The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 519: Hot Air Balloon Battlefield Application
On the sixth day of November, a chilly wind howled along the banks of the Taedong River. The northwest wind, which had been blowing since dusk the previous day until noon, finally died down, leaving the skies over Pyongyang, in the depths of winter, as clear as a mirror. The dark clouds and haze, like the unhappiness lingering in Emperor Wu Ding's heart, were blown away by the fierce wind, and the warm sunlight shone upon the Qi army camp, bringing a sense of peace and joy.

It's a good time to fight.

At three quarters past noon, after eating three lamb legs, two roasted whole geese, a pot of old wine, and several bowls of rice, Emperor Wu Ding put on special armor, carried the fifty-jin Liquan magic spear on his shoulder, and, surrounded by Pei Dahu and others, walked out of the central army tent and headed straight for the Qixing Gate three miles south.

The north bank of the Taedong River had been occupied by the Qi army yesterday. The fortresses and trenches built by the Korean soldiers in the wilderness outside the city were now in ruins. The arrow towers and shield carts abandoned by the Korean army were emitting wisps of blue smoke. The auxiliary soldiers of the First Corps waved branches and sticks, trying to put out the flames like moths.

"Your Majesty, their men put up a desperate resistance, hiding in the bunker's arrow tower and attacking us. It was all caused by the artillery battalion's divine fire crows that burned them down."

Battalion officer Qiu Guokun followed behind, breathlessly explaining to the emperor that he was only wearing a layer of cotton armor and had no weapons in his hands. Even so, he had to jog to keep up with the emperor who was holding a long spear and a long shield.

As Liu Zhaosun walked, he glanced at the gunners who were installing rocket mounts on the east bank of the river, frowning slightly.
"Tell Wang Congzhi and his men to stop firing rockets. Great Qi has come to reclaim lost territory. If they burn Pyongyang like this, what use will this city have to me?"

"If the attacking force suffers heavy casualties, find some surrendered Korean soldiers to jump into the trenches. These barbarians fear power but not virtue. Killing more of them will make them understand the etiquette of our Celestial Empire."

After Emperor Wu Ding finished speaking, the crowd of followers around him did not object to the prisoners filling the trench. It was not because they did not dare to disobey the order of the retired emperor, but because the retired emperor walked too fast and these people could no longer keep up.

Pei Dahu quickly sent a messenger to the artillery camp to convey the imperial edict of Emperor Wuding.

"How many casualties were there in your battalion yesterday?"

Liu Zhaosun nodded to Qiu Guokun. As the spearhead of the First Corps, the First Battalion was the first to fight in every battle.

"Your Majesty, we killed over 570 enemies. Eighteen of the first battalion were killed and forty-two were wounded."

Qiu Guokun gasped for air and tried to answer the question posed by the Emperor as quietly as possible. The First Battalion of the First Corps had a full strength of 1,200 men. Such minor casualties would be considered a glorious victory for any army, but for the First Corps, it was already a heavy loss.

Sure enough, Liu Zhaosun frowned even tighter, and although he said nothing, the Liquan magic spear in his hand made a clanging sound.

Pei Dahu thought the emperor was going to be angry, so he hurried forward to plead with Qiu Guokun.

"Your Majesty, you may not know that the Korean soldiers are no longer what they used to be. Their firearms are more powerful, and they have some small cannons. Their forts are quite solid, and their construction style and firepower are exactly the same as the Japanese pirates we encountered when we fought against Japan."

Emperor Wu Ding was silent for a moment, then said meaningfully:

"It seems that Li Jong hasn't wasted these past few years. He has hooked up with Tokugawa Hidetada."

What made Liu Zhaosun angry and puzzled was that these two mortal enemies who had been fighting each other to the death were now joining forces to deal with the State of Qi.

