Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 643 Firearms Age
Li Mi did not slack off, a fact that Yang Ying's envoys on his side had observed.

Li Mi wouldn't actually slack off, because he knew his life and fortune were in the hands of others. If he couldn't win, that was another matter, but if he made it clear from the start that he was throwing the match, there would be countless eyes watching him.

After receiving the battle report, Yang Ying sat in the room for a long time, unable to recover. Li Mi was no weakling, because even he himself would not dare to easily provoke Li Mi before uniting with other heroes. His elite troops, the Trapped Camp and the Light Cavalry, were renowned throughout the world, but now these two ace units had been almost completely wiped out overnight. Even Yang Ying suspected that Li Mi had given him false intelligence.

But in fact, his scouts had already reported the enemy's progress in the first two days, so Yang Ying knew that Li Mi's right and left arms had really been wiped out.

At this moment, however, the issue was not about feeling sorry for the enemy's troops, but rather about how to stop the enemy army outside Handan.

If the enemy were to occupy Handan, this crucial location would allow them to reach the garrisons of any of their forces within a few days. Coupled with their terrifying combat capabilities, the already fragile and unresolved situation in the Central Plains would be instantly shattered into chaos once again.

"Pass down the order: at all costs, block the Wei army outside Handan City."

After Yang Ying relayed the order, he sat alone in the room, the changing light and shadow outside casting flickering shadows on his face.

He knew in his heart that this was bound to be a fierce battle. Given the current fighting strength of the Wei army, there was almost no chance of victory in a head-on confrontation. The only way was to overwhelm them with numbers. If that didn't work, they would probably have to resort to their ultimate weapon: the more than 100,000 elite cavalrymen sent by the Eastern Turks.

This was not only Yang Ying's most treasured possession, but also the most treasured possession of the Eastern Turks. They wanted to take advantage of this momentum to seize a large part of the northern territory. That made sense, but the problem was that if they didn't offer something of real value in exchange, how could they possibly get what was in someone else's hands?

The war has now entered its first peak phase. The Wei army advanced with unstoppable momentum, reaching a point 180 li outside Handan. They then dispersed to rest and regroup, while the supply corps slowly made its way to its designated location. Everything seemed to have calmed down, but even an outsider like Emperor Jingtai knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.

"Aren't you surprised?"

Seeing Xia Lin glance at the battle report before turning back to fiddling with his fishing rod, Old Zhang asked with curiosity, his hands behind his back, "The Divine Machine Battalion has slain two of the enemy's elite forces. Why aren't you surprised at all?"

"If you are an eighteen-year-old young man and you meet another eighteen-year-old young man, the brave one will win in a head-on confrontation. If you are an eighteen-year-old young man and a six-year-old child comes towards you, and you beat him up, do you feel happy?"

Old Zhang hesitated for a moment: "That depends on whether the child deserves a beating or not. If he does, I'd be happy to."

“Speaking of children, Zhang Zhongchun, you’re already in your thirties, how come you still haven’t had a child? Are you impotent? If you really can’t, I’ll find you an adopted child, so that your Zhang family line doesn’t end up dying out, and you won’t be able to face your parents after you die.”

Old Zhang gave Xia Lin a deep look, then stood up and said, "Farewell."

Why are you running away? You run away as soon as I mention this. Are you even capable of anything?

Xia Lin chased after the enemy until he reached the small dock on the island in the middle of the lake. Just as he arrived, he saw a small boat slowly sailing in his direction.

"Who is that?" Old Zhang asked in surprise. "Logically speaking, no one except me, the head of the Investigation Department, is allowed to come here."

"What are you guessing? You'll find out soon enough."

The two gazed at the boat for a while until it docked. When the people inside got off, they were quite surprised.

It turned out that the visitor was none other than Gao Shilian, who had been in seclusion for a long time. Xia Lin hadn't seen him for several years. The old man looked much older than before, with a sense of sudden aging. He had more wrinkles on his face and his hair had turned gray. He was completely different from when he first met this treacherous prime minister. At this moment, Gao Shilian looked like a weathered old man, almost without his arrogant demeanor.

"Lord Xia, Lord Zhang."

Gao Shilian smiled and cupped his hands to Xia Lin and Lao Zhang. The two of them hurriedly returned the greeting. After all, the old man's status and seniority in the martial arts world were undeniable, and it would be unreasonable to neglect him or be disrespectful.

Adult games can't be played like children's games where you can just ignore someone and leave them alone; you have to maintain a certain level of decorum.

"Please come in, Prime Minister Gao." Xia Lin gestured to Gao Shilian, "It's freezing cold outside. Prime Minister Gao has just recovered from a serious illness. Please don't catch a cold again."

At this moment, Old Zhang's eyes darted around. He didn't say anything or leave. Although he wasn't invited, he still followed behind with his hands behind his back.

Gao Shilian glanced at him, quite surprised by the man's shamelessness, but he didn't dare to tell him to leave.

"What are you still doing here? Aren't you going back?" Xia Lin glanced at Old Zhang from head to toe. "I'm going to talk to Old Gao. It's inconvenient for you to be here."

Gao Shilian was even more surprised. He hadn't expected Xia Daosheng to issue such an order to leave. Even if they were very familiar with each other, he would still be displeased.

