Yuan Zhao's prediction was not wrong at all. Soon after, the latest news from the Western Regions came. The situation is sparkling and volatile.

Following the loss of Jiuquan and Wuwei, the Han army of Zhangye County did not hold this fortress after a night of hard fighting, although it paid a lot of casualties.

Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, led the soldiers and horses of the three counties of the Western Regions to retreat all the way, and finally entered Dunhuang City, holding on to the danger.

Dunhuang, as the first fortress of the Han Dynasty outside the Yumen Pass, was obviously more time-consuming and labor-intensive than the other three counties when it was first built. The gates were strong, the walls were tall, and the defenses were perfect. It was precisely because of these favorable conditions that it was able to effectively resist several large-scale attacks of the Persian army.

Zhang Qian, who also suffered several injuries on his body, counted the number of people with a painful feeling. Of the more than 30,000 Han troops under the command of the Western Regions Protectorate, less than 10,000 eventually returned to Dunhuang City, which can be said to be the worst military defeat of the Han Dynasty in decades.

Less than a hundred miles behind him, there is the defense line around Yumen Pass and Yangguan. It was the last barrier of the Han Empire on the western frontier. Is it to retreat into the Yumen Pass with everyone, wait for the reinforcements to arrive, and then attack together? Or do you stick to the lonely city of Dunhuang and meet the unpredictable fate of life and death? Standing on the head of the city and looking at the smoke and dust that swept from the west, it undoubtedly took a lot of determination to make a choice.

"Sima! We must not retreat again...... The last general is willing to live and die with this lonely city! ”

The generals and colonels who were still alive in the four counties of the Western Regions Protectorate roared together and fell to their knees and begged for their lives. The honor of being a soldier of the Han Dynasty made them retreat into Yumen without shame, and they had no face to face their brothers in the army. If fate is destined to be so, they are willing to wash away the shame of defeat with their lives. In this Dunhuang city, the last drop of blood was shed!

"Good! Pass my order, and the whole army will defend Dunhuang to the death...... Never be born into the Jade Gate! ”

Zhang Qian gritted his steel teeth, stuck the knife in his hand at the head of the city, and gave a death order.

After midnight, most of the Persian legions arrived. The city of Dunhuang was besieged, and an extremely cruel and difficult siege battle began at this moment.

The Battle of Dunhuang, from the siege of the Persian army to the arrival of reinforcements from the Han Dynasty, lasted for more than half a month. The Han army in the city withstood nearly 100 attacks by the Persian army with iron will. In the case of a huge disparity in strength, the Han army paid a huge sacrifice, and when the siege was lifted, only more than 3,000 soldiers survived. One can imagine how difficult the days and nights they spent under the condition of being cut off from all external material supplies.

The Persian vanguard army totaled nearly 70,000 or 80,000 men, led by Nehgu, a famous marshal under the command of the king of Persia. After coming to Dunhuang to inspect the terrain and the battle situation, he adjusted his operational deployment in a timely manner. Leave a part to continue to besiege Dunhuang and launch an attack day and night. The rest of the men and horses began to exterminate these Western Regions countries on a large scale. The battle plan conveyed by the Persian king was for them to level this large area in the shortest possible time, and then join the other two Persian legions to flank the western pass fortress of the Han Dynasty from different directions.

The catastrophe of the Western Regions began at the same time. In the face of tens of thousands of Persian armies burning and looting, where can these small countries have the ability to resist? Having lost the protection of the Han dynasty, most of them quickly chose to succumb.

The isolated city of Dunhuang was trapped, the Silk Road was cut off, all the countries in the Western Regions fell into chaos, and the Persian army was about to arrive outside the Yumen Pass......

This is the latest emergency report to Chang'an!

The open area in the northeast of Changle Plateau was originally the location of the military camp, but now it has been used for other purposes.

At this moment, many elites of the Han Empire gathered here. They are about to witness an extraordinary exercise. It was during this waiting interval that an urgent report from the Western Regions was transferred from Chang'an and delivered to them.

"The Western Regions are in danger!"

Dongfang Shuo, who was full of solemnity, turned his hand to Yuan Zhao after reading it, and there was indescribable sadness in his tone. More than 30,000 elite Han troops have lost more than half of them in such a short period of time, so how many troops must be organized to support them to have a chance of victory? And that's just one aspect of the Western Regions! There are also the Xiongnu steppes, as well as the South China Sea...... Without a good response, the Han Empire is likely to face the most dangerous situation.

Yuan Zhao took it and took a few quick glances, but he didn't feel too much surprise. These circumstances were all within his expectations. He handed it to Wei Qing casually, and when he looked up, Zhuo Yu with a small team of people had already loaded the things he needed on the carriage and transported them.

It could be seen that the carriage was moving smoothly, while the people who followed it on either side appeared to be cautious, as if they were carefully watching over the goods at all times. Before and after approaching, Zhuo Yu commanded the people to carefully remove some small iron cans that looked very carefully workmanlike and arranged them in the open space.

