Chapter 169: Cannons, Golden Armored Army
The sun had just risen, its gentle rays filtering through the gaps in the Golden Tent, sprinkling onto the soft blanket.
At this moment, Xiao Yanyan was deep in slumber, fully displaying her disheveled appearance after the madness.
Her originally neat hair was now messily scattered around the pillow, her eyes tightly closed, long lashes slightly trembling, as if still savoring last night’s passion in her dreams.
Faint ambiguous red marks were visible on her neck, the quilt had slipped to her waist, revealing rounded shoulders, her skin still bearing un faded flush, shimmering faintly in the morning light.
Looking at this stunning sight, Li Xiao couldn’t help but smile, his mind recalling last night’s frenzy, shaking his head helplessly.
For this period, he had been tightly entangled by Xiao Yanyan, with no chance to spread the rain and dew evenly.
“Sigh!”
Li Xiao sighed softly. Where had the man who once aspired to be a playboy gone?
How did he become such a devoted good man?
Then, he quietly got up, simply draped a golden yellow cape over himself, bare-chested, and paced to the tent entrance.
Lifting the tent flap, the morning grassland unfolded like a serene painting, with dewdrops glistening on the grass, sparkling in fragmented lights under the dawn.
The soldiers in the tents had long risen, donning their armor and eating breakfast.
Li Xiao took a deep breath of fresh air, turned back into the tent to dress.
Soon, Thin Monkey approached and reported softly: “The Old Master is already prepared, just waiting for you.”
“So early?” Li Xiao was surprised.
Thin Monkey smiled lightly without speaking. In truth, it wasn’t early anymore; it was just that Li Xiao had gone wild several times last night and got up a bit late.
Then, he hurriedly ate a few flatbreads, instructed Xiao Yanyan’s guards, and led people toward a distant grassland.
This was Golden Mountain, not far from Tang Valley, the Steel Base of Jin Prefecture.
Li Xiao had arrived several days in advance precisely to oversee the forging progress of a major weapon.
Li Xiao led a large contingent of personal guards onto the grassland, reined in his horse, dismounted, and walked forward.
“Grandfather, Third Grandfather, Third Uncle~”
Li Xiao greeted each of the men before him.
The Old Master glanced faintly at him and said indifferently: “You’re young, but you must practice temperance and avoid excessive indulgence.”
Li Xiao smiled awkwardly, nodded lightly, inwardly crying injustice.
It wasn’t that he lacked temperance; it was Xiao Yanyan who demanded endlessly, and he couldn’t refuse.
“Alright, Grandfather~”
“After you have a great-grandson, I’ll practice temperance.”
Hearing this, the Old Master pursed his lips and fell silent.
If he could see a great-grandson soon, letting Li Xiao continue for another two years would be acceptable.
“Ahem~”
The Old Master coughed lightly and said seriously: “Enough of that, let’s get to business.”
“The cannon is already cast and ready for testing.”
The Old Master stood with hands behind his back, like a worldly expert, looking at a distant cannon barrel, lacking much confidence in his heart.
It was the cannon cast according to Li Xiao’s requirements.
The muzzle diameter was about ten centimeters, length around two meters, weight under a thousand jin, almost indistinguishable from the ancient cannons in Li Xiao’s memory.
Moreover, compared to the cannons of the Ming and Qing eras, this cannon before Li Xiao was entirely made of Hexi Steel, making it even sturdier and more durable.
The method of forging the cannon barrel was also simple: molding.
Using mud to create a mold, then pouring in molten iron; after cooling, it formed a seamless cannon barrel.
Though this method had many flaws, in this era, it was the best approach.
After many failures, they had finally succeeded in producing a cannon barrel.
Li Xiao felt a slight thrill in his heart and said gravely: “Light the fire, test the cannon.”
Several soldiers stepped forward; they were artillery officer seeds carefully selected by Li Xiao.
Though it was their first contact with this large smoke tube, they followed Li Xiao’s instructions.
First load gunpowder, then ram it tight with a push rod; three men together placed a large iron ball into the barrel.
Then adjusted the barrel to a forty-five-degree angle. With Li Xiao’s command, the soldier lit the matchcord.
“Boom!”
A deafening roar, like thunder exploding beside the ear, thick smoke instantly billowing from the muzzle.
That large iron ball shot out like a meteor from the barrel, carrying immense power, whistling toward the distance.
A distant boulder was struck, instantly shattering into pieces, debris flying, as if the earth and mountains were shaking.
“What?”
“This~”
“This was really fired by the large smoke tube?”
The Old Master and others were stunned by the scene.
They knew Li Xiao had produced much powerful gunpowder.
But they hadn’t expected that pairing it with this large smoke tube would unleash such might.
“Cannon?”
“So powerful!”
“With this thing, won’t the enemy be scared shitless by us?”
“Such a huge stone, from so far away, was smashed; is there any city wall under heaven that can withstand this shot?”
Li Sanzhi and others said delightedly, discussing animatedly.
