Chapter 325: Seizing the Initiative

"General, Tongguan!"

Under the blinding midday sun, Chang Wei raised his monocular to observe the pass ahead.

Beside him were generals such as Guan Tong, Liu Tan, and Bai Shang.

Having taken Jincheng, there was naturally no need to continue guarding Hengshan County, so the troops under the two men merged into Chang Wei's army as they marched north.

"Ten years, I have finally seen this majestic pass again," Chang Wei sighed. Looking back on the past, he was suddenly filled with emotion.

Ten years ago, he was still an obscure Small Banner in the Great Song Imperial Guard.

At that time, the Northern Di and the Great Song were at war in the Ningjin Dusi.

Meanwhile, Xiliang had been eyeing Jinzhou.

Anticipating that the Great Song had no time to look west, Xiliang raised an army of three hundred thousand to launch a fierce attack on Tongguan.

Although the soldiers guarding Tongguan fought with blood and sweat, they were ultimately defeated, and the pass was captured by Xiliang, forcing them to retreat to Jincheng.

It was also at that time that Xiliang occupied half of Jinzhou.

However, although Xiliang was victorious then, they had also suffered heavy losses.

They were unable to continue and take Jincheng.

Later, the war in the Ningjin Dusi ended.

Emperor Zhao Heng then reinforced Jinzhou, and for ten years, they had continuously fought over this land with Xiliang, remaining in a stalemate until now.

He had personally experienced that war.

Therefore, in the dead of night, he often dreamed of the tragic scenes from back then.

And recapturing Tongguan was also a dream of his.

Now, this dream finally had the possibility of being realized.

"Advance immediately, and take Tongguan at all costs," Chang Wei's expression suddenly became very stern.

During their time in Jinzhou, they had cleverly employed many strategies to defeat Xiliang.

But now, facing Tongguan, he no longer had that time.

Currently, the only way to take this city was a direct assault.

Fortunately, like Yanguan, Tongguan existed to defend against the Grassland.

Therefore, the north wall was tall and sturdy, while the south wall was just an ordinary city wall.

Under his command, the sixty-thousand-strong army marched majestically toward Tongguan.

The scouts of Tongguan had long since discovered the news of the Yan Prince Army's arrival.

At this moment, the thirty thousand Xiliang troops inside the pass, led by the deputy leader Qu Dan, had all gathered at the south wall.

Various defensive supplies had also been transported onto the city walls.

Standing on the wall, Qu Dan looked at the Yan Prince Army below, his heart racing.

Some time ago, the Yan Prince Army had made a feint under Tongguan, and he had been just as worried then.

Later, the news he received was that Jincheng had been lost and Tuoba Wuji had died in battle.

He immediately sent the news back to Xiliang.

Afterward, bad news came one after another; the cities north of Jinzhou were taken by the Yan Prince Army one by one within days.

Now, they had finally arrived under Tongguan.

"Xiliang reinforcements will arrive soon. Hold Tongguan at all costs, and there will be heavy rewards afterward," Qu Dan shouted loudly.

The Xiliang soldiers let out roars upon hearing this.

But it sounded more like they were trying to bolster their own courage.

As the soldiers clamored, Qu Dan's eyelids twitched.

The Yan Prince Army stopped at a distance of three hundred meters from them.

Then, over a hundred weapons similar to firearms were pushed to the very front of the formation.

"Artillery," Qu Dan's hands could not help but tremble.

He had heard of this terrifying weapon too many times from the mouths of routed Xiliang soldiers.

Being hit meant men and horses were shattered; the city walls of Jincheng had been blasted open by artillery, and so on.

Although the Xiliang soldiers on the wall were shouting fiercely, like Qu Dan, they were filled with fear at this moment.

They stared fixedly at the artillery, ready to hide the moment they spewed flame.

Below the wall.

Chang Wei held his telescope, continuously patrolling the city walls.

He knew Tongguan like the back of his hand; after all, when he was stationed at Tongguan, he had walked around here countless times.

The Xiliang people were not good at building cities, and things here were exactly the same as they were ten years ago, with no changes.

"Aim at the spot fifty meters to the left of the city gate," Chang Wei said to the artillery commander.

The south wall of Tongguan was about three hundred meters wide.

He clearly remembered that the city wall at that location had been repaired before.

And anything that had been repaired was by no means as sturdy as the original.

After giving the order to the artillerymen, he said to Guan Tong, "Have the Scaling Ladders ready. If we can't blast the wall down by noon tomorrow, we'll have to launch a direct assault. We don't have much time left."

"Yes, General," Guan Tong acknowledged the order and left.

As his order was issued, sixty pieces of artillery aimed their muzzles at the target area.

At the same time, the remaining forty pieces of artillery aimed at the Xiliang soldiers on the city wall.

The wall had to be blasted, and the morale of these Xiliang soldiers had to be crushed as well.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Before long, a massive booming sound echoed throughout Tongguan.

Black Cannonballs flew toward the city wall, smashing countless fragments from the green bricks of the wall.

Several bricks shattered immediately, but they did not fall off.

At the same time, some Artillery Cannonballs flew toward the Xiliang Cavalry on the city wall.

Some battlements were smashed by the Cannonballs, and debris also flew across the gate tower of the city wall.

Although they had heard rumors about the Artillery from the ears of the routed soldiers.

But seeing it with their own eyes, they were still so frightened that their legs could not help but go weak.

"Ah..."

A soldier was hit directly by a Cannonball, instantly bursting into a mist of blood.

Fresh blood splattered onto other Xiliang Cavalry, who screamed and immediately flattened themselves against the city wall, not daring to stand up.

The moment the cannon fired, Qu Dan crouched down; he hid under a battlement and covered his ears tightly, letting the brick fragments fly.

A fragment scratched his face, but he seemed not to notice due to his extreme tension.

Chang Wei frowned as he looked toward the city wall.

A distance of three hundred meters was very narrow for a large army.

Thus, the number of people climbing to attack the city each time was destined to be small.

And since the enemy occupied the advantageous terrain, with thirty thousand people in such a narrow space, wave after wave of slaughter would consume a great deal of time.

This would undoubtedly prolong the time required to take the city.

Therefore, what he hoped for most now was to be able to smash a breach, just like at Jincheng.

As long as there was a breach, the rest would be easy to handle.

While ordering the soldiers to set up camp quietly, Chang Wei kept his eyes on the Artillery.

Amidst the rumbling cannon fire, he endured through the night.

When dawn broke the next day, he looked toward the place where the Artillery had been bombarding and revealed a look of disappointment.

Although many of the outer green bricks had fallen off, revealing the rammed earth inside.

But in his view, this section of the city wall would still not collapse for another three days.

Time no longer allowed him to continue waiting.

After all, the longer he waited, the greater the possibility that the Northern Di would take Tongguan.

Looking toward Guan Tong, he said: "Have the soldiers prepare, prepare the Scaling Ladders to climb the city, and launch a frontal assault."

Just like at Jincheng, the defending general of Tongguan had also piled Sandbags behind the city gate.

Therefore, even if the city gate were blasted open, it would be of no use.

At present, the only path left to take was a frontal assault.

Guan Tong nodded heavily; without a doubt, this would be a fierce battle.

"Quick, quick, we must catch up to the Northern Di army."

At this moment, on the border of Liangzhou, a troop of Xiliang Cavalry was heading in the direction of Tongguan.

They were acting under the orders of Tuoba Hao, having set out from Wuwei.

Their objective was to find the Northern Di army and deliver the order from their Emperor.

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