Chapter 76: Great Victory

Yan Zhengqing was puzzled. Were these three-wheeled vehicles that could move on their own the same ones that Li Xian had mentioned at the first Industrial Expo in the Great Xia Kingdom? But how were they used?

However, the next moment, Yan Zhengqing understood, and it was a scene he would never forget.

As the five tricycles reached a distance of fifty to sixty feet in front of the formation, they stopped advancing and began to race laterally. The next moment, the sound of popping gunfire erupted! Each vehicle was equipped with two of the finest and most powerful sniper rifles. The speed was not fast, but almost every bullet took a life.

In just an instant, over twenty of the personal guards fell!

These personal guards were the elite, chosen from thousands, capable of turning the tide in critical moments, yet now they were falling without understanding why.

Yan Zhengqing, watching the five tricycles bouncing joyfully ahead, suddenly ordered, “Charge! Let’s take one of those tricycles!”

“No! That’s a trap!” The strategist, Xiang Bowen, quickly intervened.

“I know! But if we can’t obtain this new weapon, the Cai Kingdom will be restless!”

Xiang Bowen gazed at the lively tricycles and realized, “General, I think I have an idea. This thing should be quite simple!”

“Oh?”

“Gunpowder! Do you remember the firecrackers during the New Year? The kind that came from the central powers, Zhao and Wei? Their sound is the same, and they all produce smoke.”

Yan Zhengqing frowned in confusion. “Gunpowder? Firecrackers? Is there such a thing? How come I’ve never heard of it?”

Xiang Bowen’s eyes were filled with nostalgia. “These are things I played with in my childhood. You’ve asked about my background many times, General. I actually hail from the Zhao Kingdom. But… you are no stranger to political struggles.”

Yan Zhengqing still had doubts. “If there really is such a thing as gunpowder, why haven’t I heard of such weapons? If gunpowder and firecrackers are merely children’s toys, then a weapon capable of killing Foundation Establishment cultivators would surely have spread widely.”

“This… General, we need to retreat quickly. I will explain everything when we return!” Xiang Bowen was anxious, as in that brief moment, the five tricycles joyfully bounded forward several dozen feet, warmly “greeting” over a hundred personal guards.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Since Xiang Bowen knew some of the circumstances, Yan Zhengqing decisively ordered a retreat.

However, retreating on the battlefield was not simple—anyone could start a war, but the initiative was always in the hands of the victors! The soldiers of An Yang, motivated by the generous rewards, fought desperately to pursue—those who had discarded their armor were like sheep; if they didn’t slaughter them now, when would they?

This chase and escape lasted over thirty miles, with the pursuit going on for more than an hour. At least ten thousand men from the Cai Kingdom would forever remain here. The five tricycles shone brightest, with ten people managing to fire over four thousand rounds, killing more than two thousand enemies.

After pursuing for some time, Xu Ren timely stepped in to stop Li Xian. “We can’t pursue any further! Going ahead may lead to danger; we are close to the Cai Kingdom’s borders, and our soldiers are exhausted. We need to leave some strength for the return.”

Li Liang glanced at Xu Ren, then looked back at his strategist, Zou Hui. Silently, he turned around and ordered a return.

Zou Hui’s face turned red; he thought to himself, “Why must one be better than the other?” The soldiers turned around to begin harvesting trophies, and one by one, they returned like demons, each hanging a string of ears, swaying and singing as they made their way back to the border.

Indeed, as everyone returned to the border, they saw thousands of elite soldiers from the Cai Kingdom approaching from a distance. Clearly, these men had come from the border of the Cai Kingdom; if the group had hesitated for just a moment, they might have walked right into an encirclement.

Seeing this, Li Liang wiped a cold sweat from his brow. That was close! If they had stumbled into that encirclement, not many of the pursuing soldiers would have survived—after all, they had already been fighting all night.

The pursuing soldiers from the Cai Kingdom, seeing that An Yang had reestablished its defenses, naturally left in disappointment. However, before leaving, these guys still took the opportunity to mock a little, recovering some face.

With the pursuers retreating, the brothers Li Liang and Li Xian prepared to rest, as did the soldiers. After a series of battles, everyone was quite exhausted. 

Unexpectedly, Xu Ren shouted, “Young masters, hurry and pursue! We can surely achieve another great victory!”

“What? Why?” The brothers Li Liang and Li Xian stared at him in disbelief. “Sir, we don’t understand what you’re saying!”

Xu Ren was almost jumping up and down. “Don’t worry about anything, just attack! We can talk about it later. Let the elite troops engage and settle this quickly! Three to five thousand men will be enough!”

Li Liang and Li Xian exchanged glances and immediately ordered, “Open the city gates again, charge out!”

This time, the attacking force was small, with just over four thousand men, many of whom were from Wang Jian’s side. The five tricycles bounced back onto the road; these guys were far from tired.

They had barely chased out three miles when they saw—those soldiers from the Cai Kingdom had actually removed their armor and were scattered, unprepared, laughing and joking among themselves.

When the soldiers from An Yang charged forward, these guys were completely dumbfounded—this wasn’t following the rules!

Needless to say, it was another one-sided massacre, with four thousand soldiers slaying ten thousand, leaving only a few foundation-level masters able to escape.

“Decapitated over nine thousand seven hundred people—this is even more impressive than the last victory!” After hearing this result, Li Liang looked at Xu Ren not with respect but with awe.

Li Xian also stared blankly at Xu Ren for a long time before sighing, “Sir, you are truly talented. But please explain; there are still some things I don’t understand.”

Xu Ren smiled confidently. “There are three factors.

First, they considered the Cai Kingdom’s defeat, but they absolutely didn’t think it would be a total rout. So when they chased us, they were in a hurry and not fully prepared.

Second, seeing the city gates closed, they naturally thought we had taken a defensive stance and wouldn’t launch another attack. This made them relax.

Third, with the first two points combined, along with the long-distance pursuit, they were tired and overheated.

Honestly, I didn’t expect the soldiers from the Cai Kingdom to chase us all the way to our city walls.”

Meanwhile, Zou Hui awkwardly hid behind Li Liang, thinking, “We’re all strategists—how can the gap be this big?”

At that moment, Beichen Yuqing spoke up, “Young master, we still have time to pursue the Kong family. They wouldn’t expect us to win so quickly.”

“The Kong family!” Li Liang snorted angrily. “Withdraw 100 foundation-level soldiers from the army to follow Li Xian. We need to extinguish the Kong family’s forces coming this way immediately!”

This operation was small, only involving over 500 elite soldiers led by Beichen Yuqing.

Li Xian, Li Liang, Xu Ren, and Zou Hui began organizing the results of this battle—military achievements, rewards, compensations, and other matters. They also needed to report to the court.

Most importantly, they had to maximize the political benefits of this victory, which required a lot of careful planning!

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