75th Descent of Jiang's Submerged Dragon Boat

  "Wu An Guo, this name is a bit like some cannon fodder from the Three Kingdoms period..."

  Wu Song sat on the cloud carriage of the Lou boat, with a light silk canopy, listening to Li Shishi playing the zither on one side and clapping his hands in time. The Lou boat sailed down the river, with the sound of water rushing past his ears, and beneath the deck, two layers of soldiers shouted slogans and rowed the oars with all their might.

  He is now somewhat worried, when he was young and arrogant, wanting to marry several more wives, so he brought Li Shishi back home by trickery and deception. Unexpectedly, Li Shishi actually devoted herself to him wholeheartedly and followed him relentlessly.

  Wu Song also sensed that Gong Sunyan had deep feelings for him, and the two of them had fought their way out of the Western Xia battlefield together, traveling through wind and rain to get to where they were today. Although neither of them had mentioned their feelings for each other, Wu Song understood in his heart that the girl who could die at any moment occupied a very large place in his heart.

  Even Bai Yulian and Pan Jinlian, who grew up with him, were not as good as Gong Sunyan in his heart. Although from the appearance, Gong Sunyan was not a peerless beauty, not as beautiful as Li Shishi, nor had the tenderness of Bai Yulian, nor the passion of Jinlian, but for some reason, Wu Song felt that she was the most beautiful woman.

  Wu Song took a stealthy glance at Gong Sunyan, and saw that the girl was still sitting in the tent playing chess by herself. At this time, in a certain mountain stronghold in Shandong, there was also a pale-faced girl who was playing chess alone.

  Two people are almost identical in their demeanor and behavior, and even many of their moves are extremely similar.

  Two girls seemed to have sensed each other's presence, and almost at the same time, one looked up towards the east, and the other looked up towards the west.

  The grudge between Gongshu and Mohist families for over a thousand years is destined to be settled in another battle!

  Wu Song took a deep breath and began to circulate the Precious Scripture of the Nine Heavens, using all his might to summon the power of the 108 stars of the Nine Heavens. These heavenly powers poured into his body's meridians, only to be immediately controlled by the Eight Trigrams Sealing God technique, which forced them deep into his dantian.

  At the same time, he was also running the Lingbao True Qi of Taoism, the Haoran Zhengqi of Confucianism, the Wuxing Qi of Yin and Yang, and the Buddhist True Qi had been completely swallowed up by these three true qi, disappearing without a trace.

  In the lower abdomen, these three true energies blend together like water, merging into one another without distinction. This is the ingenious application of his double-pupil deduction technique. However, despite this, the gradually expanding true energy still cannot break through the Eight Trigrams' seal, and ultimately cannot escape the lower abdomen.

  Not only can't get out of Dantian, but also gradually extract Yuanqi from all corners of the body and seal it in Dantian.

  This means that if one is sealed by the Eight Meridians, a person's lifespan will become shorter and shorter. Even if your cultivation is as high as reaching the heavens, you won't be able to withstand twenty years of consumption!

  Lian Zhou Tongna and other high-ranking officials, Lü Xingxian who refined the golden elixir, also said that they had sealed off the eight meridians and would not live beyond twenty years. What about Gong Shu Yanran?

  Wu Song had eighty-eight Taoist priests plant the Eight Trigrams Seal of God on him, hoping to understand the secret of breaking the seal from the root, but for now, the effect is minimal.

  Now all he has left is the powerful physical body brought by the Tianbao Zhuang Jing, which is enough to kill enemies on the battlefield, but when encountering a Taoist in a battle of magic, he is at a loss.

  "If the continuous influx of Fa Li into the Dantian were to persist, would it not break through the constraints of the Eight Meridians' seal on the gods?" Wu Song suddenly had this thought, but immediately negated this method. Continuously pouring Fa Li into the Dantian, only a physically robust old monster like Zhou Tong could withstand it. With Wu Song's current physical body, he feared that he would only be burst to death by the violent Fa Li!

