The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 374 Ask My Guns
At the end of September, Timur led his army to the Aq Qoyunlu.

In order to show his respect to him, Aries King Kara Osman personally went to the border to greet him.

Timur was very pleased with his humility and immediately promised to send troops to help him destroy the Black Sheep Kingdom after defeating Qin.

Kara Osman was so ecstatic that she even prostrated herself and kissed Timur's boots.

After returning to the capital, he immediately ordered the mobilization of troops across the country to assist Timur in the battle.

Except for the necessary defensive forces, all the troops were assembled, and in the end he had more than 40,000 people.

Together with Timur's army of more than 50,000, the number was just over 100,000, but it was claimed to be 150,000.

After all, Timur was a man of great military achievements. Although he hated the Ming Dynasty, he did not rashly send troops.

Instead, they kept sending people to collect intelligence.

What was unexpected was that Yusuf, the Black Sheep King who had been secretly communicating with the Qin State, secretly sent Qin's intelligence to Timur.

In Asia Minor, some white-robed princes also chose to betray in a second.

Betray the intelligence of Qin and the alliance in exchange for Timur's forgiveness.

Instead, it was Shah Mansur, the ruler of the Muzaffar Empire, who sternly rejected and humiliated Timur's envoy.

Then he told Zhu Chong about this matter and warned him to be careful about being betrayed.

Zhu Chong was not at all surprised by this. As an outsider, it was normal for him not to be trusted by the locals.

In contrast, Timur ruled Anxi for decades, and his name could stop children from crying at night.

What's more, there is a huge disparity in military strength between the two sides, so it is obvious who to please.

Not to mention the local people, even many people within the Qin State were worried.

Tang Wei said worriedly: "We only have 26,000 people, and 10,000 of them are naval forces."

"Timur's army has at least 100,000 soldiers... Do we really want to fight them head-on?"

Zhu Chong's expression was calm: "Why, are you scared?"

Tang Fu's face turned red, but he nodded honestly and said, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid of failure, and I'm even more afraid of not being able to face the elders of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Chong smiled and said, "You are quite frank. Don't worry, I know what's going on."

Tang Fu didn't say anything else. Although the others didn't say anything, they felt relieved to see Zhu Chong so confident.

His military capabilities are proven and worthy of trust.

Zhu Chong then said: "Let the navy go out and annihilate all the navy of Baiyang Kingdom."

"At the same time, notify all other nations to move all ships out of Anxi Bay."

"In five days, we will indiscriminately attack all ships in the bay until our war with Timur is over."

Li Fang advised: "Your Majesty, think twice. It is not advisable to offend too many people when facing a powerful enemy."

Others have a similar attitude. At this time, they should win over the neutral countries. How can they threaten the other side so strongly?

Zhu Chong couldn't help but feel a little disappointed with their reaction, but he still explained:
"We are outsiders. You don't think they will just sit back and watch us gain a foothold, do you?"

What's more, if the Qin State were to gain a foothold, Ming Dynasty's goods would inevitably be transited through the Qin State first.

How will they be able to make huge profits through transit trade in the future?

Therefore, everyone would like to see the Qin State and Timur fighting each other.

If Qin was defeated, it would also consume Timur's manpower, making him unable to launch another war of aggression in a short period of time.

The neutral countries then took advantage of the situation to send troops to divide up the assets left by Qin and strengthen their own power.

If Qin wins, that would be even better, helping them solve Anxi's biggest hidden danger.

Moreover, if Qin defeated the strong by using its weakness, it would be a miserable victory and it would be difficult for it to regain its fighting power.

They just sent troops to finish the job and take over the assets left behind by the Qin State.

Therefore, in this war with Timur, whether Qin won or lost, it had to guard against the covetousness of other forces.

Especially the Black Sheep Kingdom and the Muzaffar Kingdom.

The best way for the two countries to send troops is to use the navy to deploy troops through Anxi Bay.

Because sending troops by land is slow and may be obstructed by the enemy, it is much easier by water.

Therefore, the safest course of action for Qin State is to clear Anxi Bay.

As for whether doing so would make other forces unhappy...

Zhu Chong said: "What can they do if they are unhappy? If they have any opinions, they can ask our navy's naval guns first."

Now they hope that Qin will consume Timur's military strength, and they will not say anything even if they are unhappy.

When Qin defeated Timur, they would not dare to say anything even if they were unhappy.

