After Hu Yande entered, he handed me a battle report: "For your Majesty's permission. General Lu Wende, the commander of the Xiangyang Military Region, sent a battle report from the waterway. Please take a look at it."
I am very sensitive to the recent battle reports. I opened it quickly and said while reading: "Ali Hague suffered a big loss this time. The number of casualties in his troops was about 10,000. However, our army also suffered a lot of wounded. There were more than 4,200 people. Fortunately, not many soldiers were killed. By the way, Gongsun Xiaochen told Lu Xiufu to inform Lu Wende that the seriously wounded in Xiangfan and Xiangfan could be sent to Song Dynasty if necessary. Hepo's field hospital for treatment. It's a pity. One of our army's artillery was destroyed by the Yuan army's return artillery. One for four is not cost-effective. Xiangyang City was also attacked. It seems that today's Yuan army is in a full-scale attack. Ah, there was also a battle on the Han River. However, the entire Battle of Xiangfan was the worst. In one day, the number of casualties of the Yuan army reached more than 30,000. Haha. Not bad."
Gongsun Xiaochen said: "Thirty thousand people. That is 20% of the Yuan Army's Central Route Army."
"Well, this time the Yuan army should have been hurt by firearms. By the way, Ling'er, if you were the commander of the Yuan army, what would you do?"
Fang Ling replied without hesitation: "This is not simple. There are two options."
"Really?" I said with great interest. "Which two."
"The first is to fight in a last-ditch battle. If I were Ah Shu, I would concentrate all my troops. No matter how many sacrifices are made, it would not be a pity. We must forcibly defeat the Guanzitan camp and eliminate the opponent's imperial army. The second is to withdraw to the north and use the city wall behind it. Useful weapons against our army."
I thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, that makes sense."
I am quite satisfied with today's results. In one day, the Yuan army suffered more than 30,000 casualties in Guanzitan and Fancheng alone.
Lying on the camp bed, I was quite excited and couldn't fall asleep for a while.
It was late at night. A Shu and Boyan in the Lumen Mountain camp also did not fall asleep. The two of them stayed up and talked at night, discussing countermeasures.
"Bo Yan. I have been in the army for more than ten years. I have fought dozens of large and small battles. I have never felt as helpless as I do today. The power of firearms in the Southern Dynasties is really difficult to cope with. I even have the urge to own firearms. . ”
Boyan said with a heavy face: "Commander, I feel the same way. I have a vague feeling. Sooner or later, firearms will inevitably replace the current swords, guns, swords and halberds."
Ah Shu nodded: "This possibility does exist. We once mentioned that it only takes one to three months to train a musketeer. Our army's archers are trained from childhood. The difference is really huge. Besides, muskets and fire bombs can attack from a distance or from a short distance. Their power is far greater than that of archers. One day, if all the armies of the Southern Dynasties are equipped with firearms, our army will be in danger."
Boyan agreed: "Yes, Marshal. In accordance with Boyan's wishes, I will report to the emperor as soon as possible. Please give the emperor an order. Let our army carefully craft a few muskets and a few fire bombs in the Southern Dynasty, and then gather the strength of the craftsmen from all over the country. . Go all out to develop firearms.”
"Okay." Ah Shu thought for a while and said. "Bo Yan, the artillery of the Southern Dynasties has been bombarding our Lumen Mountain camp for days. I estimate that in two or three days at most, the fortress will be blown out of the way. By then, .Our officers and soldiers will inevitably be exposed to the range of its artillery. How do you think our army should respond to this?"
Boyan said: "Commander, I think the best strategy is to concentrate our troops. No matter how much manpower is used, attack Guanzitan with all our strength and try to defeat the Imperial Forest Army of the Southern Dynasties. Although there are also musketeers in Fancheng, the number is not large. As long as we Defeat the Royal Forest Army at all costs, and then there will be a turning point."
"What's the next step?"
After a while, Boyan said: "Retreat."
Ah Shu was silent for a moment and said: "Whether it is a good decision or a bad decision, it is an important decision. It needs to be reported to the emperor. From Xiangyang to Dadu, even a quick horseback trip will take five or six days. I will report to the emperor immediately. It's just that our army's camp I’m afraid we can’t stay here for so long.”
"Commander, you don't need to worry too much about this." Boyan smiled confidently. "Commander, Boyan learned the art of Qimen Dunjia from his master. This group of cowardly Xue troops I brought just happened to have practiced it. The terrain at the southern foot of Lumen Mountain is open. There are a lot of rocks in front of our camp. If we work around the clock, it will take two days. I can set up a five-formation diagram outside the camp. With the help of the spirit of heaven and earth. Block the Southern Dynasty's army. Before entering, I watched the sky. There will be heavy rain tomorrow. The firearms of the Southern Dynasty will probably not be used. This will buy me another day."
"Okay. It seems that Changshengtian has not abandoned me, Dayuan." A Shu said with a little heart. "Then what are the five formation diagrams? Is there any difference between Boyan and the eight formation diagrams of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms?"
