry began to cruise in groups.

It makes sense for the infantry to retreat towards the city wall. The cavalry needs a large enough space to maneuver flexibly. The infantry is more afraid of the cavalry attacking from the front and the back relying on their own speed. The existence of the city wall is the support behind it. One less position where the cavalry can cruise is equal to one less threat.

At the same time, it is also a correct consideration for the cavalry to detach. The area within the palace city is limited. It is unwise to use light cavalry and sudden cavalry to attack the armored cavalry. It is really necessary to disperse and cruise and pull. It is best to pull the enemy troops into four directions. , instead of pulling the enemy troops to scatter, you can also find opportunities to make a surprise attack from different positions.

"There should be nearly a thousand?" Li Tan is the general who conquered the north. It is a necessary skill to judge the number of enemy troops by listening to the movement: "Bronze cannons and trebuchets throw explosive packets fiercely, how about bed crossbows?"

There should be more than two hundred bed crossbows hoisted on the city wall. They have been busy debugging since they were hoisted up, and most of them are ready to be launched.

"The explosives used for bed crossbows are small in size, so they are not as powerful as those used for catapults." Ran Min is telling the truth, the launch tension of bed crossbows and catapults is really different: "To deal with flesh and blood The number of enemy troops is enough."

In fact, the initial idea of ​​throwing explosives by the catapult was not simply to blow up people, but more to destroy the fortifications built by the enemy, and also to use the explosive power of explosives to clear obstacles.

"Oh?" Li Tan was watching the bed crossbow operation team install the crossbow, and saw the explosive package tied to the thick shaft of the crossbow: "Will it affect the shooting range?"

Ran Min nodded, and simply replied, "Naturally."

The billowing dust from the horseshoes was getting closer and closer. The dragon guards on horseback must have been shouting while charging, but they were covered by the roar of horseshoes.

"Four hundred steps!"

"Three hundred steps!"

"Two hundred steps!"

"preparation--"

"ignition!"

"shoot!"

The heavy hammer struck the huge trigger, the sound of the bowstring clanging resounded, and a sharp whistling burst through the air.

Li Tan seemed to have thought of something and said: "If the size is made smaller, the crossbow can also fire explosives."

Of course, there is such a concept. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, there were bow and crossbow troops carrying out this kind of operation. That is, the gunpowder at that time could only hear a noise and emit some smoke, and it was really not very lethal.

It is precisely because the gunpowder is not very lethal, so the practice of tying the gunpowder to the arrow as an explosion was abandoned. Later, the arrow boosted by gunpowder was specially researched, and it was given a nice name called a swarm of bees.

The formula of gunpowder that Liu Yan came up with was correct, and it was specially processed into granular gunpowder. Although the explosion power was not as powerful as yellow gunpowder, the lethality was not bad.

The bed crossbow was fired, and soon there were bursts of explosions in the billowing dust and smoke. The loud noise was accompanied by the neighing of war horses and the wailing of people.

Amidst the sound of explosions, a column of smoke rose into the air, and the gas explosion generated by the explosion swept away the smoke from the trampling horseshoes, and a cloud of smoke from the explosion quickly covered it.

Because of the smog, it was really difficult to see the specific situation, but from the sound of the movement, the sound of the horse's hooves was no longer so loud.

"Look." Li Tan pointed to the scattered enemy troops: "It is said that the loud noise will frighten the war horses and cause a horse frightening phenomenon."

A large number of cavalry galloping together will roll up thick dust and smoke. Even if the number is small, the dust will be trampled, but it will not be able to cause a large area of ​​thick smoke.

Standing on the city wall and watching from a high position, the Soaring Dragon Guard was completely confused after being hit by a wave of explosives. It was the kind of scene where even if a person was not frightened, his mount would run around disobediently after being frightened.

"The king has come up with an incredible weapon." Ran Min was talking about gunpowder. Although he was happy that his side had mastered such a sharp weapon, he couldn't help but feel a sense of despair: "With the emergence of this weapon, combat no longer relies on bravery."

Not to mention flesh and blood, even huge rocks will be shattered by bombs. Personal martial arts are not completely useless, but their effectiveness is infinitely reduced due to the emergence of firearms.

"The big man also has a large number of cavalry." Li Tan frowned and asked, "Do you want to deafen all of them?"

The scene of the war horses being frightened by the explosion was staged below. It was originally an armored riding equipment that required a huge price to fight with it, but it was out of order after just a wave of explosions. They were being approached by the cavalry of the Han army again. Chasing and killing wantonly, even the Han infantry was able to surround and kill those armored and cavalry equipment that had been left alone because of frightened horses.

Of course, Ran Min also thought about similar problems. What he thought was the same as Li Tan, that is, it might make the war horse deaf, or it would really be useless.

In the early days of the introduction of gunpowder weapons into the war, the first thing to consider, whether in the East or the West, was to deafen the war horses.I didn't know how to develop it later, so I developed a set of training techniques. Facts have proved that trained horses will no longer be afraid of explosions. Cavalry was able to be used on a large scale in World War I, and even World War II There is still a place for cavalry.

How to train the horse to adapt to the explosion?Liu Yan used to be in the Marine Corps, not the cavalry. Besides, he hadn't checked the relevant information specifically, so he really didn't understand it, so he had to study it slowly.

"That..." Ran Min said with some uncertainty: "There will be flashes of light in the explosion, and the scene is really terrifying. I'm afraid it's not just the ear-piercing that can avoid shocking the horse."

The scene mentioned is the shock wave generated after the explosion.

I don’t know how long the cavalry has been the king of the land battlefield. The Central Plains Dynasty was passive when confronting the grassland nomads because it did not have enough horses.

