Chapter 158 Firearms I, Sun Yannan, will never admit defeat so easily.
In the Northwest region, staff from the Ministry of Agriculture are actively organizing villagers to harvest cotton.
The cotton balls were white as clouds, fluffy and soft. When the locals looked at them, they seemed to see cotton quilts and cotton clothes, and they could see the people from other states and counties scrambling to buy them in the future.
They were overjoyed, and hands reached out to pluck the cotton from the branches.
Someone, holding a piece of cotton, couldn't help but ask, "Can this stuff really fetch a high price?"
“Yes, yes,” a villager nearby replied enthusiastically. “My daughter works at the weaving workshop. Their workshop owner used to work in Jinzhou, making cotton quilts. He said that many people wanted to buy them, and business was very good.”
"Yes, yes, I heard from people in the Ministry of Agriculture that the climate and land in Jinzhou are not suitable for growing cotton. They can only bribe high-ranking officials in other states to lend them land to grow cotton."
The person holding the cotton looked at the white ball in their hand in surprise, "It's so good?"
Can you really make a lot of money?
A villager standing a few rows away from the cotton stalks laughed, "Look at sugar beets, no matter how well they sell, they only fetch that price. But if you make them into sugar..."
Everyone suddenly realized, how can raw materials be compared to processed products?
"Indeed, the people at the sugar mill say that no matter where you are, sugar sells very well and business is very good."
"And sorghum, sorghum rice is not as good as regular rice, but sorghum liquor is very delicious. We use all the sorghum we grow to make liquor."
"The same goes for grapes. No matter how much you sell grapes, they can never outsell wine."
As they talked, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
"We must trust Governor Zhu and his men. Our lives have become much easier since they arrived," someone remarked.
"Yes, the food bestowed by the goddess is so delicious! I have never eaten such delicious rice and dishes before!"
"Now that we have our own house, I feel like we finally have a real home."
"The governor and his officials are different from those officials before them!"
Who can argue with that?
Many of them used to be serfs. After the people above them were overthrown, Zhu Youchuan, who took over, said he would give them their freedom.
They were declared no longer slaves; the Ministry of Civil Affairs registered them as households; the Ministry of Agriculture allocated them land; the Ministry of Works encouraged them to work and build roads; and the Ministry of Education told them to send their children to academies…
As if an invisible hand was pushing them forward, they were at a loss, but they took steps and stumbled forward.
Their lives really did get better.
Under Zhu Youchuan's leadership, everyone built houses, repaired roads, and planted some crops they had never seen before.
After a bumper harvest, the crops were purchased by officials from the Ministry of Finance, and the money was directly distributed to them.
The people: "!"
They genuinely respect the new governor!
Zhu Youchuan was discussing with people from the Ministry of Agriculture about planting jujubes and apples.
"Apples have a long shelf life and taste very good," the Minister of Agriculture said. "However, growing fruit trees is a long-term endeavor, and results won't be seen for two or three years."
Zhu Youchuan nodded, "That's why I advocated planting fruit trees from the beginning, but instead encouraged everyone to plant vegetables first."
The deputy minister said, "The local people now have much more trust in us because of the bumper harvest, which has allowed them to earn money."
Zhu Youchuan said, "Yes, they are willing to trust us and will cooperate with us in planting fruit trees." He laughed, "Let's pick a suitable area and prepare to plant apple trees."
The Minister of Agriculture agreed, "I've already chosen a location, it's in Half Moon Bay."
The deputy minister said, "Red dates can be planted in the Hamu River area."
That was settled.
After seeing off the people from the Ministry of Agriculture, Zhu Youchuan recalled the situation in Pingzhou mentioned in the letter Yun Youning had just written to him. The addition of new weapons would accelerate the Goddess's conquest of the world, and perhaps before long, Sun Yannan would be forced to flee in panic.
So there's something else we need to consider...
He picked up his pen and wrote a letter to He Qinglan, suggesting that she consider having an heir.
Clearly, the goddess has never been interested in men. Over the years, countless men and women have tried to serve her, but she has rejected them all.
Some powerful families wanted to marry the goddess, but she refused.
The goddess remained single, and no one found it strange: she was a goddess, how could a mortal be worthy of her?
But Zhu Youchuan was also well aware that He Qinglan would not stay in this world forever.
She said from the beginning that she would leave sooner or later.
Therefore, these subordinates needed the goddess to appoint a successor to prevent future rebellions.
Halfway through writing the letter, the minister of the secretariat came to report, "Oil has been found!"
Zhu Youchuan immediately put down his pen, his eyes shining as he looked at the minister, "Really?"
The minister nodded happily, "This place is indeed rich in mineral resources. We have found gold mines, silver mines, coal mines, salt mines, and now we have found oil!"
Zhu Youchuan stood up, saying as he walked, "Let's go take a look!"
Pingzhou.
Sun Yannan wanted to steal firearms from Ning Huai'an to study and create similar weapons, thereby gaining victory in the battle against Ning Huai'an.
So no matter how Ning Huai'an provoked them:
Today, artillery shells blasted the wall, causing rubble to fall all over the ground.
