The fall of 102 cities

  The matter has not been accomplished, and the eight characters have not yet been written, but you are already asking for a reward? At this time, Tie Le Khan Si Jue looked at Ye Fei's gaze with a few more points of disdain, but he didn't care about the petty squabbles of small people. On the contrary, he looked at Ye Fei with great interest, who was lowering his head and putting on a standard humble and obedient expression.

  After a moment, Si Kong thoughtfully burst out laughing. The heroes of the world, regardless of their abilities, at least have an extraordinary temperament that ordinary people can't compare to. They don't care about wealth, women, or other things; they only care about whether they hold power or not. Those in power don't care about the greed and stinginess of their subordinates, nor do they care about their incompetence or foolishness, as long as these guys are willing to listen and can be entrusted with important tasks. The more they plunder the people's wealth and cause popular discontent, the more it proves their loyalty and reliability. On the other hand, once they discover that some of their subordinates are as clean as water and have actions that win people's hearts, they can basically be regarded as having ulterior motives.

  If the former can still be tolerated as a minor annoyance, and only requires regular cleaning of some excessively foolish acts, then the latter can only be described as a thorn in the eye and a stab in the flesh, which must be eliminated to feel relieved.

  In the late Warring States period, the Qin state wanted to destroy Chu and eliminate this major threat. King Zhao Zheng of Qin, who had not yet declared himself emperor, ordered General Wang Jian to lead an army of 600,000 soldiers to attack Chu. At that time, Xiang Yan, the father of Xiang Yu, was commanding the Chu army in a standoff against the Qin army on the front lines. Wang Jian knew that the Chu army in front of him had a desperate and defeated air about them, and from a tactical standpoint did not want to recklessly advance his troops. He also feared that if he delayed advancing, he would be suspected by the king and end up like Lian Po, dying miserably in a foreign land. Therefore, every few days Wang Jian would write a letter requesting property and wealth, sending someone to deliver it back to Xianyang to ask Zhao Zheng for rewards. Each time Zhao Zheng read the letters, he would laugh them off, but all of Wang Jian's requests were approved.

  King Chein's subordinates were puzzled and asked the general why he was so concerned about wealth, land and houses. King Chein replied briefly and to the point.

  "I'm bringing out the most capable brothers from our gang to take care of things. Now, I'm asking you for money and territory just to prove that we're doing alright and not planning to betray you, so please don't worry."

  After a burst of laughter, Si Jue nodded at Ye Fei and said with a big tone:

  "Speak up! What do you want? A noble title? Gold, silver and treasure? Women? Just say it out loud, I'm not a petty person, as long as you have the ability to take it away, you can have as much as you want."

  Upon hearing this, Ye Fei immediately stood up and said:

  "Great, I don't want any official titles or rewards, nor do I want money, silk, or women. All I need is to borrow those craftsmen who were captured the other day for a few days."

  The Tiele people were extremely brutal towards the ordinary Qin people, often slaughtering cities and killing all men taller than a cart wheel to eliminate potential rebels. However, they highly valued craftsmen. Any artisan with a useful skill who was willing to surrender to the Tiele could save their entire family from death. Even those artisans who refused to surrender were not killed by the Tiele, but instead were demoted to slavery and forced to serve them.

  Hearing this, Wen Sheng looked at Ye Fei with a slightly surprised expression and shook his head.

  "No way, I won't give you all the craftsmen."

  The battles in Guanzhong are still ongoing, and even though the main force of the Qin army is doing nothing while sitting in Xianyang, the fighting in other places has never stopped for a moment.

  The iron-clad army of Tie Le, which is fighting in the front line, consumes a terrifying astronomical figure of military equipment and supplies every day. For example, even if each soldier shoots only ten arrows per day, the number of arrows that need to be replenished will reach tens of millions, piling up like a small mountain. Other weapons and armor also suffer losses, how can these things be done without craftsmen?

  With a comprehensive plan to capture Xianyang already in mind, Ye Fei appeared confident and self-assured. He smiled confidently and said:

  "Good grief, I don't want too many workmen, five hundred will be enough, but these workmen must be personally selected by me."

