Chapter 119: The City Breaks

The power of the new musket exceeded everyone's expectations, and when they heard that Zhu Zhanji had now developed a super musket with a range of more than 800 meters, an effective killing range of more than 400 meters, and even a mile away, everyone was excited.

A musket with a range of more than 100 meters is already almost invincible, and a musket with a long range is absolutely invincible.

Just like now, because the enemy's walls are strong, the trebuchet hidden behind the walls becomes a sharp weapon for the enemy's defense.

But if there is such a single bullet, which shoots accurately and kills the hitter, then the enemy will not dare to go up the city wall at all.

Without lookouts, the enemy's trebuchets are useless.

If there were a thousand of these muskets this time, they would not have been entangled with the enemy here for more than half a month.

Zhang Chang, as the commander of the Jingwei Guard, was in charge of the coordination of the Chinese army. These days, he has been supervising the battle, and he couldn't help asking: "Baoding Hou, since you have such a sharp weapon, have you brought a batch this time?" ”

Meng Ying looked at Zhu Di and shook her head silently.

Zhu Di read Zhu Zhanji's letter, and of course he knew what the reason was. Because of the stalemate of the war, he now feels that Zhu Zhanji has been too careful.

But when you think about it, it's not unnecessary. A few hundred meters away can directly kill people, if this kind of gun is popularized in the army, it will be difficult to prevent security in the future.

However, Zhu Di does not think this is a big problem. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was not the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty, as a foreign race, stole the Han people, so they have been terrified.

Not only does he live in a simple place on weekdays, but the security precautions for going out are very strict, and even the musket is finally banned by the imperial court.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty considered themselves to be the ones who belonged to the destiny of heaven, and they had no worries about the army, which was mostly Han Chinese.

Although Zhu Di had some concerns and was afraid that this spear would hurt his life, he thought that as long as he strengthened his precautions, he didn't have to give up eating because of choking.

Zhu Zhanji acted cautiously and asked him about his attitude first, so that he was still very useful.

Hearing Zhang Chang's question, he said with a smile: "How can a new gun be so easy to build, this time there can be a new type of explosives, this Herat City, it will no longer be a trouble!" ”

killed more than a dozen sheep in a row, and Zhu Di understood the power of this gun. Tao Kan picked up the cartridge casings every time, and the others simply did not understand how the gun worked.

This also made the other generals very curious about this new musket, but at this time, Zhu Di tied the cowhide belt around his waist and hung the pistol on it. In the future, except for bathing, he probably won't let anyone have a chance to touch this gun.

That night, Zhu Di read all kinds of information from Daming, and he was not too interested in the affairs of Xiao Gui and Cao, and Zhu Zhanji did a very good job.

On the contrary, it was the new things that played a huge role in Zhu Zhanji's hands that interested him even more, and he would often think carefully about it and consider the meaning behind it.

Many of Zhu Zhanji's actions seemed a little unexpected and deviant at the beginning, but it turned out later that many of his actions were in line with the interests of the Ming Dynasty and were far-sighted.

For example, in the Western Regions, many ministers were still opposed to promoting cotton cultivation in the Western Regions.

But now relying on cotton planting, the northwest countries and all ethnic groups have been drawn into the camp of the Ming Dynasty.

It cost more than 200,000 taels of silver to build an arena. However, after only one event, it has already paid off, and the entire Keju competition has made a profit of more than one million taels.

More importantly, with the arena as a platform, the royal family and the common people have a platform for direct contact. For today's Ming people, it costs a few silver coins to meet the royal family, and the royal family is no longer an illusory symbol, which helps the rule of the Zhu family.

There is also the Xiamaqiao Research Institute that was not looked at by anyone at the beginning, not to mention others, even Zhu Di thought it was Zhu Zhanji's blind toss at the beginning.

It is only because this is Zhu Zhanji's private hobby, and then this hobby does not cost the people and money, so no one objected.

But nowadays, anyone can see the role of these research institutes in promoting the economy of Daming.

The steam locomotive developed today, as long as there is a track, can pull thousands of people at a time and travel thousands of miles a day to anywhere.

As long as the road is repaired, there will be no remote areas in the entire Ming Dynasty, and if any area rebels, the army can directly move over.

