Chapter 92

When Li Wei returned to Wuyang, rumors about Chancellor Yan Ze'an in Cai State were already rampant, with all sorts of speculations flying around.

At first, everyone said that Chancellor Yan Ze'an had accepted benefits from the Kong family and thus ordered the troops to attack.

Then, people started saying that the Chancellor was too foolish, having been played by the Kong family, resulting in heavy casualties.

Soon, more rumors emerged—Chancellor Yan Ze'an was not just foolish but had been played repeatedly, finding it not enough to be tricked once.

Finally, some began to suspect: "Is the Chancellor really a fool? Did he intentionally lose?!"

In the end, the rumors turned into malicious gossip, completely losing any basis in reality. Some even claimed that the Chancellor was a spy for the Daxia Kingdom. Later, someone produced "evidence" that the Chancellor's ancestors had once been nobles in the Daxia Kingdom.

Ultimately, as the rumors grew more intense and the families of the dead and injured demanded the Chancellor's execution, the Emperor of Cai State was forced to "heed public opinion" and place the Chancellor's entire family, young and old, under house arrest.

Though it was called house arrest, it was actually very cruel, with no food or water in the house! The imperial edict clearly stated that they would be "confined until the Chancellor's innocence was proven." It was obvious that by the time his innocence was proven, the entire family would have starved to death!

Some people spoke out in defense of Chancellor Yan Ze'an, but under the search and suppression by the royal guards and a group of experts, these "dissenting voices" quickly disappeared.

When Li Wei set out for Anyang, the information from Cai State also reached Li Xian. Needless to say, Li Xian would convene everyone to discuss the situation.

Xu Ren was the most confident, gently waving a feather fan, "Young Master, this is an opportunity. The Chancellor is a true talent, and we must recruit him."

Li Xian was taken aback: "Sir, are you saying we should rescue our former enemy?"

Xu Ren shook his head lightly: "No, no, Young Master, your thinking is skewed. The true enemy is not the Chancellor but Cai State and its Emperor.

Young Master, if Anyang suddenly attacks Luliang County now, others will think it is your intention, not mine or anyone else's."

"But we have intelligence that the Chancellor requested the attack on us! And the Kong family's contacts were also Chancellor Yan Ze'an." Li Xian was very vengeful. He never considered himself a gentleman—anyone who dared to bite him would be killed and stewed! And Yan Ze'an was on his list!

Seeing Li Xian's expression, Xu Ren was speechless: "Young Master, the Chancellor is just serving the Emperor, just like I serve you. The one who truly wants to attack the Daxia Kingdom is not the Chancellor but the Emperor of Cai State."

"Uh... Okay. But how do we rescue him? Break him out of prison?"

"Negotiate, Young Master. Didn't you say you wanted to negotiate with Cai State?"

"But that was based on General Fu Minghui's victory in the northern campaign. Now that the northern campaign has failed, how can we negotiate?" Li Xian was very troubled by this. He had originally wanted to use negotiations to open up the Cai State market, but now everything was in ruins.

Xu Ren analyzed seriously: "Young Master, this is precisely the time not to give up! Now, Cai State's Chancellor is Huang Fu, who has political skills but lacks long-term vision, favoring internal strife and excluding dissenters.

We should continue to attack Cai State's borders, deploying the newly developed Floating Cloud Islands and cannons to pressure Cai State. Cai State is currently internally weak and unstable. This negotiation will definitely succeed.

Additionally, we should directly send envoys to Cai State, firmly indicating our intention to negotiate and openly stating that we will bring the Chancellor's family back to be executed.

We should also secretly contact Huang Fu, offering some benefits. This will ensure that the Chancellor's family is handed over to us!"

Li Xian closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then finally nodded. He had been overwhelmed by the numerous tasks since taking over Anyang, and Yan Ze'an was a talent who must be recruited.

Having made up his mind, Li Xian immediately ordered Cheng Jiming to lead three new Floating Cloud Islands to attack Cai State's borders, continuing to pressure Cai State. He also insisted on a firm stance—negotiation and compensation! Otherwise, they would continue the attack!

