Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 535 Obey, Obey, Obey (Part )

Two thousand infantrymen and one thousand cavalrymen slowly dispersed to both sides.

The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation has been dispersed.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from the east.

They rushed past the Guande Hall quickly and headed towards the garrison camp on the west side of the Guande Hall.

Starting from the end of August, Li Chengqian ordered the Ministry of War to prepare for military exercises.

Soon, a troop camp... no, to be more precise, a small fortress appeared in the Forbidden Garden.

A thousand cavalrymen rushed through the Guande Hall and headed directly for the fort on the west side.

At this time, three hundred cavalrymen rushed out of the fort.

When the people in Guande Hall took a closer look, they realized that those were just upright straw men tied to war horses.

The two sides approached each other rapidly. At this moment, a thousand cavalrymen instantly raised their crossbows on the side of their horses and pulled the triggers at the opposite side.

A "buzz" sound suddenly sounded, and three thousand crossbow arrows shot out from the group of one thousand cavalrymen, and then hit the straw cavalrymen fiercely.

In an instant, most of the 300 war horses and straw cavalry were shot dead.

The next moment, the crossbows were lowered, and a thousand long spears were raised in a very short time.

The long spear swept across, and the few remaining straw cavalry were completely wiped out.

Finally the cavalry roared past.

Li Chengqian nodded calmly.

There is no need to say much about the power of the Tang Dynasty cavalry, but this is not the point.

The key point is the crossbows in the hands of these cavalrymen. They are easier to lift and more accurate to shoot, which allows the cavalrymen to have more time to raise their long spears and then charge directly along the gaps torn by the crossbows.

This can give you a considerable advantage on the battlefield.

This was something that all the veteran military officers present could see.

……

Li Chengqian turned and looked to the east, and the thunderous sound of horse hooves rang out again.

Three thousand cavalrymen came galloping from the east and finally stopped abruptly in the square in front of Guande Hall.

The next moment, three thousand cavalrymen dismounted from their horses at an extremely fast speed. At the same time, crossbows were quickly taken up from their horses.

The crossbow was placed on the ground, and the three thousand soldiers quickly sat down, then put their feet into the crossbow, followed by hooking the crossbow string with both hands, and finally falling backwards.

The crossbow is cocked.

With a "buzz" sound, three thousand crossbow arrows quickly rose into the air, directly crossed a space of five hundred steps, and finally landed heavily in the dock.

A dense rain of arrows fell from the sky with a loud bang.

The people who watched it felt their scalps tingling and their expressions excited.

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

Two more rounds of crossbow arrows shot into the air.

Nearly ten thousand crossbow arrows were shot down from mid-air, densely covering the ground in the fort.

Some even penetrated deeply into the stone wall.

Li Chengqian calmly turned sideways, while Li Xiang on the side clenched his fists tightly and even stood on tiptoe, wanting to see more clearly.

Li Chengqian smiled lightly and looked to the other side.

Changsun Wuji's expression had become serious.

He was a military general, so he could naturally see that the range of the new crossbow was fifty steps longer than before.

Don't underestimate these fifty steps, they are equivalent to killing thousands of enemies in an instant on the battlefield.

Especially when attacking a city, the safe distance they can tolerate will be much greater.

If there were 60,000 crossbows, and 200,000 crossbow arrows were shot at the same time, the city walls would be filled with defenseless soldiers.

Then after three rounds, the city is finished.

The image of Pyongyang City flashed through Changsun Wuji's mind.

He now finally knew what the emperor had done during the two months he was away.

Changsun Wuji looked forward. After all the cavalry had fired three rounds of crossbow arrows, they put the crossbows back on their horses and quickly rode away.

With a "creak", three heavy catapults were pushed over from the rear and finally stopped in front of Guande Hall.

Following closely behind was a huge carriage pulled by three war horses.

Three such carriages.

A huge iron ball was placed on each carriage.

After a closer look, I found that these iron balls were covered with countless one-foot-long iron spikes, which were so densely packed that they looked creepy.

"They are all stone balls, and then they are wrapped with iron sheets." Li Chengqian turned slightly and explained to Changsun Wuji and everyone else.

Everyone was slightly relieved.

If it is really a solid iron ball, how much iron would it take?

Li Chengqian looked forward. At this time, three iron balls had been hung on the catapult.

As the flag was waved, the next moment, the catapult roared. The iron ball, along with the hook and chain holding it, flew out at the same time.

In the blink of an eye, it had crossed a distance of five hundred steps and slammed heavily on the dock.

With a "bang", a corner of the dock was smashed by the iron ball. At the same time, the iron chain and the hook were all smashed into the dock, leaving a deep groove on the ground.

The iron ball rolled rapidly, piercing deep holes on the city walls and inside the fort.

