The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1649 Playing with fire and burning yourself
There are two main difficulties in manufacturing firearms. First, the materials must have sufficient toughness to withstand certain pressures and temperatures. Second, the precision of the machined components, such as the rifling and the gaps between parts, all affect the firearm's power and lifespan.

Wang Yan's advantages were a bit limited; if he wanted to build guns, he had to start with the most basic steelmaking. And solving the steelmaking problem itself involved solving a considerable number of issues: increasing furnace temperature, developing steel alloy formulas, and ensuring the quality of personnel, among others.

Because of the short time frame, insufficient time to establish a complete firearms industry chain, and unresolved technological issues, only less than two thousand qualified firearms have been produced by hand over such a long period of time.

This time, Wang Yan is building the famous Mosin-Nagant rifle, also known as the "Water Bead." It is undoubtedly an excellent firearm design, and it is also an old friend of Wang Yan's, which he used for a long time.

However, these thousand-plus guns are only preliminary products, and their performance is still inferior to those produced on a proper industrial assembly line. After all, there are significant differences in both materials and manufacturing processes, resulting in numerous problems and instability.

Even so, it was enough to deal with the Taiping Army.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the same thing: it's all about costs and benefits.

If the Heavenly Kingdom's hundreds of thousands of troops were to attack, even if Wang Yan were a reincarnated celestial being, he would not be able to withstand it. However, for the Heavenly Kingdom, it would be a very unfavorable situation, or even a financial loss.

Therefore, once the Heavenly Kingdom's attack is over, and they find that tolerating the existence of Mount Hormuz is more appropriate than going through the trouble of taking it down, then everyone can truly communicate and cooperate peacefully.

Instead of looking down on Hoshan as it does now...

As time passed and the forces of Huoshan and the Heavenly Kingdom drew closer, sporadic battles began to occur between the two sides. These were mostly skirmishes on the trails in the Dabie Mountains, fought in small groups.

In this regard, Huoshan holds absolute initiative.

Because over the past period of time, thanks to Wang Yan's continuous dispatch of personnel to explore, the entire Dabie Mountains, from large valleys to small caves, has been thoroughly investigated.

Coupled with the guerrilla tactics that Wang Yan had consistently emphasized, they appeared and disappeared unpredictably in the mountains, leaving the small Taiping army units helpless. They didn't even need to fire many shots; they resolved the situation with arrows alone.

Even though the Celestial Empire was wealthy and had foreign assistance, it hadn't reached the point where everyone had a gun and the land was being bombarded with artillery fire. Guns and cannons played a decisive role at this time; they wouldn't send out musket teams or artillery units to fight randomly. Most of the time, combat was still mainly conducted with cold weapons.

These small-scale battles continued until the end of June. The main Taiping army quickly captured Lu'an and Shucheng, then launched a pincer attack from two directions, threatening Huoshan. Meanwhile, small groups of troops harassed the enemy along other mountain paths.

It was at this point that Wang Yan learned who was leading the opposing force: Li Cheng, the Prince of Ying, a pillar of the Heavenly Kingdom. In Anqing, there was also the renowned Wing King Shi Dakai, and other high-ranking generals of the Heavenly Kingdom.

This was the Heavenly Kingdom's westward expansion strategy, aimed at controlling Hunan and Hubei. The Heavenly Kingdom had only conquered a small portion of the land it had seized along its conquests from Guangxi; its current goal was to unify the Jiangnan region, establish a rival government with the Qing Dynasty, and create a parallel power structure…

"I am Chen Lin, the deputy general under the King of England. I greet you, Master Wang."

"They've come to persuade us to surrender?"

Chen Lin looked at Wang Yan, who was sitting behind his desk drinking tea, and cupped his hands, saying, "Master, my Heavenly Kingdom's 20,000 troops have already surrounded Huoshan. With countless guns and cannons, once the war starts, Huoshan's good situation will be reduced to rubble and ruins in an instant, and countless civilians will suffer as a result. The best solution now is for you to lead your troops to surrender to my Heavenly Kingdom. Please rest assured, Master, all the promises Miss Su made to you earlier will stand."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "To be fair, if we were in each other's shoes, do you think I should surrender?"

"Of course we should vote!" Chen Lin said decisively. "Sir, the Qing dynasty is unreliable. They only oppress the good and exploit the people, leaving them with no way to survive. In particular, they even tolerated foreigners selling opium, causing countless families to be torn apart."

