In a trance, I heard the roar of the commander.

"Ready!"

"Put!"

Boom!

Once again, a deafening loud bang spread to every corner of the battlefield.

This time.

The cannonballs landed impartially at the city gates.

In an instant.

The heavy gate was blown out of a hole that was not too big or small.

"Ready!"

"Put!"

Boom!

There were a few more holes in the gates.

Three rounds of salvos.

The gates could no longer bear it, and collapsed with a bang, splashing up a puff of dust.

When the soldiers defending the city saw this scene, they were all stunned.

It was the first time they had seen this kind of weapon, which was many times more powerful than the projection vehicle, and the speed at which it was fired was also faster.

Before he could react, the city gate had already been blasted open.

on the city walls.

Seeing this, Ying Ning's expression was gloomy to the extreme.

Everything in front of him was beyond his imagination.

Originally, he was ready to negotiate with the other party.

Who would have thought that the other party had never had this idea from beginning to end.

The army pressed up, and before they could rest, they started fighting.

This is the first time he has seen this situation in decades.

The generals around him had no expression on their faces, but they were flustered in their hearts.

It's nothing that the city gate was blasted open, the key is that the other party's thunderous weapon brought them great pressure.

No one knows how long the weapon will last.

If it keeps bombarding like this, how long can it hold out even if it is an iron-cast city wall?

The atmosphere was silent for a moment.

Someone finally stood up:

"The last general asks for orders, leads the cavalry out of the city, and destroys that thing!"

The one who spoke was the commander of a certain guard, named Xu Ke, with a tiger chest and waist, and looked like a tiger general.

Ying Ning glanced at him and thought about it.

The next second.

A cannonball fell with a bang, not far from them.

Boom!

The thunderous noise made everyone's ears roar, and their brains were chaotic, like bees buzzing.

"Fight quickly, don't fall in love!"

After a while, Ying Ning regained consciousness, made a decision, looked at Xu Ke, and gave an order.

"Good!"

Xu Ke answered, strode down the city wall.

A moment later.

He put on his armor, turned on his horse, and with more than a thousand cavalry in the city, rushed out of the city gate and went straight to the position of the artillery.

Next to the artillery.

When the commander saw this scene, a cold light burst out of his eyes, and he said loudly:

"Ready!"

Meanwhile.

The surrounding centurions gave orders.

"Ready!"

The next second.

All the soldiers raised their muskets and aimed them at the galloping enemy.

The artillerymen on both sides also adjusted the position of the Frankie guns on the trolleys.

With a torch in his hand, he is ready to attack at any time.

"Put!"

"Put!"

"Put!"

The centurions gave uniform orders.

The musketeers decisively pulled the trigger in their hands.

The artillerymen lit the fuse.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

A thunderous explosion suddenly sounded.

Before the cavalry led by Xu Ke could react to what was happening, they saw a burst of smoke rising out of nowhere in front of them.

Immediately afterwards, there was a sharp pain in his body, and his consciousness quickly blurred, and he fell from his war horse and lost his life.

It's not just them.

Even the war horses under their crotches were not spared, and they fell sideways.

More than 1,000 cavalrymen, under the blows of flintlock pistols and Franky guns, disappeared in an instant.

There were only a hundred frightened horses, neighing terribly, like headless flies, scurrying around.

on the city walls.

When the soldiers defending the city saw this scene, a fierce fear surged in their hearts.

They had never seen anything like it before.

More than a thousand cavalrymen, who launched a charge, were completely wiped out at a distance of hundreds of paces.

This made the little resistance they had left dissipate.

It's not just the soldiers who defend the city.

Even the generals beside Ying Ning couldn't help but show panic when they saw this scene.

What used to be a weapon like a burning stick in their eyes turned out to be a long-range weapon!

From a distance of a hundred paces, they could inflict such terrifying power, not even weaker than a strong crossbow, which made them unable to think of how to deal with it for a while.

That's when it happened.

The deafening sound sounded again.

But it was smashed in the city.

"! And there's more! ”

A general could no longer restrain the anger in his heart, his eyes widened, he looked at the soldiers in gray uniforms standing in a row outside the city, and roared:

"I'll kill you sooner or later!"

