Chapter 057: Long Live the Marshal, Long Live the Lord
Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the front line in fear, and the carriage did not explode.
The leader of the blasting team looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, who was still frightened after arriving at the destination, and said, "Master, don't worry. As long as we strictly follow the 'Safety Manual' written by Master Biao, there will be no danger."
Zhu Yuanzhang held up the Safety Manual in his hand: "Such a thick Safety Manual?!"
The leader of the blasting team smiled innocently: "Not very thick, not very thick."
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his old personal soldier on the back of the head.
Xu Da, who had come to greet him on horseback, dismounted and asked, "Shi Lao San, why are you back?"
The leader of the blasting team bowed and continued to smile innocently, "The young master has ordered us to stay by his side and re-enlist in the army. Also, the young master has given me a new name, Shishan, which means Stone Mountain."
Xu Da was extremely confused.
Shi Laosan was one of the earliest personal soldiers to follow Zhu Yuanzhang, but because he was seriously injured in his early years, he could no longer fight on the battlefield, so he became a servant for Zhu Yuanzhang.
He remembered that Shi Laosan's arms were not suitable for doing heavy work, so how could he join the army again?
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand to Xu Da and said, "Let's go into the tent and talk."
He glanced at the dangerous carriage and said, "Put this on... uh, the stone mountain. You can decide where to put it."
Shishan obeyed the order.
Zhu Yuanzhang summoned all his trusted staff and subordinates (who knew Biao'er's identity) and told them that Chen Biao had made a super explosive.
When Chen Biao was talking to Zhu Yuanzhang, he talked about this and that, and went off topic for a long time, so that Zhu Yuanzhang failed to achieve any of his original purposes in responding to Tian.
Zhu Yuanzhang himself was just like Chen Biao, talking about this and that, and even took out the world map Chen Biao gave him, slamming the table and saying, "I thought that defeating the Yuan Tartars would be the end, but how come there are still so many powerful countries with ill intentions eyeing us covetously."
The subordinates' brains were forced to be filled with a lot of "common sense" that they had never thought about, their ears were buzzing and their temples were throbbing with pain.
After a while, Li Shanchang rubbed his temple and said, "My Lord, we can discuss overseas affairs slowly after you become emperor, okay? We can take it step by step. Let's talk about that... that what?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Let's just call it Biao'er Explosives."
Li Shanchang: "...I think Biao'er might not like this name."
Liu Ji barely remembered the name and said, "Let's just call it high explosives. Is this explosive really that powerful? Why don't we try it first?"
Xu Da immediately said, "How could Biao'er's words be false? Biao'er has been working on this for several years without telling us, and he has only just made twelve packages of high explosives. Not a single one of them can be used carelessly!"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Aren't we going to attack Anqing next? Let's try using Anqing."
Xu Da said, "Let's blow up the city gate first. If we can blow it open, Anqing will fall without a fight."
Liu Ji said, "The Anqing city gate is made of iron birch wood wrapped in iron sheets. It would be worse to blow up the city wall. The city wall is made of earth and stone, and there may be shoddy workmanship, which makes it more likely to collapse."
Xu Da said excitedly, "I believe Biao'er! If Biao'er says we can blow it up, then we can definitely blow it up! Even if we blow down the city walls, they will definitely still have the will to resist, but if we blow down the city gates, it will definitely cause a great shock to their hearts, and they might surrender without fighting!"
Xu Da was kindhearted, though he would abandon his compassion in battle and show no mercy when it came to sacrificing lives. However, if he could spare the lives of a few of his brothers, he would naturally be even happier.
In ancient times, city gates were often made . These specially treated, heavy city gates were stronger than city walls.
If it was a small city, they might use siege wood to try to break the bolts of the city gates; for a large city, they would basically pile up people to climb the city walls and break through from the top.
Although cannons were already available at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the power of traditional black gunpowder was extremely limited. It could not blow open city gates or walls, but could only suppress the soldiers defending the city walls to cover the attacking soldiers climbing the city walls.
As long as one of the city walls is lost, the siege will be almost a sure thing.
And if the strongest gate of a city collapses, and the army, riding tall horses, enters the city openly through the gate with their heads held high, I am afraid that few soldiers defending the city can withstand this oppressive feeling.
