White-robed Minister

Chapter 192 0190 [A Magical Artifact Made of Meteorite Iron]

The artillery was deployed after dark last night.

Each cannon was pulled by eight horses on a four-wheeled cart, with six strong men supporting the cart and four other strong men controlling the speed with a winch.

The speed of travel is less than 3 miles per hour.

The horse handlers and strong men were exhausted and went to rest wherever they could find a place.

Although the actual gunners were also exhausted, they were extremely excited as it was their first time on the battlefield.

In particular, the two math students transferred from the capital took out their rangefinders, quadrants, and gun gauges and started working on them under the watchful eyes of Bu Chao and the others.

These things were all developed by Xu Lai and Shen Kuo after multiple discussions through letters.

For example, a gun gauge is actually a slide rule. Complex trigonometric relationships are directly engraved on the gun gauge. The gunner only needs to compare the distance and angle to read the required charge and the estimated range.

Because they were not manufactured in a standardized manner, there were differences between the cannons, and each cannon had its own exclusive gun specifications and firing tables.

Not to mention the Qiang people in the village, most of the generals on the Song army's side had never seen a cannon in person. They watched the students and gunners fiddling with it with curiosity, seriously doubting the power of this thing.

Only Gao Zunyu had ever seen cannons, and he was full of confidence in attacking the stronghold today.

"Type 1, test fire!"

Bu Chao issued the order.

There were no telescopes at Bazhan Cape, so they could only vaguely see Song soldiers fiddling with strange things.

He had no confidence that he could hold out until reinforcements arrived. He figured he would hold out as long as he could, and if he couldn't hold out, he would surrender. Yu Longke surrendered to the Song Dynasty and did just fine.

That high-ranking Song official named Xu Lai is utterly despicable. Ba Zhanjiao is now absolutely certain that all the information he's gathered over the past six months has been deliberately released by the other side to deceive him.

"boom!"

A loud bang was heard at Bazhenjiao.

Then something seemed to fly past in a flash, followed by a crashing sound behind me.

However, the stockade was built on high ground, and the cannons fired upwards from below. The shells flew over the stockade walls and the guards, landing on a warehouse inside the stockade and smashing through its roof.

Bazangjiao and his followers were all a bit bewildered at this moment, not knowing what that thing was.

"Type 2, test fire!"

"boom!"

The second cannon began firing.

The shell grazed the top of a section of the stockade wall, sending rammed earth flying. The shell's trajectory was slightly deflected, and it slammed into the face of a defender.

It was as if a watermelon had been smashed with a hammer; the head exploded instantly, scattering red and white matter everywhere—a truly spectacular sight.

Two or three Qiang soldiers nearby were splattered with blood, flesh, and brains, some even landing on their faces. Not only were they stunned, but the Qiang people further away were also completely stunned.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, some people finally came to their senses and hurriedly left the top of the village wall, scrambling to run into the village.

These Qiang people cried out in terror for the names of ghosts, gods, and Buddhas.

Some people think the Song army sought help from ghosts and gods, while others think the Song army was protected by Buddha.

Bazhanjiao was far from the scene of the massacre and did not get a clear view of the situation immediately. He sent troops back to the village to quell the unrest, and personally cut down two terrified people who were running around in panic before the chaos gradually subsided.

"Type 3, test fire!"

Another loud bang, this time the firing angle was too low, and it hit the hillside below the stockade wall.

The men of Bazhenjiao carried the headless corpse down.

To be precise, it's not headless. The jawbone is still there; only the area above the mouth is missing.

Looking at the gruesome corpses before him, Ba Zhanjiao felt an overwhelming sense of fear: Could the Song army really have the power of ghosts and gods?

"boom!"

The fourth shell finally hit the stockade wall squarely. The Qiang people felt the entire section of the wall shaking, and most of them were too frightened to stay on it any longer.

Four shells killed only one person and hit the wall only once, but the impact far exceeded the actual battle results.

Because the Qiang people in the village had no idea what the Song army was doing. The entire village was shrouded in fear of the unknown, and some people even knelt down and kowtowed, begging the gods to appease them.

If the Song army seizes this opportunity to attack, they will surely be able to capture the fortress in one fell swoop.

But the Song army continued testing the cannons, as the generals wanted to see their actual combat power.

Yu Longke and his Qiang cavalry were equally terrified by the cannon fire. Then, they felt a surge of relief, thankful that they had submitted to the Song Dynasty so early.

"Your Majesty, surrender! We cannot defeat the Song people."

"Yes, the Song people must have invited ghosts and gods."

"..——"

Bazhenjiao was now in a daze, increasingly agitated by the commotion from his followers: "Where's Xinbo? Where is Xinbo?"

Sinbo is a Bon shaman.

Besides religious figures like Xinbo, some Qiang tribes also have traditional Shibi (who can communicate with gods and spirits).

The Bon shaman was equally frightened and was hiding in the house at the moment. Hearing the summons, he rushed over and gave a rambling explanation: "The Song army may have found some celestial iron with divine power. Please, shaman, use the celestial iron to make a ritual implement."

In the Bon religion's cosmology, the gods of the heavens are called "Zan". When the gods of the heavens fight with the dragons, lightning and thunder erupt.

Meteorite is the scrap of weapon fragments that fell to the ground during battles of the Bon religion. Bon shamans often make amulets or ritual implements from meteorites.

The sorcerer before them believed that the Song army had found celestial iron, and that it possessed powerful divine power, and had even crafted it into a powerful magical artifact.

Bazhenjiao hurriedly asked, "What should we do?"

The wizard shook his head and said, "There are many kinds of celestial iron, and each piece is different. Although I also have celestial iron artifacts, their divine power is not strong. But the Song army outside the village, their celestial iron divine power is terrifying. With such artifacts, no one can withstand them."

