Chapter 487: Bombard Tongzhou!

The mobilization of the Twelfth Regiment Camp's nearly 140,000-strong army caused a huge commotion, and nearby Guard Posts quickly noticed it.

Tongzhou Guard lies due east of Shenjing, less than forty li away, reachable by a fast horse in half a day; it was the first Guard Post to receive the news!

Tongzhou Guard Commander Liu Shun received the news that the Twelfth Regiment Camp's army had set out and was marching toward Tongzhou, and he was stunned on the spot!

He never expected the court to show such determination this time, mobilizing a large army within half a month to enforce military orders by force.

In panic, he could only order the gates closed, the drawbridges raised, and all troops in the outer camps withdrawn into the city, preparing to defend the city to the death.

By the time Lan Yu led tens of thousands of vanguard troops to approach Tongzhou, it was already afternoon, with the autumn sun high in the sky.

Tens of thousands of troops deployed along the canal road, banners blocking out the sun, armor glinting, and the vanguard cavalry had closed to within less than three li of the moat.

On the city walls of Tongzhou, the defending troops, seeing this scene, panicked and ran about, with bugle calls rising and falling, shouts and horse neighs mingling into chaos.

Liu Shun stood on the watchtower, gazing at the dark mass of troops pressing from the west, his face turned pale and his palms slick with cold sweat.

Although the Prince of Nan'an and others had already told him that Jia Jing was cold‑faced and forceful, likely to use troops and that he should prepare early, he never imagined the Twelfth Regiment Camp would arrive so quickly and with such overwhelming numbers!

Our Tongzhou city holds only a handful of the old, weak, sick, and disabled—do we really need tens of thousands of troops to suppress us?

That would be far too flattering to ourselves!

However, he could not simply surrender, because he had already agreed with the Prince of Nan'an and others to purge the emperor's side, and the Prince held leverage over him,

If he were to defect and surrender now, should the court ever find out, it would still be a dead end!

Now, all he can do is stall while praying that the Prince of Nan'an will quickly send troops from Jizhou to reinforce them!

Fortunately, Tongzhou Guard is not merely a lone Guard Post camp; it is the central defense hub of the entire Tongzhou city.

The northern section of the Grand Canal runs through the city, the walls are brick‑faced, the gates are heavy, and storming them would not be easy at a moment's notice!

Outside Tongzhou city, Lan Yu sat under the central command banner, reins in hand, sword at his side, black armor with a crimson tassel, eyes like a tiger's, seeing the gates shut tight, he shouted sternly:

"Issue the order: within the time it takes to burn an incense stick, open the gates and surrender! The guard commander shall bind himself and come out to present the registers! Those who delay surrender will be treated as rebels and killed without mercy!"

A messenger rode hard to the foot of the city walls and shouted Lan Yu's final order aloud.

The defenders on the walls hearing this fell into an uproar.

Liu Shun forced himself to steady, leaned against the wall, peered out, and replied loudly:

"This is a place garrisoned by the court; the Tongzhou Guard, up and down, are not rebels. Why do you bring troops to our walls? Please, general, calm yourself—we have not received an imperial edict and dare not open the gates without orders!"

Lan Yu heard the messenger's report, raised his brows, and bellowed:

"If you won't drink the toast, you'll drink the penalty! Drag the cannons up here for me!"

Before the campaign, Jia Jing had personally instructed him; he knew the Prince of Nan'an and others were secretly plotting, an uprising was imminent, and of course he would not be delayed.

Tongzhou is a strategic point that must be subdued swiftly, even if it means employing heavy artillery—no expense spared!

The central command banner waved, and dozens of Folangji cannons were slowly pushed into position.

The cannon barrels were heavy; their wooden wheels grinding over the yellow‑earth road emitted a grating squeak that set teeth on edge.

At the same time, Lan Yu ordered giant shields to cover the artillerymen, while cavalry on both flanks lifted their reins and spread out to guard the wings.

Seeing this array, many of the defenders on Tongzhou's walls turned pale and their legs went weak.

Liu Shun saw Lan Yu actually dare to lay out a cannon barrage; all color drained from his face, yet he gritted his teeth and held his ground.

He hastily summoned his trusted officers for counsel and said sternly:

"What's there to panic about? I don't believe he'd really fire those cannons! Tongzhou is a provincial city of the court, with high walls and thick ramparts—could a few cannons possibly blast it open?"

"Besides, I've already sent word to the Prince of Nan'an; reinforcements should be on their way. If the Prince orders the Hejian and Tianjin Guards to sortie, they can harass the court army's flanks, send the Baoding troops north to threaten the wings, and dispatch a large force from Jizhou to encircle us from three sides—we might still have a chance!"

"Jia Jing has massacred old merit‑holders, eliminated dissenters, bewildered the emperor's heart, and plotted treason; we are not opposing the court but are the righteous army purging the emperor's side!"

"The Prince of Nan'an has said that if this purge of the emperor's side succeeds, not only will all military reforms and garrison settlements be halted, but he will also share wealth and honor with us!"

"So no one should think of surrendering; if we give in now, not only will our lives be forfeit, but our families will surely die as well!"

It must be said, these days the Prince of Nan'an and his allies have not been idle; at the very least they have won over the hearts of many Guard Post officers!

Liu Shun's words barely steadied the troops' morale.

Under the officers' shouts, the defenders on the walls rearmed and took their stance, archers nocking arrows and drawing bows, eyes tense as they stared down at the ground below.

A few cowardly officers who wanted their men to seize the chaos and open the gates were cut down on the spot by Liu Shun's trusted aides, blood spraying the gate.

Seeing Liu Shun shouting loudly on the wall and ordering the arsenals' arrows brought up to the battlements, he presented a posture of fighting to the last,

Lan Yu gave a cold smile, pointed his long blade at the wall, and said:

"Ignorant of death! Blast them!"

"Fire!"

At the command, dozens of Folangji cannons roared in unison.

Solid shot screamed through the air and slammed hard into Tongzhou's gate.

Tongzhou's walls are rammed earth faced with brick; the gate, though iron‑sheathed wood, also has a barbican above the doorway,

but the defenders, rushing to respond, had not cut the drawbridge nor fully sealed the barbican gate, so the solid shot repeatedly struck the wooden posts and hinges on the gate's exterior.

After several rounds of shells, bricks and stone on the walls cracked, raising a cloud of white dust.

More shells struck the junction between gate and drawbridge; in the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, a loud "crack" was heard,

the two iron‑clad doors were hammered inward, their hinges snapped, the leaves warped and half‑collapsed, revealing a dark gaping hole.

Before the smoke had cleared, Lan Yu waved his blade forward: "Charge in!"

The front‑rank armored infantry shouted in unison, surging like a black tide across the drawbridge and crashing through the broken gate opening.

The defenders on the walls loosed arrows wildly; the rain of bolts clanged against the armor but could not hold back the flood‑like assault.

The following troops surged forward like waves, flanking along the main street toward the southern gate.

A handful of stubborn retainers and Guard Post soldiers put up resistance in the alleys, retreating step by step—some were run through by spears, others cut down and flung to the ground.

Lan Yu immediately issued the order: anyone who dares to resist shall be killed without pardon; those who lay down their weapons and surrender shall be spared.