Chapter 175: Decisive Battle: Cannons Demonstrate Their Might, Naiman Army’s Blood Flows Like Rivers
Li Xiao muttered about Tiezi, preparing to use this eastern expedition as an opportunity to turn Tiezi into scrap iron.
However, Li Xiao did not expect that Temüjin was currently in such trouble that he had no energy to participate in the Battle of Naiman.
In front of Jamukha’s camp by the Argun River, fine horses neighed, and dust flew.
Jamukha, wearing a black mink cloak and a saber hanging from his waist that gleamed coldly, stood outside the tent, his gaze sweeping the distance like a hawk.
At this moment, the leaders of various tribes began to arrive, and the soldiers they brought camped around the tents. Suddenly, this grassland was filled with numerous tents, and the atmosphere was tense.
Megucien, the remnant leader of the Tatar tribe, arrived on a dark red horse and was the first to enter the tent.
His face was full of flesh, and his eyes were filled with hatred: “Brother Jamukha, that scoundrel Temüjin destroyed my Tatar tribe. If this hatred is not avenged, I swear I will not be human.”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone from the Taichiud tribe also snorted coldly: “Temüjin’s power is growing. If we don’t eliminate him soon, he will become a great threat. Let’s unite and make him know our strength.”
Not long ago, the Taichiud tribe was annihilated by Temüjin, and their leader, Tarkhutai, was killed. Most of the remaining people returned to the Kiyan tribe.
However, Tarkhutai’s son escaped with some soldiers.
He came to Jamukha’s army, preparing to unite with the leaders of many tribes to eliminate Temüjin and avenge the Taichiud tribe.
Toqto’a of the Merkit tribe also echoed: “Temüjin relies on the Jin Dynasty and intends to dominate the grassland.”
“How can we fear him? This time we unite, we will surely uproot him.”
Jamukha listened to everyone’s words, a faint smile appearing on his face.
He was sworn brothers with Temüjin, and it was he who had helped Temüjin when he was at his lowest.
When Temüjin’s wife was snatched away by the Merkits, it was also he who led people to help him get his wife back.
But how had Temüjin treated him?
He had used his trust in him to seize his people and even shot and killed his own younger brother.
Jamukha and Temüjin were no longer the andas they once were.
Moreover, there could only be one king of the grassland.
Over the years, with Ong Khan’s protection, the Kiyan tribe’s strength had grown stronger and stronger, becoming one of the most powerful forces in the Eastern Grassland.
Jamukha was the leader of the Jadalan tribe, and Temüjin’s power directly threatened the safety of the Jadalan tribe.
Therefore, Jamukha united everyone and prepared to destroy Temüjin.
“Everyone, now we share a common enemy. As long as we work together, Temüjin will surely be defeated!”
“I have found out that Temüjin is stationed in the area of the Shilijin River.”
“Let’s combine our forces and attack swiftly, catching them off guard.”
Everyone nodded, and sounds of agreement rose from the tent.
Afterwards, Jamukha made detailed deployments to other generals, arranging reconnaissance, defense, logistics, and other matters.
After everything was arranged, he walked out of the tent, looking at the gloomy sky in the distance, and secretly vowed, “Temüjin, the battle between you and me has only just begun.”
The Battle of Kuitian broke out, and Jamukha led the Nine Tribes Allied Army to launch an attack on Temüjin’s tribe.
Temüjin responded hastily and then sent someone to ally with the Kereit tribe.
He persuaded Ong Khan of the danger of interdependence, and finally Ong Khan was moved.
He believed that Temüjin could not be allowed to be defeated by the Jamukha allied army, but he was unwilling to miss the opportunity to retaliate against the Naiman tribe.
Therefore, Ong Khan decided to stay with the Kereit tribe and sent his son Sangkun to lead troops to the Naiman tribe.
Do not rush to engage, act according to the situation.
If the Naiman tribe wins, continue to hold back and guard against a surprise attack from the Naiman tribe.
