Dragon-rocky Mountain was once the birthplace of the Longdan Army Camp, but after many years, it had fallen into disrepair. The houses had collapsed, and the civilians who gathered there had dispersed. The entire mountain had become an abandoned mountain. However, in recent months, it had been occupied by a group of mountain bandits, who had resumed their business without any capital. However, this business did not last long, and they were soon targeted by the National Army.
In the middle of the night, the densely packed National Army appeared at the foot of Dragon-rocky Mountain, their banners fluttering in the wind.
However, the soldiers' uniforms were not neat. The national treasury was empty, and there was not enough cloth and armor to equip the National Army, which was claimed to have 500,000 soldiers. Most of the soldiers were still wearing the clothes that they had when they came from various provinces. Many of them were even dressed like hunters and farmers. Their equipment was not very good, either. Rusty iron swords, cracked halberds, and so on could be seen everywhere.
The National Army needed to be reequipped. This was an urgent matter, and it was also the top priority for Zhuang Yan, the National Army's commander.
…
Under the starlight, Zhuang Yan, dressed in a military uniform, looked at the lights on the mountain from afar, and said, "How many people are there in this group of mountain bandits?"
Deputy Commander Su Changying replied, "About five hundred in total."
"Hmph, they actually want nearly a hundred thousand of us to surround Dragon-rocky Mountain with just five hundred people. That's giving them too much face." Zhuang Yan sneered, "It's said that this Dragon-rocky Mountain is the place where the Longdan Army Camp started. After we kill these five hundred mountain bandits, burn down Dragon-rocky Mountain for me. Consider it a small warning to Lin Muyu."
Su Changying smiled faintly, "Commander, I think it's fine as long as we do what we want to do. As for burning Dragon-rocky Mountain, it's not necessary. After all, we can't offend people like Wei Chou and Situ Sen. If they're in a good mood one day and want to return to Dragon-rocky Mountain, it wouldn't be good for us to burn down their nest …"
"Hmph!"
Zhuang Yan said faintly, "Don't talk so much nonsense. Attack the mountain immediately. We must take down Dragon-rocky Mountain before dawn. In addition … are our 'firearms' ready?"
"They're already here, at the foot of the mountain. The 'merchants' left after leaving the goods, and we've already given them the gold notes. Currently, the 'firearms' are under the control of Deputy Commander Liu Xiyu."
"That's great. Do you have the quantity?"
"Yes." Su Changying nodded: "A total of five heavy magic crystal cannons and fifteen light magic crystal cannons. In addition, there are a hundred magic crystal crossbows, a hundred and twenty heavy magic crystal cannons, and two hundred and eighty light magic crystal cannons. Everything is accounted for."
Zhuang Yan narrowed his eyes and laughed heartily. "That's good. Bring out these magic crystal cannons and magic crystal crossbows as soon as the sun rises. Just say that they were taken from the bandits' lair at Dragon-rocky Mountain. Lin Muyu won't let the Weapons Department forge heavy cannons for us. I'd like to see what he can do this time. These are the spoils of war that our Imperial Army handed over. He wouldn't interfere, would he?"
Su Changying grinned and said, "Yes, I understand."
"Remember, spend a lot of money to buy more equipment from those 'illegal merchants'. Since the Imperium is unwilling to equip the Imperial Army, we'll equip them ourselves. When the Imperial Army is strong, I'd like to see how Lin Muyu, the Marshal, can keep us in check."
"En, Commander is wise, hahahaha …"
…
Before dawn, the Imperial Army had collected a total of 20 magic crystal cannons. They played the song of victory and returned to Lanyan City while beating drums and gongs.
It wasn't until dusk the next day when they finally returned to Lanyan City with the heavy magic crystal cannons. Almost all the soldiers of the Imperial Army were beaming with joy, even though they were wearing thin clothes and were shivering in the cold.
In the late autumn, the grass was fluttering in the wild, and the cool breeze was blowing. The wheels of the magic crystal cannons left deep grooves on the official road, which made the convoy even slower. Although Lanyan City was just ahead, they probably couldn't enter the city before dark. According to Zhuang Yan's military order, five of the 20 magic crystal cannons were to be transported into the city and set up in the National Palace as defensive equipment.
