Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 646 Please enter the urn
With nearly six times the number of troops, the new army was surrounded, a situation that Xiang Yu's siege at Gaixia was probably no more severe.

In the central command camp, everyone's feet were constantly on the ground, and the strange beeping sound never stopped. Emperor Jingtai sat there, saying nothing and asking nothing. He just sat there. In Xia Lin's words, as long as he sat there, it was as if he had added an invincible golden body to the entire army.

"Reports from the front indicate that tens of thousands of cavalry are rapidly descending from the northern border. They should be steppe cavalry, and they have already passed Zhangjiakou and are heading straight for Handan."

"Report from the front: Our unit is ready for segmented blocking operations. Please give instructions from headquarters. We are ready to launch an attack at any time."

"Report from the front: the 4th, 6th and 11th Engineer Brigades have completed their pre-planning work, the six super-heavy guns have been reassembled, and the remaining field guns and light guns have also been set up."

"Report from the rear: all fire support squads of the Shenji Battalion have entered combat readiness and are ready to receive orders at any time."

The term "firepower squad" was something Emperor Jingtai had only recently learned, and the super-heavy artillery was even more outrageous. To put it simply, this thing couldn't be transported by land; it needed to be transported by water and then hoisted on-site by an engineering team using a hoisting tower. The barrel alone weighed over 20,000 jin (10,000 kg), and all the components together weighed over 37,000 jin (18,000 kg).

There are only fifteen gates in the entire Fuliang County so far, and six of them were mobilized this time.

It is said, according to rumors, that this cannon can destroy half a city with just three shots. Its greatest ability is not killing, but deterrence, because its ammunition is extremely expensive. The cost of firing one shot is equivalent to the 100,000 arrows that Zhuge Liang borrowed with straw boats that night. The key is that it cannot be mass-produced. Each shot is handcrafted by the top craftsmen in Fuliang. It would take half a year to make twenty shots, which is simply unsustainable.

The six cannons came here purely to cheer on the emperor's troops. Theoretically, one cannon with three rounds of ammunition would be enough, since the cost of transporting these six cannons already exceeded that of transporting 50,000 pigs, and 50,000 pigs would make the frontline soldiers want to vomit at the sight of pork.

The firepower squad was responsible for operating these six cannons. The six cannons required three thousand people. Of course, there was also a small suppression system, namely the honeycomb multi-barrel cannon, which Emperor Jingtai personally named Xiangliu.

All preparations were complete, and various flags gradually began to appear in the telescope. These were the banners of warlords and powerful figures from various regions. Although they were currently allied, they still displayed their own battle flags to compete for credit, which fluttered in the wind.

"Fifteen miles away, all sides have formed an encirclement."

The scouts' report reached the central command tent, and everyone in the room looked up at Emperor Jingtai. At that moment, Emperor Jingtai was studying a book called "Introduction to Tactics for Beginner Generals" from Fuliang. After hearing the report, he raised his head slightly and said, "Let's eat first."

Since His Majesty the Emperor had said so, everyone except the soldiers on duty went into a resting state. Today's meal was exceptionally lavish, with each person receiving a dried chicken leg, along with bean and shredded pork soup and braised eggplant with soybeans and lard. Emperor Jingtai ate two large bowls of it.

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, it's time to get to work.

All soldiers inside the fortifications were placed on standby, all weapons were checked and loaded, and all projectiles were distributed and inspected.

However, the sun had already set, and the enemy's attack might take place tomorrow morning, but a night raid was also possible. Therefore, everyone was on high alert, and even Emperor Jingtai himself had put down his basic tactics manual and began to listen carefully to the strategies of his advisors.

"The enemy numbers are greatest to the east of the main camp. Why don't we adjust the parameters and let the city-destroying cannons fire at them? I've never seen a city-destroying cannons fire before."

"No, the 'City Destroying Cannon' is meant to be shown to Handan City. If you fire it now, they'll think it's an early spring thunder."

"Isn't each cannon equipped with two rounds? Can't we fire one at night?"

"No, no, everyone gets their share. These ragtag soldiers don't deserve such good guys."

Hearing their conversation, Emperor Jingtai simply sat there, grabbed a handful of fried rice from an iron pot, and chewed it with a crunching sound. After a moment of silence, he said, "Actually, I'm also quite curious to know just how powerful that thing really is."

