After getting permission, Pang Chong came outside the palace with a little excitement and asked someone to bring the model of artillery placed outside the palace.
The emperor and all the officials stretched their heads and observed with endless curiosity. When they saw this 'artillery', many people immediately booed - so disappointing, so small!
This artillery is very simple. It only has an iron pipe tied to a wooden frame with a straw rope. The barrel is an iron pipe shaped by magic. The barrel is about one meter long. The surface is relatively smooth. It has obviously undergone special cosmetic treatment.
:
The color is dark and shiny, like porcelain. Although it is small, it can be regarded as a small work of art. The wooden frame is also very exquisite, and it also has carved patterns - although it is a bit redundant.
A small hole was opened at the rear end of the barrel, where the fuse was placed; black powder and solid shells were loaded from the front. The caliber of the muzzle was about the size of an egg, about one inch.
This thing is said to be an artillery, rather than a firecracker. Well, at this time, people in the Kingdom of Jinyang did not have the concept of "firecrackers". The only information they received was artillery; but the artillery they imitated... shrunk.
serious.
The Emperor of Jinyang Kingdom frowned slightly, but said nothing.
Pang Chong first loaded the fuse, and then loaded the gunpowder and projectiles into the 'artillery' from the front end of the barrel. Then he adjusted the direction of the artillery and aimed at a bluestone slab fifty meters in front. After adjusting it, he invited the emperor to light it.
The emperor was not polite, a candle appeared on his fingertips, and he lit the fuse.
Sparks burst out, and the flame of the fuse sank into the barrel. Suddenly, the simple artillery burst into roar, dark red flames rushed out a foot, and a solid projectile the size of an egg rushed out like lightning, shattering the two-inch-thick stone slab in front of it.
.
Gunpowder smoke filled the air, and the pungent smell spread rapidly.
Many people are still curious - it is impossible to be shocked, this artillery is too weak, and it is estimated that it cannot be seriously injured even in a Qi refining period. As for the sound of the explosion, it is not loud.
The emperor frowned slightly: "This is different from what is recorded in the jade slips! I remember what was recorded in the jade slips is: the artillery can shoot more than twenty miles, and each explosion can clear more than ten feet; all the artillery fires in volley, even the
It is difficult to compete even in the Nascent Soul stage.
This artillery piece of yours... can even be caught during the Qi refining stage!"
Pang Chong carefully explained slowly: "Your Majesty, there are some difficulties in the artillery technology of the Qixia Kingdom, and we are still exploring. It is estimated that it will take one to two months to produce such artillery.
But the war is tense at this time, and we can't wait for two months, so we can only get something like this first, at least to embolden the soldiers. It's enough to tell everyone that we also have this thing."
The emperor thought for a while and nodded slowly: "What you think is more correct. But such an 'artillery' may not be enough!"
"Your Majesty, this is just a model. The real artillery is expected to be seven feet long, one to two feet thick, and the diameter of the projectiles fired can reach seven to fifteen inches."
"Oh... ok, give birth as soon as possible." After the emperor said this, he turned to look at General Sima Zhen, and called He Dongjiao who was standing in the distance in the distance: "You two, here you go
An opportunity to atone for one's sins. Starting today, 1.5 million troops will be mobilized from across the country to attack the country of Qixia.
I hope you can destroy the country of Qixia with overwhelming force and not give the country of Qixia the slightest chance to breathe."
Prime Minister Pang Chong spoke again: "Your Majesty, the guilty minister has another suggestion. Don't we have a second prince from the Kingdom of Qixia, and now the Kingdom of Qixia is actually a princess regent, Si Chen, we can raise a banner:
Support orthodoxy!
We want to tell the people of Qixia Country that we are not invading, we are correcting the mistakes of Qixia Country. By the way, we will support the second prince as a puppet.
In doing so, it should be able to reduce the resistance to the advancement of the army, and even win over some of the forces of the Qixia Kingdom. It should also make the wavering families, sects, etc. in the Qixia Kingdom hesitate, or even turn against each other!
Let us first recognize the rule of the second prince of the Qixia Kingdom; when the Qixia Kingdom is completely under our control, what we will do is not a matter of words."
All the officials immediately became active, and all kinds of opinions came out.
In the middle of the discussion, a minister walked quickly beside the emperor and quietly delivered the information - the Jiuyang Sect had been taken away, and now the great elder of the Jiuyang Sect had come outside the palace to ask for help. It looked like he only had one breath left.