  The Tie Le people have tens of thousands of craftsmen who follow the army, divided into many categories such as bow makers, blacksmiths, armorers, leather workers, and stone masons. Even a mere 500 craftsmen would not affect the army's repair of damaged weapons and manufacture of siege engines.

  After hearing this, Si Kong's face gradually calmed down and he said:

  "When can you come up with a solution for that broken city?"

  "Ten days, just give me ten more days. Oh, and the materials from the craftsmen's camp are also at my disposal, I am willing to stake my head on it, within ten days, I will definitely present Xianyang city before the Great Khan's horse."

  As for Ye Fei, this outstanding cadre who excels in his work, Si Kongchu still appreciates him somewhat. After all, even if you're raising a dog, the master would still hope it's a good hunting dog that can catch rabbits.

  After careful consideration, Ye Fei's request didn't seem to have much harm, so Si Jue thought for a moment and said with a pretentious tone:

  "Haha, you're quite a talker! Remember, there are only ten days left, don't let me down."

  Ten days later, the Xianyang garrison and the Tie Le army stationed outside the city continued to confront each other, maintaining a state of cold war.

  Those residents who went to the forest outside the city in groups of three or five to cut firewood, shuttled back and forth between the forest and Xianyang like ants moving house, slightly alleviating the tense atmosphere.

  Rumble...

  At the stroke of noon, with a flash of orange flame, the northwest gate of Xianyang City and more than half of the outer city wall were blown into the sky. Immediately afterwards, a thick black smoke column resembling a cigar spread out in the high altitude of hundreds of meters, presenting a mushroom-shaped cloud to the audience.

  In an instant, a powerful blast wave swept through the area around the city gate, sweeping away everything that was not fixed in place for several miles like a hurricane.

  A large amount of black gunpowder concentrated explosion splashed up the broken bricks and tiles, like bullets out of the chamber, "whooshing" past people's ears, almost everyone who witnessed this terrifying scene was frightened silly.

  Indeed, gunpowder as a dangerous byproduct of alchemy research was nothing rare in the Qin Empire. Apart from the fireworks workshops exclusively for palace festivals and celebrations, there were also numerous firework workshops and craftsmen scattered throughout Guanzhong. Every time it came to festive celebrations, the amount of gunpowder consumed in Xianyang alone could fill hundreds of ox carts, but no one had ever used such a large quantity of gunpowder to manufacture weapons.

  Before the invention of firearms, the primary use of gunpowder in the military was in the form of fire lances and explosive fire arrows and bombs, rather than as a propellant for projectiles.

  It must be said that someone's desire for revenge was so strong that it could drive the wheels of history forward. From this moment on, the face of future wars would become vastly different from most previous ones.

  The sudden explosion at the city gate was like a bolt from the blue for the unprepared Qin army, and they were stunned and confused. The Iron Leaguer army waiting outside the city also suffered a huge psychological shock, but they recovered relatively quickly under the loud scolding and whipping of their commanders, and took the initiative to launch an attack.

  "Get in! Get in!"

  The thundering sound of horseshoes was like a muffled thunder, and the iron-clad cavalry rushed into Xianyang, competing with each other. Khan generously promised to slaughter the city for three days, which is a great opportunity to make a fortune that cannot be missed.

  The alley battle is unfavorable to the cavalry, and the maze composed of high and low buildings and winding streets will slow down the speed of the cavalry at any time, making them a good target. The potential attacker comes from all sides, making it difficult to defend, but the Tie Le people, who have an overall advantage in military strength, have ignored the number of casualties. Nomadic peoples are the epitome of all soldiers, and as long as adult men can ride horses, they can be used as soldiers, regardless of how many warriors are lost, as long as a few years are waited for the new generation of males to grow up and fill the gap.

  If it's still too slow, go to the grasslands and annex several small tribes, and the number of troops will immediately recover to the current level.

  Vitality is as strong as wild grass, fire can't burn it out, and knives can't cut off its roots. This is the greatest advantage that nomadic nations have, and at the same time, it is also the crux of the problem that agricultural nations cannot thoroughly suppress the grassland nation before the birth of modern armies relying on new firearms and strict discipline.

