Chapter 322: Battle Begins

……

At the city gate, a squad of Longcharging Army soldiers was changing posts.

Leading them was a young flag‑bearer, just over twenty, his face tanned dark from the sun, but his eyes were bright.

His name was Zhao Hu, and he had fought under King Wu for five years, rising from a foot soldier to a flag‑bearer.

The person he admired most in his life was King Wu.

The Northern Yuan fielded three hundred thousand iron cavalry, yet King Wu dared to charge with only five thousand men.

He dared to storm the Nüzhen mountain stronghold alone.

He smashed the Goryeo city wall with a single hammer blow.

Let alone the low‑lying Wa Country, King Wu led his men to leap straight onto it and fight.

He had never seen a commander like that.

In battle he charged at the front, and his eyes never blinked when killing.

After the battlefield he joked and laughed with his brothers, never putting on the prince's airs.

Zhao Hu often said that fighting under King Wu was worth dying for.

"Brother Hu, do you think that hundred‑thousand army can break through?" a fresh recruit whispered nearby.

Zhao Hu glanced at him and laughed, "If they break through, that's perfect—let those Tie Mu Er men see what real fighting looks like."

The recruit chuckled and asked again, "Brother Hu, how many could the Prince defeat alone?"

Zhao Hu thought for a moment and said, "I don't know, but I do know that the last time in Nüzhen, the Prince killed over three hundred by himself."

The recruit opened his mouth wide and couldn't close it for a while.

Zhao Hu patted his shoulder and said, "Kid, don't overthink it—just follow the Prince's orders. When the Prince tells us to charge, we charge.

When the Prince tells us to hold, we hold; we won't lose anyway."

The recruit nodded vigorously.

……

On the city tower, Zhu Yong was still standing.

The sun had risen, its rays spilling over the distant Gobi desert in a wash of gold.

In that camp of tents, the cooking smoke grew thicker.

The hundred‑thousand army was having breakfast.

Zhu Yong squinted, watching the camp, his mind calculating.

Jia Hanjir had already arrived with his troops, but he would not assault the city immediately.

He needed to set up camp first, then scout, then probe.

At least two or three days.

Those two or three days would be enough for him to prepare.

Three li outside the city, he had already dug over a hundred traps and buried several hundred charges of explosives.

When they charge over, he'll first make them eat their fill.

On the city wall, three hundred Hongwu heavy cannons were already in place.

These cannons were a design finalized in the eighteenth year of Hongwu, with a range of three li and capable of firing cluster shells.

When a cluster shell hits a crowd, it explodes in a wide blast.

How many rounds of bombardment can a hundred‑thousand army withstand?

A faint smile tugged at Zhu Yong's mouth.

Come on.

Let you all see what Great Ming's power truly is.

……

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Zhu Yong turned and saw Guanyin Nu ascend the tower.

She wore a light‑blue long dress, a sheer veil on her head, shielding her from wind and sand.

"Prince, it's time for breakfast," she said softly as she approached Zhu Yong.

Zhu Yong nodded and asked, "And the children?"

"Huan Huan is reading, Jiong Jiong is playing in the courtyard, insisting on hitting the pomegranate tree with a wooden mallet, but Xiao Zhu stopped him," Guanyin Nu said.

Zhu Yong smiled.

That boy, only five years old, already had frightening strength.

When he grows up, he'll likely be another kid who can lift a thousand or eight hundred jin.

"Prince, you haven't slept all night; why not go back and rest a while?" Guanyin Nu looked at his face with concern.

Zhu Yong shook his head, "I'm not tired; I'll rest after this battle is over."

Guanyin Nu was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Prince, that hundred‑thousand army…"

Zhu Yong knew what she meant, grasped her hand and said, "Don't worry, it's fine. Three thousand Longxiang Army, plus the surrendered troops, plus this wall, plus those traps and explosives— the hundred‑thousand army can't break through."

Guanyin Nu looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"I believe the Prince."

Zhu Yong also smiled.

The two stood side by side on the tower, gazing at the distant camp of tents.

The wind blew in, carrying the dry scent unique to the Gobi.

In the distance, the faint whinny of warhorses could be heard.

There was also Horn Sound.

That was the Timur Empire's army gathering.

A new day began.

……

Inside the city, on the spire of a mosque, the imam was calling believers to perform the morning prayer.

The sound was long, drifting in the morning air.

The townsfolk, hearing the sound, hurried out of their homes and headed toward the mosque.

When they passed the Street, they saw the Great Ming soldiers in iron armor patrolling.

