amaotonovel Chapter 1133: Desire to Climb the City
Chapter 1133: Desire to Climb the City
Chapter 1133: Desire to Climb the City
Zhu Di had a solemn expression on his face. He observed the movements of the Crusaders in Belgrad Castle through the telescope. Then he licked his finger with his tongue and raised his finger to feel the current wind direction. He did not answer Xu Zengshou's question.
Although it was a desperate surprise attack, he had discussed a general plan with Yao Guangxiao: the reason why he ordered Mahamu and other troops to delay their departure for a few days was to hide the traces of their elite troops for the surprise attack. With the traces of the main army as a cover, the Crusaders in Beldraig Castle would not have expected that an elite force had arrived outside the castle in advance.
He and Yao Guangxiao's original plan was to lead the army to climb the mountains and hills in the south in advance, and when the westward expedition army arrived, the army would attack the castle head-on, while he would lead the army down from the mountains using props such as hot air balloons and hang gliders, and they would surely be able to break through the castle in one fell swoop.
This was a method used by his third brother Zhu Gang and fifth brother Zhu Su. In the words of his fifth brother Zhu Su, this was called crushing by the weapon generation gap. Now Zhu Di also made good use of the weapon generation gap advantage of the Ming army.
However, man proposes, God disposes. When he led his troops to arrive here, he found that although he was lucky that the snow had stopped, the wind blew even harder, blowing on the face like a knife. With such wind power, hot air balloons and hang gliders could not take off at all.
Moreover, the wind direction was wrong. Even if one risked one's life to rise into the air, one would be blown away without a trace in an instant and would not be able to land in the castle at all.
"Your Highness?" Seeing Zhu Di's troubled expression, Zhang Yu looked towards the castle with his hands on his back, but could see nothing. "Could it be that the Western barbarians in the city have already made preparations in advance?"
"These Western barbarians are not prepared, but God is helping them to be on guard..." Zhu Di said with hatred. He saw clearly through the telescope that there was not even a single garrison soldier on the wall of this damn Beldraig Castle. It was probably because of the cold wind that everyone hid under the city to sleep. The high-ranking officials in the castle must not have received the news of the Ming army's advance, or they had received accurate information and were sure that the Ming army would not arrive under the city in a short time, so they relaxed their vigilance.
Such an almost defenseless castle, but the weather was not good...
Thinking of this, Zhu Di suddenly had an idea and came up with a very bold idea.
"Shimei, Huizu."
"Your Highness." The two men moved closer to Zhu Di. "Just tell me if you have anything to say."
"You say." Zhu Di picked up the telescope again and looked at Beldraig with fiery eyes.
"If we can attack the city quietly, can we capture the castle with just the number of people we have?"
Zhang Yu and Xu Zengshou were both startled, and then they looked at each other. Zhang Yu said, "Your Highness, this..."
"With only 800 people, it may be difficult to capture this castle." Xu Zengshou said firmly.
The ones they brought this time were all carefully selected elites, numbering only 800 people.
However, there were as many as 50,000 Crusaders in Beldraig Castle, perhaps even more. It was a magnificent and solid fortress. It was a pipe dream to completely occupy this huge castle that could accommodate tens of thousands of people with only 800 people.
This castle has no less than four or five gates. If the eight hundred people are divided into several groups towards the gates, there will be almost no one left.
"What if we only guard for one night and wait for the army to arrive?" Zhu Di asked again. He had already quietly approached the castle with his men, but the castle was in poor condition. He really didn't want to miss such a good opportunity.
"Then maybe... there is hope!" Xu Zengshou rubbed his chin, making a rustling sound. "According to the news we received from the scouts yesterday, the army behind us is only one day away from us."
"If we send someone to inform them to march quickly, they will definitely catch up with us within one night!"
They were sneaking along, so their pace was naturally slower. Unlike the rear army, they could not march along the road. Therefore, the gap between the two teams was shortened to one day's pace. Zhang Yu was also very excited and said, "If we can only hold on for one night, we can really do a lot."
"It is easier to defend just one city gate than to occupy the entire castle. When the army arrives, we can all fight side by side and we won't have to be afraid of the barbarians."
"But, Your Highness, it's so cold and harsh. The hot air balloon we brought with us is useless. How are we going to get over the wall of the Western Barbarians and get to their castle?"
"Just now I looked through the telescope and saw that the Western barbarians were very tired. There was no defense on the city wall at all." Zhu Di said. "In this case, why don't we just not think about using a hot air balloon... Isn't it faster to climb up the city wall in one breath?"
"Climb up the city wall?" The two were stunned again.
Zhu Di said it was easy, but climbing up the wall was not that simple. Although it was at night, it was inevitable that he would make noise when climbing the wall with a hook and chisel.
Since they were climbing up secretly, they could not use methods such as suppressing the city wall with archers. If they were discovered by the defenders, the warriors climbing the city wall would have only one fateful end: death. Zhang Yu and Xu Zengshou looked at each other, and then they took the lead in clasping their fists and said, "In this case, please allow me to be the vanguard. After I have gained a firm foothold in the city, Your Highness and Young Master Xu will go up the city wall..."
"Well, Zhang Shimei, I didn't realize that you are so honest and simple on weekdays, but now you want to steal my credit for being the first to reach the throne!" Xu Zengshou pretended to be angry. He clasped his fists towards Zhu Di and said, "Your Highness, this credit for being the first to reach the throne must go to Zengshou."
"My father asked me to lead the troops to follow His Highness, because he wanted me to protect His Highness and make more military achievements... But now, after all this journey, the warriors of our Xu family and I have not achieved any success..."
"Don't argue with each other." Zhu Di waved his hand. "Neither of you can get any credit for this achievement."
"This credit should belong to this king."
"Your Highness?" Zhang Yu and Xu Zengshou were both shocked.
"When it comes to climbing, none of you can match me. I have been climbing royal trees and taking bird eggs in the palace since I was a child. I have already mastered the skill of climbing." Zhu Di said with pride instead of shame.
"At that time, it was often my fifth brother who would wait under the tree for me to take out the bird eggs so that we could roast and eat them together."
"In the 25th year of Hongwu, my father's birthday came. I was on the grassland and could not return to Beijing to celebrate. So I personally found a Saker Falcon's nest in the grassland, caught the chicks with my own hands and sent them back to Beijing to celebrate my father's birthday... The Saker Falcon's nests are all on top of the cliffs. I dared to climb up and catch the chicks, let alone this small castle?"
(End of this chapter)