The First Lackey Under The Empress

"What did you say, sir?" The square-faced Commander Yuan asked. The mountain wind was too strong, and Zhao Du'an mumbled too quietly for him to hear clearly.

"It's nothing," Zhao Du'an smiled, suddenly reaching into his sleeve and producing a golden-yellow pear. He took a bite while gazing at the rebel camp: "The so-called 'Evil Fiends' are hidden in the enemy camp?"

Regarding intelligence about the Qingzhou Army's "secret weapon," Zhao Du'an had learned a thing or two from a letter delivered by the imperial flying eagle on the way.

He knew that Prince Heng's great victory over the Five Armies Camp relied on chariots dragged by "Fiend Beasts."

"That's right," Mentioning the Evil Fiends, the generals, led by Yuan Feng, all showed fearful expressions:

"We didn't know beforehand that Prince Heng's mansion had secretly raised over a dozen Fiend Beasts, catching us completely off guard."

As if worried that Zhao Du'an wouldn't understand, Yuan Feng explained further:

"South of Yunfu, within the mountains, and outside the territory of the Yu Kingdom, there are foreign 'Fiend People.' Their people are physically strong, far surpassing us Yu people. A specialty of the Fiend People is a strange beast called 'Fiend,' which is much stronger than tigers and leopards, and extremely ferocious. Once warhorses get close to the Fiends, their hooves will weaken, making it difficult to fight. The reason why we Yu call this foreign race 'Fiend People' is because of this creature."

Zhao Du'an grunted in acknowledgment, saying:

"Zhao Shixiong's Southwestern Border Army, led by him, is stationed in Yunfu Road year-round, both to suppress bandits and to prevent the Fiend People from invading and causing disaster. Although I have never been to Yunfu, I know these things. In your opinion, could it be that Prince Heng's mansion has the shadow of the Fiend People behind it?"

Yuan Feng shook his head:

"Given Qingzhou's geography, it's too far from Yunfu. Moreover, if they were colluding with the Fiend People, there's no reason why there would only be Fiend Beasts on the battlefield and no Fiend People. Therefore, I believe it's highly likely that Prince Heng's mansion had long harbored rebellious intentions, secretly capturing Fiend Beast cubs from Yunfu from afar and carefully raising them.

They also secretly trained a chariot army to match them and suddenly deployed them, catching us off guard. Sir, you must be careful. Once those Evil Fiends take to the field, they charge wildly, and arrows are hard to injure them. Soldiers in chariots made of steel will cause great damage when they break into our army formation."

Zhao Du'an took a bite of the pear, juice splattering everywhere. It was unclear if he was listening. He then curiously asked:

"Since this thing is so useful, why hasn't the imperial court captured and tamed them?"

He couldn't understand why such a strategic weapon wasn't deployed in the capital's garrison.

Instead, a rebel prince was able to produce them.

At this moment, a general angrily said:

"Sir, you don't know, but these Fiend Beasts are extremely difficult to cultivate. Not to mention the danger of capturing them, just raising them to adulthood requires a huge amount of money, and you also need people who know how to tame them…

However, these are not the key points. The key is that if Fiend Beasts are to be aroused to ferocity, they must eat human flesh and human blood. If not, then they are no different from ordinary tigers and leopards."

Zhao Du'an paused in his pear-eating, staring blankly at him: "Eat people?"

Yuan Feng bitterly nodded:

"That's right. Because raising this beast is harmful to heavenly harmony, the imperial court strictly prohibits raising them, and naturally, the army will not have them."

Zhao Du'an fell silent.

This was a piece of cold knowledge he didn't know.

So, Prince Heng's mansion raised these dozen or so Evil Fiends, not knowing how many lives were filled in. Even if the food was all death row inmates, feeding the same people to the beast…

"Crunch." Zhao Du'an swallowed a mouthful of pear with force, vaguely saying: "Deserves death."

No one responded.

Only the cold wind swept across the hill, the green trees rustling, and the dark clouds in the sky became even denser.