Upon hearing these words, the Qiang warriors around them lost their fear of the unknown, but instead developed a dread of the gods.

Bazhenjiao surveyed the crowd and found that morale had plummeted, so he had no choice but to send an envoy to negotiate surrender terms.

Meanwhile, two of the Song army's five cannons were struggling to adjust their angles.

There were no special adjustment parts; it was just a completely bare barrel. It was usually placed on a wooden frame for firing, and sometimes it was placed in a pit.

Shen Kuo was still designing the relevant components.

Even if the remaining three cannons miss, there's no need to make any adjustments; minor errors are normal.

As soon as the envoy from Bazhanjiao stepped out of the village gate, three cannonballs were fired at once. This time, all of them missed, and not a single one hit the village wall.

But the envoy was so frightened that he lay prostrate on the ground and scrambled down the hillside, shouting as he ran, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! I've come to surrender!"

Gao Zunyu smiled and said to the messenger, "Tell Commander Bu (Bu Chao) to stop the shelling."

A commander on the border of the Northern Song Dynasty could lead 250 to 500 soldiers.

Although Bu Chao only had five cannons, he still served as the commander. Not to mention the actual gunners, there were 75 strong men on standby just responsible for transporting the cannons.

The Qiang envoy was brought over, his eyes constantly glancing at the cannons.

"Is Bazhanjiao willing to surrender?" Gao Zunyu asked.

The envoy presented his conditions: "Our king says that if his property is allowed to be preserved, he will immediately open the gates of the stronghold and surrender. Moreover, he will persuade the tribes in the mountains to also submit to the Song Dynasty."

Gao Zunyu said, "Go back and tell him. I want all the grain, but I'll keep half of the wealth for him. He also has to hand over this valley, and the Qiang people in the valley area must be registered as ordinary citizens."

The envoy then cautiously inquired, "What about the nearby salt wells?"

Gao Zunyu rebuked, "Those are the salt wells of my Great Song Dynasty!"

The daily output of these salt wells is worth eight warhorses. How could they possibly return it to Bazanhorn?

The messenger hurried back to report the news.

Bazhanjiao didn't ask about surrender terms; instead, he was more interested in the cannons: "Can you clearly see the Song people's iron magic weapons?"

The messenger nodded and said, "I see clearly. It's thick and long, dark, and looks like it's made of iron."

The wizard said, "Then it must be celestial iron. The Song people are blessed by the gods, who bestowed upon them powerful celestial iron."

Only then did Bazang ask about other things, and upon learning that he would lose all his food, half of his wealth, the entire valley, and the salt wells, he was heartbroken.

Forget it, let's lower the price.

Even if the Song army didn't have the Heavenly Iron magic weapon, he estimated that he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

Before long, Bazhanjiao ordered his men to open the village gate, and he led his wife, children, and followers out to surrender, kneeling before Gao Zunyu.

This fellow, after all, possesses Tibetan "royal blood," and can play a significant role in the future. Gao Zunyu personally helped him up, praising him, "Your Excellency is so sensible; our Great Song will certainly not treat you unfairly. What are a few river valleys? As long as you achieve great merit, you will gain more territory and followers!"

Bazhenjiao thought it made sense; the west side was his younger brother's territory, and further west was his older brother's territory.

As long as you follow the Song army into battle, drive away your brothers, and then use your royal bloodline to pacify their followers, you can take back twice as much of what you have lost in the future!

Yu Longke is nothing. Is his bloodline more noble than mine? The Emperor of the Song Dynasty would definitely value me more.

Bazhanjiao asked cautiously, "General, may I touch—get closer and take a look at your celestial iron magical artifacts?"

"A magical artifact?"

Gao Zunyu saw him peeking at the cannons in the distance and burst into laughter: "You can look, you can even reach out and touch them."

Bazanjiao was overjoyed and led the wizard towards the cannon.

The wizard's eyes widened: "The Song people actually found so much celestial iron. This must be a gift from the gods, otherwise there couldn't be so much."

Bazhanjiao dared not reach out rashly; he circled the cannon, looking it over from all sides.

Then, Ba Zhanjiao ran back to Gao Zunyu, knelt down, and said, "General, I can write to my brothers and persuade them to surrender as soon as possible. The Great Song has a divine weapon that no one can resist."

Gao Zunyu asked, "What kind of 'teleportation iron' are you talking about?"

Bazangjiao hurriedly explained the mythology of Bon religion.

This ancient, primitive religion has a strong shamanistic style, while also being influenced by Buddhism.

Gao Zunyu planned to go back and discuss with Xu Lai the possibility of widely publicizing that the Song army possessed magical weapons made of celestial iron and that the Song emperor was protected by the gods. Perhaps, they could also bring over some eminent monks to exchange Buddhist teachings with the Bon monks.

Bazhanjiao was very proactive. In order to make a name for himself, he took the initiative to send people into the mountains after consulting with Gao Zunyu. The purpose was twofold: first, to recall the Qiang people who had fled into the river valleys in the mountains; and second, to persuade the small Qiang tribes scattered in the mountains to surrender.

In this battle, a total of more than 50,000 Qiang people surrendered.

The various Qiang tribes in the Hehuang region were shaken!

Although Bazhanjiao's followers are far inferior to Yulongke's, this guy has noble blood. If Muzheng were to die one day, Bazhanjiao might even be qualified to become the common leader of the Qiang tribes in Longyou.

The fact that Bazhanjiao was willing to submit to the Song Dynasty had a political significance that outweighed its military significance.

In the future, if the Song army marches further west and defeats the main forces of each tribe, it can quickly pacify the local Qiang people from Bazhanjiao.

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