Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 463 Luo Yuheng Departs (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Killing one's own father, that would be... fantastic!

Among the Xiongnu people, the feelings between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and brothers were extremely indifferent.

For Agsang, being able to get rid of Suochuoluo through Song Yan would be a dream come true... After all, wouldn't it be better to just become emperor?
Prince?

I wouldn't even be a dog.

Agsang was by no means a fool; on the contrary, he was extremely intelligent. It was precisely because he was intelligent enough that Agsang thought things through more meticulously and carefully. He knew that Feng Zening was right. With his elder brothers both failing, if he could make a great contribution when his father conquered Pingyang, he would surely leave a very deep impression on his father, and even gain extremely high prestige within the entire Xiongnu tribe.

But are these things really useful?

Unless one can directly ascend to the throne as the Great Chanyu, all good impressions and prestige are meaningless. Even if the father truly becomes emperor, will the position of crown prince necessarily fall to him? Not necessarily. Once the father becomes emperor, who the crown prince is will be decided by his own words. Perhaps if the second and fourth sons deliberately display filial piety in front of their father, it might change his mind.

Even if one becomes the crown prince, can one truly hold onto the position securely?
Impossible.

Since ancient times, there has been no kinship in the imperial family.

For a living emperor, the greatest feeling associated with a capable and prestigious crown prince might not be the comfort of having a worthy successor, but rather… a threat, a fear that his throne could be overthrown at any moment. In the centuries-long history of the Central Plains dynasties, how many instances have occurred where emperors feared their crown princes, even to the point of fathers turning against each other?
As long as one hasn't reached that supreme position, all promises are worthless and meaningless.

However, even if he had such thoughts in his heart, Agsang couldn't show them directly. After all, he still had some sense of shame. He inadvertently noticed that Feng Zening was silently watching him. Agsang immediately felt that all his thoughts had been seen through, and his old face turned red: "Ahem, Mr. Feng, please don't say such things again."

"Father Khan is a hero of the entire Xiongnu people. Only under Father Khan's leadership can the Xiongnu people leave the barren and frigid snowfields and seek a better life in the Central Plains. As Father Khan's third son, how could I, the young king, have such a rebellious idea?"

“Father Khan is going to attack Pingyang. Even if my forces are insufficient, I must do my best to help. I must not disappoint Father Khan.” Agsang said righteously and solemnly, then changed the subject: “However, that Song Yan is really vicious.”

"My elder brother's 60,000 elite troops were all burned to ashes. I only have about 40,000 elite troops left, which is no match for Song Yan. Although I have formed the Han Nu Army, these people have not received professional training and their combat skills are extremely poor. On the battlefield, they are just consumables to consume Ning Army arrows and cannot be of much help." Agsang's lips curled into a smile as he stroked his teacup. "I am not afraid of death, but I cannot let my people in the northern desert die meaninglessly. It would be better to stay in Shaping for a few more days and at least train the Han Nu Army. Once they have a certain level of combat strength, it will not be too late to attack Pingyang. I think Father Khan will understand."

Feng Zening smiled wryly: "What the Third Prince said is absolutely right."

Agsang then spread out a map on the table.

Although he planned to use someone else to do his dirty work, Agsang wouldn't just sit idly by.

If he could get rid of Suochuoluo through Song Yan, that would be the best outcome. However, he also had to consider the possibility that Suochuoluo was still alive. If his father was alive and even if they conquered Pingyang, Suochuoluo would definitely cut off his head if he saw that his side was not making any moves.

He wasn't foolish enough to believe that the father-son bond between himself and Socholo was that deep.

"Xiao Wang plans to march again in ten days."

“There are three routes from Shaping to Beiling. I wonder which route Mr. Feng thinks is the most suitable for us?” Agsang asked.

Feng Zening glanced casually at the map and pointed to a spot: "Old Lin River!"

……

The May sun had already become quite scorching.

Under the shadow of rising temperatures, a strange situation is emerging in northern Ningguo.

Agsang remained inactive in Shaping County, Anzhou Prefecture.

Tens of thousands of Xiongnu troops were entrenched in the Haixi Grassland north of Xinhou County, seemingly waiting for some opportunity.

Song Yan and his men waited anxiously in Laolinhe, cursing Agsang dozens of times almost every day.

That damned Third Prince of the Xiongnu, could it be that he saw through my plan to flood the seven armies? If it weren't for the daily reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Agsang was stationed at Shaping, Song Yan would have even suspected that this guy was planning to detour to the northern desert.