"Commander, whether it is the five-formation diagram I mentioned or the eight-formation diagram created by Zhuge's predecessors during the Shu Han Dynasty, they all originated from the Qiujing method passed down by Xuanyuan Huangdi, the ancestor of the Han people thousands of years ago. At that time, I, the shaman The founding senior once obtained half of the Xuanyuan secret book. Among them was the Qiujing Dafa. However, this method was too profound. It was passed down to the family master's generation and was simplified into five formations. Compared with the eight formations, the five formations The five formations are roughly equivalent to the sky-covering formation, the earth-carrying formation, the wind-rising formation, the cloud-hanging formation and the bird-flying formation in the eight formations diagram. Without the dragon flying formation, the tiger-wing formation and the snake-coil formation, its power is inferior to the eight formations. Picture. But on the day when the formation is formed, strong winds and sand can also be blown, the sky can be blocked, and the sun can be filled with smoke. This should be able to stop the Southern Dynasty army."
Ah Shu finally showed a smile and said: "Okay. Let's do it. As long as this formation remains unbroken for five days, the emperor will send an order."
According to the plan, in the early morning of the next day, the artillery battalion once again launched artillery bombardment at the Yuan Army camp in Lumen Mountain. About two-quarters of an hour later, Crete ordered to stop shooting. Under the protection of the army, the artillery battalion withdrew to Guanzitan camp. camp.
At this time, I looked at the Yuan Army camp again. I saw that most of the earthen walls in front had collapsed. In many places, large gaps were even exposed. "Brother, in two or three days at most, our artifact will be able to destroy the Mongolian fortress." It was blown up." Fang Ling said happily on the way back.
"Well, we have lost the cover of the fortress. Let's see what else Ah Shu can use to resist our army's artillery."
Jiang Wanzai followed: "Your Majesty, the power of firearms exceeds my imagination. Such a war is completely different from the past. It is basically a one-sided situation."
I smiled and said: "Of course. This is the battle between the advanced and the backward. I once read a story. It tells a story about a cavalry army of tens of thousands of people fighting against a musketeer team of less than a thousand people. As a result, the cavalry army was huge. They were defeated and fled. There were only two casualties among the musketeers."
Fang Ling said: "No way. There is such a mysterious thing."
"Haha. Once the firing speed of the musket reaches one shot per breath or continuous fire, it will naturally be possible."
"One breath, one shot. Can it be fired continuously? Is it the same as an archer's continuous arrows?" Yuan Ji asked in surprise.
"That's right, sir. The most skilled archers can shoot nine consecutive arrows in an instant. And the number of consecutive rounds of muskets can even be hundreds or thousands. This is the benefit of technology." At this point, my thoughts Release the Buddha and return to the afterlife.
"It's really unimaginable." Yuan Ji sighed. "At that time, no matter how high your martial arts skills are, you won't be the enemy of the Musketeers."
"Sir, this is an inevitable law of historical development. In the future, martial arts will only become one of the ways for people to strengthen their bodies."
When they returned to the main camp, more than 10,000 soldiers from the Sixth Chamber of the Jianghuai Military Region, led by the commander of the chamber, General Zhu Huan, just arrived at Guanzitan.
"General Zhu Huan, thank you for your hard work." Jiang Wanzai said with a smile. "General Zhu, come and see the emperor."
Zhu Huan, who had never seen me before, hurriedly knelt down on the ground and said loudly: "The last general Zhu Huan has come to see the emperor."
"General Zhu. No courtesy."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"General Zhu, please get up. You've been working hard all the way. Get settled first. I'll ask Jiang Aiqing to assign tasks to your army later."
"Yes. I will obey your orders."
Regarding what Fang Ling said last night, I am actually a little worried. If A Shu launches a desperate attack on Guanzitan, will our army be able to stop it? Muskets and thrown bombs can stop the Yuan army for a while. But if A Shu uses The life of the Yuan army soldiers was the price. The result is really hard to say.
The arrival of the sixth carriage made me feel relieved a lot.
In the Guanzitan camp, there are currently four armies from the Yulin Army, the third wing of the Lin'an Military Region, and the reorganized sixth wing, the Polu Army, the Zhongshun Army, etc. There are more than 40,000 people in total. Including the northeast of the camp There are two sides of the army led by Xia Gui. Together, the total force is close to 70,000. Even if there are no firearms, if it is just pure defense, it can definitely fight against the Yuan army.
Gongsun Xiaochen, who watched the astronomical phenomena every night, and three officials from the Qintian Supervisor who accompanied the army unanimously concluded that the next day was mainly rainy. As expected, it started to rain heavily in the early morning, and continued intermittently until noon. In the afternoon, it rained again. There was a shower.
The rainy day was not conducive to the launch of firearms. However, the Yuan army did not launch an attack. Ever since breakfast, scouts kept sending back news saying that the Mongols were collecting stones in large quantities. I didn't pay attention to this. They just thought that they were collecting stone shells for the trebuchet. Taking this opportunity, under the command of Jiang Wanzai, Xie Daolin and other generals, the soldiers added another layer of protection on the guardrail in front of the camp to prevent it. Archer's shooting. Secondly, it can form a three-layer three-dimensional shooting net.
It wasn't until night that the rain stopped completely.
It's a different feeling when the weather clears up after the rain, especially outside the city.
I walked outside the tent and greedily breathed in the unpolluted air. The scent mixed with the fragrance of earth and mountain vegetation rushed towards me. I immediately felt refreshed. Once I inhaled that fresh air. It was immediately refreshing. In the hot summer, with this environment, it was three points better than the so-called natural oxygen bar in later generations.