I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 137 Ligdan Khan's Attack and Retreat
Faced with the Ming Dynasty, which, though declining in power, was still relatively strong, the ambitious Lin Danhan dared not provoke it too much.

Similarly, after being severely beaten by Huang Taiji, when facing the Later Jin, although he didn't flee at the mere sight of them, he was not far off.

This even made him more cautious when facing the People's Salvation Army.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have only sent a small force to probe earlier.

After those small groups of troops were all wiped out, he began to hesitate.

I wonder if attacking the militia might be too dangerous.

Moreover, the territory that the People's Salvation Army has just conquered will surely be desolate. Even if they win the war, what will they gain?

However, when he received news of the great harvest in the territory of the People's Salvation Army, his heart stirred again.

Even the People's Salvation Army did not manage to harvest three crops a year.

But surely there must have been a bumper harvest?
Otherwise, how could they sell so much grain to the outside world?
Moreover, this militia is just an emerging force; can it really compare to the Mongol cavalry?

Even if they can't win in a fight, can't they outrun them?
Just like they did with the Ming Dynasty, why don't they just rob and run? What can the militia do to them?
However, although he had made up his mind, Lin Danhan, who had just been beaten up, still felt that he should be a little more cautious.

Therefore, he sent someone to contact King Adula of Turpan, preparing to join forces with Turpan to attack the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command.

Ultimately, Ligdan Khan mobilized 50,000 troops, plus 20,000 troops from Turpan, and launched an attack on Shandan Garrison City of Shaanxi Province in October of the first year of Chongzhen's reign.

This area is a gap in the Great Wall at the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command.

On the other side, Wang Dahu, as the commander-in-chief of Gansu Town, also responded immediately, ordering all localities to strengthen their defenses.

At the same time, he also mobilized troops to form a cavalry force of two thousand men, which he personally led, ready to leave the city at any time and give Ligdan Khan a severe blow.

On October 8, Ligdan Khan commanded his army to launch an attack.

On the city wall of Shandan Garrison, Wang Dahu was speechless as he watched the five thousand vanguard cavalrymen riding in from the outside world.

Is Ligdan Khan planning to attack the city on horseback?

You can't expect all your mounts to be divine steeds, each capable of leaping onto the city walls, can you?
In fact, that was not the case; those cavalrymen were also carrying hoes.

However, Wang Dahu didn't care about these things.

Wang Dahu raised his hand and ordered all troops to prepare.

Soon, the vanguard commanded by Lindan Khan had reached more than 500 meters outside the city wall.

From their elevated position, this meant they were now within the firing range of the People's Salvation Army.

However, Wang Dahu did not immediately order the arrows to be fired.

Instead, he waited a while longer, until the cavalry had entered more than 300 meters and started drawing their bows, before Wang Dahu nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that Ligdan Khan intends to use Mongol cavalry archery to directly attack the city walls.

Although it is difficult, it is not impossible; it just requires getting close enough.

But will Wang Dahu give them a chance to get close?

"Fire arrows!"

"bang bang bang"

"Om~!"

With a loud shout, a series of bowstrings twanged from the city wall, and a rain of arrows shot out instantly.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Danhan and the others couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

These Han Chinese are really foolish. They were more than 300 meters apart. Even among their skilled Mongol cavalry, not all of them could shoot that far.

The Han Chinese bows and arrows were basically only about 200 meters long. Even with the advantage of the city walls, they could only reach 300 meters at most. How could they possibly hit a Mongol warrior that far away?

Shooting arrows now would be a complete waste of arrows, wouldn't it?

However, they were proven wrong the next moment.

"Puff puff"

"Ah~!"

Herod

The rain of arrows shot down from the city wall instantly covered the galloping cavalry.

In an instant, countless people were struck by arrows and fell from their horses, only to be trampled into a bloody pulp and die instantly.

For a time, screams and neighing of horses filled the air.

Without stopping, arrows were fired, and soon Lindan Khan's vanguard suffered heavy casualties.

By the time they reached the city walls and were within firing range, the entire vanguard cavalry force of five thousand men had dwindled to just over three thousand.

Nearly two thousand people perished on the way to the front.

Upon reaching this point, the remaining three thousand Mongol cavalrymen began firing arrows at the city walls.

However, under the dense rain of arrows from the militia, they were often shot into pincushions and killed instantly as soon as they raised their bows.

After two more volleys of arrows, the remaining Mongol cavalry could no longer hold on, let out a shout, and began to flee.

But by then it was too late to escape.

Moreover, turning one's back to the archers is tantamount to suicide.

"whoosh whoosh"

"Puff puff"

Arrows rained down, and Mongol cavalrymen fell from their horses, struck by arrows.

In the end, only a few dozen riders escaped within a range of more than 300 meters.

Just as they were celebrating their escape, another volley of arrows rained down.

"Puff puff"

In the end, only a dozen or so lone warhorses returned, clattering and trotting.

Seeing the dozen or so warhorses, the clusters of arrows beneath the distant city walls, and the countless Mongol warriors and horses riddled with arrows, Ligdan Khan and his men paled. When did these Han Chinese archers become so skilled?

The distance of a few hundred meters is only a dozen breaths for cavalry to cover.

However, this seemingly insignificant distance led to the deaths of five thousand Mongol warriors, which horrified them.

