Chapter 7: The Cannon's Mighty Roar

  The defeated Jin Yuan army fled to Wujijiao, hastily ate something, and then fled in a hurry into the territory of Jin Yuan. Many people's minds still appeared to be bombarded with blood and flesh flying everywhere, that Asura-like scene was unbearable for ordinary soldiers.

  The soldiers of Hakugawa Castle slept well and got up early the next day to clean up the battlefield. The citizens in the castle were also mobilized, or came voluntarily to sweep the battlefield, because Hakugawa Castle was their home, and the valuables found on the corpses belonged to individuals, so the citizens of the castle endured the nauseating scene and smell, actively pushing carts to join the cleaning ranks...

  United we stand, the remaining bodies outside the city were cleaned up in just one morning. Before they could even celebrate, an urgent report arrived from Hexi City: a large army is approaching from Huanyue City, with an unknown number of troops. It's indeed a case of driving out wolves at the front gate and tigers arriving at the back gate - Hexi San Cheng is a big piece of fat meat!

  The Jin army's morale has been broken, so they won't be coming for a while, and the defense of Bairen can be relaxed. Yang Tian was worried that Liao Yun would have reservations about attacking the Huatian Army, so he had Liao Yun lead 1,000 soldiers to guard Bairen, while he led the remaining 15,000+ soldiers to rush straight to Hexi.

  The road was easy to walk, and by the evening of that day, Yang Tian's army arrived at Hexi City. Lei Ming came out of the city to greet him, saw Yang Tian, and said with excitement: "How is it? Are those guns and cannons useful?"

  "Hmm, just make do with it. After all, we can defeat Jin Yuan and make him unable to find his way north." Yang Tian, riding on horseback, looked up at the sky with a proud expression, "Thanks to my excellent command, we launched a surprise attack on Wujicheng and killed many generals..."

  Lei Meng gave Yang Tian a cold glance and hummed softly before ignoring him and going to comfort Lin Chong, the three great leaders.

  That night, enough kerosene lamps were lit, and the main hall of the Hsi Castle was brightly lit. Lei Meng summoned several important generals in the city, such as Yang Tian, Luo Yangtian, Huang Chu, Lin Chong, Zhang Shan, Sun Ming, etc., to sit down in the main hall to discuss matters.

  Lei Meng tapped the armrest of the black wooden chair with his finger, saying: "Old hatred has not gone and new grudges have been added. Does Haotian think we are so easy to bully?"

  "It's probably because Haotian thought that Jin Yuan was holding us back, so he could take advantage of the situation from behind." Huang Chu stroked his beard and nodded with a smile, both surprised and delighted by Baihe's great victory.

  "Now that the face has been torn apart, let's give him a good thrashing! Revenge for Mr. Wen!" Luoyang Tian said gritting his teeth as he sat on the chair, his right fist clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white, making "cracking" sounds.

  Lei Meng looked at Luoyang Tian's performance and thought to himself, "This guy is carrying a deep grudge into battle. He's likely to make mistakes." He turned his head to look at Yang Tian, wanting to see what he thought. Everyone else's attention also shifted to Yang Tian.

  Yang Tianlu smiled and said: "Don't look at me like that, I'll be shy." Everyone was amused and burst out laughing.

  "Go! Speak quickly!" Lei Meng glared at Yang Tian.

  Yang Tian adjusted his expression and said, "The commander who is guarding the side of Huánguì Moon is the most formidable among them, that is Féng Fēifán. This time, it's likely that he led the troops to launch a surprise attack."

  He glanced at the crowd, seeing everyone nodding in agreement, and continued to analyze: "Feng Feifan's military tactics often take a circuitous route, that is, he doesn't deploy troops according to conventional logic, as long as he wins. The Wencheng Mountain inside Wujicheng last time was also killed by his dispatched expert."

  Although this news had been heard for a long time, when Huang Chu faced such a situation, he still showed a worried expression, and others were also nervous.

  "Don't worry, I'll dispatch special troops to guard; and I'll also patrol at irregular intervals." Yang Tianyang smiled brightly, dispelling the gloom from everyone's hearts, "I can guarantee that for every enemy who comes, one will die!"

  Everyone's heart was greatly settled, and the defense of the city was naturally handed over to Yang Tian. The night passed peacefully without incident.

