The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair
The moon shone brightly. Haigucheng in the dark was devoid of any light, its massive, dark silhouette like a monstrous beast in the night.
Beishan suddenly felt a pang of fear as he gazed at Haigucheng before him. The brutal scene of the Battle of Jizhou once again appeared in his mind.
The former Blood Wolf Guard was almost annihilated in that battle, and his status in the Golden Tent Khanate plummeted. The once invincible general had now become a laughingstock in the eyes of the princes.
Clenching his fist tightly, Beishan punched the cannon beside him. The Great Yu Empire had ruined him with cannons; he would also use cannons to ruin the Great Yu Empire.
The next day, a loud bugle call broke the original tranquility of Haigucheng. After preparing their meals, the barbarians launched an attack on Haigucheng.
Ye Qingyun stood on the city wall, watching all this with cold eyes. After a night of preparation, Haigucheng had been deployed by him as a solid fortress.
Especially the city gate, which after a night’s arrangement, was now fortified with sandbag trenches. If the city gate were breached, this would become the second line of defense against the barbarians.
“General, General Yue has already gone to Bisa Castle.” While Ye Qingyun was observing the battlefield, a soldier came to report.
Ye Qingyun nodded. The barbarians aiding Goryeo was already expected by the Emperor. This battle was to defend Haigucheng and also to attract the attention of the barbarians and Goryeo, seizing the opportunity to take Bisa Castle.
Once that city, which could directly reach the barbarian heartland, was controlled, the Great Yu Empire would no longer be merely defensive against the barbarians, but would shift to the offensive.
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyun felt a surge of excitement. The Great Yu Empire had been bullied too much by the barbarians over the years, and now every general harbored a suppressed anger, wanting to wash away the Great Yu Empire’s humiliation.
Moreover, the barbarians constantly threatened the Great Yu Empire’s security in the north. Without completely destroying the barbarians, the Great Yu Empire would have an additional security threat on land.
“Prepare for battle!”
Ye Qingyun calmly uttered four words. Yue Yun was originally a naval general, and they each had their respective duties this time. If Yue Yun stayed here, he would feel somewhat constrained.
Upon receiving his order, the soldiers on the city wall immediately aimed their firearms at the approaching barbarian slave soldiers outside the city.
The artillerymen also loaded shells, ready to bombard the barbarian artillery positions at any moment.
But then, a horrifying scene appeared before them. Just as the barbarian slave soldiers were carrying ladders towards the city gate, a group of unarmed Goryeo common people, driven by the barbarians, stood in front of the cannons.
Every step the barbarian artillerymen approached the city wall, they would move forward a step, blocking the barbarian cannons.
“General, the barbarian cannons are blocked!” Artillery Captain Zou Cheng said anxiously. He was once a capable officer under Luo Xin, and after the army reform, he was transferred from Luo Xin’s command to Ye Qingyun’s army.
Ye Qingyun also saw this scene. He was not surprised; this was a common trick used by the barbarians in warfare. For the barbarians, anyone outside their own kind was merely like pigs or dogs, worthless.
“Fire!” Ye Qingyun uttered a single word.
A general must be merciless. After experiencing so many battles, he deeply understood this principle. Mercy towards the enemy was cruelty towards one’s own soldiers.
As for these Goryeo common people, one could only say they brought it upon themselves. Since they abandoned the Great Yu Empire as their suzerain and then joined in to add insult to injury all these years, they had to bear the consequences.
“Yes, General,” Zou Cheng replied, then shouted, “Open fire!”
“Boom, boom, boom…”
Cannons roared. Ninety-six cannons spewed smoke and flames at this moment. Black cannonballs shot straight towards the barbarian artillery’s direction.
A chorus of screams rang out as the Goryeo common people blocking the barbarian cannons fell one after another. Blood and severed limbs lay scattered across the ground.
In such a terrifying scene, the Goryeo common people were horrified. They scattered and fled backward, but what awaited them were the barbarians’ butcher knives.
All Goryeo common people who attempted to flee were killed by the barbarians’ scimitars.
Li Cheng-jae was also on the city wall. Seeing this scene, he gritted his teeth, his palms sweating cold. At the same time, a strong surge of anger burned within him.
The barbarians had never treated the Goryeo common people as human. In Ryukyo City, he had personally witnessed the barbarians’ atrocities in the city. This scene was not the first time it had appeared on Goryeo’s land.
When fighting Japan, the barbarians had treated Japan in the same way.
A wave of sadness swept through Li Cheng-jae’s heart as he looked at the Great Yu Empire soldiers, who were disciplined and well-organized. Although the Great Yu Empire was also an invader, it at least did not drive its own common people as human shields.
The roar of cannons continued. The barbarian cannons finally entered firing range under the protection of human shields.
At this moment, Ye Qingyun’s heart clenched. This battle would probably be even more difficult than he imagined.
Below the city wall, the barbarian slave soldiers continued to charge despite the muskets’ fire, leaving behind large numbers of corpses on the ground.
Watching the barbarian cannons approach from five hundred meters to four hundred, then to three hundred meters, a sneer appeared on Ye Qingyun’s lips.
Clearly, the barbarians’ cannons had not improved at all over the years; their range was still around five hundred meters. To ensure the cannonballs were powerful enough to damage the city wall, they had to bring the cannons closer to the wall.
However, doing so would bring them within range of the rifled muskets, and the artillerymen would become targets at that moment.
So he said to a general, “Have the rifled musket team fire at the cannons.”
Upon receiving the order, the rifled musket team immediately fired towards the barbarian cannons. The barbarian cannons had now entered the firing range of the rifled muskets.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
On the city wall, the rifled musketeers formed a line and opened fire on the barbarian cannons. The dense volley of bullets immediately felled a large number of Goryeo common people who were blocking the barbarian cannons.
Then the first row of soldiers knelt, and the second row continued to fire.
At this moment, the barbarian soldiers had no time to drive the common people to fill the gaps immediately. Under the second round of firing, barbarian artillerymen fell one after another.
Dense volleys of bullets continuously struck the barbarian cannons, making “clanking” sounds as metal hit metal.
Beishan was greatly surprised by this scene. He looked at the white smoke and fire constantly rising from the city wall. Since when could the Great Yu Empire’s firearms hit people from two or three hundred paces away?
Seeing that the cannons were about to blast open the city gate, Beshan hysterically shouted, “Drive all the Goryeo people forward! No matter what, blast open the city gate of Haigucheng!”
Under his command, the barbarian generals once again blew their melodious horns. At this time, barbarian cavalry, holding their sabers, herded thousands of Goryeo people towards the cannons like sheep.
A dense human shield once again blocked the cannons. Seizing this opportunity, the barbarian artillerymen immediately loaded their shells and bombarded the main gate of Haigucheng.
“Boom, boom, boom…”
From the hundred cannons, over sixty surviving ones poured their shells onto the city gate of Haigucheng. In an instant, the city gate collapsed with a roar.
Ye Qingyun almost ground his teeth. The Haigucheng gate had finally fallen.