Chapter 379: War Haze

Jincheng.

Today, the atmosphere here is somewhat solemn.

The streets throughout Jincheng are filled with Northern Di soldiers.

They stare fixedly at the passing pedestrians, as if they would immediately pounce and kill them at the slightest sign of unusual movement.

Just as the pedestrians are trembling with fear, shouts of command suddenly come from the city gate.

Then, the Northern Di soldiers move, driving all the pedestrians on the road to both sides.

Before long, a large number of Northern Di Cavalry enter through the North Gate.

Walking at the very front is Tiemuta.

And in the center of the cavalry behind Tiemuta is the Khan, Mule Hongzhen.

"Great Khan, you have come at just the right time; just two days ago, our Northern Di Artillery was a success." Ubalan had been waiting at the city gate for some time.

Seeing his father, he immediately went to greet him.

After test-firing the Artillery with Ivan that day, he had sent men to deliver the news to the Khan Court.

But he had not expected to encounter the Khan's procession to Jincheng halfway.

"Hahaha, Ubalan, my good son, you have done a great deed for the Northern Di." Mule Hongzhen's face bears an irrepressible smile.

Since the defeat at Yanguan, this Artillery had become a thorn in his side.

Having witnessed the power of the Artillery with his own eyes, he is very clear that if the Northern Di does not have Artillery, they will never be able to break through the Yanguan guarded by Yan Wang.

Therefore, after Ubalan obtained Ivan, he was very encouraged and spared no cost to have Ivan help the Northern Di develop Artillery.

A few days ago, he thought of the arrival of summer, and that autumn would soon be here.

It is another season of high autumn and fat horses, suitable for war.

At the same time, the Northwest of Great Song has fallen into the hands of Xiliang due to the rebellion of Ma Jin.

Because of the agreement with Xiliang, this is equivalent to the Northwest of Great Song being wide open to the Northern Di.

Thus, he became interested and came to Jincheng, wanting to see how the Artillery was being built.

To him,

Xiliang has become a vassal of the Northern Di, and the only thing currently lacking is Artillery.

Once both are fully prepared, the Northern Di will no longer have any misgivings, and Great Song will be the only remaining target for the Northern Di.

"Thank you for your praise, Great Khan." A look of pride appears on Ubalan's face.

Mule Hongzhen nods, "Where is the Artillery? Why don't you lead me to see it?"

Ubalan immediately points outside the city, "Great Khan, the Artillery has immense power and cannot be tested within the city; it is currently at a Drill Ground outside the city."

Having said this, he mounted his horse and led the group toward the East Gate of the city.

In less than half an hour, Mule Hongzhen and the others arrived in front of a small hill.

On the open ground in front of the small hill sits a greenish Artillery piece.

"This is the Artillery?" Mule Hongzhen dismounted and gently stroked the thick barrel of the Artillery, his face unable to hide his excitement.

Tiemuta followed behind Mule Hongzhen, even though he and this younger brother were secretly competing for the Khanate.

But at this moment, he felt a sense of affection for his brother.

With the Artillery, the Northern Di will be like a tiger that has grown wings.

Whether it is Yan Wang or the enemies in the far north, they will all crawl at the feet of the Northern Di.

"Let me see if it has the same power as the Artillery on the walls of Yanguan City," Mule Hongzhen suddenly turned his head and said to Ubalan.

Nodding, Ubalan called over three soldiers and ordered them to load and fire according to the sequence Ivan had taught.

"Great Khan, please cover your ears," Ubalan said.

Mule Hongzhen had heard the deafening sound of the Artillery before and obediently covered his ears.

But Tiemuta stubbornly made no move.

"Boom..."

Ubalan did not care about the others and ordered the soldiers to light the fuse.

Following a loud bang, the earth seemed to tremble, and a black Cannonball flew out, smashing into the small hill and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The huge sound also startled the Warhorses, causing them to run about in confusion.

Mule Hongzhen paid no attention to the chaotic Warhorses; a fanatical light erupted in his eyes.

"That's right, this is the Artillery; Yan Wang's Artillery is exactly like this." Mule Hongzhen's voice could not help but rise a few notches.

Turning to Ubalan, he said: "How many can be built in a day now?"

"This?" Ubalan looked somewhat troubled upon hearing this.

"What is it? Is the number of craftsmen insufficient? I will transfer them to you from other royal tents; if that is not enough, I can even transfer them from Gaoli," Mule Hongzhen said.

Ubalan said: "Great Khan, it is not a problem of craftsmen, but a problem of copper. This type of Artillery is a Bronze Cannon and requires a large amount of copper coins."

Mule Hongzhen frowned; no wonder Ubalan was stuttering like that.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Tiemuta: "You immediately send men to all the royal tents, have them send all copper items to Jincheng, and send men to Xiliang and Gaoli to demand copper from them."

"Yes, Great Khan." Tiemuta responded and left.

Mule Hongzhen looked at Ubalan again, "What is a little copper? As long as we can destroy Great Song, our Northern Di will have as much copper as we want. Now, you just need to step up the production of Artillery; in autumn, I want to give Great Song a surprise."

"Is the Great Khan going to march south to attack Song?" Ubalan sensed the hidden meaning in his words.

Mule Hongzhen was noncommittal.

In his view, Great Song would not allow Qinzhou and Yongzhou to be occupied by Xiliang just like that.

They are currently just catching their breath, and they will inevitably attack Ma Jin, fight with Xiliang, and retake Xiao Pass.

Moreover, Yan Wang is not a foolish person and will surely be able to see that Xiao Pass is of great importance.

It was only because they had just fought the Jinzhuzhizhan that his soldiers were overly exhausted, so they were resting for the time being.

Once they recovered, it was very likely they would fight alongside the Great Song Imperial Guard.

Therefore, the Northern Di could not miss this opportunity while Xiao Pass was in the hands of Xiliang.

Otherwise, once the Great Song took back Xiao Pass and used Artillery to defend the city, the Northern Di would have to pay a much heavier price to move south.

"Right now for the Northern Di, the chaotic situation in the northwest of the Great Song is the opportunity we have been waiting for. The Xiao Family and the Dou Family cannot be compared to the troops of Yan Wang; one could even say they are vulnerable to a single blow. Whether we can tear a gap in the Great Song's border depends on this opportunity," Mule Hongzhen said, looking toward the direction of the Great Song.

He considered time to be pressing and could not wait until next year.

They must try once more this autumn.

"I understand, Father. I will certainly forge enough Artillery before autumn arrives," Wulanba said.

From now until autumn, there were only three or four months left.

However, as long as there was enough copper, he had plenty of craftsmen to rush the work.

Mule Hongzhen gently stroked Wulanba's head.

This time, the order he gave to Enke was merely to contain Yan Wang, create as much trouble for Yan Wang as possible, and slow down the recovery of Yan Wang's forces.

Next, he would also order the two royal tents of the Ningjin Dusi to harass Yanguan, creating the appearance that the Northern Di intended to move south from Yanguan this year.

And when autumn arrived, he would catch them off guard by concentrating his main forces in the northwest of the Great Song and moving south by way of Xiliang.

"I know you will not disappoint me." Mule Hongzhen looked again at the dark green Artillery before him, a surge of immense confidence rising in his heart.

With Artillery, he was even confident he could take Yanguan.

But for him, there was no need to sacrifice soldiers in vain at Yanguan.

Naturally, one picks the softest persimmon to squeeze first.