Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1039 [A duel from a foreign land]

The Chinese are a minority in Ceylon, so we should win over other minorities.

For example, the Tamil people!

The Tamils ​​from South India have invaded Ceylon again and again since BC.

When the Chola dynasty ruled Ceylon, the Tamils ​​became the upper class here and forcibly changed folk beliefs to Brahmanism.

Although Buddhism was restored when Ceylon regained its independence, not all Tamils ​​on the island were killed; the king even recruited a group of Tamil mercenaries as his personal guard.

A few years ago, Parakalama killed the king and established himself as the emperor, and began a crazy massacre of Tamils.

Now the whole island of Ceylon is only the territory of the puppet king and the Chinese, and the Tamils ​​are allowed to continue to survive.

The King of Ceylon and Xia Yuqing both recruited Tamil soldiers - these guys might run away during a war, but they would never surrender to the enemy, because once they surrendered they would be brutally killed!
Faced with the approaching coalition forces of more than 10,000, Xia Yuqing began to expand his entourage.

It can also be said to be a part of the story.

He expanded his thirty Tamil tribes to one hundred and said to them: "As long as you win this battle, I will exempt your family's land rent. Listen carefully, I am not reducing the land rent, but exempting all the land rent in your family! If you fight bravely and make great contributions, I will also grant such warriors land. It belongs to your own land! Shout with me, kill the enemy, kill the enemy, kill the enemy!"

The previous words were translated into Tamil by a personal attendant, but the two words "kill the enemy" were standard Ming official language.

"Kill the enemy, kill the enemy, kill the enemy!"

One hundred Tamil soldiers shouted excitedly, and their morale instantly became high.

Although the rule of Xia Yuqing and other Chinese was extremely brutal, at least they allowed the Tamils ​​to continue to survive.

If this place was captured by the coalition forces, Parakalama's soldiers would definitely kill all the Tamils ​​or turn them into slaves.

Even if it is only for themselves, the Tamils ​​must fight bravely.

What's more, Xia Yuqing also promised to exempt their entire family from land rent, and reward them with some land if they made great contributions.

The five hundred Ming soldiers, like Xia Yuqing, returned to their own manors to recruit more troops.

Didn't one of them die in battle and several died of illness? How come there are still 500 soldiers?
Because their sons or adopted children were already seventeen or eighteen years old and able to fight, and had inherited their deceased father's military equipment.

In addition, many soldiers brought their sons and nephews to fight.

The first two groups of them to get married were the wives they had when they raided Liaodong across the sea. Most of their wives were from Liaodong Bohai, and a few were Han and Khitan women.

The third group got married in Iwami Castle, and their wives were all Japanese women.

Xia Yuqing now has one wife and five concubines.

His principal wife was a Bohai from Liaodong, and the other five concubines were all taken from Ceylon.

Two of his concubines were daughters of Sinhalese nobles, with relatively fair skin, almost as dark as the natives of Southeast Asia. The other two concubines were mixed-race female slaves bought from the Chola Kingdom, who were also one of the sources of Li Bangyan's Bodhisattva Man. Another concubine was the daughter of an Arab merchant.

Over the years, not counting those who died young, Xia Yuqing had a total of six sons and five daughters.

The eldest son and the second son, both born to the Bohai clan’s legal wife, are eighteen and fifteen years old respectively. They will all participate in the battle this time.

"Brother Wang, Brother Gao, Brother Li," Xia Yuqing said to the treasure-hunting trio, clasping his fists. "My navy is very weak, and the enemy may attack from the sea. I will rely on you three for the naval battle. I will definitely reward you handsomely later!"

Wang Chongdu smiled and said, "I heard that the enemy's navy was crippled by the diplomatic corps a few years ago. How much can it recover even if it is rebuilt? Our three ships are all medium-sized warships that have been eliminated by the navy. His Majesty has allowed us to keep the artillery. The soldiers on the ship are also retired navy soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. It's no problem for them to defeat the barbarian navy."

After some communication between the two sides, Xia Yuqing quickly led his troops to battle.

Soldiers and their troops kept coming to join him along the way, so Xia Yuqing decided to split his troops into two groups.

The detachment consisted of fifty soldiers, nearly a hundred of their brothers, sons and nephews, and hundreds of their Tamil followers. These people defended a castle in the northeast, and all the land east of the castle was abandoned.

The main force consisted of 420 soldiers, as well as more than 1,000 of their brothers, nephews, and 7,000 to 8,000 of their Tamil troops. These troops marched northward, with the goal not only to defeat the coalition forces, but also to attack the lair of Parakalama.

The manors of some soldiers of the above main forces and detachments are close to the front line, and they have not yet come to join the front line.

The remaining thirty soldiers, along with their brothers, nephews and followers, stayed behind in Wangxianggang Castle to prevent the enemy from sneaking in and stealing their homes.

The treasure-hunting trio also helps guard the house, mainly to guard against enemies at sea, and they can also enter the castle for defense at critical moments.