In squads, they were as orderly as if measured with a ruler.

The townsfolk dared not stare, lowered their heads and hurried past.

But they all thought in their hearts.

What exactly were these people here to do?

They won a battle, yet they did not loot, did not kill, and even paid for the flatbread.

Does such an army exist in this world?

An old man selling flatbread, pushing his cart at the street corner, watched the patrolling soldiers and suddenly recalled what happened three days ago.

That day, he saw with his own eyes those iron‑armored soldiers storm into the city.

He thought it was over, that his home would be looted and his wife and children would suffer.

But those iron‑armored soldiers passed his doorway without even glancing.

Later, he slipped out to look and saw many Tie Mu Er soldiers' corpses lying on the street, blood spilling everywhere.

Yet those iron‑armored soldiers did not touch a single corpse.

The next day, someone came to collect the corpses and carried them away.

On the third day, the bloodstains on the street were washed clean.

The city returned to calm.

The old man could not understand.

But he knew that such an army was a hundred times more terrifying than those that loot.

……

Outside the city, the Longxiang Army's engineering camp continued digging traps.

Zhou Da Niu stood at the edge of a newly dug trap and tossed a Stone into it.

The Stone fell to the bottom, producing a "thud".

"Depth is just right, fill with earth, camouflage complete," he said, nodding with satisfaction, and shouted to the people beside him.

The engineers began laying dry grass and sand onto the trap.

After camouflaging, it looked exactly like the surrounding ground.

Zhou Da Niu looked, then stepped on it with his foot.

It did not move a hair.

He smiled.

When those Tie Mu Er cavalry charged over, a foot would step on it…

Boom!

Both riders and horses fell straight into a trap a zhang deep.

The Wooden Stake below was enough to kill them outright.

"Keep digging," Zhou Da Niu shouted.

The engineers kept working.

In a distant camp tent, Horn Sound rose again.

One hundred thousand troops were gathering.

Zhou Da Niu glanced, a smile tugging at his mouth.

Come on!

The elders were here waiting for you.

……

On the city tower, Zhu Yong was still standing.

Behind him, Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng had arrived, awaiting orders.

"Prince, how many traps have we dug?" Zhang Wuhe asked.

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "Zhou Da Niu just reported; we have already dug over three hundred, buried over five hundred charges, enough for them to drink a pot."

Zhang Wuhe nodded and added, "Those surrendered soldiers, five thousand of them, have already been issued weapons, letting them stand ready beneath the city."

Zhu Yong hummed and said, "Let them climb the city wall, carve out a place for them, have someone watch them; if they defect, it will be trouble."

"Yes."

Chen Heng said beside him, "Prince, what about those foreign envoys? Are they still detained?"

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "Release them, let them walk around the city, watch how we fight; after seeing it, they can return and tell their king what Great Ming is."

Chen Heng smiled.

"Yes, I will handle it at once, my lord."

……

The sun rose higher and higher.

In the distant camp, the great army had already completed its assembly.

A swath of blackness, like a dark cloud, pressed down upon the earth.

The Horn Sound ceased.

The war drums sounded.

Dong dong dong, dong dong dong.

That was the drumbeat of the attack.

Zhu Yong squinted, staring at that swath of blackened troops.

The hundred‑thousand army was finally about to move.

He turned and looked toward the Longxiang Army soldiers standing on the city wall.

Three thousand men had lined up in perfect order.

In the sunlight, each piece of lamellar armor glinted with a cold sheen.

The Flintlock Gun was already loaded with ammunition.

"Longxiang Army!"

Three thousand men brushed, straightening their backs together.

"Prepare for battle!"

The three thousand men roared in unison.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The roar shook the heavens, echoing across the Gobi.

In the distance, that swath of blackened army began to move.

The sound of hooves rolled like muffled thunder, shaking the earth itself.

The hundred‑thousand army surged toward Sa Ma Erhan.

Zhu Yong stood on the city tower, watching the army draw ever nearer.

A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Come on!

I'll let you see what true war really is.

He turned and looked at the messenger soldier behind him.

"Send the order onward, prepare the heavy artillery."

"Explosives ready."

"Flintlock Gun ready."

"Wait until they come within range…"

He paused briefly, then said word for word, "Hit them hard for me."

In the sixteenth year of Hongwu, on the twelfth day of the seventh month, at Shi Jing, three ke.

Outside Sa Ma Erhan City.

The hundred‑thousand Tie Mu Er army began its charge.

The three thousand Longxiang Army stood in strict formation, awaiting.

A bloody battle was about to begin.