What's more, Chen Youliang was a villain who betrayed his master and established himself as an independent ruler. The generals under his command would not die for him.
Seeing Xu Da's blind trust in Chen Biao, Liu Ji was a little worried.
It's not that he distrusts Biao'er, but as a scholar and strategist, and a Confucian scholar who studies Xunzi, Liu Ji always assumes the worst of everything.
If the high explosives provided by Biaoer are not as powerful as imagined and fail to blow down the city gate, will it damage Biaoer's prestige?
So Liu Ji still hoped to be cautious.
Liu Ji had been with these straightforward generals for a long time and knew that they would not understand him if he spoke in a roundabout way, so he spoke frankly about his concerns.
Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his stubble and said, "Bowen has a point. But Bowen should also trust Tiande a little. Tiande is not that kind of person. He just thinks he's the best and acts in the best interests of the situation. If the first explosive charge can bring down the city gate, we might be able to take Anqing without losing a single soldier. If not, we can try the weaker points in the city wall. High explosives are rare, but if we gamble on winning without a fight, it doesn't matter if we waste one."
Xu Da nodded repeatedly: "That's exactly what I mean. Besides, we're not saying that this is Biao'er's explosives. It must be someone the Marshal hired himself. If you want to damage his prestige, wouldn't that also damage the Marshal?"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Xu Da and said, "Yes, yes, it's hurting me. But Bowen isn't worried about others, he's worried about you."
Xu Da pointed at himself, incredulous: "Worried about me?"
Liu Ji's face sullenly said, "Marshal Xu, I'm worried that high explosives won't suit your taste. You've set your expectations too high and no longer trust Biao'er."
Xu Da's jaw dropped, his face speechless. "You think too much. My loyalty to Biao'er is definitely greater than to the boss... Ouch!"
Zhu Yuanzhang took off the scabbard and hit Xu Da on the head, leaving a bump on his head.
He scolded, "Where's your caution? Don't be so reckless! It's okay to say this in front of me, but what if someone hears it and uses it to cause trouble for Biao'er? Even though I'm here to protect Biao'er, if someone says something bad about Biao'er, wouldn't I be angry? Wouldn't Biao'er be sad?"
Xu Da touched the bump on his head and nodded repeatedly to admit his mistake: "I was wrong. I didn't think of that. I was just joking."
Zhu Yuanzhang sheathed his sword and said, "It's settled. If the explosives work, we'll have an easy time from now on."
Li Shanchang reminded him, "My Lord, Biao'er really won't like your new name, High Explosives. It's not a good idea to associate Biao'er's name with a deadly weapon."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "...I know, I mean, Biaoer's explosives."
Everyone couldn't help laughing.
After leaving the tent, Zhu Yuanzhang issued orders to attack the city one by one, and the military camp began to move in a tense and orderly manner.
Liu Ji returned to his tent to rest for a while, then turned and walked into Song Lian's tent.
Song Lian knelt on the bed, his back straight and his eyes dull, as if he was thinking about something or worried about something.
Kneeling, also known as sitting upright, was the formal sitting posture of the Han people before the Hu stool was introduced to the Central Plains.
Sitting on stools or chairs is also called "Hu Zuo" (meaning "to sit on a stool"), which became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. By the Song Dynasty, most people had adopted the Hu Zuo style. However, during important state ceremonies, the emperor and his ministers still sat in the Zheng style.
It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that the official etiquette of sitting upright disappeared.
Sitting upright is not comfortable and needs to be cultivated from a young age. Nowadays, only some scholars who practice traditional etiquette cultivate this posture from a young age.
If a person takes an upright sitting posture, it is either when participating in an important ceremony or when doing something like burning incense, bathing or fasting, which requires meditation.
When Liu Ji saw Song Lian sitting upright, he knew that his worries were not groundless.
With Song Lian's kind heart, he would definitely be uneasy when he heard about such a terrible weapon as high explosives.
This is also the reason why Li Shanchang first gave a subtle reminder, but later found that his lord did not understand the subtle reminder, so he directly reminded his lord not to name such a dangerous weapon as "Biaoer".
Liu Ji frowned worriedly, thinking about words of persuasion: "Jing Lian..."
