The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Major General, the big city in front is Ava City."

On the mountains to the east of Awa City in Myanmar, covered by green trees, a group of Ming Army soldiers were staring intently at the city at the foot of the mountain in the distance.

"Brother, this city is not small. Visually, the city wall is four or five miles long."

The one who spoke was naturally Li Rubai. At this time, he was following his elder brother and advancing along the mountains and forests with more than 40,000 Ming troops. He finally reached the outside of Ava City without alerting the enemy.

Here, according to the map in his hand, whether Mang Yinglong chooses to go to Mengyang or Mengmi, Awa City is the only place they must pass before returning to Toungu City.

At this time, Ava City, perhaps because it already knew that Mubang, Mengguang and other places were occupied by the Ming army, and also knew that Toungoo City was in danger, the entire city was under martial law and on high alert.

However, despite the tight security, the four gates of Ava City are still open, and many Burmese people can be seen coming in and out.

However, there were many more soldiers on the city walls, especially on the towers, than usual.

Li Rusong did not answer his brother's words, but stared at the gate of Ava City down the mountain.

The distance from the hidden woods on the hillside to the city gate is not far. If the infantry alone were to attack, the opponent would be standing on the city gate tower, but it would be easy to see them from a distance.

Once the city gate is closed, the project will be quite a waste of time.

And time is exactly what they are in urgent need of now.

"Second brother, how many war horses do we bring?"

The infantry had no time to attack, so Li Rusong naturally thought of a cavalry attack.

Only by relying on the speed of war horses can we reach the city wall as quickly as possible and seize the city gate in a surprise attack.

"Brother, this city is not small."

When he heard his elder brother ask about the war horse, Li Rubai knew what his elder brother meant and hurriedly reminded him.

In a big city, there are naturally many soldiers guarding it.

The Burmese who watched the city gates coming in and out could also deduce that there were many residents in this city.

"How many war horses are there?"

Li Rusong ignored his second brother's murmur and asked in a more serious tone.

"Four to five hundred."

Li Rubai had no choice but to answer truthfully.

In fact, they brought out more than a thousand cavalry, but they lost some horses and soldiers in the previous battle with Mang Yingli, and some of them were left behind for the Ming troops stationed in various places for patrol and communication purposes.

The most important thing is that they came from Mengnai, and because the journey was not conducive to the movement of war horses, they brought fewer war horses.

One thousand people stayed at Hanlong Pass to deter the Burmese army. Counting miscellaneously, there are not many cavalry left around now.

"Give me the order, those who don't know how to use bows and arrows should bring three-eyed blunderbuss, and then put some bird blunderbuss on their horses. You can prepare them yourself.

Load all the ammunition for me, we will raid here today. "

Li Rusong pointed to the city gate at the foot of the mountain and said.

"Brother, the risk is a bit high. We might as well walk around and look at some other city gates."

Such a big city naturally has many gates.

Moreover, the guide also said that there are gates in the southeast, northwest and northwest of Ava City.

The east gate is heavily guarded, but perhaps the other directions are less guarded.

“I guess they’re all the same, so there’s no need to look again.

Soldiers are very quick, I will observe the situation again, and you go down and arrange a cavalry raid.

Another five thousand elite soldiers were mobilized to follow us and seize the city.

In addition, troops must be deployed on both the north and south sides of Ava City to intercept them.

Now we don't know where Burmese king Mang Yinglong has gone. We are most afraid that they will appear from the north when we capture the city. You need to send more troops to defend there. "

The city of Ava in front of us has tall walls, not as high as those in cities in southern Myanmar, which are eight feet high.

According to the guide, the walls of Ava City are not much worse than Toungoo City, the capital of Myanmar.

The reason for this is because Ava City was once a royal city, so the defense preparations here are naturally much higher than those of ordinary cities.

The city of Ava was actually surrounded by swamps. About two hundred years ago, a member of the royal family named Dedomingpaye came here and took a fancy to this location stuck on the north-south passage, and decided to Build a city here.

He hired local people to dig ditches to drain the swamps around Ava, opened up a town, and made his capital here.

This is the Ava Dynasty in Myanmar's history, established here by Dedominpaye, a descendant of the "Three Shan Brothers" who seized the power of the Bagan Dynasty at that time.

The Ava Dynasty was an ancient dynasty established by the ancestors of the Shan people in the middle and lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River. From 1364, Dedominpaye and his descendants ruled central Myanmar here.

In 1527, the Ava dynasty was replaced by the Luchuan dynasty, also of the Shan ethnic group, and was finally destroyed by the Taungoo dynasty of the Bamar ethnic group in 1555.

