Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 930 Cloud-Piercing Crossbow, Heaven-Shaking Thunder

"Lord of the Mountain, Your Excellency! This is the decision made by the three detachments!"

The results of the discussion were quickly compiled into a book and presented to Jian Changhe and Yang Zhengshan.

In fact, the two of them had been listening the whole time and didn't need to look at the booklet that was handed to them.

"Does the Mountain Lord have any suggestions?" Yang Zhengshan asked Jian Changhe.

At this moment, Jian Changhe was somewhat bewildered. He listened to the discussion and felt confused, but when he looked at the booklet handed to him, he had a strange sense of understanding.

"Uh, you can decide." Jian Changhe felt his mind was a bit confused.

Yang Zhengshan didn't mind and nodded slightly. "Now that it's decided, let's pass on the order!"

"Here!"

Qu Changkong responded and then said to Yang Qinwu beside him, "Go to the document room, draft military orders, and send them to all sides."

Yang Qinwu nimbly took the documents and walked out of the main hall, arriving at the newly established document room in the side hall.

More than ten clerks were already waiting in the document room.

In a short while, ten military orders were drafted and ten teams of soldiers were dispatched to deliver the orders to the two clans and eight families.

With the detachment organized, Qu Changkong discussed the allocation of supplies, troop deployment, and operational plans again.

As they discussed and finalized each matter, they immediately reported to Yang Zhengshan for instructions after everything was agreed upon. Once Yang Zhengshan approved the plan, they immediately instructed the clerk to draft and issue military orders.

What was originally a tangled mess was gradually sorted out.

Jian Changhe and Yang Zhengshan sat next to each other, drinking tea and staring in astonishment.

“You all look a lot like the royal court!” Jian Changhe thought for a moment and finally realized that something was wrong.

As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise; sects and factions have their own specialties, and dynasties and imperial dynasties have their own advantages.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "That's right, this is done according to the format of court deliberations!"

Military campaigns were something Yang Zhengshan was very familiar with.

The Yang family originated from the military. Although they have long since left the imperial court and become a family of immortal cultivators, many of their habits remain unchanged.

The Yujing Three Guards still train according to the military model, the Taiwei Tower Martial Hall maintains the attributes of an army staff department, and the Secret Martial Guard takes terrain reconnaissance as its most basic task.

The Tian Shu Tower contains the most detailed map of the western region of the Yunxiao Mountains, from the Youyu Gate to the Lingxiu Sea, then to the Wanlin Mountain Range and the three major western dynasties, as well as the Qingli Dynasty in the north, etc. The Tian Shu Tower has extremely detailed maps of all these areas.

Apart from the depths of the Yunxiao Mountains and the core areas of various forces, the Secret Martial Guard had long since thoroughly investigated the terrain, landforms, and power distribution of the surrounding area.

It can be said that Lingyuan Land has a far greater understanding of the western region of the Yunxiao Mountains than Cangjian Mountain, which has been operating in this area for more than three thousand years.

These are all fine traditions of the land of spiritual origin.

"My lord, there are two more matters that require your decision!" Qu Changkong said.

"what's up?"

"The first thing is about setting up formations within the city!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhengshan looked at Jian Changhe.

Although the Spirit Source Land has two second-tier array masters, Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun, their array skills are only average. They can set up the Taiyin Cold Spring Array, but they are not good enough at setting up other arrays.

Jian Changhe said, "Elder Guyun is a master of array formations; this matter can be entrusted to him!"

As expected, Hidden Sword Mountain has a very high level of expertise in array formations. Jian Guyun can be called a master of array formations, and he is at least a top-tier second-tier array master.

"Then I'll have to trouble Elder Gu Yun. I'll also arrange for someone to assist Elder Gu Yun and try to complete the formation as soon as possible!"

Yang Zhengshan looked at Qu Changkong and asked, "What are your requirements for the formation?"

Qu Changkong replied, "There are no special requirements, as long as it has a certain level of protective capability!"

Setting up a protective array is not easy, especially setting up one for a large city.

Under normal circumstances, it would take three to five months to complete the setup, but they only have less than half a month left, so they can only do their best.

"Alright, is there anything else?"

Qu Changkong hesitated for a moment and then said, "Should we use the Cloud Piercing Crossbow?"

Yang Zhengshan was taken aback, "The Cloud Piercing Crossbow!"

He thought for a moment, and then remembered what the Cloud Piercing Crossbow was.

The Cloud Piercing Crossbow, a large-scale mounted crossbow, is a spirit-grade mounted crossbow modeled after the mounted crossbows carried by naval ships. This thing is a true weapon of war.

It seems like a long time ago, about twenty years ago, he received a report about the Cloud Piercing Crossbow, but he had already become a hands-off manager, so he didn't take it to heart.

"The Cloud Piercing Crossbow is already in mass production?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Yes, the number is not very large, only three hundred!" Qu Changkong said.

