Ye Qi Guanyin gave an order, and the seventy heavy cannons loaded with shells were pushed to a relatively gentle slope. The mountains covered the cannon bodies, and only the muzzles were pointed at the western bastion at the foot of the mountain. The gunners quickly turned the spiral to adjust the muzzle, and aimed at the Fort Geranje two miles away with musket gauges, musket rulers and moment gauges.
As soon as the Chinese military command flag was waved, seventy cannons opened fire, spitting tongues of fire towards the Westerners' fortress. The roar of seventy cannons was deafening, scaring away countless birds on the mountain. Seventy bombs were fired at Fort Relanje. Fort Geranje is not small, and almost all the artillery shells fell into the inner fort. After the bombs collided and bounced in the fort for a while, the fuse ignited the gunpowder in the shells, and the shells exploded one after another, sending sparks one after another in the bastion.
Seventy shells fired shot pellets flying everywhere, killing the arquebusiers hiding behind the fort wall one by one. The Dutch bastion was blown to pieces, and an unknown number of people died. The Western soldiers no longer dared to guard the city wall and all hid in the buildings. Only the artillerymen were still firing in the fort. The Westerners' twenty-seven heavy guns counterattacked. The western artillerymen aimed at the location where the fire had just appeared on the high ground and lit the matches of twenty-seven heavy cannons. Twenty-seven artillery shells were fired rapidly toward the high ground.
However, Ye Qi Guanyin's artillery fired downwards on the mountain. When shooting from above, the artillery has a great advantage, because even if there is no artificial barrier such as a turret, the cannon can be placed behind an invisible platform at the foot of the mountain, and only the muzzle needs to be exposed. If bombs are thrown from high ground, even the muzzle of the gun does not need to be exposed, and the artillery only needs to show its head and take aim.
The artillery firing down can easily observe the target at the foot of the mountain, while the artillery firing upward at the foot of the mountain cannot see where the cannon on the mountain is. Twenty-seven rounds of Western artillery shells were fired at the mountain, but they could not reach the cannon of Ye Qi Guanyin on the mountain and missed.
After firing one round, the gunners of Yeqi Guanyin immediately used brushes dipped in water to clean the barrel and loaded the barrel with bombs. The gunner then pounded the gunpowder with wood, inserted the bomb pellets, and pounded it again. After completing the loading, the gunner stood in front to observe the target under the mountain, take aim, and adjust the pitch angle of the cannon. The gunner poured a little gunpowder into the ignition point at the end of the cannon as ammunition, and then the gunners all stood on both sides, ready to fire.
Not long after the Westerners' ineffective shooting, the gunners of Yeqi Guanyin had completed loading. With a wave of the command flag, the gunner of the seventy cannons pulled the gun rope and ignited the cannon's flintlock ignition device. The black powder in the barrel was instantly ignited and turned into flames and air, violently pushing the bomb out of the barrel. The bombs were like meteors, shooting towards the turret of twenty-seven heavy guns at the foot of the mountain.
Amidst the rumbling explosions, at least two forts were hit by bombs and blown to pieces. After several rounds of firing like this, the Westerners lost seven turrets and became desperate. It won't be long before this fight continues, and their heavy artillery will be wiped out. They finally gave up the strategy of defending the fortress, gathered 1,400 soldiers, and attacked the Yeqi Guanyin troops on the high ground.
Although the Westerners knew that they were outnumbered, they hoped that Ye Qi Guanyin's troops would be vulnerable. It’s impossible for Ye Qi Guanyin’s army to be all elite soldiers, right? If the infantry sent by Yedi Guanyin this time is as vulnerable as the ordinary Song army, the Dutch's 1,400 men can drive Yedi Guanyin's troops into the sea.
Westerners poured out of the gates of Castel Geranje. Half of them were arquebusiers, with an ammunition bag slung across their bodies; half were pikemen, and their only weapon was a spear.
They formed a team outside the bastion and then attacked the high ground. Seventy guns were aimed at them and seventy bombs were fired. Twenty artillery shells hit the advancing red-haired troops, cutting through the crowd more than twenty lanes of flesh and blood, killing sixty to seventy Western soldiers.
However, the bomb was designed to hit forts and ships. The fuse was set relatively long and exploded slowly. Western soldiers had enough time to escape when they saw the bomb stop. After the bomb exploded, not many people were killed.