  In the southwestern great city of Baoding under Jin Yuan, Emperor Wang Ding was in a certain secret room in the City Master's Mansion, loudly scolding: "Trash! Trash! A hundred thousand strong army can't take down a small city, and they were defeated and scattered everywhere!……"

  Wei Ming never came back, and Wang Ding undoubtedly lacked someone to confide in, he began to get anxious...

  The next day at noon, the Haotian army appeared as scheduled two kilometers outside the west gate of Hexi City. Leiming and others stood on the city wall, gazing far away at the rolling dust that filled the sky, and they knew without a scout's report that there were many people coming.

  Lei Meng held up the telescope and saw that the commander of the Huatian army was indeed Feng Feifan. He then suggested: "Yang Tian, Feng Feifan is cautious by nature, he must have sent a small team to scout ahead. Let's show our weakness to the enemy first, wait for the main force of the Huatian army to arrive, and then we'll use cannon fire to attack fiercely."

  "Hmm, it's not easy, after all. My brother and I have finally come to an agreement again!" Yang Tian let out a soft sigh and said in a pretentious tone, "It seems that heroes really do think alike."

  "Never mind, stop farting around. Hurry up and get the soldiers something to eat, and pass down the order to retreat. I'm waiting to see your performance." Lei Meng handed the binoculars to Yang Tian, this rarely used thing he didn't do much with, just did that one thing.

  Yang Tiangang had just turned around when nearly two thousand soldiers from the Haotian side rushed over, this was to come and test the city.

  "Arrived quite quickly!" Lei Meng muttered to himself.

  After a while, Yang Tian returned to Lei Meng's side and smiled: "It's really timely, I just instructed them and they came."

  "Hmm, they should be given a prize for their coordination, it's really too tacit. Lei Meng couldn't help but laugh either."

  After seven or eight minutes, the two thousand soldiers stopped five hundred meters away. After catching their breath, they slowly moved forward one by one, drawing their bows. It seems that this probe really has the intention of taking advantage of the fewer people on the west bank.

  The anxious waiting was always too long, and finally, the Haotian Army arrived at a hundred meters outside the city. Seeing that Hexi City was quiet, under the command of a small commander, the whole team rushed towards Hexi City like a swarm of bees, shooting arrows at the city wall while charging.

  At this time, Yang Tian ordered Lin Chong to command the archers. Lin Chong was on another section of the city wall and shouted loudly: "All soldiers listen to my order, shoot! Shoot a thousand arrows at them!" More than 1,000 soldiers on the city wall shot down arrows, causing more than 2,000 Heavenly Army soldiers to fall to the ground injured, unable to approach the city again.

  "Haha! Withdraw! Quick withdrawal!" The commander ordered a retreat with joy. Judging from the number of counterattacking arrows, there were not many defending soldiers in Hexi City, and with fewer troops, it was impossible to take the city. Going back to report to Commander Feng would also be considered completing the task and achieving one merit.

  Outside the city of Hebei, more than 100 people were either dead or injured on the grassy ground, some lying motionless, others rolling and struggling desperately, all filled with desolation.

  Those soldiers fled back crazily, and the commander reported to Feng Feifan with joy: There are not many soldiers in Hexi City, and General Mo's 2,000 soldiers charged forward and retreated, losing only 146 people!

  Feng Feifan was overjoyed, but soon thought again that the troops in Hexi's three cities were originally not many, only more than 10,000, less than 20,000 people. So he opened his mouth and said: "There is nothing to be happy about. But it can also be considered as your achievement, go down."

  He is now worried about the Jin army, because he fears that the Jin army will attack and capture the White River, and then take away all the important figures. Then he led a large army to come forward, taking the risk of losing soldiers and generals but not gaining any benefits. It would be a heavy loss, unbearable for both sides.

  Half an hour later, Feng Feifan ordered the Haotian army to advance slowly and stopped five hundred meters outside the west river city. He came to the front of the formation and shouted towards the west river city: "Who is the general defending the city? Please come forward and answer!" He thought that with a large army pressing down on the city, he should be able to subdue the enemy without a fight.

  "Lin Chong is here, ordered to defend the west of the river!" Lin Chong shouted back from atop the city wall, "I don't know why General Feng is attacking the west of the river, which belongs to the same heavenly dynasty as us!"

  "Haha!" Feng Feifan burst out laughing, "When did you belong to Haotian? Have you ever listened to Haotian's management? Have you ever paid tribute to Haotian?"