As for the logistics laborers, they were all Sinhalese farmers who were forcibly conscripted - in fact, they were all tenants. Xia Yuqing confiscated all the land of the indigenous people.

Six second-generation officials insisted on going to the war and even brought their own followers along.

On the march, Lu You asked Bai Shihou: "Brother Xuepu comes from a military family. What do you think of these Tamil soldiers?"

Bai Shihou smiled and said, "Not so good. They are all young and strong recruits from tenants, and most of them have never even practiced. They have no helmets, only leather armor. They have no bows and arrows, only swords and guns. If they really fight, they are not as good as the militia of our Ming Dynasty. But their morale is not bad. I heard that they were massacred a few years ago. If they can't win this time, I'm afraid they won't even survive."

"It's already very good that you are willing to fight for your life." said one of Bai Shihou's followers.

This man is a true elite retired soldier of the Ming Dynasty. Although he is over 40 years old and slightly disabled, his performance on the battlefield is absolutely amazing.

Fan Chengda immediately asked the veteran: "Can we win?"

The old soldier said, "I heard that the natives on the island have no cavalry, and only some nobles have war horses. However, the army commanded by Xia has more than a hundred cavalrymen. There are also dozens of muskets and four cannons. If a real battle comes, they will still have an advantage."

Xia Yuqing's war horse was originally a sick horse from the diplomatic mission.

During the sea voyage, many excellent war horses fell sick and were simply left on Ceylon.

Many of them were top-quality horses bought from Arabia and the Seljuks. Some of the war horses had aged or died over the years, but more than 20 foals had been born, and some of them were already fit for riding.

Another day passed, and soldiers from the front lines of the manor gradually fled back with their families and followers to reunite with the main force.

Their manors have been occupied by the enemy, and they all want to build a fort in the future.

Half a day later, the vanguard sent by Xia Yuqing reported back that they had defeated a small group of enemies. The vanguards of the two armies met and the Han cavalry rushed forward and defeated the enemy on the plain by the sea.

The main forces of both sides continued to advance and chose the same battlefield at the same time.

It is the most open plain land within dozens of miles.

They each set up camp and went out to fight the next day.

The first to appear were their respective mage teams...

Didn’t Emperor Zhu confer the title of Lord Kasyapa on five great lords in Ceylon?
The most ridiculous thing is that the leader of the wizards brought by the enemy this time is one of the great Kasyapas canonized by Emperor Zhu.

Xia Yuqing followed the local customs, after all, there were so many Tamil tribes. Therefore, he also brought a Brahman mage this time, who specially added combat buffs to the Tamil soldiers and also put some debuffs on the enemy soldiers.

Both sides sent out dozens of monks. The one on the opposite side was a Buddhist monk, while Xia Yuqing's was a Brahmin monk.

Qi Qinan was stunned: "What kind of war is this?"

Bai Shihou said, "The Jin had shamans, and the Xixia had magicians. These two countries also performed rituals during wars. However, they rarely performed rituals before the battle. They were performed before the battle. In fact, the army of the former Song Dynasty also performed divination and sacrifice before going out to fight."

The armies of both sides stood still, watching their respective wizards chanting spells in front of the formation.

The mages quickly finished their battle and retreated to the rear.

The regicide Parakalama sent a warrior to suddenly come to the battlefront to challenge him. This form of fighting in battlefront not only exists in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but is also popular in all ancient countries.

The famous Persian king Darius III won a duel on the battlefield, and then led his army to victory, and was appointed Governor of Armenia by Xerxes.

There are also records of many duels in the Eastern Roman army.

As for ancient China, "challenging the teacher" was popular in the pre-Qin period. It can be a one-on-one challenge or a group challenge, and fighting between chariot groups often breaks out.

Xia Yuqing looked at the Tamil soldiers in his army. He was afraid that if he did not accept the duel, his morale would drop, and he was also afraid that the generals he sent out would not be able to win.

"Father, I'm going to meet him!"

The eldest son Xia Xiliang volunteered.

Xia Yuqing did not agree immediately, nor did he directly refuse.

His eldest son is eighteen years old this year. He lived on Shamon Island in his childhood, and all the uncles and uncles around him were thugs who had eaten people. When he was a little older, he went to Iwami Castle and learned skills from the adopted sons of Emperor Zhu.

But he had never fought a decent battle, and only in recent years he joined the army to bully the small nobles on the island of Ceylon.

He knew that his son had good martial arts skills, but he had too little practical experience and would be easily defeated if he was not careful.

After thinking it over carefully, Xia Yuqing said, "You can fight on horseback. The enemy has no war horses, so you can take them down by surprise."

Xia Xiliang immediately rode out on his horse, but because of his youthful mentality, he dismounted halfway and wanted to win through a fair duel.

Xia Yuqing was anxious and angry, but it was too late. He could only curse: "Asshole!"

But the soldiers under his command, whether they were Han soldiers or Tamil soldiers, all burst into cheers.

