The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 192 The Cavalry Terminator

News of the rebellion of the Karluks in Ili quickly reached the Eastern Capital.

Inside the main hall, Xiao Simo sat at the head of the table, his face pale and coughing incessantly, his health deteriorating.

"Tell me all, the Nine Karluks of Ili killed the supervisor, Nie'edu, and raised their banners in rebellion... cough cough..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals in the hall became excited.

"Your Majesty, those Karluk bastards are courting death. They must all be killed."

“The king was merciful and spared the lives of the Karluks, but these Karluks were inherently treacherous and instead of repaying the kindness, they rebelled again.”

"The Karluks must be wiped out."

"Yes, we must wipe out the Karluks and make them pay a heavy price for what they have done."

"Your Majesty only needs to give me five thousand soldiers, and I will surely crush those nine tribes of the Karluks into dust."

"Your Majesty, there is no need for such trouble. The soldiers under my command are all seasoned veterans and fearless in the face of death."

"With just my troops, I can sweep across the land like a whirlwind. In less than half a month, I will have turned the heads of the nine Karluk tribes into a mound of skulls, so that all the surrounding tribes will know that those who dare to offend the might of my northern frontier will only meet their end in death."

Seeing the generals' impassioned emotions, Xiao Simo, despite his illness, slightly raised his hand, and the hall instantly fell silent.

He took a deep breath and said, "Your loyalty and bravery are commendable, and I am very pleased."

Then, he turned his gaze to Xiao Helun standing beside him and asked in a deep voice, "Your Highness, if I were to entrust you with the task of quelling the Karluk rebellion, would you have confidence?"

Herren accidentally fell into an ice cave during the cold winter and fell seriously ill. Fortunately, the spring warmed up and his health gradually improved, but he was still thin.

He looked somewhat thin and frail, and at this moment he stood aside as an observer, learning from Xiao Simo how to govern the people and the army.

Although he was not yet ten years old, there was no trace of fear on his tender face. His expression was firm, and he replied in a clear voice, "Father, rest assured, your son will not fail you. I will make the Karluks regret what they have done."

Hearing this, Xiao Simo nodded in satisfaction.

As the eldest son, Xiao Helun bears a resemblance to Xiao Simo in his features. He is resolute and his abilities are beginning to show. In many ways, Xiao Simo can see a reflection of his younger self in him.

In contrast, his other sons were not up to the task, so Xiao Simo designated Xiao Helun as his successor early on.

The only drawback is that Xiao Helun is still young, not even ten years old this year, and it will be difficult for him to deter the arrogant and fierce soldiers in the northern frontier in the future.

Therefore, Xiao Simo decided to take a risk and entrusted Xiao Helun with the important task of suppressing the Karluk rebellion, hoping that he could use this opportunity to cultivate his confidants in the army, make military achievements, and pave the way for a smooth succession in the future.

Upon hearing that Xiao Simo had entrusted such an important battle to Xiao Helun, who had never been on the battlefield, the generals in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.

They could understand Xiao Simo's intention to groom the heir, but such an arrangement was irresponsible towards the lives of the soldiers.

Then, a highly respected Khitan general stepped forward and earnestly advised: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is of noble birth and has never experienced war, so he is unaware of the dangers of the battlefield."

"Swords have no eyes; what if something happens to the young master?"

Xiao Simo remained calm and slowly shook his head, saying, "He is my son, the future ruler of the Northern Frontier, and is by no means a weak and timid lamb cowering under the protection of a flock of sheep."

"The battlefield is a place where life and death are fought and fate is unpredictable. If he cannot even withstand the storms of the battlefield and loses his life in the chaos of battle, then it is only fate that has brought him here."

Having said that, he slightly raised his head, his expression cold and stern, as if he had already foreseen the cruel battlefield, yet he remained unwavering in his determination to guide his eldest son through the trials of the battlefield.

He hadn't originally planned to send Xiao Helun to the battlefield so soon.

I plan to wait a few more years, and I will start from the bottom as an officer and work my way up step by step.

Unfortunately, Xiao Simo no longer had time.

He had a premonition that he was probably really not going to make it.

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the old general Xuegu Erluda sitting below him and said in a deep voice, "This expedition will be led by Crown Prince Xiao Helun as the commander-in-chief and Xuegu Erluda as the deputy commander-in-chief, with five thousand troops to conquer Ili and annihilate the rebellion of the nine tribes of the Karluks."

Xuegueruda was Xiao Simo's most trusted general, his most trusted confidant.

Of the four chief priests in the Six Departments, Xuegueruda held the highest position.

While his contemporaries Xiao Linta, Xiao Tuladuo, and Jiu Meng'anhe were all sent to serve as regional officials, only Xuegu Erluda remained in the Eastern Capital.

It wasn't that Xiao Simo didn't trust, but rather that he trusted too much.

