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Chapter 113 Artillery Barrage
boom!boom!
The defending troops on the southeast side of Dinghai city wall engaged in fierce fighting with the landing and invading British troops. Every bullet that hit the city wall caused soldiers to fall and die.
Rather than a fierce exchange of fire, it was not a one-sided crushing defeat. The defending army had never seen such powerful firearms before. The British could actually shoot so far!
Even if they wanted to use spiritual energy to defend against bullets, they couldn't, because the guards' cultivation level was generally at the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, while the Yingyi's cultivation level was above the Condensation Realm.
According to the levels, there are four major realms: Origin Spirit, Transformation God, Void Soul, and Condensation Essence. Each realm is further divided into three stages: initial, intermediate, and final.
It is easy to imagine how great the disparity in strength between the defending forces and the British forces was!
But there was nothing that could be done. The royal family wasn't paying the soldiers, so let alone improving their cultivation, they couldn't even get enough to eat. Who would have the mind to cultivate?
boom!
A black shrapnel shell streaked across the sky and landed precisely on the top of the wall. The shell exploded instantly, shattering a corner of the wall, and huge stones, along with the corpses of several defenders, fell to the ground.
The British troops responsible for attacking the east gate of Dinghai City found that guns alone could not quickly breach the city, so they switched to cannons, directly blasting open the city gate and ordering the warships at sea to provide support.
boom! boom! boom!
Several loud explosions followed, with dozens of cannonballs aimed directly at the city wall of the city. With two loud bangs, the wall instantly shattered into pieces, and the bodies of several more defenders fell from the sky.
The sudden increase in shrapnel shells clearly indicated that warships on the Dinghai coast were beginning to launch a coordinated attack.
After two rounds of bombardment, the eastern wall of Dinghai City was already in ruins, like a flickering candle in the wind, ready to collapse at the slightest breeze. If the defenders on the city could not come up with a way to break through the city, it would only be a matter of time.
"What do we do? The garrison commander has already been killed by British artillery fire!"
"How should I know! Why don't we run away?"
Despite the barrage of artillery fire and shattered rocks, the defenders on the city wall were covered in blood and dust, their fighting spirit long gone.
They had never seen such powerful artillery fire before. In the past, the artillery fire of the Celestial Empire was basically so powerful that solid shot could not penetrate it at all, but the British cannonballs could actually turn people into pools of blood.
This...this is terrifying!
At the east gate of Dinghai City, a commander in charge of the attack picked up his binoculars and looked at the city gate that was about to collapse.
He put away his binoculars, smiled smugly, and continued to direct the artillery, preparing for the final blow to the eastern gate of Haidong.
"Aim and prepare for artillery fire!"
boom! boom! boom!
Several shrapnel shells rose into the air from the sea, and the sharp sound of the cannons terrified the defenders on the city wall, who fled in all directions. However, some defenders were willing to wait for death, because they knew that the faster they ran, the faster they would die.
"It's over, everything is over." A soldier on the city wall silently watched the oncoming cannonballs, his bloodshot eyes filled with despair.
Several hundred soldiers were stationed at the east gate of Dinghai City. Less than half an hour after the British army started the battle, the city wall was blown to pieces, and the passageway on the city wall was full of corpses and blood.
For every inch the British army advanced, the defenders lost a dozen or so men. To this day, the British army has suffered zero casualties, while the defenders have been almost completely wiped out.
For the first time, the people of the Celestial Empire witnessed a clash between firearms and cold weapons, with the latter suffering a crushing defeat and being utterly powerless to fight back!
boom!
Just as the defender, who was waiting to die, thought he was about to be blown up, the cannonball in the void suddenly exploded, scattering lead and iron everywhere, and billowing smoke obscured his vision.
The remaining defenders on the city wall were all stunned. Even the deserters who were about to jump off the city wall couldn't help but turn around to see what was going on.
