Chapter 30: Pulled Off Something Big! (Please Keep Reading)

To err on the side of caution, Li Chang'an dismissed the insurgent forces gathered around him.

Thus, even if this crudely manufactured artillery piece were to burst its barrel, it would not threaten the safety of the ordinary folk nearby.

Wang Su and Lyu Changning, however, not only stayed their ground but instead watched him with looks carrying a hint of curiosity... more accurately, they were watching the strange iron contraption he was manipulating in his hands.

They themselves possessed martial arts prowess, and could flee at a moment's notice should any danger arise.

Lyu Changning sniffed the pungent odor in the air and could not help but ask, "This scent, why does it smell like saltpeter powder?"

Saltpeter powder was what the people of this world called gunpowder.

Because Taoist priests frequently used this substance to refine elixirs, saltpeter powder had another moniker, known as 'celestial fire powder.'

Because Li Chang'an had mixed in quite a lot of random and messy ingredients, though Lyu Changning faintly felt a sense of familiarity, he remained somewhat uncertain.

Beside him, Wang Su's experience in refining elixirs was evidently far richer than his; at this moment, with just a slight twitch of his nose, he confirmed, "This is indeed saltpeter powder. Do you intend to use saltpeter powder to ignite a fire and launch a fire attack? It is a decent idea, but since that Yan family estate has prepared to resist a siege, there is no reason for them to leave kindling inside the houses..."

This idea is likely to fall through!

Wang Su did not speak this last sentence aloud, fearing he might dampen Li Chang'an's enthusiasm.

After all, at Li Chang'an's age, being able to think of a 'fire attack' could already be considered a stroke of heavenly genius, so there was no need to demand too much.

After aiming the muzzle of the cannon into position, Li Chang'an smiled, shook his head, and said, "Not so, not so. This contraption is a weapon of mass destruction sufficient to change the era!"

...

At the Yan family estate, lying prone on the wall, they looked at the dark mass of the rebel army outside the house, and the youth who was tinkering with something in front of the rebel lines.

The master of the Yan family, Yan Runjiang, looked slightly nervous as he turned his head to look behind him and said, "Lord Cao, our signal for help has already been sent out, hasn't it?"

When the gentry held their grand meeting, they had agreed upon a strategy for joint defense against the enemy.

No matter which family was targeted by the rebel army, as long as the signal was seen, the remaining families would spare no effort to rush to their aid.

During the planning, everyone had been full of vows, as if they could scatter the rebel army like falling water in the next second, but now that they were truly under attack and surrounded by the tide of people, the sense of oppression was entirely different.

It was no wonder the old master of the Yan family was dripping with sweat, nervous beyond reason.

The dark-clothed man whom he addressed as Lord Cao had a somber face, and upon hearing this, replied coldly, "The signal has already been sent out. Under normal circumstances, the others will be able to complete the encirclement in about three days..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the still-unsettled expression of the old master of the Yan family, furrowed his brows imperceptibly, and explained, "Rest assured, the opponents are just a band of roaming bandits, and they haven't brought any siege engines. Even if your 'allies' do not come to assist, they cannot pose any threat!"

Lord Cao's name was Cao Tian, and he was the officer in charge of the Prison Commandery of Sanhuang County. When Sanhuang County fell previously, he happened to be away from the city.

Hearing that Sanhuang County had already fallen into the hands of the rebel army, Cao Tian had been frightened out of his wits.

—The county seat had fallen while he, a minor official of the Prison Commandery, was out enjoying himself... if the higher-ups found out about this, he would lose his skin even if he didn't die!

The Prison Commandery enjoyed extreme privileges.

But once a mistake was made, the punishment suffered was likely to be of equal proportion.

In order to make amends for his crime, Cao Tian did not rashly return to the county seat, nor did he honestly return to the prefectural city to accept his guilt; instead, he stayed near Sanhuang County, waiting for an opportunity to recapture the city.

In this way, even if the Prison Commandery really wanted to punish him afterward, seeing that he was mending the fold after the sheep were lost and it was not too late, they might discretionarily reduce or remit his sentence.