Seeing this information, Zhu Di couldn't wait to end the war as soon as possible and go back to take a good look at the changes in Daming.

Missing his son and choosing his grandson to supervise the country, he was originally a little worried, but now it has become his proud handiwork.

The next day, he happily issued a holy decree to Meng Ying to serve as the chief officer of the Western Expeditionary Navy. Since this grandson wants to cultivate his own lineage, and this does not affect his authority, he will naturally support it.

However, he did not let Meng Ying leave, the navy had to cooperate with the army's actions, and it was best to wait for him to capture the city of Herat and then decide on the next move.

After arranging these entertainments, the army was still besieging the city of Herat and keeping the pressure on the enemy.

But Zhu Di's attention was no longer on the battlefield, but was attracted by several Taoist priests sent by Zhu Zhanji.

The new explosives were ten times more powerful than today's gunpowder, and although he had this concept, he still couldn't believe it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

But a few Taoist priests led by the Taoist priest of Qiuming did not dare to let Zhu Di get too close, they transported phenol, nitric acid, sulfuric acid and other raw materials from Daming this time, and what they wanted to make was picric acid explosives and nitrocellulose explosives.

The ratio of this kind of explosives is already very dangerous, Zhu Di has three long and two short, and they will be unlucky.

But the more this is the case, the more curious Zhu Di becomes.

Regardless of the long-distance fatigue, the Tyumen Taoist priests spent a day and night preparing 400 catties of explosives and putting them into 20 clay pots.

On that night, the besieging army bombarded the city of Herat at night, and a large number of soldiers armed with muskets fired indiscriminately at the western wall, so as to cover the soldiers who were digging under the western wall.

The walls are difficult to dig, but digging a pit around the walls is not a difficult task.

In just a quarter of an hour, before the enemy could react, two hundred soldiers dug twenty small pits.

The explosives were loaded in, and each pit was accurately tested, separated by five meters, so that twenty catties of explosives could be used to the fullest.

Subsequently, twenty mercury thunderate detonators connected to a fire rope were all installed, and then slightly covered with earth, leaving a large ignition pit, and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty withdrew.

Shaharu didn't understand what the nerves of the Ming people were, and even attacked after nightfall, which had never happened before.

Although it seems that the Ming people retreated without taking any advantage, he is still a little uneasy in his heart, and he will be a demon if something goes wrong.

This night, he strengthened the patrol at the head of the city to prevent the Ming people from attacking at night, but the Ming camp quieted down.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had a good night's sleep, and the next day, when the cooks who had not slept all night were brought hot gruel and barbecue.

Each soldier was given a large piece of roast mutton that was enough for them to eat two or three meals, and when they had eaten and drunk enough, they packed the rest of the mutton into the food bag they carried with them.

It's just that this arrangement, although I haven't received the task yet, everyone understands it.

This is the first and last of the day, the stalemate of the war, will be broken today, and they will have a hard battle.

Zhu Di also put on armor today and appeared in front of the phalanx formed by the soldiers, although he did not give a speech, but his appearance was enough to cheer up the soldiers.

The Ming soldiers who were originally surrounded in the south and east began to retreat in an orderly manner, and all gathered to the west of the city.

More than 100,000 troops, plus nearly 100,000 auxiliaries sent by Indian countries, and more than 200,000 troops formed a magnificent picture in the west of the city of Herat.

The abnormality of the Ming soldiers also made the enemies in the city nervous, and many generals went up to the city wall in person, wanting to see the layout of the Ming soldiers clearly.

This kind of arrangement that deviates from the usual tactics makes many people confused about the situation, because it is too unreasonable.

It was dawn, but the sun didn't come out, it was a cloudy day.

It was colder than the weather that was the hearts of the generals of the Timurid kingdom, and because they could not see through the arrangement of the Ming Dynasty, they felt even more frightened in their hearts.

However, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty did not attack, but only stared at the fortified city in the east.

Zhu Di waved his hand, and a rocket rose in response. The two disciples of the Tyumen Taoist priests who were hiding in the pit outside Herat finally waited for the signal to act, and they lit the fuse with some excitement, and then hid their bodies into the crooked cave.

The distance between the cave and the city wall was more than fifty meters, and in order to prevent excessive shaking, it was deliberately bent three more times to ensure that it would not be shaken to death inside.