  "It turns out that you had the heart of a jackal all along!" Lin Chong said with feigned regret, his tone suddenly turning stern. "Since it's come to this, let's have a fight to the death! Soldiers, even if we die, we'll make sure to splatter their bodies with blood!"

  "Hey!" The city wall echoed in unison with Lin Chong. The peaceful atmosphere suddenly turned gloomy.

  Feng Feifan did not expect that the other party would suddenly block his way downstream, and even a small soldier from Xiaohe West dared to call him out, filling him with rage.

  "Since you don't know what's good for you, then perish!" Feng Feifan shouted in anger, hoping that the other party would be frightened by these words and beg for mercy.

  But after a long while, there was no reaction from the opposite side. He then gave the order: "Left and right armies, charge for me! Flatten the west of the river!"

  Many people beat few, with all the advantages, the soldiers of Hua Tian seemed to be able to foresee the scene of trampling flat the city of He Xi. Thus, the great army of Hua Tian raised a sky full of dust and charged towards the city of He Xi with the momentum of mountains collapsing and earth splitting!

  After rushing for over 200 meters, Lei Meng emerged from behind the city wall, using his internal energy to shout: "Haha! Feng Feifan! Lei Meng is here! Come quickly and accept your death!"

  The sound shook heaven and earth, causing the momentum of the crazily charging Great Heavenly Army to pause for a moment!

  Yang Tian had already ordered all the snipers and three cannons to aim at Feng Feifan, while the other seven cannons aimed at the rear of the Haotian army. He wanted to kill as many enemies as possible! Taking advantage of Lei Meng's hesitation when he heard the shout, he transmitted his voice to everyone: Fire!

  "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sniper takes aim and fires, the gunner takes aim and launches the cannon.

  Feng Feifan, who was riding on horseback, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and his hairs stood on end. As someone who had refined his martial arts skills, he sensed something was off and quickly dodged to the left.

  Unfortunately, the sniper rifle's bullets were too fast and also scattered in different positions, blocking his retreat. He had just moved a bit of his body to dodge the chest position when he was hit by seven or eight shots, letting out a miserable cry as he fell to the ground, bleeding all over his body.

  After all, he has practiced a good internal skill, so the bullet was blocked by his internal force and could not pass through his body. Therefore, he is seriously injured! If he knew that this bullet was so powerful, perhaps using his skills to withstand it would have made him less injured.

  He struggled to get up, with blood overflowing from his mouth. The soldiers beside him were shocked and bent over to support each other when the three cannonballs exploded nearby.

  "Boom! Boom!" Dust filled the air, shrapnel flying everywhere.

  People near the shell suddenly became deaf, their bodies torn apart in pain, and then were blown to pieces. Feng Feifan, who had a sense of responsibility, was also unable to escape, and his soul flew away in regret and remorse, disappearing into thin dust.

  Lei Meng and Yang Tian let out a sigh of relief. Lei Meng smiled at Yang Tian, saying: "The rest is up to you."

  Yang Tian's face showed excitement, and he shouted: "Adjust the cannon, blast it from far to near!"

  The sound of the explosion shook the sky, and the soldiers' hearts were in a panic. Moreover, the news of General Feng's death spread quickly, and the soldiers became even more chaotic, running around frantically but not knowing where to run for safety.

  Deputy General Liu Jin suddenly appeared, shouting loudly: "Withdrawal, the whole army is withdrawing!" The chaotic Haotian soldiers heard the shout, like encountering a lamp in the dark night, and encountering straw when drowning, they hurriedly gathered towards Liu Jin's side to seek safety.

  Yang Tian saw the soldiers gathering there, and hastily ordered two cannons and snipers to bombard Liu Jin's body. Amidst the "boom boom" and "ding ding" sounds, Liu Jin and others groaned and cried out in the smoke, and afterwards, no one ever heard Liu Jin poke his head out again.

  In just a moment, those who could run had disappeared, leaving behind only the dead and the wounded crawling on the ground with mournful cries.

  The cannonballs and gunfire had stopped for almost half an hour, and Lei Meng and others outside the city came to their senses. Lei Meng said: "Those who can walk have basically run away, these in front are all wounded. Yang Tian, send someone to give them a quick death." He turned his head to look at Yang Tian, who had also just come to his senses.

  This time the shells hit even harder, with flesh and limbs scattered everywhere. Many of the soldiers sweeping the battlefield couldn't help but vomit and collapse to the ground...