You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Click to begin the wondrous journey of "Wandering the Heavens as a Tyrant, You Don't Understand My Joy".

Inside the Qixia Palace, the morning light dispelled some of the lingering beauty of last night, leaving behind a cool and bright atmosphere.

Yang Tiexin strode into the hall, his ordinary clothes unable to conceal the fierce and valiant air honed by his military service.

He knelt down, lifting his robes, and said in a booming voice, "Your subject Yang Tiexin pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Lu Zuo waved his hand, signaling him to stand up, and looked calmly at this general known for his bravery and loyalty.

Li Qingzhi had already knelt down and retreated to a corner, her head bowed, not daring to breathe, only cautiously glancing at the scene out of the corner of her eye.

"His Majesty!"

Yang Tiexin stood up, his back ramrod straight, but his face showed undisguised anxiety and longing.

"Marshal Han conquered Tibet, Marshal Yue pacified Western Xia; victories were reported frequently, and the soldiers fought bravely, expanding the territory!"

"Guo Xiaotian and I are in Jinling, training the naval and infantry forces every day. Seeing our comrades achieve great things, the fire in our hearts is burning so brightly it's almost piercing our bones!"

"Your Majesty, please give us a straight answer: when can we also go to the front lines to fight the enemy and share your burdens?"

"Even... even if it's just to wipe out some river bandits and mountain outlaws, let the soldiers see blood and get some practice, that would be fine!"

His tone was urgent, even somewhat rough and pleading, clearly indicating that he was feeling extremely frustrated back home.

Lu Zuo picked up the newly served tea from the eunuch, blew on the floating leaves, took a slow sip, and then said calmly:

"The navy is the foundation for future operations in Southeast Asia and Japan. The new army that Guo Xiaotian and you are training also needs time to hone its skills."

"What's the rush? You'll have your share of the fighting."

"Your Majesty..." Yang Tiexin wanted to say more.

Lu Zuo put down his teacup, turned his gaze to the distance outside the hall, pondered for a moment as if weighing something, and then spoke, his tone casual yet decisive: "That's enough."

"You and Guo Xiaotian's 30,000 'Old Third Battalion' new recruits have been training for some time now."

"Constantly confined to the vicinity of Nanjing, it is indeed difficult to develop a sharp edge."

Yang Tiexin's eyes lit up.

"The Gaochang Uyghurs," Lu Zuo lightly tapped his fingertip on the imperial desk, "occupying the eastern route of the Western Regions and controlling the vital Silk Road. They once submitted to the Liao and Jin dynasties. Now that our Great Song has destroyed the Jin and shaken the world, their envoys are hesitant and their attitude is ambiguous and extremely rude."

"The land is rich, but its army is weak."

He looked at Yang Tiexin, his gaze slightly narrowed: "You shall immediately muster the elite troops of the 'Old Third Battalion,' and I will also allocate you a 'Divine Machine' thousand-man team, fully equipped with firearms and ammunition."

"Under the pretext of inspecting the border and pacifying the merchants, go out of Yumen and take down Gaochang for me."

"Remember, the key to this battle is a swift victory, to intimidate the Western Regions and demonstrate the might of our Great Song army. Are you capable of undertaking this task?"

Gaochang! The gateway to the Western Regions!

Yang Tiexin felt a surge of heat rush to his head, and all his pent-up frustration instantly transformed into a burning fighting spirit.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice trembling with excitement: "Your Majesty, I obey! I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!"

"We will surely capture the King of Gaochang and bring him to Jinling, to be presented before His Majesty!"

"Go. Discuss the specific strategies with the Ministry of War and the Privy Council. I only care about the results."

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree! Thank you!" Yang Tiexin bowed deeply once more, turned and strode away with great momentum, as if he did not want to linger for even a moment longer.

Li Qingzhi, kneeling in the corner, heard the entire exchange clearly.

Gaochang Uyghurs...

Although she was deep within the Western Xia court, she knew that it was an important state on the Silk Road, thousands of miles away from the westernmost edge of the former Western Xia territory!

This Song emperor had just destroyed her homeland, and her generals were still fighting against Tibet. In the blink of an eye, she so casually turned her military might towards the distant Western Regions!

Just how big is his appetite?

Li Qingzhi's heart was filled with turmoil.

The Western Xia and the Tibetan Empire appear to be by no means the end, but perhaps only the beginning.

Within the palace walls of Jinling, beneath the tranquil court assembly, lies a vast territory stretching to all corners of the land!

A near-terrifying realization gripped her: herself, her family, and even the destroyed Western Xia were probably just insignificant stepping stones on this emperor's grand conquest.

And this journey seems to have only just begun to accelerate.

Just as she was in a state of utter confusion, another report came from outside the palace, this time with barely suppressed excitement in his voice:

"Your Majesty! Minister of Works Shen Gai and Master Craftsman Mo Heng are requesting an audience outside the palace! They report a major breakthrough in the 'Divine Mechanism' instrument and have come to share the good news!"

Artillery and repeating guns?

Li Qingzhi vaguely remembered hearing His Majesty mention something to Secretary Li yesterday.

Another new weapon?

Upon hearing this, Lu Zuo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and a smile appeared on his lips: "Prepare the carriage, to the craft workshop."

……

It was nearly noon, and the sun was blazing overhead.

The "Tiangongyuan" workshop area in the northeast of Jinling City has expanded several times in size since my last visit. Blast furnaces stand tall, smoke billows from chimneys, and the clanging of blacksmithing and the roar of steam engines intertwine to create a powerful and noisy atmosphere.

