Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Thick tongues of fire erupted from the Shenji Camp soldiers.

The Flying Thunder cannons and the cannons roared in unison, their earth-shattering roar instantly overwhelming the rumble of the Jin army's iron hooves on the ground.

Moreover, several rows of riflemen were positioned behind the Shenji Camp.

Behind the riflemen, archers fired skyward at a forty-five-degree angle.

If the cannons were like rolling thunder, then the simultaneous firing of rifles and arrows was like a torrential downpour!

And this downpour... was of sharp, pointed blades!

At this moment, a scene never before seen in the history of warfare unfolded on the battlefield: thick smoke filled the air, arrows and bullets rained down, the sky was torn apart, and souls were shattered!

The surging and fierce Jin army had not yet realized what was happening before they were torn apart by this barrage of what could only be described as divine power.

In an instant, the Jin soldiers in the front row were dumbfounded, their warhorses wailing...

Before they could even utter their last cries of pain, they were trampled into mincemeat by the iron hooves behind them, returning to nature.

The Flying Thunder cannons continuously covered the area fifty to seventy zhang ahead.

This area had already become a brutal bombing zone.

Massive amounts of yellow-black soil were blasted from the earth, swirling with dust straight into the sky.

One thick pillar of smoke after another appeared out of nowhere.

The Jin people were skilled at raising warhorses, and their iron cavalry had long been renowned, attacking like lightning, with a momentum like a dragon emerging from a spear. But at this moment, this invincible spear had met a true iron wall.

No matter how sharp the spearhead... it was useless.

Wutu was still frantically urging his horse forward in the rear when he suddenly heard strange noises beside him. He strained his eyes to look ahead and was immediately struck with terror.

Seeing the men and horses falling in the front, he was filled with rage.

Especially those pillars of smoke and dust rising into the sky, which made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"What is that!! What is that!! Retreat! Retreat quickly!!"

The unknown breeds fear, and the unknown that reaps lives breeds terror.

However, the order came too late...

Wutu's roar was perfectly drowned out by the booming explosions.

The strictly disciplined army never allowed its soldiers to retreat.

Those who dared to retreat would suffer an even more gruesome death, punished from top to bottom.

At this moment, the strict military discipline had become a burden. The front rows kept falling, while the rear ranks continued to push forward blindly.

Even more frightening... the warhorses had gone mad, and the soldiers could not control them at all!

It should be known that on the battlefield, warhorses rarely shied away or became startled and bucked.

Warhorses have clear advantages in terms of physique, intelligence, endurance, and explosive power, and are still two different concepts from ordinary horses.

Especially the trained warhorses, which are courageous and unafraid of battle, obey commands, and advance in unison.

The Jin's warhorses were even selected from the best horse farms, veritable graduates of the "Wanyu Shuyuan" of horses, each one sought after by countless horse lovers.

However, even these excellent warhorses had only experienced training for conventional battlefields.

And at this moment... they were facing 'sorcery'!

Animals have far less reason than humans, but their ability to follow their animal instincts is clearly much higher than that of humans.

Even in a situation with dense crowds and a low field of vision, they still sensed the extremely abnormal situation ahead.

This strangeness immediately plunged the warhorses into madness, and their pupils revealed immense fear.

The horses began to rush forward recklessly, with the riders unable to control them no matter how hard they pulled on the reins.

Emperor Jing remained incredibly calm as he stood beside the dragon carriage, one hand resting on the carriage shaft, his gaze like a wolf's.

The Jin army, which had been extremely ferocious just a moment ago, could now only become lambs to the slaughter.

Before the two sides even made contact, those warriors who had roamed the grasslands countless times were already falling on their backs.

Some were thrown several meters into the air by the explosions, others were cut in half by cannonballs, and still others were hit in the face, causing puffs of blood mist to erupt.

But the most miserable were those who were unscathed.

Men and horses alike, faced with such power, wanted to turn around and flee for a chance of survival, but the moment they turned around, they were dragged back into the rain of guns and cannons by their teammates.

Some were thrown from their horses in panic, with one foot still hooked on the stirrup, their heads dragging on the ground.

On the rough ground, the head was like cheese on a grater, constantly being scraped and worn away.

Blood and brains drew a thick red line on the ground... one could still vaguely see the eyeball popping out of its socket.

Only after experiencing both mental and physical torment did life fade away.

The main force of the Jing army remained motionless, not affected in the slightest.

Faced with such a favorable situation, Emperor Jing felt no joy in his heart, but rather a sense of bewilderment in his eyes.

The times have changed, they really have changed!

From the beginning of the invention of gunpowder, he had had assumptions, but only when he saw it with his own eyes did he know how fierce this thing was.

Without meticulous deployment of troops or brilliant tactics and formations.

Relying only on a crude head-on confrontation, the strong enemy was beaten to a pulp.

A lifetime of effort... a lifetime of war summaries, seemed to have vanished into thin air at this moment.

However, fortunately, the art of war is not outdated.

Emperor Jing thought, looking sideways at Li Yuanzhao beside him, seeing his mouth wide open and his face flushed.

He patted him on the shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated; know heaven and know earth, and your victory will be inexhaustible."

"The importance of intelligence outweighs everything. Wutu's defeat today was due to insufficient intelligence. Firearms are indeed powerful, but with proper deployment, there is no chance of victory. You must keep this in mind."

Li Yuanzhao came back to his senses and nodded solemnly: "Your son understands."

"Good, then you should retreat and stay in the rear. When the time comes, our army should take the initiative to pursue."

The main general gave the order, which was a matter of great importance. Li Yuanzhao did not dare to say more. He cupped his fist and silently retreated to the rear of the army.

After an unknown amount of shooting and bombing, the area nearly a hundred zhang ahead was already littered with corpses.

Wutu ordered his men to shout in unison, finally reversing the decline and restoring most of the army's sanity.

They collectively turned around and began to run back.

The riflemen's rifles and the artillery's Flying Thunder cannons had also reached their limit, glowing red from being overheated.

Firing any further would risk an explosion.

The Shenji Camp also briefly stopped firing and entered a 'wise man mode' to cool down their equipment...

The Jin army came like a tide and went like a tide. Seeing the opportunity, Emperor Jing drew a long spear from the chariot, jumped on his horse, and shouted: "The whole army attacks!!"

The dragon flag fluttered, and the Jing army's morale had reached its peak!

After a mountain-like roar of response, the Jing cavalry in armor rushed towards the Jin army like a torrent of steel!

Wutu was already somewhat at a loss, frantically urging his soldiers.

"Withdraw to Chenggao Pass!"

The current situation had far exceeded his imagination. The battlefield was chaotic and not suitable for making decisions, so he could only return to Chenggao Pass to calmly plan.

How could this be? Paba also looked at the retreating army with a painful expression.

A sense of despair filled his heart, but he still rationally shouted to Wutu: "Your Majesty, the enemy's momentum is strong, let Chi Lie cover the retreat!"

......