Ch.53Winter (4)

“We captured Nokju, but for this reason, we let two enemy cavalry units escape.”

“I apologize, my lord.”

I found it difficult to respond to my sons’ report.

This was because it was essentially my fault they had lost the enemy, due to the faulty weapons I had created.

Given the circumstances, I couldn’t scold my sons for their mistake.

Sensing my thoughts, Elunka stepped forward.

He addressed everyone present.

“Letting two enemy cavalry units escape could actually be an opportunity to instill great fear in the enemy. Didn’t the ulus already decide to attack all of Western Xia?”

As Elunka said, the ulus had come here to wage full-scale war against Western Xia.

In that context, allowing cavalry who could report Khara-Khoto’s situation to Xingqing might not be a major problem.

Of course, this was merely a plausible excuse.

The Western Xia Emperor would certainly notice and bring soldiers, inevitably causing damage.

Still, I couldn’t contradict Elunka when he was trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

Besides, it was my mistake, not my sons’, so I could only silently express gratitude to Elunka for covering up the situation.

Noticing this, other khans began to agree with Elunka.

“That’s right. As Elunka said, the ulus came to punish Western Xia. So it’s not a problem if more enemy troops come.”

“It could actually benefit our forces.”

“The distance from Xingqing to Khara-Khoto is great, and if they bring troops all this way, the enemy will certainly be exhausted. If we target that, it could be an opportunity for our forces.”

With Hulitu, Bulqa, and Chalukhab all saying such things, the other khans couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

I nodded and was about to summarize the situation.

But suddenly Khasar stepped forward.

He looked at everyone and asked for forgiveness.

“I thank the khans for pardoning my crime. However, I deserve punishment for failing to properly carry out the lord’s orders. Being the lord’s descendant should never be an exception.”

The khans looked at Khasar with surprised expressions at his firm stance.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for my son.

“I too will accept punishment for failing to properly carry out orders.”

When Belgutei also showed such an attitude, the khans wore contemplative expressions.

Bulqa, the eldest among the khans, stepped forward to mediate.

“Even the lord’s descendants not being exempt from punishment means following the steppe’s laws. Therefore, we need to respect the warriors’ wishes.”

Everyone nodded, and Bulqa continued.

“Their crimes can only be erased by achieving military merit. Does everyone agree?”

The khans responded affirmatively to Bulqa’s words, as if it were obvious.

Seeing this, Bulqa turned to me with a proposal.

“Let Khasar and Belgutei capture Khara-Khoto, Khagan. That is the only way to erase their crimes.”

This was essentially saying he would help save face for my sons and me.

After all, the capture of Khara-Khoto was practically a foregone conclusion.

I bowed my head to express my gratitude to them.

“I will follow your suggestion.”

* * *

I sighed as I looked at the iron balls piled in one corner.

“I shouldn’t have meddled… sigh.”

I couldn’t help sighing at my first failed creation, based on broad but shallow knowledge.

It was an unreasonable challenge for me, just an ordinary company employee in modern society, to create weapons.

“In novels, everything the protagonists make works perfectly…”

I said this while looking at the iron balls.

In truth, without explosives, expecting these to work like grenades was fundamentally flawed.

Made with a liberal arts mentality, science students would surely have glared at them with gritted teeth.

“The only fortunate thing is that we discovered the problem before a major accident occurred.”

If these had been used during cavalry combat… the thought alone was horrifying.

So I felt it was actually fortunate that the problems were discovered so quickly.

While I was thinking this, I sensed someone behind me.

“You called for me, my lord?”

The one who appeared before me was none other than Zhang Yong.

The reason I called him here was to improve these iron balls.

“Good timing. Can you improve these iron balls, even though we’re in the middle of a war?”

Zhang Yong looked troubled at the request to improve weapons during wartime.

I honestly knew it was unreasonable, but since we had brought these weapons all this way, we needed to use them.

“I’ll try my best, but…”

“I won’t blame you if you can’t improve them enough for immediate deployment.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

Zhang Yong bowed to me and began examining the iron balls.

After a moment of silence, once he realized the balls contained caltrops, his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Have you found a solution?”

“If we do it right… it might be possible. But…”

“But?”

“We might need… ahem… help from Hui technicians.”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head at Zhang Yong’s statement that the problem could be solved with help from Hui technicians.

This wasn’t my area of expertise.