The Cloud Piercing Crossbow is considered the most important war machine in the Spirit Origin Land. It is a spirit weapon-level weapon that many weapon craftsmen spent decades developing.

This thing has always been the secret weapon of the Jade Capital Three Guards. The Jade Capital Three Guards rarely have the opportunity to participate in a large-scale war, so Qu Changkong wanted to bring it out to test its power.

However, this thing is quite lethal, and they can't make a decision on their own without Yang Zhengshan's consent.

Yang Zhengshan didn't care about any of that. "Now that it's been made, let's put it to the test!"

He was also very curious about the power of the Cloud Piercing Crossbow.

A spirit-grade crossbow must be really powerful!
When Yang Zhengshan thought of the Cloud Piercing Crossbow, he thought of the weapon-making workshops. There were several weapon-making workshops in the Spirit Source Land.

There's one in Yujing City, one near Flaming Mountain, and one near the Xuan Tie Mine.

The main responsibility of the Foundry is to forge spiritual weapons, research spiritual weapon equipment, and cooperate with the Hundred Crafts Hall to construct various buildings, such as flying carriages, some building materials, and some simple array devices.

The immortal weapon-making workshops in the Spirit Source Land are still relatively small in scale, but the martial arts weapon-making workshops are large in scale and have formed a complete system.

Yang Zhengshan knew that the foundry had produced many things, including useful and good items, experimental products that were not very useful, and many strange and unusual gadgets.

"What about the Heaven-Shaking Thunder?" Qu Changkong asked again.

"A thunderbolt? What's that?"

“This is it!” Qu Changkong took out an iron ball the size of a fist.

Yang Zhengshan took it and looked at it, his expression quite strange.

Isn't this just a hand grenade?

Of course, it's not a grenade that uses gunpowder as an explosive, but rather something similar to a grenade made by combining rune restrictions with conflicting spiritual energy attributes as the explosive.

This isn't unusual; immortal cultivators also possess similar magical artifacts, such as thunderbolts and fireballs. These artifacts are quite powerful, and some can even threaten Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, immortal cultivators rarely use such things because they are quite expensive to manufacture. It's better to use talismans instead.

Therefore, these disposable magical artifacts are considered rather useless in the world of immortal cultivation. Apart from puppeteers, very few people would use them.

Puppeteers use this thing because puppets cannot use talismans, so they choose this rather useless item.

As for the Thunderclap Bomb in his hand, it is a simplified version of the Explosive Bomb. Its power is very limited and far inferior to the Explosive Bomb. However, its cost should be very low. It is estimated that one can be made for a dozen spirit stones.

Of course, this "cheap" refers to the Lingyuan region; for some innate martial artists, this thing is still quite expensive.

Throwing one out costs more than ten spirit stones; ordinary innate martial artists probably can't afford it.

"It's a very good product, feel free to use it if you want!" Yang Zhengshan gave a fair evaluation.

He felt it necessary to learn about the weapon-making workshops in the Land of Spiritual Origin, perhaps he could give them some pointers and help them create some more interesting weapons.

If we can manufacture something like a hand grenade, then can we also manufacture rockets and missiles?

Rockets!
Yang Zhengshan seemed to be deep in thought.

This doesn't seem like something that can't be done.

Conflicts in spiritual energy attributes can create an explosive effect, and rune restrictions can simulate flame jets. If multiple rune restrictions and formations are combined, the range and power can definitely rival that of a missile.

However, this thing doesn't seem to be of much use to immortal cultivators.

Immortal cultivators are capable of flying and escaping, so it's not easy for this thing to hit them.

However, this thing is not without its uses. If its cost is low enough, it can also be used as a weapon of war for indiscriminate attacks.

It is still useful, it just depends on how you use it!
Yang Zhengshan felt that he could go and give some guidance to the foundry.

The weapon-forging workshop is not a weapon-forging workshop for immortal cultivators. The weapon-forgers inside are all martial artists who cannot forge magical artifacts or treasures. However, they forge some special weapons in the same way as forging spiritual weapons.

The Cloud Piercing Crossbow and the Heaven-Shaking Thunder are excellent weapons.

It doesn't matter if the power is limited; it can be improved and its power increased gradually.

……

With things mostly sorted out, Yang Zhengshan went with Jian Changkong to meet Jian Guyun, and also introduced Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun to Jian Guyun.

Helping Jian Guyun set up a protective array was also a rare opportunity for Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun.

They need guidance from renowned teachers and to accumulate experience in setting up large-scale magic arrays.

Given this rare opportunity, Yang Zhengshan naturally hoped that his two good disciples could learn something from Jian Guyun.

After everything was arranged, time was still tight, but fortunately everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Two days later, warriors from the two sects and eight families, who had received military orders, gathered in Wuxiang City.

The first batch of martial artists sent was not many, less than five thousand.