Song Lian's eyes regained clarity, and he shook his head, saying, "You don't need to persuade me. I understand everything you say. My lord, please convey Biao'er's words. From wooden tools to stone tools, to bronze tools, and then to iron tools and firearms, the lethality of weapons is getting stronger and stronger, and more and more people are dying from them..."
Song Lian's eyes were filled with deep sadness. "But if I don't need it, someone else will in the future. Now it might be someone who is the lord's enemy, and in the future it might be those people on the other side of the sea whom we once looked down upon."
"The Han Dynasty has long since vanished, yet the mighty Qin, neighboring the Han, still exists. I'm truly uneasy." Liu Ji put one hand behind his back, raised the other slightly in front of him, and clenched his fist. "Aside from the grassland tribes, there have been no foreign tribes coveting our Central Plains. Therefore, we all believe that the overseas lands are merely barbaric, not as far away as we are."
Song Lian continued, "Biao'er said that the land of Yanhuang has ice fields in the north, deserts in the northwest, plateaus in the west, mountains in the southwest, and the sea in the east and southeast. This is the main reason why the outside world's wars cannot affect us."
Liu Ji said, "If wooden tools become firearms, wooden ships will become even more powerful. There are already many foreign merchants on the coast. What if they aren't foreign merchants, but military ships from other powerful nations, carrying the high explosives Biaoer mentioned, and spreading the flames of war from the sea to the land? Would China face a disaster even more terrible than the Five Barbarians' Invasion?"
Song Lian said, "If there were only Yanhuang in this world, I would definitely advise the lord to destroy these disasters."
Liu Ji said, "But there are more people in this world than just Yanhuang. If we don't use it, other countries will. When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?"
Song Lian closed his eyes: "But I still feel depressed and it's hard to resolve."
Liu Ji sighed deeply, then turned and left.
Song Lian understood everything, but understanding didn't mean he accepted it; even if he did, it didn't mean he wasn't upset. Liu Ji couldn't persuade him, so he could only let Song Lian figure it out on his own.
Liu Ji's sense of morality was slightly lower than Song Lian's, and he was also worried that the appearance of this object, although intended to end the troubled times, would it lead to greater disputes and cause greater disasters to the people?
I definitely will.
Liu Ji shook his head. If he hadn't known that the other nations overseas were equally powerful and even more ambitious, long eyeing the prosperity of China, he would have urged his lord to destroy the artifact and prevent Biao'er from making it again.
Now we have to ask the lord to keep the recipe safe and not let anyone else get it and cause a bigger dispute.
Liu Ji returned to Zhu Yuanzhang's tent. Zhu Yuanzhang was holding a thick booklet and reading it with a sad face.
When Liu Ji mentioned the confidentiality, Zhu Yuanzhang waved to Liu Ji and pulled out a thin page of paper from the booklet: "Look, this is the recipe."
Liu Ji was horrified: "My Lord! Although you trust me, the fewer people who know the recipe, the better!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Just watch if I tell you to."
Liu Ji felt both nervous and moved. He picked up the formula with trembling hands and took a closer look.
Take a closer look?
Liu Ji was dumbfounded: "What kind of ghostly talisman is this?"
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "The recipe. Do you understand it?"
Liu Ji looked at the pile of formulas that he recognized separately but looked like gibberish when put together, and shook his head in confusion.
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The craftsmen under Biao'er only know their own business. They don't understand how to make explosives. Without Biao'er, no one can make this thing. Biao'er said that if anyone else wants to make this, they must first learn chemistry, and start from the very basics. I'll wait until I become emperor, and then slowly learn this chemistry. It's a headache."
Liu Ji: "...Yes, my lord."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Is Jinglian very sad?"
Liu Ji felt warm in his heart: "Yes, my lord."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Show this formula to Jing Lian to dispel his doubts. I'll continue reading this safety manual. It's quite thick."
Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head and read again.
Liu Ji shouted "Yes! My lord!" and left quickly.
His steps were so big that it looked like he was jumping, which was quite funny.
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his ears, which were a little painful from Liu Ji's shouting, and sighed slightly.
On that day, the army was lined up in front, Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing golden armor and a golden helmet, and a flag with the word "Zhu" on it fluttered in the wind behind him.
