Volume 1: The Wind Rises in Tumubao Chapter 23 Ming Dynasty Black Technology
Behind the Ming army camp, Chen Huai ran up to Zhu Qizhen with his bare chest.
"Your Majesty, will this thing work?"
Zhu Qizhen was busy issuing orders. When he saw him coming, he immediately said, "Your arrival is just in time. Organize more manpower and build five more kilns before sunset!"
"But, Your Majesty..."
Chen Huai originally came to ask for a fight. He really wanted to say, I am the Earl of Pingxiang, I am here to fight, not to build a kiln!
Zhu Qizhen said sternly: "Mr. Chen, the mission I have entrusted to you is extremely important. The success or failure of this battle depends on you!"
Hearing this, Chen Huai suddenly felt that he had a great responsibility, and hurriedly saluted and said, "I obey your order!"
After saying this, he excitedly asked people to build a kiln.
On the battlefield ahead, Bayan had led 20,000 cavalrymen across the river. At this time, they were less than 200 steps away from the Ming army's position. It was like a dark cloud pressing down on the enemy, and it was suffocating to look at them from afar.
The scouts ahead reported: "General , the Ming army's positions are beginning to shrink!"
Upon hearing this, Boyan no longer hesitated and shouted, "Charge!"
The cavalry behind him received the order and immediately began to speed up, shouting and swarming forward.
At the same time, there was finally movement in the Ming army's position.
The rattan shield bearers in the front row remained standing still, and the catapults behind them made a creaking sound, which was the Ming army pulling the ropes tight.
Chen Ying slowly raised the knife in his hand and shouted, "Release!"
Huge felt packages were thrown out from the catapults and hit the oncoming Wala cavalry.
Boyan saw something flying towards the Ming army position and immediately shouted, "Be careful to avoid it!"
These cavalrymen were highly skilled and made evasive moves on horseback, but when they saw the large package getting closer, they couldn't help but feel puzzled.
what?
Behind Boyan, a centurion said, "General, it doesn't look like a stone?"
Then, everyone watched as a large bag fell to the ground and shattered with a thud, with smoke and dust rising everywhere.
In fact, Zhu Qizhen ordered people to build a catapult overnight, but it did not throw stones but lime.
To be precise, it should be called a lime smoke bomb.
The rocks here are mostly limestone, which can be formed into quicklime after calcination. This thing is very chemically active and generates heat when it comes into contact with water. Its performance is comparable to that of black powder.
However, the Ming army's current conditions were very limited and they were unable to make complicated lime bombs. Zhu Qizhen ordered the felt cloth used to build tents to be cut open, the burnt lime powder was wrapped in it, and then thrown out.
If you want to calcine high-purity lime in a temporary earthen kiln like this, it will take at least three to five days. If you rush it out in one day, it can only be considered a semi-finished product at best.
However, this is not for chemical industry, but as a weapon. Although the purity is not high, it is still effective against humans and horses.
At first, the Wala people thought it was just ordinary smoke and dust, but they immediately felt something was wrong.
Whether it was the cavalry or the war horses, their eyes were covered with lime powder and tears kept flowing. Some of them subconsciously rubbed their eyes with their hands, but the more they rubbed, the more uncomfortable they felt.
On the Ming army's position, fifty catapults moved back and forth, and lime bombs were thrown one after another. The battlefield was filled with smoke and dust, and the air was full of lime powder.
The Wala people had never seen such black technology before. Everyone covered their mouths and noses, coughed loudly, tears streaming down their faces, and their eyes had a strong burning sensation.
The situation of the war horses was even worse. They were all panicked and ran around like headless flies.
In the Wala camp, Yesen was still preparing his troops, but he saw that the front line was in chaos.
He knew in his heart that the cavalrymen led by Bayan were well-trained elite cavalrymen. Sandstorms often occurred in Mobei, and these people were already accustomed to it, so it was impossible for them to react like this.
There is something wrong with this smoke and dust, it must be the work of the Ming army!
Thinking of this, Yesen no longer hesitated and quickly sounded the call to withdraw his troops.
Upon hearing the signal from the Oirat people to withdraw, the Ming army was unwilling to let them go.
Zhang Fu led the way and shouted, "Five army camps, attack!"
The rattan shield bearers retreated one after another, and the Ming army rushed in like a tide and killed their way into the enemy formation.
The Oirat people had no intention of fighting and retreated in a hurry, leaving behind a pile of corpses.
The Ming army did not pursue further, after all, the lime powder in the air had not yet dissipated.
"The emperor is mighty, the emperor is mighty!"
In the camp, the soldiers saw the Oirat Mongols being defeated and fleeing, and they involuntarily surrounded Zhu Qizhen, shouting excitedly.
In the hearts of all the generals and soldiers, this young emperor was simply the god of war who had descended to earth.
The army was trapped in Tumubao and the soldiers lacked water and were on the verge of collapse. It was the emperor who stepped forward and led his army to raid Alazhiyuan and regain the advantage.
Facing the charge of the Wala cavalry, it was the emperor who relied on all kinds of ingenious ideas to defend against wave after wave of attacks.
The gunpowder was running out and the soldiers were terrified. However, the emperor, relying on black technology, once again defeated the enemy's attack.
Throughout the ages, the so-called gods of war are nothing more than this!
Seeing the soldiers so excited, Zhu Qizhen was relieved and ordered: "The soldiers from each camp should take turns to rest. Chen Huai, don't stop, continue to burn lime!"
"yes!"
Now Chen Huai has completely transformed into the captain of the construction team. His daily tasks include digging pits and firing kilns.
"Chen Ying, Chen Ying!"
"Your Majesty, I am here!"
Chen Ying trotted over and said breathlessly, "Your Majesty, in the battle just now, thirteen catapults were broken. I am arranging for people to repair them!"
Zhu Qizhen knew clearly that this thing was assembled temporarily after all , so it was not an exaggeration to say that it was shoddy and it was normal for it to be damaged, but he did not expect that so many of them would be broken.
If the Wala people had persisted a little longer, they might have fallen apart.
"Repair those that can be repaired as soon as possible, and send those that cannot be repaired to the kiln. Also, organize some people to cut down trees nearby and assemble dozens of them. We must ensure that there are enough spares for the next battle!"
"I obey your order!"
Chen Ying turned around to make arrangements and saw Yuan Bin hurried over.
"Your Majesty, the commander of Juyong Pass, Luo Tong, a doctor of the Ministry of War, has sent a fast horse to deliver a report. Please review it!"
Zhu Qizhen reached out to take it, opened it and took a look at it. The general meaning was that Luo Tong had already received a call from Kuang Ye and others, and learned that the emperor was not out of danger yet, so he brought people to support him and was already on the way.
There were only a few hundred soldiers guarding the pass, while there were tens of thousands of troops fighting here. Under such circumstances, Luo Tong was able to personally lead his troops to support them, which was enough to show his loyalty and courage.
Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty has never lacked talents. The Battle of Tumu in history perfectly illustrates the saying: If you don't seek death, you won't die!
If there was a commander with a normal mind, no matter how much he let himself go, he would never mess up such a good hand.
Even if you had no idea how to fight a war , and handed over the command to Zhang Fu, and slept in a tent every day, this result would not have been possible.
