Instead, they were looking for Xie Ming. His men, with torches lit, naturally became targets.
Xie Ming ordered his men to continue loading the cannons. Just as they were lighting the fuse in preparation for a new round of shelling, Xie Ming said, "Bomb them..." Suddenly, a deafening sound rang in his ears, and something hot exploded beside him. The impact on his head made him dizzy.
It finally tumbled down the hillside. Its fate is unknown.
The other Xie soldiers suffered double the artillery fire, with ten cannons reduced to mere barrels. The defending Xie soldiers were almost completely wiped out.
This Xie soldier was an elite member of the artillery battalion.
The Central Plains suffered huge losses tonight!
Nobody knows who the enemy on the other side is!
The next day, the enemy landed. They seemed to be killing with a specific purpose, targeting Xie Bing. The surviving Xie Bing saw this thousand-strong army; each man had shaved his head short, wore pirate hats, and had faces that resembled both Central Plains people and barbarians. Most importantly, they all understood the Central Plains language. And the leader claimed his surname was Mu and his name was Mu Ye.
His men still called him Commander Makino.
Then another army of Anro people landed, also dressed as pirates.
The Anro man was named Scott. This group launched a purposeful and organized attack on the Yue Kingdom, and Zheng Xiu was escorted to the Delta.
In just one day, two thousand pirates launched a surprise attack on Xie's troops at the border, resulting in the deaths of five thousand of them. The fate of General Xie Ming remains unknown.
I heard from Aba in the delta that Xie Ming is missing. He was shot down a hillside last night and may have been swept away by the waves.
Aba's face was very grim. He took the initiative to contact Xie Ji, reminding him to quickly order the Yue Kingdom's Xie soldiers to retreat, otherwise they would be wiped out.
He was clearly aware of this pirate force.
Xie Ji didn't like Aba Na, but he wouldn't ignore Xie Bing's words of comfort. He immediately ordered Xie Bing to retreat to the southern border, to avoid a futile effort.
Of the 20,000 troops stationed at the border, 5,000 were lost. The remaining troops, knowing that their Type 94 artillery was not as fast, accurate, or powerful as the enemy's, retreated en masse.
These two thousand men stormed into the border of Shi Kingdom and began burning, killing, and looting, capturing a town. They then began their campaigns in the vicinity of Yue Kingdom and the southern regions.
The pirates dared not get too close to the land, because they knew the Central Plains people had an advantage on land.
Now they must seize territory as close to the coast as possible to prepare for the large army behind them.
The Yue army proved ineffective, bowing to everyone they met. Yue's commander, Sun Jin, even defected to the pirates. As a result, the pirates killed him, causing the entire army to collapse.
The pirates seemed to think they hadn't killed enough people, and quickly swept through the area with their firearms. Even those who ran two hundred meters away were instantly shot dead by the pirates' guns.
The pirates even had a row of five giant firearms that they could fire directly without needing to light them.
The pirates even deployed their red-lacquered cannons, loading them directly onto the fleeing Yue soldiers without firing. In just one day, this resulted in the deaths of 20,000 Yue soldiers. The remaining 3,000 were forcibly conscripted by the pirates to perform hard labor, carrying their belongings ashore. Afterwards, the pirates, with only 2,000 men, easily captured the coastline of Shiguo Prefecture, forcing the prefecture to abandon its city that same day. They then fortified Baolu City.
People far away in Tianjing were unaware of this news, but the Shi Kingdom, Yue Kingdom, and Xie Clan on the coast had already begun to suffer.
Tianjing was still thriving. In the streets and alleys, students were full of hope for the future, and ordinary people were full of hope for tomorrow. Everyone worked from sunrise to sunset and had no worries about food and clothing.
Some people even have the financial means to take a day trip to Weidu.
Weidu has just imported a batch of fruit from overseas.
Tropical fruits such as bananas, durians, and coconuts began to flourish in Tianjing. The people of Tianjing raved about these novel fruits. Because the four Southeast Asian nations pooled their national resources to send all their fruits to Tianjing, even ordinary people could enjoy them.
It was a scene of prosperity. A ragged and dirty messenger rode his horse into Tianjing and was captured in a sorry state by the city officials and their men.