The arquebus was lit, but neither side could see it. Zhu Di waited for a while, didn't wait for the explosion to sound, and couldn't help but look back at the Qiuming Taoist.

The Taoist priest Qiuming estimated the time, smiled and nodded to Zhu Di, which also put Zhu Di at ease.

Before Zhu Di's head could be twisted back, he heard the screams in the camp, and then a loud noise came, making the horses in the formation roar a little uneasily.

But this was only the beginning, because one after another loud bangs rang out one after another, and the walls of Herat, which had been impregnable, collapsed like mud in the sound of such violent explosions.

Even more astonishing than the collapse was the explosion that set off the city defense facilities and the people on the city wall, who were blown away by this explosion dozens of meters high, and countless people were already divided into several sections in the sky.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty enjoyed a wonderful drama, but for the soldiers of Timur, they experienced the end of the world.

Because the Ming soldiers were still assembled a mile away, the west city wall was originally full of soldiers, as well as countless generals.

Shahru was also on top of the western wall, but he had a bit of luck, as he was far away from the blasted section of the wall at the time of the explosion.

The observers, who were originally driving the glider, were observing the deployment of troops in the city from the sky, and when the explosion sounded, they immediately observed that countless soldiers were killed and shocked to death.

Four hundred catties of high explosives, even a mountain can be blown apart, let alone a section of the city wall.

The originally solid city wall was torn open with a large hole nearly 100 meters long, and the fragments of the city wall shot out became a fierce weapon, turning into a large pit in place.

The soldiers on both sides of this section of the city wall, those who were close were lucky to die directly, and those not far away were also torn eardrums by the loud noise, or even directly shocked.

Everyone was in an uproar, and countless Timurid soldiers panicked.

Although it was a bit far away, Shaharu was also shocked to the ground by the shock, and only stood up with the support of the guards.

For a moment, his ears could not hear anything, and he could only see the panicked faces of countless soldiers.

He knew that the Ming Dynasty had gunpowder, and they also had it, but the power of black powder was definitely not enough to directly blow up the walls built by the boulders.

Now that he saw the vanished section of the wall, he knew very well that Herat could not hold it.

Their soldiers can only be beaten passively in the face of each other's muskets, that is, there are some archers who can pose a threat to the Ming soldiers, but the Ming soldiers who hide behind the shield armor don't care about this threat at all.

Now that the city wall has been destroyed, the morale of the soldiers has been destroyed, and the trebuchets here in Xicheng have also been blown up, what can be used to stop the Ming people?

Shaharu, who was held back in the middle by a few guards, did not hear the sound until he was surrounded by the wall.

Ming was at a loss in his heart for the panicked people.

He didn't know what the result was, whether Allah really didn't shelter them anymore.

At this time, the Ming soldiers outside the city began to attack, and the cavalry pressed the formation, and the attack was mainly based on the infantry phalanx.

Hundreds of artillery guns are roaring incessantly, and today's artillery elevation angles are relatively high, mainly aimed at the buildings inside the city, not the city walls.

The Timurs had not yet formed an effective defense, and most of them had not yet recovered from the explosion before they were attacked by the Ming soldiers.

The soldiers armed with steel swords were certainly no match for the Ming soldiers armed with muskets, and without the protection of the city walls, they could only become the targets of the soldiers.

Shaharu reacted at this time, and said a little weakly: "Organize all the horses and run for your life to the northeast!" ”

"Your Majesty......"

"Say no more, this is my city, and I must stay here."

The city, which originally had nearly 100,000 people, is now home to more than half a million people. These people are the foundation of Timur's state, and there is hope for people.

I don't know how many will be saved, but now I have to fight for it.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he was punched in the back of the neck by a guard behind him, and he fell unconscious.

Shaharu's youngest son, Tolbat, carefully hugged Shaharu's body and ordered: "The king is our hope, and it must not fall into the hands of the Ming people...... Even if you fight a bloody way, you have to send the king to Samarkand. ”

He was strong, drew his scimitar and shouted, "For the sake of our children, kill ......."

But at this time, he only wanted to fight a decisive battle with the Ming soldiers, but he forgot the next order to burn the grain in the city.

Moreover, without muskets, how could they fight the Ming soldiers?

The outcome of the war was predestined from the very beginning.

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