The 600,000 troops led by the Ninth Prince were killed, injured, or fled. How could they have any strength left to fight?
It was not until this time that Le Zhengming, who was hiding in the mountains, led his troops to hunt them down.
As long as they guarded both ends of the canyon, the Wei-Jin coalition forces, which had already been frightened out of their wits, would automatically fall into their ambush. Then, without wasting a single soldier, they captured the army alive and confiscated all the firearms that were scattered on the ground.
"Damn it, he has such a good thing but can't defeat our military advisor alone! What a waste!" Huai Lao Er picked up a musket and fiddled with it over and over again.
He had seen this thing before. Military advisors could also make it. It was extremely powerful and could be called a killer weapon that could win on the battlefield.
He took the musket made by the military advisor and tried its range and lethality. He was immediately amazed and cried out for the military advisor to make it in large quantities, but was rejected by the military advisor.
"Someone will deliver this thing to us by then." The military advisor said this with a smile.
Huai Lao Er bravely retorted, "If you don't make it first, we won't be able to win if someone comes to attack us with this thing. They are here to collect our bodies, not to deliver us food!"
The military advisor waved his hand, unwilling to speak any more. The general knocked him hard on the head and told him to just follow the military advisor's orders, and he quieted down.
However, now, when Huai Lao Er saw the blood and broken limbs scattered all over the valley, he truly understood the military advisor's good intentions.
The military advisor was just as he said—before every battle, he would always consider how to win with zero casualties. He could wipe out the entire army by himself, so he didn't want to let them risk their lives.
Look, it was just a few dozen wax balls embedded in rocks and soil, but they caused such terrible damage to the 600,000-strong army.
Huai Lao Er handed the firearm to the soldier beside him, patted his forehead and murmured: "Master Military Advisor is mighty!"
At this time, Le Zhengming, riding on a horse, dragged a corpse with a rope and slowly walked over. "This is the Ninth Prince. Please bury him."
Huai Lao Er took a closer look and couldn't help but gasp. This Ninth Prince had such bad luck that a flying stone had sliced off half of his head.
At this moment, several soldiers brought in a golden nanmu coffin and shouted, "General, we found something great!"
Most people would think it unlucky to see a coffin, but Le Zhengming and his soldiers never thought so.
Once, their army was defeated by the State of Chen and trapped in a city for a long time. Seeing that food and weapons were almost exhausted, the general ordered his craftsmen to build a coffin for him for several days, committing his life to it.
His bravery and fearlessness inspired everyone's morale, and everyone fought to the last bit of determination and won the victory.
From then on, whenever a general faced a life-or-death battle, he would always prepare a coffin for himself. Other generals followed suit, and all did the same. Dying for one's country seemed to them to be a matter of course.
Huai Lao Er walked around the coffin several times, sometimes knocking on the coffin board, sometimes checking the bottom of the coffin, and repeatedly praised: "What a good coffin, what a good coffin! I didn't expect that this ninth prince still has some courage."
Le Zhengming also slowly stroked the smooth golden nanmu wood, a hint of admiration in his eyes. He had originally thought that the Ninth Prince was a cowardly, treacherous, and cunning person, but he had never expected that this man actually had some good qualities.
"General, he said he is the elder brother of the military advisor. What do you think we should do with him?" A soldier's loud shout interrupted Le Zhengming's thoughts.
He turned to see a young man being carried over, his legs stained with blood, swaying back and forth, his bones clearly shattered to dust. Several of the young man's servants were also brought over, stumbling and falling, crying for mercy.
"Isn't this the pretty boy who sent the military advisor to our camp?" Huai Lao Er strode over, his right hand on the hilt of his knife, and asked aggressively, "Knowing that our entire army was in danger of destruction, you still sent the military advisor here. You must have framed our military advisor many times, right?"
Zhuang Xu was thrown to the ground by two soldiers, and his broken legs were in excruciating pain.
Having never experienced such torture before, he was completely dazed and didn't hear what Huai Lao Er said at all.
His servants were quick to betray him, "Sir, please let us go. We are not soldiers, we are just servants of Master Zhuang. He loves to frame the Second Master Zhuang. Did you see that coffin? That's what he brought to collect the Second Master Zhuang's body."