As a former royal capital, it is not surprising that there is a city wall nearly three meters high.

The royal capital must always show something different from other cities.

Li Rusong began to prepare intensively to attack the city, but the Burmese army in Awa City did not notice the danger at all.

In fact, Mangchai, the defender of Ava City, was not unprepared.

After receiving the news that the Ming army had appeared on the southern coast of Myanmar and was fighting all the way to Toungoo City, messengers were immediately sent to several cities near the south, and messengers were constantly sent to contact these cities.

The purpose was, of course, to know the news from the south as soon as possible and avoid being attacked by the Ming army from the south.

After the news that Mubang, Mengnai, Mengguang and other cities were occupied by the Ming army, the Burmese army in Ava City immediately sent messengers to the north to contact several towns in the north in order to obtain first-hand information on the movements of the Ming army.

It can be said that the Burmese army in Ava City was well prepared and ready to respond to the attack of the Ming army at any time.

However, in recent days, although bad news came from the south, the Ming army broke through the Toungoo city in one day, showing the strong combat power of the Ming army, but after the Ming army occupied Toungoo city, the front did not sweep northward, but seemed to be heading south, attacking cities in southern Myanmar along the coastline.

Receiving such news, Mangchai naturally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, there has been no news about the Burmese king in the north for some time.

In addition to occupying Mubang and Mengnai, the Ming army did not continue to attack other cities, which does not seem to be the defeat of the Burmese king.

Otherwise, if the Burmese king had already failed, the Ming army should continue to march to various parts of Myanmar.

And because of the loss of these places, it is understandable that the contact with the Burmese king has been lost.

After all, the communication route has been cut off by the Ming army, and it is normal that there is no contact in a short period of time.

Mangchai has sent people to Menglun and Menggong to restore contact with the Burmese king Mang Yinglong.

However, although the atmosphere is very tense, Mangchai is still relatively relieved about Ava City. At least everything is normal in the surrounding towns, and there is no trace of the Ming army, which also indicates that Ava City is very safe.

As for increasing the number of garrisons at the city gate, it is just a necessary procedure.

He didn't know that the Ming army had used the people of the Ming caravan to become guides and found a way to cross the mountains and pass through the mountains in northern Myanmar.

As for why these caravans took these mountain roads, it was naturally because of Myanmar's unique political system.

Except for the central and southern Myanmar ruled by Toungoo City, all other places are under the control of the chieftains of various tribes in Myanmar. They are the local emperors of those places.

Although the chieftains all knelt at the feet of the Burmese king Mang Yinglong, the relationship between them may not be harmonious.

In fact, this kind of relationship is what Mang Yinglong wants to see.

If they are in harmony, Mang Yinglong should be unable to sleep, worrying that these people will collude in private to oppose his rule.

Naturally, the Ming caravans need to grasp this information and avoid some areas controlled by the chieftains who may be hostile.

Therefore, the main roads in Myanmar may not allow the caravans to pass safely. When necessary, they have to choose to take the mountain roads and bypass some areas controlled by the chieftains.

And now, these mountain roads have become the routes for the Ming army to advance.

As before, the Ming army will detain all the Burmese people they meet along the way to prevent the news from leaking.

"Brother, we are ready. There are 472 cavalrymen, except for more than 100 archers, and the others are equipped with five bird guns."

Li Rubai quickly stepped behind Li Rusong and reported in a low voice: "I asked Li Lin and Sui Changlong to lead people to intercept the Burmese army in the south and north. Eight thousand people were sent to the north and three thousand to the south.

You can attack the city at your convenience. I arranged for Yang Jiahao to lead the troops. He has three thousand men under his command, and another two thousand soldiers were sent.

I will divide the rest into several groups and send them to nearby areas, so that they can support Ava City and the battlefields in the north and south at any time."

"Very good, let them set off immediately and report immediately after they arrive.

The personal guards and Yang Jiahao's troops are hiding over there."

Li Rusong pointed to a depression at the foot of the mountain, which was surrounded by bushes and suitable for the Ming army to hide.

"Okay."

Li Rubai agreed and was about to go down to pass on the order, but was stopped by Li Rusong again.

"All cavalry, change into two layers of armor."

"Brother, this."

"Do as I say."

Li Rubai wanted to say more, and Li Rusong waved his hand impatiently to let him go down to pass on the order.

In Ming and Qing war novels, the term three-layer armor often appears.

Some people take it literally and think that it means putting on three different armors, such as cotton armor, leather armor and iron armor.

But in fact, the three-layer armor of the Qing army is inherited from the armor of the Ming army, that is, the three-layer armor is actually developed by the Ming army according to different needs.