Upon recognizing the soldier as one of their own, the Xie family official quickly helped him up, asking, "Are you alright? What happened?"
"Yes, there's an enemy attack! The coasts of Yue and Shi have been attacked by a large number of sea monsters!!" Xinbing cried out, "General Xie Ming's fate is unknown, and we... our soldiers have lost a full five thousand men!"
"What?!" The city official, surnamed Xie, was immediately shocked. His expression then turned extremely grave: "Report to His Highness and the Marshal immediately!!"
The city official picked up the messenger's plea for help, mounted his horse, and rode straight to the palace.
The imperial guards at the palace gate saw Xie, the city official, running recklessly and were about to reprimand him.
The city official suddenly knelt down, urgently holding up a letter pleading for help: "Quickly inform the marshal that the sea monsters have invaded! Our side has suffered heavy losses!"
"General Xie Ming's fate is still unknown!"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers training nearby visibly stopped in their tracks, looking on incredulously.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-20 20:44:34 and 2022-02-21 20:24:16!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Hongyan (1);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 222 Long Live the Emperor
The attack by the sea monsters and the unknown fate of Xie Ming were enough to draw everyone's attention. Upon receiving the battle report, Xie Lanzhi, in her name, urgently summoned all the ministers to the Golden Palace to discuss countermeasures.
Xie Lanzhi called Marilyn over as well.
The scene of two emperors taking their seats in the Golden Palace had not been seen for many days. Today, Xie Lanzhi sitting on the Golden Palace still commands respect and intimidation from many, demonstrating her seriousness regarding the invasion of the sea monsters.
A short while later, Xie Bing, dressed in tattered clothes, entered the hall, attracting the attention of the court officials.
The officials initially thought it was some beggar. The Xie family had lost many people, leaving only seven or eight officials. When they saw Xie Bing, they all looked puzzled.
Until Xie Bing prostrated himself before the palace and cried out in grief: "Your Highness, Marshal, the Hai Kou attacked the border defenses, Yue Kingdom, and Shi Kingdom last night, causing at least five thousand casualties to our army."
"General Xie Ming's fate is unknown, over 20,000 Yue soldiers were massacred by the sea monsters, and the Shi Kingdom is also in turmoil, frequently attacked by the sea monsters' advanced artillery!"
"It has already caused tens of thousands of casualties!"
Advanced cannons. The ministers stared in astonishment. They couldn't believe it—cannons? And the sea monster possessed them?
Are they really not regular troops? Not only the ministers, but also the Xie family officials thought so.
No one could believe what had happened at the border. Xie Ming's army possessed at least thirty Type 94 cannons, and even if they were to bomb indiscriminately, it would be impossible for them to cause five thousand casualties.
One of the officials from the capital mustered his courage and stepped forward, pointing at Xie Bing and saying, "You must not speak recklessly or fabricate falsehoods. Our great Jin Dynasty is already a major military power. How can we be intimidated by a group of mere, inexperienced sea monsters?"
"Could it be that you were acting under the cover of night and accidentally bombed your own people?!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Bing looked at the official in disbelief and hurriedly said, "Is it true? Is it really Hai Nian, and a well-trained elite force at that!"
“My lord, I am not lying; I saw it with my own eyes. The Seagulls possess cannons far more advanced than ours.”
"They, with a mere two thousand men, slaughtered twenty thousand Yue soldiers and five thousand of ours."
"You scoundrel! How dare you spread alarmist rumors?!" the official roared. "Are you giving false military intelligence?"
The other ministers chimed in, "What Lord Wang says is absolutely right. Young man, is your general really not giving the wrong order?"
"Or rather, it exaggerated the strength of the Sea Scorpion."
"No one can see anyone at night, and even a night raid is extremely difficult. Your situation still needs further investigation."
"We should send someone to investigate first to determine its authenticity."
Xie Bing was so anxious that his mouth was stiff, and his body trembled as he knelt on the ground. He was puzzled by the indifferent attitude of the officials. Why didn't they believe him? Looking at the marshal and the princess in the hall, who had not said a word, Xie Bing suddenly felt uncertain.
Finally, Xie Bing said to Xie Lanzhi, "Marshal, you have met General Xie Ming. He fought alongside you, and you certainly know his character."
