When Ji Han and his men traveled to the Three Kingdoms crew

Chapter 702 Li Yan: I just want to get closer to Kong Ming

Yizhou
Qianwei County

Tianshe Mountain, a corridor in the mountains. The kerosene lamps in the corridor cast thousands of dancing shadows on the mountain wall. Li Yan, who was holding the rock wall, felt the coldness from his palms, but his body told his brain that the environment here was stuffy. Even his forehead was covered with beads of sweat. Looking around, he saw shirtless soldiers working hard one after another. He pricked up his ears to listen to the clanging sound of shovels hitting rocks, as if the strings of thousands of guitars were suddenly broken in an instant.

Li Yan did not show any expression of complaint, rather, he had no right to complain at all.

He looked forward and saw sweat dripping down the soldiers' tense backs. He looked behind him and saw people carrying baskets to carry the broken stones out of the corridor.

Looking at himself again, he was holding a kerosene lamp in his hand. At present, all he could do was to illuminate the road ahead for the soldiers. What right did he have to complain?

A hemp rope was handed to him from the front. Li Yan took it silently without saying a word. He looked down and the rough fibers immediately sank into the blood scab on the palm of his hand that had not yet healed.

He sighed and said: This is the third rope that has been worn out.
"Lord Li!" A soldier hurriedly walked up to Li Yan, and the kerosene lamp illuminated his haggard yet excited face.

Li Yan perked up and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Good news, good news! We have finally found the position calculated by the Lord, and we can deploy the gunpowder right away!" There was a hint of excitement in the soldier's voice, and his eyes were full of admiration for Li Yan.

Li Yan was delighted and smiled.

The river bridge in Jianwei County was called Han'an Bridge, which was one and a half miles wide. Every autumn and summer when the water level was high, the bridge would be washed away, so it needed to be repaired every year, causing great inconvenience to the people.

Some time ago, Han'an Bridge was once again broken, and Li Yan, the governor of Qianwei at the time, was determined to dig a road through the nearby Tianshe Mountain. At first, Li Yan wanted to use gunpowder, but due to the great power of gunpowder, it must be used with great caution. After Li Yan's field investigation, if gunpowder was used at the beginning, it would probably cause the earth dragon to turn over.

Li Yan invited a master craftsman and more than a dozen craftsmen, and after continuous exploration and calculation, they finally worked out a reasonable plan for the use of gunpowder.

That is, in the early stage, human excavation combined with the well-drainage method must be used.
During this process, Li Yan was always on the front line, digging and excavating with the soldiers.

The soldiers all admired Li Yan very much. When they saw the last step, they looked at Li Yan who looked tired and couldn't help but said, "Master, why don't you go and have a rest first? Why don't you let me finish the job?"

Li Yan did not hesitate and decisively shook his head to refuse, "It has come to the last step, how can I escape from the battle?!"

The next moment, accompanied by a crisp sound, the craftsmen cheered, "It's open! It's open!"

Li Yan hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the rock layer that had been soaked for three days and three nights finally cracked and fell off!

Li Yan was overjoyed and hurriedly asked the master carpenter beside him, "Can we use gunpowder to blow it up?!"

The master craftsman did not disappoint Li Yan's expectations. He nodded vigorously and pointed at the craftsmen who were arranging the fuse and introduced the gunpowder that would be used later.

To be fair, Li Yan was confused by the various terms used by the master craftsman, but he always believed that professional matters should be left to professionals, and one should not get involved if one does not understand.

Li Yan just asked: "Is it safe?"

"Don't worry, my lord. This is a slow-burning medicine improved from the oil press. It is enough for us to retreat to a safe area." The master carpenter picked up a ball of black stuff, which looked soft and sticky, and glowed blue under the light.

Seeing that the master carpenter said so, Li Yan did not ask any more questions. He asked the soldiers to follow the master carpenter's instructions and put the pottery jars filled with gunpowder in the designated locations.

