Chapter 665: Displaying Might

"Have the Ladder Team prepare; once the Grenadier Squad finishes throwing the hand grenades, immediately seize the ramparts and occupy the city gate."

With the Grenadier Squad all in position, Chang Wei issued the order.

Lv Chang replied "Yes" and relayed the command down the line.

The fifty members of the Ladder Team were soon fully prepared.

Just then, Chang Wei gave the order to throw.

"Bang, bang, bang..." Three gunshots rang out; this was the signal for the Grenadier Squad.

The purpose was to have the Grenadier Squad throw their grenades at the same time, so as to catch the Qi soldiers on the ramparts off guard and eliminate them.

Hearing the gunshots, the Grenadier Squad soldiers picked up their hand grenades, unscrewed the rear caps, pulled the ignition cords, and simultaneously threw the grenades onto the ramparts.

After throwing the first one, they immediately picked up a second grenade and threw it as well.

Then came the third, and the fourth.

In an instant, the hand grenades flew toward the Fortress walls like a swarm of locusts.

Seeing the short, stick-like objects flying toward them, the Qi soldiers on the ramparts wore looks of astonishment; they did not know what these things were.

Because they seemed to pose no danger, they did not dodge, and even Xie Bi looked on with a blank expression.

But just then, the first wave of incoming hand grenades landed one after another on the ramparts.

"Boom, boom, boom..." In an instant, the line of the ramparts turned into a sea of Flame.

Amidst explosions as frequent as firecrackers, the Qi soldiers were lifted by the shockwaves and fell below the walls, screaming.

The sudden explosions left the Qi soldiers stunned for a moment, but then the second wave of grenades arrived.

Then came the third wave, and the fourth.

The sounds of explosions rose and fell, with the grenades covering almost every corner of the ramparts.

The Flame obscured the bodies of the Qi soldiers, and the sound of the explosions drowned out their wails.

Within a few short minutes, all twelve hand grenades in the Grenadier Squad's baskets had been thrown.

The explosions ceased, and the ramparts fell into a deathly silence.

"Kill!" Just then, the Yanzhou soldiers carrying the scaling ladders crossed the trenches.

They leaned the scaling ladders against the Fortress walls, and the Yanzhou soldiers following behind held their guns in one hand, grabbed the ladders with the other, and climbed the ramparts with great proficiency.

Aside from their daily five-kilometer run, climbing scaling ladders was a subject they had to train in every day.

They only needed ten seconds to climb a seven or eight-meter-tall scaling ladder.

The first soldier to climb onto the ramparts was immediately shocked by the scene before him.

At this moment, there was not a single living person on the entire rampart; severed limbs were everywhere, and fresh blood stained the ground.

However, he only paused for a moment before immediately stepping aside to let the soldiers behind him follow.

Having experienced the Jinzhuzhizhan and the brutal wars between the Ningjin Dusi and the Northern Di, he was already a qualified veteran.

As more and more Yanzhou soldiers climbed onto the ramparts, the walls were quickly occupied.

Because the Grenadier Squad's attack had come too suddenly,

and its lethality was immense.

The Qi soldiers inside the Fortress had not reacted at all.

By the time the commanders tried to lead their soldiers to climb the ramparts, it was already too late.

The Yanzhou soldiers lined up in tight horizontal formations along the ramparts.

They pulled the Trigger, facing the Qi soldiers who were charging over.

"Bang, bang, bang..." Gunshots rang out, and the Qi soldiers near the ramparts fell in droves.

Under the cover of the Yanzhou soldiers on the ramparts, a Colonel led his subordinates down the stairs to attack the city gate.

At this time, hundreds of Qi soldiers were hiding in the gate passage.

Seeing the Yanzhou soldiers charging, they retreated deeper into the gate passage while drawing their swords and blades, preparing for close-quarters combat the moment the Yanzhou soldiers entered.