Hearing this answer from him, the anxious Old Master Yan finally felt a bit more at ease in his heart.

After all, in the eyes of the vast majority of ordinary people, the Prison Commandery symbolized absolute authority. Once Cao Tian, a minor official of the Prison Commandery, spoke, his words were golden and as stable as Mount Tai!

Heaving a sigh of relief, so as not to let his subordinates see him as a laughingstock, Yan Jiangrun hurriedly squeezed out a smile that suggested victory was within his grasp, squinted his eyes to look not far away, and said, "What is that boy tinkering with all by himself? He brought so many people yet dares not attack. Could he be a shrinking turtle?"

Hearing his inquiry, a recruited veteran lying prone not far away laughed loudly and said, "Never mind whether he is a shrinking turtle or a protruding turtle, we are fully prepared. Not only have we hoarded food and water supplies to last for several months, but the flammable kindling in the estate has also been cleared away. If they want to break in, they have no choice but to build siege engines on the spot and fill the gap with human lives!"

On the other side, another veteran similarly chimed in with a laugh, "Presumably that green horn of a boy saw this very point, which is why he is hesitating so much!"

With one person after another expounding on the current situation, Yan Jiangrun's mood brightened completely, and he smiled, "If they had acted at the very first moment after the negotiations broke down, that group of mud-legged peasants might still have had a chance to break us one by one. Now that we have united, we have long been prepared to put up a desperate struggle. I wonder if that yellow-haired child of the rebel army has regretted it until his intestines turned blue?"

Upon hearing this, the crowd burst into loud laughter.

Evidently, they were utterly dismissive of Li Chang'an's baffling maneuvers during the recent period.

Just then, a dull 'thud' echoed from not far away, and a round object flew high into the air, landing right by the city wall.

The laughter fell silent instantly, and everyone's nerves tightened up.

However, they stared at that round object for a good while, yet did not encounter any of the anticipated commotion.

Stunned for a good while, seeing that the strange object launched indeed posed no danger, someone finally plucked up the courage to scoop it up, fiddled with it a few times, and laughed loudly, saying, "That kid tinkered for ages just to deliver this thing? Could it be that there's something wrong with his brain? Great thunder but small raindrops, it truly is hilarious!"

The crowd immediately doubled over and burst into roaring laughter as well.

At a critical juncture, human nerves are often very taut, and under such circumstances, fluctuations in emotion often manifest in completely polarizing extremes.

They could become hostile over a slight rustle in the wind, and they could also burst into inexplicable laughter over a trivial matter.

...

On the other side, watching the cannonball that had slowly crashed to the ground after flying out.

Lyu Changning remained silent for a good while before his lips twitched, and he said, "This is your weapon of mass destruction? You wouldn't be playing a joke on us, would you!"

Li Chang'an also found it hard to save face, and rubbed his nose, saying, "An accident, purely an accident!"

He had anticipated that this contraption might drop the chain at a critical moment, but he had not expected that the very first shot would turn out to be a dud.

Beside them, Li San, who was responsible for the labor, had a face flushed crimson and stammered, "This... that..."

Li Chang'an glanced at him, but did not voice any blame.

After all, asking a group of youths who only knew how to practice martial arts and till the fields to design a cannon barrel was inherently an incongruous act; now that Li San and the others could put together a simple cannon tube, it was already quite good, and making any further demands would be purely forcing people to do the impossible.

When all was said and done, there was still a lack of trustworthy talents under his command!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have to make his own disciples do the manual work.

Thinking this way, Li Chang'an bent down again to take a cannonball from the box, placed it into the launching apparatus, and ignited the fuse.

"Thud!"

Another dull sound echoed, and the cannonball flew into the sky, tracing an arched parabola before landing inside the courtyard.

However, just when everyone thought this cannonball would be exactly like the previous one, landing on the ground without the slightest stir...

"Boom!"

A colossal explosion that shook heaven and earth rang out!