Fake Eunuch: Discovering the Emperor is a Woman!
Chapter 421 - 407 Dissonant Voices in the Court

Chapter 421: Chapter 407 Dissonant Voices in the Court

This ingenious inspiration actually came from the bicycle rain canopy of later generations,

This contraption ensured maximum safety from the skies,

Although there was no such thing as an air raid in this age, to achieve certain effects, arrows were always shot upwards from beneath the city walls,

As such, they would fall in parabolic trajectories,

And thus, a great number of arrows would only fall back towards the sky,

Meaning that the arrows dropping from above would be even more powerful,

And therefore, this canopy-like wooden shield provided significant protection.

Moreover, this device was cleverly designed, with wheels on the bottom that could easily move in any direction,

This also marked the first appearance of a primitive omnidirectional wheel,

This invention could be said to overturn many preconceptions, and the design of the rain canopy, not only did it have a cover on top, but there were also extended eaves on both sides, ensuring maximum deflection of the angled arrow barrage.

Of course, this would not hinder the soldiers’ combat effectiveness,

After all, there was still an open space in front of them; as for how to deal with the head-on arrows from the opposing archers?

Obviously, they were to dodge and use their weapons to block. After all, the city walls stood vertically.

With so many barriers, this volley of arrows resulted in few casualties,

Or rather, there were only a few who suffered minor injuries,

A situation that was absolutely non-existent before.

At the very least, a volley of arrows would have wounded dozens or hundreds of people in the past, which would have been quite rare.

Watching as these people charged towards us, having already closed to within 300 steps,

At this moment, the commanding officers also issued orders to shoot,

In an instant, rounds of firearms emitted loud ’bang bang bang’ sounds,

And this loud noise immediately frightened the crowd below, sending shivers through them,

Indeed, it came again.

The strange sound came once more, and upon its emergence, they would unknowingly fall to the ground.

After all, the bullets from firearms had a remarkably fast shooting speed,

And given their small size, they didn’t leave a long trailing tail like arrows.

For this very reason, these projectiles were uncatchable.

Some of the bullets struck the soldiers’ weapons, sparking a series of sparks, creating quite a peculiar sight.

In just an instant, the entire barbarian army’s formation stumbled.

This also caused those behind to suddenly charge towards the front,

In an instant, the entire army was thrown into chaos,

With those in the back colliding with those in front, and those in front afraid to move forward, causing the whole formation to be in instant disarray. Seeing this, Yelu Qi was instantly seething with anger.

His mouth was spouting gibberish as he shouted loudly,

However, the scene at this moment was in such disarray that his shouts were utterly useless, or rather, they couldn’t even reach the front.

And right at this time, amidst the enemy’s confusion, suddenly, large gunpowder bags were thrown out.

When studying the rain canopy, an opening had been reserved for the catapult, so it would not be affected at all.

As one explosive bag after another fell into the densely packed crowd below, bursts of explosions immediately echoed in front of the entire city.

Due to the overwhelming number of Explosive Bags thrown at once, even the ground could not help but tremble, instilling an immense sense of fear.

The crowd below was so densely packed that a single Explosive Bag could take down nearly ten people in an instant.

In a flash, various screams of agony became incessant, chaos erupted below, and any semblance of combat strength vanished.

Yelu Qi could never have anticipated this scene.

He had considered all sorts of possibilities, but had never imagined that chaos would ensue right as they charged, with everyone colliding into each other.

Moreover, with things trending this way, it was clear that there was no hope of breaching the city. Immediately, he ordered the retreat horn to be sounded.

Upon hearing the signal to retreat, the soldiers grasped it like a lifeline, fleeing towards the rear.

Although the tight squeezing caused a significant number of stampedes, most of the people managed to escape.

Watching their prey fly away, the soldiers of the Nanshan Army were gnashing their teeth in frustration.

Their Firearms fired relentlessly while the enemy had not yet completely escaped range.

However, Firearms are not like the semi-automatic rifles of later times, and their loading speed is limited.

Even the best Gunners might only be able to load three bullets in a minute.

The barbarians fled so quickly that they all left the battlefield in less than ten minutes, retreating completely.

Beneath the walls of Hangu Pass lay devastation and the bodies of barbarians strewn all over.

Of course, many had not died on the spot but were writhing and wailing in constant struggle.

For these fellows, the Nanshan Guards Garrison on the city wall ceased fire.

It was deemed not worth wasting bullets on them.

Under these conditions, with grievous injuries, even without a finishing shot, they would not live much longer.

"Damn it, they’ve slipped away again."

Tie Niu came up to Lin Yi’s side, his face full of frustration.

"Heh, there’s no need to worry. They will not give up just like that.

Check on our casualties and quickly get the wounded soldiers treated."

After a swift assessment, Lin Yi was astonished to find that there were only just over a hundred injured soldiers this time.

As for those who had died? Astonishingly, there were only three casualties from the siege.

This would have been impossible before, as casualties were always heavy with each assault.

Even though the attackers often suffered far greater losses than the defenders, the usual ratio was only about 1:10.

Now, under the city walls, there were at least a few thousand barbarians lying about.

Compared to the casualties on their own side this time, it was practically negligible, almost nonexistent.

This news, once relayed to the Capital City, would undoubtedly signify a tremendous victory.

Lu, the military advisor responsible for recording, wasted no time in noting down the information and sent it posthaste towards the Capital City.

At this moment, within the Imperial Palace’s Jinluan Hall, the young Emperor sat upon the Dragon Chair, while his courtiers stood below, their faces colored with unease.

"How can Your Majesty so easily trust a eunuch?

This time, if the barbarians truly breach Hangu Pass, our Capital City will be in danger!"

...End of Chapter...