Knife splashing

Chapter 269: Book Search in Demon's Nest
In Xiling Gorge, the river is rushing.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, as if dyed with ink and as if heavy mountains were pressing down on the sky.

On the river, war drums beat with a roar like thunder.

Several warships were cutting through the waves. They had pointed bottoms and broad tops, with high bows and sterns. Their hulls were made of solid wood and they were as steady as Mount Tai in the wind and waves.

It was the Daxuan navy, the Jiujiang-style patrol boat.

The sails were fluttering, and soldiers were running back and forth on the deck, patrolling and keeping watch. Some also climbed up the mast to look out and see what was going on in all directions.

On both sides of the ship, there were rows of cannons and crossbows. In front of them were wolf-tooth arrows as thick as a baby's arm, flashing cold light.

The Daxuan Dynasty was at its peak, and its navy was well-equipped.

These crossbows were all made by people from the Mohist School of the Ministry of Works who were good at mechanical engineering. They could not only kill the enemy, but also had ropes connected to the back that could shoot through enemy warships, allowing soldiers to fight on the side of the ship along the ropes.

And these artillery pieces are also not simple.

Long before the opening of the sea, the Portuguese were plundering in the southwestern waters, using cluster guns with a very fast firing rate.

After the Daxuan navy defeated it, all the captured Portuguese cannons were sent to the capital, and the emperor ordered them to be imitated.

Based on this, the Ministry of Industry produced a complete set of "Thunderfire Sub-cannons" in various styles, which were equipped in large quantities due to their advantages.

Of course, it also has weaknesses, namely its short range and low accuracy.

Therefore, according to the regulations of the Daxuan Army, it will be combined with long cannons that are good at attacking distant targets, have greater power, but a slower rate of fire.

But the real military weapon on the ship is a huge cannon in the center of the deck. The cannon body is painted black and covered with oilcloth. There are two teams of people guarding it.

This is the new artillery.

Due to the high cost, there are only five of them in the entire Dongting navy.

On the deck, flags were flying.

The Daxuan Navy had a supreme commander named "Navy Commander-in-Chief" who had many "Admirals" under his command, who were responsible for operations in various waters.

The commander of a fleet is the "general", and the captains of each ship are mostly "deputy generals", under whom are "centuries" and "flag officers".

The ship's deputy commander was named Luo Yao.

Looking at the Yichang Duwei officer Yuan Kejian next to him, Luo Yao asked carefully, "Sir, is there an emergency in Zigui?"

To be honest, he belongs to the navy, so he occasionally cooperates with the Duwei Division, but they are of different affiliations and their official ranks are similar.

But who is Duweisi?

He monitors all officials and can put you in jail if you are not careful. Even if he has to lower his posture, he does not want to offend this person.

But there are some questions that I have to ask.

This morning, the army issued an urgent order for him to sail to the Zigui battlefield, which was obviously to use the navy, their great treasure.

If you don't ask clearly, you will always feel uneasy.

Yuan Kejian did not hide it at this time, and said in a deep voice: "Several rebellious chieftains have set up a camp on the south bank of Zigui."

"Over in Zhushan County, reinforcements from various places have just arrived. It will take some time to quell the unrest in the mountains."

"The imperial court's strategy is to defeat them one by one and keep the losses to a minimum. The rebels in the southwest are ready to make a move, so we use the divine weapon to deter the rebels and prevent them from joining us."

"I see."

Deputy General Luo Yao suddenly realized and then became a little excited.

They had secretly tested the power of this treasure, but this was the first time they had actually used it on a battlefield, so they had no idea what effect it would have.

When the Duwei Division goes out, naturally the hawks and dogs follow.

In the sky, several falcons were flying up and down.

A captain of the military command noticed something was wrong and immediately stepped forward and said, "My lord, the falcon has given a warning that there is an ambush on the cliff!"

Yuan Kejian was not surprised at all. He said calmly, "Just as I expected. Go ahead!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The little flag immediately turned around, took out a firework tube from his waist, pulled it hard, and the red fireworks shot up into the sky.

At the same time, accompanied by the shrill sound of a whistle.

On the cliff, figures suddenly appeared. They were all elite soldiers of the Duwei Division. They were agile and moved like flying monkeys, climbing and jumping on the steep cliff.

At the same time, shouts and screams suddenly arose from the cliff on the left.