The people who circulated to each other after reading the latest military information in the Western Regions were all in a heavy mood. Until now, no one dares to despise a formidable enemy from the far west. It's just that Yuan Zhao didn't hurry up to organize and dispatch reinforcements, but instead led everyone here, looking at the things carried by more than a dozen carriages, his heart was full of doubts.

The two carriages in front of them were unloaded with iron cans of the same shape but different sizes. These are all made by the Zhuo clan in Shuzhong, and they are all engraved with unified marks.

The veteran Li Guang's eyes were already a little dazzled, and from a distance, he couldn't see what was engraved on it at all, let alone what these things were for. Turning his head and seeing Li Ling beside him, he had an excited expression on his face, and he couldn't help but ask.

"What are you doing with these bottles and cans?"

Li Ling hugged the Qingge sword tightly, and when he heard his grandfather's inquiry, he temporarily suppressed the sadness in his heart and hurriedly replied.

"Grandpa, this is a new type of weapon that Master has been researching recently, which can be used on the battlefield and is very effective in killing and injuring enemies."

Li Ling's heart was pounding, could it be that the master was going to use these powerful killing weapons? That's great! Unexpectedly, Li Guang's eyes widened and he slapped him on the head. Li Ling hurriedly stood with his hands down, but he didn't know what he had said wrong.

"Nonsense, nonsense! Killing the enemy on the battlefield to win is based on sharp swords and guns, and brave soldiers. What's the use of these messy tin cans? Do you want the sergeants to take them and throw them over to break the heads of the enemy...... Hum! ”

When Li Guang led the troops outside, he treated his subordinates like sons and nephews and was very easy-going. But at home, he is a dignified parent. Everyone in the entire family would never dare to offend a trace of his majesty, and Li Ling was no exception. Seeing that he was angry, although he felt a little aggrieved, he didn't dare to refute it loudly, so he had to whisper in a low voice.

"We all saw it with our own eyes during the test...... It is indeed very powerful, not to mention, Master said ....... ”

Li Guangyang raised his hand and wanted to hit again, and Li Ling shrank his neck. But I heard someone in my ear say, "Old man, don't beat him." These things on the carriage are indeed some of the things that I have organized people to make in the past few years. It's not too powerful, but it's not as good as it could be. If you don't believe me, we'll see later. ”

Hearing that even Yuanzhao came over in person and said this, Li Guang was a little surprised. He had always believed in Yuan Zhao's ability, and couldn't help but grab his wrist and ask urgently.

"Is that true? Can it still be so powerful as the strong bow and crossbow in the Han army! ”

Yuan Zhao smiled faintly: "These are two different combat methods and concepts...... Li Ling, go ahead, in front of the old general and everyone, have a good demonstration! ”

Li Ling jumped up, he didn't expect that his master would hand over such a major task to himself. Yuan Zhao led a few of them to conduct several experiments, although the technology was not mature at that time, but the huge power that they saw with their own eyes was already shocking. This time it must be even more powerful!

"Yuanhou, don't hide it, we also have the doubts of General Li! What's in these sealed tin cans? Could it be...... Poisonous sap, used to kill and wound enemies?"

In a puzzled expression, Dongfang Shuo's mind opened up and he asked shamelessly. Yuan Zhao rubbed his forehead helplessly. The development of science and technology is indeed the result of the accumulation of years and the crystallization of human wisdom, and the exploration step by step. Even the wisest minds of this era are at a loss until they see the way.

"These special tin cans contain the black fire oil we just talked about. Of course, it has been refined by simple techniques. It's not as versatile as the oil I know, but if it's used to kill people on the battlefield...... Enough is enough! ”

Yuan Zhao stared at Li Ling and Zhuo Yu to lead people to the open space over there to prepare. He explained a few words briefly, and in the end, everyone could hear the terrifying murderous aura!

Although there is still a lot of ignorance in my head, no one asks more. Wei Qing, Dongfang Shuo, Li Guang, and more than a dozen other lieutenant generals and colonels stood here together, watching Yuan Zhao command his disciples to lead a medium-sized iron can, and go to a few hundred meters away, where there was a slope several zhang high, overgrown with wild grass. On weekdays, the cavalry often ran up and down from there during training, and the trampling was very strong.

"Oh...... There may be a lot of movement for a while, so you should be mentally prepared. ”

Li Ling and the others acted quickly, and soon placed the iron can under the dirt slope, and ran back with a jump after lighting the lead. Yuan Zhao hurriedly reminded everyone, but no one cared. Su Jian, Gongsun Rongnu and others were still whispering to each other, these generals, who had been through a hundred battles with horses and swords, did not believe that these iron cans could be used to kill people, it was simply ridiculous!

Soon, though, they'll get to see what the legendary "Thunderbolt Blaze" looks like!

A deafening bang rose from the ground, and the unsuspecting crowd was almost scared away. In the exclamation, I saw that the dirt slope disappeared from view, and the debris and gravel fell everywhere. Then a raging fire began to burn among the grass and dead trees.

Such a power is no less than a thunderbolt destroying the earth! Everyone looked at each other dumbfounded.