…

"Rumble rumble…"

The sound of war drums rang out, and Zhao Du'an looked into the distance, only to see the enemy camp wide open, and a large group of Qingzhou infantry carrying military flags marched out in formation, and in front of the formation.

It was a dozen giant chariots constructed of solid wood and wrapped in iron.

In front of each chariot was a strange beast two to three meters high and six to seven meters long.

Their bodies were like elephants, their heads like lions and tigers, their bodies like water buffaloes, with sharp, thick horns on their heads, blood-red, bloodthirsty eyes, and their bodies covered with crocodile-like hard scales. The tail hung on the ground, with protruding bones forming bone spurs along the spine to the end of the tail.

At this moment, the Evil Fiends stomped their huge hooves, shod with horseshoes, and spewed out hot white smoke from their nostrils.

"Your Highness, the people on the opposite side have come out. Huh, haven't the soldiers of the Five Armies Camp already collapsed?"

Inside the Qingzhou camp, on the erected watchtower.

Prince Heng, who was pampered, led his counselors and civil servants of the royal palace, standing here to watch the battle.

At this moment, a counselor shielded his eyes with his hand and said in surprise.

A personal guard general with good eyesight frowned:

"Those are not soldiers from the Five Armies Camp! Looking at the flags, they are clearly officers and soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp!"

Divine Machine Camp? Reinforcements? So… Zhao Du'an is likely to be real?

Prince Heng's heart skipped a beat, and he narrowed his eyes, but at this distance, although he could observe the battlefield, he couldn't see the words on the flags or the specific attire of the soldiers.

He said irritably: "Where is the telescope?"

A follower rummaged for a while and hurriedly apologized:

"Your Highness, please forgive me, there was originally one, but it was on the Crown Prince. This servant will go and get a new one!"

"Why don't you hurry?!" Prince Heng was furious, almost kicking him out, scaring the follower to panic and run down the watchtower.

Prince Heng's face was gloomy, and he looked back at the battlefield again, only to see the Five Armies Camp also wide open, and teams of Divine Machine Camp soldiers with high morale marched out in formation.

Because the Evil Fiends were present, neither side sent out cavalry, mostly infantry.

However, in the Divine Machine Camp's formation, there were also several officers riding warhorses with extraordinary bloodlines, who could resist the aura suppression of the Fiend Beasts.

The most conspicuous one, in silver helmet and silver armor, holding a long spear, was exceptionally brave.

"Looking at that attire, if there are no accidents, it should be Tang Ping, the son of the Duke Zhenguo."

Duke Zhenguo… Prince Heng snorted coldly, but his heart sank again. He suddenly said:

"It is said that Zhao Du'an conducted a firearms military exercise in the Divine Machine Camp last year, with great fanfare, but the specific process is not known to outsiders."

The counselor nodded:

"That's right, the Empress attached great importance to that military exercise, but according to the information we have obtained, it should only be some improvements to the old firearms.

The focus is a kind of musket, but that thing may have miraculous effects against people, but a few bullets are not necessarily much stronger than arrows, and will certainly not be able to threaten our Fiend Beast chariots."

Another civil servant also echoed with a smile:

"What firearms, they boast about how powerful they are, but when have they really become mainstream in real battles? Even the Divine Machine Camp is mainly infantry, which shows this."

For this group of Qingzhou people, the impression of firearms still remained in the past.

The Yu Kingdom had been peaceful for a long time, and even if there were some bandit disasters, they mostly occurred in the southwest, northwest border, or coastal roads, rarely using firearms.

Therefore, not only these civil servants and counselors, but even Ning Xianzong, who was commanding below at this moment, was also insufficiently vigilant about the new firearms of the Divine Machine Camp.

His greatest assumption about it was nothing more than an enhanced version of bows and crossbows. And if that was the case, the Evil Fiend chariot was enough to cope.

At this moment, the sound of war drums on the battlefield became louder and louder, and the two military formations slowly approached under the gaze of the commanders of both sides.