He also knew in his heart that the defenders of the city had nothing to do with them.

yelled a few words, just to vent the emotions in my heart.

Seeing this, Ying Ning's face became even more gloomy, and he turned his head to look ahead.

Suddenly, I found that the other party had started to build fortifications.

Good fellow, the location of the tent is just at the range of the crossbow.

What did the master on the other side think, he could make such an inexplicable move.

Isn't he afraid that the defenders of the city will go out of the city?

Or, all he wanted was for the defenders to get out of the city?

Ying Ning looked at the other side and fell into deep thought.

However.

The other party's weapon, which was like a heavenly punishment, was still attacking, making him unable to calm down.

Minutes and seconds passed.

Many of the soldiers defending the city had completely lost their faith in defending the city, and huddled in the corners, quietly waiting for death to come.

Ying Ning looked around, was silent for a moment, and finally made a decision, and said in a deep voice:

"Surrender."

The generals around him were slightly stunned, obviously not expecting Ying Ning to make such a decision.

After all, from the beginning of this war to the present, it will only be an hour at most.

Defending the city for only one hour and then surrendering is very rare throughout the ages.

What's more, they are not inferior in numbers.

As long as it holds out for a while, the rest of the capital city's troops will rush to support.

They don't have to win.

As soon as he thought of this, some generals opened their mouths to persuade them.

Ying Ning's expression was unusually firm, and he repeated:

"Pass on the official's order, open the city gate, and welcome the eldest princess into the city!"

The voice fell.

The generals looked at each other and fell silent.

At this moment, they also understood Ying Ning's intentions.

Even if this battle for the defense of the city is won, what can it do?

After that, you still have to face the 200,000 army of the imperial court, so it is better to surrender as soon as possible and hand over Jiannan Dao to the eldest princess...... Or in the hands of the dry man.

After all, for them, the thieves, it is better to fall into the hands of the cadres than in the hands of the imperial court.

Thinking of this, the generals no longer objected and saluted one after another:

"The last general obeys!"

Thereupon.

This siege battle led by Bai Qi came to an end in an hour.

After getting a guarantee that Bai Qi would not slaughter the city and would not kill and surrender.

Ying Ning led a group of generals, as well as the local prefect, out of the city and surrendered.

The defenders of the city all laid down their weapons and expressed their sincerity.

Bai Qi rode a tall horse, walking in the forefront, completely ignoring this fantastic victory.

looks like he's used to it, and his expression is flat.

Behind.

The original commander of Yanbei, Zhao Xuanfeng was shocked beyond measure.

It is not only shocking the weapons used by the dry people, but also shocking the unpredictable means.

What is the momentum of thunder.

He has a profound understanding today!

After entering the city.

I thought I could take a break.

I didn't think about it, but before my ass was hot, the order from above came down again.

Take a day off and set off tomorrow for the next city.

Moment.

Zhao Xuanfeng was stunned.

"This is not taking the city into account at all!"

"In that case, why bother attacking the city?"

With that in mind.

Zhao Xuanfeng spent the first night of the expedition.

The next day, he learned that Bai Qi had sent all the generals who had surrendered to Yanbei Mansion.

The soldiers defending the city were also dismissed by six or seven percent.

Only a little elite remained, and after reorganization, it was used to maintain law and order in the city.

The salary is paid according to two taels a month, which is no different from the soldiers of the great cadres.

This moment.

He suddenly understood Bai Qi's intentions.

From the beginning to the end, he did not think of using these surrendered soldiers, but only disarmed them as much as possible and sent them back to their homeland.

"Is he planning to use these tens of thousands of people from Qianguo to hit the Jingshi?"

"Like...... It's not impossible. ”

"After all, these dry people's weapons are really terrifying."

"Moreover, Bai Qi can use not only 30,000 people, but also a large number of cadres from Yongzhou, and it won't take long to gather enough troops of 100,000!"

That's it.

Zhao Xuanfeng didn't know whether to be happy or depressed for a while.

Thousands of thoughts turned into a sigh.

So far, we can only take one step at a time.

............

Half a month later.

Yan Guo, Jingshi.

Emperor Yan looked at the information in his hand, his old face was twisted together, and he looked a little gloomy.