Zhuang Xu came back to his senses at this moment: "..."
"What? This coffin is prepared by you for the military advisor? Damn it! I will kill you!" Huai Lao Er walked forward and kicked Zhuang Xu hard, specifically on his broken legs.
Zhuang Xu had never experienced such torture before. He screamed in pain and shed tears of humiliation.
Le Zhengming stood by without taking any action, his eyes flashing with fury. When Huai Laoer tired of kicking, he stepped forward, picked up Zhuang Xu with one hand, opened the coffin, and threw him inside.
The coffin lid slammed shut with a clang, swallowing up all the light. The darkness and crampedness seemed to turn into an evil ghost, lurking in the deepest part of people's hearts, setting off a wave of fear.
Zhuang Xu originally thought that the pain of broken legs and the humiliation of being beaten were the most miserable experiences in his life, but at this moment he was horrified to find that what was more terrifying than the real threat was the unknown, darkness and dead silence.
He tried to open his eyes wide but could see nothing; he flared his nostrils desperately but felt more and more suffocated; he pricked up his ears but could only hear his own heartbeat thumping in the dead silence.
This dull jump only made the silence even more dead.
Zhuang Xu felt like he was going crazy, but on the verge of collapse he heard a slight click - someone opened the coffin lid.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhuang Xu, who had not yet escaped from the boundless fear, was locked up in a dim cell. Immediately afterwards, several soldiers placed the muskets, thunderbolt fire balls, crossbows and other things he made in the corridor outside.
Zhuang Xu dug his fingertips into the ground and moved forward inch by inch, stretching his hand as far as he could to grab a musket outside the prison door.
With a weapon, he could escape.
Just at this moment, a foot stepped on the back of his hand and crushed it hard.
"Ahhhhhh!" He let out a shrill scream, then rolled uncontrollably, looking as miserable as a reptile.
"It's so noisy." A clear voice rang out in the cramped prison.
The foot immediately retreated, allowing Zhuang Xu to catch his breath. He raised his tear-stained face and looked up, only to see Le Zhengming standing with his hands behind his back, his eyes dark and piercing, a sinister murderous intent permeating his deep pupils, so sharp and piercing.
Zhuang Xu was stabbed so badly that he couldn't even open his mouth to cry out in pain, and his entire body was frozen by the even greater fear.
Le Zhengming stepped back two steps to make room at the prison door, then took off his outer robe and spread it neatly on the ground.
A young man came out from behind him, knelt naturally on Le Zhengming's outer robe, picked up a musket and looked at it carefully.
Zhuang Xu's eyes widened, a mixture of shock and inevitability. This young man was Zhuang Li.
"Did you make this?" Zhuang Liman asked in a soft voice, his slender fingertips sliding over the butt of the gun and stroking the barrel back and forth as if he was admiring a favorite.
Zhuang Xu barely propped up his upper body and sat sideways against the cell door. He didn't want to lie like a dead dog under Zhuang Li's gaze.
"Then do you know its launch principle?" Zhuang Li continued to ask.
Zhuang Xu pursed his lips and did not answer, as if he was dismissive of the question.
"You don't know. You just built it according to the blueprint. You have no idea why it propels the projectiles and kills the enemy." Zhuang Li put down his rifle, tapped his solar plexus, and said firmly, "When did those skills in your mind appear?"
Zhuang Xu could no longer maintain his arrogant demeanor. His eyes instantly widened, revealing extreme horror. How could Zhuang Li know his secret?
7480, who was watching all this silently, said: "..."
Despair was no longer enough to describe its feelings. The child of destiny, which it had hidden so well, had been dug out by the host!
"You, what are you talking about?" Zhuang Xu tried to play dumb.
"Do you know how ridiculous it is that you can create this weapon without knowing its launching principle? It's like you can't fly but suddenly grow a pair of wings. That's pure fantasy." Zhuang Li shook his head and sneered.
Zhuang Xu's pupils trembled, he was shocked and frightened. He wanted to know how Zhuang Li knew his secret, but he didn't know how to start.
