Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 911 Overwhelming

"Oh? Please ask Mr. Feng to explain in detail!"

Seeing Xu Tuo so respectful, Feng Sheng smiled and explained. The Feng family of Lingnan had been settled in Lingnan for more than 300 years since they sailed south during the Liu Song Dynasty. They knew the situation in Lingnan and even Jiaozhou very well. Unlike the Central Plains, where civilization was very precocious and the political weapon of a powerful monarchy and bureaucratic machine had already emerged as early as the Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn Period, the vast Lingnan region was still in the stage of scattered chiefdoms and tribal alliances for quite a long time. As a result, once the northern forces moved south, they were like a dead tree and rotten wood, such as the Chu State destroyed Yue, the Qin destroyed Baiyue, and Emperor Wu of Han destroyed Nanyue.

After conquering the Lingnan region, the Central Plains dynasty usually copied the local county system and set up officials to govern. Except for a few provincial governors, prefects, county magistrates and other officials who could be sent from the Central Plains, most of the other minor officials and lower-level officials could only be selected from local powerful people. These people are often the first to be "Chinese" and the most "Central Plains" in the local area. They are also the most submissive and loyal to the Central Plains dynasty. They are even members of the southern expedition army. After their families settle down in the local area, after several generations, they will become the local prominent families and even the strongest families. In this way, their descendants will gradually become localized, and once the Central Plains dynasty's rule over the local area becomes weak, it is often this group of people who rise up in rebellion and try to establish themselves as kings. This is particularly evident in Vietnam's history. Every time the army of the Central Plains dynasty marched south, groups of "guides" would respond, and then one of them would drive away the army heading south and establish an independent country. Dozens or hundreds of years later, it would be conquered by the next wave of "guides" leading the army of the Central Plains dynasty, and then it would happen again, over and over again.

Feng Sheng certainly had no idea how the Vietnamese gained independence in later generations, but he was very familiar with the behavior of these Jiaozhou nobles. Facing the powerful northerners, they did not consider surrendering as a disgrace, as long as they could strengthen their own families and benefit from it, but they would never miss the opportunity to strike back.

"So that's how it is. Everything is based on the interests of your own family, right?" Suta asked.

"That's right!" Feng Sheng nodded. "These Jiaozhou people are like this, so we must win. As long as you can win, you will find that wherever you go, they will surrender. The opposite will be very bad!"

"I understand what you mean!" Suta laughed, "You can rest assured about this. Wang Wenzuo's son may not be good at other things, but he must be very skilled in attacking and fighting!"

On the ninth day after landing on Jiaozhou, Suta's army left Aizhou and began to advance towards Jiaozhi City, the seat of the Jiaozhou governor. According to the intelligence collected in the past few days, the rebels had surrounded Jiaozhi City. Suta planned to rescue Jiaozhi City first and then take the next step.

Under the protection of the cavalry, Sutuo's team stretched for several miles. The vanguard was composed of dozens of local scouts led by Heba Yun. Sutuo and Feng Sheng and others were with the main team, which consisted of flintlock musketeers, crossbowmen and two hundred spearmen. Following was the baggage train, which consisted of various pack animals, twenty elephants and several small boats, protected by a hundred crossbowmen and a small number of cavalry. Behind all this was a group of merchants who followed closely behind, ready to purchase spoils and slaves at any time. Although the scouts reported that there were no enemies within dozens of miles, Sutuo was still cautious everywhere.

There were 1,300 people in total, most of whom had followed Suta through all kinds of storms, cold, heat, hunger and thirst, and faced the enemy's blades and arrows without fear. There was no doubt that the number of enemies was definitely greater, but Suta had long been accustomed to it. Most of the battles he had experienced were against the majority with a small number of people, but this did not affect his becoming the final winner.

At noon, the rain began to fall continuously from the intermittent rain in the morning until dusk. The next day, the soldiers did not see the sun. Under the leaden sky, everyone wore a hood to avoid the rain. It rained heavily that day. The roads were muddy, the fields were flooded, the rivers were swollen, the leaves were flying, the continuous sound of horse hooves was disturbing and annoying, and the sound of elephants could be heard from time to time. People only spoke a few words when necessary, and most of the time they were silent.

