However, what made him pay more attention was that he was a musket shooter of the right army of the Earth Dragon Army, and there was no torch made by himself beside him, which was a tool for lighting the torch, even if there was no strict supervision from the superiors, not many people would ignore this. The soldier carefully took out a piece of rope from the bamboo basket beside him, and lit it in the charcoal brazier, one end of the rope was scorching red, but unlike the torch, there was no open flame.

The soldier held the rope in his hand and looked nervously at the Mongol position in the distance. Suddenly, he saw the main general walking towards him with a large group of high-ranking officials. Deng Shi was beating drums in his heart, and he didn't know what the Daoist Lord would mean.

"You came up with the idea of lighting a fire with a rope?" Zheng Yunming pointed to the arquebus in the soldier's hand, and the soldier hurriedly handed it over. Zheng Yunming put the rope in front of his nose and sniffed it, sure enough, it had been soaked in the potion.

The soldier said embarrassedly: "This is something that Master Pei Gen asked me to wait for the test, saying that this kind of fire rope can replace the torch, and it will not be extinguished by the wind casually, and it is also easy to carry." ”

"It's not just that, it's more than that!" Zheng Yunming laughed: "You know the way, I have been waiting for this thing to appear." Not only is it portable, it's enough to change the way warfare is done! ”

His voice rose involuntarily, but the crowd didn't react at all. Zheng Guanren has too many wonderful ideas, and everyone has gradually become accustomed to it. And they don't understand how a rope that burns slowly can have a real impact on the war.

After all, it's just a rope instead of a torch.

Compared with such inconsequential matters, the Mongol army under the city was obviously a more urgent time.

Just as Zheng Yunming was slowly stroking the firerope and was silent, on a silver-white field in the distance, the black armored cavalry had already begun to form a team. The mournful sound of the beard echoes in the cold wind. Despite the heavy snowfall, it still could not stop the new offensive of the Mongol army.

Artillery stones were hurled, many of which hit the walls and houses in the city. After many days of fierce fighting, many houses in the west of the city were destroyed by artillery, and the Song army set up war sheds among the ruins and walls, and stored unimportant military supplies in them. As for the cannons that hit the city walls, most of them were blocked by horses and string towers. After many days of fierce fighting, the Song army had a lot of experience in dealing with artillery. Not only did they create reinforced towers, but they also created improved horses with cowhide roofs, so that small trebuchets such as cyclones and tiger cannons could not hurt the soldiers behind the horses. The soldiers behind the towers and horses were armed with horned bows, spears in hand, bed crossbows and arrows, just waiting for the furious waves of infantry to attack.

Zheng Yunming hid in the string tower and raised the speculum in his hand to look at the enemy formation, and in the field of vision, the ironclad cavalry brandished their spears and shouted loudly to help their comrades. But the protagonists of the siege are clearly not them. The nomadic cavalry rushed to the city wall without fear of the snow, and then quickly retreated, shooting arrows at the wall with their bows in advance and retreat. In front of the tall Xiangyang city wall, the role of these arrows was much weakened. However, in the face of the accurate archery skills of the Mongol archers, they continued to inflict casualties on the defending soldiers. And the fall of each comrade added a little more pressure to the others.

But the final word was always the infantry formation that directly attacked the city. Just by using the still primitive telescope in his hand, Zheng Yunming could clearly distinguish the armored infantry that was gathering in formation. There are not only Shi Tianze's three-star white flag, but also Zhang Rou's Beidou flag, as well as the nine-belt wolf-headed flag of the Mongolian troops directly under Tasi's subordinates, and even the long-lost green flag of the Wu'er infantry. Obviously, Tath is becoming less and less interested in entanglement with the defenders of Xiangyang. He wanted to concentrate the troops at hand, launch an all-out onslaught on Xiangyang, and capture Xiangyang as quickly as possible.

"The attack of the captives is becoming more and more urgent, and time is on our side." Zheng Yunming held the speculum in his hand and said, his self-confidence also infected the generals in the city. Ge Huai said with a smile: "I also hope that their offensive will be more violent, just these tickling sieges in front of me make Lao Ge a little bored and panicked." ”

However, everyone knew that this was just the usual contempt for the enemy, and the fierce battle that had been fought for many days could not be described in detail in words. However, after the war, a Mongol prisoner confessed: "Even the attack on Fengxiang Mansion was not as fierce as the attack on Xiangyang." "You must know that Lu Dao Fengxiang is the pillar of the Jin Kingdom in Shaanxi. Jin gathered 100,000 troops to defend, Mu Huali concentrated the troops of Hebei Hedong and continued to attack for three years, during which Mu Huali died of illness, and the Mongols also increased their troops to attack again. It was not until the city ran out of food that the Mongol army broke the city. Subsequently, the battle of Fengxiang was synonymous with the difficult attack in the Mongol army.