The Western soldiers trotted all the way and withstood four rounds of shelling. After leaving behind two or three hundred corpses, they finally rushed to the bottom of the high ground panting. In fact, by this time, the morale of the Westerners had been crippled by the artillery on the highlands, and they were now at the end of their strength. That is to say, the ferocity with which Yedi Guanyin refused to accept the surrender of Westerners at Chikan Fort scared the Western soldiers, otherwise they would have collapsed and surrendered with the white flag.
On the high ground, Yeqi Guanyin's three thousand riflemen were waiting for work. They loaded their bullets and stood in several rows, waiting for the Western soldiers who came out with all their might. At a distance of three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred and fifty meters, and still fifty meters away from the effective range of the Dutch matchlocks, the riflemen on the mountain started shooting. With a long trumpet sound, the first row of a thousand soldiers of Ye Qi Guanyin fired at the red hair one hundred and forty paces away. Amidst the crisp crackling sound of gunfire, flames and smoke suddenly enveloped the entire highland. A thousand bullets were fired like a storm, roaring towards the Dutch soldiers charging into the formation.
The bullets penetrated the jackets and uniforms of Westerners and penetrated the equally fragile flesh and blood of white people. In an instant, they claimed the lives of these European soldiers and ended them on a small island in the Far East. Blood arrows emerged from the soldiers who were hit by bullets, spraying red blood everywhere.
A red-haired man who rushed in front was shot three times, fell back without saying a word, and lost his life. A yelling Western officer was still waving his saber, but he was hit in the nose by a bullet and fell to the ground screaming. He was rolling on the ground holding his wound, and the blood sprayed out from his nose was all over the floor. His strength was getting weaker and weaker...
It was a massacre, with a single volley before the Westerners fell half their men in front of the line. Screams rang out everywhere, and together with the shouts of the fallen, it was like the background music of this battle. The Westerners were defeated in an instant, turned around and fled in all directions, panicking and choosing their way.
However, the volleys on the hill had not stopped before the Dutchmen ran a few dozen meters before the riflemen in the second row started shooting again. Another hail of bullets hit the Dutch, and 70% of the half of the Westerners who were still alive fell. The remaining three men abandoned their weapons and ran as fast as they could, finally escaping from the range of the riflemen on the high ground before the third row fired a salvo.
However, these sailors actually couldn't escape. The island was so big. Unless the Westerners rushed into the sea, there would be no way to escape in the subsequent pursuit. The main force of the Westerners was defeated, and the city of Relanja had lost its ability to resist. Yeqi Guanyin smiled, waved and said, "Enter Relanja City!"
There was no defensive force in Fort Relanje at this time. As soon as the army of Yegui Guanyin arrived, the gate of Fort Relanje was opened. The remaining more than 100 Western artillerymen, women and children in the fort knelt on the ground, pleading with Goddess of Mercy to let them live.
Ye Qi Guanyin waved his hand and said: "These red-haired men are all habitual pirates. They have robbed many places and killed many Han people. The women and children were left behind, and all the soldiers were shot." Two hundred soldiers from the trap group rushed forward and tied up the artilleryman. He was taken outside the fort and shot. The remaining soldiers searched the fort to see what the Dutch had left behind.
Finally, Ye Qi Guanyin found 110,000 taels of silver in the fort. This silver was probably earned from Japanese trade, and is all Japanese-style silver. Ye Qi Guanyin waved her hand and gave five taels of silver to each of the three thousand soldiers and two thousand fleet artillerymen who participated in the battle, making the soldiers raise their arms and shout with joy.
Only one soldier was injured in this battle, and the others suffered no casualties at all. I was really happy to get the bonus. After capturing the Fort of Relanjia, Ye Qi Guanyin was not prepared to occupy it. To occupy such a fortress, the defense requires at least several hundred people, which is a heavy expense. Yang Peng has a stronghold in Hsinchu. Whether traveling south or north, there is a transit station in Hsinchu. There is no need to add a foothold like Relanzhe.
