The Dai Viet Chronicle records: On the 27th day of the 12th month of the 25th year of the Khanh Thanh reign, Emperor Nguyen, accompanied by his empress, went to Chin Chau to attend the funeral of Emperor Thuy, and then took Emperor Thuy's power into his own hands. In the first month of the first year of Emperor Nguyen's reign, Emperor Zang was executed, and in the third month, Prince Yong surrendered.
Jiang Qinyu naturally had no idea how later generations would record the events of that year.
This was also the first time Jiang Qinyu had not spent the Spring Festival in Dingshui Village, but instead stayed in Qinzhou to help Lu Yanzheng gather supplies such as grain and fodder.
"Quickly, another batch of rations has arrived! Get them into storage immediately!"
"Make way! Make way! The new military uniforms have arrived. They need to be registered and put into storage immediately!"
"Hey, what are you all doing? Can't you see I'm carrying something expensive?"
Eleven, who was originally a bodyguard, was now assigned to Jiang Qinyu, just like A Ping, to assist her in managing all the affairs here.
Fortunately, Eleven was there, otherwise Jiang Qinyu would have been completely clueless and wouldn't have known anything.
After taking over all of Xiao Rui's forces, Jiang Qinyu realized just how rich and powerful Xiao Rui was!
No wonder he had the confidence to take immediate action when he said he wanted to compete for that position; he had already laid a solid foundation.
As Jiang Qinyu looked at the newly compiled warehouse inventory book, she said to Aping, "The New Year is just two days away. Do as I told you before, give the latest batch of people who are going out enough food, plus special supplies for the New Year. Give everyone else half the amount. Also, tell them that this system can be continued in the future. Anyone who seriously protects the country during the New Year and other holidays will receive a special reward."
Seeing that she didn't even look up, A-Ping wanted to say something, but he shut his mouth.
Alright, the general said he would listen to his wife in everything.
The busy day passed quickly, and Jiang Qinyu returned to her small house in Qinzhou around 9 PM.
She went straight into the space, took a combat shower, and came out.
The weather in Qinzhou isn't as cold as in Biancheng and Yongshan County, but it's still cold enough to wear a down jacket.
Jiang Qinyu collapsed onto the bed as soon as she came out, wrapping herself in the blankets. "I'm so tired, so incredibly tired!"
She called out twice from under the covers, then turned over and stared blankly at the bed curtains.
I really shouldn't have taken on this mess!
See? Not only is Lu Yanzheng going out to fight, but she's also so busy she can't even rest during the New Year.
Even with the substantial wealth left to him by Xiao Rui's maternal grandfather's family as a guarantee, Jiang Qinyu wouldn't even dare to think about starting from scratch and going against the imperial court.
She drifted off to sleep, completely unaware that Prince Yong had launched a surprise attack on the town of Chengguan in Yongshan County that very night…
Lu Yanzheng only spent half a day taking over Xiao Rui's forces. He didn't have time to get along with those who were originally close to Xiao Rui before he led his men to Chengguan Town.
Xiao Rui's death will undoubtedly fuel Prince Yong's ambitions, and attacking Yongshan County is a move he will inevitably make.
Previously, Prince Yong was unaware of what trump cards the border army held. After Xiao Rui's death, his confidence soared, and he believed that he must be the true Son of Heaven, and that no matter how powerful Lu Yanzheng was, he would have to make way for him.
"General, you've arrived just in time!" Qin Shen had just finished setting up defenses on the city wall when he saw Lu Yanzheng leading his men over. He was so excited he almost cried.
Just as midnight struck tonight, Prince Yong's men launched a probing attack. Fortunately, they were prepared, otherwise the city walls might have fallen.
"How is the situation?" Lu Yanzheng nodded to him, took out the binoculars Jiang Qinyu had given him, and looked out of the city wall.
Although it was night, the entire area of the city wall was brightly lit due to Prince Yong's attack. Through his telescope, Lu Yanzheng could see where Prince Yong's army was encamped.
"The brothers just held off an attack. The other side should be adjusting their tactics now and could launch a second attack at any time," Qin Shen affirmed.
Lu Yanzheng nodded and said, "Have someone bring over three cannons with a range of two miles each."
"A cannon?" Qin Shen's eyes lit up. "Why didn't I think of that?"
The Yongwang army's encampment was only two miles away. If they launched a long-range attack with cannons, then there would be no need to fight at all.
Lu Yanzheng didn't say anything.
This is not Qin Shen's fault. After all, they are used to fighting with cold weapons. The impact of gunpowder weapons on warfare and how to use them on the battlefield are things that the future border army, or rather the Da Yue army, needs to learn.
The cannon is a high-explosive weapon developed by the Ordnance Bureau, and it is also the gunpowder weapon with the longest range to date. Only ten cannons were ever made, and Lu Yanzheng had five carried to Chengguan Town, which shows how much he values this place.
Three cannons were quickly carried onto the city wall. Xiao Rui's men, who had been wondering how Lu Yanzheng would break the deadlock and whether this general was worth following, had no more concerns after seeing Lu Yanzheng personally fire three cannonballs.
Well, only a fool wouldn't follow a general who has something like that!
Lu Yanzheng seemed completely unaware of this, simply looking calmly at the person opposite him.
"Hit!"
"Wow! The general has excellent eyesight, but this cannon of ours is truly amazing!"
"Hahaha... I could hear the screams of those bastards over there!"
"Who told them to insist on fighting us? Did they think that selling them some gunpowder and weapons would cause any trouble? Dream on!"
"..."
The soldiers were excitedly discussing something; some were talking about the cannon, while others were pointing and cursing at the other side.
It's almost Chinese New Year, and they're still being forced to stay here and fight. No one would be comfortable with that, right?
In contrast to Lu Yanzheng's jubilation, the Yongwang Army was completely stunned.
"What...what was that just now?"
"Three screeching shots and over a thousand of our people died?"
"Didn't Your Highness say that our weapons aren't much different from theirs? You call that not much different?"
"..."
If swearing were allowed, all these soldiers would be cursing their mothers; how can you say there's not much difference?
They attacked the enemy's city walls for quite some time, concentrating their firepower to blast a hole in them.
That's right, it's not a hole, it's half a hole!
They didn't know whether to say the other side's walls were too thick, or that their gunpowder weapons were just for show.
As it turned out, their gunpowder weapons were indeed just for show.
Five miles behind the camp, Prince Yong himself was overseeing the battle.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Lu Yanzheng used some kind of weapon and killed more than a thousand of our people in one go!"
Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, Prince Yong was so shocked that he dropped his teacup. "What did you say? They have weapons like that?"
"It's true, Your Highness! You absolutely mustn't go ahead. I'm worried they have something even more powerful, what if..."
Prince Yong slumped onto the soft couch, muttering, "Impossible, how could this be..."
Of course, Lu Yanzheng and the others were unaware of his feelings. However, the next day, Prince Yong sent a letter of surrender, expressing his willingness to submit to Lu Yanzheng forever.
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