The bloody battle in Xiangfan these days is not as tragic as Fengxiang, but the degree of fierce fighting is actually comparable. Even Ge Huai, who was the highest-ranking military attache in the army, was hit by an arrow in his arm, and Lu Xunzhi was hit in the helmet by a flying stone, and his head was almost shattered. On the besieging side, it was even more difficult, because of the artillery and guns at the head of the city, they were under greater pressure than the attack on Zhongdu, Fengxiang and Caizhou, and several hundred households and one Han soldier were already lost in the fierce battles for several days. The army, which has always been proud of fighting bravely and ashamed of avoiding war, gradually complained, and even some recruits signed from Henan escaped.

But these fierce battles are a thing of the past, and the next battle is the real all-out fight.

Tath rode a black war horse and stood on the top of the improvised hill, looking at the tall Xiangyang City in the distance. He didn't care much about the casualties caused by the siege these days, and for a Mongolian warrior, killing people in the snow and snow was simply commonplace. Not to mention the little damage in this short period of time, it is the casualties and costs paid by his father Mu Huali when he swept through the Central Plains in order to conquer those so-called famous cities of the Jurchens, and Mu Huali has never wavered.

But if anyone could see the true expression of Tath through the face, they would find that it was a serious look with a hint of anger. As a loyal warrior under the command of the Great Khan, any orders of the Golden Family should be carried out to the letter. But as a battlefield commander, he clearly realized that the Xiangyang strategy could no longer be completed.

The Song army in the city suffered almost no loss of vitality, and according to the lookout of the watchtower, it seems that there is no shortage of grain and grass in the city. Coupled with the high morale of the defenders and the assistance of firearms, the assault on Xiangyang became a long-term task. If you want to capture Xiangyang City, you must train the water army, accumulate grain and grass, surround Xiangyang City with a large army, and then build a long siege, build a barrier, consume the food of Xiangyang, and then capture the city. If you blindly insist on a strong attack, the time to capture Xiangyang will not be shortened too much. And that would be a casualty that even the supposedly mighty Mongol army could not afford.

But time was not in the hands of the Mongols. Before leaving for the expedition this morning, he went to inquire about Qu Ju's condition. Qu Chu was already a little thin, unable to issue orders, and just pointed his finger at Xiangyang. In the situation that the commander is already in such a state, and Xiangyang is difficult to overcome in the short term, the best plan is to abandon the attack on Xiangyang and return to the north with this winter's captives and prisoners.

But he couldn't say that, in front of the prince who was too weak to get up, the only thing that could comfort him was to capture the city as soon as possible to fulfill his long-cherished wish. His life was so weakened that even the Vultures Medical Officer, who had been changing horses from thousands of miles away, could not take him from the step of immortality. In Qu Gu's heart, perhaps Xiangyang's gains and losses have long had nothing to do with the dream of making meritorious achievements, and the ambition to become the ruler of the unparalleled Mongol Empire has gradually faded away with his sick and weak body. All that remains is the self-esteem and pride of being a Mongolian athlete, and that's it.

As a military commander, Tath clearly knew that the result of a strong attack by the masses would only increase casualties. But as the head of the left, he can't go beyond the curve to make decisions alone. The prince was the substitute for the Great Khan, and as long as he bent an order, that is, the whole army should cross the icy Han Sea and climb over the towering green mountains, and it must also be carried out.

What's more, Tath still has a trump card in his hand that has not been played. Although Zheng Yunming was invincible in a hundred battles, he might not be able to stop the assault of this army.

Zheng Yunming suddenly noticed that there was an infantry army in his field of vision that was not quite the same as others, and he turned his head sideways and asked Yang Yu: "There seems to be a different army in the enemy formation, could it be that a new elite division has been transferred from the north?" ”

Yang Luo also raised the speculum and looked in the direction that Zheng Yunming was pointing, only looked at it for a moment, then put down the lens barrel, and shouted nervously: "It's the Badu Lu Army!" They have finally activated the Badulu Army! Inform all armies to step up their alerts! Hurry up and send someone to report to the envoy! ”

Zheng Yunming was slightly surprised, and also raised his speculum to take a closer look, only to see the samurai wearing cowhide armor in the distance scattered in the ranks, guarded by ironclad cavalry on both sides, slowly advancing towards Xiangyang City under the guidance of a bannerman. Although the troops were not very neat, the other horses seemed to be afraid of them, vying to make way for them.

In fact, the so-called Badulu Army is not a regular army with a prescribed army and qualified training. But their fighting spirit may be higher than all the armies in Xiangyang City, because what drives this army to fight is the most powerful desire to survive hidden in people's hearts.

In the steppe plains, there was such an old custom, that the tribesmen who had committed crimes, the rebels who angered the chiefs, the fugitives who left the tribe without permission, and the captives captured in the war, these mortal men, who should be punished by the punishment of splitting their horses and horses, were organized into an army, and used as the vanguard in battle, and used as the first to attack the city. As long as the battle is won, he will be released immediately and all guilt will be pardoned. If he does not win, he will be beheaded in front of the battle to show military discipline.