Water Margin people

Chapter 1520: Breaking Gaochang City

Yue Fei took the bomb, observed it, and disassembled it directly. He was quite skilled in using firearms.

"Well, this gunpowder?"

Yue Fei looked at the gunpowder inside. This was not the kind of gunpowder that was most widely circulated in the Central Plains.

"What's wrong with this gunpowder?"

Ou Peng couldn't tell any difference. The gunpowder was completely in powder form, while the one from Qi was in granular form.

"These gunpowders are quite powerful, but they are not moisture-resistant enough."

Yue Fei said.

"No way, these people also have the latest gunpowder?"

Ou Peng was a little surprised, as he had always thought that gunpowder was unique to Qi.

"There's nothing strange about it. Gunpowder has a long history and is also popular among the people. The Liao Kingdom has been in the north for many years, so they must have a formula for gunpowder! After seeing how powerful our gunpowder is, they will definitely step up their research."

Yue Fei said.

"How can this be possible? They can own something like this?"

Ou Peng's face was gloomy. He was well aware of the horror of gunpowder. How could such a powerful weapon fall into the hands of the enemy?

"But now it's spread!"

Yue Fei said helplessly that some things have already happened and there is nothing you can do about it.

"Just kill them all!"

Ou Peng said in a cold voice.

"Then kill him! If you don't kill him now, he will become a big trouble sooner or later!"

Yue Fei nodded.

The sky brightened and the heavy rain stopped, but the Western Liao army did not rush to attack. The ground was muddy after the heavy rain, which was not conducive to attack or evacuation.

But Yelu Dashi was not idle either. He made a big fuss about the night raid on the enemy camp and said frankly that the raid was a great success and that the enemy suffered heavy casualties.

In order to make the soldiers believe, Yelu Dashi even demonstrated his gunpowder.

When the soldiers saw the gunpowder explosion, their faces were filled with disbelief. It was the first time they saw the power of the gods.

The morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted. They were all very excited and believed that they had been blessed by the gods and would definitely win the battle.

"Jiuerhan, we can't stay here for long. I heard that the people of Qi are the most cunning. They may sneak attack Hami from behind."

Bilege looked at Yelu Dashi and said that he had studied Qi's tactics and found that Qi's favorite strategy was to launch a surprise attack from behind.

"So we have to defend here. Xingxing Gorge has been lost, but the enemy still has to go through us if they want to get through!"

"I have left 200,000 troops in Hami. They will come to support us as soon as possible. If the enemy dares to go around us, we will let them know what it means to be beaten behind closed doors!"

Yelu Dashi said that Xingxing Gorge was just a gateway and this place was the road.

"I see!"

Everyone suddenly realized that Xingxing Gorge was the gateway to the Western Regions, with the Gobi Desert on one side and mountains on the other. If the enemy wanted to go back, they had to go through here.

The desert to the west.

Sun Li was trekking through the desert with his army.

Desert marching is the worst environment, and lack of water will quickly put the army in a desperate situation.

"How much drinking water is left?"

Sun Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked the soldiers around him. What he was most concerned about now was the marching speed and the drinking water they carried.

"If each person drinks three gourds of water a day, it will be enough for eight days!"

The bodyguard replied.

"Eight days? That's enough. We'll be out of this desert in another five days."

Sun Li nodded. He had been preparing for this war for a long time. He even got a lot of camels because they were the best means of transport for crossing the desert. The sun in the desert was very hot. Sun Li did not force the march. He let the soldiers rest for two hours at noon and stepped up to march in the morning and evening.

Gaochang City.

The war did not bring any impact to this place, but made it more prosperous. Because the war required a large amount of supplies, Gaochang became a distribution center for supplies.

Teams of carriages and horses carrying supplies came from the west, then passed Gaochang City and headed towards Hami.

The unusually prosperous business attracted merchants from all over the Western Regions, all of whom wanted to get a piece of the pie from this war.

Only some businessmen were calm. They just watched everything with cold eyes. When they saw others making money, they did not feel a bit jealous.

"Foolish people, how can those Khitans, Uighurs, Karas, and Khwarezmians be a match for the Qi army? Are you making money now just to spend it on your death?"

  These merchants who were watching coldly laughed in their hearts. They all went to the Central Plains frequently. They witnessed the rise of Qi State step by step with their own eyes. With Qi State's powerful fighting power, how could they lose?

However, these people were not idle. Due to the sharp increase in Gaochang's goods, the city defense force was extremely short of manpower, and officials began to recruit laborers from merchants in the city.

How could the merchants who only cared about money be willing to send their people away at this time? They all found various excuses.

Only those merchants who had been watching from the sidelines sent out all their servants, and these people began to be responsible for most of the chores in the city.

Sun Li's army marched continuously and finally reached the edge of the desert.

"General, Gaochang City has no defenses at all!"

The advance scout reported.

"Just as I guessed, these people are not simple-minded!"

Sun Li looked at Du Fu and said with a smile that he had analyzed the characters of these people in the Western Regions and knew that they would definitely think that the desert was impassable and that the enemy could not come from the desert.

"According to the plan, we will sneak into the city disguised as merchants. The people in the city should be able to help us."

Sun Li said that he had come into contact with many merchants from the Western Regions during his time at Yumen Pass. These people would do anything for money, even betraying Gaochang.

A team of well-dressed soldiers began to organize the camel caravan. They changed into Western clothing and looked like an ordinary caravan.

"The army advances stealthily and anyone they encounter must be eliminated!"

Sun Li gave orders to the soldiers again, saying that the army would be easily discovered if it approached Gaochang City.

"It's better to approach at night. In broad daylight, the army can't guarantee concealment!"

Du Bo said.

Everything in Gaochang City remains the same as before.

"What do you do?"

When the guards of Gaochang City discovered the strange camel caravan, they immediately stopped it. Now, anyone who can do business in Gaochang City must obtain permission.

"We are here to deliver goods. They are from the Ale family in the city!"

The leader spoke immediately.

"Ale's family? Do you have a keepsake?"

The guard looked the man over.

The leading soldier immediately took out the token.

"Send someone to ask the Ale family!"

The guard was still worried because the Ale family had not been doing much business during this period.

The steward of Ale's family quickly arrived at the city gate and explained that this was indeed the family's caravan and that its goods were all for the Khan.

Seeing this, the guard let him go.

“The management is very strict!”

The leading soldier spoke.

"Don't worry, sir. Even though we have strict control during the day, once the city gates are closed at night, it's our people who will be on duty!"

The steward smiled and said that all the troops in the city had gone to the front line, and the guards could only be on duty during the day, and at night they would have to use conscripted soldiers.