One side was wide and the other side was narrow, with four or five long spears ready for battle; the Jiannu could only climb up using a ladder, which meant that only one person could come up at a time, and they would be stabbed and impaled before they had a firm footing, putting them at an absolute disadvantage.
Some brave Jiannu soldiers climbed up to the top of the city walls and even occupied a small area, but they were soon driven down by the relentless siege of the Ming army, or were left dead on the city walls.
It's time for the final blow!
Under the close protection of his personal guards, Xiong Tingbi kept observing the Jiannu's offensive and commanded the entire defense of the city with flags, gongs and drums.
When he saw that the Jiannu's ladders and siege ladders had basically been used up and there were not many backups, he knew that the time for a major counterattack had come.
Looking up at the horizon, the sun has changed color and changed its name to "Sunset". Let the blood and fire burn fiercely, end this battle, and shatter the enemy's dream of breaking the city!
The flags waved and the drums of war roared, marking the beginning of the great counter-offensive.
Time passed second by second, and the cannon fire from the top of the city stopped, as if the ammunition had been exhausted. This gave the old slave and others endless hope, and they all stared with wide eyes, hoping that this was the prelude to the city being captured.
Suddenly, boom, boom, boom... the roars one after another resounded throughout the city.
The reloaded and cooled falconets and tiger squat cannons all opened fire, pouring thousands of projectiles towards the Jiannu army under the city.
This sudden and fierce bombardment caused heavy casualties among the Jiannu archers, and the arrows shot at the city stopped.
The gunners on the city wall quickly replaced their sub-guns and continued to bombard the city walls at the fastest speed, causing continuous casualties to the Jiannu and covering the rapid movement of the Ming army on the city walls.
As soon as the cannon fire stopped, countless Ming soldiers appeared and threw the bottles and jars in their hands towards the city. Some of these bottles and jars still had sparks flashing.
Boom, boom, whoosh, whoosh... Countless flames exploded under the city. Fire pots, gunpowder pots, liquor bottles, and thunder bombs exploded or burned. The rising flames and bursts of flashes turned the city into a big stage of fire and light.
That’s right, there’s also shochu, a strong liquor that can be lit.
By the Ming Dynasty, distilled liquor had matured in technology and was widely consumed. Because of its high alcohol content and ability to ignite, it was called "shaojiu" or "huojiu."
Especially in the north, due to the climate, spicy shochu is very popular. Drinking it feels like "a blunt axe" and is called "shaodao" by aficionados. The workshops that make shochu are called "shaoguo".
As for Shaoguo, it can be considered the ancestor of the world-famous Erguotou. Although it does not reach the 65 degrees of Erguotou, it can still reach 50 degrees or above.
This is a relatively accurate conclusion drawn by Zhu Youxiao based on his own "alcohol test" in later generations, after tasting the distilled liquor in the capital, with an error of no more than two degrees.
To be honest, Zhu Youxiao didn't like strong liquor very much. He was later known as the "Beer King". But when he tried it during his "secret visit", he kept it in mind.
In ancient times, firewood, grease, and other similar tools were considered the most basic means of arson. Incendiary oil was king, and its use reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. Incendiary oil tanks, for example, were very similar to modern flamethrowers.
However, the raw material of flaming oil is petroleum, which was relatively rare in ancient China. It was only collected in a few places such as Yan'an in Shaanxi Province and Jiuquan in Gansu Province.
With the popularization and development of gunpowder, the already scarce source of fierce oil gradually declined during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are even fewer records of fierce oil tanks, a weapon that was a prototype of the flamethrower.
But from Zhu Youxiao's point of view, gunpowder is fine for firearms, but it is still not good enough for arson. Look at that Molotov cocktail, it can burn a whole area, and it can even burn tanks and armored vehicles!
Of course, without gasoline and thickener, the combination of soju and sugar is still far inferior.
But no matter how useful it was, Zhu Youxiao handed it over to the Jinyiwei along with the design of the pine tree cannon and brought it to Xiong Tingbi.
Zhu Youxiao threw out everything he could think of and use. You can do whatever you want with it. Just make sure you can keep it.
Xiong Tingbi also figured it out. It didn't matter what it was, as long as it was useful.
After testing, he felt that it worked well, so he bought up all the liquor and sugar in the city and used bottles and jars to make more than a thousand incendiary bombs.
Anyway, it was the money and supplies from the Guangning warehouse that were spent, and the people's labor. If the city was held, and a few words were mentioned in the battle report, and the emperor knew that it was his own craft that made the contribution, I don't know how happy he would be!
Of course, Xiong Tingbi did not put all his hopes on these incendiary bombs. He took out all the fire cups and prepared to use them together in the final counterattack.
Apparently, the effect of this combination is surprisingly good. Even if the shochu bottle doesn't burn immediately after it hits the ground, it will soon be ignited by other fire sources.
The flames first burned in balls below the city, and then spread rapidly. Some were caused by gunpowder, some by liquor, and some by rockets shot from the city like flocks of flaming crows.
Under the stunned gaze of Lao Nu and others, the area below the city almost turned into a sea of fire, with countless soldiers tumbling, jumping, stumbling, and howling in it.
The ladders and hook ladders started to smoke and catch fire one after another, making it impossible for the Jiannu to climb up to the city.
Even without the old slave giving the order to sound the horn, the siege troops below the city had been forced to retreat by the fire and could no longer continue the attack.
The cannons on the city roared and arrows shot, chasing the retreating enemies.
The excitement and elation of victory inspired every soldier on the city. They roared and shouted, waving their weapons at the fleeing enemy.
The fire burned fiercely and quickly and did not last long.
But what does it matter? The Jiannu had already been defeated. Without siege equipment, their cavalry and archery, their ferocity, seemed so insignificant in front of the tall and majestic city walls.
Below the city, ladders, hook ladders, and some shield carts were still burning, making occasional crackling and creaking sounds. With a bang, a ladder broke apart and fell to the ground, splashing countless sparks and disappearing in a flash.
Smoking and burning siege equipment, fire-blackened city walls, collapsed and destroyed watchtowers and tower ladders, and a disgusting burnt smell filled the air.
Everywhere were bloody corpses with various causes of death, as well as broken swords and guns, and scattered arrows. Under the setting sun, it looked as miserable as hell.
The old slave seemed frozen, staring into the distance motionlessly.
The defeated Jiannu soldiers regrouped not far away in fear and panic, but did not attract the old slave's glares or curses, as if he didn't see anything.
The old slave suddenly turned the horse's head and rode away without saying a word amid the sound of rapid hooves.
"Withdraw the troops and return to the camp." The great prince Daishan gave the order on behalf of his father Khan with a gloomy face.
Manggurtai let out a cry of "Hey" and vented the anger he had been suppressing in front of his father, "Bear barbarian, I will cut you into pieces and avenge the Jianzhou warriors."
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