The Colonel discovered the intentions of these Qi soldiers, and just as he was about to reach the gate passage, he shouted to his soldiers: "Hand grenade."

The soldiers behind him unhooked the hand grenades from their belts, pulled the ignition cords, and threw them toward the gate.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

A burst of explosions rang out, and screams immediately erupted from within the gate passage.

Then the Yanzhou soldiers charged in, and a pile of Qi soldiers lay on the ground.

A few soldiers were still alive, clutching their broken legs and screaming.

The Colonel merely glanced at them indifferently before immediately ordering his soldiers to open the city gate.

"Creak." The leaves of the city gate slowly opened to both sides.

At this moment, battle cries that pierced the clouds erupted from outside the city.

Yanzhou soldiers brandishing their guns charged toward the city gate from all directions.

Having captured the city gate, the Colonel did not stop; he continued to lead his soldiers to charge into the city.

As he pushed deeper, he shouted, "Surrender and you will be spared."

The soldiers following behind him shouted in unison.

The chorus of their voices carried very far.

Through the Qi soldiers captured last time at Pingyuan City, they had learned that the soldiers in the Qi army were divided into two types.

One type was naturally composed of the die-hard faction made up of the core descendants of the Rich Clan and their fellow clansmen.

Among the now-destroyed first Rich Clan of Yan Commandery, the Zhang Family, Zhang Qian, Zhang Kang, and Zhang Rang were core descendants.

Besides these core descendants, there were nearly twenty thousand clansmen surnamed Zhang.

These clansmen surnamed Zhang benefited from the Zhang Family and only recognized the Head of the Family, not the Imperial Court.

This is also one of the sources of confidence for the Zhang Family to be able to control Yan Commandery.

At the time, if they had not been scared out of their wits by the Prince's Personal Army, they would not have surrendered at all.

The second part of the soldiers is naturally composed of ordinary commoners who were conscripted.

Of course, among them are also some who are muddled, with hearts leaning toward the Rich Clan and powerful families.

But the resistance will of most soldiers is not that firm.

Based on this judgment, they will not show any mercy to the Qi soldiers resisting them.

Han Bi and quite a few Qi generals were blown to death on the spot on the city wall.

Because the ranks of the generals inside the city were too low, they could not rally the entire army and could only lead the soldiers under their command to either resist or flee.

Of course, there are also many soldiers who directly knelt on the ground and raised their hands.

Because of the Hand Grenades, the Yanzhou soldiers who charged into the city became much bolder.

For the Qi soldiers hiding in corners and attempting to engage them in hand-to-hand combat, as soon as they were discovered, they would throw Hand Grenades at them.

With a burst of explosions, these Qi soldiers were blown into pulp.

Having witnessed the new-style firearms in the hands of the Yanzhou soldiers, the leaderless Qi soldiers saw their fighting spirit rapidly plummet to the bottom.

Wherever the Yanzhou soldiers went, the surrendering Qi soldiers knelt in droves.

And as more Yanzhou soldiers entered the Fortress, the Qi soldiers were even more powerless to resist.

By dusk, the stubbornly resisting Qi soldiers had all been wiped out, and Chang Wei and Lv Chang strode into the Fortress.

"Dusk, not a moment off." Lv Chang chuckled for a while, "These Hand Grenades are truly powerful."

Chang Wei's lips curled upward; he was very proud of the new-style tactics he had invented.

Although the power of a Mortar Cannonball is much greater than a Hand Grenade.

But without a doubt, Hand Grenades can utilize tunnels to bomb the enemy by surprise.

However, this does not mean that the Mortar has lost its purpose from now on.

If the enemy is stationed on a mountain, a place where it is impossible to dig tunnels, one must still rely on the Mortar.

However, south of the Jin River, it is basically flat land, so his new-style tactics still have great potential.

Thinking of this, he said to the personal guards beside him: "Pass on this general's order, tell Qin Shan and Guan Tong to dig tunnels overnight, and take the other two Fortresses tomorrow morning."