Chapter 735: The Artillery Battalion Deploys
Li Yuan’s intelligence was crucial.
Shi Jian frowned.
In the past, the Gao Family Village Militia had always fought the rebels in open fields or from defensive positions.
Flintlock riflemen were effective in defense; they could hide behind fortifications, fire a volley of shots, and watch the enemy fall.
Fighting in the open was also simple: one shot, one kill from hundreds of meters away, like target practice.
But this time, the tables had turned. The roles of offense and defense were reversed.
The rebels actually had a city. What were they to do?
If the bandit soldiers hid behind a fortress, the flintlock riflemen couldn’t hit them.
Throw grenades? That would expose the grenadiers to the enemy’s arrows, leaving them vulnerable to one-sided attacks. That was too dangerous.
Of course, the flintlock riflemen had bayonets.
But...
Engaging in bayonet charges meant abandoning their strengths; it was a last resort, to be done only when no other option remained.
Just as he pondered this, Zheng Gouzi’s head poked out from nearby. “Old Shi,” he said, “if it’s a siege we’re facing, why don’t we just bring the cannons? We’ll blast that damn old fortress to bits!”
Shi Jian’s eyes lit up. “You’re right!”
Having been on the defensive for so long, he had forgotten that Gao Family Village possessed advanced artillery technology. They had only ever fought rebels, never a siege, so the cannons had been all but forgotten.
Shi Jian declared, “Have the Qichuan Ferry send the cannons by boat, then we’ll switch to horse-drawn transport and get them to Wangjia Fork. We’ll blast the hell out of that place!”
Zheng Gouzi chuckled. “As long as the cannons fire a few rounds, the bandit soldiers hiding inside will naturally flee or surrender. We won’t have to resort to street fighting.”
Li Yuan, overhearing their conversation, was utterly bewildered. “Uh, General Shi, do we... do we have cannons?”
Shi Jian grinned. “Of course!”
Li Yuan wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. “Are we really that powerful?”
Shi Jian and Zheng Gouzi burst into laughter. “Just you wait, kid,” Shi Jian said. “We’ve got plenty more impressive things where that came from.”—
Earlier, when Wang Jiayin had dispatched his navy to attack the Qichuan Ferry, Bai Yuan had used cannons like oversized firearms to repel Wang Jiayin. He realized then that cannons couldn’t be deployed haphazardly; specialized artillery teams were needed to operate them.
Thus, at Bai Yuan’s insistence, the Gao Family Village Artillery Battalion was officially formed.
And so, the "coldest" battalion came into existence.
Despite being masters of advanced firearms, they were genuinely "cold"!
There was simply no work for them to do.
Day in and day out, it was training, training, training, and more training.
Their schedules were completely filled with drills, with no mention of anything else.
None of the generals—neither Cheng Xu, Xing Honglang, Bai Yuan, Shi Jian, nor Wang Xiaohua—ever brought the artillery battalion into play.
It wasn’t the generals’ fault, though; there simply hadn't been any suitable opportunities to deploy the cannons.
Rebels were always on the move, firing a shot and relocating, scattering across the land. When would cannons ever have a chance to blast them?
Therefore, the moment Shi Jian requested the artillery battalion be deployed...
The artillery camp at Qichuan Ferry erupted in cheers.
“We’ve got work!”
“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this day?!”
“Brothers, let’s get hyped!”
The entire artillery battalion was as lively as a festival.
They had trained for years, so when it was time to act, every single person knew exactly what to do.
Some immediately hitched horses to the cannons.
Others swiftly loaded cannonballs into crates.
Powder charges were prepared.
The benefit of all that training was evident: from receiving the order to departing for battle, they completed their preparations in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Large boats carried the artillery battalion upstream along the Yellow River.
The artillerymen were full of vigor, singing loudly, their gongs and drums creating a deafening celebratory racket.
When their transport ships arrived at Dragon Gate Ferry, Li Yuan on the dock initially thought a troupe of performers had arrived.
But a closer look made him jump in alarm.
Stepping off the boats, one after another, were massive cannons.
And these cannons came in two distinct colors.
One type was a gleaming silver, stainless steel cannons directly bestowed by Li Daoxuan from outside the box.
The other was a dark, dull black: bronze-iron alloy cannons cast by the people themselves.
Li Yuan’s mouth hung wide open as he counted them one by one: “One, two, three... five... ten... Wait, there’s more? Still more on the boat? Hey, are you serious? We don’t need this many, we’re just fighting a small band of rebels!”
The artillery battalion commander, his face beaming with excitement, jumped off the boat and grabbed Li Yuan’s hand. “Are you our guide, comrade? Please give us plenty of pointers when the time comes!”
Li Yuan wiped a cold sweat from his brow. “That small old fortress is tiny. Are you planning to level the entire thing? Just three or five cannons, used to breach one wall, should be enough to make the enemy surrender.”
The artillery commander scoffed, “What? Three to five? Are you joking? My brothers haven’t had any action in years! We finally get a job, and you want us to send only three to five? What about the brothers who don’t get to go? Are they supposed to stay idle at home with cold stoves?”
Li Yuan could only stare.
The commander seized his shoulders and shook him vigorously. “The enemy has a giant fortress, right? It requires the entire artillery battalion, a bombardment of five days and five nights, and a thousand shells fired to destroy the enemy, right? It has to be, right? Just say it’s true!”
Li Yuan remained speechless.
Shi Jian emerged from behind them. “Li Yuan, just how big is that old fortress? Don’t exaggerate just to coddle the artillery battalion’s feelings.”
Li Yuan, looking embarrassed, replied, “It’s not big. Three to five... *ahem*... five or six cannons should be enough.”
“Aaaargh!” the artillery commander wailed. “You can’t do this!”
Shi Jian threw up his hands. “Alright, stop shrieking. Six cannons it is.”
The artillery commander pressed, “Considering misfires, road damage, and other factors, how about eight?”
Shi Jian let out a wry laugh. “Is this a marketplace? Haggling now? The more cannons we deploy, the more horses we need, and the more logistical support. There’s no need for such excessive waste. Frankly, you didn’t even ask before hauling all these cannons to Dragon Gate Ferry; that was already a waste of effort.”
The artillery commander hung his head, looking utterly dejected.
Just then, the cotton-embroidered Heavenly Lord on his chest suddenly burst into booming laughter. “No worries, no worries! This isn’t entirely a waste of effort. Receiving this military intelligence and deploying the entire artillery battalion serves as an excellent training opportunity. All officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion swiftly completed their preparations upon receiving the news, deployed en masse, and smoothly arrived from Qichuan Ferry to Dragon Gate Ferry. This counts as a very successful combat drill!”
The artillery commander beamed with joy. “The Heavenly Lord is truly benevolent!”
Shi Jian sighed, “Ah, the Heavenly Lord really spoils you, doesn’t he?”
Only Li Yuan was left dumbfounded. He pointed at the speaking embroidery and gasped in astonishment, “It spoke... Didn’t you think that was strange? It actually spoke...”
Shi Jian corrected him, “That is the Heavenly Lord. Calling him ‘it’ or ‘that’ is incredibly impolite.”
Li Yuan shrieked, “The Heavenly Lord truly exists?! Aaaah!”
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