There were some residents in the town next to Chikan Fort. After liquidation, it was found that there were 2,400 Han Chinese who had been reduced to red-haired slaves, 300 Chinese traders, and 1,100 Southeast Asians. Of course, the Han slaves were immediately freed. Those who were willing to go to Hsinchu could go to Hsinchu with Ye Qi Guanyin. Those who were unwilling to go to Hsinchu should go to Hsinchu first and wait, and then take a boat back to Fujian. But it is expected that most of these people will stay in Hsinchu after seeing the prosperity of Hsinchu.
Chinese traders are treated the same way. Eleven hundred Southeast Asians stayed in Relanje and were responsible for demolishing Fort Relanje and Chikan Fort. Although Ye Qi Guanyin was not prepared to occupy this stronghold, he did not want Westerners to come back and occupy it again. The Southeast Asians were temporarily used as hard labor by Ye Qi Guanyin, doing manual labor in demolishing cities. After demolishing the castle, Ye Qi Guanyin will load these Southeast Asians to Hirado. There is a Dutch trading house in Hirado, and Southeast Asians can return to the Dutch colony from there.
Ye Qi Guanyin dealt with the Westerners in Fort Relande and returned to Hsinchu with the fleet. He took Zhang Xingfang, Kou Zhun and a large group of students to continue inspecting Ryukyu.
His eyes turned to Prince Yan's Mansion in Tianjing New City.
It's late at night, the moon is shining brightly, the breeze is blowing, and the leaves are rustling. Yang Peng stood under the moon, hands behind his back, looking up at the bright moon in the sky in trance. The sound of gentle footsteps came from behind. Yang Peng retracted his thoughts and turned around. He saw that the girls had arrived in front of him. He couldn't help but smile, "Why aren't you sleeping?" Yang Jiumei said angrily: "You all How can everyone sleep peacefully without sleeping!" Yelu Hanyu glanced at Yang Jiumei and joked: "Jiumei doesn't have a big brother, but she can't sleep!" Yang Peng laughed, but Yang Jiumei was embarrassed and her cheeks were red. Staring at Yelu Hanyu, he said angrily: "Sister Yelu is so abominable, she always teases me!" Yelu Hanyu asked with a smile: "Isn't what I said the truth? Did I understand it wrong? Jiumei doesn't want the elder brother to be his wife. accompany?"
Yang Jiumei couldn't answer this question at all. Admit it, she did miss her eldest brother, and she would make him unhappy for no reason. Don't admit it, wouldn't it be embarrassing in front of so many people! For a moment, Yang Jiumei didn't know what to do and stood there with her face flushed.
Yelu Hanyu pursed her lips and smiled, rolling her eyes at Yang Jiumei, "You have a tough mouth. You clearly want your elder brother to death, but you just refuse to admit it!" Yang Jiumei's face turned red and she said angrily: "You are not the same!" Yelu Han Yu said with a bad smile: "This is an admission!" Yang Jiumei was stunned and couldn't help but look at Yang Peng. When she saw Yang Peng looking at her with a smile, she was so embarrassed that even her neck turned red, and her heart was pounding. He hurriedly looked away, feeling annoyed with Yang Peng in his heart.
Yang Erya asked Yang Peng: "Brother, what were you thinking about just now? So entranced!" Yelu Hanyu and Yang Jiumei couldn't help but look at Yang Peng.
Yang Peng smiled, turned to look at the bright moon in the sky, and said quietly: "It's nothing to think about some things in the past." All the girls felt that there was a secret hidden in the heart of the eldest brother. In fact, everyone had already I already had this feeling, but since Yang Peng didn't say anything, the considerate girls never asked him. Yang Peng turned around, glanced at the girls, and said, "It's getting late. Let's go back to bed. We'll get up early tomorrow morning!" The girls nodded.
At this moment, Wang Kai ran over from a distance. When everyone saw him, Yelu Hanyu said: "There must be some military situation coming in the middle of the night!" Wang Kai rushed to everyone, presented a letter with both hands, and reported: "Letter from the capital of Liao Kingdom! "
Yang Peng's heart moved, he reached out to take the letter, opened the envelope, took out the letter paper, unfolded it and read it. There was no expression on Yang Peng's face, and the girls couldn't tell any clues from Yang Peng's face. Yang Peng raised his head and said to the girls: "The battle between the Khitan and the Japanese has finally begun! The 600,000 Khitan army and the 150,000 Goryeo army crossed the actual control line between the two sides and launched a counterattack against the Japanese!"