  Lin Xue, standing outside the circle, watched with a cold eye. The mortal war was like watching lions hunting antelopes in the animal world. Perhaps he had a heart of mercy when faced with the bloody scene, but he wouldn't intervene arbitrarily.

  "Ah, just in time, let's get to work!"

  On the north side of Xianyang City, on a yellow earth mound with thorns and brambles that was slightly higher than the surrounding farmland, Lin Xu had been lying in ambush beforehand. He opened his stance, ready to fulfill his duty as an agent of the Underworld, gathering up the numerous yin souls that would soon be produced within the Imperial City.

  As Lin Xu's feet stepped into the Yu Bu pattern on the ground, forming the Big Dipper, the entire mound above was quickly shrouded in a deep, blood-red color. In the midst of this continuous bloody hue, seven bright points flickered with an eerie, dazzling blue-white light.

  The rise and fall of dynasties in the world is an internal affair of humanity, and this matter ultimately belongs to human affairs. The behavior of humans killing each other also belongs to infighting, and no matter who kills whom, it is all reasonable and justifiable in the eyes of heaven and earth. Those non-human gods and demons, although they have great magical powers, none of them dare to intervene too deeply, lest they get burned by the fire. The vital energy of humanity is an empty pointer, representing the Alaya consciousness of humanity, which is not a vegetarian master. If it is truly provoked, even gods will be crushed into dust.

  The gods and demons choose their agents, in the midst of the great trend of human transformation, taking advantage of the situation to reap a small amount of merit. This is already not bad. If some guy is greedy and insufficient, daring to go against the trend, then he must have a few parts of the necessary awareness of being crushed into powder by Alaya in the name of humanity.

  "Where is the Imperial Tutor? Hurry and summon him to come and escort the Emperor. Who's there! Go quickly and invite the Imperial Tutor."

  The civil and military officials gathered in the Xianyang Palace, along with the 85th Emperor of Qin who was so frightened that he hid under the dragon-shaped desk, trembling all over.

  Just then, the dignitaries were frightened out of their wits by a loud explosion from the northwest. When they came to their senses, they were even more panicked. They had not expected that this scene, like a great calamity, was caused by some new type of weapon used by the enemy army. It's not that they were ignorant and foolish; ordinary people can't help but be influenced by conventional thinking. In this land where gods and demons roam, it's only natural for people to think of some kind of disaster or supernatural power at first, and it's also reasonable to expect a professional like Guoshi to come out and save the situation.

  Just then, the officials in the great hall shouted and called out for a while, but the warrior who had been sent to summon him was nowhere to be seen. After another delay of half a watch, Guo Pu still did not appear.

  The eighty-fifth emperor of the Qin dynasty, who felt a great disaster was approaching, struggled to crawl out from under his desk, but his legs were trembling so much that he couldn't stand still. He had to sit down on the steps in front of the throne with the help of eunuchs and rest for a moment.

  At the moment when everyone was in a state of panic and didn't know what to do, Qin Wuji, one of the nine senior officials, stepped forward and came before the emperor with no expression. He bowed his head and said:

  "I beg to report to Your Majesty, the evil sorcery of the Hu people is extremely poisonous, and I fear that Xianyang may not be able to hold out."

  Upon hearing these words, Qin's eighty-fifth generation could not help but shed tears like rain, stomping his feet and pounding his chest in self-reproach for being unfilial, unable to protect the ancestral temple and the imperial mausoleum.

  Under the persuasion of the group of ministers, the emperor reluctantly stopped his sorrowful voice, and immediately, he asked Zong Zheng Qin Wuji as if a drowning person grasped the last straw:

  "Zong Zheng, what do you think I should do?"

  Zongzheng is the minister in charge of managing imperial family affairs, similar to the imperial family's steward, and has always been held by close relatives and old ministers of the imperial clan. Qin Wuji was also the uncle-grandfather generation of this new emperor, the 85th generation of the Qin family, so some things that others dared not say, he still dared to speak out.

  After a moment of silence, Qin Wuji suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

  "Your Majesty, I humbly submit that in my opinion, there is only one course of action left - to relocate the capital."