"Tuk, tuk, tuk …"
In the distance, the sound of hooves could be heard. A neat row of soldiers came from the direction of the Capital, carrying the flag of the Longdan Army Camp. The person at the front was Deputy Commander Wei Chou, who was also the Minister of War and a prominent figure in the Capital. Wei Chou led nearly 3,000 cavalrymen and galloped toward the Imperial Army. They stopped about 100 meters away from the Imperial Army.
"It's Wei Chou," Su Changying said with a frown.
Zhuang Yan held the horsewhip and urged his horse forward. He said, "So it's Lord Wei Chou. May I know why Lord Wei Chou has led so many people here?"
Wei Qiu smiled slightly and said in a refined and courteous manner, "Commander Zhuang Yan, I received a report from the Ministry of War's Minister of War that the Imperial Army illegally obtained twenty magic crystal cannons and a hundred magic crystal crossbows.
As he spoke, he looked at the pitch-black cannon barrels behind Zhuang Yan and said with a smile, "It seems to be true."
Zhuang Yan said, "Lord Wei Chou might not know this, but the Imperial Army was ordered by Her Highness to encircle and annihilate the strongmen at Dragon-rocky Mountain. These magic crystal cannons were obtained from the mountain. In order to annihilate the strongmen, the Imperial Army lost hundreds of brothers. I think it's reasonable for these magic crystal cannons to be used as military equipment for the Imperial Army, right?"
Wei Chou smiled leisurely and said, "If it's weapons and armor, I can turn a blind eye to it. The spoils of war obtained by the Imperial Army belong to the Imperial Army. However, the Ministry of War has a clear rule that magic crystal cannons and magic crystal crossbows are considered firearms and must be managed in a unified manner. All firearms that appear within the borders of the Empire will be managed and distributed by the Ministry of War. I believe you have seen Lin General's order. The Imperial Army is a mix of good and bad people, and for the time being, no firearms will be distributed. Therefore … I hope that Lord Zhuang Yan can hand over these magic crystal cannons to the national treasury. This is also Her Highness's intention."
"What? Her Highness's intention?" Zhuang Yan was stunned.
Wei Chou raised his hand, held up a golden token, and said with a smile, "There are a total of three golden tokens from the Empress. I believe you have seen them before. Seeing the golden token is equivalent to seeing Her Highness."
Zhuang Yan, Su Changying, and the rest knelt down on one knee.
Wei Chou smiled faintly and said, "Men, receive the magic crystal cannons and magic crystal crossbows from our brothers in the Imperial Army!"
"Wei Chou!"
Zhuang Yan bellowed, raised his head, and said, "You … don't go too far. The Imperial Army is the Imperial Army. How dare you be so disrespectful? Men, protect the magic crystal cannons. Whoever dares to touch the magic crystal cannons, I will make him regret being born! "
"Is that so?"
Wei Chou's gaze was ice-cold as he said, "Longdan Army Camp, get ready for battle!"
The 3,000 cavalrymen behind him spread out and formed a circular battle formation. Every soldier held up a magic crystal crossbow, and a total of 3,000 magic crystal crossbows were pointed straight at the Imperial Army. This wasn't something a mere 20 magic crystal cannons could compare to. Furthermore, the distance between the two sides was too close, and the magic crystal cannons were basically useless. Wei Chou was a smart man. He naturally had a card up his sleeve when he approached the Imperial Army from the very beginning.
"Commander Zhuang Yan, why don't I do some calculations for you?"
Wei Chou smiled and said, "The explosion radius of the magic crystal crossbow is about 10 meters. If 3,000 magic crystal crossbows are fired at close range, the 5,000 soldiers behind you will be instantly vaporized. You won't even have the chance to pull the bowstring of the magic crystal cannons. Once Commander Zhuang Yan is killed by the magic crystal crossbows, I will immediately go to Ze Tian Palace Hall and tell Her Highness that the Imperial Army didn't obey the golden token and even tried to kill me. Zhuang Yan deserved his death and can't blame anyone else. Do you think your death is worth anything? Moreover, I also have a secret weapon! "
As he spoke, Wei Chou blew a whistle. Suddenly, the sky was filled with dragon roars, and six huge black figures appeared in the sky. They were the dragon knights led by Situ Sen and Situ Xue. During the battle in Cangnan Province, they had killed dozens of dragon knights and seized some giant dragons. The Longdan Army Camp already had six dragon knights.
