Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 521 The Turning Wheel of Time, A Change of Fate!
Timur laughed.

"Please rest assured, my Turan Empire will provide you with all necessary assistance and support to ensure the success of this battle."

His smile grew deeper, subtly revealing some unspeakable thoughts.

Huo Liancheng gave Timur a meaningful look, but did not answer immediately. Instead, he bent down and slowly put down the large, long backpack he was carrying on his back.

Then, he deftly took out the latest military binoculars developed by the Ming Dynasty from his bag.

This telescope is not some unheard-of novelty; it's just that the lenses of this telescope are polished more finely, and its observation distance is farther than before, with a clearer field of view that reveals every detail.

Huo Liancheng raised his binoculars and observed the layout and defenses of the Luanlin bandit camp with focused attention for a while.

As he looked and pondered, gradually, the seemingly indestructible barrier in his eyes appeared to have been breached.

A moment later, Huo Liancheng put down his binoculars, a faint yet confident smile appearing on his face, and said to Timur, "Your Excellency Timur Khan, you may now order your army to prepare for a massive attack on this bandit camp."

Timur was taken aback for a moment, then his face showed obvious dissatisfaction, and his tone was filled with anger and doubt: "Warriors of the Ming Dynasty, is your method to make our Turan warriors disregard casualties and use their flesh and blood to forcibly attack the bandit camp?"

His voice gradually rose, clearly angered by the suggestion: "If that's really the case, then what's the point of me inviting you all here?!"

Huo Liancheng smiled calmly and composedly: "No, it's not that I want you to actually launch an attack."

"What we need is a large-scale feint attack."

"Just make it look like you're about to launch a massive all-out offensive, and put on a realistic show for the bandits on the mountain."

"As for the rest, you can leave it to us."

Huo Liancheng's tone grew increasingly confident, as if everything was under his control: "Once we successfully kill the bandit leader Kutruk and all his major generals, this group of bandits will be leaderless, their morale will be low, and they will have no will to fight."

"At that time, you can turn this pretense into reality and launch a real all-out offensive!" He said with certainty, as if he had already foreseen the future battle.

After saying that, he looked up at the sky, estimated the time, and smiled slightly, saying, "If everything goes smoothly, we expect to completely wipe out this Chaotic Scales bandit gang before nightfall today!"

Although a clear look of disbelief flashed across Timur's face, he quickly concealed it, forced a smile, and said, "If the warriors of the Great Ming truly possess such abilities, that would be for the best. Then I, the Khan, will go ahead and make the arrangements."

Despite his words, doubts remained deep in his eyes. However, out of the caution of a shrewd and ambitious man, he decided to follow Huo Liancheng's instructions first.

Huo Liancheng nodded slightly, not wanting to waste any more words with him, but instead raised his hand to signal to the soldiers accompanying him.

He put the heavy, long backpack back on and then led the group toward a more secluded location closer to the bandit camp.

The terrain here is ingenious, not only bringing the distance to the enemy's positions closer, but also placing it just outside the effective range of ordinary arrows.

This is undoubtedly a uniquely advantageous and ideal sniping position.

Of course, this position is not without flaws or impeccable qualities.

If the enemy uses heavy bows and arrows, hurled into the sky at a 45-degree angle, theoretically, those falling arrows might still reach this spot.

However, this type of projectile cannot be accurately aimed, and in reality, it poses no real threat to Huo Liancheng and his men.

The tactic of raining down arrows is usually only used occasionally when dealing with large-scale enemy forces.

Because only in large-scale battles like that is there no need to worry about accuracy; even blind, random shooting can still injure the enemy.

Using this tactic against a small, sparsely populated enemy force would be extremely unwise.

After all, arrows are a rather expensive consumable for the armies of countries that have not yet entered industrialization.

Moreover, the killing efficiency of such indiscriminate shooting is extremely low, making it a losing proposition.

Even when facing a large enemy force, this tactic can only be used as an occasional supplementary measure and cannot be used for a long time, otherwise it would be impossible to withstand its enormous consumption.

