Chapter 246: Withstanding the Cannon Bombardment

In the twelfth year of Hongwu, the ninth day of the seventh month.

Na Lin Qi Zhan, the seventh pass.

The sun had already shifted westward, and the light in the valley gradually dimmed.

Zhu Shuang rode his horse, his iron‑skin horn already shouting until his throat smoked, yet the rebels on the opposite fort wall seemed deaf, not moving a hair.

"Lao San, take a break, your throat is hoarse," Zhu Gang handed over a Water Bag.

Zhu Shuang took the Water Bag, drank a few sips, and said bitterly, "That Wang Shudu'er is far more troublesome than his useless brother; I've cursed him for three days and he still won't come out."

"His brother was hammered by the Second Prince and is still spitting blood; how dare he come out?" Zhu Gang snorted.

Zhu Shuang looked at the sky, then at the three distant fort walls, and frowned.

This seventh pass truly differed from the previous six.

On both sides were sheer cliffs, with only a single road at the front.

Each of the three fort walls rose higher than the last, and the innermost contained a stone‑built inner city.

The walls were packed densely with archers, and sharp Wooden Stakes were buried at the base; charging was impossible, even approaching was difficult.

In the past three days, they had tried a direct assault and were shot back.

They tried a night raid, only to be illuminated clearly by torches.

They tried to persuade surrender, but Wang Shudu'er didn't even reply.

"Second Prince?" Zhu Shuang asked.

"He's behind, talking with Lao Wu," Zhu Gang replied.

Zhu Shuang dismounted and said, "Let's go take a look."

The two headed toward the rear mountain.

Turning a ridge, they saw Zhu Yong and Zhu Di standing beside a large boulder, pointing at the distant terrain.

"Second Prince," Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang walked over.

Zhu Yong glanced back at them, expression flat, and said, "Siege not going smoothly?"

Zhu Shuang scratched his head and said, "That bastard won't come out; a frontal assault would cause huge casualties, so I didn't dare force it."

Zhu Yong nodded and said, "You did right; a frontal assault is a poor strategy."

He pointed at the distant seventh pass and said, "Lao Wu slipped up the rear mountain last night; that path is indeed passable, but it doesn't reach behind the fort wall, blocked by a cliff."

Zhu Di interjected, "The cliff is over Three Zhang high; you can't climb it bare‑handed, you need a rope, but you can't move it by day, only at night."

Zhu Gang's eyes lit up, "Climb up from behind at night, a pincer attack?"

Zhu Yong shook his head, "Wang Shudu'er isn't a fool; he'll have night defenses. Lao Wu's men could climb easily, but once discovered, it's all over."

"Then what? Just stall like this?" Zhu Shuang grew anxious.

Zhu Yong said nothing, merely staring at the distant fort wall.

Zhu Di suddenly said, "Second Prince, you intend… a frontal assault?"

Zhu Yong glanced at him, smiled, and said, "Lao Wu is clever."

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang exchanged a bewildered glance.

"Second Prince, a frontal assault would cause huge casualties; didn't you say that's a poor strategy?" Zhu Shuang asked.

"That's a method of using troops, but now we have a method that doesn't require troops," Zhu Yong said slowly.

He turned and walked back, "Follow me."

The three brothers followed him to an open area in the rear camp.

On the clearing stood twenty Hongwu heavy cannons, their black mouths aimed at the distant seventh pass.

Beside them were stacked dozens of cannonballs, each the size of a watermelon.

Zhu Yong walked to the largest cannon and patted its barrel.

This cannon was a circle larger than the others; its barrel was a full zhàng long, and its muzzle could fit an adult's head.

It was the Ministry of Works' newly forged "Zhenyuan Grand General Cannon," Zhong Ba 800 jin, range Five Hundred Hundred Steps, capable of blasting a three‑foot‑thick brick wall with a single shot.

"Second Prince, you intend to bombard with the cannon?" Zhu Gang asked.

Zhu Yong nodded and said, "In the past three days I've had people push the cannon forward; it's already advanced three Hundred Steps. Wang Shudu'er thinks we can only attack from the front, so he's concentrated all forces on those three fort walls."

He pointed at the distant fort wall and continued, "The first wall is the thickest, also the target; twenty cannons firing together can blast it down in an hour."

"And then?" Zhu Shuang couldn't help but ask.

"Then? Then I'll shoulder this thing and go up to blast the second wall," Zhu Yong couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

Zhu Shuang was stunned, unable to react: "Shoulder it? Shoulder what?"

Zhu Yong patted the 800‑jin Zhenyuan Grand General Cannon.

