xymnovel Chapter 65 Liu Feng: My head is still worth quite a bit.
Chapter 65 Liu Feng: My head is still worth quite a bit.
If Liu Feng knew the emperor's plans, he would probably be so angry that he would jump up and curse his ancestors for eighteen generations.
After autumn arrives, it gets quite cold in Datong in the mornings and evenings.
Last night, the remaining members of the Fan family who had been lurking in the city caused trouble until dawn. Although he was tired and cold, Liu Feng finally showed some joy when he saw the piles of grain in the underground warehouse.
What pleased him even more was that the basement also contained cured meat, pickled vegetables, and fine wine.
Despite the freezing weather, Liu Feng enjoyed fine wine and stewed cured meat with pickled vegetables while watching the grain being continuously brought out of the underground warehouse. He was overjoyed!
"Three years old, seven bags."
"Seven years old, nine bags."
"Five years old, five bags..."
Liu Feng picked up a piece of cured meat from the steaming pot and stuffed it into his mouth, burning his tongue repeatedly. He then picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and smacked his lips as required by custom before turning to look at the old clerk who was engrossed in calculating accounts: "The accounts must be carefully checked. Missing a bag of grain is a small matter, but over-counting can lead to someone's death."
"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I have been paid by the government for thirty years, and the accounts I have handled have never had the slightest error." - Old Clerk.
Liu Feng smiled and nodded, then picked up another piece of pickled vegetables and ate it, thinking to himself that it would be perfect if there was a piece of tofu. Pickled vegetables and tofu together, that would be truly delicious!
After eating and drinking his fill, Liu Feng was just about to take a nap when a loud "boom" resounded, and the ground beneath his feet trembled violently.
Liu Feng suddenly stood up, gave the old clerk a few brief instructions, strode out the door, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the east gate.
"boom--"
Another deafening explosion rang out, startling Liu Feng's warhorse and nearly throwing him to the ground.
Liu Feng's heart sank. Judging from the noise, it was clearly the sound of cannonballs hitting the city wall.
Having finally managed to control his frightened horse, Liu Feng spurred it straight toward the east gate. Before he even set foot on the city wall, another thunderous roar shook the ground, accompanied by the sound of bricks and stones cracking and falling.
Liu Feng's expression changed drastically, and he rushed up the city wall.
Upon seeing Liu Feng arrive, Li Mu quickly handed him the telescope and pointed to the Tartar camp outside the city: "It's a bronze giant cannon."
Liu Feng looked over and gasped in shock. Where did such a huge bronze cannon come from?!
"These cannons must have been cast on the spot in front of the battle," Li Mu said.
Liu Feng understood what he meant: there was a traitor in the Tartar camp who had served in the Ministry of War.
Seeing the worry on Liu Feng's face, Li Mu smiled and said, "My lord, don't worry. The top of the Datong city wall is 24 feet wide, and it's built with blue bricks inside and out, with rammed earth in the middle. The solid iron bullets fired by the Tartars' bronze cannons weigh at most 30 jin. It would take at least dozens of shots to break through the outer layer of blue bricks. Even if the brick layer breaks, the inner..."
The rammed earth is even more resilient, far more durable than bricks and stones. In my opinion, they wouldn't be able to breach the city wall without firing a hundred or two hundred rounds!
Before the words were even finished, a piercing whistling sound tore through the air, sounding different from the solid iron bullets from before. A deafening explosion followed, sending fragments of blue bricks flying everywhere. Many of the defenders on the city wall screamed and fell to the ground, writhing in agony in pools of blood.
Thick smoke billowed several meters into the sky and lingered for a long time.
Liu Feng and Li Mu exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking: it was a bursting shell!
Immediately afterwards, explosions rang out one after another.
Broken bricks and stones flew everywhere, causing heavy casualties not only to the garrison troops stationed there, but also to the collapse and destruction of the sturdy crenellations and parapets.
