Gao Chang City, the pearl of the Silk Road, finally fell into the hands of the Tang dynasty. When Xin Yaoer led his troops into Gao Chang City, he was immediately attracted by the prosperity of Gao Chang City.
Although Gao Chang City was besieged by the Tang Dynasty army and burned by hot air balloons and catapults, the Tang Dynasty army still had a trick up their sleeves and did not destroy Gao Chang City at the last moment. Xin Yaoer led his troops into the city and immediately occupied many important places in Gao Chang City. He was immediately stunned by the mountains of goods and abundant treasuries in Gao Chang City.
"Gao Chang City deserves to be the most majestic city in the Western Regions. It's really rich." Xin Yaoer could not help but sigh. Gao Chang City not only had abundant gold and silver, but also all kinds of exotic treasures. Each of these treasures would be worth a lot if they were transported to the Tang dynasty. Xin Yaoer could not help but be dazzled.
"Reporting to Lieutenant General, this is the account book of Gao Chang's treasury. It records the treasures in the treasury of Gao Chang City." A soldier handed over an account book and said.
Xin Yaoer turned his head to look at the mountain of goods. He could not help but be greedy. He threw the account book into the fire and sneered, "There's no account book. All the account books have been destroyed by Qu Zhisheng."
Xin Yaoer's soldiers' eyes suddenly lit up. As long as there was no account book, they would have the final say on how many things they seized. Xin Yaoer was very arrogant, and his subordinates were naturally like birds of a feather. Most of them were arrogant people. Seeing this, they could not help but be greedy. They reached out and picked up a jade object from the treasury. "Thank you for the reward, General."
Xin Yaoer knocked the jade object out of his hand and said, "These things are for the General. You can't take them. There are plenty of rich merchants in the city who want money."
The subordinate was immediately overjoyed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, General. I will definitely give you a lot of benefits!"
Xin Yaoer looked at his subordinates who turned around and left. He could not help but murmur, "My troops have been the vanguard in every battle. Naturally, I have to compensate them. Otherwise, how can I be worthy of those brothers who have died?"
The reason why Xin Yaoer's subordinates could be so brave and good in battle was not only because Xin Yaoer took the lead, but also because of the stimulation of money. After every battle, Hou Junji would not be stingy with his rewards. Xin Yaoer had repeatedly looted and distributed the wealth to his subordinates after breaking into cities. This was the reason why his subordinates were willing to serve him.
If they were in the Tang dynasty, Xin Yaoer naturally would not dare to loot like this. However, at this time, they were in Gao Chang City thousands of miles away. Faced with the rich Gao Chang City, Xin Yaoer thought that his brothers would secretly make a small fortune. Who would know? Last time, they went on an expedition to Tuyuhun, but in the end, they only managed to get a few tribes that could not squeeze out two taels of oil. They only seized some cattle and sheep, and the amount of gold and silver was even more pitiful.
However, Gao Chang City was different. Gao Chang City was the pearl of the silk road. The last thing it lacked was gold and silver. The wealth of Gao Chang City was beyond his imagination. When the soldiers saw the wealth accumulated by the rich merchants in the city, they began to completely lose control.
One by one, the merchants were broken into by the greedy Tang Army and plundered a large amount of gold, silver, and rare treasures. If they were even slightly obstructed, they would be killed by the Tang Army. Gao Chang City fell into a catastrophe.
"General, bad news!"
A bodyguard hurried over and reported to Hou Junji.
Hou Junji suddenly stood up and said angrily, "Xin Yaoer is simply making trouble. He actually condoned the soldiers to plunder."
Hou Junji has always boasted that the Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette. After Ju Wentai's death, Hou Junji even set aside three days for Ju Wentai to be buried in Gao Chang City. Now, Xin Yaoer's barbaric behavior has completely slapped him in the face. "
"Go and find Xin Yaoer for me!" Hou Junji gritted his teeth and suddenly whispered, "Tell him to come quietly. Don't alarm others."
"Yes!"
As the bodyguard hurriedly left, Xin Yaoer soon arrived in front of Hou Junji.
Hou Junji roared, "Xin Yaoer, how dare you send soldiers to plunder Gao Chang City? How many heads do you have to chop off?"
Xin Yaoer said indifferently, "General, you worry too much. When marching to war, no soldier is willing to risk his life if there are no spoils of war. Besides, didn't General Li seize tens of thousands of cattle and horses when he attacked the Turks in the north and Tuyuhun in the west? Mo Jiazi even sold them for money."
Hou Junji snorted coldly, "What do you know? Since Mo Jiazi and Li Jing proposed the recruit plan, military discipline has been put at the top of the list. This time, you plunder without orders. If the news spreads to Chang 'an City, you will die."
Only then did Xin Yaoer realize the seriousness of the problem. He hurriedly begged Hou Junji for mercy, "General, please save me. I have your best interests at heart."
As Xin Yaoer spoke, he hurriedly presented two exquisite Golden Tassels to Hou Junji. The Golden Tassels were mattresses made of golden silk. Not only were they expensive, but their craftsmanship was also exquisite and rare. They had never appeared in the Tang dynasty.
"General, these treasures have never been seen in the Tang dynasty. I'm afraid even His Majesty has never seen them. I have specially prepared them for you." Xin Yaoer flattered.