However, the two sects and eight families were already actively recruiting martial artists. After hearing Yang Zhengshan's words, the two sects and eight families recognized the reality. They did not shirk their responsibilities or pretend to comply, and were actively preparing for the upcoming war.

However, their enthusiasm pales in comparison to that of the Land of Spiritual Origin.

After the war order was issued, the peaceful Lingyuan Land, which had been at peace for decades, suddenly began to operate under intense pressure.

Ziwei Tower, Council Hall.

Yang Chengmao looked at everyone in the hall and said solemnly, "Our ancestor has ordered that we must go all out in this battle!"

"The Jade Capital Three Guards have all gone to Wuxiang City, and the garrison has taken over Yangjia Town and Wuxiang Sect. Now we only need to provide material support to the Jade Capital Three Guards in Wuxiang City!"

"The first thing is, how many spirit stones can we come up with right now?"

The newly appointed owner of Tian Shi Lou, Lin Zhan, said, "The spirit stone reserve currently holds 3.4 million low-grade spirit stones, and all of these spirit stones can be used!"

The original owner of Tian Shi Lou was Lü Xinghe, but he was removed during the purge of Lingyuan Land. Lin Zhan is now the new owner of Tian Shi Lou.

The Tian Shi Lou (Heavenly Market Tower) is in charge of politics and finance, responsible for the management of people's livelihood and economic development in the Lingyuan region; it is essentially the Ziwei Lou's money bag.

However, the Spirit Source Land is not only Tian Shi Lou with a spirit stone reserve. All twelve buildings have their own small treasuries. Tian Quan Lou is in charge of trade, and its spirit stone reserve is even above Tian Shi Lou.

Lin Zhan said that all 3.4 million spirit stones could be used, which means that Tian Shi Lou has reserved enough spirit stones for a short period of time.

"Alright, immediately hand over all these spirit stones to Tianquan Tower. I need Tianquan Tower to purchase enough supplies as soon as possible!"

"Master Jiang, is everything alright?"

Yang Chengmao looked at Jiang He and asked.

“No problem, Tianquan Tower will fully cooperate!” Jiang He replied.

Yang Chengmao then looked at Yang Mingcheng, "Uncle, we need a large quantity of pills and equipment! All kinds of pills for detoxification, healing, recovery, etc., the more the better! Does the Pill Hall have enough pill reserves?"

Yang Mingcheng said calmly, "The Pill Hall has enough pills in reserve to equip each soldier of the Three Guards of Yujing with thirty pills. The variety is complete and the quality is excellent. They can be used at any time!"

"That's good. What about the equipment? The Jade Capital Guard has submitted an application, requesting more Cloud Piercing Crossbows and Heaven-Shaking Thunder!"

Yang Mingcheng's expression became slightly serious. "The Cloud Piercing Crossbow and the Heaven-Shaking Thunder are only for regular reserves. The Weapon Forging Workshop does not have a large stockpile. If we want more, we can only manufacture them temporarily!"

“Then we’ll manufacture them on the spot!” Yang Chengmao said without room for argument.

Even though Yang Mingcheng was his uncle, he still acted very domineeringly at this moment.

Yang Mingcheng pondered for a moment, "The casting workshop needs a lot of manpower. Can Tianji Tower provide a batch of apprentices?"

Tianji Tower is responsible for education in the Spirit Origin Land, and oversees hundreds of schools of various kinds, including a school that specializes in training weapon craftsmen.

Although the workshop currently has enough blacksmiths, more apprentices are needed to assist in the mass production of Cloud Piercing Crossbows and Sky-Shaking Thunder in a short period of time.

Yu Tonghai said, "Sure, the Weapon Forging Academy should be able to spare more than a thousand disciples to help!"

Yang Chengmao said, "Yes, if we need materials, we'll go to Tianquan Tower; if we need manpower, we'll go to Tianji Tower. According to the Martial Hall's prediction, this battle is likely to drag on into a long-term war, so we need to prepare for a protracted war!"

"Besides these, there's one more thing!"

"Establish a reserve force for the Yujing Guard and expand the Yujing Three Guards. In accordance with the requirements of the Martial Hall, the Yujing Three Guards will be expanded to 15,000 people, and Tianliang Tower will be responsible for the recruitment and training of soldiers!"

Wu Zhan stood up and accepted the order: "Tianliang Tower will begin recruitment as soon as possible!"

Tianliang Tower commands the garrison and is responsible for the security of Lingyuan Land. However, it is also the Ministry of War of Lingyuan Land, in charge of the selection of military officers, military registers, weapons, military administration, and so on.

As Yang Chengmao issued his orders, the entire Lingyuan Land began to function like a war machine.

Recruiting and training new soldiers, manufacturing ordnance, purchasing and transporting supplies, etc.

As the Spirit Source Land began to operate, the entire western region of the Cloud Mountain Range was affected, with the Qingli Immortal City being the most impacted.

(End of this chapter)