I heard that the old man forbade anyone to sell opium on his territory, nor did he allow his men to smoke it. He punished anyone caught doing so, and it's the same in Heaven. I also heard that the old man was extremely kind to the people and wouldn't allow anyone to bully them, and it's the same in Heaven. Old man, in Heaven you can realize your dreams; the Heavenly King will surely support you.”

Wang Yan waved his hand: "Relying on others' charity won't get you far. Favors come from above, and can naturally be taken away at any time. I've heard that even in Heaven, men and women aren't allowed to share a room, but the Heavenly King, the Eastern King, the Western King, and so on are not bound by such restrictions. So tell me, would I be subject to such restrictions if I went there?"

Chen Lin remained silent for a long time. This matter was truly unavoidable. Even after Wang Yan passed away, he was not allowed to sleep with his wife. They could only sleep together one day a month.

He forced himself to say, "The Heavenly King has already considered this matter and may decide to abolish it."

It was indeed banned, but it couldn't be suppressed any longer; the repressed soldiers even started engaging in homosexuality. Establishing the Heavenly Kingdom and making Tianjing the capital was a good thing; the brothers all thought they could finally live a good life. But it didn't turn out so well; it was a giant powder keg…

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "The problems of the Heavenly Kingdom are not limited to this. You are a high-ranking general of the Heavenly Kingdom, and you should have your own opinions and insights on some matters. Your hesitation proves that what I said is correct. Of course, I did not say that the Qing Dynasty was so good."

But I'm certain I'm good, just as you insist you're right, so how could I doubt myself? Besides, it seems the people who follow me are doing quite well. They might be even better off if you hadn't come.

Take tea, for example. Although we can still transport it out, the price this year is only 30% of what it used to be. If it weren't for some savings we've accumulated in the last two years, people probably wouldn't be able to survive now.

"General Chen, you should go back. Without casualties, not only will the Heavenly Kingdom not respect us, but even your prince won't. Do you think we'll be utterly defeated and powerless to resist just because he makes a move? Let's fight first!"

Wang Yan waved his hand, and a junior official politely asked Chen Lin to leave.

Chen Lin sighed, said no more, and left Huoshan...

Offering surrender before the battle is the prerogative of the stronger side. Even though the Taiping Army was at a disadvantage in previous skirmishes with smaller units, their force of over 20,000 men was a formidable force, which was a crushing defeat for Huo Shan's 4,000 troops.

So, after failing to persuade them to surrender, and with the battle having reached this point, there was absolutely no reason not to fight.

This was a battle with little technical skill; the battlefield was in the mountains outside Huoshan, with both sides fighting around the surrounding mountains. Huoshan County was on the defensive, while the Taiping Army was on the offensive.

However, Huoshan County's defenses were comprehensive. Even with fewer troops, the well-organized forces ensured overall stability, preventing the Taiping army from launching a surprise attack and breaking through the defenses. This turned the battle into a protracted war. Especially during the clashes of firearms, Wang Yan's weapon delivered a shocking, futuristic experience to the Taiping army. Smokeless gunpowder, fixed ammunition, firing pins, rapid reloading… and its long range and immense power quickly instilled a sense of despair in the Taiping soldiers, making them feel suppressed.

Their weapons couldn't reach as far or be as powerful, and their large-scale charges were no match for the enemy's dense hail of bullets. Even in close combat, the men of Huoshan County were no less formidable. They were all skilled镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), and unarmed, one could easily take on two or three. Even with knives, their quick reflexes and excellent teamwork made them more formidable than the Taiping soldiers.

Even though the Taiping army had more troops, the two sides were evenly matched because of their home advantage and the higher quality of their soldiers.

The key factor that changed the course of the battle was the surprise force led by Erhu, which crossed the Dabie Mountains and went directly to Anqing.

"Your Highness, a letter has arrived from Anqing. A force of about a thousand men has come out of the mountains and caught Anqing off guard. Moreover, their firearms are very good, so they are probably from Huoshan. Prince Yi sent a message saying that after that enemy force attacked Anqing, it is heading north, probably to cut off our retreat and disrupt our supplies. Your Highness should be careful."

Inside the tent, Deputy General Chen Lin reported the information he had received to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the sand table in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh: "They even sent a thousand men to cut off our supplies..."

"Yes," Chen Lin sighed as well. "I just don't understand how their firearms are better than the foreigners'. Luckily, they don't have cannons, only muskets, otherwise we would be doomed."

Li Cheng said, "What's there to not understand? You know Wang Yan has been recruiting craftsmen and training steel for two or three years now. I didn't expect him to actually make a name for himself."