Tomorrow, they will use meat buns to lure the people in the city, and incite a group of people to want to surrender.
The surprise attack in the early hours of the day after tomorrow forced the soldiers to get up as soon as they had gone to sleep.
...
Sun Yannan remained unmoved.
The generals inside the city were furious, wishing they could rush out and fight the Yun people for three hundred rounds.
Sun Yannan calmly stopped them, "Fight? How can you fight? No matter how strong you are or how fast you can run, can you withstand their muskets?"
The generals: "..."
Sun Yannan said, "Fighting Ning Huai'an now would only send our soldiers to their deaths!"
He steadfastly implemented the strategy of keeping the city closed and refusing to open the gates to fight, no matter how offensive Ning Huai'an's men were to the city gates.
But Ning Huai'an is not easy to deal with. If you don't open the city gates and you don't come out, and you try to drag this out, am I supposed to cooperate with you? Don't I have any other options?
With firearms at my disposal, I must finish this battle quickly!
The soldiers of the artillery battalion concentrated their cannons and bombarded a spot on the city wall.
They bomb there today, they bomb there tomorrow, and they bomb there again the day after tomorrow.
After several days of continuous bombing, the people inside the city discovered their purpose, but it was too late to repair the walls. How could they possibly repair them as quickly as the bombs were being destroyed? They could only watch helplessly as the tall city walls gradually became shorter, and rubble flew everywhere inside and outside the city.
Led by Yue Yao, the cavalry, infantry, and artillery battalions crossed the collapsed city walls and stormed into the city, where they clashed with Sun Yannan's troops!
Swords have no eyes, firearms are merciless. Amidst the sounds of cannons, shouts of battle, and screams of agony, countless people fell, yet countless others continued to advance.
After five or six days of chaotic fighting, nearly 10,000 of Sun Yannan's soldiers were annihilated by Ning Huai'an.
Sun Yannan was furious, but there was nothing he could do. Manpower was no match for the enemy's upgraded firearms, so he could only order his army to retreat.
"Let's go to Pingzhou Prefecture!"
The generals agreed, ordered their troops to assemble, and then fought and retreated, gradually leaving Mengcheng.
Ning Huai'an's side naturally discovered it as well.
Infantry battalion captain: "They want to escape to the state capital."
Cavalry Battalion Captain: "After Xiao Yong captures Qingzhou, will he come to our aid?"
The supply battalion captain asked, "Will Zhu Yunze, who is stationed in the capital, bring his troops here?"
Vanguard Battalion Captain: "No matter who comes, we'll teach them a lesson!"
Yue Yao took the map. "Let me see. Hmm, the prefectural capital is here, and Mengcheng is here. Are there any places to ambush along the road from Mengcheng to the prefectural capital?"
Zhong Mingqi tilted his head and glanced at it, saying, "Of course there are places where ambushes are set up, but we have to be able to catch up with them."
Yue Yao: "Huh?"
The vanguard battalion captain laughed, "If Sun Yannan runs particularly fast, we'll just have to chase after them all the way, and we won't have time to set up an ambush."
That makes sense. Yue Yao looked at the map and pointed to a few places. "Here, here, here, if we can get ahead of Sun Yannan and his men with light cavalry, we can ambush them?"
Zhong Mingqi pointed directly to a place in front of the prefectural government building, "Then why don't we head straight there? It would save us more time."
Ning Huai'an agreed and said to Yue Yao, "You take some lightly armed men to intercept them in front of the prefecture, while we will lead the main army to pursue them from behind."
If the main force can catch up, the two sides will fight a battle.
If you can't catch up, then attack from both sides and make dumplings.
Ning Huai'an: "Try to prevent Sun Yannan from entering the prefectural capital."
Fighting outside the city is certainly more convenient than fighting in a siege.
Sun Yannan thought the same way, so he tried to avoid fighting Ning Huai'an and focused on leading his soldiers to escape, wanting to reach the prefecture as quickly as possible.
The person in charge shook his head regretfully, "We can't make it."
Sun Yannan asked, puzzled, "Why? He Qinglan's men could do it, so why can't you?"
The person in charge was extremely helpless. "Firearms are different from saddles, stirrups, and ordinary weapons. We don't know the materials they use to make the tubes, nor do we know the materials and proportions required for the shells. We can't manufacture them."
Sun Yannan understood, and he felt despair. "Is there really no way out for us? Are we just supposed to let Ning Huai'an chase after us and beat us up?"
Because the person in charge was unable to replicate the firearms of the Yun Kingdom, he had already figured out how to persuade his lord before coming to report.
He calmly said, "My lord, winning a war depends on your wisdom, the morale of the army, and everyone's courage and fearlessness, not just weapons."
Sun Yannan was taken aback.
He thought about what the person in charge had said carefully, then laughed and said, "You're right, I was too attached to appearances."
Having more people doesn't guarantee victory, nor does having powerful weapons. I, Sun Yannan, will not give up so easily!
He rallied and said, "Let's return to the prefecture and continue fighting the Yun Kingdom. We won't give up until the very last moment!"
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