Chapter 88
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Ming Yu’s head was pounding from thinking too much, so in the end, he decided to write a letter and explain everything. He took full responsibility for the situation, portrayed himself as genuinely remorseful, and made it hard for anyone to scold him.
Regarding the matter of encountering the valley plain beneath Xiqi Mountain, Ming Yu briefly mentioned it as well. He wanted to ensure that his father, the Emperor, was mentally prepared to control that region. He outlined the strategic significance of the area, emphasizing its importance both commercially and militarily. He knew he had to secure it for the Great Yan.
He also heard that his father had fainted due to his actions, which worried him. So, he included advice on maintaining good health and staying fit in the letter. He mentioned post-meal walks, getting enough sleep, dietary habits like consuming fewer oily and meaty dishes while eating more fruits and vegetables, and any other tips from the future that seemed useful.
Finally, he added a sentence: “Your son here has something called ‘corn.’ It has good taste and nutrition, although it hasn’t fully grown yet, it won’t be long before it’s ready. When the time comes, I’ll make sure to send some for Father to try.”
When the letter arrived in the capital, the Emperor couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation. He had originally planned to reprimand his youngest son sternly to teach him a lesson, but now, with the letter filled with genuine concern, how could he scold him? Forget it, his son’s character was well-known to him. People make mistakes and learn from them; life is long, and everyone stumbles at times. As long as his son was fine, that was what truly mattered.
In any case, Old Fourteenth was good in every way, his affection for his father was sincere. This old father couldn’t help but feel warmth in his heart. He thought about how different his other princes were, all of them seemingly eager to upset him and give him grief, without a thought for their father, the Emperor.
Just yesterday, the ninth and third princes had caused a scandal on the streets of the capital, getting into a brawl over some leader of a brothel or something. It was a disgrace that even reached beyond the palace. How could they compare to the fourteenth prince? At least Ming Yu had grown up and was already engaged in business, making money and sending him many fascinating things. He also showed concern for his father’s health.
The Emperor had completely forgotten how upset he had been with Ming Yu’s previous actions, the matter that nearly made him faint from anger.
That evening, the Emperor ordered the removal of all the prepared meat dishes from the royal meal and chose only a few fresh vegetables to eat. This sparked a lot of speculation in the palace.
Meanwhile, on the border, after sending the letter, Ming Yu enjoyed a good night’s sleep. When he woke up, it was already the afternoon of the second day. Just as he got up, he heard that Great General Wei had arrived and had been waiting for half a day.
His arrival was so urgent that it was clear he had come regarding the events that had transpired earlier.
General Wei was indeed anxious. After listening to Mo Jiang’s somewhat vague account of the battle, he was even more eager to hear a clear explanation from Mingyue.
Mojang’s explanation was concise: they had organized the five hundreds Guard Battalion into formation, while the Jingwei Imperial Guard split into two groups led by General Xie and Geng Shiqi. They positioned themselves on the flanks of the enemy, intending to seize an opportunity for action.
When the enemy charged head-on, their forces withstood the attack. Then, they took advantage of the chaos to counterattack. In addition, the two flanks of the Jingwei Imperial Guard cavalry charged in, creating a thunderous and chaotic battle. This disrupted the enemy’s internal cohesion, that they could no longer resist, leading to a disorderly retreat.
Mo Jiang’s account of the battle seemed almost unbelievable. When asked how their five hundreds men managed to withstand the enemy’s cavalry charge, the response was simple: they formed a phalanx. The Guard Battalion trained regularly in this formation, and it posed no real difficulty for them.
Great General Wei scratched his head. He had seen the soldiers of the Guard Battalion forming formations before. However, no matter what kind of formation it was, wouldn’t it be crushed under the enemy’s cavalry? After all, people were made of flesh and blood, and horses possessed speed and strength that ordinary people couldn’t resist.
He then inquired about the reason for the enemy’s unstable morale. However, Mo Jiang could only shake his head and make speculative guesses, feeling that Wang Ye had used some method. After all, there was a thunderous sound that shook the earth, and before they could react, the enemy had suffered heavy casualties. Perhaps it was divine intervention; some even claimed that the heavens were angry and had brought calamity upon them. When they killed the enemy soldiers, they heard many of the barbarians talking about the “Heaven of Longevity” being angry and causing disasters.
Hearing this, Great General Wei was utterly bewildered. How could such absurd claims be believed? Attributing the victory in this battle to divine intervention was simply untenable. When he asked others, they too were perplexed, and many couldn’t believe that they had actually won, thinking it was all a dream.
It seems that all these questions can only be clarified by Ming Yu. After all, he was the one who planned and commanded the entire battle from beginning to end. Without resolving these issues, even sleep would be elusive, and he had already come early in the morning with dark eyes circle to find Ming Yu.
However, Ming Yu was extremely exhausted from the journey, despite his own urgency, there was little he could do at that moment. He could only wait for Duan Wang to wake up before addressing these matters.
After spending some time grooming himself, Ming Yu came out to meet Great General Wei. Before he could even take a seat, Great General Wei had already grabbed his sleeve, anxiously asking, “Your Highness, what method did you use to defeat the barbarians?”
“Hasn’t Ben Wang already dispatched Commander Mo to explain the entire course of the battle to you?” Ming Yu was puzzled. In theory, the details of such a simple battle should have been clear after a single description.
Great General Wei was left speechless, it was precisely because of Commander Mo’s account that he found himself increasingly confused about many aspects of the battle.
“Commander Mo’s account has only left me more bewildered. Your Highness, I implore you to enlighten me,” Great General Wei said, bowing respectfully.
Ming Yu could only nod and, from his perspective, recount the events of the battle once again to ensure clarity.