Cheng Jiming, once a general of the archery and magic unit, was now an "air force commander." He was very proud. When Li Xian's order came, Cheng Jiming was boasting to Wang Jian, Chang Lin, Liu Lei, and others about the thrill of fighting in the air, much to the chagrin of the other generals.

Just as he was boasting, Li Xian's new order arrived, instructing him to lead the new Floating Cloud Islands to continue attacking Cai State's borders.

"Wow, brothers, I'm going into battle, I'm going into battle. You guys must watch from behind." Cheng Jiming hummed a cheerful tune and pranced around.

"Spit, I actually know you, what a curse from a past life! Get lost!" Wang Jian was furious.

"Get lost, get lost." The others also shooed him away, finding him too arrogant.

"Ha... You're just jealous. La la la, the new Floating Cloud Islands and cannons are ready, and the gunpowder is now in use. Who wants to come and see?"

"Get lost." Everyone said in unison.

Cheng Jiming was even more proud: "Ha, you don't know, Young Master has ordered all the generals to come with me to the Floating Cloud Islands to familiarize themselves with our military strength.

According to the plan, today it's Wang Jian, and the rest of you will wait on the city walls. Tomorrow will be your turn. See you later, ha ha..."

When Cheng Jiming arrived at the armory, Li Xian and the others were already there, all watching the three massive objects on the ground. At first glance, Cheng Jiming saw the ferocity and felt a surge of excitement.

These were the latest Floating Cloud Islands, designed and produced with the combined efforts of Li Xian, the research department, the mechanical factory, the armory, and frontline soldiers like Cheng Jiming. These Floating Cloud Islands were not small, but quite large!

Once everyone gathered, it was time to introduce the new war machine. However, Liu Bin from the mechanical factory and Yang Qianjiang from the armory were both vying to introduce it, as the new war machine was a joint effort of both factories.

Seeing the argument, Li Xian was furious, "All future research and production of flying machines will be handled by Yun Feihong of the flying machine department. Yun Feihong, you introduce it."

"Ah..."

"Ah..."

Liu Bin and Yang Qianjiang were stunned and then retreated sheepishly.

Yun Feihong, who had also come from the mechanical factory, had been involved in the design of the new war machine from the beginning.

Hearing Li Xian call her, Yun Feihong immediately stepped forward. She was not a beautiful or charming woman, but she was serious and professional. Standing before the gleaming war machine, she began her introduction: "This is the newly designed war machine.

First, it has a streamlined design, 9 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 3 meters high. The entire body is made of stainless steel, with mystic iron wire arrays embedded in the steel plates.

Second, the bottom armor has been thickened and reinforced with enhanced arrays.

Third, it is equipped with three new cannons and two rapid-fire machine guns.

The main cannon at the front has a 105mm caliber and a firing rate of three shots per minute, requiring assistance from a Foundation Establishment cultivator or magic. Ordinary soldiers can fire three shots in two minutes.

The two side cannons have a 47mm caliber and a firing rate of five shots per minute.

The two rapid-fire machine guns, one at the front and one at the back, have a dual-barrel design with a 9mm caliber and can fire 500 rounds per minute, which is the current maximum firing rate.

Fourth, the war machine weighs 35 tons, with a maximum load of 50 tons and a maximum flight height of about 500 meters.

Fifth, with six engines and propellers, the maximum flight speed of the war machine is 420 kilometers per hour. Due to technical limitations, it cannot yet reach 500 kilometers per hour.

Sixth, the new war machine is equipped with 9,600 mystic iron wire arrays, including floating cloud arrays and defensive arrays, which can be powered by 30 spirit stones simultaneously. At a minimum, it consumes half a spirit stone per hour, and at maximum, it can consume 10 spirit stones per hour."

"Whew..." Hearing the introduction, everyone around drew a sharp breath, not just because of the firepower but also because of the spirit stone consumption.

Consuming 10 spirit stones per hour! This new war machine was powerful, but the spirit stone consumption was enormous, beyond imagination.

10 spirit stones could hire a team of ten Golden Core cultivators! No matter how you calculated it, this war machine was not suitable for the small city of Anyang.

Xu Ren spoke up: "The war machine should continue to be researched, but it should not be used for now. Otherwise, it will cause trouble."

Li Xian also realized this issue and had to change his order: to have Liu Lei lead the armored unit and the cannons to attack the city.

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