At this moment, Zhuang Li Chong opened his palm to Le Zhengming who was standing beside him.
Le Zhengming then handed over an exquisite wooden box.
Zhuang Li opened the wooden box and took out the things inside.
Zhuang Xu's gaze was immediately drawn to it, his heart racing with fear. It turned out to be a musket, and even smaller and more refined. Zhuang Xu knew he could also make such a weapon!
"You also have a military library in your head?" In extreme panic, Zhuang Xu sold himself out.
"Military library? I see." Zhuang Li suddenly realized, then held the gun he made in his left hand and the gun made by Zhuang Xu in his right hand, and shot at the empty wall.
Zhuang Xu's gun required a lit match and a short wait before it could fire the bullet. Zhuang Li's gun, however, erupted with a bang the moment the trigger was pulled. The powerful bullet punched a deep hole in the masonry of the cell. A long moment later, the other gun finally fired, leaving only a small dent in the masonry.
Judging from the range, power, and firing speed, it is obvious that the gun made by Zhuang Li is several times more advanced than Zhuang Xu's gun.
"No wonder you suddenly became so powerful..." Zhuang Xu thought he understood everything, with deep disdain and resentment in his heart.
His disdain stemmed from Zhuang Li's true nature. He had always been a fool, and his transformation was a gift from heaven.
His resentment stemmed from the injustice of heaven. If they had given him such a great opportunity, why did they give it to Zhuang Li? There can only be one destined person, right?
Zhuang Li put down the two guns, shook his head and chuckled. "What do you understand? Do you think everyone is as incompetent as you and can only rely on pie in the sky? Let me tell you how this weapon works."
Zhuang Li picked up the musket he had made and disassembled it into its parts. He explained in detail the entire process, from the heat generated by the explosion of gunpowder, to how the pressure in the barrel was increased, and how the bullet was pushed forward. He then picked up the matchlock gun and quickly disassembled it into a pile of parts, counting its defects and ways to improve it.
Zhuang Xu sneered with gritted teeth at first, but after hearing the rest of the story his face was filled with disbelief and confusion.
He was able to spend several years thoroughly studying a library of military manuals, so he was certainly no fool. He could tell that Zhuang Li truly understood the workings of this weapon in great detail.
Zhuang Li could easily dismantle them into their individual parts and quickly reassemble them. He truly understood the craft, which was why he could make them, unlike me, who just mechanically copied from a blueprint.
Zhuang Xu's body swayed and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Zhuang Li's possession of genuine talent and knowledge was a significant blow to him. He had always known that he, touted as Wei's greatest talent, lacked the necessary skills. Without this library of military books in his mind, he was nothing.
The anxiety caused by this cognition made him extremely proud and at the same time extremely inferior.
And now, Zhuang Li has destroyed his pride and infinitely magnified his inferiority complex.
"No, you and I are the same, right? We are the same kind of people! Otherwise you wouldn't know that I also have a military library in my head. You are not a genius at all!" Zhuang Xu denied frantically.
"A genius's brain is a natural treasure trove. It doesn't require any divine power or gift from heaven; it naturally enriches itself through daily learning. It can transcend imagination and even create miracles. Of course, you will never understand this feeling, because you and I are two completely different people."
Zhuang Li's contemptuous laughter dealt a fatal blow to Zhuang Xu.
Zhuang Xu stared at Zhuang Li with eyes wide open, frozen in fear. There was a saying used to describe intelligent people: "so clever they're almost demonic." And now, the Zhuang Li sitting before him was just that kind of demon!
He moved his body with difficulty, trying to get away from the monster.
Zhuang Li glared at him and said slowly, "Look, I can make a weapon like this, but I only made this one and gave up. Can you guess why?"
"Why?" Zhuang Xu was completely unable to understand Zhuang Li's thoughts.
If he knew how to make such powerful weapons, he would work day and night to arm all his soldiers. In that case, he would conquer the Central Plains and establish a great cause.
Zhuang Li is a smart man, he should understand the value of this firearm.
"So, this is the biggest difference between you and me. We see the world differently." Zhuang Li stretched out his slender index finger and pointed at his own dark pupils in the air.