Liu Yuan, the right minister, stood not far away, his expression was neither happy nor sad, and he said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, in just half a month, Bai Qi of Qianguo has captured five cities, and his army has expanded to 100,000 people.

If he is allowed to run rampant again, the minister is worried that the situation will be uncontrollable! ”

Emperor Yan put down the information, looked at him with deep eyes, and said coldly:

"That Bai Qi captured only the rebel city, those people didn't have the will to resist, and it was normal to break five cities in half a month."

When Liu Yuan heard this, he opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

It's just that before he could speak, he was interrupted by Emperor Yan:

"Don't say that Zhou Guo and the Tiger Ben Army have not been dispatched, let's just say that General Zhennan still has an army of 200,000 under his command.

When the two of them fight together, I will decide whether to send troops or not. ”

Liu Yuan was silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, as far as the minister knows, the reason why the Qianren are invincible and invincible this time is that they used two new weapons, one is called musket, and the other is called artillery......

When Emperor Yan heard the word "weapon", he showed an interested expression on his face and asked, "What does the new weapon look like, show it to me." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Yuan bowed, turned to leave, and took a musket a moment later.

When Emperor Yan saw the musket, he was slightly stunned, and it took a while to react, this ordinary burning stick was the magic weapon that Liu Yuan said, a new weapon.

He smiled contemptuously and said:

"Don't tell me, that's what the dry people used to conquer five cities."

Liu Yuan replied:

"The cadres used artillery to attack the city, and they guarded it very tightly, with one less door and a hundred people in a row.

This musket was better, and the minister spent a hundred taels of silver and got one. ”

Emperor Yan stretched out his hand to take the musket, stroked it lightly, was a little curious, and asked:

"How do you use this musket?"

Liu Yuan hesitated, handed the musket to one of the guards, and gave a few orders.

The guard did as he commanded, loaded the ammunition, and handed it back to Emperor Yan.

Liu Yuan said: "Your Majesty uses it as a crossbow, aim at the target, pull this position, and you can complete the attack." ”

Emperor Yan was stunned again, and said in surprise: "It turned out to be a long-range weapon." ”

As he spoke, as Liu Yuan said, he raised his musket and aimed at the vase not far away.

Bang!

There was an explosion.

The vase cracked open in an instant and fell to the ground.

Emperor Yan looked at the vase, raised his eyebrows, and ordered the guards to continue to reload ammunition.

After that, I tried three or four more times.

Holding the musket, he exclaimed:

"The power is not small, but the quasi-head is almost there, compared with the bow and crossbow, it is too far behind."

Liu Yuan said:

"Your Majesty is so insightful that you can see through the pros and cons of this musket at a glance."

"The advantage of the musket is that it is powerful and easy to use, but the accuracy, speed, and range are slightly inferior to the bow and crossbow......"

After a pause, he continued: "Even so, the minister still feels that this weapon plays a greater role on the battlefield than a bow and crossbow.

After all, it takes too long to train a qualified archer, but it only takes half a year to train a qualified musketeer. ”

Emperor Yan glanced at him and said lightly:

"My Dayan has no shortage of brave men who can fight well, what is the use of this musket?"

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks ......"

Liu Yuan wanted to say something.

It's just that Emperor Yan didn't give him a chance, waved his hand and said:

"Needless to say, I know more about weapons, I know better than you, the armament of the Qianguo is sluggish, and it may not be possible to find a warrior among a thousand people, and it is reasonable to use this kind of clever weapon.

But I'm a big swallow, advocating force, and each can fight well, why do I use this kind of strange tricks?

If that artillery can have a miraculous effect in the siege, it doesn't hurt to imitate some, but this musket, for my Dayan, is just chicken ribs, tasteless to eat, and it is a pity to abandon it, so you don't have to spend energy to imitate it again. ”

These words are well-founded and convincing.

Liu Yuan couldn't find a suitable reason to refute for a while.

After all, this musket did not show the advantage of crushing compared to the bow and crossbow.

Large-scale imitation, equipping the army, in the end may be a toddler in Handan, abandoning martial arts.

Come to think of this.

Liu Yuan no longer insisted, saluted, and said, "The minister understands." ”

Emperor Yan looked at him and waved his hand carelessly:

"If it's all right, go down."

Liu Yuan thought for a moment and saluted again:

"The minister retired."