"This is nothing!" Heba Yun said to Feng Sheng with a smile, "Compared to the expedition to Ezo, this is nothing. At least it's raining now, not hail and snow!"

"Bows and arrows can't be used in this kind of weather!" Feng Sheng whispered, "Will your crossbows also be affected?"

"Don't worry, the crossbow strings are placed in bamboo tubes sealed with wax! As for the bows, the enemy can't use them. We have better ones, right? Brother Sutuo!" Heba Yun winked at Sutuo beside him.

Xuta ignored Heba Yun. Ever since leaving Aizhou, the smile had left his face. He turned into a stern and intimidating man. Under the gaze of his slightly narrow eyes, even a veteran who had experienced many battles would find it difficult not to lower his head.

"General, there are traces of a fierce battle ahead!" the scout reported.

"Big Ayton, Feng Jishi, Mr. Wang, come with me to take a look!" Xu Tuo said loudly: "Ayun, you stay here, just in case!"

"Yes, sir!" Heba Yun lowered his head in disappointment.

The battlefield was a shallow riverbank, and everywhere she looked were relics of the time: helmets corroded by rain, broken spears, horses, and human bones. Stone cairns were everywhere, marking where people had died, but scavengers had not spared the dead. Here and there, among the overturned stones, were patches of vivid cloth and gleams of metal. A face stared at her in silence, the outline of a skull looming beneath the brown flesh of decay.

"Look, this scale armor!" Wang Bo jumped off his horse and said, "We must have been ambushed when we were crossing the river!"

"Yes!" Suta nodded. He picked up the armor piece and looked at it. "It has been at least twenty days, or even longer! We have to be more careful. There are rebels' eyes everywhere!"

The army crossed the river and continued to march northwest. Three days later, scouts in front reported that the rebels had demolished the bridge over the river and built earthworks on the other side of the river. Obviously, the enemy had learned of their actions and tried to prevent them from rescuing Jiaozhi.

"Are there any other bridges nearby?" Suta asked the local guide.

"They have all been demolished!" The guide shook his head like a rattle. "After the bandits defeated the governor's army, they demolished the bridge."

"Then how do they cross the river by themselves?" asked Suta.

"The thieves are all locals, lightly armed, good at swimming, and there are many small boats hidden in the secret places on both sides of the river!" The guide replied. Suta nodded. The guide just mentioned a huge advantage of the rebels. The rebels who are familiar with the local conditions have a huge advantage. They can easily disperse and hide in the woods and swamps. Therefore, they don't need a special baggage train like Suta's army, and naturally have faster mobility. They are much less dependent on roads and bridges! "We must cross the river!" Suta said.

"Ah?" Heba Yun didn't hear clearly what Sudora said: "What?"

"We must cross the river! We don't know when the rain will stop. If we keep leaving the soldiers in the wild, there will soon be an epidemic!" Sutada said, "Heba Yun, I will give you two hundred men. Find a place to cross the river upstream, and then go around behind these bandits--" Sutada clenched his fists and made a pincer attack gesture.

"Got it!" Heba Yun responded with a smile, and turned his horse back to prepare. Looking at the riders breaking through the rain and fog, Xu Tuo smiled at Feng Sheng and said, "Mr. Feng, I'm really sorry to involve you. If it weren't for us, you should still be living comfortably in Guangzhou!"

"Since you're already here, don't say these things!" Feng Sheng smiled and said, "Besides, I'm not as comfortable staying in Guangzhou as you think!"

"Oh!" Suta's eyes lit up when he heard this: "If that's the case, then let's make the best of it!"

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In order to attract the attention of the rebels, Suta ordered the soldiers to cut down the trees by the river and pretend to build a raft. This had a good effect. The rebels recalled the soldiers patrolling the river and sent soldiers to shoot arrows at the Tang soldiers who were building rafts on the river bank. The Tang soldiers set up shields, fought back with crossbowmen, and pushed the rafts into the water. For a while, the two sides fought fiercely. At noon, the rain gradually stopped. Suddenly, shouts and shouts came from the rebels' rear camp, and then columns of smoke rose. The rebels were immediately in chaos, and the officers who urged the soldiers to shoot arrows at the other side of the river were also confused.