Wei Zhao added, "Your Majesty, Liu Xingzuo reported back today that the Mino Guard's spies on Tsushima Island witnessed a large group of Japanese pirates crossing the Tsushima Strait and landing in southern Korea, numbering over a thousand."

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent benefits.

When Emperor Wuding heard the four words "Tokugawa Hidetada", the expression on his face changed clearly. Everyone thought that the emperor would be furious after hearing that Japan intervened in the Korean War, but unexpectedly Liu Zhaosun was unusually calm. He suddenly stopped and looked at Hou Daxueshi (Qian Qianyi was too weak to walk) and the high priest who were left far behind.

"How many years has it been since the Niuguan Treaty was implemented?"

Because the distance was too far, Hou Xun could not hear clearly what the emperor said, so Liu Zhaosun could only shout loudly:
"I ask you, how much silver does the Shogun owe me over the years?"

The high priest heard it clearly. This mathematical genius with a strong memory and a photographic memory counted on his fingers and immediately replied:

"Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, the shogunate has stopped paying compensation to Da Qi since the Shaanxi bandits attacked Beijing. Furthermore, they've stopped paying compensation for copper, cloth, and seafood. They also destroyed the gold and silver mines developed by Yuan Chonghuan in Kyushu... According to the Niuguan Treaty, the annual amount of five million taels of silver, plus the current interest on the Da Qi Chamber of Commerce, plus the various losses caused to Da Qi by Japan's betrayal, over the past five years, the Tokugawa shogunate has owed Your Majesty the Emperor a total of four hundred and fifty million taels of silver in principal and interest..."

Liu Zhaosun opened his mouth wide when he heard this. Xie Yang, who had just caught up with him, put on the wig that had fallen off and agreed, saying that the high priest's calculation was absolutely correct.

"So much? Is our interest rate really that high? Am I like a loan shark?"

Xie Yang nodded first, then immediately shook his head vigorously.

Liu Zhaosun laughed heartily and removed the cloth sheath from the tip of the Liquan Divine Spear. The sharp blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight. He pointed the fifty-jin spear obliquely towards the Seven Stars Gate of Pyongyang City and muttered to himself:
"You owe so much, the Shogun will definitely not be able to pay it back, Tokugawa Hidetada. This time, I have no choice but to sell you to Pyongyang as a male prostitute."

All the confidants noticed the serious expression on Emperor Wuding's face when he spoke, and no one would take the words of the retired emperor as a joke.

The artillery camp's bombardment that lasted for half an hour finally ended. The sound of artillery fire continued from the top of Pyongyang City. Although it could not reach the Qi army, the enthusiasm for counterattack was very high. It seemed that the will of the defenders could not be completely destroyed by artillery suppression alone, despite being separated by the Taedong River and Mudan Peak.

"Bring me the map!"

Pei Dahu brought out a map of the situation around Pyongyang Prefecture, with length and width marked on the map.

Pyongyang has a circumference of about 16 kilometers and a total length of about 23 kilometers, which is almost the size of two Xiangyang cities.

"From the north, there are the Moran Peak and the Mansudae Hill as natural barriers, and to the east, west, and south are the Taedong River and the Pontong River."

After Emperor Wu Ding finished speaking, he summarized to everyone:
"From the south, it looks like a flat city; from the northwest, it looks like a mountain city. The artillery battalion bombarded from the north, but the shells hit the mountain! It's useless!"

"See the city walls and battlements over there, as well as the battlements, the general's platform and the water gate." Only when he was there did Liu Zhaosun realize that Pyongyang was a truly strong city, in no way inferior to Xiangyang.

The battle for Xiangyang lasted for half a year two years ago, and I don’t know how long the battle for Pyongyang will last this time.

"Move the artillery battalion to the south gate and fire from close range. This will allow us to take advantage of the speed of the field artillery."

Qiu Guokun stammered, "Your Majesty..."

"What's the matter?"

"The south is still in the hands of the North Koreans. The artillery camp can't get through. We have more than 20,000 people, but we can't surround them..."