The emperor's eyes suddenly sharpened: "This may be a good opportunity. The Jiuyang Sect should still have many roots in the Kingdom of Qixia. It may be a good choice for the Jiuyang Sect to support the second prince of the Kingdom of Qixia!"
The emperor met the great elder of Jiuyang Sect. At this time, Qinghongzi had white hair and a withered body. His life had almost come to an end. Seeing Qinghongzi like this, the emperor gritted his teeth and told the people around him: "Get the Ejin Dan.
!”
The golden elixir of crossing the earth, a life-saving elixir for the royal family of the Kingdom of Jinyang, was purchased from the East. It is extremely rare and expensive. The jade box slowly opened, and a precious light circulated, and the elixir with complex and exquisite cloud patterns appeared in front of Qinghongzi.
The fragrance of the elixir floated, and the surrounding spiritual energy loomed. The elixir actually caused a little strange phenomenon. As the aura gathered, the elixir actually floated on its own.
"This is... a magic pill?" Qing Hongzi said with difficulty.
Spiritual elixir, or it can be called: a top-grade elixir at the level of becoming a god! The elixirs at this level already have a bit of spirituality.
The emperor looked remorseful: "It's my fault that I have caused fellow Taoist to suffer. I didn't expect that the Qixia Kingdom would be so crazy. This golden elixir for overcoming disasters should be able to repair the foundation of fellow Taoist; supplemented by other elixirs
, maybe it won’t take a few months for fellow Taoist to recover half of his cultivation. After a few more years of rest, he should be able to fully recover.”
Qing Hongzi... was moved!
Yes, he is already an old fox, but it is precisely because of this that Qinghongzi is even more moved. He is very aware of his current state and the value of a spiritual pill. He is even more aware that the current Jiuyang Sect... does not have much
It's valuable. At least Qing Hongzi thinks so.
Qinghongzi was not an idiot, but after all, he was just a practitioner, not a politician. He struggled to sit up and bowed to the emperor: "From now on, I will only follow the emperor's orders!"
"Okay!" The emperor agreed and placed the Golden Pill of Du'e on the bedside of Qinghongzi, "You should rest first. I will seek justice for you regarding the Jiuyang Sect.
Three million troops will attack tomorrow to ensure that the remaining disciples of Jiuyang Sect are rescued!"
Three million troops... is impossible. There are only 1.5 million. But it is not a small number. That night, some legions began to mobilize, and some elites held Jiuyang Sect's seals to recruit.
, to rescue the fleeing disciples of Jiuyang Sect.
In any case, Jiuyang Sect still has tens of thousands of disciples. With a little training, these disciples will become real elite soldiers. The Kingdom of Jinyang will not let them go.
From now on, the Jiuyang Sect will become the sword in the hands of the Kingdom of Jinyang until... it breaks!
From today on, Jiuyang Sect will completely lose the ability to control its own destiny.
The emperor of Jinyang Kingdom used a golden elixir to save Jiuyang Sect from thousands of years of accumulation - at least 30 to 40%.
…………
As the night grew darker, more than 300,000 legions were already attacking from the west of the Kingdom of Jinyang. Most of these legions were drawn from the Kingdom of Danyang, and their attack direction was Huaishan Pass.
What is the concept of more than 300,000 legions? It is like a boundless wave rolling forward, covering the mountains and plains with no end in sight. The mountain peaks are covered and the rivers are filled.
The commander-in-chief is Zhou Chengde, the general who suppresses the west of the Kingdom of Jinyang. Originally, the western strategy should be left to Zhou Chengde, but the emperor of Jinyang Kingdom directly appointed the Grand Marshal of the National Army and Horses, and General Sima Zhen was in charge, hoping to solve it in one fell swoop.
The Kingdom of Qixia. And Zhou Chengde was responsible for suppressing the Kingdom of Danyang.
Not wanting things to turn upside down, Zhou Chengde had to be transferred again.
Zhou Chengde analyzed as he advanced: "If the intelligence is correct, there should be no artillery at Huaishan Pass now. But it's better to be careful."
Looking at the map, Zhou Chengde quickly determined the battle plan: the army was divided into three, and the masters and elites crossed the mountains from the north and south sides of Huaishan Pass, outflanking the Qixia Kingdom defenders at Huaishan Pass from the rear; the remaining legions advanced frontally. Use
With numerical superiority, destroy the enemy in one fell swoop!
Then Zhou Chengde glanced at a town in the distance. This town... had also been 'cleaned', leaving only the screaming people, and all supplies and supplies had been confiscated by the Qixia Kingdom.
