"Kill!"
Lun Trinling led the five thousand Tubo cavalrymen straight to the Firearms Supervisor's position. Both sides did not stop bickering or calling for surrender.
Both of them knew that one of them had the secret of gunpowder, while the other had been lying in ambush for a long time. There was no room for reconciliation between the two sides, only a battle of life and death.
Whoosh! Whoosh! A sharp arrow was fired at the Tubo army. A group of three hundred Tang Army cavalrymen were harassing Tubo's five thousand cavalrymen in an attempt to obstruct Tubo's charge.
These were the three hundred Firearms Supervisor soldiers led by Xue Rengui. Their battle plan was to pin down Tubo's cavalrymen as much as possible.
"Remember, strike once and leave. Don't linger," Xue Rengui shouted. The rest of the Firearms Supervisor's soldiers were setting up a formation on the sand. There was no need for horses. The three hundred Firearms Supervisor's soldiers had brought their horses with them. Each of them had three mounts, which was the best arrangement for cavalry. There was no need for them to care about the horses' horses.
"Yes!" The three hundred Firearms Supervisor soldiers shouted and raised their bows at the Tubo cavalrymen.
The Tubo cavalrymen were naturally unwilling to be beaten, so they raised their bows and fired back. But when they realized that the Tang Army had attacked them, they immediately retreated. They did not seek victory, only to harass Tubo's army.
Lun Trinling was determined to kill Mo Jiazi, so he was naturally unwilling to be held back by this small group of Tubo cavalrymen. He waved his hand, and a group of five hundred Tubo cavalrymen immediately separated the Tubo army and began to drive the Tang cavalrymen away.
However, when the Tubo soldiers came forward to drive the Tang cavalrymen away, the three hundred Tang cavalrymen would whip their horses and leave. If it was a small group of Tubo cavalrymen, the three hundred Tubo cavalrymen would pounce on them like a pack of wolves.
When the three hundred Tang cavalrymen retreated, they did not forget to turn back and shoot at the Tubo cavalrymen. Moreover, from time to time, they threw out round grenades. When the Tubo cavalrymen arrived, the grenades exploded one after another, immediately blocking the pursuit of the Tubo cavalrymen. In this way, the three hundred Tang cavalrymen and the five hundred Tubo cavalrymen always maintained a certain distance, and the Tang cavalrymen could easily kill the Tubo cavalrymen. On the other hand, the arrows of the Tubo cavalrymen often missed their target. Occasionally, some arrows would hit the Tang Army, but they were already spent and could not cause any harm to the Firearms Supervisor soldiers in armor.
The only possible chance was to hit the Tang Army's warhorses, but most of the Tang Army soldiers rode three mounts per man. Once the warhorses were injured, they would immediately change horses. Not long after, only three hundred Tubo cavalrymen were left, and two hundred Tubo cavalrymen were killed or wounded by the Tang Army's tactics.
"Hahaha! Lord Chancellor's kiting tactic is really good! " Xue Rengui said happily. Seeing that the Tubo cavalrymen had been transferred far away, he could not help waving his hand. When he was about to charge back and destroy the Tubo cavalrymen, he saw the Tubo cavalrymen retreating and rushing back to the main part of the Tubo army.
Xue Rengui could not help but frown and secretly praise the Tubo general for seeing through his intentions and taking the initiative to call back the Tang Army, making his plan fail again.
"I'm ashamed to have lost two hundred Tubo warriors." Zhamu, the centurion of Tubo, said with shame. He was a famous warrior of Tubo, but now he was beaten by the Tang Army. He suffered heavy losses, but the losses of the Tang Army were minimal.
Lun Trinling did not blame Zhamu, but solemnly said, "Gunpowder is really extraordinary."
He saw with his own eyes that Zhamu was about to catch up with the Tang Army, but was stopped by the Tang Army with gunpowder. How could he not be tempted by such a sharp weapon?
"Mo Chi! Immediately lead a thousand cavalrymen and eliminate these three hundred Tang cavalrymen. Don't let them harass this Young Master from attacking Mo Jiazi. " Lun Trinling's face was solemn as he stared at the firearms monitoring formation in the sand. The words in ink directly told Lun Trinling that Mo Jiazi was in the formation, which was a provocation.
"Yes! Young Master! " Mo Chi responded and immediately led a thousand cavalrymen to meet Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui immediately retreated, wanting to continue kiting Mo Chi's thousand cavalrymen. However, Mo Chi was extremely cautious and did not fall for the trick at all. He directly drove Xue Rengui away.
