Short sword

  In accordance with the ancient and unwritten military code that had been passed down for thousands of years on this land of China, Chen Liang's order was quickly embellished by the corrupt officials accompanying the army into a beautifully written battle letter, which was delivered to Xianyu Min, the commander of the Qin army's southern battalion.

  When Xian Yu Min received the war book of Xing Han Army, after reading it, he wrote a reply letter with official words such as "for the country to eliminate the rebels" and threw the letter to the messenger with disdain, expressing his great enthusiasm for beheading Chen Liang. After this somewhat pedantic and outdated battlefield etiquette 'exchange', both sides had made mental preparations for the decisive battle the next day.

  The next day at dawn, the military camps on both sides of the strait appeared with a strange scene of twinkling bonfires and rising smoke, which even gave people an eerie illusion of being in a modern society's illegal steelmaking workshop.

  As the sun rose, the two armies formed up on the banks of the Xiang River, where a bloody and deadly battle was about to begin.

  The first to take the stage is the Qin army's crossbow array. The Qin crossbow, from the Warring States period onwards, has always been the most relied upon long-range weapon of the Qin army. The southern army's equipped crossbows were also equipped with the standard "Jinjun" repeating crossbow, with an average range of over 400 steps, far surpassing the equipment of the local Qin army. With such strong bows and hard crossbows, combined with the "Fanxiu Lian She" tactic similar to the three-stage strike of the muzzle-loading era, as soon as the two sides came into contact, the Xing Han military soldiers were subjected to a continuous and dense barrage of arrows from the opposing side, making it impossible for them to lift their heads.

  The great Qin Empire in this piece of land continued the good tradition that had been adhered to since the Warring States period, attaching great importance to military technology and weapon quality.

  Although the local miscellaneous troops were not well-equipped, the weapons and equipment used by Qin's Forbidden Army and the " elite" troops stationed on the front line were all first-class. In the sequence of the Great Qin Forbidden Army, even a lowest-ranking foot archer had to be equipped with iron-plated leather armor, which was far more advanced than those simple-minded militia who wore only cloth clothes. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to surpass the Qin army in terms of cold weapons, unless one can come up with an unconventional method.

  This time, Lin Xu did not hesitate to reveal his true identity in order to remind Chen Liang not to be careless, the reason being that he was worried that he would be powerless to defeat the elite troops of the Qin army from the south.

  Give Chen Liang a few more years to consolidate his power, and Lin Xu wouldn't have to be so 'urgent', but for now, the fire is burning on his eyebrows, and he can't afford to think about many things. In order to ensure victory over the Qin army, during the more than ten days of delaying the Qin army's actions, the Jiufeng Town workshop urgently transported another batch of firearms to the Xinghan Army.

  Of course, this is a new version of firearms improved under Lin Xu's instruction, not the primary fire weapons in the original film that can be regarded as fireworks.

  Lin Xu wasn't worried that this batch of firearms would violate the taboos of the Heavenly Way, because the black fire "medicine" was a locally born invention. About over 400 years ago, a Taoist who lived in seclusion in a Daoist temple near the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang and was skilled in external alchemy, recorded the original formula for the first time in his written Dan Jing. This predecessor kindly reminded later generations that when refining, they should be extra careful not to let their alchemical furnace be blown up by this formula. Soon after, the new thing "fire medicine" was discovered by creative Chinese doctors and used to treat skin diseases and parasites, as well as to fight plagues.

  More than a hundred years later, the craftsmen of the Great Qin Empire also discovered new uses for gunpowder, using it to replace real bamboo to make firecrackers for New Year's celebrations.

  Up to now, the firearms equipped by the Qin army are mainly used for burning wooden buildings such as city gates, flying fire and poisonous smoke balls with wide uses, and other delayed-action incendiary devices. The firearm technology has not yet reached the level of replacing cold weapons.

  Due to the limited navigability of the Lingqu Canal, the large warships of the Southern Army could not be used and had to take a detour by sea to the north, but it is still unknown where they are now. The Qin army that fought against the Xinghan army in southern Jingzhou, their largest warship was only a small multi-oar boat with more than 60 people on board. This type of warship, shaped like a dragon boat, had excellent maneuverability, but if it were to collide head-on with the large warships of the Xinghan army that could carry five or six hundred people, it would be too reckless. Therefore, the Qin army's naval forces occupied the upper reaches and did not rush to launch an attack. The Xinghan army's naval forces took the lead and began to approach the shore, using firearms to suppress the Qin army's crossbow arrays.

  Day after day after day...

  With a series of shrill whistling sounds accompanying the whooshing, a large rocket, about the same height as a person and weighing twenty kilograms, took off into the air with a white trail of smoke, leaving behind a curved grayish-white smoke mark in the sky, like a giant python emerging from its lair.

  It's hard to describe, but the Xing Han army's naval fleet 'pressed' near the riverbank, and the majestic scene of firing rockets in unison on the deck was no less than the spectacular scene when a large-scale magic spell was activated.

  "What... what kind of sorcery is this?"

  The Qin army's crossbowmen, who were usually calm and collected in the face of life-and-death tests, began to show signs of panic as the massive rockets drew near. They started to nervously whisper to each other, their faces pale with fear. Humans have an innate fear of the unknown, especially on the battlefield where nerves are stretched taut and even a small unexpected event can lead to disastrous consequences. Once the army falls into chaos, it's a catastrophe that cannot be overstated - defeat without a fight is not just a myth.