The three-layer armor of the Ming army refers to the three main types of armor used in the army of the Ming Dynasty, namely Ming armor, dark armor and cotton armor.

Ming armor, also known as zhajia or fish scale armor, is a kind of iron armor.

Its characteristic is that it is made of iron sheets and is named because of its shape similar to fish scales. The Ming Dynasty poems describe the border troops wearing 45 kilograms of armor, which refers to this kind of Ming armor.

The dark armor is a kind of cloth armor. One is a heavy cloth armor with iron plates embedded in it, and the other is a light cloth armor made of thick cotton.

The dark armor is light in weight and suitable for use in light-armored troops. Both the blue armor and the purple cloth armor belong to the category of dark armor.

The blue armor weighs 24-25 jin, while the purple cloth armor is lighter and has a lower manufacturing cost.

The last cotton armor is a light cloth armor, the main materials of which are cotton and cloth.

It is light in weight and suitable for use in light-armored troops. The cotton armor has no iron plates, but is made of cotton and cloth, with only nail bubbles on the outside.

Among them, the bright armor and the dark armor belong to the iron armor of the Ming army, but because of different materials and production speed, the Ming army generally calls them "iron armor" and "cotton armor", and the cotton armor actually has limited defensive effect and is more used as cold-resistant clothing.

The three layers of armor of the Ming army have different characteristics and uses, and together constitute the protection system of the Ming army.

In the past, when cavalry attacked, they must have used the bright armor as standard equipment, and almost never used the dark armor.

But this time, in order to reduce the burden on the war horses, Li Rusong boldly ordered the cavalry to change their iron armor and put on cotton armor, which naturally made Li Rubai worried.

There is no doubt that after changing the armor, the cavalry will move faster and it will be easier to break into the city.

But when the armor becomes weaker, it will also bring greater casualties.

However, Li Rubai always listens to his elder brother, so he only struggled slightly and followed his orders.

In the valley, the infantry and cavalry of the Ming army participating in the attack on Ava City were already in place. The knights fed the horses with water and bean cakes, but they didn't dare to feed too much.

And they also gnawed on dried meat to replenish their physical strength. At this moment, everyone sat on the ground, next to their horses.

Behind them, thousands of Ming soldiers were lurking in the woods, also drinking water and eating dry food.

As the sun set, many people felt a little tired at this time.

And Li Rusong also noticed on the hillside that the number of Burmese troops on the tower had decreased significantly, almost half of them less than before.

Regardless of whether they were hiding from the sun or taking a lunch break, Li Rusong was very satisfied with the current situation.

"Brother, we are all here."

Li Rubai returned to Li Rusong again and whispered.

"Let's go."

Li Rusong said immediately, and led his men down the hillside, and soon joined the cavalry.

With Li Rusong's arrival, the cavalry, who had not yet sat down, immediately stood up.

"Check the equipment. Get on the horse."

At Li Rusong's command, more than 400 people stepped on the stirrups and jumped on the horse.

In the woods behind him, rustling sounds came, and all the Ming soldiers had stood up, each holding a weapon and waiting for orders.

"My men, follow me to capture the city."

Li Rusong didn't say much. He was riding on a horse, and he was consuming the horse's physical strength every moment.

So, after getting ready, he directly issued an attack order.

"Tap, tap, tap"

The sound of scattered horse hooves hitting the ground gradually became denser.

Hundreds of war horses rushed out of the col and rushed towards the road down the mountain.

Once there, they could let go of their horses and sprint at full speed, rushing into the city gate before the Burmese army could react.

After the cavalry was dispatched, the infantry followed closely behind, trotting all the way.

There was no shouting and killing, everything was ordered before, and shouting and killing was allowed only after rushing into the city gate.

Li Rubai stood by the woods and watched the Ming army rush forward. Soon the cavalry had rushed onto the road and charged towards the distant city gate.

"Rumble"

The dense horse hooves hit the ground, making a thunderous sound, and the earth was also shaking slightly.

The Burmese soldiers on the tower were the first to react. Many people rushed to the battlements and looked out, and soon someone screamed in fear.

The momentum of the cavalry charge was terrifying, and many people were still at a loss at this time.

Finally, the soldiers at the gate heard the shouts from the tower. They also realized something was wrong, so some rushed to the gate and tried to close the heavy door.

"Bang, bang, bang"

The knights at the front of the Ming cavalry fired their bird guns and threw them away after firing.

As the two Burmese soldiers fell to the ground and wailed, the rest of the Burmese soldiers were frightened.

When they saw the Ming cavalry approaching, they screamed and rushed into the city.