Obviously, Xia Xiliang's act of abandoning his horse won the favor of all the soldiers - this favor was conditional, and Xia Xiliang had to win the duel to continue to have it.

The enemy general was wearing leather armor, holding a shield in his left hand, a spear in his right hand, and a knife at his waist.

Xia Xiliang was wearing iron armor, carrying a bow and arrow, a long sword on his waist, and a long spear in his hand.

The two sides were several dozen steps apart. Xia Xiliang stuck his spear into the ground, took out his bow and arrow and shot.

Very accurate shooting.

But the arrow was too accurate and went straight into the enemy general's chest, but the enemy general blocked the arrow with his shield.

The enemy general was also startled and no longer allowed Xia Xiliang to shoot an arrow. He immediately crouched down and ran towards him at an accelerated speed.

Xia Xiliang shot another arrow, but this time he missed.

The main reason was that the enemy general was crouching and charging, with his vital parts covered by his shield, so Xia Xiliang aimed at his legs and shot, but was dodged.

Putting away the bow and arrow, Xia Xiliang picked up the spear.

This is a four-meter lance, while the enemy general's one-handed spear is only more than one meter long.

Long weapons can easily bully short weapons, but the enemy general has a shield in his hand. He seems to be very strong, and his shield fighting skills are extremely exquisite. Xia Xiliang's guns were blocked several times, and the enemy general rushed in and stabbed him in the chest with a spear.

Both sides were stunned for a moment.

The enemy general was stunned because his attack was simply unable to break through the defense.

The lamellar armor Xia Xiliang is an improved version of the one worn during the Ming-Jin War. Xia Yuqing bought it for his son in exchange for a top-quality Ceylon ruby. Someone in the Ming Dynasty smuggled old armor into the warehouse and it was recorded as scrapped ordnance in the military logistics accounts.

Xia Xiliang was stunned because he was caught off guard by the enemy.

He had practiced riding and archery since he was a child, and was more proficient in horse combat, but was inferior to the enemy in foot combat.

Xia Xiliang's reaction was also very quick. At this time, they were already at medium distance. He quickly discarded his spear, drew his sword and advanced instead of retreating.

The enemy general was experienced in combat. He drew his spear and raised his shield to push forward, pushing away Xia Xiliang who wanted to get close, so that both sides maintained the best attack distance of the short spear.

"Beat the cheering drum!"

Xia Yuqing watched anxiously through binoculars, fearing that his son would fail in the one-on-one fight.

If Xia Xiliang's armor had not been so strong, he would have been killed by the enemy general by now.

"Dong dong dong dong!"

The drums beat loudly.

The enemy also started beating drums.

Lu You said: "It has been a long time since China has had a duel of generals, right? The last time it was popular was during the Five Dynasties."

Bai Shihou's veteran attendant commented: "Young Master Xia is too inexperienced, and his weapon is not suitable for fighting on foot. He was too arrogant to abandon his horse. Fortunately, his armor is excellent, so he still has a chance to win. Young people always have to suffer a little in order to grow."

As he spoke, Xia Xiliang rushed forward again with a knife in hand.

The enemy stabbed with a spear, and although it hurt Xia Xiliang a lot, it still couldn't pierce his armor.

The enemy general was stunned, having never encountered such a duel before. In panic, he retreated repeatedly using the recoil force of the short spear.

The enemy general retreated, and Xia Xiliang also retreated. He quickly sheathed his sword and picked up the spear on the ground.

He fired his spear and stabbed the enemy general in the face.

The enemy general raised his shield to block and rushed forward with his spear.

The spear in Xia Xiliang's hand changed direction midway and stabbed towards the enemy general's waist.

The enemy general had never encountered this kind of gun flower technique and was hit instantly.

Apparently, Xia Xiliang's spear was also specially made. The spear shaft was tough and flexible, and could be used to produce a spear flower by shaking the arm. Ordinary cavalry spears could not be made of composite materials, and it would take at least two or three years to make such a spear shaft.

The spear tip pierced into the leather armor and the enemy general suffered serious injuries in the abdomen.

The enemy general dropped his shield and retreated, grabbing the spear and trying to pull it out. But Xia Xiliang was relentless and rushed forward with the spear, stabbing the spear head deeper and deeper into the enemy's abdomen.

Finally, the enemy general falls while retreating.

Xia Xiliang continued to exert force, and the spear tip completely penetrated the abdomen. Then he drew his sword and chopped it down fiercely, and then cut off the enemy general's head.

He went back, jumped on his horse, and rushed to the enemy's formation with the head in his hand, galloping back and forth in a show of force.

Our soldiers cheered loudly, but the enemy soldiers' morale dropped greatly.

Xia Yuqing finally felt relieved when he saw his son's victory. He said, "Send the flag and tell that bastard to come back quickly. I'm going to open fire!"

Since the court left four cannons, they must be used wisely.

(End of this chapter)