In fact, the advantage of cavalry is not purely in combat. Their real advantage is that they can move fast enough, even if it is only a short-distance advantage.

Furthermore, cavalry can often choose combat targets more flexibly because of their mobility advantages, which can often make infantry exhausted and wait for the infantry to launch a sudden attack when they are exhausted.

The two of them were able to chat so leisurely because the counterattack of the remaining Jie clan organizations was dismantled. There was no need for the crossbow troops on the city wall to fire a second round. The cavalry and infantry alone eliminated the counterattack of more than a thousand armored riding equipment. More troops have already entered the palace.

Waiting for the subordinate generals to report that the situation was under control, Ran Min and a group of generals entered the palace.

They found that even at the end of their rope, the extremely extravagant nature of the Jie people has not changed. The palaces and pavilions are not that big, but the interiors are very gorgeously decorated.

"Is this Chief Hu?" Ran Min didn't even want to say Shi Hu's name, pointing to the body lying on the bed: "It stinks and is covered with maggots. How can I identify it?"

After Shi Hu was killed, his son and those ministers really just ignored it. It is true that it is the Little Ice Age, and the summer is not so hot, but the corpse should really swell after three to five days. The longer it will just rot away.

Looking at the corpses covered in maggots will not cause any psychological burden to Ran Min and the other generals. They all walked through the mountains of corpses and the sea of ​​blood. No one has seen various corpses. The reason why they all frowned , just because I can't tell whether it is Shihu, how can I claim credit from my king.

It would be a big trouble to not be able to identify whether Shi Hu was dead from the body. Then it would be impossible to truly confirm whether Shi Hu was dead. No matter how many witnesses there were, human witnesses really couldn't be used in such an important matter. irrefutable evidence.

So, it would be good if the future of anyone including Ran Min and Li Tan is not affected, let alone asking for credit from Liu Yan.

Many emperors of the last dynasty, or some powerful heroes, when they were desperate, they would rather burn themselves than be captured alive or killed. In addition to knowing that they would not survive, they were also causing trouble for the enemy generals before they died.

With no one alive and no identifiable corpses dead, how should the general who directed the battle assure his king that the enemy chief was dead?They would be worried that their king would suspect that he was letting the enemy chieftain go. Even if the king who served was magnanimous, there was no way to prove that the enemy chieftain was dead, so the credit would definitely be discounted, and more seriously, there would even be a gap between the monarch and his ministers.

"General..." Li Tan asked as if he were a living horse doctor: "Do you want to conduct a comprehensive search and identification?"

This is a necessary process. The problem is that they have just met Shi Hu's heirs, and some of the surviving ministers of Shi Jie Zhao Kingdom have also met. What they heard from their mouths was a verbal vow that Shi Hu was definitely He died, but he was poisoned by his son and ministers in conspiracy.

"Escort Chief Hu's son to the king." Ran Min's face was unusually gloomy: "Those who know the process will also be escorted together."

Looking at the rotten corpse covered with maggots, no one can really laugh.

If Ran Min really wanted to catch Shi Hu, he would naturally not be able to kill him, but he would dig a pit in front of Shi Hu and throw some of his acquaintances into the pit to bury them alive, and then it would be the turn of those Long Teng Guards, and finally ordinary Jie people.Of course he couldn't do it now. Not only could he not be killed, the more important people would be escorted immediately, while the others would be imprisoned for interrogation.

Dingxiang was not a Han army. After the Longteng Guards collapsed, they voluntarily surrendered or were forced to land under siege. Disarmament was inevitable, but Ran Min ordered them all to be tied up, obviously not wanting any more accidents to happen.

On the night after the war ended, since they were victorious, they should be rewarded. They took turns to be on duty and let them eat. The high-ranking officers including Ran Min were not happy, but the middle- and lower-ranking soldiers were not affected.

At the moment when they should be laughing heartily, the inside of the Chinese army's tent is dull.

"All identified." Li Tan pulled an ugly smile: "Whether Shi Hu is dead or not, I haven't found it anyway."

Zhong Xing put down the fork in his hand and said dullly: "They dare not lie about this matter. That rotting corpse should be Shihu."

Li Tan glanced at Zhong Xing as if he were a fool, and said angrily: "We all know it's rotten, and even if it's true, it becomes false. Anyway, this general doesn't dare to write that Shi Hu is dead in the battle report."

Zhong Xing found that he was really a little stupid. Some things relied heavily on evidence. He couldn't say anything without evidence, especially if it related to the enemy chief.

"I don't want to comment, I just write what I know." Ran Min's face was no longer so gloomy. He smiled reluctantly and said, "Your Majesty can judge for himself."

Wang Ji, who followed Ran Min, said cautiously, "Perhaps, it should be... Qizuo is missing."

For a moment, everyone in the tent looked at Wang Ji, many of them did not hide their anger.

"I didn't catch it, and the body cannot be identified. I have the courage to admit it without losing my subject's loyalty. I shouldn't trouble the king." Wang Ji endured the fear of public outrage and started from another angle: "Shi Hu may have fled to Rouran. , it could be with the Ding Ling people, or they could even be escaping to any place. The big man can hunt them to the ends of the earth, and wherever they are, if they can’t hand over Shihu, they will be considered enemies?”

Ran Min still hadn't turned the corner, but Li Tan slapped his thigh.

"Although there is no reason why the big man wants to attack..." Li Tan admired Wang Ji a little, glanced at him appreciatively, and said to Ran Min: "But it is also important to be famous when the teacher is famous!"

According to Ran Min's true thoughts, as long as he is strong enough, he can hit anyone he wants, why do he need so many reasons?
(End of this chapter)