The Han people successively established two kingdoms, the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, east of Rome. As the prince of the Roman Empire, Gallienus, who co-ruled the Roman Empire with his father, certainly knew about it.
The Han people, who were once far away in the East, are now neighbors of the Roman Empire.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
At least in the past ten years, this has been a very good thing.
Because before the Easterners conquered the Sasanians, both the Sassanians and the Parthians were always eyeing the powerful Roman Empire. When nothing happened, they would send troops to invade the territory of Rome, which was very annoying.
.
The last ten years have been different.
The Han people in the East became the neighbors of the Roman Empire. They no longer harassed the Roman Empire like the Sasanians and Parthians. This also gave the Roman Empire a chance to breathe and have more thoughts to manage the West.
, to conquer the ambitious Germans.
If this continues, the Romans have no intention of taking action against the Ming Kingdom established by the Han people for the time being. They hope to live in harmony with the newly established Ming Dynasty, because the current Roman Empire is no longer as powerful as it used to be.
Their main focus now is on the West.
But——
Now they find that they seem to be wrong.
In the past ten years, the Ming Dynasty has not advanced westward, and the Roman Empire has not sent troops eastward. It was thought that the Han people had reached their limit by expanding their territory to the east of Byzantium.
But now, they have stretched out their greedy hands.
Like the Sasanians and Parthians, they also coveted the Roman Empire.
"Your Highness!"
Claude, commander of the 1st Danube Corps, saluted and said: "The Han people also have two eyes, two noses, two ears, one mouth, two arms and two legs. They are not monsters or monsters." Claude said a little uncomfortable.
He said sharply: "We, the Roman cavalry, are the number one legion in the world. How can we hide in a fortified city and be so timid?"
Claude was born as a military commander and was naturally brave. He is one of the twelve warriors in the Roman Empire today, and Claude ranks sixth.
Although the Second Corps was almost wiped out in the Bosporus before, he was one of the very few Roman generals who was not frightened by the Han people.
As soon as Claude finished speaking, Turamos, the commander of the Roman Corps, also echoed: "Captain Claude is right. Now that the Han army has come from afar, our army can take advantage of its unstable foothold and defeat it in one battle."
Defeat."
Turamos is also one of the Twelve Warriors, ranking eleventh.
With Claude and Tulamos taking the lead, and several more corps commanders standing up to echo, although the Second Danube Corps suffered heavy losses, and the unknown weapons of the Han people, many Romans changed their minds after hearing about the Han people.
.
But when it comes to the battlefield, their bloodshed is quickly ignited because they are warriors.
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
Looking at the military commanders in the room, their morale suddenly became high. Gallienus was very happy, because he was not only the son of the current emperor of the Roman Empire, but also one of the twelve warriors of the Roman Empire, and he was ranked first.
Warrior.
Ahem——
Gallienus coughed twice, and the corps commanders in the room immediately fell silent.
"Everyone!"
Gallienus laughed and said: "I am really happy that you are not afraid of the enemy, because I see in you the bloody character that a Roman warrior should have."
"Before this expedition, the old guys in the Senate said that our Roman Empire was finished this time and that we would definitely not be able to defeat the Han people in the East."
After Galienus finished speaking, he looked at everyone, and then said: "But today, I am very sure that we can defeat the Han people in the east."
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
The commanders of the army shouted loudly again. They looked down on the people in the Senate from the bottom of their hearts. They could only talk about war on paper day by day, and even before they saw the enemy, they were all scared to death.
What's so scary about the Eastern Han people?
Do they have an extra eye, an extra mouth, an extra arm and a leg than we Romans... They are humans too, so there is nothing to be afraid of.
However, when everyone was cheering, Gallienus said: "Although I am the same as you, we are not afraid of the Han people, but... we cannot despise the enemy."
Everyone fell into silence after hearing this, and listened quietly to the prince's instructions.
Gallienus continued: "I have investigated that in addition to having a large number of cavalry legions, the Han people also have a weapon called the Thunderbolt Cannon. This weapon is a long-range attack weapon. Its power is amazing. We cannot underestimate it.
Look at it."
"What is a Thunderbolt Cannon?" Claude asked.
Others also looked at Galienus. Previously, the Second Danube Corps was defeated by a new weapon of the Han army. Could it be this thunder cannon?
"Well!" Galienus said: "It's not clear what this thing is made of, but what we can know is that this thing will explode, maybe it's the same thing as when they were attacking the Sasanians before.
At that time, the explosive packets used were almost the same."
"Explosive pack?" Claude was stunned for a moment.
This is the first time they have heard of the Thunder Cannon, because they are too far away from the Central Plains. If they are adjacent to the Central Plains, or send some people to learn about the Central Plains in advance, they will know what the Thunder Cannon is.