Moreover, with this action, Qin's hegemony in Anxi Bay was almost tacitly acknowledged.

All ships of all forces must obtain permission from the Qin State before they can enter here.

After understanding all this, Li Fang and others looked at Zhu Chong with admiration.

This is the King of Qin.

Facing Timur's 100,000-strong army, he remained calm and composed.

You can also take the overall situation into consideration and take everything into account.

It’s a pity... I went astray, otherwise I would have achieved much more than this.

On the other side, Timur quickly got the information he wanted.

Shaharu looked at the intelligence in his hand and said, "Two thousand cavalry, fourteen thousand infantry, and ten thousand navy."

"Even if we count the 5,000 cavalrymen that the ignorant Arabs gathered together, there are less than 30,000 people."

He is Timur's fourth son. He is only sixteen years old this year, but he is already a veteran on the battlefield.

The military operation against the Muzaffar State was led by him.

In his previous life, he personally killed Shah Mansur a year later and destroyed the Muzaffar Empire.

Later, after Timur's death, he reintegrated the fragmented Timurid Empire and maintained his hegemony in Anxi.

His death also marked the complete decline of the Timurid Empire.

When Timur wanted to attack Zhu Chong, the main force he mobilized was the legion belonging to him.

Naturally, he also had to go to the battlefield with the army and was one of Timur's most important assistants in this battle.

After hearing Zhu Chong's detailed information, Kara Osman couldn't wait to boast:
"A mere 30,000 men will be no match for the great Emir's army."

Timur was very sober and said, "The Ming Dynasty is not an ordinary country, and the strength of the Ming army is incomparable to that of other countries' armies."

"We can't underestimate them just because of the difference in numbers."

Osman immediately looked like he was being taught a lesson:

"The Great Emir taught me that I should not underestimate any enemy."

At this point, he changed the subject and said:
"Our country also has more than 10,000 naval forces, which can contain the Qin navy."

"So the only troops they can land to fight are cavalry and infantry numbering over 10,000..."

"Does the Grand Emir think this plan is feasible?"

Timur shook his head and said, "The intelligence said that the Qin navy has gunboats that can attack enemy ships from miles away. I'm afraid your navy is no match for them."

Osman was very dissatisfied in his heart.

I know that firearms are powerful. The Mongols used them to capture many cities.

But how far can a cannon fire? Especially when it is mounted on a ship and sways, how can it fire accurately?
The claim of hitting the target ship from seven or eight miles away must be an exaggeration, or it might just be luck.

Besides, I'm just sending people to contain the enemy's navy, not to engage in a decisive battle.

If you can’t win, you can always run away, right?

Leading the enemy fleet in circles in the sea is also a form of containment.

You, Timur, just look down on us...

It always makes you feel bad when you are despised by others.

Although it was a vassal state, the Ottoman Empire still felt very aggrieved.

What was even more frustrating was that he didn't dare show it and even praised the other party for being considerate.

He hated this feeling so much.

Timur was not a mind reader, so he naturally had no idea what this humble vassal was thinking, and he carried out his own military deployment. It was nothing more than stepping up the collection of military supplies, resting the army, and preparing for the upcoming war.

Then, he did something shocking and issued a challenge to Zhu Chong.

The declaration of war clearly stated that he would launch an expedition to conquer Asia Minor in half a month and look forward to the arrival of the Ming army.

The task of delivering the letter was naturally given to Osman.

Osman, feeling unhappy, prepared to hand the letter to his own navy.

Don’t you, Timur, look down on our navy? But I want to let the navy show itself.

Then he got the bad news.

A day ago, the Qin navy launched a surprise attack on them, the Aries navy was completely wiped out, and the port in Fao was also burned down.

The Qin navy was now moving north along the Arab River (Arab River), bombarding settlements along the way.

Upon hearing this information, Osman felt dizzy and almost fainted on the spot.

You know, in places like Anxi and Asia Minor, most residents live along rivers.

The Aries is no exception. The most densely populated areas are on both sides of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

If we are attacked by Qin now, the consequences will be disastrous.

After waking up, he no longer cared about his previous grievances and hurried to ask Timur for help.

After learning this, Timur also showed disbelief.

He really looked down upon the navy of Aries, and did not think that the other side could contain the navy of Qin.

But I never expected to be defeated so quickly and so completely.

Not only was the navy completely wiped out, but the enemy also went straight up the river and attacked the settlements on both sides of the river.

The State of Qin seemed to be much more powerful than he had imagined.