If the Naiman tribe is defeated, take this opportunity to attack and compete with the Jin Prefecture Army for the Naiman tribe’s land and population.
But if both sides are mutually destroyed, hehe~
Ong Khan would directly abandon Temüjin, lead the Kereit army westward, forcefully annex the Naiman tribe, and even wanted to visit Jin Prefecture of the Liao State.
At this moment, Li Xiao was completely unaware of the war in the Eastern Grassland, only regretting not being able to see Tiezi.
How he wished he could cut off Tiezi’s head with his own hands!
Meanwhile, facing the aggressive Jin Prefecture Army, Sun Khan and Buyiru Khan, the two brothers, once again joined forces.
“Baibuhua, it’s been a winter, and you’ve gotten fatter.”
“You’re almost a fat pig.”
Buyiru Khan, riding on his horse, taunted Sun Khan from afar.
Upon hearing this, Baibuhua’s face instantly darkened, and he gritted his teeth and said, “Damn bastard.”
Tuoteboluo, this guy, always starts his first sentence upon meeting with mockery of his weight.
He also said that he could no longer ride a warhorse and should hand over Sun Khan’s throne as soon as possible.
“Tuoteboluo, don’t be smug. No matter what, I am still the legitimate Sun Khan.”
“The Khanate you seized through despicable means, what is there to boast about.”
The two brothers began to quarrel as soon as they met, but in reality, they were in a love-hate relationship.
It was a perfect example of brothers fighting within the walls.
“Hmph, Baibuhua, don’t think I’ve forgiven you.”
“I just don’t want our Naiman tribe’s century-old foundation to be destroyed in our generation,” Buyiru Khan said with a snort.
Sun Khan’s expression also softened, and he said in a deep voice, “Yes, no matter how much we fight for power and profit, we are still brothers.”
“But the people of Jin Prefecture want to destroy us Naimans.”
Buyiru Khan sneered, “I heard that Xiao Simo was seriously injured and has been holed up in Yemili, not daring to come out. I didn’t expect him to send a beardless kid.”
Sun Khan frowned upon hearing this, “Tuoteboluo, don’t be careless.”
“This time, the Jin Prefecture people have come aggressively and have already destroyed more than a dozen tribes. They are very difficult to deal with.”
Afterwards, the two brothers discussed their battle plan.
The plan of sowing discord would definitely not work. Although Jin Prefecture Governor Li Xiao was a young boy, he was not foolish.
Xiao Simo had already fallen for the trick once, so Li Xiao would definitely not trust Tuoteboluo again.
Thus, the two brothers could only choose to fight head-on.
In large-scale army operations like this, every move they made could be under the enemy’s surveillance, and there were not many clever strategies to employ.
In the end, it would still come down to sheer strength.
After saying this, Buyiru Khan thought of Jamukha’s envoy.
“Those people in the Eastern Grassland are restless again.”
“Not long ago, Jamukha sent someone to contact me, preparing to deal with the Kiyan tribe together.”
Upon hearing this, Sun Khan’s face revealed a look of disdain: “Jamukha of the Jadalan tribe?”
“The leader of the Kiyan tribe, isn’t his name Temüjin?”
“Hmph, a bunch of smelly barbarians.”
Although they were all on the grassland, the Naiman people considered themselves descendants of the Turks and looked down upon the tribes in the east.
Even the Kereit tribe, in the eyes of the Naiman people, was merely a more powerful, lowly race.
They were not comparable to the noble bloodline of the Naiman people.
“It is Temüjin, a very formidable young man, Ong Khan’s adopted son,” Buyiru Khan nodded and said.
“I was originally persuaded by Jamukha and was preparing to lead troops to the east.”
“I didn’t expect the people of Jin Prefecture to come looking for trouble~”
Historically, Buyiru Khan’s Northern Naiman army also participated in the Battle of Kuitian.
After being defeated, he was also the most severely pursued by Temüjin.
If Sun Khan had not sent troops to support him in time, Buyiru Khan might have been captured by Temüjin at that moment.