Yelu Hanyu asked: "Who is the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces?" Yang Peng glanced at the letter in his hand, "The commander-in-chief is Li Chonglong!"
The girls looked at each other in confusion. Yang Jiumei frowned and said: "Who is Li Chonglong?" Yang Peng said: "This Li Chonglong was originally unknown. When the Queen Mother of Goryeo came to power, she appointed him as the palace guard general. Not long ago, she appointed him as the general of the palace guard. He jumped several levels and was promoted to the deputy marshal of the Liao Kingdom!" Yelu Hanyu frowned and said, "Is there something special about this person that made the Empress Dowager of the Liao Kingdom reuse him?"
Yang Peng smiled mockingly, "There is one special thing about him, that is, this man is half Korean. In the eyes of the Queen Mother of Korea, he is one of her own!" The girls suddenly realized, Yelu Hanyu frowned and said : "If you say that, the Queen Mother of Goryeo made him the commander-in-chief, I'm afraid she had the intention of taking advantage of the opportunity to further control the military! If this man is really a rare and good general, it would be fine, but if he is a silver-colored pewter spear head, Useless trash, I'm afraid..."
Yang Peng thought: "We can't say for sure now. This Li Chonglong has never had the experience of leading an army, let alone any achievements. This person may be a shocking genius, or he may be a pustule of trash! I hope he is a You’re a genius!”
Yang Erya said: "I don't think this has much to do with us!" Yelu Hanyu smiled and said: "Silly sister, since eldest brother cares so much about the outcome of this war, it has something to do with us!" Yang Erya said Ya looked at Yang Peng in confusion. Yang Peng couldn't explain it to her, so he smiled and said: "Anyway, just believe in eldest brother!" Yang Erya thought this was the truth. Anyway, she would always act according to eldest brother's intentions. Why think so much, eldest brother always You can’t go wrong!
Yang Peng fell into deep thought, then threw these thoughts behind him and said: "We can't take care of this matter now, it's better to concentrate on the matter in front of us! I wonder if Yang Yanzhao Gaohu has already launched an attack?"
Turning his eyes to the other side, Yang Yanzhao immediately summoned Gao Hu to discuss the strategy of marching after receiving Yang Peng's letter. Two days later, Yang Yanzhao led 100,000 main troops to leave Changcheng Ridge and attack Hongzhou. At the same time, Gao Hu led 50,000 troops out of Yinzhou. The 20,000 soldiers under Xiao Baochong, Xiao Gudu, and Xiao Hunu Qi Ze stayed behind in Yan'an Prefecture.
Originally everyone thought there would be several fierce battles, but the actions of both armies were surprisingly smooth. Hongzhou, Mituodong, Shizhou, Xiazhou, Youzhou, etc. were defeated without a fight, and the enemy troops did not put up any resistance at all. However, the enemy obviously did not flee in a hurry but deliberately abandoned these areas, because wherever Yanyun's army went, they saw neither Xixia people nor soldiers, nor a grain of grain. The Xixia people clearly adopted the tactic of strengthening the walls and clearing the field.
The two armies of Yang Yanzhao and Gao Hu split up and attacked in accordance with the previously formulated plan, and met on the wasteland fifty miles northwest of Youzhou. The two discussed the situation at hand, and Yang Yanzhao said: "The enemy adopts the tactic of fortifying the wall and clearing the field, which makes it impossible for us to obtain supplies nearby to lengthen our supply line. They are very likely to use cavalry to raid our supply line. This must be guarded against." Gao Hu nodded, "I am also worried about this matter. Now we are hundreds of miles away from Changcheng Ridge and further away from Yinzhou. The Xixia cavalry can easily attack our supply lines! If we want to ensure the safety of our supply lines, Heavy troops must be dispatched, but in this case, the frontal attack force will not be enough!"
Then he frowned, "The most troublesome thing now is that we still don't know whether the main Xixia army is fighting against Tibet or has been transferred back!" Yang Yanzhao thought: "According to detailed reports, Xixia troops are in Tiemenguan and Yanzhou. Heavily guarded, they obviously want to use the dangerous terrain of Tiemenguan and Yanzhou to block our army's attack and wait for an opportunity to counterattack. The situation today is completely different from the situation when the plan was made before. The enemy has been prepared, and we must respond It changes from time to time.”
