Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 513 Three Million Immigrants (Special thanks to the book friend Xiang Wang Zi Zai for his 2 monthly tickets!)

Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge originally thought that their army of 200,000 was nearly a hundred times stronger than the army of Dazhouzhou Prefecture, and it would be easy to capture it by surprise.

But once the battle started, the situation was beyond the Liao army's expectations:
As soon as the elite Liao cavalry, who were attacking from all directions, came within four miles of the city, dozens or even hundreds of "Yansu cannons" on the city walls fired in unison, shaking the surrounding areas.

Every time a shell was fired, it would create a "bloody road" paved with soldiers and horses in the densely charging Liao army, often rolling for hundreds of meters before stopping.

The Liao army, which had never seen the power of the "Yan Su Artillery", was terrified and had to continue charging under the strict orders of their superiors, hoping to break the city as soon as possible with their military advantage.

From 4 miles away from the city to mile away, a distance of only three miles, more than Liao soldiers were killed by artillery fire, and nearly half of the siege equipment was destroyed.

When they rushed to within a mile, the Zhou army on the city wall changed their tactics again. Hundreds of tiger squat cannons were ignited and fired. Suddenly, iron pieces and iron thorns were as dense as fishing nets, filling the air and smashing towards the Liao army at a high speed. A single shot could take thousands of lives.

The 3,000 Zhou soldiers on the city wall shot with their divine arm bows. Although it did not cause much damage to the Liao soldiers wearing plate armor, it did cause a significant delay in their attack speed.

When the Liao army bravely rushed to within 300 meters of the city, they witnessed the power of the Zhou army's new weapon, the musket.

The 3,000 Zhou soldiers on the city wall all raised "Kaixi No. 33" and shot at the Liao army below the city. The force of the bullets was enough to penetrate the plate armor or sink several inches into the armor, causing serious injuries to the Liao army.

The Zhou army fired at a very fast speed, firing 6 or 7 times per minute on average.

Under the concentrated fire of 3,000 Zhou soldiers on the city wall, in just over a quarter of an hour, nearly 20,000 bodies of the Liao army had fallen around the city.

Yelu Xizhen, who was in the central army observing the battle, sighed and said:
"It is just as the Queen Mother said. I never thought that after more than ten years, the Zhou army has acquired two powerful new firearms. Our army's "Thunder Cannon" is no match for them!
The casualties at the front are too great and they are about to collapse. It is better to withdraw!"

Yelu Moge said angrily:

"The cunning Zhou army just doesn't dare to fight our army in a physical fight, otherwise how could the Liao army be weaker than them?
General, it seems that our army's strategy should be adjusted. We will no longer fight siege battles, but only attack Zhou's army on the way!"

Yelu Xizhen nodded and said:
"That's true. It looks like our army will have no choice but to raid Zhou's army in the wild from now on!

The Mayan foundation that the late emperor and I worked so hard to build must not be taken away easily by the Zhou people!

Order the entire army to withdraw immediately!"

The sound of a horn was immediately heard in the Liao army camp. The Liao soldiers, who were already frightened by the Zhou army's guns and cannons under the city wall, turned around and fled to the camp as soon as they heard the sound of the horn as if they had been pardoned.

Under the attack of Zhou army's guns and artillery, the Liao army left behind tens of thousands of corpses along the way before they fled back to the camp a few miles away.

Yelu Xizhen knew that his army only had a few days' supply of food that had been accumulated through hunting and picking in the mountains. It was impossible for him to besiege the Zhou army's city. So he took advantage of the fact that the Zhou army did not dare to leave the city and moved camp towards the mountains.

In this battle, the Zhou army, with 3,000 soldiers and hundreds of "Yansu Cannons" and "Tiger Dun Cannons", repelled the attack of 200,000 Liao troops and killed more than 30,000 enemies, which can be regarded as a complete victory.

