Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 520 Old Zhu's Decision! Deception!

If the two armies were to clash, one hundred ordinary Ming soldiers armed with muskets could annihilate one hundred of the most elite archers in an instant.

However, if you take an ordinary Ming soldier and compare him to a top-notch archer, the archer will at least be superior in terms of accuracy.

Huo Liancheng confidently claimed that he could surpass Lü Bu's archery skills with this spear, which was naturally astonishing.

"Not only me, but any marksman in the camp with exceptional marksmanship can achieve the same level of accuracy as long as he wields this gun."

Huo Liancheng added firmly, "Because this gun is equipped with a telescope sight, aiming and shooting becomes exceptionally simple and accurate. Even ordinary shooters can quickly master its essentials."

"The bullets fired from this gun are incredibly powerful, capable of piercing any sturdy armor."

"Once it hits, the wound is far larger than that of an ordinary arrow, and its lethality is astonishing."

"It can be said that if a person is hit in the brain or chest/abdomen by this gun, they will surely die on the spot, with no chance of survival!"

A sharp glint flashed in Old Zhu's eyes, and he said, "You mean you're going to personally lead a few sharpshooters to assassinate Kutruk, the leader of the Chaotic Scales bandit gang, using sniper rifles?"

Huo Liancheng nodded without hesitation and replied, "Your Majesty is extremely perceptive, and that is exactly what I meant."

His tone grew increasingly firm: "The reason why the Chaotic Scales gang was able to gather and wreak havoc lies in its leader, Kutruk."

"As the saying goes, 'To shoot a man, first shoot his horse; to capture a thief, first capture his king,' this is a famous saying of military strategy."

"Throughout history, whenever rebels have caused chaos, the maintenance and development of their power have always depended on the call and command of their leader."

Huo Liancheng spoke confidently: "As long as we accurately shoot and kill Kutruk and his key leaders, the remaining henchmen will be leaderless and just a bunch of rabble, easily defeated and not worth mentioning."

"More importantly, this tactic also allows Timur to personally witness the true strength of our Great Ming and experience its terrifying power."

His tone carried an undisguised pride as a citizen of the Ming Dynasty: "Moreover, this move does not require sending a large number of troops to risk their lives, nor will it disrupt the Emperor's carefully planned strategic deployment."

"Moreover," Huo Liancheng added, "the area where the Luanlin bandits operate is on a plateau with extremely steep altitudes."

"Although our Ming army is brave and skilled in battle, and its combat power is unparalleled in the world, once it reaches the plateau, it cannot adapt to the environment as well as the locals."

"If this leads to a decline in our army's combat strength, resulting in setbacks in the war or even unexpected events, it will only make Timur underestimate the strength of our Ming army. This would be extremely unfavorable for the Ming Dynasty to exert pressure on the Turan Empire in the future."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu fell into a long silence, clearly weighing the pros and cons. After a while, he slowly spoke and asked, "How confident are you about this matter?"

"The key lies in the accuracy of intelligence and the timing!" Huo Liancheng said decisively. "Kutruk could never have known that our Great Ming Dynasty possessed such divine weapons, so naturally he would not have any defenses against them."

"As long as we can obtain accurate intelligence and successfully infiltrate within the effective range of a sniper rifle, I am fully confident that we can kill him with a single shot, leaving him no chance of survival."

Huo Liancheng's voice was filled with unwavering confidence in victory.

"Even if we take a step back," Huo Liancheng said, seeing that Zhu's expression had softened, "even if my method fails, it will not damage the dignity of my Great Ming Dynasty in the slightest."

"The Supreme Emperor can still mobilize a large army to righteously and fairly wipe out the Chaotic Scales bandit gang."

"This assassination attempt by your humble servant can be regarded as a bold attempt and experiment."

"Success would bring enormous strategic benefits and deterrence to the Ming Dynasty, while failure would be insignificant and have negligible impact."

"Why not take advantage of such a sure-fire way to make money?"

Old Zhu nodded slightly, his eyes showing approval, and said, "What you said is indeed very reasonable."

"Okay! We approve!" He made the decision decisively, his voice loud and clear.

