Water Margin people

Philip I immediately led his troops forward. In the front were the heavy infantry, each of them wearing tight iron armor, holding a large shield and a spear in their hands, standing in front of the formation like a steel wall.

Behind the heavy armored shield soldiers were all heavy armored cavalry, all of whom were wearing armor.

There are two types of knights in the West. One is a private army whose horses and equipment are provided by the king and lords, and is considered a private armed force.

The other part is the knights who have been appointed. These people generally have some family wealth and usually manage their own farms and shops. They accept orders in war, provide their own horses and equipment and obey orders. Their purpose is to gain more honors and rewards.

"People of Qi, stop hiding among the common people and pretend to be rats. Get out of here!"

Philip I rode forward and shouted. His challenge was not only to force the Qi army to come out, but also to let those ignorant civilians know who is the strong one.

The Crusaders held high the cross and various flags. As long as Qi avoided fighting, the civilians would soon leave.

The civilians on the seashore looked out to sea and saw that the Qi army was on the island.

On the island, Yue Fei smiled contemptuously and led his men towards the shore by boat, with a huge Qi flag fluttering in the wind.

"You actually dare to come!"

Philip I was a little surprised. He didn't expect that such a small number of people from Qi would dare to come.

The ships docked, and Yue Fei led his army to march ashore in an orderly manner. Although there were not many people, their morale was high and they were not afraid of the Crusaders on the opposite side.

"You are King Philip I, right? Why are you so eager to die?"

Yue Fei looked at Philip I with contempt and shouted.

"People of Qi, you dared to attack my Western Kingdom, deceive the common people, and spread evil beliefs. Your crimes are extremely heinous. Now we are punishing you on behalf of the gods!"

Philip I shouted with a serious face. He saw the people coming clearly. There were only four or five thousand soldiers. Even with muskets and cannons, such a small number of people were no match for them.

“There are only so few people!”

Philip II was ready to make a move. There were only a few enemies, and whoever killed them would get the credit.

"It's a bit strange. Are the people of Qi so bold?"

Richard I frowned, wondering why the Qi people were so bold. Didn't the Qi people fear death? He remembered that after the last Crusaders came back, they said that the overall situation of Qi was very concerned about casualties.

"Why are you talking so much? You are just a sissy. If you are a man, you should show your true colors with your hands!"

Xin Qiji looked at Philip I and said provocatively.

Philip I recognized Xin Qiji. He had a gloomy face and wanted to order a charge to kill the people on the opposite side immediately.

Wu Yong brought a group of people to the front of the formation. These people were wearing folk costumes from the Central Plains and had facial masks on their faces. Without waiting for the enemy to react, drum beats sounded and those people began to dance in front of the formation.

"what is this?"

The Crusaders were all confused. They didn't know what the enemy was doing and why they started dancing in front of the battle.

"What kind of ceremony is this?"

Pope Eugene III's face darkened. Although he didn't understand what this ceremony was, it gave him a sense of danger.

Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan, Lu Jiuling and others, along with the missionaries, began to direct the believers to pray.

"What is this for? Use this ritual to defeat the Crusaders?"

Baldwin IV frowned as he watched everything. This was beyond his understanding and he couldn't understand it at all.

"Are you going to summon...a god?"

William whispered, his voice full of confusion, as he was once the Archbishop, he knew best that gods were all false.

"call?"

Baldwin looked at the sky. It was a nice day with no clouds in the sky. What could appear in the blue sky?

The drum beats were very rhythmic, and as the ceremony continued, the believers felt more at peace and prayed devoutly.

"We can't go on like this, kill those people!" Eugene III felt more and more uneasy, as if a great danger was about to come.

"kill!"

Conrad III didn't want to wait any longer, so he ordered his army to charge. With such a small number of enemies, they could end the battle with just one charge.

Thousands of troops galloped, and the earth shook along with them.

"It's almost time! Send the signal!"

Yue Fei smiled as he looked at the enemy charging towards him. He looked at the watch on his hand and gave orders in a very calm tone.

With a shrill sound, fireworks rose into the sky and the telegraph on the ship at the dock immediately started to sound.

"Boom boom boom!"

An unusually dull sound rang out from the sea, like muffled thunder in the sky.

The believers didn’t know what was going on. They looked up at the sky in confusion. The sky was so blue without a trace of impurities. How could there be thunder in such weather?

"Boom boom boom!"

A violent explosion sounded, and the charging Crusaders' formation exploded.

The explosion was so powerful that all the people and horses within a radius of ten meters were blown away by the violent blast wave. For a moment, soil and rocks mixed with broken limbs and arms flew everywhere.

The dancers performing the ceremony danced even harder, as if all of this was summoned by them.

The believers could not understand what they saw. They stared blankly with their mouths open.

"This is the miracle of our Qi Kingdom's Imperial Religion, and the thunderous power of His Majesty the Emperor."

Zhu Xi looked at the believers and spoke.

The believers went crazy. They prayed for miracles to come true. They believed that the Imperial Religion was the real god that could perform miracles and was the true religion worthy of their devout faith.

The believers knelt on the ground, cheered and prayed, they wanted to express their piety with their shouts.

"Boom boom boom!"

The explosions continued, and the entire Crusader front was covered in smoke. The explosions that spread for several miles completely enveloped the charging Crusaders.

"This new type of ship defense gun is so powerful. It has such a long attack range and such great power!"

Xin Qiji covered his ears and said that the huge explosion made him feel a little tinnitus even at such a distance.

Yue Fei looked at the battlefield in front of him covered with cannon fodder and chuckled. He had grasped the time and distance just right.

In the explosion, the Crusaders were in a miserable state. The artillery bombardment was no joke, and there were hardly any survivors on the entire front line of the Crusaders.

Heavy armor and shields are somewhat effective against muskets and mortars, but they are ineffective against large-caliber artillery such as anti-ship guns. Anti-ship guns can easily destroy city walls, so what is a layer of armor?

The terrifying momentum frightened the Crusaders in the rear. The entire army fell into deathly silence, and they stared at everything in front of them like dumbfounded chickens.

"This is...artillery?"

Louis VII stuttered and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He had just sent out his most elite cavalry, and now these people were probably all dead.

"Your Majesty the King!"

The knight next to him quickly supported Louis VII.

Conrad III was in an even worse situation. He fell off his horse and all his elite troops were sent out.

"Your Majesty the Emperor!"

A group of nobles of the Holy Roman Empire immediately stepped forward to help Conrad III up. (End of this chapter)