What a pity——
They had not paid attention to the Han people in the East before, and at most they had only maintained harmony with the Ming Dynasty, so they did not know that this weapon called the Thunderbolt Cannon had actually appeared in the Han-Wei War a few years ago, and had defeated them
The Han army with rocket launchers.
However, they have heard of explosive packs.
The Han people had used this explosive when they attacked Sassanid and Kushan before. It was also because of this explosive that the Han army only took nine years to destroy the two great countries of Sassanid and Kushan.
Later, the Romans also tried to obtain the method of making explosive packets, but failed because both the Tang and Ming Kingdoms took very strict measures to keep the explosive packets secret.
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"Don't worry, everyone!" Galienus said: "Our Byzantine city walls are strong. Even if the Han army uses explosive bags, they may not be able to blow open the Byzantine city gates."
Hmm!
All the generals agreed on this point. Byzantium is a very solid city. The city walls are all made of giant stone blocks weighing thousands of kilograms. Even the city gates are made of very solid granite.<
/p>
"As long as our army holds on to the city, even if the Han army has amazingly powerful thunder cannons, what can they do to me?" Gallienus laughed.
If the Han army did not have thunder cannons, they could still choose to confront them head-on. However, the Han army had long-range attack thunder cannons. Galienus felt that he needed to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses and rely on strong cities to block the Han people under the Byzantine city.
...
May 29, 258 AD, morning.
Byzantium, outside the south city.
One hundred thousand Han troops were arrayed neatly, standing on the Byzantine city wall. As far as the eye could see, there was a vast expanse of flags waving. The Han troops were in an orderly formation and their morale was high.
Located directly in front of the Han army, every five steps, there is a three-bow bed crossbow.
Liu Chan stood in front of the Chinese army formation. To his left and right were: King Liu Yan of the Ming Kingdom, General Guan Xing of the Ming Kingdom, General Sotor of the Cavalry of the Kingdom of Ming, General Sa Mingde of the Hussars of the Kingdom of Ming, and General Fenwei Ainu.
Er; as well as the Han auxiliary general Zhao Tong, the auxiliary Han general Tian Mu, the Zhaoyi general Deng Ai, the guard general Tu Lianhu, Fenwei general Sima Yan, Yunyang Hou Cao Fang, etc.
This time, Liu Chan has many generals under his command, not only the generals he brought from the Central Plains who are good at fighting, but also the latest generals from the Ming Kingdom promoted by the Ming Kingdom.
"Father!"
Liu Yan, the king of the Ming Dynasty, bowed and said: "I invite you to attack Byzantium!"
The third son of Liu Yan and Liu Chan, who had never experienced a battle before, now ascends to the throne of the Ming Kingdom. The reason can only be said to be that his birth was so good. Who made him the Han Emperor Liu Chan
son.
He doesn't need to do anything to directly become the king of a country.
But——
Liu Yan has grown up now, and he knows that as the head of a country, especially the king of a newly established kingdom, it is difficult for his subjects to truly surrender if he has no military exploits at all.
It is also for this reason that Liu Chan originally asked Liu Yan to take charge of Taixi Feng, and asked Ming Dynasty Prime Minister Xu Shu to accompany him on the Western Expedition.
But Liu Yan said: "My father fought all his life and created a huge territory for the Han Dynasty. As the prince of the Han Dynasty and the king of the Ming Dynasty, if you have never experienced war, this is a very shameful thing."
"Also, the eldest brother once accompanied his father in the north and south, and made great military exploits for the Han Dynasty. As a younger brother, I am willing to follow the example of the eldest brother and fight for the Han Dynasty."
After hearing what Liu Yan said, Liu Chan was very pleased. This is his son Liu Chan. A king who dares not go to the battlefield is a coward. My sons must be able to mount a horse to fight and dismount to govern a country.
Therefore, Liu Chan agreed to Liu Yan's request and joined the army in the western expedition.
At this moment, the army was already standing under the Byzantine city. Liu Yan took the initiative to invite Ying to fight. Liu Chan looked at Byzantium in front, then nodded slightly and said: "Okay! I will leave this battle to you to command!"
"Thank you, Father!" Liu Yan was immediately overjoyed.
Although he has not been on the battlefield in recent years, he has often read military books and strategies, not to mention that he has Xu Shu, who is no less capable than Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty.
After receiving Liu Chan's permission, Liu Yanyue immediately stepped forward.
"All the soldiers in the army obey the order!"
Liu Yan's war horse jumped up and walked slowly in front of the army. As he rode slowly, he said loudly: "Today, my king has been ordered to attack Byzantium. All the soldiers in the army must take the lead bravely. Before the attack, I will give all the soldiers a certain number. Rules."