"Get to work on the preparations immediately, and make sure everything goes perfectly!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Liancheng's face immediately lit up with undisguised elation. He quickly bowed and accepted the order, so excited that he almost jumped up.

Ever since Zhu Yunwen successfully developed a more advanced firearm, Huo Liancheng has been particularly fond of this innovative weapon and has become obsessed with it.

He was a renowned marksman in the Ming army, whose superb marksmanship impressed all the soldiers, who were willing to admit defeat.

The firearms technology of the Ming Dynasty was advancing rapidly, constantly being innovated and iterated, which made Huo Liancheng even more fascinated by it and deeply immersed in it.

A bold idea had been lingering in his mind.

Since muskets have a much longer range, greater accuracy, and stronger penetrating power than arrows, could they be cleverly used to kill the enemy's commander during a head-on confrontation, thus achieving a surprising and effective result?
This was undoubtedly a revolutionary attempt to change the course of warfare.

Unfortunately, since Zhu Yunwen came to power, the Ming Dynasty had reached its zenith and there was no longer any powerful enemy that could rival it head-on, leaving Huo Liancheng with no opportunity to put his bold and forward-thinking idea into practice.

At Beshbaliq, although Mahama disguised himself as a "Tianshan bandit" to attack the delegation, he dared not reveal his true identity, so Huo Liancheng was unable to implement such tactics.

Although Mahama was eventually killed, he died from a stray bullet, and it is unknown which soldier fired the shot that ended his life.

Huo Liancheng had also considered using a musket to secretly assassinate Huda.

But by then, the Ming Dynasty had already firmly taken control of Beshbaliq.

Zhu Yuanzhang personally led several thousand elite troops to oversee the situation, greatly strengthening this control.

This made the use of muskets for assassination unnecessary, and even somewhat superfluous.

The problem can be easily solved by directly administering poison, which is more discreet and efficient.

Now, Huo Liancheng has finally had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to personally verify the effectiveness of this original tactic.

As a professional soldier born for war, how could he not feel excited and thrilled?

Old Zhu immediately summoned Timur back into the tent and said to him, "Timur Khan, General Huo of the Great Ming will personally lead several elite warriors to fight alongside your army and assist you in suppressing the Luanlin bandits."

Timur was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then burst into a piercing laugh: "Oh? Leading a mere few warriors into battle?"

His laughter was full of sarcasm and disdain: "Is this how you treat me, Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"

"The mighty Ming Empire is only sending a few people to participate in this war?" "Is this what they call sincerity from the Ming Dynasty?"

His face already revealed undisguised mockery and extreme contempt.

However, Timur, a seasoned and ruthless warlord, had long since mastered the art of controlling his facial expressions.

What he was thinking was unknown to others, but only he himself knew the truth.

Old Zhu laughed and said, "Timur Khan, rest assured, do not underestimate the warriors of the Ming Dynasty."

"Although General Huo and his men number only a few, the role they can play will definitely exceed your imagination and bring unexpected and significant impact."

"As for the rest, we won't say any more," Old Zhu said directly. "Your army only needs to fully cooperate with General Huo and his men's actions."

"General Huo and his elite troops will be responsible for personally killing the rebel leader Kutruk."

"At that time, the bandits will be leaderless. Won't your army be able to wipe them out completely?"

A look of surprise flashed across Timur's eyes, as if he were shocked by Old Zhu's words. He then lowered his voice and asked, "Is this really true? He can really kill Kutruk?"

Old Zhu looked directly at Timur, his eyes revealing absolute confidence and imperial majesty, and said, "If they cannot successfully kill Kutruk, we will send the Ming army to join the battle and help you completely wipe out the rebels, how about that?"

“Alright, then it’s a deal!” Timur replied decisively and without hesitation.

In fact, long after Chen Cheng led the Ming delegation to Barkiah, Timur, after thoroughly understanding the situation in Beshbaliq, had already quietly set off and secretly arrived at the border between the Turan Empire and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

The military exercises conducted by the Ming army on the border were awe-inspiring, with cannon fire shaking the heavens and the earth.

These scenes were clearly reflected in Timur's eyes from afar.