Liu Zhaosun shook his head and said, "Alright, make them all stop."

At the command of the battalion commanders, the gunners stopped firing and began to clean the gun barrels.

Auxiliary troops came from all directions, piled up the cut wood, and began to manufacture siege equipment such as shield carts, ladders, and battering rams in front of Pyongyang City to prepare to cover the river crossing.

"Let the soldiers attack immediately. I will charge ahead and give them a surprise to boost the morale of the entire army!"

Pei Dahu and others wanted to dissuade him, but the emperor had already dragged his fifty-jin Liquan magic spear and carried a large shield onto the floating bridge covered with arrows.

Before they could get into the defenders' firing range, a hail of arrows came down, with the raindrops clattering down on the other side of the pontoon bridge, still dozens of steps away from the target.

"North Korea is good at archery." Liu Zhaosun sighed, and the second wave of arrows poured down towards the Taedong River, closer to him.

"His Majesty······"

Helpless, Pei Dahu had to follow behind.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were fan-shaped on the north bank of the Taedong River, forming battle formations. Battalion officers and captains blew bamboo whistles, and the Korean prisoners in the front row were driven to prepare to charge forward.

Instructor Sen Ti picked up the wooden trumpet, trying to liven up the atmosphere. At this moment, a cheer that resounded through the sky rang out from behind the formation.

The retired emperor stopped and looked behind him along with Pei Dahu.

Less than half a mile behind the artillery position, a huge reddish-brown object slowly rose in an empty wasteland. The outside of the balloon was shining brightly, like the moon in the sky, with a black dot hanging underneath.

Like a flying bird, it rises into the air and moves freely.

"I almost forgot about my new weapon."

~~~~~
"The high official from Qi is here! Pull the jackdaws to full capacity!"

On the top of the Qixingmen city wall, the crossbowmen fixed the arrows as thick as spears in the arrow slots, and Jin Shougang, the Longgang Yuhou of Ping'an Road, shouted orders.

One hundred soldiers stepped forward together, carrying the tow ropes on their backs and pulling hard. The huge hinge of the three-bow crossbow slowly turned, and the cow tendon ropes and pine wood were intertwined, making an unsettling friction sound. Under the pull of the towing rope, the front bow, main bow and rear bow gradually bent into a full moon, and the pulley connecting the main bow and the rear bow jumped gently. Finally, all the strength was gathered in the arrow groove between the trigger and the arrow tail.

This three-bow crossbow is an antique from the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang's army was approaching Liaodong, and the Mongolian forces fled from Korea. Various strange weapons were left in the Pyongyang arsenal, including the three-bow crossbow.

The three-bow crossbow, also known as the eight-ox crossbow, requires a hundred people to twist the shaft and string the string, and use a hammer to fire it.

The range of the eight types of crossbows recorded in Wujing Zongyao ranges from 140 to 300 steps.

The History of the Song Dynasty says that the range of the Song Dynasty crossbow was originally 700 steps. After being improved by Wei Pi, the range of the crossbow could reach 1,000 steps. The reason for this difference may be due to the different measurement units (big steps or small steps).

In line with the principle of making the best use of things, Pu followed the order and moved the crossbows out of the armory. He ordered the craftsmen to copy several of them and placed them on the top of the Qixing Gate to be used together with the artillery.

Use artillery during the day and crossbows at night. The effect will naturally be better if you combine white and black.

"Collide!"

A burly swordsman with a shield swung his hammer and slammed it hard on the trigger of the crossbow.

Two large arrows that had been aimed at the target in advance, one in front and one behind, were thrown like spears towards the ostentatious target on the floating bridge five hundred steps away.

This type of crossbow arrow can be fired directly into the city wall. Anyone who is touched by it will die.

The Korean soldiers on the city wall took out their goat hats and looked excitedly towards the pontoon bridge.

(End of this chapter)