Eleven miles to the east of the county there is a mountain called Red Amaranth. At this time, a war is going on on the mountain. The attacking side is the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and the defending side is the southern Tibetan people.
The Zhi people defended according to the danger. Although the equipment was poor and they could not even make an iron weapon, they were able to rely on the natural danger to kill off the attacking Tang army one after another.
The Tang army organized several charges but failed to capture the enemy camp. However, its own troops lost troops and generals, and their morale was low for a while.
As the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Li Daoyan also saw it in his eyes and remembered it in his heart.
At this time, Lieutenant General Liang Lu said: "Captain, we have lost more than two hundred brothers. This is not the way to go. Let's use the cannon."
Li Daoyan's face kept changing. He hated cannons. They made him feel like a general was useless.
So even though the emperor allocated some of it to him, he always put it on the back burner. This time he used the same old method to fight against the rogue people.
But now the offensive has obviously been frustrated. If we force the soldiers to attack, they will suffer heavy losses even if they are defeated.
At that time, not only will the soldiers be angry, but they may also be impeached.
He had previously robbed Dangxiang people, causing the other party to rebel. When he subsequently suppressed the rebellion, he was defeated and lost thousands of people, and Li Jing, who was attacking Tuyuhun, had to retreat.
According to the law, he should be executed, but he was a member of the clan and the legitimate son of Li Shentong, so Li Shimin spared him out of nostalgia.
He kept a low profile for several years before being re-appointed. If something went wrong this time, he would not only lose the face of the emperor and his father, but he himself would lose the shame to stay in the court.
But he couldn't change his mind and use a cannon, so the situation was frozen for a while.
It was his family general Li Jian who understood him and quickly found him a ladder and said: "Captain, I remember that the saint also brought a message when he sent the cannon."
"In the Tang Dynasty, human life is the most precious thing. If a problem can be solved with cannonballs, don't use human life to solve it."
Li Daoyan slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, why did I forget the sage's instructions? I ordered the front to stop the attack, and then ordered the artillery to drag a few cannons over and level the camp for me."
Liang Lu said happily: "Here, I will go and deliver the order right now."
Soon the soldiers at the front withdrew in an orderly manner, and the rebels in the camp shouted excitedly when they saw this.
The morale of the Tang army was even lower.
Insiders cursed secretly in their hearts, laugh, have a good laugh, you won’t be able to laugh anymore after a while.
The artillerymen, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, immediately took action after hearing the order. Because it was on a mountain and the heavy cannons could not be brought up, they dragged two 500-jin squatting tiger cannons.
They were dragged by two oxen each, and pushed by a group of artillerymen behind them, and soon they arrived 500 meters away from the camp.
Then there was the matter of fixing the cannon, adjusting the muzzle, and calibrating the units... all of this was done in front of the people, without any secret at all.
The people in the camp were puzzled as to what the Tang army was doing, and they guessed that it might be related to the siege.
But at a distance of more than 500 meters, they still hit low and high. They really couldn't imagine what kind of siege equipment could hit such a distance.
What's more, this siege equipment doesn't look big, so they are not very worried, just simply curious.
Li Daoyan also came nearby. Although he disliked cannons, he knew the power of these things and wanted to see the actual combat effects with his own eyes.
On a high ground far away from the battlefield, there was also a group of people watching the war. The leader was none other than Geng Guogong Feng Ang.
He held a monocular telescope in his hand and observed every move on the battlefield. Next to him was his grandson Feng Junyao, also holding a monocular telescope.
It is not difficult to imitate a telescope once you have seen it. Many generals in the Tang Dynasty were equipped with one. With Feng Ang's status, it was very easy to make one.
Feng Junyao looked at it and said: "Ah, the Tang army has moved. This should be a cannon, right?"
Feng Ang observed it for a while and said, "It looks like it."
Feng Junyao said: "It's true that we helped these ferocious people with so much food and weapons, and finally forced the cannons out."
Feng Ang's expression changed and he reprimanded: "Shut up. If you are not secretive, your ministers will lose you, and if your ministers are not secretive, you will lose your virginity. How can you talk nonsense like this?"
Feng Junyao said in fear: "My grandson knows his mistake, please forgive me."
Feng An shook his head and said: "You are still too young, I should not entrust you with such an important matter."
Feng Junyao looked frustrated but did not dare to refute. He also knew that he had just made a mistake.
Just as Feng An was about to continue scolding, he suddenly heard a roar in the distance and quickly raised his telescope to take a look.
Thick smoke was seen rising from the Tang Army's artillery position, and two huge gaps had appeared in the wood-and-stone camp of the Han people.
The power of the cannon shocked everyone. After reacting, the Tang army let out a loud cheer.
The morale of the people was instantly reduced to the lowest level. Some people even exclaimed about magic, while others knelt down and prayed to the God of Thunder for protection.
The highest god in Liliao people's mythology is the God of Thunder. They worship and pray to the God of Thunder, but this time the God of Thunder will not come to bless them.
A few minutes later the cannon sounded again, and two iron balls accurately hit the gap just now. The wood and stone wall could no longer hold up and collapsed, leaving a huge gap.
Some of the people who were defending on the wall were caught off guard and fell down and were crushed under the rocks.
The demoralized people could no longer control the fear in their hearts and collapsed.
Li Daoyan couldn't care less about the disappointment in his heart, pulled out the knife in his hand and shouted: "Brothers, charge."
"Kill!!!" The vanguard troops who had been prepared for a long time swarmed forward and easily crossed the natural chasm that had blocked them for several days.
The artilleryman who was preparing for the third shot jumped to his feet: "Hey, can't you just hold on a little longer and let us fire a few more cannons? We finally got the opportunity for actual combat, and it ended with only four cannons."
Li Daoyan, who was passing by, wanted to laugh a little after hearing this, and his original prejudices disappeared a lot.
Cannon may affect the war, but when it belongs to one's own side, it's quite pleasant, isn't it?
In the distance, Feng Ang put down his telescope and remained silent. Feng Junyao was also a little frightened by the power of the cannon and did not dare to speak for a while.
"Go back." After a long time, Feng Ang said these words and turned to leave.
Feng Junyao quickly ordered his men to tidy up the place, and he quickly followed.
Halfway up the mountain, Feng An's pace slowed down and he sighed: "How kind the heaven is to the Central Plains. Sugar and glass are wealth. The countries in Funan have grain, sea ships, and artillery are force."
"With money, food, and military force, as well as hundreds of thousands of brave and capable warriors, the Tang Dynasty has no rival."
Feng Junyao followed silently, not daring to say a word.
Feng An didn't need him to answer, but turned his attention to the northeastern sea. As a special envoy, Feng Zhidai went with the Tang Dynasty fleet to the Wonu Kingdom to check the feudal land. He didn't know what the situation was.
I just hope that the man at Ganlu Hall can keep his promise, otherwise the Feng family's century-old foundation will really be destroyed in his own hands.