Kays Translations

Chapter 228: Bombarding the Imperial Capital

The tense atmosphere in the imperial capital, Wuyang City, began to spread, and all those immersed in the prosperity of industry and commerce suddenly realized how fragile they truly were.

“Crusade against the false emperor, Xia Guang!”

“Crusade against Xia Guang…”

…

A chorus of loud slogans echoed around Wuyang City, which was now completely surrounded by armies from all directions.

To the east, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, Xia Shu led an army, claiming a strength of 100,000.

In the northwest, the First Prince and Xia Xu commanded a force of 200,000.

To the southeast, the Kong family, led by their patriarch and the governor of Nanyang Prefecture, Kong Donglai, fielded 150,000 soldiers.

In the southwest, the governor of Songzhou Prefecture, Gao Bin, led an army of 100,000.

Only in the west did the Wang family’s own forces stand, protecting the link between Guangling Prefecture and the imperial capital, Wuyang City, while also cutting off the enemy’s encirclement from that direction.

Inside Wuyang City, Shangguan Guang personally commanded 200,000 soldiers to defend the city.

Meanwhile, Grand Marshal Fu Minghui had withdrawn from the power struggle. He led a reinforced Imperial Guard of over 10,000 troops and stationed them 500 miles away at the imperial mausoleum. Officially, this was to protect the mausoleum, maintaining a stance of neutrality. However, all factions were vying to win his allegiance, including the First Prince. After all, the Imperial Guard remained an elite force, and Fu Minghui himself was an outstanding general.

Tensions were on the verge of eruption. The only regions within the Great Xia Kingdom still under Li family control were Anyang Prefecture and Kai Ping Prefecture, which had yet to take action.

High above, Nascent Soul-stage experts sent by neighboring nations were covertly observing the battlefield, scouting the situation. Some of these experts were even high-ranking military commanders.

For instance, Jin Kingdom had dispatched its central army commander, Li Lisong, a Nascent Soul early-stage cultivator. He now hovered a thousand meters in the air, watching the conflict unfold below.

Since Anyang had begun openly selling military weapons and since industry and commerce had become widely promoted, sharp-minded generals had realized that the nature of warfare was about to change.

However, all these high-altitude observers were using invisibility techniques, making them difficult to detect unless one searched carefully.

Li Lisong stood silently on his flying sword, closely studying the battlefield, even beginning to record everything using a jade slip. While engraving jade slips was an exhausting task for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was effortless for a Nascent Soul expert.

The first thing Li Lisong noticed was the steel jungles in the midst of every army—these were weapons purchased from Anyang or gunpowder-based weaponry crafted by the armies themselves.

One must not underestimate the ingenuity of others. While none of these forces possessed the industrial system necessary to manufacture advanced cannons like those of Anyang, they could still produce crude versions. These primitive cannons fired iron balls or even iron sand, which were still significantly more lethal than the most basic bows and arrows—albeit with a much shorter range.

Both the besieging forces and the defenders of Wuyang City possessed firearms. As an arms dealer, Li Xian had been very “fair”—everyone had bought roughly the same amount. By controlling the supply of weapons, Li Xian indirectly controlled the war.

Beyond cannons, there were also ballistae for the attackers and mounted crossbows for the defenders. With the introduction of bearings, springs, standardized steel, and the “industrial wiring” sold by Anyang, these ranged weapons had undergone a dramatic transformation.

The new crossbows were larger and more numerous than before.

When Li Lisong saw the massive ballista mounted on Wuyang City’s walls, he couldn’t help but gasp.

What a terrifying machine—it had twelve bow arms arranged in three vertical layers. When fully drawn, the bowstring spanned nearly ten meters. The components included steel cables, springs, pulleys, and more. Every surface that could accommodate an enchantment had been inscribed with formations using industrial wiring, creating an eerie yet mesmerizing glow, reminiscent of a venomous serpent.

The bolts loaded into this ballista were each seven inches thick and over three meters long—practically steel pillars.

In addition, the city walls bristled with ominous, pitch-black cannon barrels, resembling countless gaping maws leading straight to hell.

“So this is the power of industry!” Li Lisong furrowed his brows. The battle had yet to begin, yet he could already sense that this war would be different—it would be a battle that completely overturned traditional warfare!

The tense standoff continued, but Li Lisong remained patient, carefully observing every detail. He knew that after fifteen years of internal strife, the Great Xia Kingdom was already riddled with contradictions, needing only a pretext to ignite a full-scale war.