Everything was ready. After retreating to a safe location, Li Yan grabbed the drumstick and used all his strength to hit the drum hard, while shouting, "Fire!"

The soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs: "Fire!"

"Boom--" The sound of drums and shouts broke through the sky and fell into the ears of the craftsmen. Even though they were nervous, their hands did not slow down at all and they lit the fuse skillfully.

Boom!

There was a loud bang, as if the sky was angry, and like a dragon surging, as if the only thing left in the world was the rumbling sound.

The people at the foot of the mountain widened their eyes and stared at the bright flames on the mountainside with expressions of disbelief.

The explosions continued for a long time, until the early morning of the next day.

As the morning light breaks, the people living at the foot of the mountain can see the outline of the mountain path by looking into the distance. If they take a deep breath, even the air has a choking smell.

Li Yan, with dishevelled hair and a dirty face, appeared in front of the people. He stood on a large rock, holding the cinnabar and brush used to draw the mountain-suppressing talisman in his hands, and announced loudly: "Everyone in Qianwei County, from today on, you and I don't have to worry about traveling, nor do we have to worry about the collapse of Han'an Bridge, because--"

"The road to Tianshe Mountain has been excavated! It will be accessible soon!"

The people were stunned at first, but after a moment, they cried with joy and clapped and cheered. The cheers came like a tide, and people were grateful to Li Yan for digging the mountain road for them.

Li Yan shook his head and said, "You don't need to thank me. You should thank the soldiers on the front line, and even more so, thank yourselves!"

Even so, the people's cheers became louder.

Li Yan shook his head and led a few soldiers to quietly set out on the road back to the county government.

On the way, Li Yan couldn't help but daydream, this way, I can be closer to Kong Ming, right?
Li Yan was gifted since childhood. When he was a county official, he often won praise from his superiors and the people, and he was inevitably a bit arrogant.

Especially after dreaming about Liu Bei, this arrogance quickly turned into deep pride.

Look, I got a dream from an immortal, doesn't that mean I'm a wise minister who can turn the tide? I will definitely help Uncle Liu to restore order and bring peace to the world!
However, the development of reality and dream exceeded Li Yan's expectations. In the dream, Liu Bei was still fighting against the Yellow Turbans at the beginning, and then he began to introduce the life of Liu Bei. After a lifetime of wandering, he finally won the fire of Red Cliff and the great victory of Red Cliff.

With a snap, the two generals Guan and Zhang disappeared suddenly, and the impulsive emperor's uncle also disappeared.

All of a sudden, the emperor's uncle entrusted his son to the care of others in Baidi City, and Zhuge Kongming, who was invited by the emperor's uncle three times, became the most powerful person in the country.

Not only did the emperor have to call him Prime Minister, he could also replace him at any time.

Li Yan couldn't help but put himself in the situation. If he were in this position, would he have any bad thoughts?

The answer is obvious. Not to mention seizing the throne, there would be no problem in being a Huo Guang, right?

He never expected that Zhuge Kongming would give a completely different answer. Zhuge Kongming not only did not do what Huo Guang did, but also brought the exhausted Yizhou out of the quagmire. In order to realize the long-cherished wish of the late emperor, he even went to the north five times, and finally died of illness in Wuzhangyuan during the fifth northern expedition. After Zhuge Kongming's death, someone counted his family assets, some thin fields and some mulberry trees, which were too shabby for a prime minister of a country.

Before this, Li Yan believed that he would be a key minister who would help his uncle to create a prosperous era. After learning about Zhuge Liang's life, Li Yan no longer had this idea. Kong Ming, Kong Ming, you have done everything I can and cannot do. I am not as good as you.

Now, he only hopes not to be pulled too far away by Zhuge Liang.

As for the reality, there is no need to say more. When he came to his senses, Liu Huangshu had already pacified the chaotic world. There is no need to think too much. There must be many wise ministers like himself who responded to the dream.

(End of this chapter)