Every time Xiao Simo personally led an expedition, he would leave Xuegu Erluda behind to guard the rear.

To put it bluntly, Xuegueruda was the deputy king of the Sixth Department and the second-in-command of the Northern Frontier Military Group.

After the order was given, Xiao Helun and Xuegu Erluda immediately stood in the hall and said in a deep voice, "Your subordinate obeys."

"I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust."

The other generals in the hall also breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew in his heart that Xiao Helun was only the nominal commander-in-chief, and the actual power of the army was still in the hands of Xuegu Erluda.

They all bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Xiao Simo nodded slightly and said to Xuegu Erluda, "General Xuegu Erluda, the prince is young. In this battle, you must carefully teach him and protect him with all your might."

"But we must not be soft-hearted when it is necessary to let him gain experience."

Xuegu Erluda stood up, patted his chest, and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this humble general will certainly do his duty."

After discussing the troop deployment plan with his generals, Xiao Simo dismissed them. The next second, he began to cough violently.

"Cough cough cough cough~"

He was hunched over, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his already pale face now flushed with an unnatural redness.

His forehead was covered in sweat, and large beads of sweat rolled down his tired cheeks.

Xiao Helun stood to the side, his eyes red-rimmed, filled with heartache.

He reached out and gently patted Xiao Simo's back, calling out anxiously with a sob in his voice, "Father, Father~ How are you? Don't scare your son!"

"Someone, bring ginseng soup, quick!"

After a while, Xiao Simo's cough subsided slightly. He straightened up a little and took out a piece of cloth from his pocket with trembling hands. He gently wiped the corner of his mouth and saw that the handkerchief was stained with a large amount of blood.

Looking at the bloodstains, a hint of helplessness and worry flashed in Xiao Simo's eyes, then he shook his head with a bitter smile.

He looked at Xiao Helun and said, "It's nothing, Father. I'm fine. It's just an old ailment."

"Just cough up this poisonous blood and you'll be fine."

He has come to terms with life and death, but the only thing he can't let go of is his son.

"On this expedition, you must learn patiently and avoid blindly showing off."

"The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Acting rashly will only lead you into danger. Only by calming down, observing and thinking can you truly understand the ways of war."

Despite his exhaustion, Xiao Simo imparted his wisdom on leading troops and employing people to Xiao Helun.

"At the same time, you should also pay attention to the brave soldiers among the ordinary soldiers. Those who come from humble backgrounds but have extraordinary courage and talent are often the real forces that are worth relying on."

“These generals in Dongdu all have powerful backgrounds, and their interests are intertwined.”

"They will certainly be loyal to you in the future, but whether they are trustworthy is for you to judge."

Xiao Simo paused, coughed violently a few times, and after recovering his composure, continued, "You need to personally promote a group of people, select those who are truly loyal to you, brave and resourceful from the lower ranks of the soldiers, and carefully cultivate them so that they can become your true confidants."

"Only in this way can you establish a solid foundation in the army and be qualified to take over the great cause in the northern frontier."

Just as Xiao Simo was imparting his military command experience to him, Xiao Dalu on the other side also learned of Xiao Simo's arrangements.

“It’s abominable!”

Xiao Dalu's eyes widened in fury as he viciously lashed a slave tied to a tree with his whip. Even as the slave's skin was torn and his voice weakly begged for mercy, Xiao Dalu continued to beat him relentlessly.

It was as if a stone was being whipped, not a person.

"Why should all the benefits go to Xiao Helun? I am also his son, and his eldest son at that."

He cursed and whipped the corpse to vent his anger.

“I am older than him, I have more brothers in terms of popularity, and I am far superior to him in terms of fighting skills.”

"Is it simply because his mother is the legal wife, and I am just the son of a maid, that he treats me differently?"

"I'm not convinced."

He continued cursing and lashing out until the whip broke, at which point he stopped, and by then the slave was already lifeless.

Soon, his mother appeared. When she saw the slave who had been beaten to death, her face instantly darkened, and she said angrily, "When will you be able to change your violent temper?"

"Do you really think your father cares about your birth?"

Xiao Dalu angrily slammed the broken riding whip onto the grass, saying, "He just looks down on me."

The woman was equally furious: "How could I have given birth to such an idiot like you?"

Although he really wanted to retort that it was hereditary, Xiao Dalu ultimately didn't refute it. He could only lie down on the grass, looking at the blue sky and white clouds, panting heavily.

After all, her mother had a strong desire for control, and she didn't like anyone around her to go against her wishes.

"It's just a commander's position!"

What good would it do to give it to him?

"The one who laughs last laughs best."

"Moreover, it would be even better if that wolf cub left Dongdu!" the woman said coldly.

In Jinzhou, on the vast grasslands, the sun blazes down and the wind howls.