Xue Rengui could not help but snort coldly in his heart. 'Do you think this General is helpless?' He immediately picked up the steel crossbow and shot at the Tubo cavalrymen. Mo Chi waved his hand, and the Tubo cavalrymen returned fire. However, he found that the Tang Army's steel crossbows had an unusually long range. Although Tubo's bows and arrows were all top-grade bows and arrows, they could not compare with the Tang Army's steel crossbows and immediately suffered a great loss.
Mo Chi did not know that the firearms monitoring formation were equipped with the most advanced weapons of the Tang Army. These steel crossbows were made by the Mo family's third-generation steel. Whether it was flexibility, range, or durability, they were all greatly improved. They could also shoot multiple times, unlike the bows and arrows. After shooting more than ten times in a row, the arms would hurt and need to rest for a while before they could shoot again.
Mo Chi immediately changed his tactics. First, he increased the distance between them and began to surround Xue Rengui. Fortunately, Xue Rengui saw the opportunity early. Otherwise, he would have suffered a great loss. After that, he did not dare to get too close. For a moment, one thousand Tubo cavalrymen and three hundred Tang Army soldiers were in a stalemate.
Meton held the binoculars and saw that Xue Rengui was pinned down on the Gobi Desert. However, he had pinned down thousands of Tubo soldiers, which had already reduced a lot of pressure for the firearms monitoring formation.
He could even clearly see the Tubo soldiers on the Gobi Desert who were eager to fight. Seven hundred against three thousand eight hundred. Even a brave and good fighter would feel nervous. However, Meton was very calm.
He saw the specially-made gunpowder weapons on the firearms monitoring formation. Although gunpowder had been produced for several years and the firearms monitoring formation had been established for several years, the firearms monitoring formation had only grown to a thousand people. The military was more willing to believe in cold swords than to use gunpowder weapons that were like fire sticks after use.
"Today's battle will let the world see the true power of gunpowder." If the firearms monitoring formation had destroyed the city of Gao Chang with one shot, it would have shocked the world. However, that could only be used on special occasions. Today's battle would be the first time that firearms were used in actual combat.
"Merton, can we stop the Tubo Army?" Qu Zhisheng asked in fear.
Meton grinned and said, "Don't worry. Who am I? The great Mo Jiazi, who can even destroy the city of Gao Chang with one shot. It is said that one person can fight against ten thousand soldiers. The Tubo Army only has five thousand soldiers. It is not a problem at all."
Qu Zhisheng couldn't help but twitch his mouth. Although Mo Jiazi was said to be able to fight against ten thousand soldiers, that was only talking about Mo Jiazi's value. It didn't mean that Mo Jiazi could really defeat ten thousand soldiers. However, although Qu Zhisheng had doubts in his heart, when he saw Mo Jiazi's calm expression, the panic in his heart immediately disappeared.
Seeing Mo Jiazi so calm, the rest of the firearms monitoring formation immediately calmed down. Moreover, they often practiced offense and defense, so they naturally had full confidence in their firearms. Seeing all this, Qu Zhisheng couldn't help but sigh. "I am not as good as Mo Jiazi."
However, in his heart, he hoped that Mo Jiazi could create another miracle. After all, if he fell into the hands of the Tang dynasty, he could still be the Jincheng Commandery Duke and keep his life and wealth. However, if he fell into the hands of Tubo, then it would be a different story.
Looking at the convoy in the sand, Lun Trinling couldn't help but smile coldly. He pointed with his hand and said, "The firearms monitoring formation has no more than a thousand men, and there are three hundred Tang cavalry outside. Mo Jiazi has no more than seven hundred soldiers, while our army has three thousand eight hundred men. Tubo will definitely win this battle. Zhamu, this young master will appoint you as the vanguard to atone for your crimes. As long as you can bring back Mo Jiazi's head, you will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver."
Zhamu immediately said enthusiastically, "Thank you, young master."
Three thousand eight hundred soldiers against seven hundred Tang Army. Even if they dismounted and fought, in the eyes of the Tubo soldiers, Tubo would definitely win this battle.
"Attack!" With Lun Trinling's order, Zhamu took the lead and rushed to the firearms monitoring formation in the sand. The first confrontation between hot weapons and cold weapons in history officially began.
"Kill!" Zhamu roared on his horse and rushed straight to the firearms monitoring formation with weapons in hand.
