noffsinger Chapter 768 Charge!
Chapter 768 Charge!
The strong wind from the Persian Plateau, carrying fine sand, mercilessly hit the faces of the Tang army soldiers.
The copper bell on top of the watchtower swung wildly in the wind, making a sharp and piercing sound.
Pei Xingjian, wearing black armor, stood on the top of a ten-foot-high watchtower. In the distance, the Laishe defense line, known as the "God's Barrier", was faintly visible in the yellow sand.
"General!" An excited shout broke the silence of the battlefield.
A messenger broke open the heavy iron door of the watchtower, apparently having just broken through from the front line of artillery fire.
The soldier's eyes were filled with excitement, his chest heaving violently as he spoke, "Three cracks have appeared in the northwest corner of the defense line. We estimate that two rounds of artillery fire will break through!"
Before he could finish his words, a deafening roar was heard in the distance. The tower under his feet shook violently, and the wall paint fell off, raising a cloud of dust on the ground.
The sheepskin map hanging in the tower was shaken and rattled, and the oil lamp on the table almost fell over. The flame swayed in the wind, distorting the shadows of the soldiers on the wall.
Pei Xingjian looked at the smoke rising from the sky, and his thoughts drifted back to the military tent three days ago.
The quartermaster hunched his back and trembled as he unfolded a roll of yellowed cloth. The densely packed numbers on it hurt his eyes.
Twenty thousand Qianwu cannons were neatly arranged on the blueprint, each cannon was like a small hill, and two hundred thousand shells were piled up like a mountain, each shell costing fifty taels of silver.
That was enough wealth to fill the East City of Chang'an, and it was the result of the hard work and sweat of countless craftsmen who worked day and night in the arsenal.
They forged cannon barrels in stuffy workshops and mixed gunpowder in dangerous powder rooms, only to get these cold war machines.
"This isn't a war, it's clearly a waste of money."
Pei Xingjian laughed bitterly, his voice filled with deep helplessness.
His fingers unconsciously stroked the gilded tiger talisman given by the late emperor on the table. The cold touch reminded him of the scene when the late emperor inspected the arsenal.
At that time, the late emperor, despite public opinion, invested half of the national treasury in the research and development of firearms. There was overwhelming opposition in the court, and old ministers knelt in front of the palace gate and protested against it, saying that this was a "strange and cunning trick that would waste people's money and time."
But the late emperor remained unmoved and personally supervised the test firing of the first Qianwu cannon.
As the deafening roar of cannons rang out, shaking the earth, the late emperor's eyes gleamed with excitement: "With such divine weapons, how can the Tang Dynasty not command the whole world!"
Who could have imagined that this "strange skill" that consumed countless manpower and material resources would now become a sharp weapon for the Tang Dynasty to expand its territory.
But at this moment, Pei Xingjian was full of anxiety. Could such a huge consumption really bring about a lasting victory?
Can the people in the rear bear this heavy burden?
"Report! The tenth round of shelling is over!"
Another messenger rushed in, his armor covered in black ash from gunpowder, his face still showing traces of burns from the air waves, but his expression was filled with irrepressible excitement.
"A landslide occurred in the middle of the defense line. After the smoke and dust cleared, the rammed earth layer inside the city wall was revealed!"
Pei Xingjian took a deep breath and slowly turned to face the east, which was the direction of Chang'an.
He closed his eyes and seemed to see the scene in Chang'an City.
There are a lot of cars on Zhuque Street and people coming and going in the market. However, beneath the prosperous appearance, rice prices are soaring and the people are worried.
The secret letter sent by Wu Tianyan mentioned that the memorials from the censors had piled up on the desk of the Secretariat, and every word and sentence denounced the huge consumption brought about by this war.
"Your Majesty, what should I do?"
Pei Xingjian asked silently in his heart, but received no response.
"Send a message to the Fire Battalion, load all artillery with double the gunpowder."
Pei Xingjian's voice was deep, firm, and commanding. "Tell the logistics battalion to replenish their ammunition before sunset."
He knew that if he hesitated at this moment, all his previous investments would be wasted.
When the personal guards received the order and left, Pei Xingjian looked at the musket made in the seventh year of Qianwu hanging on their waists. In a trance, the figure of the late emperor seemed to appear at the end of the artillery fire.
The late emperor once said, "I would rather the treasury be empty than let my army be strong."
This sentence has always inspired Pei Xingjian, but at this moment, he felt unprecedented pressure.
He recalled that before he went to war, he saw people outside the city of Chang'an donating their food from their homes to the army, just for the sake of "expanding our territory and enhancing our national prestige."
As the sun sets, the setting sun is like blood, dyeing the entire battlefield dark red.
The eleventh round of bombardment began, and 20,000 Qianwu cannons roared in unison, shaking the earth and sky.