Zhuang Xu was completely captivated by his unfathomable pupils, and his mind fell into deeper confusion. He felt more and more clearly that he and Zhuang Li were truly different, because he simply couldn't understand what the other person was saying.
Chapter 98 How Science Fights War 15┃Zhuang Li: I watched him build a red mansion, and I watched it collapse.
Zhuang Li fiddled with the firearm nonchalantly and asked, "What was the first thing that came to your mind when you suddenly acquired this military library?"
Zhuang Xu was stunned for a long time before he began to use his slow brain to recall the scene of that day. He opened his mouth, unsure how to describe it.
Zhuang Li answered for him: "It's the desire for power, right?"
Zhuang Xu closed his mouth and nodded imperceptibly. Yes, it was the lust for power. He was ecstatically thinking, "With these military books, how high can I climb to, what kind of power can I gain?"
Zhuang Li lowered his eyelids and spoke in a low voice, "With power, one can rule over the people, conquer the world, and ascend the highest peaks alone. Is this all you can see?"
Zhuang Xu gritted his teeth and retorted, "Who in the world doesn't love power, fame, and profit? What's wrong with climbing a high mountain alone? There are jade-like buildings and celestial maidens up there—a magnificent sight you can't even imagine!"
"Have you ever lowered your head and taken a look at the situation at the bottom?" Zhuang Li asked coldly.
Zhuang Xu naturally had never done that, so he couldn't answer.
Zhuang Li closed his eyes and asked, "Do you know how many people died in this land due to war after the Zhou Kingdom split?"
Zhuang Xu snorted and sneered.
Zhuang Li offered a number: "From 59 million to the current 9 million. Of these remaining 9 million, over 5 million are soldiers, over 3 million are monks, and the remaining civilians are less than 1 million. Is your frantic pursuit of power just to rule a world like this?"
Zhuang Xu asked disapprovingly, "What's wrong with a world like this?"
Zhuang Li opened his eyes and stared at him with an incredulous gaze. "How could you not see the problem? The legendary Wei State's greatest talent is truly a name well-deserved."
"Let me ask you," Zhuang Li said slowly, "In the past few months, you have been capturing civilians on the border of Wei State and forcing them to work as laborers. You've made them fire blast furnaces, operate windmills, dig ore, smelt steel, and manufacture weapons for you.
"It was early spring, and the border had just experienced a war. The people had no time to plant food to avoid the disaster. At the beginning of summer, they could have planted some soybeans, sorghum, and peanuts, but you captured them all and forced them to do hard labor.
"By autumn, the fields have yielded nothing. What will the people of the borderlands eat and drink? How can they pay the exorbitant taxes you have imposed?"
Zhuang Xu sneered as he listened, and scoffed at these words.
Zhuang Li continued, "You can't collect taxes, you can't gather food and fodder. What do the soldiers in the barracks eat and drink? What do the monks in the temples eat and drink? Who will feed all these mouths? The coals in the blast furnaces, the cool breeze from the windmills? Or human flesh and blood?"
"Winter is approaching, yet you haven't realized the catastrophe that's imminent. Without food, how many people will starve to death on the border? Without military pay, will millions of soldiers mutiny? Haven't you ever considered this?"
Zhuang Li asked in a resounding voice.
It was not until this moment that Zhuang Xu realized the problem, and the sneer on his face slowly twisted into a deep panic and extreme embarrassment.
Zhuang Li handed the exquisite wooden box to Le Zhengming and said slowly, "So, I only made this one firearm. It's certainly a good thing, but its existence is to protect the people of this land, not to destroy them, just as war is for peace, not for killing."
"But I never imagined you would do something so foolish, at all costs. What else do you see besides power, status, fame, and fortune? Without the people, who would you rule, oppress, and exploit?"
Zhuang Li stood up, slowly smoothing the wrinkles from his robe, and said coldly, "Even if you were given a library of military manuals, you'd still be short-sighted. With someone like you, you'd be doomed without my intervention."
"A friend once asked me, 'What are you making all this gunpowder for?' I replied, 'I'm going to blow the world apart.'"