Suddenly, the horse under him whined and staggered and fell to the ground. Zhamu skillfully rolled and landed smoothly. He immediately felt a piercing pain on his back. Enduring the pain, Zhamu pulled it out and saw a bloody iron spike with four sharp horns in his hand. Looking around, the whole sand could be said to be covered with these sharp iron spikes. Many Tubo warhorses were hit and immediately fell down.
"The Tang Army is really despicable!" Zhamu roared. The Tang Army actually buried the iron spikes in the yellow sand. They were careless and fell down one after another.
"Iron caltrops?" Qu Zhisheng could not help but blurt out when he saw the Tubo warhorses falling down.
Meton could not help but look at Qu Zhisheng in surprise. Qu Zhisheng smiled bitterly and said, "'Mozi: Prepare the City Gate' says that at the city gate, there are many stones and caltrops to resist the enemy. Back then, this sinner used this trick to place a large number of iron caltrops under Gao Chang City. However, Merton never thought of breaking through the city gate. "
Qu Zhisheng could be said to have made sufficient preparations for battle at that time. However, the hot air balloons and gunpowder from the firearms monitoring formation scared him. Almost all the defensive weapons in Gao Chang City were destroyed. Only then did he make up his mind to surrender.
Meton could not help but smile awkwardly. He did not expect Qu Zhisheng to be a fan of the School of Mo. He immediately said with some embarrassment, "Iron caltrops are defensive weapons. Not only are they the bane of cavalry, but they are also a wonderful way to prevent the enemy from attacking the camp. Of course, there are other wonderful uses."
"There are other wonderful uses." Qu Zhisheng could not help but be stunned. He saw that after the horses of the Tubo cavalry were stabbed by the caltrops, they dismounted and attacked. They actually found an attacking route without caltrops. Just as Qu Zhisheng was feeling nervous, he suddenly heard Meton give an order. The catapults behind him let out whistling sounds. One by one, packs of explosives were thrown and gathered together to attack the charging Tubo soldiers.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! " A series of explosions and flames were reflected in Qu Zhisheng's eyes. He was extremely familiar with this kind of explosion. Back then, his palace in Gao Chang City had been bombed by many packs of explosives. However, he was terrified when he was bombed, but today, he felt great when he saw the Tubo soldiers.
"So the caltrops actually have such a wonderful use." Qu Zhisheng could not help but sigh. Mo Jiazi had used the caltrops to cleverly lure the Tubo soldiers together. He then used the catapults to bombard them with gunpowder. In his heart, he was full of admiration for Mo Jiazi.
"Retreat! Quickly retreat! " Lun Trinling repeatedly roared and beat the gong to retreat. The Tubo soldiers who had luckily escaped the gunpowder bombardment immediately retreated. After Lun Trinling personally counted the number of soldiers, he found that over a hundred Tubo warriors had fallen in this wave of bombardment. Zhamu, who had charged at the front, had luckily escaped the bombardment and returned with lingering fear. Of his five hundred men, only two hundred were left.
Qu Zhisheng watched the Tubo army retreat and could not help but frown. "The caltrops can only be placed at key junctions. Our army can attack from all directions in the middle of the desert. After the Tubo army retreats, they will definitely take a detour to attack us."
Modun nodded and said, "Although that's the case, we can use the caltrops to guide the direction of Tubo's attack. This is what this Mo needs."
Qu Zhisheng was shocked. That's right. Mo Jiazi's position was made up of two hundred carriages. It was not good for defending from all directions. Once a large number of caltrops were placed, it would be enough to guide the Tubo army's attack. In this way, the firearms supervisor's defensive pressure would be greatly reduced.
Sure enough, after Lun Trinling probed, he found that the firearms supervisor had placed the caltrops on the east and north, but almost none on the south and west. He immediately understood that the south and west were Mo Jiazi's chosen battlefields.
"Mo Jiazi! You are still so confident even in such a desperate situation. You dare to provoke this young master? "Lun Trinling coldly snorted.
"Young master, this lowly one is willing to be the vanguard again. I will personally chop off Mo Jiazi's head and present it to you." Zhamu's face was ferocious. He had been frustrated time and time again by the Tang Army. He had long been sullen and desperately wanted to vent.
Lun Trinling solemnly looked at the firearms supervisor's position, which was still as steady as Mount Tai. He then looked at the Tang cavalry who were desperately trying to come to his rescue but were repeatedly blocked by Mo Jiazi. He couldn't help but coldly shout, "As expected of the man favored by father. Mo Jiazi really does have some skill. But he doesn't know that in the face of absolute strength, all struggles are futile."