On the top of Anqing City, the defenders gathered and the cannons were aimed at Zhu Yuanzhang's army. The war was about to break out.
The general defending the city wall of Anqing had a very serious expression on his face, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's army to push out cannons, catapults and other siege tools to launch a general attack.
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was relaxed.
He was still interested in asking Song Lian, who had reined in his horse, "Is Jing Lian feeling better?"
Song Lian smiled bitterly: "My Lord, to be honest, it's not good. Although I may not see the people suffering from this disaster when I close my eyes. But what is bound to happen will happen, and I will not take any chances."
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his chin slightly and gazed at the Anqing city gate. "If you worry about the distant future, you'll have endless worries. Jinglian, you should relax. I've let it go. We each have our own tasks to do. We can't take away all the work of future generations."
Zhu Yuanzhang had indeed come to terms with his past. He could not become a groundbreaking figure, but only an ordinary founding emperor. When later generations evaluated him, they would at most say, "Among the many founding emperors, Zhu Yuanzhang was one of the more remarkable."
Tsk, I can’t even say if I’m the best one. I’m not happy.
Song Lian was genuinely amused by Zhu Yuanzhang's words. "My Lord, you are absolutely right. I will do my best."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and waved his hand. The flag bearer behind him tilted the red flag upside down, waved it, and then stood it up again.
Xu Da, who was further ahead, saw Zhu Yuanzhang's flag signal, took a deep breath, and moved towards the city gate under the cover of shield bearers.
When the distance to the city gate was less than 300 meters, he personally raised the crossbow and ignited the rocket wrapped in black powder.
Last night, taking advantage of the dark night and strong wind, Xu Da personally led the blasting team to sneak to the city gate and fixed the explosives on the gate.
Above the gate, a slightly protruding eaves provided shelter from the wind and rain, obscuring the view. The explosive charge, only about the width and length of an adult man's forearm, was inconspicuous . The Anqing defenders didn't notice anything had stuck to the gate.
This was also the blind spot of the soldiers defending the city at that time, because there were no small weapons that could threaten the city gates.
Xu Da pulled the crossbow, narrowed his eyes slightly, and the rocket flew out from the bowstring.
The crossbow has a high accuracy within 100 meters, and its maximum range is about 300 meters.
Xu Da was once just a farmer, but his archery skills were almost a natural skill. He had extremely high arm strength and archery accuracy. His eyesight was also very good, and he was a bit farsighted.
In fact, they still have many ways to ignite the explosive pack. For example, when they placed the explosive pack yesterday, they could have secretly ignited it.
However, in order to achieve the greatest deterrent effect on the enemy, Xu Da deliberately chose such an exaggerated method.
The general defending the city was very confused when he saw that Zhu's army's siege equipment did not appear, and only Xu Da came out with a powerful crossbow.
Xu Da was protected by shieldmen. Cannons and catapults were not accurate enough, and neither muskets nor bows and arrows could harm him.
It was just a rocket, not a threat. It couldn't possibly reach the top of . The general guarding the city leaned halfway out of the tower, wanting to see what Xu Da was up to.
The burning rocket flew along a high parabola, covering a distance of two to three hundred meters, and accurately hit the explosive pack on the city gate.
This scene was like hitting slow motion: first the rocket's flight stretched out, then the flaming tip gently touched the explosive pack. Then, with a loud bang, a burst of flames shot up into the sky.
The earth collapsed and the mountains collapsed.
Zhu Yuanzhang's army, staring directly at the flames, felt a sudden pain in their eyes and closed their eyes one after another.
Xu Da was the closest. The aftermath of the explosion nearly knocked him to the ground, but fortunately, his raised shield blocked most of the hot wind and gravel.
Xu Da rubbed his temporarily deafened ear, strode past the shield bearers, and looked towards the Anqing city gate: "Did the city gate get blown up...Ah?! Holy crap!"
Xu Da stared at the pile of ruins at the Anqing city gate with wide eyes.
The high explosives not only destroyed the city gate, but also collapsed the tower on top of the gate!
What Xu Da didn't see was that the general guarding the city was just leaning out half of his body on the tower. When the tower shook, he fell from the tower. The tower collapsed and buried him tightly. Even if he didn't die from the fall, he must have been crushed to death by the rocks!