Zhuang Li turned and left, saying without looking back, "But I'm different from you. I want to blast through decay, oppression, and injustice. I want to blast away this darkness and create a new world where all things are reborn."
Even from a distance, his voice could still be heard faintly: "If there were a soul in this world, it would rejoice at this change. Heaven is merciful to all living things, yet all you have done is annihilate all life on this continent. Heaven has given you this opportunity, but are you worthy of it?"
Zhuang Li walked further and further away, and his clear warning words disappeared in the air. Only then did Zhuang Xu break free from the suffocating pressure and gasp for breath.
His heart was completely confused.
－－－
When they reached the corner of the prison, Le Zhengming suddenly grabbed Little Curly, hugged him tightly, and said without thinking, "I am very happy."
Zhuang Li was stunned for a moment before he realized what his lover had said in response to him before - if there was a spirit in this world, it would also be happy about this change.
The lover did not know that he was the spirit, but he saw and heard, and therefore felt happy.
All the frustration in Zhuang Li's heart vanished at that moment. The feeling of protecting someone always filled the emptiness in his heart just right.
So he said something he would never tell anyone: "Actually, I'm afraid of explosions."
Le Zhengming was stunned for a moment, then hugged the boy even tighter.
Zhuang Li murmured, "I don't like explosions, I don't like war, so let's end this quickly."
"Okay." Le Zhengming pushed the curly-haired boy aside, half-knelt before him, and placed his fist against his chest. Every word he spoke was resounding: "I will fight for you, I will offer you peace, and I will create a new world for you. I can give you anything you want."
Zhuang Li first looked at his lover intently, then covered his face with his hands and laughed softly. Finally, he stretched out a hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Then you can kiss me now."
Le Zhengming was stunned.
Zhuang Li shook the back of his fair hand and urged, "Why don't you quickly offer your loyalty?"
Le Zhengming finally reacted, holding the slender fingers of the little curly-haired girl and placing a pious and hot kiss on the jade-white back of her hand with light blue veins.
Zhuang Li walked forward, hugged his half-kneeling lover in his arms, and lowered his head to kiss the top of his head.
"I will also give everything for you." He made the promise very tenderly.
The two of them hugging each other was like hugging the whole world.
7480 asked shyly at this moment: "Master, um, um, so you think of me as a friend?"
I don't know why, but I felt a little flattered.
－－－
Zhuang Xu originally thought that Zhuang Li would kill him, but he didn't.
After Zhuang Ran paid several million taels of gold, Zhuang Li sealed Zhuang Xu in a coffin, left a vent, and sent him back to the border of Wei State, along with the mutilated body of the Ninth Prince.
Zhuang Ran used his broadsword to split the coffin lid open in two or three strokes, pulled his lifeless son out, and held him in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Call the troops immediately! I'm going to attack Bingzhou!"
However, his decision was met with fierce dissuasion from his subordinates, simply because Le Zhengming had confiscated a lot of firearms and bullets when he ambushed the 600,000 troops led by the Ninth Prince.
With a million soldiers and horses, Le Zhengming is undoubtedly the most powerful force in the Central Plains. If he also has the infinite power of firearms, he is truly invincible! Moreover, he also controls thunder, which is even more powerful than firearms and can blow up mountains. Who can be his opponent?
The wise and intelligent Zhuang Li assists him wholeheartedly, and the brave and skilled generals follow him loyally. He already has the aura of a king.
The world is about to be in chaos!
Zhuang Ran finally calmed down and panted, "Have the craftsmen work day and night to make firearms! If we don't have enough manpower, capture them all! From every city, town, village, and stronghold, bring them all back to me! I need more labor!"
The generals bowed in agreement.
Zhuang Xu, who was dazed and held in Zhuang Ran's arms, suddenly shuddered and grabbed his father's sleeve and said hurriedly, "No!"
"Xu'er, you finally spoke." Zhuang Ran smiled and shed tears.
"Father, don't force me to do forced labor anymore!" Zhuang Xu's dry lips cracked due to anxiety, and a lot of blood flowed out.
