Reinforcements must have arrived swiftly from Dandong.
He wondered if the target of his several days of waiting, Yeon Gaesomun, had also arrived.
He was quite eager!
"All troops, prepare for battle!"
At Fang Er's command, all Skyfire Army soldiers quickly ceased their unrelated activities.
"Don your armor! Load your weapons!"
Within the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep, they were ready for combat.
The First Battalion faced Shenyang City, maintaining vigilance.
The Second and Third Battalions oriented towards the direction of the Goguryeo reinforcements, forming firing positions.
The distant black line was drawing nearer.
The very earth was trembling!
Behind the black line, dust was rising into the sky, obscuring the sun!
"Master, it is Yeon Gaesomun!"
Guan Chang immediately recognized the banners flown by Goguryeo.
"How many of Shenyang City's residents managed to escape?" Fang Er asked.
"It should be most of them. Those remaining in the city are mostly wealthy merchants and gentry," Huang Sheng replied.
From the day he arrived in Shenyang, Fang Er had posted guards at the east, north, and south city gates.
There were two reasons he hadn't immediately captured Shenyang City.
One was to avoid harming innocent civilians.
The other was to lure Yeon Gaesomun into Shenyang City!
Since most of the city's residents had fled, Fang Er had no regard for the wealthy merchants and gentry.
Furthermore, Yeon Gaesomun had arrived.
It was time for the final assault!
"Tie Lao Ba!" Fang Er shouted to the side.
"Yes, General!" Tie Lao Ba quickly ran over.
"You have one hour to bombard the Shenyang City garrison out!"
"Yes, General!"
Upon receiving Fang Er's order, Tie Lao Ba quickly gathered the artillery battalion.
After three days of shelling, many of the city's inhabitants had fled.
Now, aside from the wealthy merchants and gentry, only the Goguryeo defenders remained.
Forty mortars were aimed at Shenyang City.
"Fire!"
Following Tie Lao Ba's command, the sounds of "boom, boom, boom" continuously echoed. Forty shells landed in Shenyang City one after another.
Unlike the previous days, this time the shells bypassed the city walls and crashed into the city itself!
"Boom, boom, boom, boom!" The explosions were incessant!
Flames rose from within Shenyang City, clearly visible from four hundred paces outside the walls!
Zhang Ning and Yu Changming were stunned!
As the shells fell, houses in the city collapsed one by one.
Soldiers who had been gathered in the city were blown to pieces, their bodies unrecognizable!
The concentrated soldiers maximized the impact of the artillery!
Watching the shells continuously falling into the city from the sky, the two men simultaneously shouted,
"Retreat!"
"Quickly retreat from the city!"
Upon hearing the order, the soldiers acted as if they had seen a lifeline.
They immediately abandoned their weapons, tore off their armor, and rushed towards the east and south city gates!
There was a possibility of survival on those sides!
Only on those sides was there a chance to live!
Of course, some with more opportunistic minds fled directly from the north gate!
However, by doing so, they also saved their lives!
Yeon Gaesomun personally led the army, halting about five hundred paces from Fang Er's position.
The black smoke rising from Shenyang City was visible from afar!
Clearly, the Tang army was no longer holding back on Shenyang City!
This was a trap!
The Tang army was deliberately waiting for him to arrive!
And then, right before his eyes, capture Shenyang City!
How could he possibly tolerate this!
"Convicts, heed my command! Blindfold and muffle your horses' ears!"
"Break through the enemy formation, and your crimes will be pardoned. If you retreat, your entire clans will be exterminated!"
Yeon Gaesomun said this to the men in prisoner's attire beside him.
These were prisoners he had rounded up!
A total of thirty thousand!
They were to be used to charge to their deaths!
Facing the Tang army's cannons, Yeon Gaesomun knew that any armor was merely a decoration.
Therefore, these prisoners, apart from the sabers in their hands and the horses beneath them, possessed nothing else!
These prisoners also understood that if they charged forward, there might be a sliver of hope for survival.
But if they retreated, their families would be implicated!
Thus, they had no other choice!
"Charge with me!"
A fierce man charged out from the convict army, raising his saber and whipping his mount.
The mount, in pain, shot out like an arrow.
The other convicts, seeing this, followed suit!
Facing the long-range attacks of firearms and cannons,
Their only recourse was to charge forward at the fastest possible speed!
To disrupt the Tang army's formation!
Fang Er, however, showed them no mercy.
"Our predecessors by the Liao River are watching us!"
"Bombard them fiercely!"
The remaining twenty mortars were arranged in a firing formation facing the convicts.
Liu Meng led the Third Battalion to protect the left flank of the artillery.
Ma Chao led the Second Battalion to protect the right flank.
The Skyfire Army assumed a firing formation, methodically raising their firearms and aiming at the charging convicts.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
The convicts charged to within four hundred paces of the artillery formation.
A low thudding sound emanated from the artillery formation.
Twenty shells exploded directly in the midst of the convicts!
Instantly!
Countless horses overturned, and riders fell!
But these convicts paid them no mind.
Gritting their teeth, they used their sabers to repeatedly whip their mounts!
Closer!
Even closer!
At three hundred and fifty paces!
Nearly three thousand of the thirty thousand convict soldiers had fallen!
At three hundred paces!
Another several thousand fell!
The advantage of the mortars was fully exploited!
Their rate of fire was fast!
Even faster than the Yun Yi-style rifles!
Each mortar was operated by four soldiers.