"I'm not exaggerating; it's all true! Five thousand of our Xie clan members have died—a full five thousand!!"
The Xie officials couldn't help but step forward and speak on behalf of Xinbing: "Marshal, I don't think it's a lie. As for the fact that the sea monsters possess cannons more advanced than ours, the officials are not wrong either. We still need to investigate."
Upon hearing this, the assembled officials clasped their hands in unison and said, "Your Highness, Marshal, this matter requires further investigation. Proceed with caution."
“The enemy attack on the coast and the possible casualties to our troops also need to be investigated by another team.”
"The priority of firearms should be demonstrated by Wei Zhao, the Minister of Works."
Wei Zhao stepped forward, walked up to Xie Bing, and said to him, "List the weapons of the Sea Clan for me to identify."
Xie Bing, as if grasping at a lifeline, was not good with words and his eyes were red with anxiety. He told Wei Zhao the whole story of his army being attacked.
This includes Xie's spies risking their lives to discover that Haikou possessed reloading firearms with extremely fast reloading and precise firing capabilities. There were also enemy cannons with a range of five or six hundred meters.
The enemy's cannons do not seem to need to be ignited. They even discovered that the cannons were on a ship, and their speed of movement is currently unknown, but their power is great.
The speed of the Haikou army's march caught all the countries off guard, and Zheng Xiu was even sent to the delta that very night.
Xie Bing finished speaking and looked at Wei Zhao expectantly. Wei Zhao remained silent, his face expressionless.
Looking at the obviously fake expressions on the faces of the other adults, Xie Bing felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cave, his whole body turning cold. He was deeply shocked.
Then a dignified voice came from the hall: "In your opinion, who should be sent to thoroughly investigate this matter?"
Wei Zhao immediately said, "Wang Zheng, the Assistant Minister of War, is suitable."
Wang Zheng also stepped forward and raised his hands: "Your subject is willing to personally go to investigate!"
Si Xitong said, "I hereby grant Wang Zheng five hundred Imperial Guards, and another one thousand firearmsmen to accompany him."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!" After returning the greeting, Wang Zheng turned and walked out of the main hall.
Xie Lanzhi remained silent throughout. She quietly observed the ministers in the hall; none of them believed that the Great Jin, with its current national strength and treasury at their zenith, would have a blind foreign enemy invading this superior nation.
This was the inherent confidence, and also arrogance, of the civil officials of the Great Jin Dynasty. Even the military generals believed that the mere sea islands could not possibly possess such a powerful armed force.
Wang Zheng was a representative of those officials in the capital who were sent out to "take a look around."
Xie Lanzhi sighed silently. No wonder they had frequently encountered sea raids throughout history. It was these ministers who were ignorant of naval affairs and their arrogant, self-important mentality that had ruined them.
Actually, they weren't wrong. The Great Jin Dynasty is very strong now, and it's just a matter of destroying the Northern Hu and Xiongnu to complete its millennium-long mission.
At this vibrant and energetic time of development, if someone were to suddenly pour cold water on things, anyone would instinctively react with resistance. Moreover, at such a juncture, undermining morale could undoubtedly shatter the hard-won confidence and hope of the new Tianjing, and even the entire Southern Central Plains, ultimately leading to chaos. Therefore, the instinctive resistance of the officials reflects the current state of mind in the new Tianjing and even the Southern Central Plains.
In the past, perhaps no one cared about coastal defense at all; perhaps, for the sake of temporary peace, they would have simply banned the seas and closed the country off from the world.
Now that some of the officials have dared to investigate personally, it shows that Little Phoenix and her efforts have brought about some changes among the officials.
The ministers followed their pace slightly, but... it was still too slow.
Xie Lanzhi asked, "Where are the Xie family's military generals?"
A lieutenant who identified himself as Shaffer stepped forward: "Your subordinate is here!"
Xie Lanzhi sized him up and recognized him as a general from the Xieji cavalry battalion. She said, "You shall take a thousand men to accompany and protect Lord Wang."
"He was also given five captured silver shields as a personal accessory."
"Yes!" Shaffer also quickly left the hall.
Xie Lanzhi's order to send a thousand men to protect Wang Zheng attracted the attention of the officials in the capital. They had initially thought it impossible, but now that the marshal had spoken, they began to waver.