Chapter 750: Worth Four Taels, Nine Mace
The moment Zhu Changxun heard those words, he felt utterly unwell.
"The moats!" Zhu Changxun exclaimed, "My Luoyang moats! How could they be so easily filled?"
Fan Shangzheng responded, "Indeed, a small enemy force certainly couldn't fill them. But tens of thousands of rebels could do it quite easily. Pouring just a thousand cartloads of earth and stone into the river would create a sufficient foothold for an assault on the city."
Zhu Changxun shrieked, "Ahhh! Quickly, protect this prince!"
His personal guards instantly surrounded him.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Fan Shangzheng tried to reassure him. "Your Highness, Prince of Fu, there's no need to be so terrified. As long as we don't give them a chance to push their handcarts close, those earth and stones can't be dumped into the moats."
Zhu Changxun's spirits lifted. "Right, right! Shoot them with muskets, shower them with arrows... In short, kill every single one of those scoundrels pushing carts!"
He waved his hand. "No need to shield me now; go and shoot more arrows!"
Just then...
The rebels pushed forward their hastily constructed shield carts. Mounted with wooden walls on four wheels, they slowly advanced to the front lines. There were quite a few of these shield carts, as many as seven or eight, linked together like a massive moving wall.
Bai Yuan exclaimed, "Oh! These rebels are getting smarter and smarter! Every time I see them, they're improving."
Zhu Changxun's face turned ashen. He asked his guard captain, "Muskets and arrows can't pierce those wooden planks, can they?"
The guard nodded. "They cannot."
Zhu Changxun cried, "Ahhh! We're doomed! With these things for protection, they'll reach the moat and dump in earth and stones! The moat is finished! Guards, stop shooting arrows! Come back to me, protect this prince!"
His personal guards instantly surrounded him once more.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Li Daoxuan smiled at him. "Your Highness, Prince of Fu, can you try not to be so afraid of death? As men, we ought to show a little more spine."
Zhu Changxun retorted, "If I weren't afraid of death, I would have long since fought for the throne. Do I look like someone who wants to contend for the throne?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
Sound logic, utterly convincing!
This Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, had once been one of the strongest contenders for the throne. But he never dared to contend for it at all, dutifully prioritizing his own survival.
Keeping his head down and safe was his life's goal.
Suddenly, a mighty roar echoed from outside the city. Then, the main rebel force began its advance...
Shield carts in front, handcarts behind, a dense mass of rebel soldiers pressed relentlessly towards Luoyang City.
In the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the rebel armies rarely attacked fortified cities, only occasionally raiding a small county or two. But in the last two years, they had employed various siege tactics, attacking places like Zezhou and Liaozhou... They had already breached numerous prefectural cities and even dared to attack Taiyuan and Huaiqing Prefectures.
Now they even dared to approach Luoyang; they were truly audacious.
Zhu Changxun shrieked like a stuck pig, "Shoot arrows! Fire muskets! Why are you all just standing there?"
Fan Shangzheng calmly said, "They're not within range yet! Stop shouting."
Zhu Changxun fell silent.
Just then, Bai Yuan, standing beside Zhu Changxun, extended his hand to the side. "The rifle!"
A Bai family retainer instantly leapt out and placed a Chassepot Rifle into Bai Yuan's hand.
Bai Yuan raised the rifle with unparalleled elegance and smiled at Zhu Changxun. "Your Highness, I shall perform a magic trick for you."
Zhu Changxun's expression was a question mark.
Bai Yuan continued, "I intend to shoot the face of that rebel soldier visible in the gap between the third and fourth shield carts."
When Zhu Changxun heard this, he looked as if he'd just heard an idiot speaking.
He wasn't unfamiliar with muskets; their accuracy was notoriously pathetic. From hundreds of paces away, what could you possibly hit? And trying to get a bullet through the tiny gap between two shield carts? That was an even more impossible feat.
Zhu Changxun scoffed, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Bai Yuan shrugged. "Oh, Your Highness, why do you doubt me? I take the 'Archery' of the gentleman's Six Arts very seriously, you know."
Zhu Changxun glared. "Boasting also requires knowing the time and place! I'm in no mood for jokes right now..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Bai Yuan instantly raised the rifle, aimed, and fired, all in one fluid motion.
A sharp "Crack!" rang out, startling Zhu Changxun greatly. He quickly looked towards the gap between the third and fourth shield carts. The rebel soldier caught in the gap had just collapsed, though Zhu Changxun couldn't discern if the man had truly been struck in the face.
Zhu Changxun gasped sharply. "He actually hit it?"
Bai Yuan burst into laughter. "In the art of Mathematics, my son has utterly surpassed me, but in Archery, no one can outmatch me, hahahaha!"
This time, he truly wasn't boasting!
Bai Yuan was the number one marksman in Gao Family Village, bar none.
However, as a commander-in-chief, it was unlikely he could lie prone in a corner of the battlefield like a true sniper, reaping the lives of enemy generals in the shadows. In that sense, his sniping talent was somewhat wasted.
Bai Yuan's single shot ushered in the opening volley of the musketeers.
Another musketeer pulled the trigger with a "Crack!"
But his marksmanship wasn't as good as Bai Yuan's. The bullet failed to pass through the gap between the shield carts, instead striking one of them. The thick wooden planks deflected the bullet, leaving only a small dent.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Musket fire rang out sporadically. The skilled marksmen among the two thousand musketeers opened fire one after another. However, those less confident in their aim didn't dare waste bullets and held their positions.
Some of these marksmen succeeded, while others failed.
Some bullets were blocked by the shield carts, but others successfully pierced the gaps, knocking the rebel soldiers behind them to the ground.
When Zhu Changxun saw this, he was utterly stunned. "Your musketeers! How do they shoot so far and so accurately? How is that possible?"
Bai Yuan wasn't about to tell him about "rifling technology." He simply took out his fan, snapped it open, concealing half his face, and chuckled mischievously, "How's that? So, are they worth five taels of silver per man now?"
Zhu Changxun cleared his throat. "Ahem, yes, the price can go up a bit now. Four taels, nine mace! Four taels, nine mace, no more!"
Bai Yuan tilted his head. "Your Highness, have you ever heard of a type of poultry called a duck?"
Zhu Changxun replied, "What about ducks? Who hasn't heard of ducks?"
Bai Yuan leaned in conspiratorially. "I'll tell you a little-known secret: even when a duck is dead, its beak remains stubbornly hard."
Zhu Changxun fell silent.
The musket fire continued to sound sporadically. Most of the Gao Family Village Militia soldiers were not marksmen, so they continued to hold their fire, watching with grim focus as the shield carts drew closer: two hundred meters... one hundred meters... eighty meters... seventy meters... fifty meters...
Seeing the enemy drawing ever nearer and realizing the musketeers couldn't effectively attack, Zhu Changxun stomped his feet in a frenzy. "What do we do? The musketeers are formidable, but they can't pierce those shield carts! They're coming! The bandits are coming! Help! Quickly, protect this prince!"
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