You have truly caused me great suffering!

The news of the Dingnan Army's forced crossing could not be kept secret.

The Ever-Victorious Army quickly responded, after all, they were a battle-hardened force.

In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Ever Victorious Army was actually quite formidable.

However, they have never had a sufficiently powerful regime behind them to provide them with support.

So, along with Guo Yaoshi, they drifted like duckweed in this chaotic world, surrendering to one person one moment and another the next.

Now that they have finally seen an opportunity to own their own territory, everyone from top to bottom is eager to seize it.

Even if we don't venture into the Central Plains to compete for supremacy, we must still establish a firm foothold in this small territory.

Zhen Wuchen led his men to the camp and shouted at the soldiers, ordering them to rotate shifts in an orderly manner.

In his life, Zhen Wuchen has never been afraid of anything, even though he has experienced countless major events and has walked on the edge of life and death more than once.

However, he was somewhat timid in the face of the Dingnan Army's attack, because from the beginning he did not think that his side could win.

From his perspective, Dingnan Army was absolutely destined for greatness.

Before the Jurchens appeared, Zhen Wuchen thought that all the armies in the world were about the same and could fight against anyone.

However, the Jurchens completely shattered his confidence. Those Jurchen Tartars were so fierce and brave that Zhen Wuchen had personally witnessed how they broke through the heavily fortified positions.

With a gentle bump, the Song and Liao soldiers were utterly defeated and scattered.

When Guo Yaoshi was about to surrender to the Jin, Zhen Wuchen was very relieved, because he felt that no one in the world could stand against the Jin army.

It wasn't until the Dingnan Army appeared that the Jurchens retreated in disarray to the borderlands.

Today, Zhen Wuchen has come to war with the mindset of dying in battle. He has fought all his life, and this may be his last.

Thanks to the efforts made over the years, the Jihe River defense line is still quite solid, and he doesn't believe that the other side can easily break through it.

Zhen Wuchen dismounted, walked up the stockade wall, and inspected it back and forth.

He spent his entire life fighting in Youyan and Liaodong, where battles were basically about attacking and defending cities and military camps.

Therefore, he was very familiar with it, almost instinctively. With just a glance, he could give orders that came out naturally, and he commanded in an orderly manner.

His troops were also his old subordinates, and they worked together seamlessly and were mobilized in an orderly manner.

"They've finally made their move." Zhen Wuchen sighed inwardly, then gripped his spear tightly.

He wasn't quite sure why his elder brother insisted on resisting, but the Eighth Battalion of the Resentful Army had managed to preserve the foundation of the Ever Victorious Army, and it was likely that they would lose everything here.

Among the crowds crossing the river below, some boats unfurled white canvases on Parrot Island in the river.

Zhen Wuchen stared intently, but the distance was too great, and the river fog made it impossible for him to see clearly.

"what is that?"

A guard jumped down to investigate and returned after a while, saying, "General, that's a thunderbolt cannon."

"Thunderbolt cannons?" Zhen Wuchen frowned. "Thunderbolt cannons are just sitting there, they can only skip stones. Are they trying to use them to kill fish?"

Even catapults still posed some threat. However, Zhen Wuchen did not lower his guard; on the contrary, he became increasingly uneasy. He knew that the group opposite him would not go to such lengths for something meaningless.

Just as he was hesitating.

Suddenly, a flame flashed in the white mist!
A moment later, a tremendous roar resounded, and at the same time, an iron ball slammed into the front of the military camp, into the dense ranks of the Ever Victorious Army! In the center of several battle formations, as if swept by a strong wind, the whistling cannonballs bounced and flew through the crowd.

No one saw how the shell bounced. By the time those around them came to their senses, the dust kicked up by the shell was already rising violently, and many people had fallen to the ground. A sergeant's helmet exploded, his skull shattered, blood splattered, and he slumped to the side.

After a while, the terrified crowd began to riot.

Zhen Wuchen was dumbfounded; the power of this thunder cannon had far exceeded his imagination.

After the explosion, smoke filled the air, and a strange smell lingered over the military camp.

The armored soldiers who were originally responsible for blocking the crossing on the riverbank were suddenly blown open.

Although Zhen Wuchen was frightened, he still ordered his men to block the way, hoping that the Dingnan Army did not have many of these strange weapons.

The Dingnan Army did indeed fire only one cannon, but they were determining the location of the cannon fire. The target of that shot was actually the military camp behind these soldiers.

The several formations hit by the cannon fire fell into chaos. The military officers who saw it nearby were shocked and astonished, while people watched the riotous and screaming crowd in bewilderment.