"Commander, it seems that the other party has no intention of taking the initiative to attack." On the battlefield, a Qingzhou general turned his head and looked at Ning Xianzong.

Ning Xianzong was armored and holding a knife, stepping on the high platform, his energy infused into his eyes, greatly increasing his eyesight, allowing him to see that the Divine Machine Camp was on high alert.

Tang Ping, the leader, lowered his long spear, sitting on the horse, with a cold expression.

"Release the chariots, charge straight into the formation!" Ning Xianzong said decisively. He suspected that the other party was wasting time and would not allow the enemy more time to prepare.

"Pass the order! Charge!"

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

Excited shouts were passed along the military formation, and the Qingzhou soldiers were in high spirits.

The past three battles had shattered the filter in their hearts about the "Capital Camp." Now, in the passionate sound of war drums, each of them was full of blood and roared in unison:

"Charge!"

As soon as the words fell, the dozen or so Evil Fiends in front of the formation, as if they had received a signal, exerted force at the same time, spewing out turbid air.

The nearly invulnerable bodies pulled the chariots with a rumbling sound, roaring towards the Divine Machine Camp, and behind the chariots, the Qingzhou soldiers were divided into vertical formations, covering and killing.

The chariots roared, and the earth shook.

In the Divine Machine Camp's strategy, Tang Ping sat proudly on the horse, motionless as a mountain, watching the huge chariots approach from afar, stepping into the buffer zone in the center of the battlefield, and still did not order a charge, or even order a defensive formation, but said in a deep voice:

"Cover your ears!"

The sound of the drums suddenly changed!

The Divine Machine Camp infantry neatly took out cotton from their bodies and blocked their ears.

This scene fell into Ning Xianzong's eyes, causing him to be stunned at first, and then instinctively give birth to a strong unease.

The word firearm suddenly jumped into his mind, but within his field of vision, he clearly did not see the existence of any firearms.

Unless…

Ning Xianzong suddenly raised his head sharply, looking towards the sky above the battlefield, the dense dark clouds, vaguely glimpsing a group of ant-sized figures standing on a distant mountain.

Zhao Du'an felt the faint sense of peeping, spat out the pear core in his hand, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, looked at the pale, fearful expressions of the large group of Five Armies Camp generals around him, and smiled:

"Cover your ears."

"What?" Yuan Feng and others were stunned for a moment, not recovering.

But the next second, a huge roar suddenly exploded in a nearby mountain col, and then, endless thunder, overwhelmed all the sounds on the battlefield.

…

On the hidden hill, Chen Gui, the chief officer of the Firearms Bureau, stroked his beard, his eyes flashing coldly on his thin face, and shouted loudly:

"Divine Might Cannons, fire!"

Behind this military craftsman and officer, nearly twenty of the latest model Divine Might Red Coat Cannons, which had already been removed from the tarpaulins and adjusted their angles, were silent like black beasts, lying on the ground.

The astonishingly large, dark cannons were raised high, each barrel engraved with intricate patterns.

With a command, ammunition handlers removed cannonballs from straw-filled ammunition boxes, pushed them into the muzzles, and artillerymen at the rear used hand cranks to compress them, igniting the fuses with flint.

In a low, strange hum, the patterns on the cannons lit up in sequence, brewing a strong sense of agitation.

Finally, with the first roar, a beast not of this world let out a unique firearm growl.

… …

In the enemy camp, Ning Xianzong saw clusters of fire suddenly light up in the distant dense forest, these flames extremely intense, like lightning before a storm.

But at this moment, in his eyes filled with qi energy, he saw a different scene:

In the suddenly bright firelight, black 'bullets' rose from the ground at terrifying speed.

They traced precisely calculated parabolic trajectories, crossed hundreds of feet, and accurately fell into the area at the center of the battlefield between the two armies, onto the charging war chariots.

"Not good—"

Ning Xianzong had only uttered these two words when the enormous roar drowned out his voice.

The first cannonball, carrying the force of gunpowder, wrapped in scorching airwaves, accurately struck the head of a tusked beast.