Li Xiao watched the cannon’s displayed power, lips curving slightly upward, eyes full of satisfaction.
Then, he had men measure the cannon’s range.
Fifteen hundred meters.
Compared to the late Ming Red Robe Cannons, this cannon’s power and range were superior.
The main reason was the superior quality of the barrel, made of Hexi Steel.
The gunpowder mix was more precise, with greater power.
After the initial excitement, the Old Master walked over and said: “This cannon is powerful but hard to move, and loading gunpowder takes time; on the battlefield, it must be properly arranged.”
Li Xiao nodded, already prepared for this: “Grandfather is absolutely right.”
“Still need Grandfather to lead men to fit this cannon with two larger wheels for easier movement.”
“My Jin Prefecture Army doesn’t lack cattle and horses; we can surely transport this cannon to the front lines.”
With cannons, the Jin Prefecture Army’s combat methods would fundamentally change.
Previously, heavy cavalry broke the enemy lines, followed by light cavalry to pursue and kill.
Henceforth, first bombard with cannons to disrupt the enemy’s formation, then send light and heavy cavalry in sequence to decide the battle.
Cannon barrage followed by cavalry charge.
The Hexi Military School would add a required course: cannon-cavalry coordination.
Then, in high spirits, Li Xiao had them continue testing the cannon.
Based on this result, adjust data for future cannon forging; Li Xiao ordered at least twenty cannons in the first batch.
Meanwhile, the military equipment workshop had also produced another type of small cannon.
Tiger Zun Cannon.
Length one meter, weight under a hundred jin, range around five or six hundred meters.
Similar to an ancient mortar; advantage is portability, disadvantage is short range and lesser power.
The smelting work for the Tiger Zun Cannon proceeded almost in parallel with the large cannon.
By noon, Li Xiao received a report from his personal guard.
“Great Governor, Zhao Erdao’s chiliarch sent a man to report that at dawn yesterday, another squad leader’s common people were attacked by wildlings.”
“Five dead or wounded!”
Hearing this, Li Xiao’s excitement faded slightly.
Looking at the crooked handwriting on the letter from Zhao Erdao, he could barely make out the meaning.
Then, slowly retracting his smile, he said softly: “This month, it’s already the eighth wildling attack, right?”
“Yes, the eighth time.” Thin Monkey nodded emphatically.
Over ten thousand households of common people flooded into Jin Prefecture; Li Xiao settled them on the northern grassland, lending them cattle and sheep for herding.
But survival resources are fixed; there’s only so much grassland.
These common people’s influx inevitably squeezed the northern wildlings’ living space.
Conflicts escalated, leading to successive wildling attack incidents.
Li Xiao was mentally prepared for this, nodding lightly: “For Jin Prefecture to expand north, it seems we must first deal with these wildlings.”
These wildlings lived in the northern Golden Mountain region, skilled in hunting and herding.
In later generations, they had a specific name: Altai people.
But now, they were just a group of uncivilized wildlings.
“Issue the order.”
“Appoint Li Erjiang as Golden Mountain Myriad Household Commander, to lead the northern chiliarchs and suppress the wildling unrest.” Li Xiao said gravely.
The wildlings were few in number, just an ordinary nomadic tribe, internally disunited and split into many small tribes.
For Jin Prefecture, it was merely a minor itch, not worth Li Xiao’s personal involvement.
The only trouble was that the wildlings backed by Golden Mountain, familiar with the mountain forest terrain, would flee into the woods if defeated, leaving no way to pursue.
But there were ways to deal with them: divide and conquer, incite internal strife, defeat them one by one.
Sending Li Erjiang to suppress them was also to build his qualifications for further promotion later.
“Understood!”
Then, Thin Monkey left to relay the order.
Two days later, Li Erjiang set off to the north, leading the various chiliarchs to suppress the wildling tribes.
Two months later, Li Erjiang returned victorious.
Meanwhile, Li Dashan and some chiliarchs left in the Great Desert also received the decree and returned to Jin Prefecture.
“Damn, finally back.”
“That Great Desert place really isn’t for humans.”
Li Dashan felt Jin Prefecture’s cool air, thinking of the Great Desert’s dry heat, and couldn’t help complaining.
A golden nest or silver nest is no match for one’s own dog kennel.
Raised in Jin Prefecture since childhood, accustomed to the dry cold climate here, he really didn’t like staying long in the Great Desert.
Especially in summer, too hot.
“I’d rather go north to fight wildlings than stay in the Great Desert, bored to death, spending all day with my men tending farmland.”
Chiliarch Zhu Dachang said. He was also from Hexi Fort, on good terms with Li Dashan; having accumulated military merit, he was appointed chiliarch.
As for Li Dashan’s other brother Chen Erqiang, he stayed behind in the Great Desert this time.
Including Er Hu, a total of six chiliarchs remained in the Great Desert to garrison.
“The northern battles are mostly wrapped up; those wildlings either killed or surrendered. Anyway, if you went, it’d be a wasted trip.”