Some Miao rebels from Tusi City emerged from the top of the cliff like ants swarming, and looking down from above, they either drew their bows and shot arrows or raised rocks and threw them down.

However, the navy was well prepared.

The soldiers on the ship raised their shields to block the arrows.

As for the rocks, most of them did not hit the warships. Even if some fell towards the warships, some military experts jumped up and kicked the rubble away.

The troops of the Duwei Division followed closely behind.

They bent their bows and shot arrows, including a number of bamboo lightning arrows, which fell into the rebels and exploded with a loud bang.

The rebels' formation was in chaos, and the masters of the Duwei Division had already rushed in. The swords flashed, and the shouts of killing shook the canyon.

The men of the Duwei Division were obviously much superior in both skills and equipment, and with their numerical advantage, they immediately suppressed the rebels.

"what!"

From time to time, rebels fell from the top of the cliff with screams.

It fell on the rocks on the shore, and blood splattered, quickly dyeing the water red.

Soon, the ambushed soldiers were frightened and knelt down begging for mercy.

The Daxuan soldiers were naturally used to this kind of small scene. Deputy General Luo Yao was full of disdain. "Sometimes I really can't understand these people. They are obviously treated well by the court, but they still try to stop a chariot with a mantis arm, overestimating their own capabilities."

"Do they really think that if they stir up unrest, the imperial court will compromise?"

Yuan Kejian looked calm and shook his head, saying, "It is precisely because of the preferential treatment from the imperial court that those chieftains rule a region, which is like a country within a country. The people only know the chieftains and not the imperial court."

"If the imperial court wants to open up the sea, it must stabilize the rear, change the natives to the common people, and unify the whole of China. This is the general trend."

"Of course those chieftains know this. They just inherited their power from generation to generation and are unwilling to give it up, so they are just hoping for the best."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly turned cold. "The Tusi rebels are easy to deal with, but the most hateful ones are the traitors. They hold high positions and sell out the court's intelligence at will. No one can escape!"

When the deputy general Luo Yao heard this, he felt a chill in his heart.

He knew that many more officers would be beheaded.

Yuan Kejian glanced at them and said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, just fight in the front. We are only there to assist. We will not let the soldiers in the front shed blood while someone stabs them in the back!"

As they were talking, the navy had already passed the Xiling Gorge.

After leaving this most dangerous place in the Three Gorges, the water surface suddenly became wide and flat, and several warships slowly lined up and marched in formation.

A large naval camp had already been built on the Zigui County dock in the distance.

Although it was built temporarily, it was made of brick and stone walls, with a marching dock and tall fences. There were many arrow towers, and in addition to crossbows, there were also thunder and fire submachine guns.

The entire river surface has been controlled by the navy.

As the war progressed, the importance of Zigui County suddenly became apparent. It was like a nail that divided several rebel forces.

As long as Zigui County is not lost, the court's strategy will succeed.

At present, an army of 50,000 has gathered here, supplied by Yichang and Bashu at the same time. They only defend and do not attack, in order to intimidate the southwestern Tusi city.

There were also people in the Tusi city who could see the current situation clearly, so they also built a large camp on the south bank of the Yangtze River. However, it was a wooden building, and you could vaguely see the densely packed rebels coming and going.

Their purpose, of course, was to capture Zigui.

Seeing the fleet coming, someone from the imperial navy camp immediately came by boat to convey military orders.

Deputy General Luo Yao understood what was going on immediately after taking a look. He quickly ordered the warship to move and lifted the oilcloth covering the huge cannon on the deck.

Wow!
The oilcloth was lifted, and a ferocious beast suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

This is a cannon, shining black with a glossy luster. There are complex gears on the base and silver dragon patterns on the black barrel.

It's extraordinary at first glance.

At the same time, the sound of gongs and drums rang out for the naval battle, and more than a dozen warships sailed out of the dock, with Mengchong and Zou Ge used for assault in the front.

At the rear, there are several tower ships. The rear part is like a watchtower, and at the front, there are rows of door panels and huge wooden logs erected to block arrows. When they are lowered, they become floating bridges.

On the wide central deck were murderous armored cavalry, infantry, and archers and artillerymen.

Their mission is to destroy the enemy camp.

Upon seeing this, Deputy General Luo Yao waved his flag and shouted, "Quick, adjust the direction and prepare the artillery!"