"Let the gunners move forward, place them in two rows, and then cross the river!" Suta ordered.

Along with the rapid beat of drums, Feng Sheng saw the soldiers of the Tang army walk to the river, raise the strange short spears, point them at the other side of the river, and then with a command, a row of flames spurted out from the tip of the spear. He heard a loud noise and felt his knees go weak, and he almost fell to the ground!

The second row of gunfire rang out, and the Tang soldiers retreated. More than a dozen rafts were pushed into the He River and moved to the other side of the river with the paddling of wooden oars.

"General, this, this is--" Feng Sheng asked in horror, pointing at the short spear on the shoulder of a Tang army soldier not far away.

"Flintlock, you can call it a fire gun!" Suta replied, "It is a new weapon made by my father, it can kill people from a hundred steps away!"

"Taking someone's life from a hundred steps away?"

"You can look at the other side of the river!" Sutuo pointed, and Feng Sheng then noticed that there were many corpses lying in a mess on the other side of the river. Could they have been killed by the flintlock rifle?
"Is this a new type of crossbow?" Feng Sheng asked.

"You can understand it this way!" Suta scratched the back of his head and found it difficult to explain it clearly in words: "But the power is much greater. Let's put it this way! Even ordinary iron armor can be shot through!"

"Is this true?" Feng Sheng was shocked. Although he was not a warrior, he knew that armor reduced the lethality of bows and crossbows. Generally speaking, even a strong crossbow could not cause effective damage to a warrior in iron armor at a distance, not to mention a horn bow. If, as Sutuo said, this fire gun could penetrate iron armor from a distance of 100 meters, wouldn't it be invincible?
"You'll know when you see it with your own eyes!" Suta smiled and pointed to the other side of the river, "Look, it shouldn't take long!"

Faced with the two-sided attack of the Tang army, the rebels soon lost their organized resistance. As soon as the rafts reached the shore, the Tang soldiers jumped off. They first fired a volley, defeating the last group of enemies who tried to form a formation to resist, and then charged with bayonets, driving the remaining enemies into the bushes and reeds. At this time, the rebels' light equipment and local advantages were reflected. Although they were defeated, most of them still escaped, and only a few wounded were captured.

Feng Sheng jumped off the raft and walked to a corpse. The unfortunate guy was lying on his back with a transparent hole in his chest, obviously pierced by the sharp blade at the top of the short spear. He shook his head and looked for a few more corpses. Finally, he found one without any knife wounds. After searching carefully for a while, he found a wound on the right abdomen of the deceased. He stretched out his fingers to probe and found that the wound was very deep. He turned the corpse over and found that there was another hole on the back of the deceased, obviously pierced through.

"How amazing!" Feng Sheng smacked his lips. He rummaged in the sand behind the corpse and found an irregularly shaped lead block.

"Could it be that this thing killed him?"

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After winning the first battle, Suta continued to advance towards Jiaozhi City. On the way, he defeated three more rebels who tried to resist him. Facing the Tang army with new firearms and cavalry, the rebels almost collapsed at the first touch. The process of the three battles was almost exactly the same: after the Tang army seized the favorable terrain, they lured the rebels to attack; the flintlock gunners and crossbowmen lined up in a horizontal line, stood behind the shields and fired volleys at a distance of about 30 meters. Generally, the rebels would collapse after two or three volleys, and then the cavalry rushed out from both sides, and the flintlock gunners with bayonets slowly advanced and stabbed down the remaining enemies who dared to resist. Behind the monotonous and almost boring battle process was an extremely disparate ratio of casualties - in these three battles, more than 1,200 rebels were killed, and the number of injured was twice that of the dead, while the Tang army was injured and one died. Among the four injured, one sprained his foot by running too fast, one burned his face by improper use of firearms, and the one who died fell off the horse and broke his neck.

With this overwhelming victory, the atmosphere in the army quickly became cheerful, and even infected the merchants who followed the army. They followed the army like jackals following a group of lions, cleaning up the battlefield, stripping the dead of their belongings and clothes, buying captives and selling slaves, and selling prostitutes, wine, various foods and everything they could find to the soldiers. In order to avoid affecting military discipline, Suta had to give a special order to drive these merchants away.

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