This beast, capable of withstanding volleys of arrows, bloodthirsty, brutal, and extremely ferocious, seemed unaware of what the cannonball was; in its final moment, it raised its head, bared its large mouth, revealing its tusks, attempting to bite.

But the next second, its tough phosphorescent armor abruptly caved in. If time were slowed down countless times, one could clearly see how the tough flesh was crushed into ripples of blood and flesh like water waves.

Under the combined force of gunpowder and precision cannon barrels, even ordinary iron now possessed the power to obliterate layered heavy armor.

Without any surprise, the evil beast's head burst open with a 'poof,' blood splattering everywhere. The enormous body, losing its brain's control, continued to sprint forward out of instinct and inertia, only to tilt and fall to the side not far away.

Inside the chariot, the soldiers wielding sharp blades, hidden within, tumbled down with the chariot in horror, rolling as if they were not on a land battlefield but at sea, aboard a swaying ship capsized by waves.

At this moment, the sturdy chariots became tombs that cut off their escape.

Only this one cannonball accurately hit the tusked beast; most of the cannonballs simply followed calculations, evenly covering the entire battlefield.

Some tusked beasts were hit and fell, even if they didn't die, while others, driven by instinct, let out fearful roars, turning their heads and fleeing in all directions, crashing into the ranks of Qingzhou soldiers following behind for the final assault.

"No—"

The Qingzhou soldiers had thought it would be another easy hunt, but unexpectedly, the tusked beasts turned around, and the roar of the cannons further disrupted their minds. Almost in the blink of an eye, the Qingzhou rebel army's formation fell into collapse.

Despite the officers' loud orders and commands, it was to no avail. The soldiers cried out in terror, scattering and fleeing—the Qingzhou troops were not elite to begin with, and now, facing setbacks, they immediately revealed their true colors, reduced to a scattered mess.

Even the elite teams found it difficult to stop this scene.

"Firearms… firearms… is this Zhao Du'an's confidence…?" Ning Xianzong muttered to himself amidst the cannon fire, staring intently at the forefront, where the previously invincible chariots had instantly collapsed.

His fists clenched tightly, his heart pounding like a drum.

"Commander! What do we do? The front lines have collapsed!" The surrounding military officers all showed panicked expressions.

"Clang!"

Ning Xianzong suddenly drew his saber, a burst of saber energy erupting, kicking up a cloud of dust on the ground.

The generals instinctively stopped speaking, meeting Ning Xianzong's extremely calm eyes:

"What's the panic? It's just a charge. Send the order to stop the fleeing soldiers. Anyone who dares to desert will be killed immediately! We can't let these people disrupt the rear formation!"

After speaking, he turned his head to look at the side of the Five Armies Camp and said fiercely:

"At this time, the raiding party should have arrived. The Divine Machine Camp hasn't been here long, and there must still be a large group of demoralized soldiers in the Five Armies Camp, with lax defenses. As long as we break through the camp and attack from both sides, we can swallow the Divine Machine Camp!"

Chariots? He had never placed all his bets on the frontal battlefield.

… …

The side of the Five Armies Camp, in a forest.

A large group of Qingzhou elite soldiers, all wearing soft armor, carrying military crossbows on their backs, and holding swords, emerged from the forest with dense footsteps.

A leading general looked towards the distant camp, listening to the thunderous roars in his ears, and said calmly:

"Prepare to raid the camp!"

They didn't know what was happening on the frontal battlefield from their position, but they assumed it must be related to the Divine Machine Camp's firearms.

But that wasn't important. As an elite force that Ning Xianzong had painstakingly cultivated, this team's quality was in no way inferior to the Imperial Guards.

"The Commander has ordered that no matter what happens, we only have one task, which is to raid the enemy camp." The leading officer quietly reassured the soldiers behind him.

Everyone nodded, stopping in unison, their movements synchronized, unloading the military crossbows from their backs, and 'chambering' the arrows.

They also drew their sabers, and the group moved silently, rushing towards the quiet camp like a tide.