And now, Li Xiao had indirectly helped Temüjin by tying up Buyiru Khan, thus reducing his pressure.
However, on the other hand, the Kereit army could not, as in history, be fully committed to the eastern front.
Instead, a portion was left to deal with the Naimans.
Therefore, Temüjin’s situation was not much better than in history.
“Let those barbarians fight among themselves. It would be best if they all died off, and the grassland would be peaceful,” Sun Khan said with a look of disgust.
Afterwards, the armies of the two brothers, Sun Khan and Buyiru Khan, merged, preparing to meet the attack of the Jin Prefecture Army.
Among them, Sun Khan’s army had about twenty thousand men, and Buyiru Khan had nearly fifteen thousand.
Facing the aggressive Jin Prefecture Army, the two brothers had gone all out, making a great sacrifice.
…
At Mount Wulanhuhe, amidst the rolling hills, the sounds of slaughter ended.
Just now, scouts from the Jin Prefecture Army and the Naiman Army had a small-scale skirmish here.
The Jin Prefecture Army was fully armed, wearing thick cotton armor, and wielding strong bows and long spears.
In close combat, the Naiman’s long spears found it difficult to inflict fatal damage on the cotton armor, while the hooked scythe spears forged with Hexi Steel easily pierced the Naiman’s leather armor.
In just a few exchanges, eight out of the ten Naiman scouts were killed.
The remaining two, seeing this, turned and fled in terror.
But with a few arrows shot, both fell from their horses.
“Cut off their heads and count them towards military merit. Search them thoroughly for anything valuable, and take all their warhorses,” the squad leader of the scouts ordered.
Scouts were the most dangerous type of soldier; the reward for killing an enemy scout was twice that of an ordinary soldier.
So, the heads of these Naiman scouts were very valuable.
Soon, the results of the scout reconnaissance appeared before Li Xiao.
“The frequency of our scouts encountering the enemy is increasing, which means the main Naiman forces are very close to us,” Da Hu said solemnly.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t find out the specific troop strength of the Naimans,” Er Hu said.
Li Xiao shook his head slightly, “It’s just around thirty to forty thousand men.”
“Even if they all come, my Jin Prefecture Army doesn’t care.”
After all, Li Xiao had brought cannons this time, which would definitely give the Naimans a surprise.
“No more waiting, prepare for a decisive battle!” Li Xiao said.
It would be best to achieve victory in one decisive battle and completely pacify the Naiman tribe.
…
Three days later, the main force of the Jin Prefecture Army and the main force of the Naimans met on a river valley plain.
There was no immediate engagement as one might expect; instead, both sides were making final preparations.
The Jin Prefecture Army was positioned to the west, and the Naiman Army to the east. It was noon, but a cold wind raged, and the weather was still very cold.
The Naiman soldiers were mostly wearing sheepskin jackets, their faces purple from the cold, their hands and faces covered in frostbite.
Even the lowly persons with lower status were only wearing thin, worn-out sheepskins, shivering in the cold wind.
But Sun Khan was completely indifferent to the feelings of the lower-ranking soldiers, not even noticing them.
At this moment, he was sitting in a luxurious war chariot, craning his neck to look at the Jin Prefecture Army opposite him.
“Why are those Northern Frontier barbarians wearing such colorful clothes?”
“There are red ones, yellow ones, and white ones?” Sun Khan asked with a frown.
Then, he let out a disdainful cold laugh, “Are these Jin Prefecture people here to perform opera?”
The outward mockery was merely a tactic to boost morale; in reality, Sun Khan’s respect for the Jin Prefecture Army had reached its highest level.
Based on the intelligence brought back by scouts during this period, the combat effectiveness of the Jin Prefecture Army was very strong.
In skirmishes between scouts, the Naimans rarely gained the upper hand without a numerical advantage.
“I hope the Northern Frontier barbarians are only formidable in their scout detachments,” Sun Khan said to himself.
Then, he looked up at the sun again. It was noon, and the sun was in the south.
