Steel Dynasty - Chapter 153

[Chapter 153 Misfortunes never come singly]

“What! The cement was robbed?”

“Exactly, Your Highness, this is the news I just got.” Pang Yukun said.

Zhan Xingchang is responsible for repairing Cangzhou City, but Pang Yukun is responsible for the logistics and transportation. Naturally, he will be the first to know if something goes wrong.

Because of the saltpeter incident, Xiao Ming was still angry at the news. He was immediately irritated by the news. He said: “You will follow me to the Qingzhou Army Camp now. If these remnants of the wealthy clan are not cut into pieces, how can it be possible?” Solve the hatred in my heart.”

Pang Yukun’s face turned pale, he had never felt such violent emotions from Xiao Ming.

But it’s not Xiao Ming’s fault. The local wealthy families were wiped out and harvested by Xiao Ming. It’s just that over the years, the wealthy families have become deeply entrenched and it’s not easy to clean them up.

The wealthy families in Qingzhou were wiped out very quickly and cleanly because of the presence of the Qingzhou Army, but the armies in other states were weak, which gave those wealthy families a chance to react.

Many wealthy families took the opportunity to rebel with their tribes, and the prefectures and counties were in chaos. However, with the support of the people and the strict training of the new army, these rebellions were quickly suppressed.

But there are still some remnants who have fled into the mountains and swamps, and come out to cause trouble from time to time.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, these bandits have been surrounded by the Cangzhou army in the Uburg. However, this Uburg was once the Uburg of the Liu family of Cangzhou. It is the easiest to defend and difficult to attack among the many Uburgs in the six states. Cangzhou The army attacked several times but retreated, killing and wounding dozens of people,” Pang Yukun said.

“Can we not be in a hurry? This cement is related to the repair of Cangzhou City. If it is delayed, I can’t imagine the consequences.” Xiao Ming said, this time he really experienced what it means that good fortune and misfortune never come alone.

Pang Yukun stopped talking and just followed Xiao Ming to Qingzhou Camp.

At this time, Niu Ben was standing on the general platform and watching the soldiers training in the camp. Lu Fei and Luo Xin were each performing their duties and were responsible for correction.

Xiao Ming and Pang Yukun appeared in the camp, and Niu Ben immediately stopped the training.

“Your Highness.” Niu Ben came down from the general stage.

The **** was so drunk that he fell unconscious. When he woke up the next day, he felt regretful, fearing that he would lose his composure in front of Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming was anxious at this time. He was afraid that these gangsters would destroy the cement, so this matter could not be delayed. He said bluntly: “Old General, I’m afraid you will have to take action this time. A group of gangsters took over Wubao. He received supplies shipped to Cangzhou City.”

Niu Ben was startled, but he didn’t think it was strange. He had experienced many things in his life, and he was already used to it.

“In this case, the general will now lead the Qingzhou Army to suppress it.” Niu Ben said calmly.

Then he asked: “I wonder how many people are in this gang?”

“According to the information we received, there are probably a thousand people.” Pang Yukun said.

Niu Ben frowned and said, “The Art of War says that the number of people attacking a city is five times the number of people defending it. In this case, five thousand people are needed to go.”

After that, he asked Lu Fei and Luo Xin to order troops.

At this time, Xiao Ming gradually calmed down. Now every soldier is important. Now these remnants of the wealthy family know that they will die if they are caught, so they will definitely resist to the death.

At that time, the casualties of the Qingzhou Army would definitely be huge. He had an idea. He was worried that there was no place to test the artillery. Wouldn’t this be an opportunity.

He said: “Old General, go ahead and trap the bandits in Wubao. I will come later and attack the city when I arrive.”

Niu Ben clasped his fists and responded, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Xiao Ming and Niu When Ben was talking, Lu Fei and Luo Xin didn’t dare to interrupt. It seemed that Niu Ben was keeping them under control.

After leaving the Qingzhou camp, Xiao Ming also remembered a question. He couldn’t help but ask: “Since the Liu family’s Uburg is easy to defend and difficult to attack, how did these gangsters get in.”

“This Uburg belongs to the Liu family. Of course, the members of the Liu family among the bandits knew the structure of Wubao. No one expected that there was a tunnel hidden in Wubao. People who escaped said that this group of bandits originally wanted to rob Wubao’s grain and wages, but when they saw The convoy transporting cement thought it was a valuable item, which is why it made such a big fuss. “

Afterwards, the Cangzhou Army came and wanted to attack through the tunnel, but the tunnel was blown up by the gangsters,” Pang Yukun said.

“Exploded?” Xiao Ming was shocked, “You said it exploded?”

“Yes, Your Highness, these gangsters used gunpowder to blow up the tunnel.” Pang Yukun said again, but this time he suddenly realized something.

“How can these gangsters have gunpowder?” The two said almost at the same time.

Gunpowder is not a secret in the Chongqing Kingdom, but it is not just that anyone can prepare gunpowder, which involves the issue of this material.

For example, Xiao Ming was stumped by this material this time.

At this time, the remnants of these wealthy families actually had gunpowder in their hands, which had to make Xiao Ming think something about it.

“No matter what, let’s take down these gangsters first.” Xiao Ming calmed down and said.

Returning to Qingzhou City, Xiao Ming went to the Equipment Department and asked the Equipment Department to prepare a carriage to transport the artillery to Liujiawu Fort.

In addition, he urged Chen Qi to polish some cannonballs overnight, and sent people to Lu Tong to fetch gunpowder.

The next day, a carriage pulled by four horses left Qingzhou City carrying something wrapped in layers of linen.

The carriage was escorted by the most elite cavalry of the Qingzhou Army.

There are more than 400 miles between Cangzhou and Qingzhou, and the distance between Liujiawu Fort and Qingzhou is estimated to be 200 miles.

This artillery weighs about one ton, and even if it is pulled by four horses, it will be very laborious. It will take five or six days to travel such a long distance.

Xiao Ming went to Liujiawu Fort this time, saying it was to suppress bandits, but in fact it was to test the power of the artillery.

Although he had seen countless images, he had never seen the real situation.

Because it was a test of artillery, Chen Qi and others naturally wanted to go, but they went with the artillery.

Xiao Ming, Niu Ben and others set off first, and three days later, they finally saw the Liujia Wubao surrounded by the Cangzhou Legion.

“Cangzhou Military Academy Lieutenant Chen Fu has met His Highness.”

The person responsible for the siege of Liujia Wubao was the Cangzhou Army. Chen Fu was also a veteran of the Qingzhou Army and was later sent to Cangzhou by Xiao Ming.

“What’s going on?” Xiao Ming asked.

“Back to Your Highness, these bandits have occupied Wubao and cannot leave the city. There is enough food and water in Wubao to last for several months. It is really troublesome.” Chen Fu said.

He had already tried and failed several times to siege the city.

Xiao Ming looked at the Wubao in front of him. Unlike the Wang family’s Wubao, which was made of solid soil, the Liu family’s Wubao was entirely made of stone, and its walls were more than ten meters high.

The most important thing is that the Liujia Wubao guards the official road between Cangzhou and Qingzhou, so after the Wubao was captured, it became a transit place between the two states.

However, building Wubao on the official road also shows how arrogant the Liu family was back then.

(End of chapter)