Li Dashan chuckled.
Regarding northern warfare, every so often Li Xiao had men write dispatches sent to all generals.
“Er Jiang Ge doesn’t seem showy usually, but unexpectedly he’s pretty capable.”
“Tiger father has no dog son; all taught by the Old Master. Da Hai Ge is formidable, Er Jiang Ge is no slouch.”
Amid their joking, they arrived at Dragon City Wasteland.
“In just a few months, Dragon City has built this high.” Li Dashan reined his horse, gazing at distant Dragon City, said surprised.
Previously, when setting out for the Great Desert, Dragon City had only laid the foundation.
Now, in merely months, it had piled up city walls over two meters high.
Moreover, houses inside the city had begun construction.
In another year or two, Dragon City could truly be completed.
“With those wildlings joining, Dragon City’s construction speed will only be faster.” Da Hu looked at the distant city-building slaves and said flatly.
The slaves building Dragon City mainly included Uyghur People and Geluolu People plundered from Kuyun-Ordu during the western expedition.
Secondly, the wildlings his father Li Erjiang had captured from northern Golden Mountain.
Under the overseers’ leather whips, they carried stones back and forth, piling the city walls, contributing greatly to Dragon City’s construction.
“Those wildlings have strong physiques; it’s wasteful building city walls. If they could fight for us, that’d be good.” Zhu Dachang said.
Li Dashan nodded lightly: first wear down those wildlings’ ferocity, then when manageable, enlist them into the army.
Then, Li Dashan turned to look at the caravan behind, called the steward, and instructed.
“Fourth Uncle, you head back to Hexi Fort first; we’re going to the main camp.”
This trip to Jin Prefecture included not just Li Dashan and others, but also a Hexi Merchant Guild caravan escorting much grain and cotton.
Conveniently en route, Li Dashan traveled with them, providing escort.
“Alright, Dashan, you go first. Da Long wants you all; must be important business.”
The speaker was a collateral elder of the Li Family, advanced in age, so Li Xiao had him help Li Erguzi manage the Hexi Merchant Guild.
Then, the two groups parted; without the caravan slowing them, Li Dashan and others spurred their horses and soon reached a grassland east of Dragon City.
The grassland was filled with endless tents, golden Sun and Moon Battle Flags planted around, fluttering in the breeze.
Countless war horses grazed leisurely, and many soldiers in yellow cotton armor patrolled the perimeter.
This was precisely the temporary seat of the Jin Prefecture Governor’s Mansion.
But Da Hu looked surprised, pointing at the patrolling soldiers: “Eh, their armor?”
As everyone knew, Li Xiao’s personal guards, the White Armored Army, were famed for wearing white cotton armor.
But now, though the White Armored Army had some new faces, the officers and generals were still familiar.
Yet how had their clothing color changed.
“Er Lengzi!”
Zhu Dachang stopped a patrolling White Armored Soldier centurion, also an old brother from Hexi Four Forts.
“Eh, Big Intestine, you’re finally back.”
“Everyone else is here, just waiting for you.” Er Lengzi said.
This time Li Xiao summoned many chiliarch officers for a meeting; only Li Dashan and others in the Great Desert arrived late.
Zhu Dachang shook his head: “Delayed two days on the road.”
Then pointed at the cotton armor: “What’s with the armor you’re wearing?”
“Where’s the previous white armor?”
“The old cotton armor was collected; these are newly made.” Er Lengzi explained.
He looked quite happy mentioning this.
Because this batch of cotton armor was superior in quality to the previous.
With Hexi Steel’s emergence and Hexi forging skills maturing.
The armor plates needed for cotton armor were much better than the last batch.
Their current cotton armor had double layers of thick cotton cloth, with full Hexi Steel-forged plates sandwiched inside.
Defensive power nearly matching those heavy iron armors.
“Newly made? Then why yellow?” Da Hu asked puzzled.
Because that white cotton armor set made the White Armored Army called ‘White Devils’!
Er Lengzi scratched his head and said lowly: “The Great Governor says the Hexi military equipment workshop has made lots of cotton armor, to be distributed to each of your chiliarchs soon.”
“These cotton armors have different colors.”
“Our Wuwei Army will wear yellow cotton armor from now on.”
Hearing this, Da Hu, Zhu Dachang, and others all showed delight.
“We can all wear cotton armor?”
“Great!”
They knew cotton armor’s performance well.
Defensive power not much less than iron armor, but much lighter.
Most importantly, cotton armor was warmer, which was crucial.
Previously, with limited cotton armor production, only prioritized for the White Armored Army.
Other units had only a few officers able to wear it.
Now, with cotton armor production scaled up, it would finally be widely issued army-wide.
“If so, our Jin Prefecture Army’s combat strength will more than double.”
“From now on, we’re all White Armored Army.” Li Dashan laughed heartily.
“Er Lengzi, you can rename to Golden Armored Army!”
“Hahaha!”
