Chapter 116
Before Lu Yuechuan's men arrived, a voice was already heard, "Sir, today really broadened my horizons. I thought the sky was falling just by hearing that sound." He was so excited that his face turned red. Although he had seen the power of gunpowder, the sight of the catapults firing several times just now was shocking to anyone who saw it.
"Achuan, we want to interrogate him and need your help." Lin Shuge hurriedly stopped Lu Yuechuan who wanted to discuss the matter of gunpowder with him.
"Well, sir, he looks like a member of the upper class of the Qiang tribe," Lu Yuechuan said, touching his chin.
The Qiang man in front of him had blood all over his head and face, and there was fear in his eagle eyes, as if he had not yet recovered from the battle.
"Ask him about his identity, and then ask him about the situation of Zhongxuan."
Lu Yuechuan nodded and repeated his words to him in Qiang language. The Qiang man mumbled a few words. Lu Yuechuan said to Lin Shuge, "Sir, he asked if it was the heavenly punishment we summoned just now."
"Tell him that this is a punishment from heaven. Heaven's will is with Dayan. If he knows what's best for him, he'd better tell the truth."
Lu Yuechuan looked at his superior with a wicked smile, then looked at the Qiang man who was frightened by the gunpowder, and made up a few words about how one is born with a destiny determined by God. The Qiang man touched the ground beneath his feet, let out a long sigh, bowed devoutly towards Lin Shuge, and talked with Lu Yuechuan for a long time.
"Sir, he said his name is Feng Mang, and he is the nephew of Yeli, the chieftain of the Shaoliang tribe. After Wei Houchang destroyed the Huotu tribe, he also announced that as long as they cut off contact with the Shaoliang tribe and surrendered to Dayan, they would be forgiven. Therefore, many Qiang tribes saw Wei Houchang's bravery and brought people to surrender. Among them, there were many who wanted to redeem themselves for meritorious service, so they took Wei Houchang to the Shaoliang tribe's garrison."
"Lord Lu, you mean that Hou Chang has found the Shaoliang tribe's lair, so why are these people attacking us again?" He Xin asked in surprise.
"Listen to me, just as you expected, after hearing about this, the Shaoliang tribe wanted to attack Wei to save Zhao, and they wanted to attack Pingxiang to get Wei Houchang to come back for help. On the one hand, they could break the siege, and on the other hand, Wei Houchang and his men had been on the expedition for a long time, so they might be able to cut off the food and grass transported here, so that Wei Houchang and his men would return empty-handed, and the Shaoliang tribe could be saved."
"So Hou Chang and the others are fine. Humph, this group of Qiang people are actually playing tricks on us." He Xin sneered, wishing he could kick the Qiang people in front of him.
"Sir..." After Lu Yuechuan finished speaking, he saw that Lin Shuge was still not speaking, so he called him again.
Not far away came the cheers of the soldiers, which came intermittently. It was obvious that today's battle was too exciting, and the soldiers were still talking loudly.
Lin Shuge finally came out of his thoughts, rubbed his forehead and said, "He Weishi, if you have any other questions, just ask. We just experienced a big battle, so let the soldiers not let down their guard. If the gunpowder is made, I will send Xiang Ligu over again."
"Sir, I'll take you back." He Xin and Lu Yuechuan said at the same time.
"It's nothing. Just let Chu Xu push me back. He's on his way." Lin Shuge waved his hand.
"Let's go, Ah Chuan, you should also get some rest. By the way, let's ask the people who came to help to go back first."
"I understand, sir." Lu Yuechuan was in high spirits. He watched him leave. He Xin beside him asked him to take the captive away and asked, "Are you too tired, sir?"
"We were all so nervous and experienced both great sorrow and joy in one night. We were all heartbroken to hear that something had happened to Marquis Wei and his soldiers. What's more, you, my lord, not only had to suppress your worries, but also had to make everyone believe that this was a scheme of the Qiang people. Fortunately, Marquis Wei is fine." Lu Yuechuan muttered a few words and then went down to deal with the affairs.
There were a few rays of light shining through the sky, and it looked like dawn was approaching.
"Sir, gunpowder is really powerful. I have never seen such a weapon. Unlike swords and spears that need to fight with people, gunpowder can take people's lives just by igniting. It has greater lethality and makes the enemy terrified." Chu Xu pushed him and tried to find a topic.
"We have the upper hand this time. Next time if the Qiang people know about gunpowder, it won't be so easy." Lin Shuge said.
Chu Xu looked down at him and asked, "Are you worried about the Marquis of Wei?"
Lin Shuge was silent for a moment and said "hmm".
"Sir, you have a very good relationship. What kind of person is Wei Houchang?" Chu Xu asked after hesitating for a while.
Hearing the envy in his tone, Lin Shuge finally smiled, "Didn't He Weishi say that tonight? Be brave and fearless, and keep yourself clean." He repeated what He Xin said one by one, and couldn't help laughing himself.
"Zhongxuan is a very brave man, braver than me, and he will do what he believes in." Lin Shuge thought about how Xie Chen was stubborn and would not give up until he achieved his goal, whether he was hunting wolves or making a desperate confession to him.
Neither of them spoke. Lin Shuge asked, "What's wrong? When you saw him that day, did you feel that he was like a child again? He acted like this in front of me. But he is indeed still young. Well, he seems to be younger than you."
Chu Xu saw the tenderness in his eyes and eyebrows, and suddenly remembered the day he saw the two of them standing side by side. For a moment, it seemed as if no one could get between them, and the guess in his mind immediately came to fruition.
