roccoschili Chapter 363 Cession
Chapter 363 Cession
On the vast ground, guards from both sides placed five wine jars each two hundred steps away.
Following a loud command.
Soldiers on both sides raised their guns and shot at the wine jars.
The new army has already replaced its weapons with magazine-fed ones, and uses smokeless gunpowder. The sound of shooting is crisp, pleasant and exceptionally loud.
"Clap clap clap clap..."
After a burst of rapid shooting, the five wine jars were instantly shattered and turned into debris on the ground.
In contrast, the honor guards were still using the old bullets. They had to replace a bullet every time they fired a shot, and their shooting speed was much slower in comparison.
The people watching the game were all surprised and confused, and had no idea what was going on.
"Generals, why are our guns so different from yours?" Honor asked with a frown.
"Well, you can understand it this way. We installed a magazine for feeding bullets under the gun, so the shooting speed is naturally faster." Ma Biao answered shamelessly, but Rong Yao obviously did not believe it.
He walked forward and picked up the gun in the hands of the new army guard. The first thing that caught his eye was the conspicuous magazine, and the second was the difference in the bolt.
After pulling the bolt, he found that the bullet inside was also completely different.
It was a cylindrical shell with the bullet protruding from it.
This is a clear difference from their bullets.
Their bullets have a small cylinder next to them, and are larger and longer than their bullets.
"Why is this so?" Honor asked again.
"This is our new weapon, and we don't know the specific details." The soldier scratched his head and answered, looking at Ma Biao and others from time to time, as if seeking help.
"Don't make things difficult for this soldier. We don't know the details either." Shan Ning stepped forward and said.
At this time, Rong Yao also discovered that the caliber of the gun barrels they used was much smaller than that of his own guns.
As if he understood something in an instant, Rong Yao thought to himself: This gun is probably not as powerful as ours.
It seemed as if this "secret" offset all his previous doubts.
It was just a small episode, and there was no reason for Honor to delve into it further.
The next day, the three teams followed Yan Ruxiang's messenger and headed north.
Yanchuan Town, a small town only a hundred miles away from Yanzhou, is bustling with people.
The fall of Yanzhou did not seem to have much impact on these people coming and going.
This time, Yan Ruxiang transferred 100,000 troops from Suide to cooperate with the army sent by the court to prepare to attack Yanzhou.
"Generals, you have traveled all the way and worked hard. How many troops did you bring this time?" Yan Ruxiang asked straight to the point.
"General, we have less than 30,000 people in total, but don't worry, we will take on the role of vanguard." The honorary representative of the court was the first to answer Yan Ruxiang's question.
Although Yan Ruxiang knew that the new weapons were extremely powerful, he still felt uneasy because the other side had so few troops.
"Generals, we are going to attack the city this time. Can we really capture Yanzhou with such a small force?"
Faced with Yan Ruxiang's question, Rong Yu was unsure, so he turned his attention to Ma Biao and others.
"Don't worry, General. We will definitely win the first battle. As long as we carefully formulate a battle plan, we can act according to it."
Since everyone from the court expressed this opinion, Yan Ruxiang didn't say anything more.
So, everyone began to discuss and formulate a battle plan.
Ma Biao, with his extensive combat experience, was the primary choice to formulate the plan. He divided the newly-armed forces into three teams and proposed launching a simultaneous attack from both city gates.
"I will assign the two regiments under my division to General Rong and General Shan respectively. We will focus on attacking the north gate. General Rong will be in charge of the west gate, but it will not be the main gate to attack."
After hearing this, Rong Yao nodded in agreement.
"General Yan, once we open the city gates, your army will enter the city immediately. If close combat is necessary, that task will be left to you."
Upon hearing this, Yan Ruxiang stroked his beard and said proudly, "Don't worry, all my men are brave and good at fighting."
After hearing this, Ma Biao's mouth curled up slightly, and he couldn't help but admire the heroic spirit of this old general.
The next day, the army set out and arrived ten miles outside Yanzhou City in the afternoon and set up camp.
After hearing the news, the Liang people in the city quickly made defensive preparations. When they learned that the incoming troops numbered only a few hundred thousand, they felt relieved.
……
Since the fall of Yanzhou, Sima Yan has shouldered a heavy mission and conducted difficult peace negotiations on behalf of the King of Qin with the Qiang army.
At the negotiation table where the atmosphere was tense, Mou Lihei straightened his back and said in a resounding voice:
"We want both Dingxi and Dingbian, and the two counties along the way must also be ceded to us." His eyes revealed greed and determination.
"You're asking for too much. Let's put it this way: we can't give up Dingxi, but as for Dingbian, you can do whatever you want with it."
Sima Yan waved his hand with a hint of helplessness and compromise on his face, as if Dingbian was no longer his cherished territory and he gave it up without hesitation.
"Sanshui County is a very important location for us. We must own it."
Dai Gongshan said with a sharp look and a firm tone.
"Okay..." Sima Yan responded calmly. His heart was actually full of contradictions and struggles, but in order to reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, he had no choice but to make concessions.
The three Qiang leaders smiled at each other, their eyes gleaming with pride. Thus, each of them would be given three counties, which was undoubtedly a huge gain for them.
Hailadubao is also a prosperous county town, not far from Dingxi City, followed by Sanshui County and finally Dingbian County.
The negotiations went exceptionally smoothly. In Sima Yan's view, the demands put forward by the Qiang people did not seem excessive.
And he himself was able to obtain Dingxi City as he wished, which made him feel a little relieved to some extent.
However, what he didn't know was that changes had already begun to take place in Yanzhou.
The Sima family had long coveted Dingxi City, and they had carefully planned and plotted to connect Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Dingxi into a commercial route.
If we expand further south, a huge business district will become clear.
In accordance with the agreement, the Qiang people withdrew from Dingxi City and several other occupied cities, and marched towards the negotiated city in a mighty manner.
They were filled with joy, thinking that once they occupied these places, they would be able to firmly establish a base east of the Yellow River and further expand their sphere of influence.
Sima Ling was overjoyed when he heard this. He paced proudly in his mansion, imagining a bright future.
After Zhao Qin learned about this, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his Qin territory was temporarily safe.
But they were completely unaware that ceding land step by step, while seemingly solving the immediate crisis, was actually sowing the seeds of deep-rooted disaster.
What awaits them will be destruction in the future, but at this moment, they are still immersed in a brief peace and false victory, unable to foresee the coming disaster.