During this period, a new wave of troops prepared against Japanese pirates was transferred from Ningping County to Pingyang, which slightly alleviated the problem of insufficient troops in Pingyang City.

Just as Agsang had predicted, the biggest problem for Suochuoluo was not how to breach the city gates of Xinhou County... In Suochuoluo's eyes, Xinhou County, a mere county town, could not possibly stop the advance of the Xiongnu army; it was merely a matter of how many casualties there would be.

The real problem is supplies.

Although Sochoro had prepared a large amount of food and dried meat, the daily food and supplies for such a large army were an unimaginable astronomical figure, and no amount of food could withstand such a bottomless drain.

In mid-May, Sochoro finally launched a surprise attack on Xinhou County.

Since a surprise attack is always most effective, Socholo deployed half of his forces for this attack.

Their fighting style was remarkably similar to Abal's: first, cavalry archers suppressed the garrison on the city walls, then infantry attacked. The walls of Xinhou County were far inferior to those of Yongchang, and the number of garrison troops was significantly less. Even Abal could breach Yongchang's walls by sheer force of casualties, let alone the much larger force of Suochoro.

In the minds of almost all Xiongnu people, this war was a sure thing. As long as they could break through the city gates of Xinhou County, the vast Central Plains would fall completely under the iron cavalry of the Xiongnu. At that time, they could enjoy grain, silver, silk, and beautiful women to their heart's content.

Go and kill.

To vent.

Moreover, the long journey, crossing snow-covered plains, and eating dried meat with cold water every day had already fueled a deep-seated resentment in these people's hearts. Now that they finally had a chance to vent their anger, the moment the war horn sounded, the shouts of battle filled the mountains and plains, even drowning out the thunder of horses' hooves.

For a moment, looking out from the city wall, all that could be seen was a dense swarm of Xiongnu people. They were like locusts, covering the sky and earth, as if in the next instant these locusts could engulf the entire county.

The sounds of horses' hooves and shouts of battle mingled together, like thunder under heavy summer clouds, making one's ears ring.

There are just too many people.

A dense mass of heads gathered together, forming an enormous dark cloud that hurtled towards Xinhou County at incredible speed. Even the black-armored warriors, the elite of the elite, were nearly overwhelmed by the roar of tens of thousands of galloping warhorses. The local soldiers beside them fared even worse, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, their faces deathly pale, devoid of any color.

Even before the battle began, their unparalleled aura was already suffocating.

Only Mei Wu stood quietly atop the city gate tower, his cold gaze unwavering as he stared at the ever-approaching Xiongnu cavalry.

The city wall seemed to be trembling slightly.

Under normal circumstances, Xinhou County would most likely not be able to hold out... Even with Mei Wu, the God of War of Ningguo, stationed here, it would be the same. The disparity in troop strength is simply too great. All he can do is delay the time for the Xiongnu to breach the city as much as possible, and try to take as many Xiongnu lives as possible before the defenders die in battle. That's all.

However, the current situation is not normal.

They had known about Sochoro's battle plan more than a month in advance.

They had ample time to build fortifications, sufficient manpower to prepare logistics, and even a secret weapon crafted by their grandson.

This war will be a massacre.

Mei Wu's eyes followed the Xiongnu cavalry charging at the forefront, as if he were calculating something.

Four hundred paces, three hundred paces...

"Prepare!"

Suddenly, Mei Wu shouted, his loud voice instantly waking everyone up.

Crunch!

Creak. The sound of wheels turning could be heard on the now wider city wall after the renovation.

Two hundred catapults started operating almost simultaneously.

His gaze swept over those behemoths. Even as a general, Mei Wu had seen many siege weapons, and catapults were no exception. But these catapults, improved and built by Song Yan and many craftsmen, still exceeded Mei Wu's imagination. In particular, the size of the catapults, which were a full three zhang tall, made all the catapults in the Central Plains look like tiny dogs.

Song Yan gave this giant catapult a rather strange name: the Huihui Cannon.

It's important to note that although the trebuchet has "cannon" in its name, it wasn't a gunpowder weapon. Essentially, it was a large, counterweighted catapult that used leverage to project massive stones. It's no exaggeration to say that the trebuchet represented the pinnacle of siege technology in the 13th-century era of cold weapons, playing a decisive role in the Yuan dynasty's conquest of the Song dynasty due to its precision, immense power, and high efficiency.

The projectile landed within an error of only five meters; who would believe this was a creation of the 13th century?

Although it wasn't a true artillery piece, it was still a technology that was hundreds of years ahead of its time, and it still crushed its opponents with overwhelming force.