Zhu Lingling was also taken aback by the power of the new cannon. When he heard that the Prince of Dai was using bronze to make the cannon, he was actually a little skeptical.

The craftsmen from Taiyuan Institute of Technology reloaded the cannon, and this time it was no longer a single-shot cannon.

Moments later, many dazzling flames lit up on the east bank of the Ji River!
A moment later, the sound of cannons boomed loudly.

On the small island in the water, the Dingnan Army lined up three rows of cannons, their flashes of light amidst the thin mist and smoke perfectly aligned.

The gunners from Taiyuan Institute of Technology had only ever blasted dirt before; this was their first time blasting people.

However, they showed no pity for the tragic situation on the other side of the river; all they felt was a desire for military merit.

Seeing that the soldiers on both sides were terrified by the power of this thing, Zhu Lingling suddenly drew his sword and shouted, "Long live the Prince of Dai!"

His shout was quite cunning; it essentially attributed the power of the new cannons to Chen Shao, thereby maximizing its morale-boosting effect.

If the people we follow are not destined by fate, why would they suddenly produce such weapons?

This is divine punishment, a punishment for those who do not obey fate.

In an instant, his men shouted, and the morale of the Dingnan Army soared, while the people on the opposite bank became even more terrified.

The Prince of Dai was ordained by Heaven, and these things would inevitably reach their ears. In addition, the Ever Victorious Army and the Victorious Army had both fought in the Central Plains.

They naturally all knew about the deeds of the Prince of Dai.

A tremendous, terrifying scream and desperate cries for help suddenly filled the crowd.

Thick clouds of dust, stirred up by artillery shells, still lingered on the dry muddy riverbank.

The frightened warhorses neighed and galloped across the battlefield. One warhorse reared up, let out a panicked neigh, and suddenly charged out of control.

A wounded soldier had broken his leg, with the bone showing through the wound. He pressed his hand to his thigh, stared at his bones with a contorted face, and screamed in terror.

Some people hit by artillery shells lay motionless in pools of blood.

Even the most victorious and battle-hardened army had never encountered such a situation. In fact, these cannons were mainly used to breach city walls; firing them at crowds like this might not have been very lethal, but the sheer number of shots they made was terrifying.

On the wall of the military camp, under the central command flag bearing the character "甄" (Zhen), Zhen Wuchen, leaning against the camp tower, stared wide-eyed.

He was speechless for a long time, staring blankly at what had just happened. After a while, he rubbed his eyes hard to make sure that what he had just seen wasn't a hallucination.

"Damn it, what kind of cannon is this?" Zhen Wuchen finally managed to utter a sentence after a long time. This is a thunderbolt cannon?
Whose thunder cannon can shoot so far, with billowing smoke and flames shooting into the sky?

The shouts of "Long live the Prince of Dai" from the other side of the river made him pause for a moment.

The chaos before Zhen Wuchen's eyes already showed signs of impending collapse.

The tactics and steps that were so deeply ingrained in his mind suddenly became useless, leaving only a jumbled mess in his head.

It was just guarding the military camp. Zhen Wuchen had been doing this for half his life. In just over a year, he had personally set up the Jihe River defense line. Even when facing the Dingnan Army, he had the courage to fight.

However, the current situation has rendered all his experience useless because of a weapon that has never appeared before.

No matter what the situation, the commander must immediately come up with a plan, a series of tactical steps, and make a decision!

He temporarily abandoned all his feelings and forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart. He was deep in thought and planning, trying his best to find a solution.

The surrounding generals waited silently, even the usually most irritable deputy general remained quiet.

It had three cannons, but they weren't very accurate and their reloading speed was slow.

The damage it can cause is actually far less than that of a row of divine crossbows, but after it is fired, thick smoke billows and flames soar into the sky, and the impact on people's hearts is enormous.

Zhen Wuchen gripped the back of his left hand tightly with the fingers of his right hand, deep in thought with a heavy and tense expression.

We must take immediate and decisive action!
Now, morale on our side has plummeted to a point of widespread fear, and the army is on the verge of collapse—this is the most terrifying thing.

Even if the battle goes against them, or even if they lose this military camp, Zhen Wuchen can rely on other military camps to launch a counterattack.

But if the soldiers were to scatter, not only would defeat be certain, but it would also drag down the surrounding troops.

It is highly likely that this group of Dingnan troops will press on and storm into Pinglu.