Twenty brand-new cannons stood in a row, their muzzles dark and deep, like lurking giant beasts, exuding a chilling and intimidating power.

A dozen or so soldiers were busily working around each cannon.

"Hurry up, Xiao Duozi, be quick about it. The Grand Commander is watching. Don't embarrass our Shenji Battalion."

A young man shouted loudly; his name was Zhou Chang, and he was the gunner's commander of the cannon.

Although he only had a dozen or so men under his command, as a technical branch of the Jinzhou Army, his actual position was far higher than the number of people he actually managed.

Zhou Chang was a genuine captain.

He was among the first batch of artillerymen from Jinzhou to participate in the war against the Naiman tribe and made meritorious contributions.

After the war, the original Shenji Battalion was split in two. One part stayed in Xihai with the cannons, while Zhou Chang returned to Jinzhou with the main army and was promoted to artillery commander, his weapon being this newly cast Shenwei Cannon.

At the same time, their Shenji Battalion received a new batch of recruits.

Just like this little boy in front of us, he's from the same village as Zhou Chang, and he's only fifteen years old.

At that moment, he was huffing and puffing as he carried a heavy shell out of the box and stuffed it into the cannon barrel.

"Everyone prepare!"

With a shout from Liu Zhong, the commander of the First Divine Machine Battalion, all the soldiers retreated, leaving only the gunners holding torches to step forward.

"put."

At the command, sparks flew everywhere, and deafening roars rose and fell like thunderclaps from a clear sky.

Twenty cannons fired simultaneously, their muzzles spitting out long tongues of fire, and the powerful recoil caused the ground beneath them to sink a bit.

The shells trailed long plumes of smoke as they hurtled into the distance like arrows released from a bow.

A small hill in the distance was instantly engulfed in flames and smoke, dust filled the air, and huge explosions echoed continuously.

Stones and dirt flew into the air, and ruins were scattered haphazardly on the ground.

This scene left Xiao Duozi and the other new recruits dumbfounded.

They had only heard of the power of cannons before, but had never seen them in person.

At that moment, the shocking scene seemed to have frozen them in place, their feet rooted to the ground, unable to move.

"This...this is amazing."

"This is the Divine Might Cannon? It's even more terrifying than thunder!"

"If it can blast even a small hill apart, what city wall in the world can withstand it?"

The other recruits were excitedly talking to each other, some were stunned, some were breathing rapidly, and everyone was completely overwhelmed by this terrifying scene.

"Hmph, that's nothing."

"It's just a small hill, an inanimate object."

"When we fought the Naiman cavalry on the grasslands before, this one shot felled a whole bunch of them, their intestines, brains, elbows and all sorts of things flying everywhere."

Zhou Chang, spitting as he boasted to his recruits, was actually no better off than they were when he first witnessed the power of cannons.

After boasting for a while, the commander in the distance raised his command flag again, pointing in a new direction.

The twenty gunners immediately adjusted their angles and then ordered the soldiers to begin reloading ammunition. A moment later, the twenty guns roared again.

This was not just a test firing of twenty newly cast cannons, but also a training exercise.

Because half of the soldiers in the First Divine Machine Battalion are new recruits, it's their first time using cannons, so they need to get used to it beforehand to avoid messing up on the battlefield.

Behind them, a golden-armored cavalry stood in neat rows, their sharpness and menacing aura resounding, like a golden steel Great Wall stretching across the grassland.

Beneath the golden sun and moon battle banner, Li Xiao, clad in dark gold cotton armor, sat steadily on his tall warhorse.

Holding a telescope, he was intently reviewing the test firing of the cannon.

With each cannon shot, and seeing the small hill that had been hit crumble and rocks and dirt flying everywhere, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Third Uncle, your skills are getting better and better. There are no problems with the quality of these twenty Divine Might Cannons."

When the first batch of cannons was being cast, several cannons exploded during the test firing phase.

The main reason is that the clay molding method causes air bubbles inside the gun barrel.

Then the old man led the craftsmen to continue their research, using a new casting method. The second batch of cannons they forged was of increasingly better quality and had virtually no problems.

Hearing Li Xiao's words, Li Sanzhi, who was standing on horseback to the side, said with a smile, "This thing is just like blacksmithing, practice makes perfect!"

"Things that are forged will definitely get better and better."

Li Sanzhi has been working as a blacksmith with his grandfather since he was a child, and now his skills have far surpassed those of his masters.

The steel and arms manufacturing in Jinzhou will definitely be handed over to him.

"By the way, Third Uncle."

"How's the shelling I told you about last time coming along?" Li Xiao put down his telescope and turned to ask Li Sanzhi.

"It's a bit troublesome, but we can still get it done. I just don't know if it will work," Li Sanzhi said with a slightly unnatural expression.

"I'm afraid it won't be able to fire and will explode inside the cannon."