The flames from the muzzle lit up half the sky, the heat wave hit us in the face, and the air in the distance was distorted.
The shells, with long tails of flame, streaked across the sky like meteors and slammed heavily into the defense line.
The twenty-meter-high granite wall shook violently amidst the continuous roars, and fine dust seeped out from the cracks in the stones.
With a deafening roar, the city wall finally collapsed, and rubble fell like raindrops, and the raised smoke and dust covered half of the sky.
For a moment, sand and rocks flew everywhere, the sky was dark, and the soldiers' shouts were drowned out by the huge roar.
Pei Xingjian raised his command flag, the gold ornaments on his black armor gleaming in the setting sun. He shouted, "Attack!"
Tens of thousands of Tang army cavalry rushed towards the city of Isfahan like arrows from a bow, stepping on the hot gravel.
The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, shaking the earth and raising dust that covered the sky.
There was excitement in the soldiers' eyes, and the spears and lances in their hands were shining coldly.
They traveled thousands of miles from Chang'an, overcoming countless hardships and dangers, and crossing the vast Gobi Desert, where the daytime was scorching hot and the nights were freezing cold.
While crossing the towering snow-capped mountains, many people slipped and fell into the abyss.
Sleeping in the open air, just for this moment.
Under the incentive of the military system, only what one conquers by oneself truly belongs to oneself.
Some soldiers shouted the names of their relatives back home, as if they had already seen the scene of them returning home in glory with the spoils of war.
The Arab defenders did not panic.
Following a long and sharp horn sound, thick smoke rose from the top of the city wall, dozens of catapults slowly turned, and the huge capstan made a creaking sound.
Huge rocks cut through the sky and smashed towards the charging Tang army with a whistling sound, throwing people and horses to the ground wherever they went.
Some war horses fell to the ground after being hit, and their riders were thrown out.
Some soldiers were unable to dodge and were hit by stones, becoming bloody messes in an instant.
What was even more shocking was that barrels of mysterious liquid fell from the sky and caught fire the moment they landed. The flames were a strange blue color and emitted a pungent smell of sulfur.
It becomes hotter when it comes into contact with water and will catch fire if it touches anything.
"Shieldmen, form a formation! Musketeers, fire in unison!"
Pei Xingjian's roar was drowned out by the sound of flames exploding.
The Tang soldiers in the front row raised their shields, trying to block the falling Greek fire, but the sticky liquid flowed down the gaps in their shields and instantly ignited their armor.
Screams rang out one after another, and the soldiers rolled on the ground in pain, but they could not put out the flames on their bodies no matter what.
The flames greedily devoured everything, singeing their skin and burning their hair, filling the air with a sickening burnt smell.
Some soldiers helped to pour water on them, but they didn't expect that the flames would burn more fiercely when they met water, and they were swallowed up by the flames in a blink of an eye.
The musket team in the rear responded quickly, dense gunfire rang out, and the flames from the muskets flickered in the night, but the Arab death squad carried bronze ejectors and rushed into the Tang army under the rain of bullets.
They shouted to Allah, their eyes filled with fanaticism. Wherever they went, blue flames raged, their armor melted into molten iron, and their flesh turned into charcoal.
A young Tang army soldier, only about sixteen or seventeen years old, the musket in his hand was still emitting smoke.
He watched in horror as an Arab suicide soldier rushed towards him, his bronze jet emitting long tongues of fire.
He wanted to run away, but found that his legs had already lost control.
The flames instantly surrounded him, and he let out a desperate scream, the sound echoing in the night sky for a long time.
Not far away, an experienced veteran, wielding a long sword, chopped down several suicide squad members who tried to approach, but was eventually ignited by the Greek fire. With his eyes wide open, he rushed towards the enemy and died together with them.
Pei Xingjian looked at the charred corpses, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood and gunpowder.
He clenched the blood-stained bronze talisman at his waist, his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.
On the other side of the battlefield, Muawiyah stood on the damaged city wall, frowning with a look of unwillingness in his eyes.
Gazing at the corpse-strewn battlefield, he stroked the equally charred catapult beside him and muttered to himself, "Tang's firearms...we were still a step too slow after all."
"We've used up everything we can, get ready to charge."
"I've heard that the Tang Dynasty's cavalry has never been defeated. Today, let's show them that the cavalry of the Arab Empire is even stronger than theirs!"
"God bless us!"
Muawiyah raised the spear in his hand high!
"Allah! Charge!"
The gates of Isfahan were opened, and ten thousand Arab cavalry rushed out, mixed with a thousand heavy cavalry, and charged at the five hundred thousand Tang troops in front of them.
Even the Tang army was stunned when they saw the heavy cavalry. The Arabs actually had a heavy cavalry unit?