Yangcheng, the capital of the Southern Yue Kingdom.
At this time, the capital was already in a state of high alert, with everyone on edge.
Despite this, Tang Bo, the prime minister of the Southern Yue Kingdom, invited barbarians from the Atlantic Kingdom to help him fight at the cost of "ceding territory and taking money," and even equipped the city walls with bronze cannons from the barbarians.
However, the wealthy and powerful court officials and relatives of the emperor in the capital of Nanyue still managed to secretly send their valuables, as well as the elderly, weak, women and children, out of the city and onto the barbarian fleet before the 100,000-strong army of Longcheng arrived at the city gates.
Even Emperor Tiande of the Nanyue Kingdom, Li Zongmin, considered moving the capital.
If it weren't for the difficulty in swallowing my pride, I would have already slipped away!
Of course, after the valiant General Pang Xianchu personally led an army of 100,000 to besiege the capital city of Yangcheng, Emperor Tiande could no longer escape and had no choice but to stay and defend the capital, vowing to live and die with it.
In the Battle of Yongzhou, the entire army of 100,000 men of the Nanyue Kingdom was wiped out, nearly exhausting three-quarters of the kingdom's military strength.
Currently, the South Vietnamese garrison stationed in Guangzhou numbers only about 50,000.
Even including the conscripted laborers to defend the city, the total number was only over 80,000, plus a 2,000-strong Atlantic "mercenary" force.
In terms of troop strength, there doesn't seem to be a significant difference between the attacking and defending sides.
However, when it comes to individual combat capabilities, the soldiers of the Dragon City Southern Expeditionary Army, who come from the "Born to Be an Emperor" system, can easily take on three or five Southern Yue garrison soldiers.
Not to mention, the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army also had the support of the Shenji Battalion's red-coated cannons.
Logically speaking, given such a disparity in strengths and weaknesses, the best course of action for the people of Nanyue in the capital would be to stop the war and negotiate peace in time, at least to save their lives.
However, the Nanyue Kingdom vainly hoped to rely on the tall and sturdy city walls of its capital, as well as the thirty bronze cannons brought by two thousand Yi people, to confront the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army head-on.
Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin, did not expect to annihilate the 100,000-strong army of Longcheng in Yangcheng, but he at least wanted to demonstrate the power and prestige of the Nanyue Kingdom so as to gain the initiative in future peace negotiations.
Thus, on the ninth day of the ninth month of the second year of the Lingwu reign in the old calendar, the two sides fought their first battle after the siege.
Outside Yangcheng, the capital of the Southern Yue Kingdom, Fan Wuji, the deputy general of the Southern Expeditionary Army, wearing bright armor and a ring-pommel sword at his waist, stood proudly on his horse in front of the three armies.
His piercing gaze was fixed on the city wall of Guangzhou, thousands of paces away, his eyes gleaming with a yearning for high office and recognition.
In the end, the commander-in-chief, Pang Xianchu, could not refuse the request of his old friend of many years and appointed him as the vanguard commander of the army that was conquering Nanyue in the south, and personally led the Trapped Camp to attack the city.
Behind Fan Wuji were the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion.
One hundred red-coated cannons have all been pushed to the walls of Guangzhou, their dark muzzles pointed at the heavily guarded city walls.
Flanking the Shenji Battalion were soldiers from the Trapped Camp, carrying large siege weapons such as siege engines, battering rams, and ladders.
Flanking the siege army were cavalry responsible for providing flank cover for the Shenji Battalion and the Xianbei Battalion, personally led by Tang Ziyi, another deputy general of the Longcheng army.
As for the valiant General Pang Xianchu, he maintained control of the central command's lookout tower, keeping a close eye on the movements of the vanguard.
The third quarter of the hour of Si (9:45 AM).
The soldiers of the Shenji Battalion were making their final preparations before firing the cannons.
Fan Wuji, who also served as the vanguard commander, was adjusting his breathing rhythm, ready to lead the soldiers of the Trapped Camp to attack the city and capture the flag under the cover of the Shenji Camp's artillery.
At the same time.
On the city walls of Yangcheng, the capital of the Southern Yue Kingdom, the Southern Yue wolf soldiers guarding the city nervously gripped their swords, spears, and halberds, their eyes filled with fear and cowardice as they peered through the crenellations at the rows of dark cannon barrels.
"Your Highness, tell your men not to be nervous, and to just do as we've trained them before!"
The barbarian chieftain Markel, dressed in European-style crusader armor, inspected the positions of the bronze cannons as he moved along the city walls, speaking in fluent Chinese to Crown Prince Li Shiyu, who was overseeing the battle from the city walls:
"The enemy's cannons are indeed powerful, but our capital's walls have been reinforced. As long as our soldiers don't panic under the enemy's bombardment, the damage they suffer will be limited!"
Um!
Crown Prince Li Shiyu nodded and then gave the order: "Did you all hear that? Immediately pass on Lord Ma's instructions and tell the soldiers guarding the city not to panic!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Then, Li Shiyu asked, "Lord Ma, since we also have bronze cannons, why don't we bombard the rebel army in Longcheng with them before they attack the city?"
Forehead--
Markel hesitated for a moment, then said, "My dear Prince, as you have surely seen, we only have thirty bronze cannons, while the enemy outside the city has over a hundred."
"If we fire rashly, not to mention the range of these thirty cannons and whether they can even reach the most densely packed enemy positions, once we are exposed prematurely, these bronze cannons will lose their advantage, and their positions will become the focus of enemy artillery fire."
After a pause, Markle continued, "Your Highness, your father's orders to us are to prioritize defending the capital and inflicting casualties on the enemy, rather than actively seeking battle with them."
"so--"
snort!
Li Shiyu snorted coldly and went to inspect the city defenses on his own with an unhappy expression.
Clearly, he held his father Li Zongmin in utter contempt and disdain for his attitude of wanting to fight but not daring to go all out and engage the Longcheng bandits in a full-scale battle.
If we follow Li Shiyu's advice, we should just go all out and fight the Longcheng bandits to the death, it's a fight to the death.
However, with the disastrous defeat at Yongzhou, most of Li Shiyu's confidants perished in the city, making it unrealistic to force his father to obey his arrangements.
Moreover, these barbarians from the Atlantic Ocean would never obey him.
Li Shiyu could only endure the humiliation and wait once again for the Shenji Battalion's red-coated cannons to bombard him from the Longcheng army on the city wall.
Outside the city, the Shenji Battalion's red-coated cannon position.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the red-coated cannons are fully loaded. Please give your instructions!"
At this time, the commander of the Shenji Battalion reported to Qi Jiguang, the naval admiral who also served as the commander of the Shenji Battalion, that the Shenji Battalion was ready and could fire at any time.
Qi Jiguang did not reply to the commander immediately, but instead turned his attention to his deputy general Fan Wuji.
The latter nodded solemnly and firmly to Qi Jiguang.
Qi Jiguang immediately ordered: "Shenji Battalion, fire!"
"fire!"
Almost simultaneously, the commander of the Shenji Battalion repeated the order to fire, while the flag bearer beside him waved his triangular flag to convey the order.
Accompanied by a series of hissing sounds from burning fuses, the hundred cannons on the Shenji Battalion's red-coated cannon position roared like evil dragons.
call out!
Whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Moments later, cannonballs exploded on the walls of the capital of Nanyue.
boom!
Boom!
Rumble!
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