"Sir, Commander Wei will definitely return safely." Chu Xu said in a loud voice.
"Well, I believe him."
"Sir, we're here," he said after sending Lin Shuge back to his room, "Sir, have a good rest. I'll take my leave now."
"good."
Lin Shuge watched him leave and sighed imperceptibly. Thinking about the battle tonight and the news about Xie Chen, he slowly leaned on the table, washed up hastily, and prepared to go to bed.
Unexpectedly, his foot accidentally touched the chair. Immediately, there was a sound of a door opening outside the house. Lin Xuan walked over and said, "Brother, are you back?"
"It's me, Xuan, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Lin Xuan came in carrying Xiaobai, and seeing that his legs were inconvenient, she quickly put Xiaobai down and helped him to the bed.
Xiaobai meowed twice. Ever since coming to Qingquan, Lin Shuge had been busy with official business, and the twins had been taking care of it. It felt a little strange to see Lin Shuge now. It sniffed him gently a few times before jumping onto the bed and rolling into his arms.
"Brother, it's too heavy, be careful with your legs." Lin Xuan said as she was about to pick it up.
"Don't be afraid, it's okay. Axuan, have you not slept tonight?" Lin Shuge saw that she looked sleepy.
"Well, how can we sleep after such a big event? Ayuan just went to bed. Big brother, is there any news about Erlang?" They were supposed to be eating barbecue happily tonight, but unexpectedly the Qiang people invaded. Everyone went to Pingxiang, leaving only Lin Xuan and Lin Qingyuan in the county government office. The two were worried all night, and only felt relieved when they saw Lin Shuge.
But Lin Xuan was usually smart. When she thought about Xie Chen setting out to fight the Qiang people, and the Qiang people invading again today, she couldn't help but worry about Xie Chen's safety.
"He's fine. The Qiang people just spread false news to disrupt the morale of our army."
"Fake news? Are you saying that something happened to Erlang?" Lin Xuan's voice suddenly rose. No wonder the eldest brother looked so unhappy.
Lin Shuge nodded and said, "Go to bed now. You've been up all night."
"Okay, big brother, don't worry too much. Erlang is so powerful. He has always managed to turn danger into safety."
Lin Shuge smiled and watched her carry the sleeping Xiaobai away before lying down. It was almost dawn, so he dozed off for a few hours before waking up.
As soon as he arrived at the county government office, Xiang Ligu came to talk to him about the gunpowder, "Sir, the gunpowder we threw out yesterday was not very stable. Some of it did not explode, and some was thrown at the wrong time. Fang Yuan and I will try again in the next few days to see if we can make it more accurate."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. And I'll also trouble you two with the muskets I mentioned. Although the Qiang people's invasion was repelled this time, there is a chance they will attack again. We caught them off guard this time. If the Qiang people were prepared, this advantage would be greatly reduced." Lin Shuge looked at him encouragingly and said.
Xiang Li Gu looked embarrassed, but knowing that this matter was indeed related to the safety of the entire city, he still said: "I understand, sir, I will try my best."
Lin Shuge thought that he was not at the county office yesterday, and Yang Yan was in charge of everything, so he shouted outside, "Please ask County Lieutenant Yang to come over." After a while, Yang Yan walked in, "Sir."
Seeing that he was strong and healthy, Lin Shuge indeed recovered faster than himself. He asked about his health and then asked, "Did anything happen in the county yesterday?"
"My lord, yesterday when the people heard the news that the Qiang people were going to invade, they hurriedly packed their luggage and prepared to flee. Some thieves took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble and were caught by my men and thrown into jail. As for the people who wanted to escape, I also did my best to appease them as you said. The good thing is that soon we received the news of our great victory, and the people returned home when they saw that the siege had been lifted." Yang Yan replied.
Seeing that he was calm and had arranged everything properly, Lin Shuge praised him a few words and asked him to continue to pay attention to whether there were any suspicious people in the county during this period of time, and then let him leave.
After Lin Shuge and the others left, he sat on a chair and thought intently until Lu Yuechuan walked in. "Sir, I just ran into Ah Yan. Do you have anything to do with him?"
"Nothing, just asked about the situation in the county last night."
"I think the people have gotten used to it. People were in a panic yesterday, but when I came here today, all the shops on the street were open for business. After all, life still has to go on." Lu Yuechuan said with a smile on his face, and then walked towards Lin Shuge, "Sir, is your leg okay?"
"Well, it's almost healed."
"You don't know, sir, that after you went back yesterday, He Weishi and I were pulled around by that group of soldiers and questioned about everything. They were determined to find out what had exploded on the battlefield and how it could have such a powerful force. I heard that the soldiers couldn't calm down for a long time as they guarded the deep pit created by the explosion, and they were still muttering whether it was the gods that had descended." Lu Yuechuan said with a smile.
Lin Shuge smiled but said nothing. There was a noise outside and they both turned around at the same time. It turned out to be He Xin.
"Master Lin, we won the battle yesterday thanks to you. I... that..."
Seeing that his face looked a little ugly, Lin Shuge's heart suddenly lifted, "He Weishi, if you have anything to say, just say it."
"It's about the Marquis. We haven't received any news from him in the past few days, and the spies we sent out haven't come back either. The Marquis has been out for a long time, so we want to borrow some gunpowder from you and send someone to support him."
Lin Shuge stood up from his chair, not knowing who he was talking to. "Maybe the situation is urgent and it's inconvenient to pass on the message. I'll ask Xiang Ligu to come over immediately." He made up his mind, "If you need support, I'll go with you."
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