Chapter 259 It's time to show you what skydiving is all about.
"Sigh, it is indeed a bit troublesome." Xiao Qidi sighed helplessly. "The counties, important cities, and even border areas of the Wilderness Kingdom have all been taken over by the Great Xuan Army. I have also arranged for officials to take over the governance, but the king of the Wilderness Kingdom is using the more than 100,000 civilians in the royal city as a hostage, preventing General Mu Cheng from launching a strong attack. I know that whether we launch a strong attack or continue to besiege the city, we will definitely be able to take it, but those civilians will be doomed. I don't want to do that, and neither does General Mu Cheng."
"I see……"
Ning Jinli gently grasped Xiao Qidi's hand.
She also knew very well that if the lives of the people of the Wasteland Kingdom were disregarded, the capital city of the Wasteland Kingdom would have been breached long ago.
This king of the desolate country is truly heartless and insane; to this extent, he has actually taken his own people hostage.
Xiao Qidi held Ning Jinli's soft hands and whispered:
"Nowadays, the former Yu Kingdom has become the Wangxi Province of Da Xuan, and its people have all become citizens of Da Xuan. After Duan Wu took office as the governor of Wangxi, he used the development experience and technology of Linxian City to work hard and govern the province. As a result, a large amount of high-quality iron ore has been mined in many parts of Wangxi Province. Hewan County of Longyuan Prefecture, which has been incorporated into the province, also has several large coal mines."
"Iron and coal mines, including the oil fields around Linxian City, are producing at an ever-increasing rate. New related technologies have been rolled out, and soon the entire population of Daxuan will be able to use refined iron and even steel."
"Many other industrial technologies based on this are also advancing rapidly... such as weaving, papermaking, gunpowder, as well as power generation and road construction, etc."
"I hope that all Chinese people can catch up with the pace of development as soon as possible and no longer suffer from natural disasters and man-made calamities. But now, I am at a loss as I watch more than 100,000 people being taken hostage by the king of the desolate country."
"Jinli, please help me."
Ning Jinli listened attentively to Xiao Qidi's words.
Presumably, he had considered every possible method available at this time, but since he needed to protect so many people while also eliminating the king of the barren kingdom, none of those methods could be used.
"How long can the people in the capital of the desolate kingdom hold out?" Ning Jinli asked.
Xiao Qidi said, "According to General Mu Cheng's prediction, the common people will face famine in less than half a month. The king of the wasteland, his nobles and ministers, as well as the tens of thousands of elite troops guarding the capital, will not care about the lives of these people. I can even imagine that, over time, even the common people will become food for the capital's guards."
Ning Jinli then inquired in detail about other aspects of the capital city of the Desolate Kingdom.
Only then did they learn that the king of the Desolate Kingdom had taken advantage of the fact that the Great Xuan Army wanted to protect the people, which was why he used this tactic.
As a result, General Mu Cheng was forced to lead his troops to retreat, because as soon as they approached the royal city, the royal guards of the Desolate Kingdom would kill a group of civilians and throw them off the city walls as a warning.
This prevented the Da Xuan army from launching a strong attack or a surprise attack to breach the city.
The entire royal city was completely sealed off, with no one allowed to enter or leave, thus completely eliminating the possibility of the Great Xuan Army infiltrating it.
If the Da Xuan army couldn't bear to see the people in the city suffer from cold and hunger, and threw food and supplies into the city with catapults, they would be snatched away by the guards immediately. However, the Da Xuan army had no choice but to do so, otherwise, the people in the city would suffer just as much.
In short, the king of the desolate kingdom was prepared to sacrifice the more than 100,000 people of the desolate kingdom in the city in order to survive himself.
This unusual situation put Xiao Qidi in a dilemma.
The capital city of the desolate kingdom was off-limits; food and supplies had to be thrown in from time to time to prevent the city's inhabitants from being plundered by the guards.
Attacking is not an option, and not attacking is also not an option.
As long as the Great Xuan Army cannot harden its heart and ignore the lives of more than 100,000 people, then the king of the Desolate Kingdom can drag things out day after day for a long time.
This feeling made Xiao Qidi extremely uncomfortable.
"How much do you know about the interior of the Desolate Kingdom's capital?" Ning Jinli asked.
Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes slightly. "I have been a hostage in the Desolate Kingdom since birth. So many years of living experience have made me familiar with the environment inside the Desolate Kingdom's palace, but I am not very clear about most places outside the palace."
Ning Jinli then asked, "What about adding General Mu Cheng as well?"
Xiao Qidi said, "With him included, we would have a complete understanding of the entire royal city, both inside and outside the palace."
“Alright,” Ning Jinli snapped her fingers, “Let’s carry out a decapitation strike and kill the king and nobles of the Desolate Kingdom. Without a ruler, those ministers and guards will stop resisting.”
