Chapter 253: Great Defeat 1
Early in the morning, Zhao Xiaofei ordered the hot air balloon team to take off. God was kind enough to give him face. The wind died down that morning. A slight southeasterly breeze blew. Zhao Xiaofei excitedly said to Zhou Shuai, "See! Our brothers' luck! No one else can compare!"
General Zhou had no choice but to agree. Fifty hot air balloons were launched and the troops were divided into two groups: one to attack the Jianlu camp and the other to attack the east gate of Xi'an.
The attack on Xi'an was a bit slower, as Zhao Xiaofei couldn't split his troops into two groups immediately. Furthermore, in order to train the newly recruited 100,000 soldiers, this siege would allow them to see blood first, so that they could become true veterans.
The Jianlu were of course quite uninformed, and seeing a flying boat, they instinctively felt a sense of fear. Some began drawing their bows and arrows, others turned and ran, only to be beheaded on the spot by the law enforcement officers. Many others were trembling with fear!
You definitely can't shoot it with an arrow. A hot air balloon is three hundred meters high! Except for a few sharpshooters who can pull a hard bow, almost no one can shoot that high.
Zhao Xiaofei was now on the ground, grinning smugly. Yesterday, General Zhou had said he'd read too much Romance of the Three Kingdoms and thought he was Zhuge Liang. Could he possibly borrow the east wind? And, heaven beckoning, it actually did. General Zhou and Wanshan had no choice but to agree to his plan: give it a try. If it didn't work, they could withdraw.
Zhao Xiaofei took off his cloak and handed it to Li Sihong, who then beat the drum to boost morale. The soldiers, upon seeing that it was the prince himself beating the drum, were greatly encouraged. Many of them spontaneously sang "Serve the Country with Loyalty."
A fleet of hot air balloons rose into the sky amid the passionate singing of tens of thousands of soldiers and slowly flew towards the Jianlu camp.
This time, Li Zicheng on the city wall really believed what Lu Yingbiao and the others said. It turned out that Zhao Xiaofei's Ke Nan Army could really fly.
Li Zicheng turned around and said to Song Xiance, "Military Advisor, do you have any idea to take those things down?"
Liu Zongmin also said: "Military Advisor! Why don't you do something like Zhuge Liang and borrow the east wind?"
"What east wind are you borrowing? Now it is Zhao who is borrowing the east wind, and we want to borrow the northwest wind! Are you right, military advisor?" Li Zicheng said.
"I am willing to give it a try!" Song Xiance said with a bow.
"Great! Get ready immediately! Start the ritual!" Li Zicheng gave the order immediately.
Song Xiance smiled bitterly in his heart, "If I can borrow the northwest wind, it means there is still hope for Dashun. If I can't borrow it, I am willing to serve my country loyally."
So Song Xiance went down to put on his Taoist robe and prepare to go, while the civil and military officials on the city were still observing how the hot air balloon attacked the Jianlu.
Li Tiedan, the captain of the first hot air balloon team, had learned accounting in a shop. He later joined the hot air balloon unit with flying colors. Zhao Xiaofei personally met him, much to his delight. Zhao Xiaofei smiled upon hearing his name and gave him the more elegant name of Li Yong. A truly courageous Yong!
Li Yong swore allegiance to the prince from then on, but his subordinates still used to call him Tiedan. They felt that this was a way to get closer, because the captain of the second team had an even worse name: Gousheng!
Tiedan worked seriously. He put down the telescope and said to the messenger, "Get ready!" The messenger immediately waved the command flag, and the other soldiers on the hot air balloon immediately took out the bombs and placed them on the rack beside the boat. Another soldier held a fire starter and waited for orders.
Seeing that they had reached the center of the Jianlu camp, Tiedan began to shout, "Fire! Fire!"
The soldier lit the fuse, and the soldier who was carrying the bomb moved the wrench, causing the bomb to fall from the shelf.
Just as the Jianlu cavalry retreated, a bomb exploded behind them. Huishan wiped his sweat, thinking, "What a close call!" If he had been a step later, he would have been buried with the two princes.
So he ordered his troops to leave the battlefield more quickly, but the Han army that was holding the line in the front was in a miserable state, with corpses flying everywhere and broken limbs scattered everywhere.
Moreover, the bombs continued to fall, and soon the Han army in the Jianlu camp completely collapsed. They didn't care whether the one in front of them was their master or not, and they rode away at full speed.
Even with military law, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi couldn't suppress the rebellion. Everything before them was beyond their comprehension. Even if Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi understood, it was simply a giant Kongming lantern. But now, sleep is no longer enough to listen to your explanation; running is the priority.
The military justice team was scattered by the fleeing soldiers, and Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi were swept into the Jianlu cavalry formation. They fled together! Huishan had no choice but to dispatch more men to protect the coffins. Anyone who approached the two coffins would be slashed. In the end, Huishan and his men could only follow the defeated army and flee northeast.
Huishan cursed, "Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, how do you three lead the troops? Damn it!"
Seeing the Jianlu army's defeat, Zhao Xiaofei immediately ordered his messenger to wave a flag, warning the army not to pursue. With the exception of a small group of soldiers on guard to prevent the Jianlu from making a comeback, the rest of the troops turned around and headed towards Xi'an.
With 100,000 tough new recruits leading the way, the second hot air balloon team took off.
The soldiers below shouted: "The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will last forever, and the Ming Dynasty will last forever! Victory!"
This momentum made Li Zicheng on the city wall terrified. If Zhao Xiaofei succeeded, he would die without a burial place.
Looking at the slowly rising hot air balloon, Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin both looked at Song Xiance in the audience.
Li Zicheng said to Song Xiance, who was casting a spell, "Military Advisor! Hurry up! The Ming army is about to attack the city! If this succeeds, you will become prime minister! I will also make you a king of a different surname!"
Song Xiance was anxious, his palms sweating. He thought, "Life and death are at hand, why bother talking about a king of a different surname? Let's get through this first!" What's going on? Southeast winds aren't supposed to blow in this weather, and even if they do, they're only occasional. It should be over by now.
At this time, the second team leader, Gou Sheng, had already flown to the edge of Xi'an. He laughed heartily while holding his telescope, thinking, "Great success is about to be achieved!"
He said to the messenger, "Send a flag signal! Wait until my ship reaches the center of the city before dropping the bombs!"
"Yes!" said the messenger.
At this moment, the wind suddenly died down and a northwest wind began to blow.
Standing on the hill, Zhao Xiaofei said to Wanshan, "What's wrong with that Gousheng? Why isn't he dropping his bombs yet?"
The messenger below immediately waved the command flag, demanding that the bomb be dropped immediately, but the hot air balloon still did not respond.
Zhao Xiaofei said to Zhou Shuai and Wan Shan, "If this man returns, execute him right here and then! Kill his entire family without mercy!"
Shuai Zhou and Wan Shan didn't know what to say, so Zhao Xiaofei ordered the artillery battalion to fire at the city wall first.
Boom boom boom, hundreds of cannons made of composite materials, fast and light, with strong firepower and fast firing rate.
Soon, the top of the city was filled with fire and dust, and high in the sky, a life-and-death duel was taking place.
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