Just like when Wanyan Zongwang attacked Zhang Jue, his army reached the walls of Pingzhou, but it was too late to turn the tide.

Thinking of this, Zhen Wuchen gritted his teeth, picked up his spear, and said, "Kill! Once we've fought our way to one place, those cannons won't be able to fire anymore!"

If we retreat now, this battle is destined to be lost, and the Ever Victorious Army will have to abandon Pinglu and rely on the terrain to defend Liaodong.

However, if the retreat is deployed now, the rear army may be able to preserve a lot of strength; the remaining troops may even be able to fight another major battle... if morale has not completely collapsed.

As for attacking, that's taking a gamble!
If we can drive these people back and hold them off on the west bank, we'll have a chance to wait for Jurchen reinforcements to arrive.

Retreating to Liaodong and losing Pinglu would mean the end of my elder brother's grand ambitions.

Thinking of this, Zhen Wuchen no longer hesitated. He didn't care about the cannons. Even if Chen Shao was destined by heaven, Zhen Wuchen would only fight for his elder brother.

Zhen Wuchen, carrying a long spear, ordered the drums to be beaten and personally led his troops to the front line.

At this moment, the morning mist dissipated, leaving only thick smoke. Zhu Lingling, who was directing operations on the island, also saw the situation above.

He recognized Zhen Wuchen, and at this moment he only sneered: "A fool's courage!"

No matter how brave you are right now, so what? Not only are you already showing signs of defeat, but even if you win, you'll soon receive news that a fire has broken out behind you.

And it's not just in one place.
-
A successful start to the new year.

Half a day after the start of the battle, news spread that the Dingnan Army had broken through the Ji River and entered Pingzhou.

People on the streets and alleys were amazed by one thing: every time the Dingnan Army rested and reorganized, its strength would surge again when it resumed fighting.

The people of the Central Plains didn't seem to feel anything about the land expansion.

After all, these places have not belonged to the Song court since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

Over the years, people have gotten used to Hebei being the border.

After today's battle, Cangzhou will be completely inland.

The common people only heard about the outcome of the war, but in the hall of the Marshal's Mansion, the battle reports were very detailed.

Old Zhong sighed, holding a report in his hand, and said to his former subordinate Qu Ke, "Back then, the Prince of Dai spent a huge sum of money, even using copper to cast cannons, which everyone thought was not worth it. I opposed it at the time, but now it seems that the Prince of Dai was right."

Qu Ke nodded and said, "The Prince of Dai is always full of ingenuity and can master any skill in any field without formal training. He is truly a genius of all time."

Speaking of the artillery, everyone present was truly convinced of its superiority.

In fact, both the Song and Liao dynasties had always attached great importance to the research and development of firearms, but none of them had done so as Chen Shao had.

He himself goes to the engineering college once a month. You should know that Prince Dai is not a person who likes to go out. He basically stays in the palace.

All the other places I went to combined didn't equal the number of times I went to the engineering school.

He also increased the rewards for craftsmen who made progress several times over.

Chen Shao had told them that the purpose of transporting bronze cannons to the front lines was to breach city gates and passes.

However, the battle report clearly stated that the artillery made its first appearance, intimidating the enemy and destroying their morale.

This was an unexpected surprise.

Chen Shao hadn't expected this, but it would probably be difficult to achieve such an effect in the future.

After all, this is its first appearance. In the future, when his enemies know that he has this weapon, they will not be so frightened that they will almost completely collapse.

They will also try to study or come up with solutions.

In the short term, the risk of this technology being leaked is not high, and artillery today is not a weapon that can completely change the battlefield landscape.

This is a special treat for its debut; it's unlikely to be available again in the future.

Moreover, the great effect this time was largely due to Old Zhu's quick thinking and that shout on the battlefield.

Inside the Marshal's Mansion, Chen Shao felt little joy; the victory was within his expectations.

This is just an appetizer.

The next curve was the sharp blade that pierced Guo Yaoshi's heart completely.

If the Jurchen troops were allowed to enter Liaodong, they could then deploy their defenses according to the terrain of Liaodong.

If our own people continue their methodical attack, we don't know how long it will take, how many people will die, or how much resources will be consumed.

Chen Shao attached great importance to Goryeo for this reason: its location was extremely important.

If Goryeo is utilized properly, it could be enough to turn the tide of the war.

At that time, Goryeo was embroiled in a rebellion.

Holding the intelligence in his hand, Chen Shao was somewhat undecided: should he support the young King Wang Kai, or help the powerful minister Li Ziqian ascend to the throne? (End of Chapter)