  The Eight Meridians Seal God sealed off all of Wu Song's magical powers, and his twin pupils were unable to exert their divine realm. Now, Wu Song could only rely on deduction techniques to deduce the various possibilities of breaking the Eight Meridians Seal God.

  The houseboat drifted downstream for two or three days, when suddenly a scout came to report. The admiral invited the scout on board and said: "Report to the National Teacher, Chen Shi and Song Jiang's rebels have already attacked and broken through Jinan. The Jinan prefecture's entire family was killed, the defending general was also completely defeated, and together with the officials and wealthy families in Jinan city, their heads were all hung on the city wall!"

  Wu Song heard this and instead of getting angry, he was delighted. He waved his hand to let the scout go down and said: "Immediately go to Yizhou City and let Gao Feng and Gao Da lead the elite soldiers and good generals to attack Jinan!"

  The scout immediately disembarked and rushed straight to Yizhou City.

  Wu Song summoned all the commanders to come aboard the flagship, saying: "Chen Hui is asking for death! Knowing that I have warships and cannons, he still dares to occupy Jinan! Is it not that his ancestral tomb no longer emits green smoke, but rather black smoke?"

  Yang Jia and Lu Junyi burst out laughing, while Gong Sunyan furrowed his brow and said: "The enemy may also have large ships." He told them about his discovery in Zengtou City, saying: "I suspect that among the rebels there are disciples of the Mohist school. If this is true, then they must have had a firm grasp on how to deal with our tower ships long ago!"

  Ling Zhen shook his head and said, "Miss Gong Shu has overestimated herself. Building such a massive fleet of ships requires an enormous amount of manpower and resources, which is impossible for a small mountain stronghold to accomplish. The Tianji Pavilion spent four years mobilizing the entire nation's strength to build just ten ships, how can they possibly build one in less than a month?"

  Gong Shu Yan thought for a moment, nodded and agreed. The building boat continued to drift downstream, passing by Qi State the next day, with Jinan City in sight ahead. Using his thousand-mile eyes, he could see the yellow flag of "Tiān Xíng Dào" fluttering on top of the city tower, and a huge bronze bell hanging high above, shining brightly with golden light.

  The Yellow River arrived here, flowing through the city, and the huge city wall of Jinan City rose high, more than 20 zhang (a unit of length), with five or six giant iron gates connected to seal off the river mouth. In front of the iron gate, thousands of sails were raised, small boats of uniform color, densely packed, and on the five main ships, flags with the characters "Ruan", "Zhang" and "Xu" were erected respectively.

  Wu Song wondered, "In Liangshan, only the three Ruan brothers and Zhang Heng, Zhang Shun, and Li Jun are well-versed in water warfare. Since I captured Li Jun alive, why has a Xu flag appeared now? Could it be Xue Ying, the True Man of the Medicinal Mountain? The entire Xue family consists of sorcerers, men and women alike, and every single one of them has joined the rebels; they deserve to die!"

  Wu Song shifted his thousand-mile gaze southward, only to see wolf smoke rising from the south of Jinan City. It was Gao Lian and Gao Feng leading their troops to kill, currently engaging in a battle of magic three miles outside the city. Gao Feng's iron armor corpse and Gao Lian's copper armor corpse arrayed at the front, the Gao brothers successively displaying the Mixed Sea Heaven Net Great Method, dark fog enveloping Jinan City. However, the Nine Yang Divine Bell hanging above the city gate clanged loudly, dispersing the dark fog.

  The mighty Hunyuan Tiandi Great Method encounters the Supreme Yang Treasure of Mount Longhu, the Jiu Yang Shen Zhong, and is unable to exert its due effect.

  The two armies clashed in front of the formation, and Qing Dao Ren Gong Sun Sheng was surrounded by a large army in the center, holding the Songwen Gu Ding sword, displaying the Wu Lei Tian Xin Zheng Fa transmitted by Luo Zhenren, fighting alone against the two brothers Gao Lian and Gao Feng. The thunderous sound even spread to the Lou Chuan more than ten miles away.