Xiao Qidi said, "That's what I was thinking too, but I couldn't get into the royal city without being discovered. I think you must have a way."
Ning Jinli smiled mysteriously, cupped his handsome face, and said, "It's time to tell you what skydiving is all about."
That evening, the two discussed their plan of action, and the next morning...
Xiao Qidi set off for the capital of the desolate kingdom as quickly as possible, while Ning Jinli returned to the modern world and contacted Shangguan Ying to prepare for the operation.
Since the entire territory of the Wilderness Kingdom has been taken over by the Great Xuan.
Xiao Qidi traveled without any obstacles.
Traveling at full speed, they arrived at the Great Xuan Army's encampment outside the capital of the Desolate Kingdom in less than three days.
Approximately 100,000 Da Xuan soldiers were stationed around the royal city, about 30 li away from it.
The main camp of the general faced the direction of the royal city gate, looking at each other from afar.
When Xiao Qidi arrived at the main camp, Mu Chenggang had just returned from outside, his face showing an expression as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Outrageous! This is utterly outrageous!"
Covered in thick snow, Mu Cheng cursed as he lifted the tent flap, "Those beasts are getting more and more outrageous! I really want to grind them to dust!"
Before the guards beside the tent could even warn him, he stormed in and immediately spotted Xiao Qidi standing inside.
"Your Majesty, what brings you here?" Mu Cheng was stunned.
Xiao Qidi asked, "Why is General Mu so angry?"
Mu Cheng hurriedly bowed and said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, I have been impolite. I hope you will forgive me. I... was angered by the guards in the capital of the Desolate Kingdom."
Xiao Qidi asked him to sit down and explained the situation in detail.
Mu Cheng didn't want the people in the capital of the Desolate Kingdom to suffer from hunger and cold, so he would throw food and supplies into the city with catapults every now and then. Although the main beneficiaries were the guards of the capital, it did help protect the people in the city to some extent. Xiao Qidi was aware of this practice.
What Xiao Qidi didn't know was that the guards of the desolate capital city became even more greedy as a result.
Mu Cheng had just led a group to deliver food supplies, but the guards on the city wall shouted that starting next time, Mu Cheng had to double the amount of staple food, increase meat and vegetables by 30%, and even provide them with alcohol.
This is simply treating the Da Xuan Army like a fool.
Moreover, if they fail to do so, they will arrest some civilians and kill them to show Mu Cheng.
Anyway, the city has hundreds of thousands of residents, so killing dozens or hundreds every now and then has no impact at all.
That's why Mu Cheng is so angry.
“General, there’s no need to be angry,” Xiao Qidi comforted him. “I already have a solution.”
Mu Cheng was overjoyed. "Does Your Majesty have any ideas?"
Xiao Qidi said, "Jinli told me about the method. Once she arrives, we can begin our operation. Before that, you have three things to do. First, have someone prepare a flat open space at least fifty zhang square within the camp. Second, draw up a map of the royal city as detailed as possible. Third, select forty soldiers from the Xuanjia Army who are strong in combat and unafraid of heights."
These requests sound easy to fulfill, but Mu Cheng couldn't figure out what the connection was between the three things.
However, since it was the emperor's request and could solve the biggest problem at hand, Mu Cheng would naturally comply.
However, his expression suddenly became somewhat conflicted.
Xiao Qidi asked him what was wrong.
He clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "Your Majesty, shall I also participate in the operation personally?"
Xiao Qidi said, "You know the most about the rest of the capital city of the desolate kingdom, except for the royal palace, so of course you should participate."
Mu Cheng then asked, "Then... exactly how high is the condition of not being afraid of heights?"
Seeing his reaction, Xiao Qidi realized what was going on and asked him with a smile, "General Mu is afraid of heights?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not conceal this from you..." Mu Cheng's expression grew even more awkward. "I consider myself quite courageous, especially in battle, where I have always been fearless. However... once I stand on high ground, I lose control of my heart and my legs go weak. I can withstand the height of ordinary city walls, but Your Majesty specifically requested that I not be afraid of heights. I feel that this must be much higher than a city wall..."
Xiao Qidi patted him on the shoulder, "It's a bit higher than the city wall, you should be fine, right?"
Mu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. "Then there's no major problem. I'll go and do what Your Majesty has instructed."
"Go ahead." A smile flashed in Xiao Qidi's eyes as he nodded.
That afternoon.
Ning Jinli accurately located Xiao Qidi through her senses and opened a space-time portal to meet him.
“I’m all set up,” Ning Jinli said. “Sister Ying arranged a military transport helicopter for me, and I’ve assigned four special operations team members to fly and train it. How’s it going on your end?”