From then on, the Liao army changed its tactics and only looked for opportunities to attack small groups of Zhou troops in the wild, which in turn caused some casualties to the Zhou army and made them unable to bear the harassment.

The provincial governors and the commanders of the Longxiang garrison detailed the military situation and submitted a memorial to Emperor Chai Zongxun more than a month later. On February 12, the 39th year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun read the memorial in the Xinshangjing Palace. After pondering for a while, he considered that the Liao army led by Yelu Xizhen had hidden in the mountains and forests and was extremely difficult to find. If he wanted to annihilate them completely, the current troops were not enough.

Chai Zongxun looked at He Yao, the chief eunuch standing beside him, and said:

"Little Six, I plan to send an envoy back to Bianjing and order the Crown Prince and the cabinet to mobilize four Longxiang Army regiments to come to the Mayan continent, and at the same time immigrate three million Han people here.

As for the rewards, each household will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver and 500 mu of land. But I am afraid that the distance is too far and we will not be able to recruit so many people to immigrate."

He Yao smiled and said:

"Your Majesty is as respected as a god among the people of our Great Zhou. As long as it is Your Majesty's will, the people will follow it!

What's more, Your Majesty has provided such favorable immigration conditions for the people.

I think it’s because the journey is too long, and I’m afraid the people may get sick and die during the long journey.”

This time, Chai Zongxun led the army in person. He set out from Bian Jing on the first day of February in the 38th year of Kaixi, crossed the "Zhang Yong Strait" by boat on the third day of July, and arrived at the city of Xinshangjing in mid-August. Even if all his troops were elite cavalry, it still took him more than six months to march.

Even though the Imperial Guards, the Longxiang Army, and the Wude Division were all composed of strong young men, the casualty rate of soldiers due to illness during the journey was only about 5/1000.

Most of the immigrants had only one horse per family, and could only carry the necessary supplies for the journey. Even though there was a military camp every few hundred miles along the way for immigrants to rest and get supplies, the long journey and the changeable climate meant that the casualty rate for families with many children was several times that of the soldiers.

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He said:

“Now the entire Beiming is the territory of our Great Zhou. If you sail out to sea from Yangzhou, although you cannot cross the ocean directly to the Mayan continent, you can go north along the coastline of our Great Zhou, directly to the vicinity of the Zhangyong Strait, then cross the sea to the Mayan continent, and then go south along the coastline of the Mayan continent and land on the central and western coast.

In this way, not only can a lot of time be saved compared to land, but also casualties due to climate change and disease can be greatly reduced!
Xiao Liuzi, this time I sent an envoy back to Bian Jing to convey my order, ordering the Royal Navy Grand Admiral Guan Mao to dispatch sailing battleships to transport four Longxiang Army corps and three million immigrants to the Mayan continent.

We must bring enough food, seeds and other supplies for the army and the immigrants during the expedition."

With the transport capacity of the Royal Navy's sailing battleships, each ship can carry 10,000 people. Even if food, production tools, etc. are added, 600 warships are enough to transport four Longxiang Army Corps and 3 million immigrants.

Starting the sea journey from Yangzhou, heading north along the coastline of Da Zhou and then south to the coastline of Mayan continent, it is estimated that at least 2 to months can be saved, and it is much safer and easier.

After He Yao received the imperial eunuch, he selected ten eunuchs the next day and divided them into five groups to return to Bianliang along the same route to convey the imperial edict. Each group of eunuchs was equipped with a 100-man team of Wudesi to ensure their safety along the way.

After these angels were ready, they waited for some time for the weather to warm up, and then started to head north in batches from Xinshangjing on the first day of March.

From the end of April to the beginning of May, they arrived near the "Zhang Yong Strait" at the northwestern end of the Mayan continent. They were picked up by the Longxiang Guards stationed there, and successfully crossed the strait that had just thawed by boat and arrived at the "Weifeng Peninsula".

(End of this chapter)