“But I noticed that their musket production is not high, and they are not very stable to use. I’ve seen several of them explode,” Chen Lin pointed out.

"That's still better than ours... We can shoot two hundred paces, they can shoot three hundred paces, we can't even reach them. They've occupied all the advantageous terrain here, supporting each other from all sides. If we rely on our numbers to surround them, we'll be driven back in no time..."

At this point, Li Cheng, hearing the gunfire outside, couldn't help but shake his head. "I'm afraid this battle can't continue."

"Your Highness, I think Wang Yan really doesn't want to cause us any trouble. He just wants to live his good life in peace."

Li Cheng understood that his subordinates were trying to save face for him, and he couldn't help but laugh, "Now it seems that it's true that he doesn't want to cause us trouble, and it's also true that he doesn't like the Manchus, but to say that he's down-to-earth is a joke. If he were truly down-to-earth, how could he have such power with several thousand soldiers today?"

Chen Lin hesitated and said, "Perhaps they developed little by little to protect themselves? Your Highness, isn't our Heavenly Kingdom the same? How many people did we have when we first started our rebellion in Jintian? We grew little by little to what we are today."

Li Cheng remained silent, listening to the gunshots outside and looking at the sand table in front of him.

After a while, he turned around, went to the table, sat down, and began to write letters, licking his pen and absorbing ink...

Erhu was a bit naive, but he had his own wisdom.

That means listening to your older brother.

Wang Yan isn't like Pang Qingyun, who talks big but doesn't deliver. Every single thing he does is firmly supported and endorsed by Erhu. Or perhaps it's not just Erhu; anyone with a sound mind and reasonable values ​​should support him. Because what Wang Yan does always benefits the majority. He creates value for others, which earns them their support and endorsement.

Therefore, under Wang Yan's instructions, Erhu resolutely carried out the order, leading a team of one thousand men to harass the Taiping Army's logistics, and even occasionally went so far as to go to Shucheng to intimidate people.

This increased the Taiping Army's supply costs, affected supply efficiency, and impacted combat effectiveness. Furthermore, Huoshan County remained unconquered after a prolonged siege, and casualties increased daily...

At this point, just as Li Cheng and his men had said, they began to believe that Wang Yan had no intention of being an enemy of the Taiping Army. Otherwise, given the strength Wang Yan had currently displayed, the momentum he had built might not have been weaker than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Moreover, this was only because Wang Yan was taking the initiative to defend; he hadn't really launched any offensives, only sending out a troop for harassment. What if another troop came to harass them from the direction of Liuan? What if Wang Yan mobilized troops from outside, bringing the civilians with him to fight them?
These are all things Wang Yan could have done, but he didn't.

Li Cheng was a victorious general who had fought his way up through the ranks, a powerful second-class prince of the Heavenly Kingdom, and his fighting prowess was widely known. For him to fight so arduously, suffering thousands of casualties in over a month of battle, yet achieving nothing, made the war seem pointless.

Because the costs outweighed the gains.

No! There was no gain!
Although they captured Shucheng and Lu'an, the cities were basically empty. This was the second wave of the Taiping army; another wave was yet to come for their northern expedition. Knowing the Taiping army was coming, the people fled as quickly as possible…

As a result, the intensity of the fighting between the two sides weakened day by day, and the fighting became less and less exciting. Later on, they would just fire two shots a day to make a sound.

But the Taiping army wouldn't withdraw; they dared not. If they did withdraw, what would happen if Wang Yan pursued them? The casualties would be too great.

The situation remained deadlocked until August, when negotiations finally took place.

"Uncle Wang, it's been many days since we last met. You're even more charming than before." Dressed as a young lady from a wealthy family, Su Zixuan approached Wang Yan, fanning herself with a fan. She then took the initiative to pour tea from the teapot beside her.

Then, holding the teacup in both hands and looking pitiful, she asked, "Uncle Wang, you won't hold a grudge against a woman like me, will you? You won't be angry with me, will you?"

Wang Yan took the tea and drank it: "Miss Su is truly heartless. I met you the first day, and within two days someone poisoned me. You still dare to hang around in front of me? I think you're really tired of living?"

"Sir, are you really willing to kill this young lady?" Su Zixuan asked pitifully, on the verge of tears.

"Playing with fire can easily lead to self-immolation." Wang Yan pulled her into his arms, one large hand roaming over her body. Because it was the transition from summer to autumn, she was dressed very lightly, and the sensations were very real...

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