"If we don't force them to work, how can we manufacture firearms? Dad wants to help you get revenge..."
Before Zhuang Ran could finish his words, he heard a terrified voice from outside the tent: "General! Those laborers have rebelled! They've even stolen firearms from the warehouse and are charging into the barracks!"
"What? I'll go over and take a look! You guys escort Xu'er to a safe place!" Zhuang Ran immediately handed his son to his confidant and hurried out of the tent.
Zhuang Xu, who was roughly thrown onto the carriage, did not feel the severe pain from his broken leg at all. His entire mind was attracted by the continuous gunshots.
Is this the world Zhuang Li sees? There is oppression, corruption, and injustice, so naturally there are resistance and killing.
He sees the present, the future, while I see only the illusory grandeur of the heights. Without the support of ordinary people, that scenery will ultimately become nothingness. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. So that's what it means.
Zhuang Xu, who finally understood, covered his red eyes and let out a suppressed cry.
－－－
The entire border was engulfed in flames of war. It took Zhuang Ran several months to quell the civil unrest, but when he looked back, he discovered that all the people living on the border had fled to Bingzhou.
All of Bingzhou's temples were forcibly demolished by Yue Zhengming. Monks who relied on their followers for free support were forced to return to secular life and cultivate the land. Local officials also refrained from imposing excessive taxes. More importantly, Bingzhou was home to a million soldiers, and even the Mongol cavalry dared not harass it, making it the safest place in the world.
The population of Bingzhou exploded overnight, and the territory was expanded to several surrounding counties.
The King of Jin was obviously furious, but he could do nothing about Le Zhengming, so he had to hold his nose and enthrone him as the King of Bingzhou.
Zhuang Ran brought his son back to the capital and entered the palace that night. He came up with a vicious plan for the King of Wei, asking him to confer a throne on Le Zhengming as well, and then naturally recall him to the capital to hold a conferring ceremony, and then find an opportunity to assassinate him.
The King of Wei thought this plan was brilliant, and the next day he appointed Le Zhengming as King Pingjin and summoned him back to his country.
Zhuang Ran originally thought that Le Zhengming didn't dare to come back, and was thinking about whether to kidnap the person he valued most as a threat, but he didn't expect that the other party agreed without hesitation.
So two months later, Le Zhengming led two hundred personal soldiers back to the capital of Wei to attend the enthronement ceremony held by the monarch for him.
He also asked for a position of general for Little Curly and brought him into the palace to receive rewards.
The King of Wei was only in his forties, but his face was already covered in wrinkles. His body was extremely thin, and wrapped in his wide robe and sleeves, he looked like a walking skeleton. He smiled narrowed eyes at Le Zhengming, his pupils flashing with the fierceness of a tiger or wolf.
Le Zhengming bent down to take the red book and iron certificate, but did not kneel down, and his attitude was very arrogant.
The King of Wei kept smiling, but his eyes were filled with a sinister look. He waved his hand and whispered, "Go and offer sacrifices to the heavens."
This year was not a good year, so the fortune teller told him to pray to God sincerely.
Then all the civil and military officials followed the Wei monarch in a mighty procession to the newly built altar for offering sacrifices to heaven.
Princes, princesses, and empresses of royal descent lined up in an orderly procession, gradually ascending the highest bronze cauldron. Civil officials and military officers without royal descent could only kneel at the foot of the hundreds of steps and wait.
Zhuang Li also knelt among the crowd, silently counting the steps of the Wei monarch. He then poked his lover, who was kneeling in front of him, with his slender fingertips and whispered with a smile, "I watched him build a red mansion, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his mansion collapse."
When the first sentence was read, the King of Wei lit three incense sticks.
When the second sentence was read, the King of Wei rushed up to the sky and bowed three times.
When the last sentence was read, the King of Wei stepped forward and inserted three tall incense sticks into the copper censer.
A loud bang exploded throughout the entire venue at that moment, the copper furnace shattered into pieces, and the scorching air wave blew away the Wei monarch and the royal family.
Black smoke rose into the sky like a dragon, heralding death and ominousness. Then, the altar that had only been built a short time ago collapsed...
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