Hey!
Hearing this, all the soldiers in the army were silent. Emperor Liu Chan of the Han Dynasty looked at his young son seriously. It seemed that he had to set rules before the battle.
Liu Yan shouted loudly: "If you don't listen to the drum, behead!"
"Anyone who refuses to retreat after hearing the news - beheaded!"
"Charge the cowards—kill them!"
"Those who defect in battle—behead!"
"Those who retreat without fighting - behead!"
After hearing these five beheadings, Liu Chan and the generals who followed Liu Chan in his southern and northern campaigns all secretly praised the young king in front of them.
With him in charge of the Ming Dynasty, it seems that the Ming Dynasty will not be strong even if it is not powerful. He will definitely be a promising monarch in the future.
After talking about these five cuts, Liu Yan looked at the entire army and finally said loudly: "Since there is punishment, there will naturally be rewards. As long as you perform meritorious service in battle, no matter how big or small, I will give you rewards." He said Then, he suddenly paused, and then said loudly: "Whoever makes the first contribution in this battle, I will immediately make him a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households in the Ming Dynasty!"
!!!——
As soon as Liu Yan finished speaking, one hundred thousand Han troops immediately burst into thunderous roars.
"Long live His Majesty the King of Ming Dynasty!"
"Long live His Majesty the King of Ming Dynasty!"
Liu Chan was also a little surprised, thinking that this boy is willing to give up. As the saying goes, there must be a brave man under a heavy reward. The one who gets the first merit in a battle will be directly named a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households.
Not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, no one has yet been promoted to a marquis. This is attractive enough to everyone, because the marquis is a hereditary system. Before this, if you wanted to obtain such a title, it would be very difficult unless you had made extraordinary contributions.
Hard to get.
But in order to establish his authority in the first battle, Liu Yan offered a big prize.
Of course, the most important thing is that this battle is different. They are facing the elite divisions of the Roman Empire. Before arriving in Byzantium, they had already received news that the Roman Emperor had assembled elite troops from several towns, totaling about 160,000 to 70,000 soldiers.
People.
You know, although the Roman Empire was very powerful, at its peak, the country's total military strength was only thirty-nine regiments, totaling about 400,000 people.
Today's Roman Empire has long been in decline. It is now understood that the total military strength of the Roman Empire is thirty-six regiments, totaling about 350,000 people.
There were a total of 350,000 people. As soon as the war started, the Romans dispatched 160,000 to 70,000 people to defend Byzantium. It can be imagined that this battle will be very difficult.
Of course, if Byzantium is captured in one battle, Liu Yan will become famous all over the world, and he will also get rid of the hat of relying on the merits of his father and brother to comfortably occupy the position of King of the Ming Dynasty.
One hundred thousand people shouted loudly, and their momentum shocked the Byzantine defenders.
Although they could not understand what these Han troops were shouting, they knew that this Eastern army was definitely not easy to defeat.
At this time, the Han army was about 400 steps away from the city wall, and the three-bow bed crossbow in front was even closer, about 350 steps away.
The defenders on the city wall were standing ready, and they could see that this Eastern army would attack them at any time.
On the other side, after Liu Yan finished mobilizing and establishing military regulations, he slowly pulled out the long sword from his waist, then quickly pointed to the Byzantine City ahead, and shouted loudly: "Attack!"
Liu Yan's attack order had just been issued, and the two hundred three-bow crossbows located in front of the legion's formation began to roar almost simultaneously.
Rest, rest, rest.
In an instant, more than a hundred rocket launchers and thousands of thunder cannons roared out, flying straight towards Byzantium ahead.
Seeing countless arrows flying from the sky, the Roman soldiers at the top of the city were stunned. Their weapons were still stuck on spears, swords, crossbows, etc.
But the weapons of the Han army were so advanced.
From a distance of three to four hundred steps, you can actually fire a crossbow arrow.
You know, among the Roman army today, the longest range of the crossbow is only about two hundred paces, but the Han army's crossbow can shoot three to four hundred paces.
Oh, God!
They are definitely not humans, they are monsters.
This was the first reaction of the Byzantine city defenders at this time. They would never have imagined that the Han army actually had more advanced weapons, but they had not prepared them for the long journey.
If they saw the Han army's Hanwang artillery, they would probably either open the city and surrender immediately, or abandon the city and run away.
But now, they have been shocked.
The countless arrows strayed from far to near, and finally fell on the city wall or under the city wall, and some even crossed the city wall and flew directly into the Byzantine city.
Bang bang, bang bang bang.
In an instant, explosions were heard all over the Byzantine City, both inside and outside the city, and soldiers were shouting and wailing one after another.
......
......
This chapter has been completed!