However, this time was very unfavorable for the Naiman Army.
Because if the battle were to drag into the afternoon, the Naiman Army would be facing directly into the sunlight, which would greatly impact their combat effectiveness.
Therefore, Sun Khan immediately gave the order: “Pass the order to General Komudor, attack!”
On the other side, the Jin Prefecture Army was basically arranged into three parts, according to military towns.
The First Division, personally led by Li Xiao, served as the central army, with the other two divisions on its left and right.
In the center of the army, amidst a sea of yellow, Li Xiao, on horseback, stood on a high slope.
Compared to the yellow cotton armor of ordinary soldiers, his cotton armor, besides having a red cloth strip sewn along the edges and seams, also had unique patterns of the Great Governor of Jin Prefecture embroidered on the chest and shoulders.
The edge of his yellow tasseled helmet was also carved with patterns of mountains and rivers, very exquisite.
In this way, amidst the vast army, Li Xiao was not particularly conspicuous, but ordinary soldiers could recognize him at a glance.
“The number of Naiman troops seems a bit small.”
Li Xiao observed the opposing army with a telescope and murmured,
“Sun Khan and Buyiru Khan’s armies, totaling only twenty-five thousand men?”
Having fought so many battles, Li Xiao could estimate the approximate troop strength at a glance.
He immediately ordered, “Send out scouts and expand the search area behind our army by at least thirty li.”
“Yes, sir!”
If the Naimans were truly planning any conspiracy, Li Xiao could roughly guess.
It would be nothing more than ambushes and sneak attacks from behind.
But Li Xiao was already prepared.
“Sun Khan?”
“I’ll eat you first.”
Li Xiao looked at the war chariot among the Naiman army with his telescope.
He could vaguely see what Baibuhua was doing, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see the expression on his face.
And at this moment, a low horn sound suddenly echoed across the grassland.
“Woooooo~”
“The Naimans are attacking.”
Through the telescope, Li Xiao saw that as the horn sounded, the soldiers at the very front of the Naiman formation urged their warhorses forward.
“Armored cavalry!”
The army for the first sequenced attack was precisely the Naiman People’s armored cavalry, numbering around eight hundred.
That’s already many.
After all, Xiao Simo’s Tiger Pounce Camp only had a thousand men.
The eight hundred Naiman Heavy Cavalry began to charge, their speed increasing, kicking up a dust storm behind them like a moving city wall, charging ferociously towards the Jin Prefecture Army.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom~”
A deep rumbling sound echoed across the land, the soil beneath their feet trembling, and some of the war horses in the Jin Prefecture Army began to nervously fidget.
Li Xiao then said, “Order the Divine Machine Camp to prepare.”
Jin Prefecture had already cast more than twenty cannons, which were essentially upgraded versions of ancient Red Robe Cannons.
Li Xiao selected a group of young soldiers and taught them the technology of firing cannons.
He also established a separate unit within the Jin Prefecture Army, named the ‘Divine Machine Camp’.
It was directly commanded by Li Xiao.
And at this moment, the twenty cannons had already been moved to the very front of the Jin Prefecture Army.
They were spaced dozens of meters apart, arranged in a single line.
Upon receiving Li Xiao’s order, Liu Zhong, a Centurion of the Divine Machine Camp, held up a command flag and shouted loudly, “Cannon positions ready.”
At this moment, all the artillerymen became exceptionally nervous, their palms sweating profusely.
Although they had practiced extensively around the training grounds, this was their very first time firing in a real battle.
Moreover, they were positioned at the very front of the army.
Facing the terrifying, overwhelming aura of the Naiman Heavy Cavalry, who wouldn’t be nervous?
If the Naiman cavalry charged over, they, the artillerymen, would undoubtedly be the first to die in battle.
The waiting time always felt long, until the Naiman Heavy Cavalry charged into the cannon’s range.
