Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 778 Ten Thousand Armors, Snow-Covered Skies Cease

The sound Liu E was referring to was naturally the booming sound of cannons.

The camps for imprisoning prisoners were naturally not set up on the front line. In fact, Liu E was imprisoned in the camp that the Jin army had set up on the banks of the Majia River.

That place is dozens of miles away from Yuancheng, so they couldn't hear the bombardment of the city walls these days.

Liu E certainly knew the sound of fireworks and firecrackers. When the gunpowder reached a certain amount, it produced a sound like muffled thunder, but Liu E had never heard it with his own ears.

As the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty, Liu E naturally knew how Jinan Prefecture had fallen. However, at that time, he had just returned to Dongjin, and with so many things to deal with, he didn't have time to think about such matters carefully.

Later, busy with the struggle for power and preparing for the expedition, Liu E put the matter out of his mind. He only learned from the military meeting of He Shi Lie Zhi Ning that the Han army had powerful firearms that could be used to attack cities and capture strongholds, but he did not make any connection to this.

A combination of factors meant that Liu E had no basic understanding of the sound of gunpowder before hearing the cannon fire firsthand, and therefore had no way to report intelligence.

Liu Huai gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, veins bulging on his right hand, forcefully suppressing his pounding heart, and slowly said, "Liu E, tell me everything you know."

Rumble…

At this moment, the counterweight catapult also began to exert its power, launching the tamped and dried rammed earth blocks out, which crashed onto the city wall with a loud bang.

Amidst the rising cheers and shouts, the core area of ​​the Han army was eerily silent.

Under the cold gazes of the crowd, Liu E pondered for a moment before swallowing hard and saying, "In early winter last year, I... I... took my personal guards to Yanshan to hunt and relax. One day at noon, I heard a rumbling sound coming from the mountains. At the time, I thought it was just early winter thunder. After returning to my residence, I even had a diviner perform a divination, so I remember it vividly."

Liu Huai continued, "Are you sure that's the sound?"

Liu E leaned against Guo Anguo with difficulty, using one foot to steady himself. Hearing this, he smiled bitterly and said, "Commander-in-Chief, I only heard a few sounds that day, and it was in the mountains. The sound might be a bit distorted, so it's really hard to say for sure."

Xin Qiji and the others relaxed slightly, but Liu Huai remained serious: "Liu E, do you know that the Jin Dynasty produces gunpowder?"

Liu E shook his head repeatedly: "Commander-in-Chief, if I had known, why would I have waited until today to tell you?"

Liu Huai nodded: "You deserve credit for this. You may leave for now. Don't talk about it when you get back. We'll discuss the rewards after the battle. A document will be sent to you to take your statement. You must tell me everything you can remember, in great detail."

Guo Anguo knew that Liu Huai had something important to say, so he quickly helped Liu E, who had just made a great contribution, away.

Liu Huai looked around, suppressing the dizziness in his head, and said, "Wulang, my mind is in turmoil. You should help me fill in the gaps."

Xin Qiji nodded repeatedly, his forehead dripping with sweat, which quickly soaked through his collar.

"Shen Longzi, you can send someone trustworthy... no, you go yourself. Pry open the mouths of those Wanyan bastards. Liu E, as a Han Chinese general, may not know, but I don't believe that none of the Jin generals know! You must find out if the Jin Kingdom has experimented with gunpowder, and if so, how much gunpowder they produced, and where it went. I'm only giving you one day! Go now!"

Shen Longzi immediately cupped his hands and turned to leave, but whether it was because he was too nervous or because he had been standing for too long, this gloomy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard actually tripped over a pebble on the ground and almost fell.

Liu Huai ignored these trivial matters and continued to inquire, leaning on his sword, "Are the troops of each unit ready?"

Xin Qiji wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded, saying, "Of course everything is in order."

Because of the need to besiege the city and intercept reinforcements, all troops have been deployed, not only surrounding Yuancheng tightly but also preparing to fight the reinforcements at any time, truly ready for battle.

Liu Huai looked at Yuancheng, pondered for a moment, and then said, "We can't wait any longer. Time is of the essence. Let's eat as much as we can. Order all the troops to prepare to attack the city immediately!"

As he spoke, Liu Huai looked at Xin Qiji.

Xin Qiji understood and quickly said, "Although the matter of the Jin invaders' gunpowder should not be spread, Military Advisor Liang should still inform them."

Liang Su was, after all, a military advisor and general, essentially the chief of staff of the Han army. Logistics deployment and route planning were all done by Liang Su and a group of military advisors. It was impossible to keep major changes in military intelligence from him.

"And Zhang Silang's place too..."

Liu Huai nodded in agreement: "I will go to the cavalry to take charge of the situation. Wu Lang, you will be in charge of the siege."

Xin Qiji, accustomed to being Liu Huai's deputy, immediately cupped his hands and said, "Please rest assured, Elder Brother, once the city walls collapse, our infantry will be more than capable of defeating the exhausted Jin army! However..."

"However, with one side missing from the encirclement, the Jin bandits can rely on their fast horses to escape north. Please be careful then, young master."

Liu Huai nodded, signed his name on the document, took the token and seal from his waist and handed them to Xin Qiji, and then handed over several flags representing the commander-in-chief of the army.

The next moment, Liu Huai didn't hesitate at all, immediately mounted his horse, and headed north of the city.

Just then, Xin Qiji grabbed Liu Huai's horse reins and said seriously, "After this battle, will you immediately lead your elite cavalry to Xuzhou?"

Liu Huai did not deny it: "That's right." Xin Qiji: "I am also a cavalry general, and I will go south with you, my lord."