Gao Hu nodded, "I think we should retreat to Youzhou and wait for the Sixth Army to come up before taking action." Yang Peng's previous battle plan was for the Sixth Army to support Yang Yanzhao and Gao Hu, and the Seventh Army to support Datong Prefecture. Not long ago, Yang Peng ordered Yang Yanzhao and Gao Hu to launch an attack immediately through a letter, and the Sixth Army had not yet left the station at that time, so the Sixth Army had not yet arrived on the battlefield.
Yang Yanzhao looked at the map and frowned: "I'm afraid this is part of the enemy's plan. If we do this, it will be detrimental to us!"
Gao Hu looked at Yang Yanzhao, "What does General Yang mean...?" Yang Yanzhao said: "I estimate that even if the main force of the Xixia Army is still here, there must not be many to deal with the Tubo people. If we retreat to Youzhou, Instead, it gives Xixia time to deal with the Tubo people first. Therefore, we should continue to attack, but we have to change, and we can no longer act according to the original plan!"
At the same time, with the iron gate closed more than fifty miles away from Yanyun's army, Li Cunxiao was standing on the city wall looking to the east, frowning. The Iron Gate Pass is located hundreds of miles east of Xingqing Mansion, between high mountains and deserts. To the north is the endless Mu Us Desert, and to the south are high mountains. It is one of the main passages into Xingqing Mansion from the east. More than eighty miles behind Tiemenguan, there is also Baichi City, which forms an angle with Tiemenguan and together protects the gateway to the east of Xingqing Mansion.
A fast horse was galloping in the distance. The sound of the horse's hooves was originally very distant, but it soon became clear. A knight was seen galloping in front of the iron gate. The knight ran straight to the door, reined in his horse, and shouted in Xixia: "Military emergency, open the city gate quickly!" The city gate opened with a creak, and the knight galloped in.
A moment later, the knight appeared in front of Li Cunxiao and reported: "General, the enemy is only more than fifty miles away from Iron Gate Pass!" Li Cunxiao narrowed his eyes and asked quickly: "Are all the enemy troops here, Yan?" Are there any enemies over there in Yanzhou?" The knight said, "There are no enemies over there in Yanzhou, the main force of the enemy is here!"
Li Cunxiao breathed a sigh of relief, clenched his fists, and murmured: "Great! Great! In this way, the raid plan can be implemented!" Then he ordered the warrior Li Chongshan beside him: "Lead the cavalry immediately Go harass the enemy troops and lure them over!" Li Chongshan promised loudly and ran down. Then he saw the door open and Li Chongshan leading three thousand war horses galloping out.
Li Cunxiao watched Li Chongshan and the others go away, turned to a herald beside him and said, "Report to Your Majesty the situation here immediately!" The herald agreed and hurried away. An hour later, the herald rode into Baichi City and saw Emperor Li Qingxia in military uniform and a group of ministers. He knelt down and reported: "Your Majesty, Yanyun's army has all approached Tiemenguan!" Li Qingxia and others were overjoyed. Li Qingxia couldn't help raising her hands, and said to the sky with great emotion: "Thank you, heaven!" Then she ordered the herald beside her: "If you encounter a beggar, please leave Yanzhou immediately, attack Changcheng Ridge with all your strength, and send your order to the enemy." Pang, come out of Huangyangping and drive directly to Yinzhou, I will completely block Yanyun's army's retreat!"
It turned out that after Li Qingxia learned that Yan Yun's army was about to invade in a large scale, she carefully planned a trap and abandoned Yuzhou, Shizhou and other counties. This was not a strategy to strengthen the wall and clear the country, but a huge pocket that she carefully constructed to bring wild benefits. Qi Suo's troops retreated into Yanzhou, while Epan's troops retreated into an oasis called Huangyangping in the desert more than 200 miles north of Shizhou, waiting for Yanyun's army to enter the pocket. The two armies attacked at the same time and captured Changcheng Ridge and Yinzhou to cut off Yanyun's retreat, forming a closed-door and dog-fighting trend. According to Li Qingxia's inference, after Yanyun's army came in, it was most likely to take the Tiemenguan route. , because Tiemenguan is the closest to Xingqing Mansion, as long as such a situation occurs, the pocket array will be 90% successful, so Li Qingxia will be so excited when she learns that all Yanyun's army is approaching Tiemenguan.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
