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
“Kill!”
The smoke and dust from the collapsed Haigucheng gate were observed by Beishan.
A surge of wild joy filled his heart. For him, the opportunity to wash away his humiliation was at hand. At this moment, he let out a roar, ordering his army to charge towards the city gate.
Ye Qingyun’s expression was grim, but he remained calm and composed. The characteristic of a general’s coolheadedness was evident in him at this moment.
After the city gate collapsed, a portion of the barbarian slave soldiers and Goryeo soldiers attempting to climb with ladders began to pour through the city gate.
At the same time, the majority of the soldiers were still carrying ladders and assaulting the city walls. This was to tie down the forces on the city walls.
At this moment, Ye Qingyun said to his deputy general, “The city wall is yours.”
“Yes, General.” The deputy general’s expression was firm. Relatively speaking, the city wall was much safer now; few enemies could climb up under the fire of firearms and bayonets.
Ye Qingyun descended to the base of the city wall. At this moment, a sound, deeper than artillery but brighter than firearms, suddenly rang out, and the barbarian slave soldiers pouring through the city gate immediately fell in swathes.
Ye Qingyun had already anticipated this situation last night. So, he had placed fifty of the one hundred heavy smoothbore guns at the city gate and built the sandbag trenches he had learned about at the Army Academy there.
These sandbag trenches could, firstly, protect the soldiers, reducing their exposure to arrows and enemy firearms. Secondly, the layered trenches could also impede the movement of enemy soldiers.
At this time, the barbarian soldiers rushing into the city gate saw a strange sight before their eyes.
Before them lay a wall constructed from rows of sackcloth bags. Behind this wall stood a dense array of Great Yu Empire soldiers.
Among them, some massive firearms extended from the wall, and these firearms would cause widespread casualties with each shot.
“Soldiers, the dignity of the Great Yu Empire must not be lost in our hands today. Even if we fight to the last man, we must hold Haigucheng. Kill!”
Ye Qingyun personally oversaw the battle. The morale of the soldiers in front of the city gate soared. They fixed bayonets onto their firearms, ready to engage in close combat with the barbarian soldiers at any moment.
At this moment, they fought for the glory of the Great Yu Empire.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
The heavy smoothbore guns and rifled muskets furiously spewed flames. To defend the city gate, Ye Qingyun had also deployed rifled musketeers at the city gate.
Under the fierce barrage, the barbarian soldiers entering the city gate fell one after another. The area in front of the city gate was soon covered with corpses.
Time gradually passed. From early morning until noon, the barbarians made no progress under the fierce firepower.
With a light bugle call, the barbarian siege army, having left eight thousand corpses behind, began to retreat.
In the barbarian camp, Beshan’s face was so grim it could drip water. He had thought that once the city gate was breached, they could charge into the city and fight a decisive battle with the Great Yu Empire army.
But he was wrong. So far, he had only left a pile of corpses at the city gate, and the attacking army was beginning to scatter due to the desperate assault. In desperation, he had no choice but to order a temporary halt to the attack.
“Prince, the Great Yu Empire’s firearms shoot too far. Many soldiers were killed from two hundred paces away, and our artillerymen also suffered heavy casualties,” Guduo said.
Beishan’s knuckles cracked as he squeezed them. He angrily said, “Why does the Great Yu Empire have so many strange firearms?”
Guduo’s eyes dimmed. He said, “That’s not even the most terrifying firearm behind the city gate. The soldiers who escaped said there’s also a large firearm there that can kill over a dozen people with each shot.”
Beishan’s face turned ashen. The slave soldiers and Goryeo soldiers were diminishing. Yet, Haigucheng had not been breached at all. If this continued, their Golden Tent Khanate soldiers would have to go in themselves.
Although the Golden Tent Khanate soldiers fought fearlessly, if losses were too high, he would still face ridicule from other princes.
After all, over the years, the Golden Tent Khanate had suffered heavy losses of its people in battles against enemies.
At this moment, Beishan suddenly regretted his persistence. If he lost again this time, his hope for the Khanate’s throne would be completely gone.
While Beishan was anxious, the Great Yu Empire soldiers in Haigucheng breathed a sigh of relief. They immediately ate and replenished their strength during the midday truce.
“General, this heavy smoothbore gun is formidable! This thing fires faster than artillery, and two people can carry it around easily, making support very convenient. The barbarians must have suffered enough this time.”
Ye Qingyun and the soldiers sat together, eating scallion pancakes.
These were the rations they brought from Dengzhou. The ingredients were flour, oil, salt, and scallions. It was said that the Emperor himself had taught the Qingzhou army’s commissary how to make them.
These pancakes were very fragrant and soft when just out of the pan, but they would become very hard when cold. When the weather was not yet hot, they wouldn’t mold even if carried for a month, greatly reducing the pressure on logistics. This time, they had each soldier carry enough scallion pancakes for half a month’s consumption for the trip to Haigucheng.
It was for this reason that now, flatbreads and scallion pancakes had become the staple food for troops fighting far from home.
“This is due to His Majesty’s foresight. This item is specifically designed to deal with the barbarians,” Ye Qingyun said, his demeanor relaxed.
Based on his observations, the Goryeo soldiers had essentially been terrified all morning. In the upcoming battles, they would certainly not fight desperately to breach the city.
And the barbarian cannons had largely been rendered useless by them. The barbarians would next have to fill this gap with human lives.
As they were eating, Liang Dahai suddenly appeared with a group of merchants. Each of these merchants was followed by seven or eight servants.
Each of these servants carried a basket, from which steam was rising.
Seeing Liang Dahai, Ye Qingyun frowned. “Liang Dahai, there’s a battle going on right now. What is the meaning of this?”
Liang Dahai was not angry. He said with a smile, “General, this is a kind gesture from the merchants. This time, coming from Dengzhou, their merchant ships are filled with potatoes, chickens, ducks, fish, and meat. Now, to reward the soldiers, they have specially steamed some and brought them to you.”
The merchants’ faces were adorned with smiles. They unveiled the cloth covering the baskets, revealing indeed a sumptuous meal: boiled potatoes, boiled chicken, pork, and various other dishes.
The soldiers’ eyes immediately widened with longing. Looking at these delicacies, the scallion pancakes in their hands lost their flavor.
Zou Cheng licked his lips and said to Ye Qingyun, “General, there are still tough battles to be fought in the next few days. The soldiers will only have strength if they are full.”
Ye Qingyun glared fiercely at Zou Cheng. He did not relent, but instead said, “No good deed comes without a motive. Speak, what do you want to do?”
A merchant eagerly said, “It’s actually very simple. We hope the General can allow us to take away the injured barbarian and Goryeo soldiers.”
Ye Qingyun immediately understood the merchants’ intention. Now, outside the city gate, there were injured barbarian and Goryeo soldiers everywhere. Some of them were not seriously wounded and could recover with rest.
After these people recovered, they could be sold, and that would be thirty taels of silver.
*TN: Some readers might find certain parts of this novel unsettling, for example, when Xiao Ming allows merchants to capture and sell refugees as slaves. I just want to state that my intention is to translate this work true to the original, without leaving out any context. And please keep in mind, this novel takes place during the Age of Exploration, where acts like that were a common practice for colonizing nations. It’s like the old saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.