"Great Khan, shall we continue our attack?"

After a long, long time, someone finally asked in a hoarse voice.

Faced with the People's Salvation Army, which relied on the Great Wall for defense and whose arrows could shoot hundreds of meters, could they really win this war?

"Attack? Of course we must attack! I refuse to believe that our tens of thousands of troops cannot take this small Shandan Garrison City."

"This Khan, perhaps we should take a detour."
Why get so hung up on Wei Cheng of Shandan?

"Hmph! This is a major city for entering and exiting the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command."

Have you considered what we would do if we bypassed it and entered the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command, only to have our retreat cut off by those militia?

"Uh... Shall we head straight to Qinghai?"

"Heading to Qinghai?"

Lin Dahan's eyes flickered. That wasn't impossible. They could detour through Turpan and still easily return.

Moreover, Qinghai is also their territory.

However, wouldn't it be very embarrassing for him to change his mind like that?

Moreover, he couldn't even take down a mere fortress. Wouldn't that make people look down on him?

His attack on the militia this time was not only to plunder, but also to regain face after being defeated by Huang Taiji.
He wanted to tell the world, especially the Mongol tribes, that his army, Ligdan Khan's army, was not incompetent, but rather that Huang Taiji's unsportsmanlike sneak attack was the reason for his defeat.

If he were to launch just one attack and have his five thousand vanguard cavalry wiped out, and then be so frightened that he had to take a detour, what face would he have left to lead the other Mongol tribes?
In the end, Ligdan Khan decided to launch another attack. If he could capture Shandan Garrison, all the better; otherwise, he would detour.

"attack!"

With shouts from the various centurions, countless Mongol cavalrymen, carrying hoes and bows and arrows, began their charge.

Some soldiers were also pushing carts, charging rapidly towards the Shandan Garrison.
Therefore, carrying hoes was indeed a way for Mongol cavalry to attack cities. When the cavalry reached the city walls, they would use bows and arrows to suppress the defenders on the city walls, and then use hoes to quickly dig open the city walls.

As for the Lele cart, it was a siege vehicle designed to defend against arrows and musket fire. When it reached the foot of the city wall, the soldiers hiding behind it would use an L-shaped long pole hook to hook onto the upper part of the city wall and then climb up the wall along the long pole.

Of course, there are other ways to attack a city, such as piling up mud and other materials under the city walls until they are similar in size to the walls, at which point the main force will launch an attack.

However, regardless of the method used, it will inevitably result in a large number of deaths.

And the army led by Ligdan Khan was no exception.

Moreover, when Ligdan Khan pressed forward with his main force and launched the attack, they were shocked to discover that the arrows fired by the militia were not the three hundred meters or so they had seen before, but nearly five hundred meters.

Five hundred meters below Shandan City is a death abyss that devours lives.

Wave after wave of arrows rained down, resulting in the deaths of hundreds upon hundreds of people.

By the time the Mongol cavalry reached the city walls, at least several thousand had already died.

At this point, the Mongol cavalry's attack had only just begun.

However, faced with the overwhelming barrage of arrows, their counterattack was barely worth mentioning.

After waiting for a long time, people finally started climbing the city wall.

However, what awaited them was not the dawn of victory, but the gleaming light of swords.

Even the people and their armor were cleaved in two, and the weapons they raised to defend themselves were easily deflected.

Their only thought before they died was, "Are these militia really human? How can they be so powerful?"

On the top of the city wall, Wang Dahu drew his bow and aimed at the distance, but did not fire a shot.

It was simply too far. Even now, having mastered the art of archery, he still couldn't hit Lin Danhan, who was several miles away.

"What a coward!"

Seeing that Lindan Khan had not advanced and even showed signs of retreating, Wang Dahu couldn't help but curse loudly.

Forget about whether it hits or not, this arrow is going to be shot anyway.
Otherwise, wouldn't he have wasted his time learning archery skills and practicing for nothing?
"Go!"

The city's fierce and murderous aura was mobilized and quickly integrated into the bow and arrow in his hand, giving them immense power.

"boom!"

The bowstring snapped with a thunderous crack, and the arrow instantly sliced ​​through the air, shooting several miles away.

The white shockwave was like a raging dragon. Many soldiers along the way felt a sudden explosion in their ears, and their hearing was instantly lost.

Meanwhile, behind the main army, Lindan Khan, who was hesitating whether to order a retreat, suddenly looked up in the direction of Shandan Garrison City, as if sensing something.

The next instant, his eyes widened in disbelief.

A white, raging dragon shot straight toward him.

Is this the legendary supernatural power of the Salvation Army?
Before he could think any further, the white dragon had already arrived in front of the army formation.

"bang bang bang"

The arrow, which transformed into a white dragon, pierced through the bodies of several people, even tearing and exploding the bodies of the first few, and then shot and killed a centurion several meters away.

Seeing this, Lin Danhan and the others felt a chill run through their bodies.

Is this something that can be done by human power?

Who knows if the next arrow will kill one of them?
"withdraw!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

At this moment, Lin Danhan and his men lost all interest in attacking the city.

At worst, they can just take a detour.

They attacked the Shaanxi Provincial Military Command from here because there was a significant gap in the Great Wall here.
(End of this chapter)