The enemy before them was merely a motley crew of bandits, not the regular army of a powerful empire.

They were even less likely to have the capacity to mass-produce and stockpile arrows to employ this tactic of indiscriminately raining arrows into the sky.

The fact that they couldn't aim and fire directly meant that they wouldn't waste their precious arrows on pointless attacks against Huo Liancheng and his men.

However, the newly developed sniper rifle of the Ming Dynasty has a much longer effective aiming and firing range.

This means that the bandits' arrows cannot reach Huo Liancheng and his men, while Huo Liancheng and his men can easily send bullets into the bandits' positions for precise strikes.

In reality, this location is not ideal in terms of actual concealment and is relatively easy for the enemy to detect.

There's just no better location nearby.

Moreover, this is not a big deal.

Even if the bandits discover their presence, once they realize that they are beyond their archery range, they will most likely choose to monitor them from a distance rather than take any reckless attack.

A futile attack will only expose their weakness and helplessness.

Furthermore, the bandits in front of them should have never even heard of the Ming army's sniper rifles, let alone been familiar with their characteristics.

Even if they witnessed Huo Liancheng and his men taking up their sniper rifles and aiming to fire, they would likely remain completely unaware of what these people were doing until the first shot shattered the silence, and naturally, they would not take any effective defensive measures in time.

This created an excellent opportunity for Huo Liancheng's tactics, allowing him to take full advantage of the enemy's ignorance to achieve his strategic goals.

After Huo Liancheng led his Ming soldiers to the selected sniper position, they did not hesitate at all. They quickly and accurately found the best shooting position, set up all the sniper rifles steadily, and made all preparations for battle.

As expected, just as he had predicted, it seemed that some of the bandits on the high outposts had noticed their presence.

However, aside from casting curious glances at them, the bandits took no further action, seemingly still trying to guess the intentions and purposes of these uninvited guests.

Before long, a deafening drumbeat suddenly rang out from the Turan Empire's military camp below, rolling in like muffled thunder.

Banners fluttered in the wind as countless elite soldiers of the Turan Empire stood in formation with breathtakingly synchronized steps.

A chilling aura soared into the sky, permeating the entire battlefield.

A few moments.

The drumming stopped suddenly.

All was silent; the battlefield instantly fell into a deathly stillness.

The tens of thousands of troops remained completely silent, demonstrating their remarkable discipline.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"Knock knock knock!" ...

Another burst of rapid and stirring drumbeats resounded, shaking heaven and earth once more like the heartbeat of the god of war.

Immediately afterwards, the deep and resonant sound of the horn rang out, foreshadowing the imminent start of the battle.

Then, tens of thousands of soldiers roared in unison: "Kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

……

The sound waves were earth-shattering, converging into an invincible torrent that shook the earth, as if it would destroy everything in its path.

Although Huo Liancheng and his group were located at a slightly lower elevation than the bandit camp above, they were still at a much higher elevation than the Turan Empire's military camp.

At this moment, Huo Liancheng looked back and had a commanding view of the massive army below, taking in every subtle movement.

Looking at their disciplined military bearing, as if cast in iron, and listening to their soaring, awe-inspiring battle cries, Huo Liancheng couldn't help but nod slightly, a hint of approval appearing on his face.

The army of the Turan Empire lived up to its reputation; it was indeed an elite force that had been tempered by countless battles.

Timur's ability to rise from chaos, expand his territory, and conquer a vast domain demonstrates his extraordinary skills.

This elite force is no less formidable than, and may even surpass, the battle-hardened troops that the Supreme Emperor once led when he founded the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately……

Huo Liancheng shook his head slightly, a complex and indescribable smile on his face.

The smile contained a hint of regret for the formidable enemy before him, a touch of contempt, and at its core, a genuine sense of pride and confidence in the power of the Ming Dynasty's firearms.

In the past, the elite forces of the Turan Empire were indeed capable of challenging the Ming army.

