Chapter 81

In the hall of the Cai Kingdom, there was a deathly silence.

Defeated! They were actually defeated! And not just once, but twice! And out of the 52 battle formations and magical artifacts, not a single one returned! The loss was beyond the word "heavy" to describe.

The emperor of the Cai Kingdom was furious, his face dark as he glared at the prime minister, Yan Ze'an. "My dear prime minister, it was you who strongly advocated attacking the Cai Kingdom. Do you have anything to say now?"

"Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Yan Ze'an remained calm. "Your Majesty, from this attack, I have gathered the following information:

First, the Great Xia Kingdom has new weapons."

"Nonsense!" The emperor was enraged. Did he need to say this? The different warheads were right in front of him.

The prime minister was unperturbed and continued, "Second, I have seen the power of industry. We must also develop our industry. At the same time, the research on gunpowder should be put on the agenda.

Third, I have seen that the Great Xia Kingdom is fraught with internal troubles, and its emperor is a hesitant and indecisive person.

Fourth, the Kong family, Wang family, Li family, Yuan family, and almost all the powerful ministers have the idea of dividing the Great Xia Kingdom. Therefore, from this perspective, our defeat is a good thing. It will make the ministers of the Great Xia Kingdom feel more at ease to fight among themselves. When the Great Xia Kingdom disintegrates, we can at least take over the three northern counties with ease."

"Defeat is a good thing. Haha... The wisdom of the prime minister truly surprises me."

"Your Majesty flatters me."

"Ha..." A minister nearby couldn't help but laugh. The emperor was speaking sarcastically, and the prime minister actually responded like that; indeed, the emperor's face turned red with anger—did you really dare to respond?

The pale-faced General Wang Qisheng, standing nearby, quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, it was my fault. The prime minister's plan was not wrong; it was my initial failure that led to the complete defeat."

The emperor vented his anger for a while and then calmed down, no longer looking at Wang Qisheng but at the warheads on the wooden platters held by the guards. "Xiang Bowen, tell me, how long will it take to develop this kind of weapon?"

Xiang Bowen stepped forward, "Your Majesty, this weapon is not very difficult to make. I can do it right now. However, achieving the strength to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator is still quite challenging."

"Then show me what you can make now."

Xiang Bowen immediately arranged the materials, "Seven taels of saltpeter, two taels of sulfur, one tael of charcoal, roughly like this. A metal tube, a bit of gunpowder, and an iron ball.

Hmm... a small hole on the side of the metal tube, and a lit incense stick will do."

"Bang!" A loud explosion, a pungent smell spread, and an iron ball pierced through a one-inch-thick wooden board.

"Is that it?" Wang Qisheng looked at Xiang Bowen, "It looks similar, but the power is completely different. It's just a toy from childhood."

Prime Minister Yan Ze'an, however, had a different view, "Xiang Bowen, make a larger one, about the size of an arm."

Xiang Bowen's true essence flowed, melting and shaping the iron. Soon, a metal tube about the size of an arm and three feet long appeared. He poured about a bowl of gunpowder into the tube and then inserted a large iron ball to block it.

Everyone stretched their necks to watch.

Xiang Bowen lit the gunpowder without any precautions.

"Boom!" The bomb exploded... it directly blew up the tube! Xiang Bowen himself was thrown out, his face and chest covered in blood, blackened by the gunpowder.

The surrounding officials, more than a dozen of them, were also in bad shape, with Prime Minister Yan Ze'an having a piece of shrapnel embedded in his face.

Silence!

But the prime minister was the prime minister. Yan Ze'an had Xiang Bowen carried away and then started making it himself.

"Prime Minister..." The surrounding officials were afraid.

Yan Ze'an ignored them, thickening the metal tube several times over. A tube as thick as a thigh appeared. This was no longer a gun but a small cannon.

Under the tense gazes of everyone, the prime minister lit the gunpowder.

Bang! A loud explosion, a fist-sized iron ball directly pierced through the wall, leaving a hole the size of a head in the palace wall.

Yan Ze'an put down the metal tube, looked around, and then at the emperor, "Your Majesty, this power is quite impressive."

Seeing that it was safe, the emperor of the Cai Kingdom even tried it himself, personally feeling its power, "This power is enough to kill a Qi Condensation cultivator; if we further increase the size of the metal tube, could it threaten a Core Formation cultivator?

If the metal tube is large enough, could it even kill a transcendent being?"

The emperor was already lost in endless imagination.

"Cough, cough..." The prime minister cautiously reminded him.

"Oh, oh... bring in Xiang Bowen, reward him with ten thousand taels of gold and a hundred-year-old spirit ginseng. Prime Minister, you are now in charge of the production of this weapon.

By the way, what is this weapon called?"

"Firearm. I heard Xiang Bowen call it a firearm." Yan Zhengqing stood up.

As the emperor and ministers celebrated, a disheveled soldier was brought in by the imperial guards.

"Your Majesty, the Anyang of the Great Xia Kingdom has launched an attack on the southeastern border. It has already caused over two thousand deaths, and our soldiers can't hold on.

They are using that strange weapon, which can kill Foundation Establishment cultivators from two miles away!"

The emperor was actually delighted, "Good! Just in time to test our firearms. Prime Minister, quickly produce gunpowder. Since Anyang has launched an attack, drive them back and avenge our honor!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Xian had no idea that his plan to promote negotiations through war had led to this result. The Cai Kingdom was not only not afraid but also eager to avenge their honor.

However, the front line was quite lively. Liu Lei was leading 35 locomotives... yes, 35, as five more had been added in the past few days.

In short, the 35 locomotives were roaming around the southeastern border of the Cai Kingdom. They lured the enemy, ambushed, sniped, and engaged in guerrilla warfare, becoming quite adept at it.

They would fire a shot here and then run three miles away to fire another volley. This made the Cai Kingdom soldiers dare not go up to the city walls. Whenever the enemy didn't dare to go up, Liu Lei would lead his men to the city walls to carefully observe the array formation fluctuations, the array formation trends, and even copy them down.

In just two days, they had almost completely investigated the array formation situation of the city walls.

Seeing this, Liu Lei felt that things were about right, so he threw the "negotiation proposal" onto the enemy's city wall and left with his team.

General Lu Chenggang of the southern border of the Cai Kingdom was so angry that he trembled, but he didn't dare to go out and meet the enemy—small-scale attacks would be like sending food, and large-scale attacks would make the enemy run, and what if they encountered an ambush?

Looking at the "negotiation proposal" in his hand, Lu Chenggang thought for a moment and decided to send it to the capital.

Speaking of Anyang, Liu Lei returned with great satisfaction, "Young Master, I estimate we killed about three thousand people, and tens of thousands of Cai Kingdom soldiers became like turtles hiding in their shells. In the end, we even went to the city walls to observe the formations, and no one stopped us.

This is the array formation of the Cai Kingdom's city defense."

"Very good, go rest. For the rewards, go to Mr. Beichen Yuqing."

After Liu Lei left, Li Xian smiled with satisfaction, "Next, the Cai Kingdom should send a negotiation envoy. This way, we will have the initiative in the negotiations."

"Yes, this is a good plan," Xu Ren agreed. An active attack was indeed a great relief—enemies shouldn't be allowed to attack us alone.

Just then, someone reported that Ling Zhifeng, who had gone out to collect cultivation techniques and secret manuals, had returned.

...