Not only the defending troops, but even the British army found it strange that a force suddenly appeared and instantly destroyed the shrapnel that had already been fired, thus ending a bloody massacre.
But who is this force?
Could it be that Dinghai City is protected by some powerful being? That shouldn't be the case.
According to the information provided by Mr. Guo, Dinghai City was just an ordinary city.
The soldiers inside were all of low cultivation level. Even General Zhang Chaofa's strength was only at the late stage of the Void Soul Realm. Where did this powerful figure come from?
Since they did not know who the attackers were, the British commander only ordered his artillery to prepare for shelling and did not take any substantial action.
Seeing that the land artillery fire had stopped, the warships on the sea did not rush to continue supporting the attack, but waited for orders from the land artillery.
Logically speaking, those few shots should have been impossible for the city's defenders to block, even if they used spiritual energy, unless one of them was at the Condensation Realm!
But that's impossible. The intelligence reports from above didn't mention this potential problem.
The soldiers on both sides were on tenterhooks. As if by agreement, neither side launched another attack, and both waited for the smoke to clear.
A moment later, as the dust settled, a young man with golden spirit wings appeared, standing in mid-air and looking down at the British artillery below. His gaze seemed to contain endless killing intent, and the British soldiers reflected in his pupils were all startled.
Jiang Yueming caught a glimpse of the mangled piles of corpses on the city wall out of the corner of his eye, his brow furrowing slightly. He said, "So we're too late after all."
He had originally hoped to meet with Bo Mai to negotiate before Bo Mai attacked Dinghai City, but now it seemed that this was hopeless.
But it's not too late. As long as the east gate can be held, the British army will not be able to capture Dinghai City, because according to previous records, the British army was the first to break through the east gate.
The soldiers on the city wall felt somewhat relieved when they saw Jiang Yueming's figure; at least he had just blocked the cannonballs for them, so he must be a friendly force.
Moreover, judging from his appearance, he is clearly from China, and the key point is that his cultivation level is actually at the Condensation Realm!
In that case, he might have a way to deal with the British army!
"I am the Plenipotentiary of the Heavenly Dynasty, Jiang Yueming. Please come out and negotiate with me, Commander Bomai!"
Jiang Yueming, with a serious expression, stared at the British commander standing in the center and spoke directly to express his meaning.
At first, the commander was taken aback. He was surprised that Jiang Yueming could speak English, and that she spoke it with a strong hometown accent.
But he quickly realized what was going on and said with a smile, "I don't care what representative you are. The task given to me by the commander is to blow up the East City Gate. If you don't move out of the way and attack again, we won't be polite."
After speaking, the British commander ordered the soldiers to raise their guns and aim them all at Jiang Yueming, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere reminiscent of drawing a sword and drawing a bow.
The solemnity was felt not only by the British troops, but also by the defenders on the city walls. A sense of despair rose in their hearts once again, and their eyes lost all light.
They originally thought Jiang Yueming could save them, but when they heard that he could communicate with the English, their hearts sank.
Perhaps he was also on the side of the British.
He was able to block even such powerful artillery shells before. If he really made a move, wiping out these defenders would be as easy as crushing ants.
"Heh," Jiang Yueming's lips suddenly curved into a cold smile in the void, and he said, "If Prime Minister Ba Maizun knew that you were treating the plenipotentiary of the Heavenly Kingdom like this, and if the final interest talks collapsed, would you still be able to live?"
The reason he dared to speak like that was because he knew the real purpose of the British army was to deliver the "Letter from Prime Minister Palmerston to the Chinese Prime Minister," so that the actual ruler of the Celestial Empire would agree to the interests of the British in the Celestial Empire.
If the attack on the plenipotentiary representative of the Celestial Empire leads to the breakdown of negotiations and the loss of British interests in the Celestial Empire, what will the ever-powerful Prime Minister Palmerston do to these soldiers?
Jiang Yueming was quite curious about this, but of course, he was curious about more than just these things, or had more questions than just these things.
"Start shelling!"