The soldiers below hurriedly turned the gears, and the cannon slowly changed direction. At the same time, someone cleaned the barrel and worked together to put the heavy sub-gun into the rear compartment.

These soldiers are specifically responsible for the new artillery. They undergo hard training on a daily basis and have already mastered it.

Soon, the cannon adjusted the angle.

Deputy General Luo Yao's face was full of excitement, his eyes wide open, he waved the flag and shouted, "Fire!"

laugh!
The soldiers immediately lit the match.

Boom!

There was a loud bang, as if a thunder had exploded on the river, and the whole ship was suddenly pushed back.

Some soldiers lost their grip and were shaken into the water. Of course, the others didn't care about these unlucky guys. As a sailor, if they were drowned, it would be better to feed the turtles.

Everyone's attention is focused on the South Bank.

I saw that a huge gap had appeared in the big village opposite. Flames were shooting into the sky, and earth and rocks were flying. The scene was extremely terrifying.

The new artillery has specially made ammunition, which looks like fireworks and releases a large number of cluster shells after landing.

A small part of the entire village was destroyed.

"it is good!"

Yuan Kejian's face was filled with excitement, and he slapped the railing fiercely, "This is truly a divine weapon, it can be our Daxuan national treasure!"

Deputy General Luo Yao's voice was trembling with excitement: "Quick, change to Fire Dragon Bullets!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers below immediately cleaned the barrel and replaced the sub-gun next to it that was painted red.

Boom!

There was another thunder.

Everyone on the boat felt their heads buzzing.

The fire dragon bombs they replaced were filled with a large amount of kerosene and white phosphorus, and also used new gunpowder. It was a special kind of artillery shell with an extremely complicated manufacturing process.

The shells fell, and fire dragons splashed everywhere.

The entire Tusi city stronghold was engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye.

The village wall collapsed and the tents were burned.

The cries of the enemy troops rose one after another.

Boom boom boom!
In the imperial navy camp, a row of drums roared.

The navy warships took advantage of the situation and sailed through the waves.

Soon, they reached the south bank.

Boom!

The huge wooden planks of the ship were lowered, splashing mud and water on the shore. The armored cavalry on the ship immediately rushed out on horseback and killed the fleeing rebels.

There is no suspense in this battle.

On the Jiujiang patrol boat, Yuan Kejian was still not satisfied and shook his head, saying, "Why only two shots? It's not satisfying."

"My lord is joking."

Deputy General Luo Yao said helplessly: "This artifact is powerful, but the shells are also expensive. The general only allowed me to fire two shots. If I had to test the power, I would not be given the Fire Dragon Shell at all."

Yuan Kejian was stunned and asked, "How much is it?"

Deputy General Luo Yao sighed, "These two shots are equivalent to the annual tax revenue of a county. If I let them go, the general will come and chop off my head himself."

"Uh."

Yuan Kejian's heart trembled as well. He shook his head and said, "Well, good steel should always be used on the blade. This cannon is used to attack and is invincible."

"Don't worry, my Daxuan is thriving. Once we put down the rebellion and find enough mineral deposits, I will definitely not be so constrained in the future."

Wow!
At this moment, a falcon flapped its wings and fell from the sky.

Yuan Kejian took the letter from the bamboo tube and immediately felt relieved.

Deputy General Luo Yao asked quickly: "Another military order?"

"nothing."

Yuan Kejian shook his head and said, "There was some trouble in Dangyang. A demon sneaked into the rear and caused chaos. It has been quelled by several righteous men."

As he spoke, he looked towards the south bank with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Once the war in the southwest breaks out, all states will be in turmoil. The rebels will send out experts to cause trouble, and the evil spirits that usually hide will also show up one after another."

"This is about the fate of Daxuan. It depends on who has better means!"

After saying this, he waved his hand, and the falcon flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

In the forest opposite, some soldiers from the Duwei Division were already in disguise, following the rebels into the vast mountains...

………………

Dangyang County, in the northwest mountains and forests.

Under the shade of the dense forest, Lu San was holding Rat One and Rat Two, squeaking non-stop, while in the forest, rats were running left and right from time to time.

The inheritance he learned only specialized him in the art of taming beasts.

Now as his Taoism has improved, his abilities have become even more extraordinary. With the help of the subdued monsters, he can command his kind on a large scale.