A trace of greed flashed through Hou Junji's eyes. Now that the city of Gao Chang had been taken, the overall situation of this war was set. Hou Junji could not help but be a little complacent in the face of such a great contribution. Moreover, this was Gao Chang thousands of miles away, where Hou Junji had the highest authority.
"Do it cleanly. If you find anyone in Gao Chang who opposes the Heavenly Khan's orders, exile them thousands of miles away," Hou Junji said ruthlessly.
He was much more experienced than Xin Yaoer. In a few words, he classified Xin Yaoer's plundering as suppressing those who resisted. Once the victims' families were exiled, there would be no evidence of Xin Yaoer's actions. As for their wealth, it would be up to them to decide.
"Then what about the other generals?" Xin Yaoer asked worriedly.
"Then don't worry. This time, I've only ordered my men to enter Gao Chang City. The other generals are still waiting outside Gao Chang City. You only have one night," Hou Junji said.
"Thank you, General!" Xin Yaoer left happily.
"Gao Chang City has been surrendered. Do not disturb the people of Gao Chang City. The rest of the troops, stay where you are."
When the other generals received Hou Junji's orders, their faces darkened. Although they did not know what happened in Gao Chang City, they could guess a little. However, Hou Junji was the main general. Since the city of Gao Chang had fallen into their hands, they could only silently agree.
Of course, these generals did not include Meton and the supervisor of firearms. At this moment, the supervisor of firearms was surrounding the gap in the collapsed city wall of Gao Chang City and began to calculate the explosive power of the gunpowder.
"The bottom of the city wall has collapsed by 100 feet, and the top of the city wall has collapsed by 130 feet," Zhang Mu shouted. Meton quickly wrote it down beside him.
"According to the visual estimation of the soldiers in the hot air balloon, when it exploded, the flying stones flew nearly 100 feet high and almost hurt the hot air balloon by accident."
"100 feet high!" Meton wrote again.
"The flying stones fell within a radius of 300 steps." Zhang Mu measured step by step.
Meton wrote it down again and nodded with satisfaction. He got up and handed the notebook to Zhang Mu, saying, "Continue to observe the broken bricks on the city wall and draw a diagram of the explosion as soon as possible."
"Yes!" Zhang Mu answered.
"Your Excellency, please come this way. I have something to report!" Xue Rengui hurried over and said in horror.
Meton followed him and soon came to the entrance of the tunnel. He saw that there was a mess beside the entrance of the tunnel. A large number of catapults and vehicles were overturned, and some were even damaged.
"Were these all destroyed by the hot air rushing out of the tunnel?" Meton asked.
Xue Rengui nodded with lingering fear and said, "That's not all. Your Excellency, please look here."
Looking at the place where Xue Rengui pointed, Meton saw that the mound at the entrance of the tunnel was inlaid with dense stones.
"These rocks were used by the Firearms Surveillance Bureau to seal the tunnel. They were all blown up, and many of them flew out with the fire. These rocks all sank deep into the soil. It's easy to imagine how terrifying it would be if someone were to face these flying rocks directly.
Meton looked at Xue Rengui and said meaningfully, "You mean that a large amount of gunpowder at the bottom of a closed tunnel will be enough to make heavy objects rush out at a very fast speed?"
Xue Rengui couldn't help but scratch his head and say, "I was just whimsical. The supervisor of firearms has too few weapons. When I saw the power of the gunpowder, I couldn't help but be tempted. But how can we dig a tunnel at any time and place? And the enemy will stand at the entrance of the tunnel like a fool."
Meton said with a faint smile, "What if we shrink the tunnel to about 10 feet and cast it with steel?"
Xue Rengui was stunned and then said in surprise, "If it becomes about 10 feet, it will definitely be light for transportation, and it won't be damaged by the explosion of gunpowder. With gunpowder and boulders, it will be as powerful as a catapult."
Meton reminded him again, "When the boulders hit the city wall, they will just be smashed. What if the boulders are replaced with iron balls?"
Xue Rengui instantly trembled and blurted out, "Then it will be able to destroy all the enemies in front of it, including the city wall."
After all, who could have a body of flesh and blood, who could stop such a powerful metal ball? If this thing really could be made, then it would definitely be the most powerful weapon in the present world. He never would have thought that such a powerful weapon would actually be designed in a foreign country's tunnel.
Meton laughed and patted Xue Rengui's shoulder, "This is your idea. If this weapon can be forged, Rengui will take the credit."
Xue Rengui immediately shook his head and said, "I was just talking nonsense. It was only under Merton's guidance that I came up with the idea of this weapon. I don't dare to take the credit."
"The most precious thing in this world is that trace of inspiration, and for you to be able to grab hold of this trace of inspiration and think of turning it into a weapon, this is the rarest thing. This credit is what you deserve. It doesn't matter if I have more, it doesn't matter if I don't have it. But you are different. With this credit, you will definitely rise to the top." Meton said solemnly.
Xue Rengui was instantly touched and couldn't help but cup his fists, "Thank you for your advice, Lord Chancellor."
The Xue Rengui of the later generations was a late bloomer, and the current Xue Rengui had gone through the military academy's training and had also experienced the two great battles of Tuyuhun and Gao Chang. He was already much more mature than the later generations, and Meton didn't mind lending him a hand.
No one would have thought that Hou Junji and Mo Jiazi would choose different controlling techniques at almost the same time.
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