“I’m not saying Hui technology is absolutely superior to Central Plains technology, but… if we use their chemical technology, we might be able to improve these enough for deployment.”

At the word “chemical,” I nodded.

Whatever it took, the goal was to make these usable.

* * *

Whoooosh.

Dozens of boulders cut through the sky with a thunderous roar.

Where they fell, there were only screams and cries for help.

“Block the walls!”

“How are we supposed to block attacks from so far away?”

“At this rate, we’ll all die!”

The soldiers at the east gate, thrown into chaos, could not respond to the trebuchets firing stones before their eyes.

If they opened the gates to counterattack, they would surely be met by nomadic cavalry.

“This is terrible! The east gate is about to collapse!”

At the soldier’s words, the adjutant looked at the wall with a shocked expression.

Seeing cracks forming in the wall where the trebuchet stones had hit, the adjutant couldn’t help but feel urgent.

“Q-quickly inform the general at the north gate! Hurry!”

“Y-yes, sir.”

The distance from the north gate to the east gate wasn’t very long.

Yet the adjutant gave this order because he didn’t know what to do immediately.

They could have responded to ordinary nomads with arrows.

They could have blocked approaching infantry by throwing oil or stones.

But a military formation combining nomads and siege engines was difficult to counter.

“If we go out, we’ll be surrounded by nomadic cavalry, but if we stay inside, the enemy’s trebuchets will destroy the walls.”

After muttering this to himself, the adjutant looked toward the north gate.

Fortunately, he could see Li Deyun rushing toward them.

“You’ve arrived, General! This is terrible.”

“I know it’s terrible. But… that…”

“It appears to be a trebuchet.”

“Unlike the trebuchets used before, it’s causing significant damage to our walls…”

Li Deyun swallowed hard as he spoke.

In recent battles, the enemy had been unable to damage the walls at all.

For this reason, Li Deyun belatedly realized they had used tactics like throwing corpses into the fortress.

But the new trebuchets the Mongols had brought were now threatening weapons capable of damaging walls.

“How many cavalry do we have inside the fortress?”

“W-well… that’s managed by the vice minister…”

At the adjutant’s hesitant words, Li Deyun suddenly realized.

Despite the commotion, Li Byeongsang, who should have been assisting him, was nowhere to be seen.

“Li Byeongsang? Where is Vice Minister Li Byeongsang?”

At Li Deyun’s shout, some soldiers began moving quickly.

After searching for a while, a soldier reported to Li Deyun with a pale face.

“I went to his house… it was completely empty, and all valuable possessions were gone.”

“Huh…”

Li Deyun looked up at the sky with a dejected expression.

The betrayal of his own cousin was something he hadn’t anticipated.

Shocked, Li Deyun had to lean against the railing to catch his breath.

“W-what is this…”

“General! You must pull yourself together. Your leadership is needed here!”

At the adjutant’s words, Li Deyun gritted his teeth and composed himself.

Then he looked at the east gate, which was on the verge of collapse.

“All troops retreat to the inner fortress.”

“The inner fortress, sir? But then the civilians inside the city…”

“We’ll resist as long as possible from the inner fortress. And…”

Li Deyun paused and looked at the civilians.

Having been betrayed once, it was difficult for him to maintain any attachment to the people.

“Kill anyone who tries to enter the inner fortress.”

“…”

The adjutant couldn’t immediately repeat the lord’s cold order.

Many of the civilians in the city were family members or relatives of the soldiers.

Unlike the strangers who had flocked to Khara-Khoto in the past, these were families of soldiers currently standing shoulder to shoulder, swords drawn against the enemy…

The adjutant had thought the lord would at least protect the soldiers’ families.

But Li Deyun had abandoned his duty as a general and commander.

Realizing this, the adjutant could understand why Li Byeongsang had fled Khara-Khoto.

Unlike the adjutant’s troubled mind, Li Deyun was desperate.

If they didn’t move to the inner fortress immediately, Mongol soldiers would break through the east gate and behead him.

So Li Deyun drew his sword to urge the adjutant who was lost in thought and not responding.

“Move! Quickly! Otherwise, we’ll all die!”

“I-I obey your command.”

The ordered soldier began to move busily.

But in his mind, loyalty to Li Deyun was already fading.

This tendency wasn’t limited to the adjutant.

Similar thoughts began to take root in the minds of soldiers who had overheard the conversation between Li Deyun and the adjutant.