Security here has become increasingly tight, with guards every five steps and sentries every ten steps.

Lu Zuo did not enter the stuffy shed, but sat under a temporary shed next to the drill ground.

Li Qingzhi remained kneeling on the brocade cushion at his feet, carefully massaging his legs, but her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the scene on the training ground.

A group of craftsmen pushed in several oddly shaped iron objects. One of them looked somewhat similar to the previous "Shenji-1" musket, but it had a rectangular iron box at the bottom of the barrel, and the structure of the gun was more complex and heavy.

Another type is a behemoth, with thick, dark iron pipes mounted on sturdy wheeled cannons, gleaming with a cold metallic luster, inspiring awe.

Master craftsman Mo Heng strode over, his face covered in soot, but his eyes gleamed with an almost fanatical excitement. He first bowed deeply to Lu Zuo, then rose and pointed to the firearm with the iron box, saying:

"Your Majesty, this is the 'Divine Machine Type II' rotary spring repeating pistol, developed based on Your Majesty's ideas of 'rapid firing' and 'constant ammunition supply'!"

"Through our repeated improvements, the revolving magazine has been increased to fifty rounds. More importantly, inspired by the crossbow magazine, we have created this detachable ammunition plate!"

He picked up a rectangular, slightly thick piece of iron, on which ten bright yellow bullets were neatly embedded.

"To load, simply insert this magazine into the magazine, then chamber a round for continuous firing!"

"The rate of fire far exceeds that of a single-shot musket! And the misfire rate is greatly reduced!"

He then pointed to the massive cannon, his voice rising with excitement: "Your Majesty, this is the Divine Might General Cannon, forged according to the principles of cannons as Your Majesty has drawn, combined with new steelmaking and boring techniques!"

"Six and a half inches in caliber, a barrel length of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), ten jin (approximately 5 kg) of propellant, capable of firing solid iron bullets and explosive shells!"

"Its power and range far surpass any previous mortars or cannons!"

"Try it." Lu Zuo said succinctly.

"As you command!"

First, we tested the automatic firearm.

A select marksman stepped forward, took the "Shenji II" pistol, inserted the cartridge plate, cocked it deftly, and then aimed at a row of wooden targets two hundred paces away.

"Da da da da da—!"

A series of rapid, almost indistinguishable explosions suddenly rang out!

The sound was crisper and more continuous than that of a single-shot musket, like a sudden storm!

The muzzle flashes merged into one, and billows of white smoke rose. The wooden target in the distance, under the hail of bullets, was riddled with holes in an instant, splintering into countless fragments!

Li Qingzhi's hand, which was massaging Lu Zuo's legs, suddenly froze. She abruptly turned her head to look at the training ground, her beautiful eyes wide open, filled with unparalleled shock and fear!

What... what kind of weapon is this?

How could it be launched so quickly?

It was like dozens of muskets firing simultaneously!

If faced with such a hail of bullets on the battlefield, what kind of army could break through?

She recalled how the Western Xia border army had already crumbled under the single-shot muskets of the Song army; if they were to encounter something like this…

She couldn't help but shudder, and dared not think any further.

Mo Heng said with pride, "Your Majesty, this spear can penetrate light armor in rapid succession within a hundred paces, and it still has a deterrent effect within five hundred paces."

"A skilled marksman, equipped with a pre-made magazine, can achieve a rate of fire more than five times that of a single-shot rifle!"

"The mass production process has also been mastered; as long as there are sufficient raw materials, producing a thousand units per month is not difficult!"

Lu Zuo nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the giant cannon.

The artillery was ready for test firing, with the muzzles pointing diagonally at the cliff face of an uninhabited, desolate mountain several miles away.

Load, aim, and insert the matchlock.

"boom!"

An unprecedented, earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted!

The earth seemed to tremble! Dust fell from the roof of the pergola.

The enormous recoil propelled the heavy artillery carriage backward with a violent jerk.

The flames spewing from the cannons were several feet long, and thick smoke rose up like a mushroom cloud, instantly obscuring half of the training ground!

Almost at the same time as the loud bang, a huge burst of orange-red flames and billowing dust erupted from the cliff face of a barren mountain several miles away!

The deafening roar echoed through the valley, rumbling endlessly. As the smoke and dust dissipated, a shocking crater, over ten feet in diameter, was blasted into the solid mountain wall, surrounded by collapsed rocks and burn marks!

Li Qingzhi was completely stunned, forgetting even her fear. She just stared blankly at the hideous giant pit on the distant mountain wall, her small mouth slightly open, her face as pale as paper.

The buzzing in my ears was still deafening, a result of the cannon fire and the sheer devastation of its destructive power.

This...this is beyond the reach of human power!

This is practically the wrath of Thor!

With such a divine weapon, what formidable pass or impregnable fortress could withstand its attack?

The walls of the Western Xia city were probably no more sturdy than paper in the face of this giant cannon!

She subconsciously glanced at Lu Zuo, who sat calmly on the throne beside her. He had a satisfied smile on his face and was telling Mo Heng about rewarding him and expanding production.

Sunlight shone on his profile, making him undeniably handsome, yet in Li Qingzhi's eyes, he seemed to be shrouded in a chilling, godlike aura of absolute power and conquest.

She finally realized with absolute clarity that she herself, the women behind her who still harbored various thoughts, and even the many states in the world that had not yet submitted.

How small and fragile we are in the face of this emperor and the ever-evolving terrifying power he wields.

Rebellion, perhaps, was a joke from the very beginning.