"Hateful!" Zhou Chengde roared angrily, with murderous intent in his eyes.
But Zhou Chengde didn't know that there was a 'Yeyue Tower' in the Kingdom of Qixia. Bai Ye had already sent everyone out, and Zhou Chengde's every move was monitored.
The army of Qixia Kingdom moved overnight, and hundreds of thousands of people quietly evacuated Huaishan Pass. By the way, a small amount of explosives were buried under Huaishan Pass - very few this time, just to destroy the pass.
Around dawn, after the Qixia Kingdom army had left for more than an hour, Zhou Chengde finally led his army to arrive and complete the siege, but what he saw was an empty city. There were scattered fires on the top of the city, like will-o'-the-wisps.
"It's an empty city again!" Zhou Chengde sneered, "I won't fall for such a trick again! Someone, come and explore the enemy's movements in the direction of the Kingdom of Qixia.
The army will rest and recuperate on the spot, and a few more people will be sent into the city to search!"
Ordinary soldiers did not know the news about the explosives and the "ascension" of Yunhai Pass. Under Zhou Chengde's order, they went into the city to search for "anything abnormal", especially the newly dug ground.
The gate slowly opened, and many torches fell down, igniting the fuel. The next moment, with a burst of roar and fire, the entire Huaishan Pass collapsed like a sandcastle.
The explosion caused tremors for dozens of miles around, and the flames soared into the sky, sending up billowing smoke and dust.
There wasn't much explosives this time, and it just destroyed Huaishan Pass, leaving Zhou Chengde's army without a place to live.
The same technique cannot be used twice. So this time Zhou Shuhai and Gu Xingdong were very sensible and just blew up Huaishan Pass. But it was enough. The power of the earth shaking was enough to bring fear to the army of Jinyang Kingdom.
Many soldiers looked at the collapsed level, their hearts trembling.
…………
"The Kingdom of Jinyang is preparing for a major counterattack!" In the main hall of Jiuyang Sect, Zhang Hao received Bai Ye's message and handed it to Liu Xinyu who was next to him.
Liu Xinyu looked at it and nodded: "It's expected. That's why I took the lead in cleaning up the Jiuyang Sect. Now the situation is completely under control!"
Zhang Hao looked at Liu Xinyu who was calm and had everything under control. He was very surprised and had a little admiration: an eighteen-year-old girl has shouldered the heavy responsibility of a country!
Zhang Hao vaguely remembered the speech Liu Xinyu gave to raise funds in Ninghe County:
[I like to play the piano. On my eighth birthday, the emperor’s sister-in-law gave me a piano score, "Green Bamboo in the Wind".
I clean it every day, but it wasn't until this year that I opened the music score for the first time.
I have been waiting for ten years to learn piano.】
What kind of mentality does it feel to have a favorite piano score next to you but haven’t turned a page in ten years? What kind of perseverance does it take?
"What's wrong?" Liu Xinyu felt uncomfortable with Zhang Hao's eyes.
Zhang Hao smiled slightly: "I've been thinking, why is Ouyang Qingque so sharp to me? I still can't figure it out!"
"Well... there's nothing unreasonable about eating people's mouths and thieving people's hands! The Ouyang family supports the prince!" Liu Xinyu said it easily.
Zhang Hao suddenly realized: This makes sense, then Ouyang Qingque is isolating himself from communication with the princess!
"Young Master..." Huang Mingshan trotted over excitedly, but after seeing Liu Xinyu, he immediately slowed down and paid homage to the 'Regent' first.
Liu Xinyu looked at Huang Mingshan, half smiling: "Hey, isn't this 'Engineer Huang'? What makes you so happy?"
"Ah...this..." Huang Mingshan was at a loss.
Zhang Hao glanced at Liu Xinyu and said calmly: "Tell me."
"Ah...Okay. Young Master, we found a box of old books in the Jiuyang Sect's library, which used mathematical methods to calculate a large number of formations.
After inspection, it was found that its mathematical methods are unfamiliar and there are many fallacies. Obviously, it has not formed a complete mathematical system, but it is still of immeasurable value to us. A little tidying up later is expected to save us ten years of work.
development time.
But because this box of books was placed in the utility room, it didn’t attract anyone’s attention for the time being.”
Before Zhang Hao could speak, Liu Xinyu spoke up: "You don't need to participate in the distribution of the items in the utility room. I make the decision and give them all to the Zhang family."
