Chapter 93: Aircraft

By the time Li Wei returned to Wuyang, rumors about Prime Minister Yan Ze’an of the Cai Kingdom were spreading like wildfire, with all sorts of stories circulating.

At first, people claimed that Prime Minister Yan Ze’an had accepted bribes from the Kong family, which is why he mobilized the troops.

Later, people said that the prime minister was simply too stupid and had been played by the Kong family, losing soldiers and suffering heavy casualties.

Soon, another rumor surfaced—saying that the prime minister wasn’t just stupid, but after being played once, he practically offered himself up to be fooled again.

Finally, some even started suspecting: “Is the prime minister really an idiot, or did he lose on purpose?!”

In the end, the rumors became so absurd and outlandish that some even claimed the prime minister was actually a spy for the Great Xia Kingdom. Then, out of nowhere, someone claimed to have found “evidence” proving that the prime minister’s ancestors were once nobility in the Great Xia Kingdom.

Eventually, as the rumors spiraled out of control and the families of the dead and injured soldiers were furiously calling for the prime minister to be executed by slow slicing, the emperor of the Cai Kingdom had no choice but to “comply with public opinion” and place the entire Yan family under house arrest.

Though it was called house arrest, it was actually quite cruel. There was no food or water in the house! The imperial decree clearly stated that they were to remain under house arrest “until the prime minister’s innocence is proven.” It was obvious that by the time his innocence was proven, his entire family would have starved to death!

There were some who voiced their grievances on behalf of Prime Minister Yan Ze’an, but under the strict surveillance of the imperial guards and teams of skilled experts, any “dissenting” voices quickly disappeared.

As Li Wei set out for Anyang, news from the Cai Kingdom also reached Li Xian. Naturally, Li Xian immediately called for a meeting to discuss the situation.

Xu Ren, the most confident among them, gently waved a feathered fan and said, “Young master, this is our chance. That prime minister is a true talent—we must recruit him.”

Li Xian was stunned. “Sir, are you suggesting that we rescue our former enemy?”

Xu Ren gently shook his head. “No, no, young master. Your thinking is slightly off. The one who is truly our enemy is not the prime minister, but the Cai Kingdom itself—specifically, its emperor.

Young master, if Anyang were to suddenly attack Luliang County now, people would think it was your decision, not mine or anyone else’s.”

“But according to the information we received, it was the prime minister who personally requested to attack us! And the person the Kong family connected with was also Yan Ze’an.” Needless to say, Li Xian held grudges. He never considered himself a gentleman—if someone dared to bite him, he’d kill them and make stew out of it! And now, Yan Ze’an was on his hit list!

Looking at Li Xian’s expression, Xu Ren felt speechless: “Young master, the Prime Minister is only serving the Emperor, just like the relationship between you and me. The one who truly wants to attack the Great Xia Kingdom isn’t the Prime Minister, but the Emperor of the Cai Kingdom.”

“Uh… alright. But how do we save the people? Jailbreak?”

“Negotiation, young master. Didn’t you mention earlier that you wanted to negotiate with the Cai Kingdom?”

“But that was based on General Fu Minghui’s victory in the northern expedition. Now that the northern expedition has failed, how can we negotiate?” Li Xian had been troubled by this recently. He originally planned to use negotiations to open up the Cai Kingdom’s dumping market, but now everything had fallen apart.

Xu Ren analyzed seriously: “Young master, this is exactly the time we cannot relax! The current Prime Minister of Cai Kingdom is Huang Fu. He has political skills but lacks long-term vision and is fond of internal strife and excluding dissidents.

We should continue to attack the Cai Kingdom’s border, deploy the newly developed Floating Cloud Island and cannons to press them. In fact, the Cai Kingdom is currently internally weak and unstable. This negotiation is bound to succeed.

In addition, when we send an envoy to the Cai Kingdom, on the one hand, we should firmly express our desire to negotiate, and on the other hand, openly declare that we want to bring back the Prime Minister’s entire family for execution.

Meanwhile, we can secretly approach Huang Fu, promise him some benefits, and he will surely hand over the Prime Minister’s family to us!”

Li Xian closed his eyes and thought for a while, finally nodding; he had just been overwhelmed by the multitude of tasks before. Ever since taking over Anyang, countless matters had left him mentally exhausted. Yan Ze’an is a talent who can assist the nation, and such a person must be brought over.

After understanding everything, Li Xian immediately issued an order for Cheng Jiming to lead three brand-new Floating Cloud Islands to attack the Cai Kingdom’s border, continuing to press them. At the same time, he was to firmly state: Negotiate and compensate! Otherwise, we will keep fighting!