  "What a fierce Thunder Law!" Wu Song looked around at the crowd and said: "What's the origin of the Nine Yang Divine Bell? Is there any way to break it?"

  Mrs. Zhang Qing, the heroine Qiongying, was the woman who laid down paper horses and knife guns in Cangshan County, leaning on Zhang Qing's arms. When Zhang Qing was invited by Wu Song to enter the Tianji Pavilion, she also followed him into the pavilion, serving as a third-grade technician.

  Qiong Ying smiled and said, "The National Master doesn't know that this Jiu Yang Shen Zhong is the treasure of Longhu Mountain. It's a pure yang treasure that can cover an area of nine miles around. When the bell rings eighty-one times, there will be auspicious clouds and lucky energy hanging down. However, I have never seen it with my own eyes."

  "I once heard my family teacher mention the Jiuyang Divine Bell. To break it, one must use the pure yin and quiet treasure of Luo Zhenren, the Xuan Huang pendant, to break it. Alternatively, a cultivator who has refined the pre-heavenly static one Qi can also eliminate this treasure. If anyone else touches this treasure, they will be burned to death by fierce flames."

  Wu Song furrowed his brow, the Xuan Huang pendant was Luo Zhenren's treasure, and Luo Zhenren was clearly of the same ilk as Gong Sunsheng and Chen Xizhen. Wanting to borrow it from him would not be easy.

  "National Master, I'll have a hundred cannons fired at once, and we'll blast that bronze bell to the ground!" Ling Zhen bowed and said. Wu Song waved his hand, and Ling Zhen immediately gave the order. Ten warships creaked and groaned as they lined up on the river surface, opening their portholes one after another, and the gunners pushed out cannon after cannon.

  The Qingyun Mountain and Water Army had already discovered that the five main ships were waving small flags, and suddenly thousands of troops rushed out, surging towards the Lou ship. Ling Zhen also waved the command flag, and the officers on the deck immediately pushed out vehicle after vehicle of foot-operated crossbows and catapults. The front row of the naval army strung their bows, the second row held iron hooks, the third row held long spears, and the fourth row held waist knives, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

  But then a loud explosion was heard, and hundreds of cannons fired in unison, causing the river surface to churn and surge. One hundred cannonballs fell into Jinan City, but before they could land, a figure suddenly emerged from under the giant bell - it was Gu Ying, the Demon-Subduing True Man invited by Chen Xizhen to assist him. With a wave of his palm, Gu sent out a Thunderous Palm that shook the giant bell, causing all one hundred cannonballs to explode spontaneously, filling the air with poisonous smoke and steel pellets.

  Wu Song furrowed his brow and smiled, saying: "It's a pity that Wang Laizi is not here. Otherwise, with his Three Emperors True Scripture, he could have had a good fight with the Diarrhea True Man!"

  Everyone on the ship was worried, but after hearing this, they couldn't help but laugh and open their hearts. They didn't care about the Qingyun Mountain Water Army coming to compete with them. Suddenly, the water official put down the big bamboo tube, raised his head and shouted: "National Master, there is movement in the water!"

  Ling Zhen immediately shouted: "Iron anchor, come forward and insert the water ghost!" As soon as the words fell, only the soldiers on the Pingkou ship in front shouted: "The water ghost is sinking the ship, it's going to sink!" The general guarding the Pingkou ship was Shan Tinggui, who was proficient in the method of infiltrating troops into the water. When something happened, he didn't panic and ordered the soldiers to board the tooth ship before escaping. Until only one tooth ship was left, Shan Tinggui alone stayed on the Pingkou ship, exerting himself to turn the big wheel plate, putting the tooth ship into the water, and then jumping down from the 6-7 zhang high deck, treading water and boarding the tooth ship.

  At this time, Wu Song also felt that something was wrong and hastily ordered the nine Lou ships to retreat. Nearly a thousand sailors stuck out their oars on the second floor, exposing their backs and rowing with all their might. The Lou ship retreated backwards. Only then did Ping Kou's ship slowly sink to the bottom of the river, stirring up a huge whirlpool.