............

Meanwhile.

Qianguo, Chang'an City.

In the Temple of Nourishing the Heart.

Wu Mingkong looked at the battle report in his hand, his face full of joy.

In just half a month, Bai Qi conquered five cities in a row, which was a victory that Daqian had not achieved in decades.

Although it has not yet made direct contact with the army of the Zhou court.

But after seeing the power of firearms.

The little empress did not think that the army of the Zhou court could withstand the indiscriminate bombardment of muskets and artillery.

Only the elite Tiger Ben army of the Zhou State can pose a threat to Bai Qi's army, and the rest are not worth mentioning.

Thinking that the original weak and bullied cadres could one day tear up the treaty, set foot on the land of Zhou, and occupy the cities of Zhou.

The little empress's starry eyes completed the shape of the crescent moon.

Fang Xiu sat opposite, watching the little empress sitting alone on the dragon chair, and his mood became happy.

just looked at her quietly, and his eyes showed the tenderness of moonlight.

After a while, Wu Mingkong put down the battle report in his hand, Mu Ran raised his eyes, and looked at the watery eyes above, and his pretty face couldn't stand the redness.

Obviously there have been intimate moves.

At this moment, looking at Fang Xiu, she still felt inexplicably shy.

"Look what I do."

Wu Mingkong muttered in a low voice, and an inexplicable emotion surged in his heart.

Fang Xiu chuckled lightly and said, "Your Majesty's face, the minister can't see enough in his life. ”

A tingling sensation welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Wu Mingkong's face was slightly red, his long eyelashes trembled slightly, and he said in a mosquito-like voice:

"Me too."

Fang Xiu raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "Your Majesty can't see enough of yourself?" ”

Wu Mingkong was slightly stunned, looked at Fang Xiu, saw the ridicule in his eyes, and instantly understood that he was saying this on purpose, rolled his eyes, and ignored it.

is obviously an old husband and wife, and he is still so unteasing.

With a smile on his face, Fang Xiu walked up to her and asked, "Your Majesty summoned the minister, what is the matter?" ”

"The Hai Rui you sent out, during this time, he copied the homes of many officials, and there are three vacant assassin positions alone."

Wu Mingkong said, took out a document, handed it to Fang Xiu, blinked with watery eyes, and asked, "Who do you think should be sent to fill these vacancies?" ”

Fang Xiu was silent for a moment and asked rhetorically, "Your Majesty has a suitable candidate in mind?" ”

Wu Mingkong thought about it for a while, and wrote down three names.

Fang Xiu took a look, two of them were Qingliu in the court, and the other was Zhou Zheng, the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, who was a henchman of the Fang Party.

"For the appointment of the assassin history, you don't have to ask the minister, Your Majesty will let whoever you think is suitable, and the minister has no opinion."

When Wu Mingkong heard this, he was slightly stunned, and couldn't help but glance at Fang Xiu more, his expression seemed a little strange.

"You've changed."

A moment later, she was categorical.

“？”

Fang Xiu looked dazed.

Wu Mingkong said: "In the past, don't talk about the history of assassination, even the prefect, you can't wait to appoint it personally." ”

It turned out to be this.

Fang Xiu smiled and said very frankly: "At that time, I was worried that Your Majesty would set up empty ministers. ”

Wu Mingkong raised his eyebrows and said curiously: "Don't worry about it now?" ”

Fang Xiu looked at the little empress and said lightly: "Your Majesty is already a minister, what else is there to worry about." ”

"Phew! Who are your people! ”

Wu Mingkong's face was slightly red, and he took a sip.

Fang Xiu looked unconcerned.

Wu Mingkong looked at him, and after a moment of silence, he said, "After a while, it will be the birthday of the Queen Mother, what congratulatory gifts are you going to give?" ”

Fang Xiu didn't expect the little empress to ask this question, and he didn't know how to answer it for a while.

There are almost no fragments of the Queen Mother in his memory.

The impression of the Queen Mother is only four words, and she is very simple.

If it weren't for the empress suddenly mentioning it.

For such a long time, Fang Xiu had almost forgotten about her existence.

Wu Mingkong saw Fang Xiu's expression, his eyes showed a strange color, and said:

"You don't forget that I have a queen mother, do you?"