"We will definitely kill Mo Jiazi!" the Tubo soldiers roared.
"This time, this young master will use the entire army to crush Mo Jiazi in one fell swoop. No matter what lies ahead, even if we have to sacrifice the corpses of our warhorses, we will kill our way to Mo Jiazi's front," Lun Trinling viciously said.
Tubo's current military strength was five times that of the Tang Army, and Tubo's soldiers were all precious cavalry. As long as they could reach the front, they would be able to crush the firearms supervisor. At that time, he would definitely personally behead Mo Jiazi to vent his hatred.
"Toot toot!" The bugle horn sounded.
This time, the three thousand Tubo cavalry immediately galloped toward the firearms supervisor's position. Even though the sandy terrain was not ideal for a charge, these Tubo soldiers still urged their horses forward. They had discovered that with their horses in the way, the damage from the gunpowder would be greatly reduced.
Sure enough, Mo Jiazi had not placed any iron caltrops in the sandy terrain to the north and south. Lun Trinling breathed a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help but wonder what sort of tricks Mo Jiazi had up his sleeves for him to dare engage in a field battle with three thousand Tubo cavalry.
"Three hundred paces! Catapults, ready! "
With Meton's order, the catapults once more began to hurl packs of gunpowder. But this time, the Tubo soldiers had already prepared a countermeasure. They immediately spread out, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the catapults.
Lun Trinling couldn't help but feel a little smug. Thinking that he had found a way to counter the gunpowder, he waved his hand, and the bugle horn sounded even more urgently.
"Two hundred paces! Three-stage firing! "
Meton ordered as the Tubo soldiers drew closer.
In an instant, all of the firearms supervisors raised their steel crossbows and began to fire in three sections. Coupled with the powerful shooting range of the steel crossbows, the Tibetan soldiers were thrown off their horses. Even with the leather shields in their hands, they still suffered heavy losses.
Only now did Lun Trinling understand why his father valued Mo Jiazi and the firearms supervisor so much. The firearms supervisor's equipment was simply too good, but Lun Trinling could not turn back. He firmly believed that as long as they could charge to one hundred and fifty paces, the Tubo soldiers would be able to counterattack with their arrows, and then Mo Jiazi would meet his end.
It didn't take long for them to advance from two hundred paces to one hundred and fifty paces. It was extremely difficult, and with every step they took, many Tubo soldiers fell. After a great deal of sacrifice, the Tubo soldiers finally made it to one hundred and fifty paces.
"Victory has been decided!" Lun Trinling was overjoyed. As long as the firearms supervisor formation of Tubo soldiers was within the range of the Tubo archers, with the number of Tubo archers and their archery skills, they would definitely be able to suppress the Tang Army. In this way, the rest of the battle would be easy.
Under the cover of a shield, Zhamu's bow and arrow were fully drawn. This time, he was determined to make the Tang Army pay the price. However, as soon as he aimed at the target, a strong beam of sunlight suddenly shone on him. His eyes immediately turned white, and the bow and arrow in his hand involuntarily flew out and hit the sand in the distance.
"Again!" Zhamu could not help but feel grief and indignation. This level of shooting was simply a great humiliation for a master archer, and the culprit was that strong beam of light. However, they were charging with the sun against their backs. How could there be any sunlight in the north? Out of the corner of his eye, he found that there were several round objects in the Tang Army's vehicle formation. They swayed back and forth against the light reflected by the sunlight, shining in the eyes of the Tubo soldiers.
"Mo Jiazi is really cunning!" Lun Trinling could not help but feel embarrassed. At this time, he understood that his father, Lu Dongzan, was not exaggerating when he said that no matter how much importance Mo Jiazi had placed on Mo Jiazi, there were always strange things in the hands of Mo Jiazi, and he had repeatedly performed miraculous feats. Only now did he understand why Mo Jiazi chose the south and the west as the battlefields. In this way, Mo Jiazi could make full use of the sunlight. Although these rays of light could not stop the Tubo soldiers from shooting arrows, they could greatly reduce the accuracy of the arrows. Tubo's hope of using bows and arrows to suppress the Tang Army would probably fail.