The three brothers simultaneously widened their eyes.

"Second Prince, you mean… you'll shoulder this cannon and go up?" Zhu Gang's voice changed; this was a method only a person could devise...

"Hmm."

"Eight hundred jin!"

"Hmm."

"One person shoulder?"

"Hmm."

Zhu Shuang opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed it back.

He recalled the Second Prince's drum‑warmer golden hammer, a pair weighing twelve hundred jin; an 800‑jin cannon would be only a bit heavier than a hammer for the Second Prince.

But that was a hammer; this is a cannon!

"Second Prince, can a cannon be shouldered and fired?" Zhu Di asked.

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "I'll try… it should work."

……

At exactly the hour of the Dog, the sky went completely dark.

On the fortress wall of the seventh pass, torches burned brightly.

Wang Shudu stood on the highest arrow tower, staring fixedly at the distant Ming army camp.

It's been three days; the Ming army has only been shouting formations by day and harassing at night, without any major moves.

This is abnormal.

His useless younger brother, when carried back two days ago, was still spitting blood.

According to the surviving soldiers who fled back, Prince Wu Zhu Yong personally struck, and with one hammer sent Wang Shu Tie Mu Er flying.

Those thousand‑jin‑weight Jin hammers truly lived up to their reputation.

But that death god has not shown up in these three days.

Wang Shudu felt a vague unease inside.

"Report… General, the Ming army is moving!" At that moment, a scout ran up to the arrow tower and said to Wang Shudu.

"What movement?"

"They've pushed the artillery forward; it's only two hundred fifty steps from the wall!"

Wang Shudu's heart tightened as she said, "Artillery? How many pieces?"

"Can't see clearly, at least twenty pieces!"

Twenty pieces of artillery, two hundred fifty steps.

At this distance, they can bombard the wall directly.

Wang Shudu gritted her teeth and said, "Send the order down: everyone hide at the base of the wall! When the artillery fires, no one may show their head!"

"Yes!"

But after waiting half an hour, the Ming army's artillery never sounded.

While Wang Shudu was puzzled, she suddenly heard a strange sound from afar.

"Dong dong dong…"

Like heavy footsteps, thudding one after another, getting closer.

He squinted toward the direction of the sound.

Moonlight was hazy, and a silhouette could be vaguely seen, stepping toward the wall.

On that person's shoulder, they carried a black, elongated object.

Wang Shudu rubbed her eyes, still unable to see clearly.

It came a little closer.

Finally, he saw clearly.

What the person carried on their shoulder was an artillery piece!

An iron cannon longer than a person and thicker than a bucket!

Wang Shudu was completely stunned.

On the wall, the rebels also witnessed the scene.

Everyone opened their mouths wide, dumbly staring at the monster carrying the cannon.

"Is… is that a human?"

"It's a ghost! It's a ghost!"

"Fire arrows! Quickly fire arrows!"

Arrows fell like rain.

The person didn't dodge at all, letting the arrows strike his body, rebounded by his heavy plate armor.

He walked step by step, not fast, but each step felt like stepping on a human heart.

Two Hundred Steps.

One hundred fifty steps.

One Hundred Steps.

Finally, he stopped at eighty steps from the wall.

In Moonlight, that simple‑hearted face was clearly visible.

Prince Wu Zhu Yong.

Zhu Yong lifted the massive Zhenyuan Grand General cannon on his shoulder with one hand, then aimed the muzzle at the wall.

He turned his head and glanced back.

Behind him, three younger brothers stood two Hundred Steps away, watching him nervously.

"Second Prince, be careful!" Zhu Di shouted.

Zhu Yong chuckled, then turned back and, with his other hand, lit the fuse.

"Chi..."

The fuse sparked and burned rapidly.

On the wall, Wang Shudu finally reacted, shouting hoarsely, "Get away! Quickly get away!"

"Boom..."

An earth‑shaking, sky‑splitting roar.

The muzzle spewed three‑foot‑long flames, the cannonball whooshed out, smashing hard onto the first wall.

"Boom—!"

The bricks and stones cracked, and debris flew sideways.

The cannonball created a basin‑sized crater, but the stockade wall did not fall.

Zhu Yong frowned.

Eighty steps away was still too far.

He hoisted the cannon and walked another twenty steps forward.

Sixty steps.

Reloaded, and lit the fuse.

"Boom...."

Second shot.

This shot pierced straight through the stockade wall!

"Rumble!"

A huge hole exploded in the stockade wall, bricks and stones rained down, and the rebels behind the wall fell in a panicked scream.