This scene made even a battlefield veteran like Changsun Wuji feel his scalp tingle.

A murderous weapon, a murderous weapon.

Only then did Changsun Wuji realize that the real focus of today's martial arts performance of the Sixteen Guards was not the Sixteen Guards soldiers, but the innovative military equipment brought out by the Chief of Works and the Ministry of Works.

Changsun Wuji turned sideways and looked at Li Chengqian.

He knew that the emperor's "Kaogong Zhi" had never been completed, and they had been constantly producing good things over the years.

To be frank, if those things were not useful, they would not have been able to reach the city of Pingrang so easily when they attacked Goguryeo.

Now, it still hasn't stopped.

Who knows when and what good things will be produced.

For some reason, Changsun Wuji felt a hint of anticipation, but also a hint of inexplicable fear.

"Your Majesty, is this specially designed for the gate of Pingrang City?" Zhang Shigui on the other side suddenly spoke, looking at Li Chengqian curiously.

Li Chengqian nodded gently and said, "Pingrang City's walls are tall and deep, which means its gates must be high as well. If an iron ball like this is stuck directly into the gates, it will instantly break them apart. After that, it will be easy to break in through the gates."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Shigui bowed in admiration and said, "I'm afraid only the Tang Dynasty can produce something like this."

"Not necessarily." Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "If it's a solid stone ball, then of course it's true. But if it's filled with broken stones, or a grass ball filled with poison, then not only can it be launched far, but it's also just as powerful, making it easier to imitate."

"Your Majesty's imagination is so wild and imaginative that not many people in the world can think of this." Zhang Shigui bowed solemnly in amazement.

Li Chengqian smiled calmly and said, "All I have done is to prevent the casualties of Tang soldiers on the battlefield."

"It must be so." Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others all bowed.

At this moment, the rumbling sound of horse hooves rang out again in front of Guande Hall.

The remaining 3,000 cavalry and infantry rushed towards the ruined fort fiercely and broke out in a very short time.

This actually isn't anything good to see.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, then took a deep breath and said loudly: "Duke Lu!"

"I'm here." Cheng Zhijie, dressed in red and golden armor, stood up and bowed.

"I order you to immediately count out 1,500 cavalrymen, set out from Beiyuan, and rush straight to Tongguan, and then get the order from the commander of Tongguan to return to Chang'an." Li Chengqian looked at Cheng Zhijie solemnly.

"I obey your command." Cheng Zhijie bowed solemnly, then turned around and strode away.

"Duke of E." Li Chengqian raised his eyes.

Yuchi Jingde immediately stood up and bowed solemnly: "Your Majesty!"

"I order you to lead 1,500 cavalrymen to Dasan Pass immediately, and then get a warrant from the commander of Dasan Pass and return to Chang'an." Li Chengqian looked solemn.

"I obey your order." Yuchi Jingde immediately bowed and walked quickly down the Guande Hall.

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Zheng Rentai: "Duke of Susong County."

"Your Majesty!" Zheng Rentai bowed seriously.

"I order you to immediately lead 1,500 cavalrymen to Xiazhou in the north, obtain the handwritten order from Xiazhou Governor Li Dejian, and then return to Chang'an." Li Chengqian looked at Zheng Rentai with concern.

"Yes!" Zheng Rentai bowed and quickly walked down the Guande Hall.

The ministers around him looked stern.

From Tongguan to Dasanguan, and then to Xiazhou, it is almost the east, west and north borders of the entire Guannei Road.

Especially Xiazhou. If you go north from Xiazhou, you will be outside the Great Wall.

Li Chengqian's eyes swept through the crowd of ministers, finally landing on Cui Dunli, and he said calmly: "Mr. Cui, you are the Minister of War. Lead 1,500 cavalrymen to Ziwu Pass and capture the commander of Ziwu Pass and return."

"I obey your order." Cui Dunli stood up and bowed, then quickly walked out with the order.

Ziwuguan is the closest checkpoint to Chang'an among all the checkpoints.

Can return in the shortest possible time.

However, the importance of Ziwuguan cannot be underestimated.

South of Ziwu Pass is the vast Zhongnan Mountains, the rolling Qinling Mountains, and the Ziwu Valley in between.

The rest of the ministers all understood.

This time, the elite cavalry of Chang'an will have to run through the entire Guannei Road, from east to west and from south to north, in this military exercise.

……

Li Chengqian was dressed in black clothes and black armor, holding a long sword with a black sheath.

He looked up calmly.

In front of us is the Xuanwu Gate, the entire Taiji Palace, the entire Chang'an City, and the rolling Qinling Mountains.

The Tang Dynasty controlled the world from Guanzhong.

From today on, the entire Guanzhong is completely in his hands.

(End of this chapter)