Fortunately, the bronze cannon needed to cool down after firing continuously, so the bombardment temporarily stopped.
The outer layer of blue bricks on that section of the city wall was completely blown away, and the rammed earth inside was not only blasted into deep pits, but also covered with crisscrossing cracks.
Li Mu's composure had vanished. After a moment of silence, he said, "If we continue bombarding like this, within three to five days, a large hole will be blasted through the city wall, enough for the Tartar infantry to charge into the city."
Liu Feng swallowed hard. The plan was to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, but instead they've actually started attacking the city? And what about the imperial reinforcements? Three months have passed; even if they had to crawl, they should have arrived long ago!
Li Mu slammed his hand on the city wall, cursing angrily, "These traitorous dogs, they even gave the Tartars such a powerful weapon as exploding bullets!"
"Sir, that little traitor from the Fan family is here again!" A sharp-eyed member of the Imperial Guard exclaimed.
Liu Feng looked up and chuckled. Young Master Fan, dressed in mourning clothes, had arrived again. He reined in his horse 250 paces away and shouted, "Liu Feng! The imperial reinforcements have been defeated and fled through Juyong Pass. Datong's fate is sealed. You must surrender the city immediately!"
Liu Feng took the bow and arrow handed to him by the Imperial Guard beside him, drew the bow, and shot an arrow in the direction of Young Master Fan.
The arrow didn't fly far before falling to the ground, but it still frightened Young Master Fan so much that he retreated repeatedly.
The soldiers guarding the city wall burst into laughter.
Enraged, Young Master Fan declared: "Anyone willing to behead Liu Feng and surrender the city will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, appointed Deputy Commander of the Han Army, and have their entire family raised to the rank of Banner Commander!"
"A thousand taels of gold? I didn't expect my head to be worth so much!" Liu Feng laughed.
Li Mu also laughed.
Liu Feng chuckled a few times, then his expression turned serious: "Tell me, did the imperial reinforcements really suffer a defeat?"
Li Mu also looked grave, filled with doubt: If the reinforcements had not been defeated, why didn't they take the initiative to attack the Tartars? And how dare the Tartars besiege the city so recklessly?
Liu Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "Prepare for a fight to the death. I'm going to check on how the able-bodied men are doing in their training." With that, he turned and walked down the city wall.
......................
Unbeknownst to Liu Feng, an old man was silently watching him from the city wall from the Tartar artillery position, holding a telescope.
This man was dressed in Han Chinese attire, making him stand out from the surrounding Tartars.
Only after Liu Feng's figure completely disappeared behind the city wall did the old man slowly put down his telescope. He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve. If Liu Feng saw it, he would be very surprised. The paper contained his information registered with the government and a portrait of his appearance.
The old man stared at the portrait and muttered to himself, "He doesn't look like the Crown Prince or the Crown Princess, and his age doesn't match either. He's two years older... I'm just getting old and my mind is all over the place." He sighed and turned to walk towards the Tartar camp.
Just then, a fast horse galloped past him, rushing into the camp and stopping outside the central command tent.
The soldiers of the Plain White Banner dismounted and quickly entered the tent.
In the command seat of the main tent sat a Tartar general in his fifties. He was thin with pale skin, and held a scroll in his hand, slowly turning the pages.
A soldier from the Plain White Banner strode in, knelt on one knee, and reported: "General Agui, His Highness has ordered you to attack Datong with all your might. If the Daqian reinforcements do not fall for the trap, then take advantage of the situation to break into the city and plunder its grain and fodder."
Agui placed the book on the table and said calmly, "Go back and report to the Prince that I will definitely take Datong within five days and raise enough provisions for the army."
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers of the Plain White Banner retreated.
Agui stood up and shouted, "Guards!"
A Tartar man entered the tent in response.
A-Gui: "Summon all officers of the rank of lieutenant general and above to the commander's tent for a meeting!"
He paused for a moment, then said, "Let those Han Chinese come over too."