My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 420 Xuanwu Gate Collapsed
The Battle of Xuanwu Gate has reached this point, and both sides are essentially playing their cards openly.

But Li Shimin had not anticipated that the Xuanwu Gate would be blown up.

Or rather, they thought of it and took precautions, but their precautions were artillery, not thunderbolts.

"We can't let them blow up Xuanwu Gate!"

Li Shimin practically gritted his teeth as he uttered those words.

If Xuanwu Gate were blown up, the Imperial Guards would face bombardment from hundreds of cannons.

It cannot be stopped, nor is it possible to stop it.

Currently, artillery has almost never had a moment of glory on the main battlefield. However, everyone can understand that what kind of armor can withstand something that can blast down city walls?
What good are tens of thousands of imperial guards? After hundreds of cannon shots, all that's left is devastation.

Even the most elite army will eventually collapse in morale.

The shouts of battle in front of Xuanwu Gate suddenly rose eight octaves.

Li Shimin's imperial horse pawed restlessly at the front of the battle, the dragon pattern on the gilded saddle gleaming coldly in the setting sun.

He witnessed firsthand the Xuanjia soldiers at the front of the line charging forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades. Their long spears pierced the chests of two musketeers, but a third musket blasted half of their heads apart at close range.

Blood mist splattered on the black armor, like an eerie red plum blossom blooming on the cold iron armor.

"Form ranks! Form ranks!" the commander shouted hoarsely, trying to break through the musketeers' defenses with a shield formation.

However, Su Dingfang had already gathered three thousand musketeers and divided them into five ranks. While the front ranks were firing, the rear ranks were busy reloading. Lead bullets pelted the shield formation like hailstones, creating a series of muffled thuds.

Some shields couldn't withstand the impact and were blasted with holes the size of bowls. The soldiers holding the shields groaned and fell down. The soldiers behind them immediately took their place, but they were hit in the throat by a series of lead bullets.

Su Dingfang stood beside the thunderfire, holding a horizontal sword. Drops of blood from the blade fell onto the cotton cloth containing gunpowder.

He saw Du He directing twenty soldiers to tie explosives to the stone pillars inside the city gate. The cotton bundles were wrapped in linen soaked in tung oil, looking like a string of hideous tumors.

"How much longer?" Su Dingfang's voice was half-swallowed by the deafening sounds of battle.

"It will take at least another incense stick to burn!"

Du He's sleeve was torn by an arrow, and blood flowed down his forearm into the cuff: "The stone pillar is too slippery, the hemp rope can't be tied securely!"

At this time, Xuanwu Gate was no different from when it was raining.

Under Li Shimin's all-out attack, crossbows were fired wildly and densely at this direction as if they were free, until the Xuanjia Army got close and then stopped.

Before he could finish speaking, three Xuanjia soldiers broke through the blockade, their long spears aimed straight at Du He's back.

Su Dingfang whirled around, his sword flashing as he slashed across the center of the spear shaft, severing it completely. The broken spear tip grazed Du He's ear and embedded itself in a crack in the city gate's brickwork.

The elite troops from Liaodong immediately rushed forward, their horses' legs were cut off, and the Xuanjia soldiers fell to the ground and were hacked to death.

Suddenly, Yuchi Jingde on the city wall grabbed two shields and hurled them at the musketeers' position like throwing discus.

The shield whistled through the air and knocked down two musketeers. Taking advantage of this brief opening, Cheng Yaojin personally led fifty elite soldiers down the city wall via ropes, splashing blood as they landed.

"kill!"

Cheng Yaojin roared and, surrounded by his guards, charged toward the city gate.

He was a true warrior; his ability to survive on the battlefield for so many years speaks volumes about his skill.

Even the elite troops of Liaodong could not stop them.

"Stop him!"

Amidst the shouts, Xue Rengui went to meet him.

As a new generation of generals, Cheng Yaojin was very famous, but he was not flustered at all.

The blood and mud in front of Xuanwu Gate were ankle-deep, and you could hear the cracking sound of bones breaking when you stepped on it.

Xue Rengui's full suit of armor gleamed coldly in the setting sun. His breastplate, backplate, shoulder guards, and arm guards formed a solid, impenetrable iron shell. Even his knees were covered with heavy knee pads. Only half an inch of skin was visible on his neck beneath his helmet.

His hand holding the sword was as steady as a rock. Although the weight of the armor made each swing of his arm more strenuous than for an ordinary person, his breathing was unusually even.

"clang--!"

Cheng Yaojin's horizontal blade struck Xue Rengui's shoulder heavily, and sparks immediately exploded in the darkness.

Old Cheng felt his tiger's mouth go numb from the shock, and the blade was bounced back an inch. Looking at Xue Rengui, he only staggered half a step, leaving only a light white mark on his shoulder armor.

"What the hell is this armor?!"