Wei Chou smiled and said, "The Dragon Imperial Battle Spiral can defend against magic crystal attacks. As long as I give the order, 3,000 magic crystal crossbows will shoot all of you at the same time, and you won't be able to cause any harm to the Longdan Army Camp. I advise you not to be stubborn. This is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Do you understand?"
Zhuang Yan trembled with anger, but Wei Chou was right. In the face of absolute power, the national army would not be able to withstand a single blow. Not to mention that the Longdan Army Camp had been through hundreds of battles, most of the soldiers in the national army had not experienced war at all. Even ten of them might not be able to defeat one soldier of the Longdan Army Camp. This was a fact.
Zhuang Yan was a little dejected. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. Let the Minister of War take these magic crystal cannons away!"
As he spoke, Zhuang Yan glanced at Wei Chou and said, "However, Sir Wei Chou, the national army has made great contributions in the battle and seized so many magic crystal cannons and magic crystal crossbows. Shouldn't the Ministry of War's armory give some more armaments to the national army? Look at the group of soldiers behind me. They are the regular army of the empire, but they don't even have a set of military uniform. "
Wei Chou's eyes turned red. "Yes, I know the hardships of my brothers. In that case … each magic crystal cannon can be exchanged for 100 sets of military uniforms. When we return to Lanyan City, the armory will allocate 2,000 sets of military uniforms and 2,000 long swords to the national army."
Zhuang Yan's face turned green. "Sir Wei Chou, you can't be sending off beggars with so many armaments, right?"
Wei Chou said earnestly, "The empire has been at war for a long time, and the national treasury is almost empty. The wealth that the Radiant King has accumulated for so many years has almost been wiped out by us unfilial descendants in ten years. These 2,000 sets of military uniforms were obtained with great difficulty. Even the empress has taken down the curtains of Ze Tian Palace and dyed them into military uniforms. Her Highness is so diligent and thrifty. Shouldn't Sir Zhuang Yan, as the commander of the national army, set an example by example?"
Zhuang Yan's heart was filled with ten thousand grass mud horses, he was speechless from Wei Qiu's words.
…
At night, in the National Palace.
Bam!
Zhuang Yan slammed his palm heavily on the table, sending the fruits flying. He was furious. "Despicable, this is too despicable. The Ministry of War is too much and doesn't treat the national army as human beings. Wei Chou, Lin Muyu, Feng Jixing, and the others are in cahoots with each other. I'm so angry, so angry! Chief, we can't just sit and wait for death! "
Qin Ran sat there leisurely. Behind him, Qin Yan was standing tall like a statue of a war god. He raised his teacup and took a sip before saying, "Commander Zhuang Yan, don't be impatient. You said that Lin, Feng, Wei, and the others are colluding with each other. Doesn't that mean that you are including Her Highness Qin Yin as well? Sir, please remember that you are also an important member of the Congress. The original intention of establishing the Congress is for the betterment of the empire. If you even dare to profane the Female Empress, then this old man will start to doubt the original intention of establishing the Congress."
Zhuang Yan's face turned ashen. "Chief, I misspoke. Please forgive me."
"It's fine, it's fine. However, the Ministry of War is indeed too much. They don't respect the national army at all."
"Yes, that's right!"
Su Changying frowned and said, "The biggest problem for the National Army now is rations. The Ministry of War only gives us enough rations for 200,000 soldiers every day. Most of us don't even have enough to eat, let alone train. The biggest problem is clothing. Lanyan City is located in the Northern Ridge Province. Winter is coming fast, and it might snow within a month. However, most of our soldiers are only wearing autumn clothes. If we don't have 500,000 sets of winter clothing, how are we going to survive this winter?"
Without 500,000 sets of winter clothing, how are we going to survive this winter? "Zhuang Yan clenched his fists and said," Lin Muyu, Wei Chou, and Feng Jixing are working together with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of War to cut off our rations and armaments. All they want is for the national army to retreat and for us to leave the capital. "
Zhou Heng sneered, "They are dreaming. Since we are here, we won't leave so easily. Since we don't have military uniforms, we will think of a way to gather and transport them from our fiefdoms."
"I'm afraid it's too late."
Qin Lian frowned and said, "Many people will freeze to death. They are all citizens of our Great Qin!"
Qin Yan was speechless.
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