The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 256 The King's Bomb

The 5,000-strong vanguard battalion sped towards Hami City in the northwest.

It's over 600 li (approximately 300 kilometers), which isn't far, but it'

The most common scenery along the way is desert and Gobi.

There wasn't a single patch of green.

Steep mounds, dried-up rivers and lakes.

Before even reaching Hami City, we could see the snow-capped mountains in the distance, which looked like they were wearing a "white hat".

The entire Hami Wei is located at the eastern end of the snow mountain range, and is divided into north and south by the snow mountain.

Hami City is located at the southern end.

It is a city built in an oasis.

Hami City, once the capital, is not large in area.

The city wall was about 12 li in circumference, 2.5 zhang high, and 2.4 zhang wide. The moat was about 2 zhang wide and 1.2 zhang deep.

There was nothing to cover the city; it was completely empty.

Before the vanguard of the western expedition even arrived, their presence had already been discovered by the enemy.

The horse archers on the city wall were now all in position to fire.

The Prince of Zhongshun, standing atop the south gate tower, squinted and carefully examined the banners of the Han army across the street for quite some time before finally recognizing them.

He asked his trusted general in a low voice:

"From which Han army did the Zhao banner come? How dare a mere few thousand men launch a full-scale attack on my Hami city? There has never been any conflict between Hami city and the Han army!"

The trusted general replied:

"Among the nine important border towns of Bei, only the general of the border town is surnamed Zhao! His ancestors had merit in supporting the emperor, and in this generation, he is a marquis. Perhaps... perhaps he came because of the holy war at the end of last year. I heard that the border town sent troops to aid Jinzhou Pass at that time."

King Chungshun felt an itch in his back molars.

So what if the ruler of the Kashgar Khanate was his own brother?

Both being legitimate sons, his brother feared that his younger brother would usurp the throne, so he exiled him to Hami City, the farthest city from the Khanate, early on.

As a prince exiled to the frontier, he was not allowed to bring more than five thousand households of personal guards with him.

With such a small force, they are only enough to fight minor skirmishes with the local tribes on a regular basis.

Fortunately, he was also a shrewd businessman.

Over the years, they have secretly maintained an army of over four thousand slaves.

All told, the Hami City Imperial Guard now numbers close to ten thousand!

The King of Zhongshun was very upset when he thought that the little wealth he had painstakingly accumulated was now going to be used to cover the Khanate's holy war.

Seeing the prince's bad expression, the trusted general comforted him:

"Your Highness, I noticed that the Khan's horses on the other side don't carry much baggage. Our capital was built by artisans over generations. If we hold out for ten or fifteen days, we can wear them down!"

King Chungsun's expression softened slightly, then he gritted his teeth and gave the order:
"Guard the city for me without interruption for twelve hours. As long as the Han army enters the firing range, shoot them. For every enemy soldier killed, I will reward you with five sheep after the battle! For every warrior who kills fifty enemy soldiers, I will reward you with a female slave and promote you three ranks!"

The city's guards cheered with joy:
"Awooo! We swear to defend the royal city to the death!"

"Kill fifty enemies, and you'll be promoted three ranks!"

Clearly, the royal guards, relying on the towering city walls and moat, completely disregarded the Han army that had rushed over from the opposite side.

Throughout history, it has always been easier to defend a city than to attack it!
Moreover, the enemy did not bring any siege weapons.

Little did they know, this was no ordinary vanguard battalion!
Why would anyone be so foolish as to rush into their firing range and build a new Great Wall with their flesh and blood?

That night.

Beneath the earthen walls and gates of Hami City, constructed with layers of rammed clay, the vanguard warrior king, Atu, was working diligently.

As the capital city, the foundation beneath the city walls was entirely made of huge and hard pebbles.

Only the Rat King's steel claws could do such hard labor.

Five miles outside Hami City, in the vast desert, the vanguard camp was in a relaxed atmosphere.

Gan Minglan gave the order:
"Eat and drink all the dried meat, biscuits, and water you have with you, then take turns resting for a few hours. Before dawn, this general will lead you into Hami City for zero purchases!"

The vanguard battalion was delighted.

General Gan never fails to do what he says!

Upon hearing the words "zero-cost shopping," they felt an inexhaustible surge of energy.

After General Gan's explanation along the way, everyone understood the order to openly rob the place perfectly.

Tsk tsk, that sounds rather elegant.

Anyway, they get excited every time they hear it!
Everyone says that their general is a jade-faced Rakshasa who brings good fortune, and anyone who follows her on missions will become rich.

This time, the target of the zero-cost purchase is a prince!
They're destined to make a fortune tonight!
And then there was that lively cavalryman, who shamelessly asked:

"General, the melons in Hamiwei are especially sweet. After the battle, can we eat as many melons as we want? These things are very precious. I heard that in the past, some Hu merchants would sell Hamiwei melons to Xijing City, and each melon would sell for at least two taels of silver!"

It's late June in the lunar calendar now, which is exactly the season for eating early-ripening melons.

Gan Minglan recalls that Hami melons seemed to be available from summer until late autumn.

With a hearty wave of his hand, he declared, "Eat! I'll make sure you eat cantaloupe for every meal! Until you're sick of it!"

"Ah! Can you ever get tired of eating melons? I can eat two in one meal!"

"Two melons are nothing! I can eat at least three!"

"."

It is said that in ancient times, carriages and horses were slow and the journeys were long.

Without the preservation methods of later generations, even high-ranking officials in the northwestern border towns rarely get to eat melons regularly during the season.

Fortunately, they came to Kansai!
We've arrived at this melon-producing region!
Just thinking about the legendary taste of cantaloupe makes even the salted jerky I'm chewing taste bland!
Wait!
In fact, they weren't made to wait too long.

King Atu worked exceptionally well for the sake of his new territory.

It was just past midnight.

The vanguard battalion heard a deafening sound.

"bang bang bang"

"bang bang bang"

"bang bang bang"

That was the sound of a thunderclap explosion that they were very familiar with.

Someone shouted:

"Look at Hami City over there!"

"Did the Rat King succeed?"

"With such a big commotion, they must have succeeded!"

"Quiet down, quiet down! Let Ang listen carefully, how many earth-shattering thunderbolts were detonated!"

"."

The vanguard battalion knew perfectly well that the total number of thunderbolts they brought did not exceed two hundred.

Are two hundred thunderbolts really that powerful?
Everyone listened intently, counting the number of explosions.

It's no wonder everyone was full of questions, because Gan Minglan had secretly mixed some personal items (micro-crystal bombs) into a pile of landmines.

It borrowed King Atu's claws.

She not only blew up all four gate towers of Hami City to ashes, but also destroyed a large section of the city's moat embankment.

Within a quarter of an hour, more than a thousand of the royal guards defending the city had been killed or wounded!

Which kind person would immediately throw a trump card at the other party?
(End of this chapter)