Xiao Qidi led her to an open space nearby. "Do you think this place is enough?"
Ning Jinli checked it out. "Hmm, the space is big enough, and the ground is quite flat. It's sufficient."
Xiao Qidi added, "General Mu has drawn up a map and selected forty Xuanjia soldiers, all of whom are ready."
"Okay! I'll bring the helicopter and special operations team members over right away. Please move aside."
After Ning Jinli finished speaking, she entered the portal between time and space.
Xiao Qidi immediately retreated to the outside of the open space.
A short while later, a huge military transport helicopter appeared out of thin air on the open ground, and Ning Jinli and four team members got off the plane one after another.
Xiao Qidi looked up, unable to look away, "This helicopter is even bigger than the previous one!"
Ning Jinli smiled and said, "Of course! The helicopter sent to Blackwater Bay for reconnaissance is an armed helicopter. This one is specifically for transport. It can carry up to fifty fully armed soldiers. It's huge!"
Xiao Qidi asked, "When will parachute training begin?"
"Time is of the essence, let's start right away," Ning Jinli said. "Let's see if three days of intensive training is enough. If not, we'll need to train for a few more days."
Without delay, Xiao Qidi summoned Mu Cheng, along with forty carefully selected Xuanjia soldiers.
The Xuanjia Army has always been the first group to accept new equipment provided by Ning Jinli. No matter what Ning Jinli brings, they can adapt to and accept it faster than ordinary soldiers.
But seeing such a colossal creature they had never seen before looming before them, they were still filled with shock and curiosity.
As for Mu Cheng, he was completely dumbfounded.
"Everyone, over the next few days, Xiao Qidi and I will be training with you," Ning Jinli said directly to them. "I hope you will all work hard and follow the orders of the four instructors beside me."
Mu Cheng was still confused, but considering that even the fairy and the emperor were training with the Xuanjia soldiers, he didn't need to ask any more questions and just obeyed orders.
Xiao Qidi stepped forward and stood beside Mu Cheng. "Yes! I will obey the instructor's orders."
Ning Jinli turned around, stood at the front of the group, and bowed to the four members of the special operations team. "Thank you for your help. Let's begin."
The special operations team members did not hesitate and ordered everyone to unload equipment from the transport helicopter and begin training on the spot.
First, they taught everyone to change into skydiving gear from head to toe.
Everyone, including Mu Cheng, had already worn modern military combat gear, so changing equipment was not a difficult task for them.
Next, members of the special operations team explained and demonstrated the functions and usage of the parachute pack to everyone.
Mu Cheng listened attentively, but as he listened, he felt that something was amiss.
"Instructor..." Mu Cheng clasped his hands and said, "You say this thing is for high-altitude descent? If it's a normal height, a ladder would suffice. Why use such a strange tool?"
A member of the special operations team said, "Because this is not an ordinary altitude, now, follow our demonstration and practice opening your parachutes on the ground."
Mu Cheng was filled with questions and felt inexplicably flustered. However, faced with something completely beyond his comprehension, he didn't know where to begin asking questions, so he shut his mouth and thought he would just follow the instructions carefully and learn it.
That day, the whole afternoon continued until dark.
The special operations team members repeatedly taught the ground how to open the parachute until everyone basically understood how to use the parachute pack.
Apart from Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, everyone else was quite confused.
They learned how to operate the equipment taught by the instructors, but they really couldn't understand what it meant to carry a strange-looking big backpack, run while pulling the rope to release a large and bizarre piece of unique fabric.
The special operations team members said that everyone grasped the concepts quickly and they would gather here early tomorrow morning for the next phase of training.
And so, filled with great questions, everyone returned to their tents to rest.
Early the next morning.
Ning Jinli, Xiao Qidi, Mu Chenghe, and forty Xuanjia soldiers, all dressed in their uniforms, arrived at the training ground.
"Gentlemen, today's main training content is to show you the practical application of parachutes." A special operations team member pointed to the already opened cabin. "Everyone, board the plane!"
The group followed him into the spacious cabin.
Mu Cheng and the others were very curious and looked around. They hadn't had a chance to take a close look when they brought the equipment down from here yesterday, but now they could finally observe it properly.
"Everyone, take your seats and sit down," the instructor ordered again. Once everyone was seated, he demonstrated and said, "Come on, follow my steps and keep your bodies still."
Once everyone was ready, another instructor in the cabin checked on everyone one by one, then sat down and, after making all the necessary preparations, notified the two team members in the cockpit that they could take off.
With a dull mechanical sound, the massive helicopter belly hatch slowly closed.
Mu Cheng didn't know what was wrong with him; a sudden, indescribable feeling of intense unease welled up inside him...
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