Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

It was night.

Inside the main tent, Wutu was still in intense discussion with his generals.

However, the number of people in the tent was much smaller now, after the heavy losses suffered by the main force.

Readjustments were needed, and arrangements had already been made for people to go down and start.

The earth-shattering power of the gunpowder still echoed in their minds.

The city gate, once so solid and reassuring, now inspired unease.

That weapon was mysterious and unpredictable, blasting a large crater in the ground with a single explosion.

Although the city gate was made of iron-clad wood, with the best iron birch wood...

It was still wood, after all!

A large number of men had been assigned to move various materials to reinforce the city gate.

The rest were resting in shifts, or being consoled by their commanders to maintain morale.

"Your Majesty, we can no longer take the initiative to attack. We cannot hold Chenggao Pass for long. We must retreat to beyond the pass as soon as possible and then reconsider our plans."

"I suggest we divide our forces. The Jing army is far inferior to our Great Jin army. The best way is to stretch their battle lines and defeat them one by one."

"That's right, I also believe this is the only feasible method. I observed the enemy's weapons from afar. There was a dark, hollow thing buried in the ground, and also what looked like a thick iron pipe on the ground. This thing looked incredibly heavy. If we engage them in a protracted war, their weapons will inevitably be difficult to deploy in time."

Wutu continued to pace, his brow furrowed in worry.

Retreat?

The entire country's blood had almost been drained dry by this war.

Now they had only captured Chenggao Pass and Liuhe Pass. If they were to abandon these two passes, wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?

Many people within the country's political circles already harbored their own agendas.

If he failed to lead effectively now... wouldn't everything be over?

Thinking of this, Wutu raised his head and said in a deep voice: "Let's observe further. Although the Jing country's weapons are strong, their weaknesses are also obvious."

"The fact that they haven't attacked the city gate yet shows their deployment..."

"Report! Your Majesty, a large number of hot air balloons have been spotted approaching from the sky, roughly estimated to be no fewer than three hundred!"

A soldier rushed into the main tent like a madman, reporting loudly.

He should have announced his arrival outside the tent, but now he dared not follow protocol, fearing he would waste even a second.

The Jing country's weapons were truly terrifying. Even the slightest unusual movement from them was enough to frighten the entire army.

All the generals in the tent focused their attention on the soldier.

Wutu said loudly: "Order each battalion to be on alert. If the enemy's attack is fierce, take shelter in the nearby houses. Strengthen patrols on the city walls and resupply defensive materials."

"Also, strengthen the defenses at the city gate! It must not be breached!"

"Raise our army's hot air balloons and try to intercept them."

"Yes." The soldier responded and hurried out to deliver the orders.

"Gentlemen, disperse. The army's morale is unstable at the moment. We will defend this city today. As for whether to retreat or fight, we will make a decision tomorrow!"

.....

On the city walls of Chenggao Pass, more than three hundred hot air balloons were like stars dotting the sky.

Wutu stood below, gripping the hilt of his saber tightly with one hand, looking up at the sky.

Fire oil and rocks from the sky were not too much of a problem.

Most of the houses in the city were made of wood, with a few made of stone.

During the previous siege, they had dropped a round of fire oil and flying stones, burning down most of the wooden houses in the pass.

What remained were mostly high-quality houses.

His only concern was the strange weapon he had seen during the day. If it was on the hot air balloons, it would be a big problem.

However, after careful recollection, Wutu felt slightly relieved.

Indeed, as others had said, although that weapon was magical, it should be incredibly heavy.

He knew the load capacity of hot air balloons. Such a large lump of iron could not be lifted.

At this moment, many soldiers in the pass had come out of their makeshift military tents and were looking up at the sky.

The hot air balloon group had slowly moved over Chenggao Pass.

Suddenly, a sporadic, faint light fell from the sky.

A bomb happened to land next to a military tent.

The fuse was left too long and was still burning with crackling sounds.

The Jin soldier next to the military tent was startled by this strange thing that fell down, seeing that it was just a cloth bag.

He mustered up his courage and picked it up, and several soldiers around him gathered around.

"What is this? It's not a stone?"

"Could there be something inside? Let's open it and see."

"Don't move, it's still smoking..."

"Boom!!!"

The bomb exploded suddenly, and the five or six Jin soldiers who were standing in a circle bore the brunt of the explosion with their flesh and blood.

Countless iron shards and gravel from the bomb shot out, penetrating the bodies of these soldiers.

Dense blood spots oozed out of their torsos through their clothes, and their faces were blasted beyond recognition.

Then the whole person flew out.

This scene was constantly being staged in various parts of Chenggao Pass. Some bombs exploded directly at the moment of landing, reaping the nearby soldiers.

However, most of the bombs had longer fuses to avoid premature detonation and loss of power.

As a result, many people picked up these bombs at the same time, and at the same time and place, the same tragedy was staged.

"Boom! - Boom! --- Boom!"

The sound of explosions was irregular, and the wailing of countless Jin soldiers once again resounded through the heavens and the earth.

Even more frightening was that the warhorses were frightened again.

Many bombs were thrown directly into the herd of horses, causing countless horses to go crazy, break free from their tethers and start running wildly in the city.

They stepped on any soldiers they encountered along the way without hesitation.

Wutu's eyes were red, and at this moment his mind was completely disordered.

He followed the chaotic soldiers, running around, constantly shouting for other soldiers to remain calm, and to find other generals.

Other generals were also running towards Wutu, looking for the highest instructions.

Some soldiers were busy fleeing for their lives, some were busy pulling out the mad horses, and everything was already in a mess.

The chaos in the city was even worse than in the open space!

As the hot air balloon group swept over, the sound of explosions began to become sparse.

But at this moment!

Another kind of explosion began to sound.

"Bang! ... Boom!"

The city gate trembled non-stop, and the soldiers on the city wall felt this violent vibration.

It was a cannon, the Jing country's cannon had begun to bombard the city gate.

Wutu and a group of generals looked at the city gate with their eyes wide open, running frantically towards it.

"Hold the city gate!!! The rest of you, retreat immediately, retreat beyond the pass according to plan, divide your forces and wait for the enemy!"

As he spoke, the city gate and the city wall suffered several more cannon attacks.

Although he shouted to hold the city gate, almost all the soldiers were dumbfounded and didn't know what to do.

Defend the city, how to defend it?

Am I going to hold up the city gate? It doesn't seem to be of much use. Besides, the city gate is now propped up by a pile of wood and stones, and there are huge door bolts already placed on the city gate. What else can I do?

Wutu kept urging the people below to take action, and the helpless soldiers continued to move wood to the city gate.

With the sound of cannons.

A sound of wood tearing was heard behind the city gate, and the Jin soldiers raised their eyes along the firelight to look at the city gate... their hearts suddenly turned cold.

The door panels, the door bolts... all cracked!

The next second, another shell flew accurately towards the center of the city gate.

With a loud noise, the city gate was blasted open!

The shell swept away the wood and stone piled up under the city gate, and shot towards the nearest soldier.

With a muffled sound, a figure, carrying a lot of blood, flew past Wutu at a high speed, and then flew into the distance.

Boom ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wutu's eyes were straight, and his teeth were clenched.

The power of the artillery was displayed in front of him at such a close range for the first time.

Afraid... he was really completely afraid!

Listening to the rumbling sound still continuing in his ears, Wutu cried out in despair: "Abandon the city! Retreat!!"

......