"That's it." Old Zhang waved his arm. "I'm leaving."

Old Zhang spat on the ground, it was unclear whether he was spitting at Xia Lin or Gao Shilian, while Xia Lin, hands on her hips, looked at his back and said to Gao Shilian, "He's just like that dead pig that's not afraid of boiling water."

"Hahaha... What a fine example of a dead pig not fearing boiling water!" Gao Shilian was amused: "Youth is truly wonderful."

"I'm not young anymore, I'll be thirty in a few years." Xia Lin bowed slightly: "Please, Mr. Gao."

"Please." The two sat down. Since Xia Lin did not have the habit of using servants, he poured tea and water for Gao Shilian himself throughout the meal. The stove in the small house in the middle of the lake was burning brightly, and there was no feeling of cold at all.

Gao Shilian took a sip of tea: "Hmm, this is truly excellent tea. It must be the cliff jade from Fuliang."

"Oh, Prime Minister Gao is quite the connoisseur," Xia Lin said with a smile. "It's tea from my place. If Prime Minister Gao likes it, my family will send some over to him in a few days."

"Then the old man asked for the Immortal Herb."

"No problem, no problem. I knew Prime Minister Gao was knowledgeable."

The two started by talking about mundane topics, beginning with tea. Then, as they chatted, Gao Shilian suddenly sighed, "We've had mild winters for several years in a row, but this year it's suddenly turned extremely cold. My old bones are starting to feel the strain. I don't know how many more years I can hold on."

"That's normal. It's a rule. There's no such thing as unchanging weather throughout history."

The double entendre made Gao Shilian feel a pang of sadness. Looking up at the young man in his prime, Gao Shilian, who had been a powerful figure for forty years, knew that he was also nearing the end.

The atmosphere suddenly froze. Then Xia Lin asked abruptly, "Has Prime Minister Gao had his meal?"

"Not yet."

Xia Lin stood up: "Then let's eat something together."

As he spoke, he took out a small charcoal stove and a clay pot, and then brought in frozen tofu and beef and mutton from outside: "Let's have hot pot today."

"As you wish."

The broth in the small pot was boiling, creating a stark contrast between the cold weather inside the hut and outside. The two ate their food in small bites, exchanging a few words now and then, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Gao Shilian wiped his mouth and praised Xia Lin for his good appetite. Then, he changed the subject and said, "I heard that the new army's offensive in Hebei Province is in full swing. They have annihilated Li Mi's vanguard and left and right cavalry vanguards, yet they have suffered fewer than ten casualties. May I ask how Marquis Fengrao managed to do that?"

"Hahaha, Marquis of Fengrao... I dare not accept such praise."

The story of the Marquis of Fengrao is quite interesting. It wasn't an official title; rather, it was a shrine built for him by the common people and refugees of Jiangnan, who bestowed upon him the name "Fengrao" (meaning abundant harvest). Later, the name spread to various places with the help of merchants, and his fellow officials often jokingly addressed him as the Marquis of Fengrao to show their closeness.

After the joke, Xia Lin stood up and walked towards a box: "Actually, there's no trick to it. It's just a matter of overwhelming technology. Cavalry or fortified cities, they're all just remnants of the past."

As he spoke, he took a musket out of the box, turned around and handed it to Gao Shilian: "Prime Minister Gao, if you're interested in going outside for some fun?"

"This?" Gao Shilian looked down at the heavy, clumsy, and unsharpened strange thing in his hand: "Can this thing be used to attack fortified cities and defeat cavalry?"

"Give it a try, how will you know if you don't try?"

The gun Xia Lin gave Gao Shilian wasn't a shotgun; it was a top-tier flattery item, supposedly crafted by the most skilled craftsmen in Fuliang, a legendary red-grade weapon, the Type 56 semi-automatic, entirely hand-made according to Xia Lin's blueprints with an error margin of only 0.05%...

The two went outside, and Xia Lin took out the precious bullets and taught Gao Shilian how to load them. Then he placed a broken bowl thirty feet away.

"Prime Minister Gao, yes...yes, three points in a line."

"My hands can no longer support it..."

"It's okay, you can prop it up anywhere, even while sitting."

After some adjustments, Gao Shilian still couldn't believe that such a small thing could hit a broken bowl thirty feet away. You have to understand that it was so small that you couldn't even see it clearly. If it could really hit it, wouldn't everyone be able to shoot an arrow at the gate?

"Disengage the safety and pull the trigger. Good... Minister Gao is truly brilliant; he learned it after just one lesson."

Gao Shilian was both amused and exasperated. He was praised for his intelligence by a young man, and he didn't know how to respond.

"Okay, release it!"

As the trigger was pulled, a loud bang made Gao Shilian's head buzz. Although he had prepared himself mentally, the first time he heard it, his heart still pounded wildly.

However, in just a moment, the broken bowl thirty feet away had already fallen apart. It must be said that Gao Shilian's spear skills were quite good; the old man had some talent.

Now, Gao Shilian wasn't surprised by his own talent. Instead, he looked at the bowl in the distance, now reduced to dust, and then at the gun in his hand. As clever as he was, he naturally understood why Xia Lin had said this was the end for cavalry...

(End of this chapter)