Chapter 172: The Might of One Artillery Shot

Gao Family Fort.

For several days, although the Wangfu Army had surrounded this place, no fighting had broken out between the two sides.

At this moment, the battlefield was solemn and carried a trace of eerie silence.

But with the arrival of ten horse-drawn carriages, this silence was broken.

"Father, it's Yan Wang!"

On the ramparts of the fort, Gao Man pointed at the youth in fine robes below the wall, his teeth itching with hatred.

If not for Yan Wang, how would they, these Rich Clans of Shanggu Commandery, have fallen to such a state today?

"Yan Wang!"

Gao Yuan squeezed these two words out from between his teeth.

In the past, they lived a life of luxury in Shanggu Commandery, filled with song and dance.

No one could challenge their authority.

The Gao Family did whatever they pleased in Shanggu Commandery.

But now, everything was ruined.

"Yan Wang, why did a fool like you recover, why don't you just die!" Gao Yuan roared wildly in his heart.

He wished he could shoot the youth in fine robes below the wall to death with a single arrow.

Clenching his fists tightly, he said to Gao Man, "Tell the soldiers to prepare; I want to see what ability Yan Wang has to break into my Gao Family Fort."

"Yes, Father!" Gao Man replied, and immediately had the soldiers prepare stones, wooden rafts, Fire Oil, and other items to deal with the coming siege.

This time, Yan Wang had come in person, so it certainly wasn't just for show.

"What are the things behind these carriages?" As orders were passed down, Gao Man frowned again.

The carriages had come along with Yan Wang, and now these carriages covered in black cloth were pulled to the front and lined up in a row.

Below the wall.

Zhao Xu shielded his eyes from the sun and looked toward the Gao Family Fort.

At a distance of over two hundred meters from him, a city wall about fifteen meters high, built with blue bricks on the outside, stood before him.

The city gate faced east, and from south to north, one side of the wall was two hundred meters long; at this moment, the wall was packed with soldiers of the Rich Clan.

"This Gao Family is truly wealthy to be able to build their own fort to this extent," Zhao Xu said slowly.

Liu Fu gave a cold snort, "Your Highness may not know, but this Gao Yuan in Shanggu Commandery is even worse than the Zhang Family of Yan Commandery. The Zhang Family at least has the Dong, Yang, and Lu families to keep them in check, but here, the Gao Family truly covers the sky with one hand. It is said that this fort was built by Gao Yuan using public resources and forced labor for his own use, which is why it has such a scale."

"So that's how it is." Zhao Xu understood, and a cold glint suddenly flashed in his eyes as he looked at the top of the wall.

Since the decline of the Imperial Clan, powerful clans have been secretly carving out territories.

These county-level Rich Clans also despise the law, seeking only profit for themselves, completely disregarding the lives of the people and the reputation of the Imperial Court.

They are like parasites living off the body of Da Song, sucking dry every drop of blood.

If this continues, the state of Da Song will collapse at any moment.

"Since that is the case, there is no need to be polite with such heinous Rich Clans; blow them to pieces with the Artillery," Chang Wei said, licking his lips as he saw the Artillery were all in position.

"It is best to subdue the enemy without fighting," Mo Yu said. "We can first send someone to call out and urge them to surrender; in this way, even if Gao Yuan does not surrender, it can shake the resolve of his soldiers."

Liu Fu looked at the Artillery in front; as the Prince's Tutor, he naturally knew what these were.

"Your Highness,

this official feels there is no need to waste words with them; General Chang is right, blow them up." As he spoke, he winked at Chang Wei.

Chang Wei chuckled twice.

He naturally understood what Mo Yu meant by subduing the enemy without fighting.

It was just that he didn't want to waste time, and most importantly, he felt that using Artillery to subdue the enemy without fighting was more practical.

Seeing the two of them like this, Zhao Xu said, "Give a warning; if they don't open the city gates, then open fire."

He also didn't want to waste any more time on this bunch of bastards.

He felt it wasn't even necessary to say another word.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei was filled with excitement.

Mo Yu shook his head helplessly.

He could see that this Prince's Personal Army, from Yan Wang down to every soldier, radiated a wild energy.

But then he thought, if they didn't have this drive, how could Yan Wang have defeated the Northern Di?

Exhaling, he suddenly smiled; he should also keep this spirit hidden in his heart.

"Old thief Gao Yuan, you are rebellious and treacherous, daring to ambush His Highness Yan Wang and raise an army in revolt. Open the gates and surrender now, and you will be left with an intact corpse; otherwise, once we break the gates, we will surely have you torn apart by five horses..."

While Mo Yu was deep in thought, he heard a loud voice shouting.

At the same time, the horses pulling the carriages were led away, and the Artillery were placed on their carriages, with the muzzles tilted upward.

The Artillerymen uncovered the black cloth, revealing the black barrels.

On the city wall.

Gao Yuan heard this shouting and was so angry that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices.

He pointed at Zhao Xu and said, "Yan Wang, don't be smug. Lord Yuan will soon send troops to rescue us. You are daydreaming if you think you can make me, Gao Yuan, surrender. If you have the ability, break into the city, and see if my Gao Family disciples don't kill every last one of you."

Then.

He looked at the things that had revealed their true form, a look of disdain appearing in his eyes.

They were just ten longer Firearm, and his fort's walls had over thirty of them.

Gao Yuan's voice drifted to Zhao Xu's ears, and Zhao Xu said to Chang Wei, "Do it."

Chang Wei had been waiting for these words; he shouted to the Artillerymen, "Aim at the people on the wall."

Hearing this, the Artillerymen immediately adjusted the elevation of the Artillery.

The ones transported this time were Siege Cannons; the Field Artillery had not yet been produced and were extremely cumbersome.

After a great deal of effort, they calibrated the muzzles.

"Load!" Chang Wei continued to shout.

This time, he wanted to indulge in the thrill of personally commanding the Artillerymen.

Upon receiving his order, the Artillerymen cleaned the bores and loaded the ammunition.

The soldier responsible for firing the cannons held a torch and waited behind, just waiting for the order to fire.

Everything was ready; a smile appeared at the corner of Chang Wei's mouth, and he suddenly shouted: "Fire!"

As his order was passed down, the soldier holding the torch immediately lit the fuse.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Ten pieces of Artillery erupted with flashes of fire and smoke in sequence from north to south.

The black Iron Balls instantly exited the muzzles and flew toward the top of the city wall, the massive sound like a thunderclap in a clear sky.

The Wangfu Army soldiers participating in the siege had basically never heard the sound of cannons at close range.

Immediately, many soldiers' bodies shuddered in fright, and some even turned pale.

This was the instinctive fear of living beings toward loud noises.

On the city wall.

The moment the Artillery rang out, Gao Yuan was so scared he could barely control his urge to urinate.

Before he had recovered from the fear, he felt something hot and wet smear across his face.

He looked to his side; the head of a Gao Family member was gone, with only a few scraps of flesh and skin hanging, and fresh blood sprayed out like a fountain, splashing onto him.

This scene finally made him lose control, and he wet himself.

"Wh-what is this thing?" Gao Yuan's legs could barely support him.

At the same time, screams rang out incessantly.

Black afterimages flew past, striking people and nearly pulverizing them into dust.

When they struck the crenellations of the city wall, they shattered the masonry, sending stone fragments flying everywhere.

Gao Man and the Rich Clan soldiers on the city wall were equally terrified.

Intense fear occupied their hearts.

Some Rich Clan soldiers simply lay flat on the ground, shivering, not daring to get up.