"Light! Concave mirror! " Qu Zhisheng, who was closest to it, saw it the most clearly. It was not a round plate, but a huge concave mirror that reflected the sunlight at the speed of light. Even he, who was observing from the side, found it dazzling, let alone being hit by the full beam of light. Everyone would subconsciously avoid it, let alone draw their bows and shoot arrows.
He saw that the arrows of the Tubo soldiers were flying chaotically. They could not form an effective AOE attack at all. Moreover, the Tang Army was well-equipped, so they could not cause any effective damage at all.
On the other hand, the three shots of the firearms supervisor's crossbows were still steady. Some Tubo soldiers even directly covered their heads with their shields to avoid the dazzling light, so they had no time to observe the crossbow arrows. For a while, the casualty rate of the Tubo soldiers increased greatly.
When Lun Trinling saw the Tubo soldiers fall one by one, his heart began to bleed. He could see several hundred Tubo soldiers falling wherever he looked. If he had followed his original plan of leading one thousand soldiers to attack Mo Jiazi, they would have all been killed before they even reached the carriage formation.
"Less than a hundred steps. My Tubo soldiers still have at least three thousand. Mo Jiazi, there is nothing you can do to reverse the situation," Lun Trinling coldly said. Qin Ling coldly said. In just a few hundred steps, they had lost nearly eight hundred soldiers and more than one thousand warhorses. But as long as they could kill this son of the Mohists, it would all be worth it.
"Less than a hundred steps." Qu Zhisheng was shocked. He had been observing the battlefield from the side. As the Crown Prince, this was something he had never experienced before. Even in the battle outside Gao Chang, he had only been remotely commanding the troops.
"How will Mo Jiazi turn the tables?" Qu Zhisheng frowned. "That's right! Firearms! Mo Jiazi hasn't used any firearms yet! "
Qu Zhisheng's heart skipped a beat. He saw that Mo Jiazi was still calmly commanding the troops, even though the enemy was less than a hundred steps away.
"Fifty steps." Fifty steps was a short distance. The Tubo soldiers could probably cover it in a single charge, but the Tang Army continued to fire in three stages.
Qu Zhisheng could even see that the Tubo soldiers' arrows were becoming more and more powerful. Even the convex mirrors used to reflect sunlight were full of arrows and could no longer be used. Even the fully-armed firearms officers were beginning to suffer casualties.
"Swarm of Bees!" Meton suddenly shouted.
Qu Zhisheng could not help but be stunned. He looked sideways and saw that the firearms officers had lit fuses. At the top of the chariot formation, there were densely packed wooden barrels. Qu Zhisheng originally thought that they were defensive items for the chariot formation, but he did not expect that they were Mo Jiazi's most reliable weapons.
The fuses burned out rapidly, and white smoke rose from the cylinders. At this moment, the Tubo soldiers were less than thirty steps away from the chariot formation.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound spread throughout the battlefield. Soon, the dense whistling sound was endless, like the buzzing of bees. Streaks of fire were like a swarm of bees coming out of their hive, heading straight for the Tubo soldiers.
However, the swarm of bees came out of their hive with poisonous stingers, while the streaks of fire came out of their hive with sharp crossbow bolts. Each barrel carried thirty-two crossbow bolts. These were defensive weapons that Mo Jiazi had specially researched for the firearms officers, and he had spared no expense in creating them.
More than a hundred arrows were fired at the same time. Instantly, smoke filled the air. When the smoke dissipated, there was no one in a hundred steps in front of the firearms officers. There were only crossbow bolts standing upright and Tubo soldiers' corpses all over the ground.
"This …" Qu Zhisheng saw the power of the Swarm of Bees and could not help but feel his hands and feet turn cold. With such sharp weapons, even an impressive cavalry would not be able to escape.
"As expected of the Swarm of Bees that shone brilliantly in the Jingnan War. They really did not let me down." Meton heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the Swarm of Bees had succeeded. Unfortunately, the Swarm of Bees could only be used once and was not easy to transport. He had only brought a hundred barrels in one go, but they were all used up in one shot.
When Lun Trinling saw the empty space in front of the chariot formation, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. This time, in order to ensure that nothing would go wrong and that the Mohist child would die, he had led all the warriors of Tibet. However, the Mohist child's attack had taken away nearly a thousand warriors of Tibet. Now, there was only one path left for him. He had to kill the Mohist child to make up for his mistake.
Moreover, given Mo Jiazi's methods, if Mo Jiazi did not die today, he would become a great threat to Tubo in the future.
Divine Emperor of the Nine Heavens
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