Liu Huai shook his head and said, "Even if we annex Heshi Liezhining, Hebei will still be in chaos for a while. We need a great general to keep things in order."

Xin Qiji took a deep breath: "At that time, the entire army can be handed over to Chief Secretary He. With him in Hebei, the various troops will definitely not be in chaos, and the autumn harvest will not be chaotic either."

"But the journey from Daming Prefecture to Xuzhou is hundreds of miles, and in this sweltering heat, it's far too dangerous. If anything happens, my two heavy swords will be enough to protect you and help you fight your way out of the chaos."

The saying goes, "If one fights for profit within fifty li, the general will surely fall, and half of the methods will be used."

Forced marches reduce the organization of an army to a minimum. If half of the troops can reach their destination on time during a 50-mile forced march, that would be considered a great achievement.

However, the journey from Daming Prefecture to Xuzhou is a full eight hundred li!

Even when marching along the inside lines, there are bound to be those who fall behind, get injured, or even run themselves to death.

Of the 10,000 cavalrymen who set out, it would be remarkable if even 1,000 reached Xuzhou, and they would all be extremely exhausted. It's hard to say how much of their fighting strength they would still possess.

Liu Huai said seriously, "Xin Wulang, you call yourself a cavalry general, but I see that you have the talent of a great general. In the future, you will need people like Wei Qing and Li Jing. How can you belittle yourself?"

The way you're saying that, as the head of a military and political group, you're risking your life, what am I, a mere general, compared to that?
Before Xin Qiji could refute, Liu Huai continued, "Whether you come south with me depends on the outcome of this battle. If we cannot annihilate these 20,000 Jin troops, then you must continue to maintain the situation in Hebei and work with Chief Secretary He to set up defenses to continue dealing with the Jin bandits in Hebei."

Xin Qiji pondered for a moment, then nodded emphatically, a hint of ferocity appearing on his face: "In that case, let's kill all the Jin traitors in this Yuan City!"

Once the two had reached an agreement, Liu Huai no longer hesitated and rode his horse toward the cavalry camp north of Yuancheng.

At the same time, Liang Su, who was in the southern camp of the city, also received a message from Liu Huai. After learning that the Jin Kingdom may have developed gunpowder that could be used for military purposes, he, like Liu Huai, immediately felt dizzy.

The Jin Kingdom hid it very well!
Although the Jin Dynasty was broken in two, it was still a great power. Now that it had broken through the scientific research bottleneck, it should not have any problem producing some usable gunpowder.

But all this gunpowder must have a place to go. It can't just be kept in bed by Wanyan Yong waiting for it to give birth, can it?
However, since the start of the war in Hebei, the Jin army has not used a single piece of gunpowder, so the whereabouts of the Jin army's gunpowder is obvious.

At the beginning of the war, the Jin army did not even attempt to attack the series of defenses in northwestern Shandong. They must have calculated that with the Jin army's gunpowder reserves, it would be impossible for them to blow through the defenses under the noses of the main Han army. So they simply continued to hide the gunpowder.

Therefore, the 10,000 troops that Heshi Lieliangbi led south must have been carrying all of the Jin Dynasty's gunpowder to attack the heart of Xuzhou!
No wonder Heshi Lieliangbi was so arrogant!

I initially thought this guy had some shady dealings with Pusan ​​Zhongyi, but it turns out his killer move was right here!

After quickly sorting everything out, Liang Su immediately realized what Liu Huai was about to do.

"Notify everyone to assemble in my tent! Hang up all the maps, and make it clear how much grain and fodder is available in each place, and who the garrison commanders are. We must find a route from Daming Prefecture to Xuzhou today!"

"Here!"

The General Staff immediately sprang into action.

Meanwhile, as the order to attack the city was issued, the generals in charge of the various attack camps were somewhat surprised that things were happening so suddenly, but since this had been discussed in several previous military councils, it was not too strange. They quickly organized their troops and got to work.

Siege towers, siege towers, and siege carts that had been built were pushed out of the camp. Armored soldiers began to put on their armor, and light infantry and archers went out of the camp first. Under the cover of a small number of armored cavalry, they began to hurl arrows at the city walls.

On the other side, the gunners also received orders to abandon their usual rhythm and launch all the projectiles at high speed.

Just as cannons roared and stones rained down around Yuancheng, and armored soldiers lined up in formation, Liu Huai had already ridden his horse to the cavalry ambush site about ten miles north of Yuancheng.

Zhang Baiyu went out of the camp to greet him with some surprise, only to see Liu Huai get straight to the point and say, "Zhang Silang, if I were to lead your troops on a rapid 800-li raid, would you still be able to fight?"

Upon hearing this, the cavalry generals Guan Chongyan, Huyan Nanxian, Yelü Xingge, and others who had come to investigate were all somewhat astonished, and then looked at each other in bewilderment.

That's 800 li! Who dares to guarantee that?
After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Baiyu said, "If we proceed cautiously and march normally, I am absolutely confident. But if we march rapidly..."

As he spoke, Zhang Baiyu slowly shook his head.

Liu Huai pointed to himself: "What if I personally lead the cavalry in a surprise attack?"

Zhang Baiyu breathed a sigh of relief, and the other cavalry generals also looked relieved: "If the eldest son personally leads the army, then of course we can fight."

Liu Huai merely nodded in agreement with such idealistic ideas, then dismounted, raised his own Chinese character banner, and pushed Zhang Baiyu's white fish talisman banner aside.

"Let's see how the battle goes today."

(End of this chapter)