This is a bit bullying. Zhao Huan carried the cannon to attack Goryeo. Is there any humanity or reason? The answer is no.
Then the battle began. Tuo Junjing's troops were beaten and fled in panic. After they finally escaped from the city, they were surrounded by Xu Feiyu of Li Ziqian's army.
This was quite embarrassing. Although Turtle City was not big, it was considered a large city in Goryeo. The troops organized by Tuo Junjing numbered over 4,000 people, but only 700 were left when they arrived at Turtle City.
It was these 700 men who were surrounded by Li Ziqian's general, Xu Feiyu. Xu Feiyu was quite aggressive, leading approximately 2,000 men, with Fan Yuankai's 5,000 men following suit, who were expected to arrive in about three days. Fan Yuankai and Xu Feiyu would then join forces, with 7,000 men attacking Turtle City's 700 men, a ten-to-one ratio.
Geng Chen was undoubtedly a good brother. He had followed Tuo Junjing and shattered his own Qinglin Army without complaint. Most of the remaining Qinglin Army commanders remained silent. They all knew that even if Tuo Junjing hadn't come, Li Ziqian would have found a way to disband the Qinglin Army. After all, they weren't a force he could trust.
A large army couldn't possibly march with hundreds of thousands of troops all at once, and they wouldn't have enough food or fodder. Zhao Huan's army fanned across the border of Liuhe Town and advanced, their red cannons rattling along the dirt road. The soldiers' morale remained high. They had received ample provisions before entering Goryeo, and the soldiers wore thick cotton jackets over armor. Even so, many of the southern troops, unfamiliar with the northern chill, shivered with cold.
Only one-third of Zhao Huan's imperial guards arrived, and the rest were Liang Zifan's 8,000-strong Yue Family Army. After all, the Yue Family Army was the local boss here, and they were more knowledgeable about the war in the north.
Many Korean people were recruited along the way. In any era, the importance of information often determines the outcome of a battle. News soon arrived that Tuo Junjing was besieged in Guicheng.
This made Princess Yanran very embarrassed. She had previously boasted to Zhao Huan that Tuo Junjing was the Yue Fei of Goryeo. As a result, this Yue Fei of Goryeo was now surrounded in Turtle City.
Princess Yanran returned to her hometown with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was worried about her father's safety, and on the other hand, she was worried about whether the Song Dynasty could defeat Li Ziqian. Or if Zhao Huan defeated Li Ziqian, would he withdraw his troops or, like the Western Xia, make Goryeo part of the Song Dynasty's territory?
If Zhao Huan refused to withdraw his troops, wouldn't she be inviting a wolf into her house? And she had married this emperor, who seemed nice and treated her well, but if that happened, wouldn't she become a sinner in Goryeo for all eternity?
Zhao Huan didn't notice Princess Yanran's change of heart. He looked at the location of Turtle City on the map and said, "Call Liang Zifan!"
Soon Liang Zifan rode his horse to the front of the imperial carriage and asked, "Your Majesty, what are your instructions?"
"Where is the red cannon?" What Zhao Huan was most worried about were these anti-divine artifacts of his.
"Your Majesty, the cannons are following us all the time. As long as we reach the outskirts of Turtle City, Li Ziqian's troops will definitely not be our match." Liang Zifan vowed.
Zhao Huan was not worried about this: "Tell all the soldiers to protect the red cannon and not let the enemy take advantage of it."
Zhao Huan's biggest concern at this moment was a surprise attack from the enemy, and he feared they might target the red cannons. While these cannons were incredibly powerful, they were only suitable for long-range combat. If a Korean army suddenly appeared from the roadside and attacked the cannon transport, aiming to destroy them, that would be disastrous.
Liang Zifan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Each red-coated cannon is guarded by two hundred crossbowmen. The Korean army must not approach. Moreover, according to intelligence reports, there are no Korean troops within a hundred miles."
Zhao Huan felt more at ease. "The Red Cannon is the key to victory in this battle. We must not allow any mistakes. Tell the army to advance at full speed and reach the outer perimeter of Turtle City before sunset."
When Zhao Huan and his men arrived at the outskirts of Guicheng, the enemy troops had already assembled and launched a charge against Tuo Junjing's troops in the city.
The city gates had long been breached, and the flags of Li Ziqian's troops were hoisted from the walls. Tuo Junjing and his men had retreated into the city, and it seemed only a matter of time before they were annihilated.
Tuo Junjing's men had been compressed into a very small place in the city, and before their eyes was a sea of enemy heads.
Deputy General Park Qianwen swung his sword and killed one man, then said: "I never thought we would die here in the end."
Geng Chen was actually very excited. He laughed heartily: "What a joy! My Lord, if there is an afterlife, Geng Chen will still follow you. Li Ziqian, I will haunt you even if I become a ghost!"
Tuo Junjing felt very guilty. If he had known this would be the result of failure, he should not have involved the Qinglin Army.
At this moment, a sudden rumble of thunder sounded outside the city, but it seemed quite different from thunder itself. Then, puffs of smoke rose from outside the city, and the enemy troops began to show signs of disarray.
Suddenly, Geng Chen started to go crazy again. He shouted and laughed: "Hahahaha, sir, it's reinforcements! Reinforcements from the Song Dynasty, we won't die!"
The reason why Geng Chen was so sure was that he had not only heard of but also witnessed the power of the Song Dynasty's red cannon.
On the border, even before the Song-Mongol war broke out, Hebule's army was already stirring. Hebule, with his strategic foresight, had considered joining forces with Goryeo. However, Wang Kai, at the time, wasn't as mad as Li Ziqian. He simply waited and watched, and didn't agree to Hebule's demands.
To demonstrate the Mongolian cavalry's combat effectiveness to Goryeo, Hebule deliberately invited Goryeo generals to observe the battle while at the border. At that time, Geng Chen was in Hebule's camp, observing the battle as an envoy.
Who knew that the stealing of the chicken would end up with a loss of the rice? The strength of Hebule's cavalry really scared Geng Chen at first. Who knew that the two red cannons on the city wall from Yue Fei at that time would almost kill Hebule. The Mongolian cavalry was completely shocked by the power of the cannon.
Of course, Geng Chen was even more astonished. Upon returning home, Geng Chen demonstrated the power of the Red Cannon to King Wang Kai of Goryeo. The entire court was skeptical. How could such a weapon possibly hit anything it pointed at, even from miles away? The Goryeo court unanimously believed Geng Chen was a traitor or perhaps exaggerating. Ultimately, Wang Kai didn't dare join forces with Hebula, and since Hebula didn't dare challenge the Song Dynasty again, the matter fell through.
At this moment, Geng Chen heard the rumbling sound of cannons outside the city, and then saw the puffs of smoke rising from the city. It was exactly the same as the red cannons of the Song army that he had witnessed with his own eyes that year. In addition, the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty still sent troops to support, so he guessed that the reinforcements of the Song army had arrived.
But the crowd was still skeptical when the roar of the Song army erupted outside the city. The combined forces of Xu Feiyu and Fan Yuankai were thrashed like headless flies by the Song army's red cannons. Fan Yuankai was killed instantly, and Xu Feiyu was terrified. These Goryeo troops had never seen such weapons before, and they didn't even understand how they were being bombarded.
God knows who shouted, "God is angry!" Then the army rushed forward like a burst dam.
The enemy troops were thrown into disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons and fleeing in all directions. The Song Dynasty pursued the enemy and defeated them severely.
In this battle, Fan Yuankai and Xu Feiyu joined forces, and only 35 of the 7,000 men escaped. The rest were either killed in battle or captured, while a few escaped and changed their names.
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