Zhu Yong nodded with satisfaction.

He hoisted the cannon and kept moving forward.

Forty steps.

Twenty steps.

Ten steps.

Finally, he pressed the cannon barrel directly against the stockade wall.

He lit the fuse.

"Boom..."

This shot blasted a Three Zhang‑wide section of the stockade wall down!

Bricks and stones collapsed, and smoke and dust billowed.

Zhu Yong shouldered the cannon and strode through the breach.

Behind him, Zhu Shuang, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Di were completely stunned.

"Second Prince... is he... is he human?" Zhu Shuang opened his mouth and said.

Zhu Gang muttered, "One shot... one shot blew the stockade wall down... and he's still carrying the cannon..."

Zhu Di was the first to recover, shouting, "What are you standing still for! Charge!"

Three thousand iron cavalry roared and charged toward the breach.

Inside the stockade, chaos reigned.

The rebels never dreamed anyone would shoulder a cannon and blast open their stockade wall.

Zhu Yong shouldered the cannon, stepping forward step by step.

When he reached the second stockade wall, he again pressed the cannon barrel against it.

"Boom..."

He blasted another opening.

The third stockade wall.

"Boom..."

The opening widened.

Finally came the inner city's gate.

Zhu Yong set the cannon down and glanced at the thick wooden gate reinforced with Reinforced Iron.

He took a deep breath, hoisted the cannon, ran a few steps, and swung it violently...

The eight‑hundred‑jin iron cannon became a siege hammer in his hands, smashing the gate hard.

"Thud!"

The gate shuddered violently, the iron plating dented.

"Thud!"

Second strike.

"Thud!"

Third strike.

"Rumble..."

The gate collapsed with a boom.

Zhu Yong hoisted the cannon, stepped over the shattered gate, and entered the inner city.

Inside, Wang Shuduo stood before the last line of defense, his face as pale as paper.

He looked at the man bearing the cannon, his legs went weak, and he fell to his knees.

"King Wu, spare me... I surrender... I surrender..."

Zhu Yong looked down at him, gave a simple grin, and said, "If you'd surrendered earlier it would have been done, but you had to make me carry the cannon all the way here."

He set the cannon down, plopped his bottom onto the barrel, and shouted outward, "Fifth Prince, come in and capture them!"

Zhu Di led the Imperial Troops inside, and in a few moves bound Wang Shuduo into a bundle.

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang also rushed in, and their gazes at the Second Prince sitting on the barrel were like looking at a monster.

"Second Prince... the sight of you shouldering a cannon and blasting the city, I'll remember it for a lifetime," Zhu Shuang said after holding back for a while, finally managing a sentence.

Zhu Gang nodded vigorously and said, "Me too."

Zhu Di said nothing, but his eyes were full of admiration.

Zhu Yong smiled, then patted the cannon barrel beside him and said, "This thing works quite well."

……

Hai Hour, the Seventh Pass was completely pacified.

Ten thousand rebels, six thousand were annihilated, over three thousand captured, and the defending commander Wang Shuduo'er was taken alive.

Zhu Yong sat on the stone steps of the inner city, watching the Imperial Troops tally the spoils.

Three younger brothers gathered nearby, still excitedly discussing the scene they had just witnessed.

"Second Prince's cannon blast ripped straight through the stockade wall!"

"I saw it! That thick wall was pierced by a single shot!"

"Then when they carried the cannon and slammed it into the gate, the gate itself dented inward!"

Zhu Yong listened to their chattering and couldn't help but say, amused.

"Alright, stop the noise, clean up, and tomorrow we return to Yingtian Prefecture."

The three responded in unison, "Yes!"

Zhu Di leaned over, whispering, "Second Prince, that cannon just now… was it hot to carry?"

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "From the camp to the stockade wall, it didn't feel any different."

Zhu Di inhaled a sharp breath of cold air.

Over three hundred steps, carrying an eight‑hundred‑jin iron cannon, blasting wall after wall and gate after gate, he felt no heat at all—could it be that Second Prince's skin is forged of iron?

But…

This is his Second Prince.

The invincible Wu King Zhu Yong.

The night grew deeper.

The wind in the valley blew through, carrying an intensely thick smell of gunpowder.

In the distance, toward Yingtian Prefecture, their family was still waiting for them to return.

Zhu Yong stood up, looked at the southern night sky, and smiled.

"Let's go, home."

The three younger brothers answered in unison, following him with long strides toward the camp.

Behind them, the flames of the Seventh Pass gradually faded.

The rebellion at Nalin Seven Stations was completely pacified.