Cheng Yaojin cursed, twirled the hilt of his sword in his palm, and then slashed at Xue Rengui's side with his other hand.

This strike carried his life's worth of brute force; if it were ordinary iron armor, it would have split like firewood long ago.

The blade struck Xue Rengui's abdominal armor with a dull thud, causing the curved iron armor to dent slightly before bouncing back.

Using this momentum, Xue Rengui spun around, sliding his sword up close, the blade aimed directly at Cheng Yaojin's wrist as he gripped the axe.

His movements were slightly sluggish due to the armor, but he was more confident than the average person. If his shoulder armor hadn't blocked that heavy blow, his collarbone would probably be shattered by now.

"Clang clang clang!"

Three consecutive slashes struck different parts of the body, and the helmet, arm armor, and breastplate emitted deafening cracking sounds in succession.

Cheng Yaojin's forehead veins bulged, and every slash he made seemed like he was battling a red-hot iron. In contrast, Xue Rengui was only forced to retreat by the impact, without even getting a scratch on his skin.

Those swords that could cleave through conventional iron armor on the battlefield could now only leave insignificant white marks on the enemy's armor.

"Are you wearing a turtle shell, you little bastard?!"

Cheng Yaojin finally couldn't hold back any longer, and his roar drowned out the surrounding fighting: "If you've got the guts, take off your armor and fight me for real!"

Xue Rengui remained silent, then suddenly changed his slashing motion with a thrusting motion, the tip of the blade precisely aiming for Cheng Yaojin's armpit.

That was the weakness in Cheng Yaojin's Bright Armor.

He knew the advantages of this armor, but he was also aware of its limitations, so he strived for precision in every move, saving unnecessary energy.

"Well done!" Cheng Yaojin was prepared and quickly dodged, simultaneously kicking Xue Rengui's knee.

He refused to believe that the tortoise shell could cover even the knees completely!

But when the sole of the boot hit the knee pad, it felt like kicking a city brick, and my toes were numb with pain.

"Damn it! They're even protecting their knees?"

Cheng Yaojin roared in anger, but his swordsmanship remained perfectly sharp.

He suddenly changed tactics, no longer slashing hard with his blade, but instead sliding along the curve of the armor, trying to find a gap to slip through.

The first slash grazed Xue Rengui's neck, but he dodged it by turning his head in time.

The second slash was aimed at the joint of the arm armor, but Xue Rengui parried it with the back of his blade.

The third strike was aimed straight at the groin, the only weak point in the entire suit of armor.

Xue Rengui's pupils contracted sharply, and he suddenly raised his knee to block.

The moment his knee pads collided with the axe blade, he heard a faint cracking sound coming from inside his armor. His kneecap felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and a sharp pain shot up his leg bone.

But he did not retreat. Using the force of his knee, he swept his sword upwards, the tip of the blade grazing Cheng Yaojin's armor and sending sparks flying.

Armored combat is often this simple and unadorned.

Just like depleting a health bar, it's very difficult to completely kill the opponent. In most cases, you have to knock them down first and then finish them off by peeling off their armor.

This is also why the Battle of Xuanwu Gate lasted for several hours.

However, Cheng Yaojin's expression was not good. He saw that his Bright Armor had been slashed open.

This means that the opponent's sword and armor must be harder and sharper than his.

"Is that all you've got?" Xue Rengui's voice came from inside his helmet, with a dull metallic thud. "General Cheng has been hacking away for so long, and you haven't even scratched my tanned skin. You've already given up?"

"fart!"

Cheng Yaojin was enraged by these words and slammed his sword down on Xue Rengui's helmet.

This strike was powerful and heavy; if it hit flesh, the head would surely explode like a rotten watermelon.

With a loud clang, the blade struck the red tassel on the helmet. Xue Rengui felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his ears ringing, and his neck throbbing with pain, yet he remained firmly in place, without even a crack on his helmet.

"Turtle shell! You're a fucking coward who hides in a turtle shell!"

Cheng Yaojin finally burst into a tirade, spitting blood and gore onto Xue Rengui's mask: "If you have the guts, take off this iron shell and I'll chop you up with an axe!"

Xue Rengui slowly raised his hand to wipe the bloodstains off his mask. The weight of the armor made his arm a little sore, but his knuckles gripping the hilt of his sword tightened more and more: "Armor is for protecting life, not for showing off bravery. If General Cheng can't cut through it, he might as well admit defeat now."

"Admit defeat? Back when I was slaughtering Sui soldiers at Wagangzhai, you were still wearing open-crotch pants!"

Cheng Yaojin roared and pounced again. This time, he didn't chop hard, but instead used the hilt of his sword to stab Xue Rengui in the chest and abdomen.

The dull thud of a blunt object striking armor was more grating than a chop. Xue Rengui was knocked back repeatedly, his chest churning and a metallic taste rising in his throat.