Their superb horsemanship and archery skills, coupled with their ingenious use of treacherous terrain, meant that if the Ming Dynasty were to send a large army on a distant expedition, but were hampered by logistical difficulties, they would likely suffer heavy losses and return in defeat.

However, at this moment, facing Timur's display of "strength," Huo Liancheng could only feel disdain.

Timur deliberately put on such a grand display, presumably with the intention of demonstrating his strength to the Ming soldiers.

He was completely unaware that his self-proclaimed disciplined military bearing and orderly advance and retreat were nothing more than a ridiculous "show" in the eyes of Ming generals like Huo Liancheng, who were well-versed in the essence of modern firearms warfare, and had no practical significance whatsoever.

In just a few years, the firearms and artillery equipped by the Ming army had undergone several generations of innovation, achieving a qualitative leap.

These soldiers who accompanied the Supreme Emperor on his expedition to the Western Regions were equipped with the latest and most advanced firearms of the time.

Dealing with Timur's army, which still used the same dense formations as before, was practically effortless.

With the latest and most advanced firearms and cannons, a few shots or cannon shots are enough to kill a lot of enemy soldiers.

That killing efficiency might be even faster and more devastating than harvesting wheat with a sickle!
How could they possibly take them seriously?
The more uniform and orderly the cold weapon combat formation, the easier it is to fight with firearms and artillery!
In Huo Liancheng's view, this kind of tactic should have been eliminated long ago!

However, the Turan Empire, which was still in the era of cold weapons, clearly did not understand this principle.

Even Timur, who considered himself a man of great talent and ambition, was unable to keep up with the times due to limitations in information and perspective.

Of course, even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.

After all, given their technological level, it was impossible for them to manufacture the advanced firearms and cannons used by the Ming army.

Even a good cook cannot cook without rice.

Without weapons and equipment, new tactics and strategies are naturally out of the question.

Cold weapons can only be used with cold weapon tactics and strategies.

Before long, the vast army below marched in perfect unison, advancing steadily toward the mountaintop bandit camp with a measured yet imposing momentum.

Timur was quite trustworthy, and indeed ordered his army to prepare for attack, with flags waving and horns blaring, creating a strong atmosphere of fighting spirit.

Of course, this undoubtedly also contained a hint of demonstrating against the Ming army.

The intention was to demonstrate the power and inviolability of Timur's empire.

But he clearly miscalculated and chose the wrong target.

Huo Liancheng and his men didn't bother to take their outdated army, which had been eliminated by new tactics, seriously. They quickly withdrew their attention from the troops below and turned their sharp eyes to the bandit camp above.

Such a commotion below naturally alerted the Chaotic Scales bandit gang.

In the upper camp, piercing alarms blared incessantly, urgent and chaotic, echoing through the mountains.

The bandits were frantically gathering, hastily preparing to deal with the impending attack of the Turan cavalry.

After a while, the city wall in front, built of huge stones, was densely covered with the figures of bandits, who were on high alert and ready to fight as if facing a formidable enemy.

At the same time, a group of people dressed in a completely different manner from ordinary bandits and henchmen also climbed onto the city wall.

Huo Liancheng only glanced at them before realizing that these people were no ordinary rabble; they must be core members of a gang.

He spun up the binoculars and stared intently.

With just one glance, he immediately confirmed that the facial features of the leader were strikingly similar to those of Kutruk, as described in the official bounty poster of the Turan Empire.

It seems this person must be Kutruk, the leader of the Chaotic Scales bandit gang.

The intelligence gathered by the Turan Empire was quite accurate; they didn't portray the people in a completely distorted way.

Kutruk was accompanied by a group of important leaders and confidants of the Chaotic Scales gang.

They were clearly alarmed by the massive force of the Turan Empire's army below and came to the front lines specifically to observe the "enemy's" movements in order to urgently discuss how to deploy a battle plan to deal with the impending attack.

At this time, the vanguard of the Turan Empire's army was still far beyond the range of ordinary arrows.

Therefore, Kutruk and others believed that there was no risk in coming to the front lines for inspection.

Little did they know that today, all of this has quietly changed.

……

(End of this chapter)