Zhang Hao was surprised.
Liu Xinyu looked at the bright starry sky outside and said lightly: "The Zhang family is not bad now, but I want to see what the Zhang family will be like in ten years!
And since these things are useful, they can’t be left outside!”
Huang Mingshan exited excitedly, preparing to clean up all the items in the utility room. There are often many good things in the clutter, but only those with a discerning eye or professional knowledge can discover these good things. Of course,
It also requires luck.
After Huang Mingshan left, Liu Xinyu sighed faintly: "Zhang Hao, how long do you think we can last in the face of the attack of millions of legions from the Kingdom of Jinyang? Can we wait for a turnaround?
If my second brother becomes a puppet of the Kingdom of Jinyang, I'm afraid... we... will be in a lot of trouble!"
At this time, Liu Xinyu showed a little confusion. At this time, she felt an indescribable fatigue.
Zhang Hao stood up slowly and looked at the pure starry sky. Today he was not able to catch the sunset on Yuyang Mountain, the main peak of the Jiuyang Sect, but watching the stars here was a unique scenery.
There was a faint smile on Zhang Hao's lips: "Your Highness, the night will eventually pass. I think the Kingdom of Qixia still has a chance to win! So what we have to consider is not how long we can last, but... how to win!"
"Victory?" Liu Xinyu sat in a chair and murmured in her voice, "Now the whole country of Qixia can barely muster a million troops. But they are all a mob.
And there are not many elixirs and so on in the treasury.
It’s normal for a decisive battle involving millions of legions to drag on for a year or two. But Qixia Kingdom’s elixir reserves may not last even half a year.”
Zhang Hao turned to look at Liu Xinyu: "Is it appropriate for Your Highness to tell me this?"
"..." Liu Xinyu suddenly reacted and stood up suddenly, her face gradually turning gloomy.
Speaking of which, Liu Xinyu was under a lot of pressure. She had to kill her brother to usurp power, and also had to shoulder the mess of Qixia Kingdom. She was exhausted, but she couldn't rest.
Among all the people Liu Xinyu has come into contact with, Zhang Hao is one of the few who is of the same age but has the same ambition, and has also made important achievements.
Invisibly, Liu Xinyu regarded Zhang Hao as a "comrade" with "like-mindedness".
In the entire Qixia Kingdom, in Liu Xinyu's eyes, Zhang Hao is the only one who is a 'sober person'. The rest are just drunk!
Liu Xinyu was exhausted and needed someone to talk to, but after being reminded by Zhang Hao, she suddenly woke up - their identities were completely different!
Looking at Liu Xinyu's expression, Zhang Hao suddenly smiled: "Your Highness, do you know what 'devouring the whole country' means?"
Liu Xinyu looked at Zhang Hao warily for a long time. The vigilance in her eyes gradually disappeared, but it did not disappear completely. She did not answer the question, and her tone was filled with unspeakable loneliness and confusion: "Are all those in power the same?
Alone?"
Zhang Hao turned around and looked at Liu Xinyu, the relaxed smile on his face tightened. He 'approached' Liu Xinyu step by step, and finally arrived in front of Liu Xinyu, the distance was only... less than a foot.
"What are you doing!" Liu Xinyu's eyes were a little unspeakably panicked, but she pursed her lips slightly, did not take a step back, and stared at Zhang Hao with a "cold, majestic, serious" look.
Zhang Hao suddenly reached out and hugged Liu Xinyu.
"Ah... bang!" Liu Xinyu finally showed the reaction that a girl should have, screamed, and gave Zhang Hao a crisp slap. Then she turned around, sat back in the chair, and stared at Zhang Hao fiercely.
, there is shame and anger, and a little bit of unspeakable murderous intention.
The slap was loud enough that it created an echo, so that Hu Yinglan, who was guarding the outside of the hall, instantly appeared at the door of the hall with a long sword in hand.
"Get out!" Liu Xinyu shouted coldly.
Hu Yinglan glanced at Zhang Hao, who was covering the left side of his face, blinked, and exited the hall with a mysterious smile on his lips.
Zhang Hao covered the left side of his face, hissing and gasping. The slap was so hard that his skin was torn apart and his mouth was filled with blood. Liu Xinyu had not been merciful just now. A slap from the Nascent Soul stage, Zhang Hao, who was in the Foundation Establishment stage, couldn't bear it.
ah!
Liu Xinyu looked at Zhang Hao coldly: "You'd better give me an explanation!"