Chapter 375
Chapter 375 – Power of Cannons
Zhao Yun and Tian Yu received the order from Xu Huang to move forward to his former camp . However, both of them hesitated about this movement .
In the end, they turned to the clan chat to voice their opinion .
Currently, the members of the clan were as the followings;
Tong"s Yellow Turban families - Zhang Tong, Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang .
Demon families - Diaochan (Medusa), Dong Bai (Friday), and w.a.n.g Yun .
Great Generals – Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Xu Huang, and Lu Bu .
Soon to be great generals – Tais.h.i.+ Ci and Zhao Yun .
Secondary generals - Bo Cai, Gao Lan, Qu Yi, Zhou Cang, Tian Yu, and Gao Shun .
Governors and civil officers - Ding Yuan, Kong Rong, Sima Fang, Sima Lang, Lu Zhi, Cai Yong, Zhen Yi, and Te Langpu
Strategists - Jia Xu, Ju Shou, Li Feihong, Xun You, and Xun Yu .
A total of 32 people were in the clan chat this year!
With the wide ranges of people, both Zhao Yun and Tian Yu consulted about this in public .
Zhao Yun: "General Xu, I"m against this move . Can we talk it out?"
Tian Yu: "Are we in the clear yet? I have a feeling that my location is not very safe . "
At first, Xu Huang and Jia Xu insisted that they should move to the completed Xu Huang fortress . However, changes happened at night on July 10th .
Jia Xu: "Where are Zhao Yun and Tian Yu at the moment?"
Zhao Yun: "I"m at Linyu . "
Tian Yu: "I"m at the East Linyu fort . Most of our food is here . "
Jia Xu: "Good . Increase the security and be prepared for any surprise attack . "
Zhao Yun and Tian Yu did not understand it .
Zhao Yun: "What has happened over there?"
Jia Xu: "The barbarians ran away to the north . We"re thinking that they might come back and bite you for supplies . "
Xu Huang: "My apologies to all of you . I made a mistake and let those men go when I could have finished them off . I"ll be relying on the support from you . Also, I"m sending Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang back with 4,000 light cavalries to help you . "
While they were consulting, Tong noticed the conversation and wanted to know about their progress .
Zhang Tong: "Report the situation!"
Jia Xu: "Yes, your majesty . We are about five to ten days away from Xiangping, and we raided a barbarian"s camp . We found that they might be the one that ambushed Sir Zhang Bao a few months ago, and they have left to the north . From the looks of it, they have the potential to head west and attack our rear at Linyu County or East Linyu Fort . "
Zhang Tong: "Your evaluation, Gongming?"
Xu Huang: "I think the same, your majesty . We are planning to go all-out against Xiangping, and we estimate that we can take it down before the end of this month . "
Zhang Tong: "I see . Well then, father . Please prepare food and supplies to Jinyang . It"s about time that we deploy Lu Bu and his legion into Xiongnu"s territories . Let"s invade Mongol!"
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The chat concluded that Tian Yu would guard the East Linyu Fort while Zhao Yun would guard Linyu County .
As for Xu Huang, he had already mobilized and abandoned his current position . He would siege Xiangping as soon as possible to end the conflict in the north, so Tong and others could concentrate on eliminating Xiongnu and barbarians for good .
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July 16th .
Xu Huang force-marched to the wall of Xiangping, which terrified Gongsun Du .
At this day, Gongsun Du was left with 10,000 garrisoning soldiers while Xu Huang brought 35,000 infantries to this battle . As for 10,000 heavy knights and the reserve troops, Jia Xu commanded them to stay behind and make camps .
Xu Huang did not bother surrounding the city . Instead, he gathered everyone at the north gate .
Also, he revealed his toys to the public for the first time . He did not have a chance to use it against the horse archers as they were too agile, and these weapons were sitting ducks to these units . However, against immobile sentries, Xu Huang was itching to test them .
Ten wheeled cannons stopped 500 meters away from the north gate . Workhorses that dragged these two-ton metals sighed a relief that they could finally get some rest .
All cannon crews began doing their job, loading a cannonball into the cannon chamber .
As it was their first time in combat, their hands trembled in nervousness, and they took extra times to load the sh.e.l.ls . After a couple of minutes, they were ready .
Xu Huang, Jia Xu, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang rode behind the cannon crews the witness how these toys worked .
The cannon crews aimed the bronze cannons and lighted the fuses .
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Loud booms terrified friends and foes alike, but the surprise had not ended there .
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The sh.e.l.ls slammed onto the bottom of the wall and the ground . The aim was too short .
"Adjust the aim! Move the cannons closer paces!"
Hearing the command from Xu Huang, all crews mustered their strength and pushed these heavy monsters forward .
Gongsun Du stared at Xu Huang"s cannons in shock .
He had not recovered from the news of Kebineng"s defeat, but he had to face this new weaponry . Gongsun Du pulled his hair as he was desperate for a way to fight against this ma.s.sive army with a better weapon .
As for his subordinates, most of them were in an uproar and panic . Gongsun Du could even hear that they were planning to escape from the city to the south .
"Stop panicking and help me fight! Do you want glory and wealth or not!?"
