On the small city wall of Shegu, Jin Yongxin suddenly saw dust appearing in the distance and immediately began to nervously beat gongs and drums.
Squads of armored soldiers charged up the parapet; the Ming army had appeared.
In truth, Kim Yong-sin harbored little affection for the Ming Dynasty, because like many Goryeo people, he had always regarded the Mongols as his masters, and the Yuan Dynasty was their suzerain state. Many Goryeo people also had close ties with the Mongols.
For example, the King was originally a Darughachi (military and civilian administrator) in charge of Shuangcheng and other areas during the Yuan Dynasty. In Goryeo, the pro-Yuan faction was indeed powerful and dominated the mainstream. It was perfectly normal that they did not have much goodwill towards the newly established Ming Dynasty.
Moreover, the fact that the Ming Dynasty has now dispatched a large army to attack makes people like Jin Yongxin even less fond of it. He is a veteran who followed the king in resisting Nahachu, defeating Choi Yeo, a Goryeo rebel who was affiliated with the Yuan Dynasty, and even participated in killing the Red Turban Army marshal Wang who invaded Goryeo.
Kim Yong-sin harbored deep resentment towards the 200,000-strong Red Turban Army for capturing Kaesong, the capital of Goryeo, and forcing the Wang dynasty of Goryeo to relocate south.
The general named 'Zhu' rode his horse against the wind. Zhu Neng, fully armored and full of vigor, led a thousand cavalrymen toward Shegu County.
Kim Yong-sin naturally recognized Zhu Neng's banner. This was because Korea had always used Chinese characters; the so-called Hangul had not yet been created. The *Hunminjeongeum* (the script for the people of Korea) was likely created by Yi Do, the grandson of Yi Seong-gye.
In fact, when the Hangul was first created, it was not accepted by the people of Goryeo. Although Korean and Chinese are different languages, making it impossible for the vast majority of Goryeo people to read and write, many people also considered Korean to be crude and were unwilling to learn it, especially those from aristocratic families and scholars, who did not approve of it.
Jin Yongxin, a veteran of many battles, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, perhaps preparing for a fierce battle soon.
They had killed some Mongols and Jurchens back then, as well as the Han Chinese Red Turbans who attacked them, so naturally they didn't care about the Ming army now.
Zhu Nengke ignored all of this and deployed all one thousand of his cavalrymen, shouting, "Apply fire oil!"
The lightly armored cavalry immediately began preparations. These were actually cavalrymen, many of whom were Han Chinese cavalrymen who had followed Naghach in the past or were captured directly from the Yuan Dynasty.
Horse archery was not difficult for these people, and what they had to do this time was to set the city ablaze.
With everything prepared, hundreds of cavalrymen roared into battle, launching rockets coated with oil at the city walls. Pottery jars filled with oil were also hurled at the walls and the city itself.
Amidst shouts of battle, plumes of smoke began to rise, and flames began to engulf the walls and gates of Shegu City.
The cavalry fired three volleys of arrows. Although some were unlucky enough to be shot off their horses by the Koreans, the casualties in this attack were relatively limited and completely tolerable.
The Han Chinese were merely probing with their attack, and their rockets did not actually cause much damage. The Han cavalry simply arrayed themselves outside the city, seemingly with no intention of engaging in further combat.
Suddenly, billowing dust reappeared, and the Han army appeared. The appearance of squads of infantry also indicated that the main force had arrived.
Just as Jin Yongxin was somewhat surprised, he saw Han Chinese infantrymen push out more than ten bronze cannons mounted on wheels. The muzzles of these cannons were larger than the rim of a bowl, and this was one of the weapons that Jin Yongxin and his veteran soldiers feared most.
Goryeo didn't actually have many firearms, and even if they did, they wouldn't have deployed them at the Shekgu Castle walls. In fact, cannons had limited accuracy, and their lethality seemed relatively limited. It was mostly just unlucky souls who might be killed by cannonballs.
However, the roar of cannons instilled fear, making it one of the most devastating weapons on morale.
Zhu Neng revealed a ferocious smile. Although these cannons were not large in caliber, they could be pushed out and could basically move with the army, which was the best possible outcome. Moreover, compared to the previous cannonballs, which were almost entirely made of iron, the current cannonballs would explode, killing or wounding the enemy.
The Shenji Battalion's artillery began preparations, and Zhu Neng was also on high alert. If the Goryeo people dared to break through the city walls, he would lead his cavalry forward and slaughter them all.
It seemed the Koreans had no intention of breaking through the city walls. Zhu Neng chuckled and ordered, "Fire!"
The fuse was lit, and as it burned, plumes of smoke billowed from the cannon muzzle amidst a series of booming sounds. Iron balls, still propelled by their burning fuses, flew towards the walls of Shegu City; some may have extinguished mid-air or failed to explode.
However, some of the debris that had just landed on the walls of Shekgu suddenly exploded violently. Even if it didn't kill the Goryeo soldiers, it killed or wounded some of the nearby soldiers.
Jin Yongxin was unlucky; a cannonball landed right next to him. He was still mocking the Ming Dynasty's firearms for being so easily destroyed, only hitting a few unfortunate souls. But suddenly, several explosions occurred on the city wall, and the cannonball next to Jin Yongxin also exploded.
He was clutching his arm and screaming in agony; Jin Yongxin's left arm was a bloody mess, and he was ruined.
Zhu Neng wasn't too concerned about the effectiveness of the first round of shelling; what he needed was the momentum. Even if only a limited number of enemies were killed in a single shelling salvo, it didn't matter. What mattered most was that such an offensive could severely damage the morale of the Koreans.
Zhu Neng loved charging into battle and leading from the front. He knew that a brave general charging ahead could greatly boost the morale of his soldiers.
A highly motivated army can easily defeat an enemy many times its size whose morale is low.
The first round of shelling ended, and the second round began, with more shells flying towards the city walls. Even if the damage was limited, it didn't matter; as long as the enemy's morale was continuously dampened, that was enough.
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