Great General Wei was overjoyed upon learning about the shields used by the Guard Battalion, which effectively reduced the impact of force, and the weapon known as the Hook Scythe Spear. These weapons could be disassembled and used as needed. When facing cavalry in battle, they could be extended to hook the legs of horses from a distance, causing them to stumble and lose their combat capabilities.
Without their mounts, cavalry would lose much of their effectiveness in battle.
Great General Wei couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Indeed, capturing the enemy’s leadership and disabling their mounts were simple yet effective strategies. He wondered why they hadn’t thought of this before.
He made a mental note to visit the Guard Battalion and borrow some of these weapons for further study when he returned.
As for the thunderous Thunderbolt Bombs, the ones Ming Yu had made were only a few experimental models. By the time he returned, he had learned that the ones produced by the Craftsman’s Workshop should have much greater power. After all, the materials he had initially used were sourced locally and didn’t have any particularly impressive effects. They were mostly for making loud noises, startling horses, and instilling fear in the hearts of the enemy soldiers, which had contributed to the chaotic situation.
The ones currently being produced in the Craftsman’s Workshop were undoubtedly different, even Ming Yu was curious about how powerful these new devices had become. Originally, he had considered visiting the workshop today, but it seemed that his plans would have to be postponed.
Great General Wei was certainly eager to witness the remarkable invention, and they couldn’t leave out Red Robe General Xie Yixiu, as they had agreed upon during their journey back.
As the day was already well underway, preparing the experiment and notifying the Craftsman’s Workshop would take some time. They decided to schedule the demonstration for another day.
Great General Wei, although eager, understood that it was impossible to proceed with the experiment that day. They agreed to meet at the city’s outskirts early the next morning.
The following morning, everyone gathered at the training grounds of theGuard Battalion camp, as planned. Not surprisingly, even Elder Huang was present, as he was in charge of overseeing this project.
Regarding Ming Yu’s abduction, no formal notification had been sent to the Craftsman’s Workshop. The workshop was considered Ming Yu’s private domain, even though his situation had some connection to the workshop, nobody dared to intrude without Ming Yu’s explicit instructions. Later, when Ming Yu was safely back, he had sent a message stating that the matter concerning the workshop should be handled once he returned. Consequently, in the days following his absence, Great General Wei had stationed someone outside the workshop to keep an eye on it, but the craftsmen inside were unaware of any disturbances.
Initially, Elder Huang and the others had no knowledge of Ming Yu’s situation. When they didn’t see him for several consecutive days, they grew curious. They were aware that Ming Yu was occupied with important matters, but they also knew how much importance he attached to their research. Previously, he had visited almost daily, but now he was nowhere to be seen.
As their research hit a bottleneck, they needed Ming Yu’s insights and advice. When they went to visit him at his residence, they were informed that Wang Ye had left for an undisclosed destination, and no one knew when he would return. They left somewhat disappointed, but they understood that someone of his status couldn’t always disclose his whereabouts to others.
Elder Huang, engrossed in his scholarly pursuits, didn’t notice the anxious atmosphere within the residence. Everyone wore expressions of worry and unease.
Despite Wang Ye’s absence, their research couldn’t come to a halt. They continued to examine documents and followed Ming Yu’s previous suggestions. Through diligent effort, they managed to produce a working prototype. However, the price they paid was the destruction of an entire experimental workshop. Fortunately, there were no injuries, thanks in part to Ming Yu’s earlier warnings about the dangerous nature of the device.
However, looking at the deep crater blasted into the ground and the surrounding ruins caused by the explosion, it was evident that this device’s power was indeed as Ming Yu had described – it had the ability to move mountains and open up new paths.
Now that Wang Ye had returned and sent word that he wanted to inspect their achievements, everyone was naturally delighted. The fact that something they had worked so hard on was being appreciated made it all worthwhile.
With everyone present, Elder Huang paid his respects and handed over the device for Ming Yu to examine.
Beside him, Great General Wei couldn’t contain his curiosity and craned his neck to get a look. What he saw was a dark, fist-sized object resembling an iron sphere.
Ming Yu examined and tested the device. Its sealing performance seemed good, after listening to Elder Huang’s explanation of the materials used, Ming Yu nodded. Whether it was good or bad, they would find out through the test.
Someone was tasked with taking the device down to the designated area. Under the guidance of the craftsmen, everything was prepared.
Ming Yu and the others sat in the stands, filled with anticipation. If this device succeeded, it could be used to quickly dig a canal, making his horse farm a reality. Currently, he had only a few horses, and he could manage by letting them graze here. However, when he had more horses, the role of the horse farm would be significantly different.
With a thunderous “boom,” a massive explosion resounded, and a towering blaze shot into the sky. It felt as if the ground had trembled for a moment, leaving everyone awestruck.
Great General Wei absentmindedly stroked his beard. This… was this the so-called “Thunderstrike Bomb” that Ming Yu had mentioned? Its power was indeed tremendous.
Xie Yixiu, Mo Jiang, and the others had seen this device once before, but the one they witnessed here was different from the one Ming Yu had back then. This one had even greater power. If they had possessed such Thunderstrike Bombs during that previous battle, the enemy’s casualties would likely have been significantly higher.
Mingyue stood up with a smile. It was very good; it had the kind of imposing presence he was looking for.
When the smoke and dust finally cleared, the group walked closer to inspect. They saw a landscape marred by shattered rocks and mud craters, and the sturdy trees nearby were all scarred and disfigured by the blast.
A pungent smell of sulfur and smoke lingered in the air, along with scattered, smoldering embers. Ming Yu nodded in satisfaction; it seemed that this device met his expectations. Compared to the one he had hastily put together, this one looked quite impressive.
Great General Wei now understood that this device was indeed a formidable weapon on the battlefield. With it, there was no need to fear the enemy’s cavalry.
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