Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1126 Two Popes

Chapter 1126 Two Popes

Zhang Dingbian's staff was extremely heavy, and it was very powerful when wielded. When used in battle, it was no less powerful than the maces in the hands of other generals. Moreover, this blunt weapon was very suitable for dealing with the iron cans of European knights. Thomas, who was knocked off his horse, immediately vomited blood and was about to die.

"Old Sir!" Wang Xian came to Zhang Dingbian. Along the way, he also killed many enemy soldiers, and now the iron mace in his hand was dripping with blood. "Old Sir, the enemy has been defeated, and our army is isolated after all. If we go deeper, we may be counterattacked. Let's retreat to the city first."

Zhang Dingbian ordered his men to cut off the red cross flag, and then stood on the saddle to check the current situation on the battlefield. Seeing that the Ming army had achieved sufficient results, the bloodiness of the new recruits had begun to slowly subside.

Among the Crusaders, many legions retreated in advance when they saw the situation was not good. Now that they have gained a firm foothold, Zhang Dingbian said, "Well, let's sound the horn."

"I don't use my muscles and bones as my strength. I just killed a barbarian general, but I'm a little timid." He said self-deprecatingly. "Wang Xian, you will cover the rear."

"...As you command." Wang Xian looked at Thomas's breastplate which was deeply dented by the impact and felt speechless.

...An old man in his seventies can smash a tin can into this shape. Isn't this called not using muscles and bones to exert strength?

The gong sounded, and the Ming army began to slowly retreat under the cover of Wang Xian and the elite Ming army. Several legions of the Crusaders tried to pursue them, but were all defeated by Wang Xian.

Finally, the army returned to the camp under the city as if nothing had happened.

Only the bodies of the Crusaders were left on the ground.

The Crusaders retreated several miles, and the two sides confronted each other from a distance under the city. The Crusaders began to make fire and cook, as if they were going to fight a protracted war.

This was exactly what the Ming army in Kangju City wanted.

At night, Yao Guangxiao opened the city gate to deliver food supplies to the Ming army outside the city, and discussed the situation of defending the city with Zhang Dingbian. Zhang Dingbian said: "After this battle, our army has taken the lead, and those Western barbarians will not dare to attack easily again."

"Thanks to the divine power of the layman." Yao Guangxiao stood up and poured wine for Zhang Dingbian. Drinking was forbidden in the army, but today, in order to celebrate the victory of the first battle and to further boost the morale of the new army, every soldier was allowed to drink a glass, and the commander was also allowed to drink.

"However, we still cannot be careless. The power of the artillery on the city wall has been demonstrated. The next time the Western Barbarians come again, we must be prepared."

"If we want to achieve the same miraculous effect as this time, I'm afraid it's impossible. Next, it will be a real fight."

"It's okay." Zhang Ding drank the wine. The alcohol content was not high, so it wouldn't make you drunk. It made you feel warm and comfortable. After drinking the wine, he said, "Now that the new recruits have seen blood, they will have more courage. In the future, they won't fall behind the enemy."

"If an enemy comes, we can only fight him with our troops, and if a flood comes, we can block it with earth. Without the first move of artillery, will this war not be fought?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded his agreement. Zhang Dingbian put down his wine glass, but changed his expression to a serious one. He whispered to Yao Guangxiao, "Master Daoyan, tell us the truth."

"When will the Ming reinforcements arrive? If they can arrive in a few months, the old monk will make plans for a few months."

"If it takes a year or so, you and I should make other plans. We must protect the Chinese people in this city."

As a veteran general, Zhang Dingbian would not be complacent just because he won the first battle. The three sultanates were busy with their own affairs, the Ming Dynasty was thousands of miles away, Kangju City had not been in business for long, and China's foundation in this place was not deep, and now it was like an isolated city.

The Crusaders who defeated the Ottomans had nothing to worry about, because they coveted the wealth of the three sultanates and the city of Kangju, which would surely be inexhaustible in the future.

Although the morale of the Ming army is acceptable now, it is hard to say what will happen in the future if they are besieged for a long time.

Yao Guangxiao twisted the Buddhist beads in his hand, and after a while, he spoke: "Managing Central Asia is an important part of our Ming Dynasty's overseas border strategy. Moreover, this place is the hub of the Silk Road. How can such a rich place be controlled by foreign races?"

"If this place is disturbed by the Western Barbarians, not only will the Ming Dynasty's operations in Central Asia be wiped out, but even the local commercial tax revenue will be greatly reduced."

"So when the news of Kangju's siege came back, Your Majesty would definitely mobilize the army and come to rescue it. I think reinforcements will arrive in three or four months at the latest."

"Then, the old monk will defend with all his strength." Zhang Dingbian said. "We must teach these Western barbarians that it will be difficult for them to cross the line!"

Zhang Dingbian, who had made up his mind and was in high spirits, began to fight with the Crusaders outside Kangju City. First, the Ming Dynasty adopted the tactic of tiring out the soldiers, rotating the troops day and night, and ordered the front army to beat the war drums, making it look like they were ready to attack at any time. They were clearly the defending side, but they made it seem like they were about to attack.

However, because of the previous precedent of the Ming army attacking and beheading the leader of the Knights Hospitaller, the Crusaders did not have any doubt that the Ming would dare to turn defense into offense again. Therefore, the knights did not even dare to take off their armor. Once the Ming army beat the drum, they had to be on guard immediately, which made them miserable.

Zhang Dingbian used both real and fake tactics, and sometimes he actually sent troops to attack the enemy at night, killing a few knights before returning immediately. This made the enemy increasingly restless, and also tempered the new recruits through actual combat, and the new recruits became more and more elite in each feint attack.

Even so, crusaders were still recruited from mainland Europe and the crusader forces expanded rapidly.

The reason for this was that, firstly, after defeating the Ottoman Empire, the knights from various European countries gained rich military exploits, which made people jealous. More and more kings, nobles, and even mercenaries from Europe joined the Crusades, intending to get a share of the spoils of the West.

The second reason is that the European church was also in turmoil at the time. The church was divided and there were two popes.

In history, two popes fought for power and refused to recognize each other, which led to a split in Europe's thousand-year theocratic rule. Coupled with the failure of the Crusades, the theocratic rule fell to its lowest point in a thousand years.

The church lost its power, and the Ottoman Empire and the Timurid Empire became threats to Europe. European countries began to actively change, strengthening the monarchy or transforming to constitutional monarchy, seeking to get rid of the control of the church. In terms of thought, the Renaissance began to rise vigorously, further stripping away the rule of theocracy.

Now, the victory of the Ottoman Crusade in the West gave a shot of adrenaline to the European theocracy, which was already at its last glory. Both popes wanted to consolidate their theocracy by continuing the huge prestige and benefits of the Crusade, so they both spontaneously launched more Crusades.

This also meant that although the Ming army in Kangju City had repeated small victories, the pressure was increasing.

(End of this chapter)