Chapter 1281: This Is the Capital

The position they occupied had not been chosen at random — it was deliberately selected. The roads ahead and behind were unobstructed, yet there were also residences and trees providing cover. Even if the cannons atop the city wall tried to bombard them, aiming here would be very difficult. Though the government troops' gunners had little skill in aiming, no risks could be taken on the battlefield.

The gunners were busy at work. The Zhao Army cavalrymen had all moved their mounts away to take cover — partly to maintain vigilance, and partly to prevent the horses from being spooked. Some men stuffed cotton they had prepared long ago into the horses' ears.

Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang naturally did not have to do such tasks. They stood not far from the artillery position, gazing at the towering, majestic city wall opposite them. Shi Manqiang's face betrayed no expression, while Ji Xiang stared with a look of deep reluctance, muttering, "We finally made it here — just taking it outright would be so much better. Letting it go like this, what a hassle!"

"Big Brother must have his reasons for ordering us to do this. When we return this time, we'll hold the territory of two provinces in our hands. Handle this well, and this capital will be ours!" Shi Manqiang said in a deep voice.

Ji Xiang nodded. The usually taciturn Shi Manqiang, however, added a couple more sentences: "Don't you find all of this too easy? Such a vast realm, such a lofty position, and yet we brothers are all so young. Every time I think about it, it doesn't feel real — it feels like I'm dreaming!"

"Shitou, you don't talk much, but you think too much. The reason it's been so easy is that our Big Brother is a true dragon, bearing the Mandate of Heaven. With him leading us, it's only right that we've advanced this quickly." Ji Xiang sounded somewhat impatient as he said this.

After saying this, Ji Xiang lowered his head and fell silent, as if trying to hold something back. But in the end, he couldn't restrain himself and said in a muffled voice, "This situation we're in now — Big Brother led us to carve it out blade by blade, spear by spear, through life and death. It's not like we haven't seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood. What roving bandits, what government troops — haven't we fought them all? These are solid, tangible gains. How can it be too fast? How can it be a dream? You all think this way, Big Brother thinks this way — who knows how much it's held us back..."

At that point, Ji Xiang hurriedly covered his ears, because he saw the gunners not far away about to light the fuses. Shi Manqiang did the same. The position they occupied was fairly close, and when cannons of twelve pounds and above fired, the sound was truly deafening — they had to take precautions in advance.

They had expected a thunderous roar, but unexpectedly, the gunner lighting the fuse actually missed — the red-hot iron rod in his hand failed to touch the fuse. Ji Xiang's eyes instantly widened, and he roared directly, "You brat, didn't you eat enough? You can't even hit this? If you can't handle this job, go back to farming!"

The gunner looked as if he were about to cry, his face twisted in misery as he said, "Fifth Master, this subordinate's hand was shaking — this subordinate's hand was shaking!"

Mid-sentence, the other two cannons both fired, the sound shaking the surroundings so that nothing else could be heard. The gunner managed to touch the fuse on his second attempt, then jumped backward. The fuse burned rapidly, and this cannon fired as well.

Ji Xiang had no time to continue scolding. He looked toward the capital's city wall. With such a large target, and with Xuzhou's standard of gunnery, missing would have been difficult. Smoke and dust exploded on the wall. The Zhao Army's twelve-pounder and sixteen-pounder cannons were heavy artillery of immense power. When bombarding the walls of county seats or prefectural cities, aiming at the corners would often bring them down in a single shot. But against a colossal, towering city like the capital, it was like a mosquito biting an elephant.

The wall bricks shattered, and a portion of the rammed earth concealed behind the brickwork was blasted apart, but the main body of the wall suffered no damage whatsoever — it merely left a crater.

"No wonder the lads' hands were shaking. This is the capital, after all." Ji Xiang stared at the largely undamaged capital city wall and murmured to himself. He could now understand that gunner's mistake. Most of the Zhao Army — no, the overwhelming majority of its soldiers — were seeing the capital for the first time, yet they had heard about it countless times. They had heard about it countless times even before joining the Zhao Army. In their hearts, this capital was a place where celestial beings dwelled, protected by gods and spirits, where even touching it was a sin. Who could have imagined they would now be setting up cannons to bombard it?

Ji Xiang could understand this feeling. He had thought he didn't share it, but the moment the cannonball struck the capital's city wall, many thoughts deep in Ji Xiang's heart surged up. His brooding did not last long, however. He simply turned his head and roared, "What are you standing around for?! Fire according to the drill manual — fire!"

After that first shot was fired, the awe in the Zhao Army gunners' hearts vanished like smoke. All that remained was excitement — the excitement of victors. Their movements quickened; they called out work chants to themselves, shouting as they loaded ammunition. Soon, the second volley of cannon fire rang out. Along with the cannon blasts came cheers. The Zhao Army infantry and cavalry guarding the perimeter of the artillery position were all cheering and shouting, all brandishing the weapons in their hands.

Even though they had not taken the capital, this unrestrained bombardment, this leisurely slaughter from the position of victors, filled every soldier's heart with irrepressible excitement. We may not be entering this time, but we can come again next time. Our Xuzhou Zhao Army has swept from south to north, invincible in all directions. No one under heaven can stop us — no matter what border army, no matter what capital garrison. In this Great Ming realm, the Xuzhou troops have no rivals left.