  In the whirlpool, a black thing emerged, like an elongated flat sea snail. Gong Shu looked at it and his face changed dramatically, exclaiming: "Mo Family's Submerged Spiral Boat!"

  Wu Song also saw the sinking spiral boat and shouted: "What is a sinking spiral boat, it's clearly a submarine! Thunderbolt cart, shoot through those submarines for me!" The building ship retreated while pushing out thunderbolt carts, loaded with long spears, and shot them into the water.

  On the other hand, the Qingyun Mountain water army was pursuing closely, and Ruan Xia'er, Ruan Xiaoqi, Zhang Heng, Zhang Shun, and Xu Huai each led a water army to charge and kill.

  Wu Song suffered such a great defeat for the first time, and after being frightened, he immediately calmed down, commanding the building ship to retreat while firing underwater, blocking the sinking of the spiral boat from advancing. He also ordered the generals on the deck to launch the stone-throwing machine, bombarding the small boats of the Qingyun Mountain water army.

  The Qingyun Mountain and Water Army was blocked, did not take advantage of the victory to pursue, but instead surrounded the place where the Pingkou ship sank, ran out a few iron chains, the water ghost went into the water, wrapped the iron chain around the Pingkou ship, and thousands of ships worked together to pull it out. Xu Hua laughed loudly and shouted: "Thank you, Guoshi, for giving us a boat!" He then had the Pingkou ship towed to Jinan City for repairs.

  All the generals were furious, but Wu Song looked at them calmly and smiled: "Why isn't the National Master angry?" The generals saw that Wu Song was confident and calm, and they immediately calmed down. Wu Song continued to smile and said: "It's just a big ship, worth no more than 100 million guan of money. I have the treasury of the Great Song Dynasty at my disposal, and as long as I report to the Emperor, I can build as many pirate ships as I want. At worst, I'll confiscate Wang Yue's family property, and with their wealth, I can fill the entire Yellow River with warships! Does Wang Shangshu dare to fart? I'll have his whole family executed!"

  The whole army heard this and immediately stabilized their minds, no longer in a panic. Yang Jiaolong nodded repeatedly, Wu Song's demeanor had become more like that of a national hero over the years, and with these words, he fully displayed his heroic spirit, sweeping away the negative impact of the defeat.

  Gong Shu thought for a moment, then said: "To break the sunken ship, we need to use an underwater mine. The sunken ship is made of iron plates and can travel thirty miles underwater with one breath. The underwater mine contains a magnetized needle that will be attracted to the iron plate of the sunken ship, attach itself to its surface, strike the flint, ignite the gunpowder, and explode, breaking the sunken ship!"

  Wu Song was overjoyed and said: "I am the son of the Holy One, and Yan Ran is my Wu Hou! What procedure does this thunderbolt require?"

  "Gong Shu Yanran smiled and said: 'As long as a large blast furnace is used to smelt iron water, pour it into various grinding tools, then select magnets to strike needles, assemble them, and pour in gunpowder. However, some skilled craftsmen are needed to prevent the gunpowder from igniting prematurely. I also need to personally draw the blast furnace diagram and knead the various grinding tools.'"

  Wu Song remained silent for a moment, then smiled and said: "You're not in good health, so don't worry about this matter. I have the simplest and most brutal method to break through all of them, including the sinking ships and the thousand sail water army!"

  Gong Shu Yanran knew he was heartbroken for her, and her heart felt a little sweet. She immediately thought that she wouldn't live long, and felt somewhat melancholy. Forcing a smile, she said: "What clever plan could you possibly have?"

  Many generals also knew that the national teacher was not good at planning, and they all leaned in to listen. Wu Song spoke calmly and slowly, saying a few words, which was exactly what was meant by "using clumsiness to defeat cleverness" and "one strength can subdue ten gatherings". To know what happened next, please wait for the next episode.