At Mei Wu's command, the soldiers near the trebuchet lifted up the huge iron lumps and placed them into the mechanism. A soldier holding a torch quickly stepped forward and lit the long fuse on the iron lumps.

As the crackling sound came from the city wall, Mei Wu shouted again, "Release!"

Thump... Creak... Whoosh...

A variety of strange sounds mingled together, and then one after another, dark iron balls were thrown out, drawing parabolic arcs in the air. Where the iron balls passed, wisps of white smoke gradually dissipated.

At this moment, the Xiongnu cavalry at the forefront had barely entered an area of ​​two hundred paces, a distance far beyond the range of bows and crossbows, but already within the firing range of the trebuchet. A huge sphere could be seen spinning violently in mid-air, plummeting towards the densest part of the crowd. Such a lump of iron was already incredibly heavy, and combined with the speed from the trebuchet's projectile, the impact was absolutely terrifying.

A cavalryman suddenly felt a shadow appear above his head, and before he could even discern what the shadow was, the iron ball smashed directly onto the Xiongnu cavalryman's head. Before he could even hear a scream or recognize the sound of bones shattering, the cavalryman instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist, his body smashed into a pile of minced meat.

Immediately afterwards, the iron ball slammed directly onto the horse's back, breaking the horse in half.

Blood splattered everywhere.

then……

Rumble, rumble.

The fuse finally burned out.

The gunpowder inside the iron lump exploded with a deafening roar at that moment.

A dark mushroom cloud rose up from the ground.

The violent impact distorted the surrounding air, and crimson flames and destructive energy spread outwards with the shockwave. The warhorse's remains were instantly reduced to fine dust, and all the Xiongnu cavalry and their horses within a radius of several meters were blasted away.

Yes, it was already torn to pieces in mid-air.

Yes, it crashed heavily to the ground, blood gushing from its mouth, its internal organs seemingly ruptured by the impact.

Some were crushed under the corpses of warhorses, their bones broken and flesh torn apart, clearly beyond saving.

A blank circle suddenly appeared among the originally densely packed Xiongnu cavalry.

And this is just the beginning.

More and more lumps of iron fell.

then……

A series of earth-shattering explosions resounded within the ranks of the Xiongnu cavalry.

The towering flames illuminated horrified faces, and the scorching air currents from the explosion created small shockwaves that sent fragments of the specially made deafening bomb flying in all directions.

Rusty fragments darted about almost recklessly in the surrounding space, their immense kinetic energy relentlessly destroying everything in their path, from warhorses to human flesh and blood.

Limbs and body parts were thrown haphazardly in the explosion, and the Hun cavalry's formation collapsed almost instantly.

The mournful cries of warhorses and the screams of humans, mixed with the stench of blood and burning flesh, turned the area outside the new city into a veritable hell.

What power is this?
Faced with such a deafening roar and towering flames, even the ruthless Xiongnu wolf riders, who treated human life as worthless and killed countless people, couldn't help but tremble at this moment. They were at a loss, as what was happening before their eyes was completely beyond their comprehension.

Is this... a divine lightning strike?

Or is it a punishment sent down by the Eternal Heaven?
No one knew, but that dark, iron lump had already deeply rooted a profound sense of fear in the hearts of every Xiongnu person.

Soon, something even worse happened.

Unable to withstand the impact and noise of the thunderclap explosion, the warhorses were completely panicked and out of control. No matter how the Xiongnu cavalry shouted, they remained uncontrollable, running wildly in all directions. Some warhorses rushed into the woods on both sides, while many more simply turned around and charged backward.

Warhorses are not human after all; they have a natural fear of fire and loud noise.

The cavalry behind couldn't stop in time, and due to inertia, they collided violently with the warhorses that were turning back.

boom!
It was like two waves crashing together.

The violent impact shattered the warhorse's bones, and crimson spray continuously gushed from its mouth.

The rider on horseback was also struck, his bones broken, blood gushing from his mouth, his body falling to the ground, where he died instantly—he was literally killed by the impact.

……

at the same time.

A horse-drawn carriage slowly drove away from Pingyang City.

There was only one person inside the carriage.

It was a woman.

She was voluptuous and graceful, with her long, black hair styled in an updo, exuding elegance and nobility.

It’s Luo Yuheng.

However, at this moment, Luo Yuheng's expression appeared particularly solemn.

Her slender, pale fingers gripped the yellowed envelope tightly.

The envelope was signed: Wang Shaojie.

This name is probably already unfamiliar to most people in Ningguo today.

However, Luo Yuheng remembered it clearly, after all, her former husband was called by this name.

(End of this chapter)