Chapter 119: Breaking Through the Door to Take Bows and Cannons and Fire at Each Other?

Chapter 119: Breaking Through the Door to Take Bows and Cannons and Fire at Each Other?

The moat stretched out before us, its surface gleaming with a dim light.

Amidst the raging gunfire, Zhang Chang'an galloped on his horse, his gaze sweeping across the river: "Fortunately, it's a Japanese city, and the moat isn't too wide."

"board!"

He shouted behind him, and immediately some of the vanguard dismounted, grabbed the large number of planks they were dragging, and threw them towards the river. More people reacted, dismounted, grabbed the planks, and rushed towards the moat.

These planks, like the horses they are now riding, are resources that the shogunate easily acquired through its strategy of abandoning castles.

They were all constructed like boat hulls and had some floats attached to them, so although they swayed and some even got a little wet, they were still passable for people and even horses.

"Rush!"

Kondo Isami took the lead, his horse's hooves splashing water as it raced across the moat. Hijikata Toshizo followed closely behind, while Izumi no Kami Kanesada had already drawn his sword.

Zhang Chang'an was also at the front of the procession, his horse's hooves quickly landing on the wooden planks, making a creaking sound, but he didn't slow down. His eyes were fixed on the heavy east gate ahead.

The city gates were tightly shut. But there weren't many guards on the city walls. The cannonballs that had just fired had indeed had an effect; half of the watchtower had collapsed, the musketeers were in chaos, and only a few scattered arrows were being fired from the city walls, posing no real threat.

They thus quickly crossed the pontoon bridge and began to approach the city gate.

However, at that moment, another line of fire flew in from the horizon and landed on the city gate.

Clearly, it was Gui and his men who fired the artillery again.

But the shell had only traveled halfway when: "Boom!"

A loud bang exploded in mid-air.

Zhang Chang'an suddenly reined in his horse and looked up.

Above them, smoke billowed and flames splattered. Those were cannonballs that had just flown in from behind the city, but something had blown them up, causing them to explode right above their heads.

The shockwave, along with fragments of artillery shells and countless plumes of smoke, caused ripples on the water's surface. Some pontoon bridges cracked, sending them sprawling and overturning.

A soldier who had just rushed to the foot of the city wall was blown away by the shockwave and fell into the moat.

The two horses reared up in alarm, and the riders were thrown off their backs and fell heavily to the ground.

Several people stumbled backward and nearly fell into the river.

However, Zhang Chang'an was in good condition. His horsemanship came from the west, a place full of guns and cannons, so under his control, the horse under him did not move an inch.

Moreover, his gaze never left the city wall. At this moment, the smoke slowly dissipated, the firelight gradually disappeared, and the area near the city gate was plunged into darkness again, but his eyes were already locked on a figure on the city wall.

Beside the ruins of the arrow tower, a person stood quietly.

The gray-clad figure, clad in a white robe, appeared exceptionally tall and imposing in the firelight. Behind him, a large banner fluttered in the wind, the character "诘" (bi) clearly visible on its surface.

He was clearly the Dragon of Echigo, Uesugi Kenshin. In his hand he held a massive Japanese bow, taller than a man, its string still trembling slightly.

With half of his face covered, he looked down from the city gate, his gaze meeting Zhang Chang'an's.

Without the slightest hesitation, he drew the bow again.

The arrows, wrapped in oil-soaked strips of cloth, were already ablaze. Flames danced on the arrowheads, illuminating his icy face. The bowstring was taut.

Play the string!

"Buzz!"

The airflow around the bow instantly began to distort, as if compressed by something, forming visible ripples that spread outwards in concentric circles.

The flaming arrow tip was aimed directly at the charging crowd below. It transformed into a streak of fire, tearing through the air and hurtling towards the group with a whistling sound.

"boom!"

The arrow struck the center of the crowd, instantly exploding into a sea of ​​fire. Three soldiers were engulfed in flames, screaming and rolling on the ground.

The warhorses neighed in alarm and scattered in all directions. Some were thrown to the ground, while others turned back, and the momentum of the charge was instantly halted.

But at the same time.

Zhang Chang'an and his vanguard spurred their horses, and the warhorses immediately neighed as they charged through the edge of the flames, their hooves trampling over charred corpses and through the billowing smoke.

The haori worn by everyone and the kimono draped over his exoskeleton fluttered in the wind, clearly indicating that they had arrived at the city gate.

The East Gate of the city was tightly shut. The iron-clad doors gleamed coldly in the night.

As soon as Zhang Chang'an arrived, he decisively reached down to his lower back and pulled out a copper tube.

It was made overnight, with a copper tube stuffed with linen soaked in high-purity whale oil, and a fuse sticking out at one end. He bit off the fuse, bent down, aimed at the burning remains of the cannonball on the ground, lit it, and then flung it violently toward the city gate.

"Whoosh!" Before his horse had even come to a complete stop, the burning stick had already drawn an arc in the air and landed at the foot of the city gate.

"hiss!"

In an instant, a white light shone. This was high-purity whale oil mixed with metals such as magnesium, dazzling like a small sun. It instantly illuminated the area three zhang in front of the city gate, making every brick and every crack clearly visible.

Liang and the vanguard who rushed here with him couldn't help but raise their hands to cover themselves.

Behind them, the thunderous sound of hooves echoed. The main force of the Shinsengumi caught up, some still smoking, some with burns clearly visible on their faces, and others with their comrades' blood stained on their clothes. But not one of them stopped.

They rushed across the moat and stepped onto the land on the opposite bank, but when they were about three or four zhang away from the white light, they all reined in their horses and slowly dispersed.

Kondo Isami raised the Kotetsu sword in his hand, pointing the blade forward, but did not charge forward.

"hidden!"

At his command, the soldiers who had just charged forward retreated even further.

Zhang Chang'an was the same; he stood there calmly waiting. Not long after, before the white light had even faded, a muffled sound came from the direction of the distant hills.

One after another, streaks of fire flew towards this place, tearing through the night sky!

"call!"

"Boom!" Uesugi Kenshin's arrow once again detonated a cannonball, but since everyone had already arrived at the city gate, the cannonball that exploded in mid-air did not hit anyone this time. Moreover, this time the cannonballs were fired in a three-shot burst. Even if one exploded, two more cannonballs quickly followed, trailing a sharp whooshing sound, and accurately struck the city gate illuminated by the white light, instantly turning into huge balls of fire.

"boom--!"

Gravel flew everywhere, sheet metal twisted, and wood chips flew in all directions.

The lower half of Dongdaemun was torn apart. However, when the smoke cleared, it was probably because the small field guns of that era were not powerful enough, and the city gate was thick, so the impact point was also a bit low.

The gap in the city gate was barely taller than a person. Broken city gate planks leaned precariously over the gap, teetering on the verge of collapse.

"I miss Uncle Wang, Zhu Zi, you damn well missed!" Zhang Chang'an cursed, but didn't hesitate at all.

The shockwave from the shelling also kicked up a large amount of gravel and dust, which fell heavily at the foot of the city gate, burying the still-burning incendiary rod completely.

The white light went out instantly.

The area in front of the city gate fell into darkness again. Without this guidance, they wouldn't fire their cannons indiscriminately, lest they accidentally injure them.

So, seizing the opportunity, Zhang Chang'an spurred his horse, causing its front hooves to lift off the ground and it to surge forward.

"Kill!" In his hand, a long-bladed spear modified from the cross-shaped spear was swung through the air.

Behind them, countless Shinsengumi members followed directly into the smoke of battle.