However, he still found it hard to believe how the Qin State had done it.

Could it be possible to exert such great power by installing cannons on a ship?

In fact, it was not his fault. The cannons he knew were extremely heavy and had a long range but could not guarantee the hit rate.

He didn't know that the Ming Dynasty's artillery was improved by Chen Jingke and craftsmen.

It is much lighter, its power and range have been improved, and its hit rate has also been greatly improved.

Even a recoil reduction device was added.

If the materials were not up to standard, these cannons would be comparable to the equipment of Western powers three or four hundred years later.

It is too easy to use it to deal with current enemies.

Timur couldn't figure this out, so he decided to go and see for himself.

He led 5,000 cavalrymen and traveled day and night to his destination.

More than 20 miles away from Abadan, he saw many people fleeing in panic.

He asked his subordinates to capture a few people and interrogate them, and soon found out the reason.

The attack comes from warships on the surface, which are very loud weapons that can attack from a long distance.

There are all kinds of opinions on how far it is.

Some say it is five or six miles away, some say it is seven or eight miles away, and some say it is more than ten miles away.

The main reason was that gunpowder had not yet become popular in the Western world and only a small number of people knew about it.

Ordinary people don’t even know about this thing, let alone artillery.

I can only describe what I saw in the most exaggerated language.

Timur's expression became more and more serious.

He roughly understood something from what these people said.

The Qin warships bombarded the town and port of Abadan. Their cannons had a very long range, and the farthest reach was suspected to be more than ten miles away.

He had his doubts about this, but he didn't dare to deny it completely.

What made him feel even more incredible was the artillery shells.

According to the refugees, the shells were not iron balls, but something that exploded when it hit the ground, killing all humans and animals within a few steps.

It will also cause a fire.

This power is too terrifying.

The unknown things are what worry people the most.

Instead of backing off, Timur decided that he had to see this brand new cannon.

Otherwise, this battle will be difficult to fight.

The group rode at full speed and soon arrived at Abadan Town.

At this time, the entire town and port were engulfed in flames, with only a few people trying in vain to put out the fire.

There was no trace of the Qin warships on the river.

He quickly captured several civilians for interrogation and learned that the Qin army had withdrawn more than an hour ago.

This made Timur very regretful and he should have come earlier.

He had already planned a plan in his mind. He sent a part of the cavalry to deliberately approach the Qin warships to attract the other side's artillery fire.

I want to see with my own eyes the power of that unknown cannon.

It’s a pity that the other party didn’t give him this opportunity.

In fact, the departure of the Qin navy was no coincidence.

The Atlas River is a channel into the sea formed by the confluence of the Euphrates, Tigris and several other rivers.

The total length is about one hundred miles, the water is relatively deep and the river is wide, making it suitable for large ships to pass through.

The town of Abadan is located at the confluence of several rivers, which is the beginning of the Dashi River.

Going further in, you will enter its tributaries.

The river became shallower and narrower, making it difficult for warships to turn around and they could easily be sunk by the enemy.

Therefore, after shelling the town of Abadan, the Qin navy turned around and went back.

Timur just missed the target.

However, Timur was not completely without gain. He sent people to look for the bomb craters and found a lot of information through them.

The distance between the most densely populated craters is roughly between five and eight miles, and the farthest crater is actually eleven miles away.

This distance made him feel frightened.

The more proficient a person is in military strategy, the more he knows what this distance means.

What frightened him even more was that the shells would actually explode.

There was a small pit wherever the shell landed, and the area within a dozen steps around the pit was filled with broken iron pieces.

Many of the splinters were deeply embedded in the wood.

If it hits a person, it will either kill or injure him.

The more information he gathered, the heavier his heart became.

For the first time, he began to doubt the upcoming battle. Could his army really withstand the attack of artillery?
This made him feel a little regretful. Why didn't he listen to his subordinates' advice and force his troops to go out?

Even if you want to send troops, you should at least understand the true situation of the other party.

Unfortunately, it's too late to regret.

Now the whole of Anxi and Asia Minor knew about his conflict with Qin.

They came here with a large army, but finally retreated without a fight.

How will he rule over so many tribes in the future?

Therefore, in this battle, there is no retreat.

However, he was a veteran commander after all, and he quickly calmed down:
No, the cannon must have defects, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would have unified the world long ago and there would be no need for me to live until now.

Find the cannon's weaknesses and target them.

This battle must be won.

(End of this chapter)