To put it simply, in the past, people were like shepherds who could communicate with animals through sounds and magic, but sometimes it was not so smooth.

But now, it looks a bit like a mountain god.

The aura of Shu Shu Er is enough to make all the rats in the mountain as if they were at his own mercy, and any order can be carried out accurately.

Li Yan and others waited quietly on the side.

"found it!"

Hearing the squeaking sound in the distance, Lu San quickly spoke.

Sharifei's eyes lit up and he said anxiously, "What are you waiting for? Let's go quickly before we get hurt by something in the mountains!"

Their purpose of this trip was to find Liu Gang's lair.

There was a lot of harvest in the Earthly Immortal Cave, but it was mainly a few treasures, and the rest were those evil things of the Ghost Cult.

Of course, there is also some important information, which is the correspondence between Tongtian Sanniang and spies in Yichang, Jingzhou and other places.

The trouble with ghost cults is that they tempt people with desires.

Human desires are endless. Many times, the more you have, the deeper your desires become.

Especially some wealthy officials and gentry, they do not seek food and drink, but fame, wealth, and immortality, and they are extremely bold.

In Ezhou, many officials and gentry have secretly colluded with the Ghost Cult, which is why the Ghost Cult has been able to hide until now.

When Captain Zheng saw the names on the letter, his face changed drastically and he hurried away with the letter.

If we just eliminate these people, the situation in Ezhou will improve a lot.

Li Yan and others took the opportunity to raid Liu Gang's lair.

In the giant tiger's belly, apart from the things given to Li Yan, there were only some materials used to cast spells.

Liu Gang cultivated his demon body, and it was difficult for him to use many other magic techniques, so most of them were tricks such as fire, poison, etc.

Even the originally precious tiger bones, after being burned by Tongtian Sanniang's magic, had their spiritual charm completely dissipated, becoming crispy and soft.

Originally, the harvest this time was already amazing enough, but Liu Gang happened to mention it and knew where Wang Daoxuan's true inheritance was.

This is what Li Yan and his friends are looking for.

The group followed the mouse, crossed several ridges, and finally came to a valley with dense bamboo forests, making it difficult to pass.

There is obviously a formation here. After walking a few steps, you can see animal skulls hanging on the bamboo, but it has stopped working now.

Finally, after passing through the bamboo forest, a dilapidated mountain temple appeared in front of everyone. Half of it was embedded in the mountain. The outer walls were mottled and covered with moss. No one knew when it was built.

But when you step inside, it is clean and spacious.

After all, Liu Gang was not a real tiger monster. Even though he was hiding here, he kept the house very tidy.

The statue on the stone altar of the mountain temple had been moved away long ago, and the stone altar was covered with bear skin and tiger hair. It was obviously where Liu Gang rested.

The several caves inside are also different from each other.

Some were filled with all kinds of strange vines and flowers, and some pottery jars were filled with poisonous insects. They were obviously used to make poisonous insects. Lü San released poisonous bees, which ate all of them...

Some were hung with human skulls. A rough count showed that there were more than 300 of them. They should be the flesh vessels of the ghosts, which were refined and controlled by Liu Gang...

As for any magical instruments or treasures, there was none. It was obvious that Liu Gang had fallen into a state of poverty after being born into a tiger's womb. His only treasure, the "Xuanhuang Tianfu", had also fallen into the hands of Li Yan...

The most important thing is undoubtedly the several ancient books on the bookshelf.

"Be careful, don't break it!"

Wang Daoxuan was a little nervous and gave careful instructions to everyone.

These ancient books look a bit worn out, as if they have been frequently read and may be destroyed at any time.

Everyone gathered in front of the bookshelf and checked each one.

But the result made them a little confused.

"The Complete Book of Five Stars", "Nine Star Transformations", "Yellow Sac Sutra", "Dragon Doubt Sutra", "Dragon Shaking Sutra", "Inverted Staff Method"...

“Why are there only Feng Shui books?”

Sha Lifei asked in confusion, "Could it be that this old ghost Liu Gang is learning Feng Shui?"

Li Yan picked up a copy of "Yijianzhi" on the shelf, opened it, and looked at the densely packed outlines and small characters on it, his expression gradually became solemn.

"No, he is looking for something..."

　Second update later
　　
　
(End of this chapter)