And now, that pretext had arrived. It was inevitable.

Sure enough, before long, the soldiers and officers below started cursing, and the noise gradually grew louder. Not long after, the commanders responsible for the city wall’s defense (Shangguan Guang) and the generals of the surrounding regional military forces (the provincial governors) began to converse.

It was the same old argument—one side claimed the other was unjust while declaring themselves the army of righteousness; the other side accused them of rebellion and treason.

Both sides argued heatedly, faces red and necks swollen, but neither could convince the other.

As evening approached, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, Xia Xu finally lost his patience. The throne was supposed to be his, yet now it had “flown away”—this was absolutely unacceptable. At the Crown Prince’s command, they declared the campaign: to punish the unrighteous Third Prince, Xia Guang, and to execute the traitors Wang Chuan and Shangguan Guang.

The ballistae and crude cannons remained unused for the moment, while Yuan Zhao personally took command of 50 cannons of various sizes, adjusting their angles. The first strike had to be precise—it needed to crush the enemy’s confidence.

As soon as the Crown Prince’s side began making moves, the defenders became anxious.

Shangguan Guang gave the order: “Fire! We must not let the traitors launch the first attack!”

With the command given, the preloaded ballistae released with a deep hum, sending massive “steel bolts” flying through the air.

In the sky, Jin Kingdom’s central army commander, Li Liusong, narrowed his eyes as he watched. These steel bolts, each weighing as much as fourteen grown men, shot out with a speed that even a Core Formation stage expert could barely track. In just a few breaths, they had crossed a kilometer, hurtling toward the artillery encampment in Lüliang County.

And Yuan Zhao? Unfazed. Watching the enemy initiate the attack, he simply smiled and said, “Oh, so you’re the ones attacking first. That means our response is purely defensive.”

As the massive ballista bolts flew in, several Core Formation stage experts and a large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators suddenly intervened, using spells, talismans, and magical artifacts to block the incoming projectiles.

Boom!

A deafening impact resounded as two Core Formation experts were sent flying. The sheer brute force of the massive bolts had knocked them away. However, since the bolts were made of ordinary steel, they were ultimately stopped—though they twisted like pretzels before crashing to the ground.

Even so, the remaining Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators were not unscathed. The force of the impact shattered many of their artifacts and even shook their vital energy. As the saying goes, raw power can overcome skill—pure physical strength, when reaching an extreme, could still injure Core Formation cultivators. Everything had a limit.

But while this brief clash unfolded, the 50 cannons had finally finished adjusting and were ready to fire!

From his vantage point above, Li Liusong saw a shockwave ripple outward, followed by an explosion of smoke. Within the smoke, projectiles shot out at speeds several times faster than the ballista bolts, crossing a kilometer in the blink of an eye and striking the city walls. The speed was so great that even Li Liusong, at the Nascent Soul stage, could barely keep track.

Boom… Boom…

Violent explosions erupted. Due to his elevated position, Li Liusong could hear both the cannon fire and the explosions at almost the same time. Fifty shells detonated simultaneously, causing the city walls to tremble. The defensive formations on the surface of the walls fluctuated like rippling water.

“The explosive power of the largest cannon shell surpasses even a late-stage Core Formation cultivator’s full-strength attack. And there are still plenty more of these shells!” Li Liusong squinted, realizing, “The nature of warfare has truly changed. Soldiers no longer engage in close combat—battles now start with long-range attacks!”

This was the first round of engagement, but once it began, there was no stopping it. The ballistae continued to fire, and the cannons mounted on Wuyang City’s walls unleashed their fury. Shells of all sizes rained down on the Lüliang County soldiers, tearing through their ranks. Explosions rocked the battlefield, killing hundreds in an instant.

From that moment on, the battle never relented—there was no siege warfare, no wall defense engagements. There was only one thing—artillery bombardment! Nothing else mattered. They would bombard first, then worry about everything else later.

“No wonder Anyang City dismantled its walls. No wonder they didn’t rebuild them after expansion! So this is why!”

Li Liusong’s eyes flickered with realization, though inwardly, he was shaken to the core—warfare had changed so drastically! And this transformation in military tactics would inevitably lead to a complete reshuffling of power across the entire Yinzhou region.

Of course, that was a discussion for the future. For now, the battle raged on.

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