His subordinates hesitated . Gongsun Kang, the young son of Gongsun Du, even flinched by his father"s yell . He did not think that this was a proper way to control his men, but he also could not find a better way to counter Xu Huang"s forces .
"F-Father . Can we surrender? It"s still not too late, isn"t it?"
Gongsun Du paused . It would be a lie if he did not think about surrendering .
Unfortunately, he heard about what w.a.n.g Men had done and He Xing"s death . The rumors said that Tong"s men were here for Gongsun"s family as they orchestrated the a.s.sa.s.sination of the empress .
Gongsun Du did not want to take risks, but fighting was not an option either!
"ARGH! We"ll fight to the death! Bring me my horse, we"ll charge out and meet them on the field!"
"F-Father! That"s suicide!"
"Suicide!? No, being here and doing nothing is a suicide! They came here to kill everyone in our family, so we can"t surrender! Look at them . They only have footmen . Did they leave their hors.e.m.e.n at home or something? I don"t know what he is thinking, but it is our chance to strike!"
Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang got down from the wall to fetch their horses .
At this moment
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The second volley of ten cannons. .h.i.t the wall . A portion of the ten-meter height wall collapsed along with a dozen defenders on top of it .
Screams of panicking soldiers could be heard from below . The morale of the troops sunk to the bottom .
Gongsun Du bellowed, "Hear me, soldiers! Abandon the walls and follow me! We will charge at the enemies together!"
As if it triggered something, all soldiers rushed down the wall, pus.h.i.+ng and shoving each other aside so they could escape from there faster . As a result, a hundred people fell from the top of the wall and stairs, falling down to their death . The other unlucky soldiers stumbled and fell on the ground, which they got stomped by his colleagues and died from the internal injuries .
No order remained in his city as everyone thought of themselves .
Gongsun Du was oblivious to the chaos . He thought that his rally was effective . Thus, he rejoiced .
"See? Just one word and they"re eager to fight! We still have a chance!"
Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang got on their horses and moved to the gate, getting ready to charge out .
Behind the gate, it was an empty square for soldiers to gather . A thousand soldiers had already prepared their gears and were on stand-by .
Seeing the readiness of his men, Gongsun Du laughed . He moved through the crowd and got to the center of the square so that everyone could hear his speech before everyone could charge out .
Soon, another loud sound of cannon volley came, and the ground trembled again . This time, one of the cannonball went over the wall and landed into the city .
The cannonball landed on the dead center of the square where Gongsun Du was .
*BOOM*
*SPLAT*
Without realizing what hit him, Gongsun Du was squashed by the iron cannon sh.e.l.l, terrified the onlookers .
Gongsun Kang witnessed his father"s death right in front of his eyes . He screamed, "Throw white flags! We"re surrendering! Do not charge out! I repeat, do not charge out! Raise white flags!"
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Meanwhile, Xu Huang, Jia Xu, and all commanders stood still, astounded by the cannon power .
The mighty tall wall, which they had always been intimidated, had been reduced to piles of rubbles . The orderly lined wall turned into a remaining of an ancient city . Walls had become disconnected, and many parts had collapsed onto the ground .
Jia Xu groaned, "This s.h.i.+t doesn"t require strategies! With a precise aim, all armies and tactics are useless!"
Xu Huang nodded, "I agree . Still, the cannon sh.e.l.ls are only effective against structures . It takes times to reload, and the precision is questionable, so we can"t use this against live targets . "
"True . But I heard from Te Langpu that there is another type of sh.e.l.ls he is researching . He said that it will explode upon contact . "
"Ah, the explosive sh.e.l.ls, right?"
"Yes, yes . That"s the one!"
"Probably soon, perhaps . I hope we can use it in the field someday . There are also slug sh.e.l.ls in the work that are similar to his majesty"s shotgun sh.e.l.ls . "
"I hope that we won"t be jobless once those toys are finished . "
"Right . HAHAHAHA!"
As they chatted, the gate opened . Gongsun Kang rode out and waved a white flag as a declaration of surrender .
"I guess they are too effective . They are surrendering . "
"That"s good . I want to sleep under a roof for once . I"m tired of camping outside in the cold . Hey, general Xu . I just recall that we"re bringing the hwachas, right? I haven"t seen them since we had moved to a new base . "
Xu Huang paused to think, "I used them to fortify East Linyu Fort . "
Jia Xu laughed, "Oh well, forget it . Let"s tell Tong that they were forgotten in the base then . "
"I"ll tell Tian Yu to bring them back once the fight is over . "
"Meh, it"s already over at this point . "
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The handling of the prisoners went well . As Gongsun Kang cooperated with Xu Huang and Jia Xu, all officers and Gongsun Clan did not resist .
They found Gongsun Du"s corpse later, which disappointed Tong and his followers in the clan chat .
Tong had planned to torture him, but he did not even have a chance to seek revenge . He sighed a lamented to his fate .
His feud with Liu Ping was redeemed by Hua s.h.i.+ and Friday .
His anger toward w.a.n.g Men was quenched by Zhang Liao .
His grudge with Gongsun Du had been solved by a cannonball .
Not once in this life that he could exact revenge with his own hands .
Still, Tong ordered in the clan chat that all Gongsun Clan members had to be executed without exception . As family members of a traitor who had plotted the a.s.sa.s.sination of He Xing, none could be spared!