But he knew that the armor had shielded him from blows that could have broken bones; if those blows had landed on his unarmored areas, he would already be lying in a pool of blood.

Just as Cheng Yaojin swung his axe in a sweeping motion, Xue Rengui's blades also struck Cheng Yaojin repeatedly, the powerful force causing Cheng Yaojin to stagger backward.

Both sides simply abandoned their defenses and began to fight each other.

However, the situation was very unfavorable for Cheng Yaojin, because his goal was to break through the defenses and thwart the enemy's objective of blowing up Xuanwu Gate.

But now Xue Rengui has blocked it.

Not only him, but also his personal guards.

On the city wall, Yuchi Jingde kept sending imperial guards to provide support, while also moving the previously piled-up corpses.

But he dared not completely abandon the city wall, because if he went down with him, Su Dingfang might send people to seize the city wall again.

Even if we thwart the enemy's goal of blowing up Xuanwu Gate, the city walls would be occupied, rendering the attack meaningless.

Su Dingfang was at the front, and a large number of imperial guards wanted to press forward, but the area was only so big.

Even though the Imperial Guards were coming in droves, there were only so many people available to coordinate with them at the front, as this was not a vast area like the grasslands.

"Alright, General Su, all done!!!"

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Duhe had already completed the deployment of Thunderbolt.

For areas that couldn't be reached from the city wall, they simply used spears to stab them up. Most importantly, some ladders from the cloud chariots were dismantled and tied directly to the ladders, and that's how they piled up the Thunderbolts.

Below the city gate, one could see that Thunderbolt's cotton bundle almost filled the entire gate opening.

"Send word: Retreat immediately!!!"

Su Dingfang shouted.

The city gate is about to explode. Anyone standing beneath it will be utterly destroyed; no amount of armor will matter.

The elite troops from Liaodong that had charged in earlier retreated like a flood.

Watching the Liaodong soldiers retreating continuously, the Imperial Guards dared not advance.

"ignition!!!"

Duhe, a hysterical screamer.

A large number of torches were thrown directly into the city cave.

There's no need for any fuses anymore; a single Thunderbolt explosion will detonate them all.

Upon hearing the roar, the Liaodong soldiers turned and fled, for they knew better than anyone the power of the Thunderbolt.

There are quite a few soldiers here who were terrified by the Crown Prince's Thunderbolt Fire in Liaodong.

"not good!!!"

Yuchi Jingde, who was on the city wall, saw it clearly and quickly led his soldiers to push it away.

"It's over!"

Seeing this scene, Cheng Yaojin's sword fell to the ground.

distance.

Li Shimin's eyes remained calm, but his trembling fingers revealed the turmoil in his heart.

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji stared intently, not daring to blink.

Can it be blocked?

Xuanwu Gate underwent continuous reinforcement in order to counter the Crown Prince's cannons.

Now, facing Thunderbolt, can it withstand it?

If Xuanwu Gate hadn't collapsed, the Crown Prince would have been doomed to lose.

But what if it collapses?

On the high platform.

Li Chengqian held the crystal telescope and looked at it, even holding his breath.

When it comes to this crucial moment that determines victory or defeat, even the most composed person can't help but feel nervous.

My heart felt like it was about to stop beating.

First came a muffled rumble, like a roar coming from the depths of the earth.

Immediately afterwards, a huge flame engulfed the Xuanwu Gate.

The entire Xuanwu Gate shook violently, and bricks fell down in a rustling sound.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
A series of booming sounds followed as a large number of Thunderbolts were detonated.

The entire sky, or rather, the entire city of Chang'an, lit up.

Soldiers who were nearby were thrown away by an invisible gust of air and crashed to the ground like kites with broken strings, instantly falling silent.

The earth trembled and shook, and countless soldiers fell to the ground.

Everyone stared in astonishment toward Xuanwu Gate.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the city gate tower, which had stood for decades, seemed to have been struck by an invisible giant hand. First, the roof ornaments broke and fell, then the beams of the tower groaned under the weight, and finally the entire gate tower collapsed outwards with a deafening roar.

Stones, broken wood, and bricks rained down like a storm, instantly engulfing soldiers from both sides who were close to the city gate.

Some Xuanjia soldiers had their heads crushed by broken stone pillars, while others were crushed into a bloody pulp by broken beams. Screams rose and fell amidst the explosions, only to be quickly drowned out by the even more violent sounds of collapse.

"Xuanwu Gate..."

Li Shimin gazed at the rising smoke and dust, his voice trembling with disbelief.

At that moment, everyone was stunned.

Gunpowder was the source of the shock to this era.

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, a scene of utter devastation was revealed in front of Xuanwu Gate.

The collapsed bricks and stones piled up into small hills, corpses were scattered everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.

(End of this chapter)