Liu Zhong, the Centurion of the Divine Machine Camp, forcefully lowered his command flag and shouted:
“Fire~”
As the words fell, the artillerymen ignited the cannons. A few seconds later, the twenty cannons simultaneously unleashed a deafening roar, and fire spewed from their muzzles like giant dragons.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom~”
“Boom, boom, boom, boom~”
The continuous booming sounds were as terrifying as the collapse of heaven and earth. One could only see streams of fire erupting from the cannon muzzles, like the most brilliant fireworks of this era.
Heaven and earth fell silent, with only the terrifying roar of the cannons remaining.
The land trembled violently, and cannonballs, carrying the scent of death, struck the Naiman Heavy Cavalry’s square formation like meteorites.
The Naiman cavalry charging at the forefront were directly hit by cannonballs, and men and war horses were instantly blown away by the blast wave. Limbs and bone fragments flew everywhere, creating bloody gaps within the cavalry ranks.
Immediately after, more cannonballs fell. Some hit the ground and rolled forward, instantly breaking the legs of the war horses.
Even more were directly hit, turning into mangled remains along with their horses.
For a time, the Naiman cavalry at the very front were thrown from their mounts, wailing incessantly, and cries of terror erupted continuously.
“What’s going on?”
“Damn it, what is that sound?”
“Ahala, it’s Ahala’s wrath.”
“Ahala is blaming us, that we shouldn’t be fighting the Jin Prefecture people.”
The Naiman cavalry shouted in terror, and the soldiers at the forefront halted their advance abruptly, descending into chaos.
The cavalry in the rear were also thrown into disarray by this sudden attack. Frightened war horses neighed, rearing their forelegs and throwing their riders to the ground.
Even worse, the war horses became terrified and ran wildly, crashing into the fallen heavy cavalry corpses ahead, causing further chaos and overturning.
At this moment, the cavalry formation was like a sand dune scattered by a fierce wind, descending into utter confusion.
Li Xiao stood on a high vantage point and saw this scene through his telescope, a smile instantly appearing on his face.
“The effect is quite good.”
At the same time, the surrounding Jin Prefecture soldiers were also greatly astonished.
“My heavens, is this the power of cannons?”
“The Naiman’s heavy cavalry can’t charge at all.”
“How can they shoot so far? Even the Divine Arm Crossbow can’t reach that far.”
“Excellent, with these cannons, who can be our Jin Prefecture Army’s opponent?”
The Jin Prefecture soldiers were filled with joy and surprise.
They had known about the existence of the Divine Machine Camp for a long time.
They had also seen these twenty cannons, but they didn’t understand why such great effort was made to transport them from Jin Prefecture.
Now, they understood.
So, the power of cannons was terrifying to this extent.
They could cause enemies to fall from their horses even from a thousand meters away, and even reduce them to complete annihilation.
Compared to the Jin Prefecture Army’s surprise, the Naiman on the opposite side were utterly terrified.
As soon as the cannons fired, the Naiman Sun Khan immediately stood up from his war chariot, looking towards the front with shocked eyes.
He then saw the Naiman Heavy Cavalry being thrown from their mounts and descending into chaos.
The Sun Khan’s face was blank, completely unable to believe the scene before him, muttering continuously.
“How is this possible?”
“Why is this happening?”
“What exactly is that thing?”
As the Naiman Sun Khan, he did have some understanding of gunpowder, but the limitations of the era made it impossible for him to connect gunpowder with the terrifying scene before him.
The scene completely surpassed the Sun Khan’s limited understanding. His first reaction was also that Ahala was enraged.
And at this moment, the Divine Machine Camp’s cannons finished reloading and began their second barrage.
“Fire!”
Liu Zhong shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice exceptionally loud amidst the roaring cannons and shouts of battle.
Compared to the tension of the first shot, the artillerymen firing the second cannonball appeared much more composed.
They had seen the destructive power of the cannons, and their fear of facing the Naiman Heavy Cavalry had largely dissipated.
They knew that as long as they kept reloading and firing.
The Naiman cavalry would undoubtedly drown in a river of blood.