The Jinzhou Army's current artillery shells are all live ammunition.

They were all heavy iron balls; when they hit the city wall, they created a large crater, and when they hit a small hill, they scattered stones everywhere.

The problem is that live ammunition has limited effectiveness against cavalry.

In previous battles, the Shenji Battalion was able to exert its power mainly because it caught the enemy off guard.

The grassland people had never seen this thing before, which caused chaos in the army and the soldiers lost their will to fight.

In reality, very few enemy soldiers were directly hit by the cannonballs. They were all frightened by the power of the cannons, their warhorses became uncontrollable, and their formations were thrown into chaos, which facilitated the subsequent charge of the Jinzhou cavalry.

However, if the enemy becomes accustomed to cannons and trains their soldiers and horses to charge into battle under cannon fire, then the cannons become virtually useless.

Therefore, Li Xiao planned to manufacture a special type of shell to deal with cavalry, a high-explosive shell.

The principle is very simple: first, make a hollow iron ball, the wall of which cannot be too thick or too thin.

It was filled with gunpowder, nails, iron sheets, gravel, and so on.

At the moment the artillery fires, the fuse of the exploding shell is also ignited.

When the shells hit the enemy cavalry formation, the gunpowder inside was detonated, causing them to explode like hand grenades.

The nails and other lethal substances inside will indiscriminately splatter and attack all enemy soldiers and warhorses in the vicinity.

The bombs blew up large areas, truly carrying out an annihilation attack on the cavalry.

In Chinese history, the first appearance of exploding bullets was in the mid-Ming Dynasty, and this technology was still in use until the late Qing Dynasty.

With no major issues regarding materials or technology, Li Sanzhi personally led a team to forge a bursting shell.

When it was presented, it looked much like an ordinary iron bullet, but in reality it was just a layer of iron sheet with a line of fire extending from the notch.

"Send it up and try it out, see how it goes," Li Xiao instructed.

Subsequently, Li Sanzhi personally led a team to test fire the shells, during which he warned the gunners: "You must be careful when loading these exploding shells."

"The opening of the firing line should face upwards, otherwise it will explode as soon as it leaves the barrel, and the firing line will have to be pulled downwards."

Not only is the production of exploding shells troublesome, but the operation is also complicated.

Shortly afterward, the cannon was fired, and the projectile burst out, hitting a grove of trees in the distance.

"Let's go over and have a look."

Li Xiao put down his telescope and led the golden-armored army to catch up at full speed.

As they approached the woods, the sight before them made everyone gasp in horror.

The once lush and verdant trees were now a scene of devastation.

The tree trunk was densely covered with iron nails and iron plates, deeply embedded in the trunk.

Some trees were even pierced directly, with wood chips flying everywhere and broken branches scattered all over the ground.

The surrounding land was blasted into craters, the soil was churned up, and the smell of gunpowder lingered in the air for a long time.

Seeing this, Li Xiao smiled with satisfaction and nodded slightly.

The golden-armored soldiers beside him were equally astonished, exchanging incredulous glances.

"The power of these exploding shells far exceeds our imagination."

Tie Tou broke the silence, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

He looked at Li Xiao and said, "Grand Commander, this thing is much more powerful than iron bullets."

"When facing a large enemy cavalry charge, dozens of cannons would fire at the same time, and half of them would be killed or wounded before they even reached us."

"Grand Commander, this thing is too powerful; it absolutely cannot be learned by anyone else," Skinny Monkey quickly added.

"Otherwise, the advantage of our Jinzhou's proud cavalry will be completely lost."

Li Xiao nodded slightly and looked at Li Sanzhi, instructing, "Third Uncle, the technique of using explosive shells must never be taught to others."

At this moment, Li Sanzhi's face was filled with a proud smile.

As a key figure in the development of the exploding shell, he felt a great sense of accomplishment seeing everyone's amazement at the weapon's power.

Hearing Li Xiao's words, he nodded heavily: "Don't worry, Grand Commander."

"Only a few of us know how to make exploding shells; they're all our old buddies."

"I will never let anyone learn it."

"We keep a close eye on not only exploding shells, but also the casting technology of gunpowder and artillery."

"As you command, Grand Commander, the craftsmen will be paid the highest standard of treatment, with the best food and drink, and generous bonuses."

"Not only were their entire families brought together to live together, but they were also heavily guarded, and each person was only responsible for one step, so secrets were not easily leaked."

Li Xiao nodded slightly, but he understood in his heart that nothing is permanent.

It is not good to be complacent and stagnant. Only by constantly surpassing ourselves and developing new technologies can we maintain our advanced status.

Therefore, Li Xiao rewarded the craftsmen, including Li Sanzhi, who made the exploding bombs without any hesitation.

This is intended to encourage more artisans to develop new technologies.

They were also instructed to continue producing exploding bombs, the more the better.

(End of this chapter)