Xu Da didn't see it, but all the soldiers guarding the city wall knew that the general guarding Anqing was on the city wall.
If the city wall collapses, how can the general defending the city survive?
Marshal Xu Da in Zhu Yuanzhang's army used only one rocket to destroy the Anqing city wall?
Is he still human?
"No more fighting! No more fighting! I want to surrender!"
"That's a god, it must be a god!"
"God, please spare me! God, please spare me!"
Some soldiers on the city wall discarded their weapons and armor and ran towards the bottom of the wall; some soldiers knelt on the ground and kowtowed hard in the direction of Xu Da, bleeding from their foreheads; and some soldiers simply fainted from fear...
The surviving general stood blankly among the messy soldiers, like a stone statue without a mind.
When he was bumped by a soldier and stumbled, he finally came to his senses and realized the current situation.
He couldn't help but relax all his strength and knelt heavily on the ground.
Are there gods in Zhu Yuanzhang’s army?
Xu Da shot down the gate of Anqing City with one arrow?
General Anqing died so simply?
What the hell is that?
He realized that he should quickly run down the city wall and surrender, and maybe he could even get the credit for surrendering half of the city.
But his legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up.
When Xu Da launched the rocket, Zhu Yuanzhang leisurely took out a box from his arms.
The box was stuffed into his hand by Chen Biao when he was leaving Yingtian.
Zhu Yuanzhang opened the box, took out the ink-colored gold-rimmed glasses from the box and put them on his nose, then took out two balls of cotton to plug his ears.
When the rocket ignited the explosive pack and the explosion sounded, Zhu Yuanzhang calmly pushed up his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.
Boom.
Flames shot up into the sky, and Zhu Yuanzhang saw everything clearly.
After calming the frightened warhorse, Zhu Yuanzhang spanked the horse's butt and galloped towards Anqing City, regardless of the thousands of troops behind him and the many soldiers defending the city.
As they passed Xu Da, Zhu Yuanzhang reined in his horse, laughed, and shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Follow me into the city!"
Xu Da quickly jumped on his horse and followed Zhu Yuanzhang.
The generals and scholars behind Zhu Yuanzhang also recovered from their temporary blindness and deafness, and rode their horses towards the Anqing city gate in a staggered manner.
The warhorse slowed down when it reached the ruins of the city gate.
Zhu Yuanzhang tightened the reins and rode his horse through the gaps in the ruins filled with smoke as if he was taking a stroll, and then stepped onto the avenue connecting the city gate and the city lord's mansion in Anqing City.
Those who followed Zhu Yuanzhang also passed through the ruins one by one, tightened the reins, and followed Zhu Yuanzhang five meters behind, slowly moving forward.
The sound of horses' hooves and the air was filled with smoke.
On both sides of the avenue, civilians and soldiers knelt and kowtowed; in the middle of the avenue, Zhu Yuanzhang rode his horse slowly forward.
Someone who was frightened by the explosion suddenly looked up and shouted "Long live".
Soon, the soldiers and civilians on both sides of Anqing City kowtowed and shouted "Long live Marshal Zhu".
Xu Da slowed down his pace and retreated among the staff and generals behind him, just like an inconspicuous general under Zhu Yuanzhang.
He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's back as he rode his horse slowly forward, looked at the people kneeling on both sides of the road and shouting "Long live the emperor", looked at the smoke and dust surrounding Zhu Yuanzhang, and his excited mood gradually calmed down.
After a while, he suddenly shouted, "Long live the lord!"
After Xu Da shouted this, his staff and generals all shouted: "Long live the lord!"
The Zhu family army that entered the city behind them also followed the generals and shouted: "Long live the lord! Long live the lord!"
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed not to be a force among the many Red Turban Army or a powerful general, but an emperor who had suppressed the rebellion and a triumphant emperor.
The warhorse walked straight towards the City Lord's Mansion and stopped at the door.
Zhu Yuanzhang pushed his sunglasses up with his index finger and turned his horse around: "No looting! No disturbing the people! Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"
Suddenly, the people's cheers of "Long live" became louder and resounded through the sky.