This wasn't just him making things up; he'd never seen a cannon this size before. It was supposedly a defensive cannon from Fuliang, and it would never have been fired if it weren't to bolster the image of this dog emperor. In the end, it would have become a tourist attraction.

The muzzle was so thick that even if he tucked in his arm, he could fit inside it. You can imagine what the effect would be if this thing were fired.

"Your Majesty, this is a fifteen-inch cannon. The shells are taller than a person, and each one costs nearly 100,000 taels of silver. It's really not safe to fire it..."

Immediately, someone stepped forward to persuade him, and upon hearing this, Emperor Jingtai stood up abruptly: "Stop...stop the young master?"

"Ninety-three thousand seven hundred and six mace."

"hiss……"

Emperor Jingtai gasped in shock. The cost of making each one was nearly 100,000 taels of silver, and with shipping costs, it would be at least 110,000 taels.

Knock, wow...

Everyone talks about extravagance and debauchery, but even the most extravagant lifestyle can't compare to the excitement of this spectacle. Not even counting the cannons, just those twelve shells alone are worth over a million taels of silver.

"We can't fight, we can't fight." Emperor Jingtai waved his hands repeatedly: "Every penny saved is a penny earned. Let's just fight a regular battle. It's not worth it, brothers."

Since Emperor Jingtai took charge of the military camp, he naturally became stingy. As the saying goes, one doesn't know the value of firewood and rice when one is in charge. No matter how ambitious or curious he was, he couldn't easily burn that 100,000 taels of silver.

Meanwhile, the Yang Ying Alliance forces on the opposite side, having already completed their encirclement, were not worried at all. Some were even drinking and making merry in their tents, and putting the captured civilian women into their tents for their own pleasure, showing no regard for the battle that was right in front of them.

However, it's not surprising that they were like this. With a total of nearly 180,000 men, plus the help of the southward-bound grassland cavalry, nearly 300,000 against 40,000, how could they possibly lose when they were like dragons charging at their faces?
Tomorrow, all they need to do is capture the local chieftain alive, seize the honor of being the first to charge and kill the enemy general, and then exchange it for greater benefits. Besides, this time the enemy is being led by the emperor himself. Capturing the enemy general is already a historical achievement, but if they imprison the enemy emperor, wouldn't that make them famous for all time?
So they were happy. As for the alleged sexual misconduct of women in the military tent, well... the world would be theirs in the future, so what did a few women matter?

After a peaceful night, dawn finally broke. As was customary, someone was to come and challenge them. So Yang Ying's troops gathered a group of loud-voiced ruffians and came to the front of the Wei army's lines to hurl insults and profanities at them. They cursed Tuoba Jing by name, leaving themselves no way out.

"Your Majesty, calm down..."

The man inside bowed and said to Emperor Jingtai, "This is a challenge." "Why should I be angry?" Emperor Jingtai was having breakfast in the ground fortifications. He was wearing armor and sitting in the trench with ordinary soldiers, drinking freshly boiled soy milk with white sugar cakes soaked in it. It was simple, but the taste was not bad.

"I'm drinking piping hot fermented rice water and eating sweet flatbread in this cold winter, feeling warm all over. They probably don't even have a decent meal, and they're talking nonsense in this freezing wind. Does that make me angry?"

Emperor Jingtai laughed heartily, blew on the soy milk in his bowl, and took a sip with relish: "Are the soldiers all well-fed?"

"The supplies are sufficient, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"That's good." Emperor Jingtai nodded in satisfaction. "So, we'll just wait here for their attack?"

"General Shan's plan is this: since we are outnumbered, the best course of action is to adopt a defensive posture, first eliminate a group of enemy troops in a defensive posture, and then seize the opportunity to launch a counter-encirclement."

"Oh right, the manual says that when fighting outnumbered, the worst thing you can do is act rashly. You should concentrate your strengths and attack the enemy's weaknesses."

Emperor Jingtai is not flustered at all. His only thought is to see if the content of the war books he has been reading can be fully applied to the battlefield.

Of course, there's also the question of how those strange and unusual pieces of equipment were actually used in combat.

Meanwhile, Li Mi in Handan was also closely monitoring the standoff between the two sides, because the place where they were preparing for a major battle was only twenty miles outside the city, which could be seen with the naked eye on a clear day. At present, it was clear that the Tian Wei army was surrounded from all sides and was being strangled from multiple points.