Cheng Jiming, who was once the general of the archery and magic squad, has now become an “Air Force Commander.” Cheng Jiming was feeling quite pleased. When Li Xian’s order came, Cheng Jiming was boasting to Wang Jian, Chang Lin, Liu Lei’gang, and others about how amazing it felt to fight while flying in the sky. This made Wang Jian and the other generals so frustrated that their teeth were itching.

Just as he was boasting, Li Xian’s new order arrived, commanding him to lead the new Floating Cloud Islands to continue attacking the Cai Kingdom’s border.

“Wow, brothers, I’m going to battle, I’m going to battle! You all better watch closely from behind.” Cheng Jiming hummed a cheerful tune and spun around in delight.

“Ugh, I can’t believe I know you! This must be a sin from my previous life! Hurry up and get out of here!” Wang Jian fumed.

“Get out, get out!” the others were also chasing him away; this guy was too arrogant.

“Haha… you’re just jealous. La la la, the latest Floating Cloud Islands and cannons have been produced, and the gunpowder is now allowed for use. Who wants to come and take a look with me?”  

“Get lost,” everyone said in unison.

Cheng Jiming felt even more pleased: “Haha, you don’t know, do you? The young master has ordered that all of you generals must accompany me on the Floating Cloud Islands to familiarize yourselves with our current military strength.

According to the plan, today it’s Wang Jian’s turn, and the rest of you can just stay on the city walls for now. Tomorrow, it will be your turn. Everyone, see you later, haha…”

By the time Cheng Jiming arrived at the armory, Li Xian and the others were already present, all watching the three massive objects parked on the ground ahead. At a glance, Cheng Jiming saw a menacing look, and his heart raced with excitement.

This was the latest Floating Cloud Island, designed based on the collective input of Li Xian, the research department, the machinery branch, the armory, and front-line soldiers like Cheng Jiming. This Floating Cloud Island was not small; it was even quite large!  

Once everyone gathered around, it was naturally time to introduce this war artifact. However, Liu Bin from the machinery branch and Yang Qianjiang from the armory both wanted to take the lead in the introduction—they both wanted to present it themselves. This brand-new war artifact was actually a joint effort between the two factories.

Seeing everyone arguing, Li Xian became furious. “From now on, all production and research of flying artifacts will be handed over to Yun Feihong from the aircraft division. Yun Feihong, you take it from here.”

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

Liu Bin and Yang Qianjiang were immediately dumbfounded, then they awkwardly stepped back.

Yun Feihong had also come from the machinery branch, and she was involved in the design of this war artifact throughout the entire process.

Hearing her name called by Li Xian, Yun Feihong quickly walked over; she was not a particularly beautiful or alluring woman, but she was serious about her work. Standing in front of the shining war artifact, Yun Feihong spoke confidently: “This is a newly designed war artifact.

First, it features a streamlined design, measuring 9 meters in length, 5 meters in width, and 3 meters in height. The entire structure is made from stainless steel, with formations made of mysterious iron wire directly cast into the steel plates.

Second, the thickness of the bottom armor has been strengthened, and enhanced formations have been added.

Third, it is equipped with three newly researched cannons and two rapid-fire machine guns.

The main cannon at the front has a caliber of 105 millimeters; its firing rate is three shots per minute. It requires foundational cultivation and magical assistance for ordinary soldiers to fire, taking two minutes to fire three shots.

The two side cannons have a caliber of 47 millimeters; their firing rate is five shots per minute.

The two rapid-fire machine guns, one in front and one in the back, are designed with double barrels and a caliber of 9 millimeters, capable of firing 500 bullets per minute. This is currently the fastest firing rate available.

Fourth, the body weight is 35 tons, with a maximum load of 50 tons, and a maximum flying altitude of about 500 meters.

Fifth, due to the addition of six engines and propellers, the war machine’s maximum flying speed is 420 kilometers per hour; due to technical limitations, it cannot yet reach 500 kilometers per hour.

Sixth, the new war artifact is equipped with 9,600 formations laid out using mysterious iron wire, including Floating Cloud formations and defensive formations, and can simultaneously use 30 spirit stones for power. At the minimum, it consumes half a spirit stone per hour; at the maximum, it can consume 10 spirit stones per hour.”

“ hiss…” After hearing the introduction, the surrounding people gasped in shock, not only because of the firepower but also due to the consumption of spirit stones.

Consuming 10 spirit stones per hour! It sounds like this new war machine is powerful, but the consumption of spirit stones is even more staggering—far beyond imagination.

Ten spirit stones can hire ten Golden Core experts to form a team! No matter how you calculate it, this war artifact is not suitable for use in small Anyang.

Xu Ren spoke up: “The war artifact should continue to be researched, but it cannot be used for the time being. Otherwise, it will attract trouble.”

Li Xian also recognized this issue. He finally had to change the order: let Liu Lei Gang lead the motorcycle team and the cannons carried by the motorcycles to attack the city.

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