But just as they were about to reach the tall wooden walls outside the camp, suddenly, without warning, Divine Machine Camp soldiers stood up on top of the long wooden walls!

They seemed to have been lying in ambush here for a long time, only revealing themselves now. These soldiers were not holding sabers or crossbows, but each held a rifle.

"Ambush!" The Qingzhou rebels were shocked, but they were well-trained, spreading out while running, speeding up their pace, trying to rush to the dead angle under the wooden walls.

"Don't worry, muskets fire slowly. If we dodge the first round, we can…" The leading rebel officer shouted.

But the next moment, the Divine Machine Camp musketeers on the wall silently aimed their gun barrels at them and pulled the triggers.

There were no painstakingly lit fuses like during the 'military exercise.' The newly improved firing pin replaced the backward firing device of the past.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang…"

Dense gunfire erupted, and the charging rebels had no resistance, falling like wheat stalks being harvested by a sickle.

"How is that possible?" The leading rebel's pupils trembled as he roared, "Retreat!"

But it was already too late. The tightly closed wooden doors suddenly opened, and Commander Shi Meng personally led a group of musketeers, waiting here with smiles:

"It's just as Lord Zhao predicted. You know he's here, so this attack will be all-out, most likely a sneak attack…"

The rebels were shocked, turning to run, but how could they outrun the bullets that were ready to fire?

Two more rounds of gunfire covered them, and this group of elites all fell. Only a few military officers with cultivation survived, but they were easily suppressed by Shi Meng and other officers.

"You were quite prepared."

Shi Meng pulled a 'signal flare' from the leading rebel's body, grinned, and stepped on the opponent's seriously injured, blood-stained body with his boots, slowly lighting this specially made 'firework.'

"Swish!"

A burst of fireworks rose from the ground, flying into the sky, visible clearly from far away.

… …

Rebel headquarters.

Ning Xianzong paced back and forth anxiously. Suddenly, a red firework suddenly rising from the ground in the distance caught his attention.

The fireworks appeared, but the Five Armies Camp on the opposite side was silent.

Ning Xianzong's heart suddenly sank to the bottom, realizing what had happened. He paused, then suddenly shouted like a madman:

"Order, beat the drums! Charge! Abandon the tusked beast assault! Full army charge!"

The surrounding people were shocked: "Commander?"

They suspected that the commander had gone mad. How could they charge into the cannon fire in this situation?

Ning Xianzong almost screamed, urgently shouting:

"As long as we charge close to them and fight with the Divine Machine Camp, those firearms will lose their effectiveness! They won't dare to bomb us together with their own people!

On the contrary, retreating will only be covered by the opponent's firearms, leading to complete defeat! We only have one way, charge through! The Divine Machine Camp's troops are definitely not numerous enough, we have more people, close combat, we can still win!"

At this moment, facing the crushing power of advanced firearms for the first time, this unknown commander actually found the biggest flaw in the artillery barrage in just a short time.

Maintaining distance is certain death, closing the distance can instead make the firearm soldiers hesitant and stop the shelling.

However, facing his orders, the generals hesitated:

Who would charge? To pass through the area covered by artillery fire with their bodies?

Ning Xianzong stared at these war-fearing military officers, anger rising from his heart, pushing them away and preparing to personally lead the charge.

But just then, on the opposite battlefield, the cannon fire suddenly stopped.

Young Lord Tang Ping, who had been leisurely waiting in formation from beginning to end, picked at his ear with his little finger, which had gone numb from the explosions, muttering:

"Chen Gui, damn you…"

Immediately, Tang Ping suddenly raised his spear, urging his horse to charge:

"Divine Machine Camp! Follow me to charge!"

"Kill!" Behind him, the young military officers shouted in unison, leading the soldiers behind them to launch a final massacre against the collapsing Qingzhou rebels.

… …

On a distant mountain top.

Zhao Du'an squatted on the hilltop, smiling as he planted the seed of another fresh pear into the soil, clapped his hands, stood up, and said with a smile to the stunned generals behind him:

"It seems, I've won."