However, the Tian Wei army did not advance rashly, but slowly deployed its forces to form a defensive posture, which puzzled Li Mi. If there were cities to defend, then their current strategy would be correct, but they had no cities, only open fields outside, and they had actively expanded their defensive perimeter. Wasn't this particularly vulnerable to being overwhelmed? With such terrain and such a defensive posture, once one route was cut off, the entire army would be wiped out.

The proper strategy should be to organize a vanguard, choose one path to charge first, and break the enemy's encirclement. Otherwise, if this approach continues, the battle will inevitably end in defeat.

"Sigh...it seems I'm still an amateur. My elite troops, my two cavalrymen from Jibei..."

Li Mi sighed softly and shook his head. But there was no time for lamentation now. In a little while, he would be facing the biggest turning point in his life. If the Tian Wei army won, he could rightfully open the city gates and welcome the royal army.

If he were to lose, he knew that the next force he would face was Xia Daosheng's welcoming army, which might also be the most powerful army in history.

At that time, given Xia Daosheng's methods and style, the best treatment he could receive was placing him on the top level when casting the Jingguan (a type of mound of stones).

Li Mi was a hero in his time, and now, standing on the city wall, despite the howling wind, his palms were already soaked with sweat.

Suddenly, the sound of horns seemed to come from all directions, and the various legions surrounding the Tian Wei army launched their attacks. They continuously hurled burning rockets and stones into the Tian Wei army's positions, followed by a tidal wave of charging soldiers.

Emperor Jingtai was dragged back into the bunker by his head. Then a firework exploded on the battlefield. The sound was so loud that even Li Mi in Handan was startled.

As the fireworks exploded, the soldiers in the trenches immediately leaned out and began to attack the invading enemy. The crackling sound of firearms, like popping beans, rose and fell. The soldiers charging from all sides had never seen such a scene before. They were still far away when they suddenly fell to the ground and could not get up. Coupled with the terrifying sound and light effects, the formation almost became unstable for a moment.

But soon small groups of cavalry from behind also circled around, clearly preparing for a cavalry charge. However, they had no idea what kind of surprise the new army had prepared for the cavalry...

The outer barbed wire fence, coupled with the engineering corps' tripwires, meant that the cavalrymen faced the greatest crisis of their lives as soon as they entered the area.

Putting aside everything else, the barbed wire laid in circles was already too much for warhorses to handle; forcing their way through would only result in them falling over, their horses tumbling, and their skin and flesh being torn open.

Just as someone finally managed to break through the second line of defense, the sound of popping beans came over. Once this thing appeared, the battlefield immediately turned into a meat grinder.

Blood mist exploded in every corner of the battlefield. Li Mi's eyes widened immediately. He took out the monocular telescope that Emperor Jingtai had given him and began to observe carefully.

One after another, the bodies of those who charged into battle fell, without even a struggle. However, the allied forces' long-range support was completely ineffective against Tian Wei's defensive fortifications. The trenches and fortifications on the ground seemed to be designed specifically to counter these things.

Seeing this, Li Mi's expression was quite exaggerated. However, this was not the end, because at this time, things were being thrown out of Tian Wei's army formation. These things would always land around the catapults on the enemy's formation in perfect parabolic arcs, and then the catapults would turn into a ball of fire.

Although the coalition forces tried to put out the fire, they had no effective measures and could only watch helplessly as their weapons, along with some supplies and personnel, were consumed by the fire.

"Ming Jin withdraws his troops!"

The first wave of attacks failed, resulting in heavy casualties, but they failed to even break through the enemy's first line of defense.

The attackers quickly returned to their camp, and the allied forces could no longer be arrogant. They had originally wanted to achieve some kind of first-mover advantage, but they did not expect that the enemy's defense was as solid as an iron barrel. They did not even see a single person alive, and lost nearly 20,000 men.

Twenty thousand men! In the past, a whole battle might not have resulted in the loss of twenty thousand men, but in less than half an hour of charging, twenty thousand men were lost.

For a moment, the air around Handan seemed to be filled with the smell of blood, and the atmosphere was grim.

"So that's how it is... I see." Li Mi put down his binoculars: "Blood flowed like rivers... the Trapped Camp deserves its innocence."

But this is just the beginning. Since it's a turn-based game, shouldn't it be Tian Wei's turn now?

"Left 370, cannons raised 52, 20 mountain guns firing in three rounds, first calibration round, fire!"

(End of this chapter)