  Xing Han's army and Qin's soldiers all held their breath at this moment, everyone wanted to know how capable these terrifying-looking giants were.

  "Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble——"

  Suddenly, on the banks of the Xiang River, a crimson glow burst forth, and the continuous explosions drowned out the cries and wails of the Qin army soldiers. When the timed fuses of the fire arrows launched by the Xing Han naval forces burned to the end, these rockets exploded into countless sharp fragments that scattered in all directions, whipping up a storm of blood and gore. In a very short time, the 6,000 crossbowmen who made up the Qin army's crossbow array had lost their combat effectiveness, and even those soldiers who survived and reformed to join the battle again were not a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

  Hiding near the battlefield, Lin Xue was more concerned about his own problems. When the rockets from the warship rose like a swarm of bees, he let out a sigh and muttered to himself:

  "Hmm! Not bad, the Heavenly Way didn't react, looks like I guessed it right."

  It is often said that there are mountains beyond mountains, and skies beyond skies. Although gods are already sacred and inviolable superhuman beings in the eyes of mortals, when they stand before the Heavenly Way, or when the Heavenly Way stands before the Great Way, it is inevitable to be cautious and trembling like walking on thin ice.

  The realm where Lin Xu resides, internally self-sufficient and giving birth to countless living beings, the mysterious will that governs this world is called the Heavenly Way. The so-called heavenly intention has been high and unasked since ancient times, referring to this Heavenly Way, which is actually the inherent consciousness of this world.

  Laozi, one of the Three Purities, expounded on the concept of "the Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" in his work "Tao Te Ching", which fundamentally refers to a higher level of the Great Tao rather than discussing the Heavenly Way.

  If the Heavenly Way is like a human law, strict and severe, with rigid rules that inspire more fear than admiration, then the Great Way is natural and effortless. Thunderstorms and rain are all natural solutions, without any deliberate intention. Unless one has the ability to transcend the constraints of heaven and earth, they must accept the governance of the Heavenly Way. The Heavenly Way does not allow gods to slaughter living beings at will, and those who violate this rule will be punished by different forms of heavenly retribution.

  The Great Way will not have such specific requirements, but without accumulating merit and virtue, and without understanding cause and effect, even if one is temporarily famous and influential, ultimately declining and falling is still an inevitable result. This is the truly frightening aspect of the Great Way.

  The Tao does not interfere with anything you do, but you must ultimately bear the consequences of all your wrong actions. To illustrate this, consider the Heavenly Way as a parent who strictly controls children who don't understand things and won't let them play with fire; if they disobey, they will be spanked. Although the method seems harsh, it may not necessarily be unkind. In contrast, the Tao is like an automatic camera that accurately records all events, including how some naughty kid takes step-by-step to walk towards self-destruction. The Tao is a thorough bystander and will not take any action to prevent this result.

  As a god, Lin Xu provided the Xing Han army with new firearms, taking on certain risks, which was also a necessary step in probing the heavenly way's rules.

  Since the "fire medicine" has naturally emerged in this piece of land, Lin Xu speculated that the heavenly way did not impose any restrictions on the development of firearms. At least at this stage of black fire medicine, there is no restraint. For this reason, he specially ordered the craftsmen of Jiufeng Town to create a batch of new-style firearms with brand-new concepts according to the current highest standards.

  These weapons have made a manifold increase and improvement in killing power and efficiency, thoroughly overturning the crude impression left by traditional firearms. However, from a purely technical point of view, it cannot be considered as having made any epoch-making progress. As long as one knows where to start improving, imitating these new products is not difficult for those civilian gunsmiths with exquisite craftsmanship.

  Witnessing the Qin army's crossbow array being bombarded by rockets, causing a brief 'chaos', the arrow rain that was pouring down like a torrential rain also ceased to exist. On the shore, Chen Liang, who was commanding the infantry, was shocked and shouted:

  "Beat the drums and order the whole army to attack!"

  "Bang bang bang bang——"

  "Kill! Kill——"

  The guards beside Chen Liang received the order and immediately passed it to the drummers and flag bearers. The central banner of the Xing Han army quickly waved, ordering each unit to advance slowly, while the low, earth-shaking drumbeats echoed through the sky, and the battle cries merged into a vast ocean.

  The old saying goes well, when the number of people reaches tens of thousands, there is no end to it. In this war, the total number of troops invested by both sides was close to 200,000. The sound of men and horses shouting on both banks of the Xiang River shook the sky and the earth, just like two huge killing machines colliding head-on. Every moment, the swords and long spears wielded by soldiers were taking away lives one after another. The entire battlefield was like a giant mill, with the Xing Han army and the Qin army being the upper and lower blades of the millstone, while the ones being ground to pieces were the flesh and blood bodies of the soldiers.

  For the first time as the supreme commander on the battlefield where the two armies clashed, Chen Liang's emotions were exceptionally stirred.

  This decisive battle on the battlefield of Xiangpingyuan is a test for the Xinghan regime, a 'threshold' to be crossed. If they succeed in crossing it, their future prospects will be boundless like a carp jumping over the dragon gate; if they fail to cross it, they will be doomed to mediocrity. As for what the outcome will be, Chen Liang asked Lin Xu, this god-like figure, but he could only respond with an ambiguous smile, as success or failure is hard to predict!

  The battlefield is full of contingency and unpredictability, and even the gods cannot foresee the outcome in advance. This is also what makes war so fascinating. Without a real fight with swords and guns, it is impossible to verify the outcome of victory or defeat by simply analyzing data.