After the three heavy cannons had fired seven volleys, the gunners' excessive zeal and overly rapid loading caused the cannon barrels — which should have been able to fire ten or even eleven volleys in succession — to overheat. The gunners sheepishly wiped the barrels with damp cloths, letting the cannons cool down.

Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang wore smiles on their faces. They did not scold the overexcited gunners, but instead gazed at the capital's city wall after it had been bombarded by several dozen cannonballs. Though they could not make out too many details from over a thousand paces away, the effect of this bombardment was already very clear.

The previously quite orderly face of the city wall now looked battered and mottled, but that was all — the main structure was fundamentally unaffected. Shi Manqiang said in a muffled voice, "If we concentrated all our cannons here and bombarded one corner of this wall, we should be able to bring it down. But then we'd still have to force our way in — it would take some effort!"

"Bringing down the wall isn't the hard part. The hard part is the resistance from the government troops inside the city. This city's bastions, towers, and barbicans are all fully equipped, and they have no shortage of men or equipment. If they're truly determined to fight to the death, we would indeed have trouble. But judging by what we've encountered along the way here — do they have the guts to fight to the death?" Ji Xiang said with a cold laugh.

The cooling of the cannon barrels did not take very long. Just as they began loading ammunition and making preparations, the Zhao Army light cavalry dispersed in the area for security sent back word: people dressed as government runners were approaching, holding white flags. Judging by their attire, their status was not low, and they had not brought many attendants. It was not just one group approaching — three groups were coming in total...

The entire Zhao Army had long grown accustomed to the shock and thunderous roar of the cannons, but the defenders atop the capital's walls had never experienced such a thing. When the first cannonball came flying over, everyone hid behind the crenellations and barricades, believing themselves safe. But the momentum of the heavy cannonballs made the city wall itself tremble, and the continuous bombardment only intensified that sensation.

From where Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang stood, the capital's city wall seemed thick and sturdy enough to withstand the direct bombardment of heavy artillery. Yet for the defenders atop the wall, everyone felt as if they were caught in raging waves, unable to even stand steady. The wall seemed as if it could collapse and shatter at any moment, burying them beneath the rubble. By the time the second volley rang out, no one dared to remain on the wall any longer.

The officers leading the troops could not even be bothered to enforce discipline and simply ran straight down from the wall. Seeing their superiors flee, the common soldiers and militia levies had even less inclination to stay. Everyone felt that lingering a moment longer meant a greater chance of death. Whatever loyalty or fervor they had crumbled away — all they wanted was to get away quickly. The civil officials and eunuchs on the wall fared no better than the military officers and soldiers; the cowardly ones had long since fled.

As for those civil officials and eunuchs who wanted to display unyielding integrity and die for the dynasty — though they gritted their teeth and remained on the wall, they were utterly at a loss. Enduring the wall's shuddering impact after impact, they collapsed sitting on the ramps, or even lay prostrate there, wailing in terror at every jolt. It was hard to say whether their wailing was because of the Zhao Army's might, or because all hope had turned to despair.

Compared to the feeling atop the wall, those in the encampment below were somewhat calmer. Seeing so many people fleeing down, they naturally understood that the city's defenses had reached their most vulnerable point. If the enemy outside truly wanted to attack the city, they probably wouldn't be able to hold them off now. Several senior generals bearing the rank of Commander-in-Chief grew frantic and led their personal troops and household guards to force the soldiers back up the wall, even deploying the Imperial Guard.

Under the coercion of sharp blades, those who had just fled down gritted their teeth and climbed back up. Joining them were death-defying shock troops who had been given heavy rewards. But just as they were ascending the wall, the Zhao Army's cannonballs struck the top of the wall. This bombardment, aside from being a show of force, was also meant to test certain things, so the firing angles were constantly being adjusted. By coincidence, this time the shots landed directly on top of the wall.

The heavy metal cannonball struck a crenellation. The crenellations of the capital's city wall were built with bricks and stone far exceeding ordinary specifications — thick and solid compared to the overwhelming majority of cities in the realm. But without rammed earth to absorb the shock, this brickwork was utterly defenseless before a cannonball weighing over a dozen catties.

The crenellation was blasted to pieces, and the flying shards of brick and stone caused even more casualties than the cannonball itself. The shrapnel did not hit the government troops head-on — only a dozen or so men were caught in it — but they were riddled with bloody holes, shrieking in agony as they died horribly. Those who did not die immediately could only beg for a quick end. Such a scene thoroughly shook the capital's defenders. The men struck by the shrapnel had been wearing armor, even fairly complete sets of iron armor, yet it had done nothing at all.

Seeing this, no matter how loyal and devoted you were, your courage would fail and your heart would quail. If the enemy came scaling the walls on ladders, everyone could rush forward with blades and spears to fight to the death — being hacked or stabbed, you'd accept your fate. But those rebel troops were over a thousand paces away. Their own cannons couldn't reach the enemy, yet the enemy's cannons were so devastatingly effective. How could they fight like this? How could they defend? Even the bravest and most loyal soldiers could not hold on. They were not afraid to die, but they were unwilling to throw their lives away so pointlessly.

With the situation as it was, news from the city's defenses was rapidly relayed to every quarter, then swiftly sent into the palace. At this moment, the transmission of information in the capital was uncharacteristically efficient — it had no choice but to be. The city was deathly silent now, and each cannon blast could be heard clearly within the city, even within the imperial palace. The Emperor, the eunuchs, and the grand ministers were all watching intently, demanding news at any moment.

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