After personally witnessing the formidable strength of the Ming army and repeatedly weighing the options, Timur concluded that a direct confrontation was unwise. Ultimately, he chose to disguise himself as an envoy and personally meet with the Supreme Emperor of Ming to discuss a peace agreement between the two countries.

However, even so, Timur still longed to let the Ming army experience a real battle in order to thoroughly understand its true fighting capabilities.

After all, drills are just drills, and they are fundamentally different from real battlefield combat.

As a powerful warlord who dominated a region and a military commander who had fought on the battlefield for many years, Timur had already conceived more than a dozen tactics and strategies to deal with the Ming army's firearms and cannons after observing the Ming army's drills many times, gaining a deep understanding of the astonishing power of firearms and cannons, and repeatedly deducing their potential combat power.

However, almost without exception, these conceived tactics all required special terrain and favorable weather conditions to barely offset the Ming army's huge advantage in weaponry.

Then, relying on their numerical superiority and the advantage of their own troops' proficiency in close combat, they achieved victory in the war.

Without the cover of terrain and favorable weather conditions, no matter how many cavalrymen his empire had or how brave and skilled his soldiers were, they would have no chance of defeating the Ming army, which possessed advanced firearms.

Not only that.

All of this was just a hypothesis and deduction in his mind.

How the Ming army would deploy and respond to these strategies, and whether it would possess corresponding tactics and strategies to cleverly offset the effects of terrain and weather, remains unknown.

Only by witnessing the Ming army's performance in actual combat can one truly determine the effectiveness and feasibility of their proposed tactics.

Although Timur had temporarily reached a peace agreement with Zhu, his ambitions never died out.

As a powerful and ambitious figure who rose to prominence during a time of war, idolized Genghis Khan, and single-handedly carved out a vast empire, Timur was always filled with intense resentment at the prospect of bowing down to the Ming Dynasty, which he had never conquered.

Even if there is only a tiny chance, he will fight hard to realize his ultimate dream of becoming "the best in the world".

He longed for the entire world to grovel at his feet, for the Ming emperor to bow down to him, rather than the other way around, for him to be subservient to others.

Huo Liancheng quickly selected the most skilled marksmen and then personally led them to accompany Timur to the Turan Empire's military camp.

Timur treated them with the utmost courtesy and respect, ordering that they be treated to the most sumptuous food and drink.

All supplies were readily available and generously provided.

Before long, they were taken to the front lines where war raged.

"Look, that's the lair of the Chaotic Scales bandits!"

Timur pointed to a camp on a hillside not far away, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible pride, and said, "The roads that the Chaotic Scales bandits travel to all directions have been completely cut off by our army, and the blockade is watertight."

"They have no way to escape now, and they are just making a last-ditch effort by relying on the treacherous mountain terrain."

Huo Liancheng looked up and saw only steep and precipitous mountains as far as the eye could see.

The mountain area was indeed extremely precipitous, with cliffs on three sides that inspired awe and fear. Only a narrow path wound its way to the top of the mountain.

The Luanlin bandits had already built a dense array of arrow towers along the way and erected sturdy stone walls as obstacles, completely blocking the only passage by taking advantage of their superior position.

This is a truly impregnable and strategically important location, where "one man can hold the pass against ten thousand."

If we insist on launching a forced attack, the casualties we suffer will be considerable.

Huo Liancheng turned around without making a sound, his gaze falling on Timur beside him.

When this guy reported to the Supreme Emperor in the main tent, he never mentioned that the terrain occupied by the Chaotic Scales bandits was so dangerous. It was obviously a deliberate concealment, and he had ulterior motives.

"They stockpiled a large amount of grain and fodder on the mountain."

Timur showed no remorse for "deceiving" the mountain, but instead continued to introduce it without changing his expression: "Moreover, although this mountain is high, there is a clear lake at the top called 'Eye of the Mountain,' which can provide ample water for this group of rebels."

"We cannot rely on siege tactics to starve and thirst them to death; the only option is a direct assault."

"Honorable warriors of the Ming Dynasty, how do you plan to launch this attack?"

……

(End of this chapter)