Li Shengjie frowned in embarrassment, then looked at Qiu Yizi, and seeing him pursed his lips and nodded slightly, he called over several gunners in the team, pointed to a reef that was barely visible in the river about a hundred steps away, and ordered: "Fire three cannons at once, bombard that reef for me."
The reef was very large, about the size of a yellow cow. Although it was about a hundred steps away from the ship, it was still a very large target.
The gunners on Li Shengjie's ship had all been trained by Westerners and had used artillery many times in actual combat. After hearing Li Shengjie's order, they fiddled with it for a while and then replied, "Young Captain, we've already aimed. Are we going to fire now?"
Li Shengjie looked at Emperor Zheng Rong, then at his brother Qiu Yizhi, and finally waved his hand and shouted, "Fire!"
The gunners received the order and shouted in unison: "Fire! Fire! Fire!" and then used torches to light the fuse on the cannon.
The fuse burned shorter and shorter, and finally there was a loud bang, and the three guns were fired at the same time, shaking the entire deck.
The military officers standing on the deck were able to remain calm, but the civil officials who had never seen the world were so frightened that their faces turned pale. Some even whispered: "Oh my God, I'm scared to death!"
Then three loud "bang, bang, bang" noises were heard in the distance. The reef that Li Shengjie had just pointed out was already surrounded by black, gray and white smoke.
Emperor Zheng Rong had seen such scenes several times during the "Anti-Rebellion Campaign", all of which were caused by explosives that had been buried in advance and then detonated. However, the artillery on Li Shengjie's ship today could cause such a powerful explosion even at a distance of a hundred steps.
Zheng Rong was also an emperor who had led troops in battle, so he certainly knew the military value of this. Upon seeing this scene, he couldn't help but stand up from the throne, took a few steps forward, and leaned on the railing on the side of the ship to look into the distance.
At this moment, the smoke and dust on the reef had been blown away by the river breeze. The reef, which was originally about three feet above the river surface, had been cut off by most of it after these three bombardments, leaving only a stone platform two or three inches high that appeared and disappeared, rising and falling in the river.
Zheng Rong was quite shocked when he saw it, but he still put on the majesty of an emperor and applauded repeatedly, "Good, it is indeed a sharp weapon! In the future, when I suppress the rebellion of the Lingnan Army, it will definitely be of use."
When the civil and military officials saw that the emperor applauded at first, they naturally followed suit and cheered too.
Although Zheng Rong knew what was going on, he didn't want to dwell on the cannon issue any further, so he changed the subject and said, "It's getting late today, I'll stay on your boat today, Li Shengjie, is that convenient?"
Li Shengjie didn't know how to answer, so Qiu Yizi stepped forward and said, "I have already told Li Shengjie to prepare his own cabin and bedroom. Your Majesty may be interested in living here. However, the ship is not like the land, and the cabin is very cramped. Although the ship is anchored on the river, it is still very shaky, and I am afraid it will scare the emperor. I still advise Your Majesty to get off the ship and stay in the camp..."
After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, Zheng Rong realized that the accommodation conditions on the ship were not good. However, if he got off the ship like this, it would seem that the emperor was not keeping his word, so he said, "I think no matter how difficult it is here, it can be more difficult than when I led the army to the north to attack the Turks. I will stay here tonight, and you guys just need to be careful."
Zhongli Kuang heard this and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty staying on the ship is a big deal but also a small matter. Although it is a small matter, it cannot be underestimated. So, please ask the two princes to stay on the ship with me to guard the pass, and the rest of you can camp under the ship and stay overnight in case you are summoned. The sailors on Li Shengjie's ship, except for the necessary personnel, must also go off the ship to make room for the emperor's guards. This is my humble opinion, please make your decision."
Zheng Rong nodded as he listened, and when Zhongli Kuang finished speaking, he immediately agreed, "Mr. Zhongli's opinion is very much in line with my wishes, please do as I say."
Li Shengjie, however, was unwilling: "It is good enough that my ship allows you to stay overnight, but you actually want to occupy my nest and drive my sailors off the ship. This has never happened before. If the rumor gets out in the future, how will my Li family have the face to command the heroes at sea?"
He raised his eyes to look at Zhongli Kuang, the shriveled old man who gave him the advice, and their eyes met. He felt that the gaze in those triangular eyes with drooping eyelids was both firm and sharp, as if it could see through people's hearts. Finally, he didn't dare to speak.
Qiu Yizi had already guessed the thoughts of this young and proud brother, and quickly interrupted, "It is such an honor for the emperor to stay on the Li family's boat. Why don't you thank him quickly?"
After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, Li Shengjie could only kneel down and kowtow as a way of expressing his gratitude.
Zhong Likuang was really meticulous in his work. He personally led people to check Li Shengjie's ship several times, leaving only ten sailors on the ship to be on duty, and asked the rest of the sailors to disembark. He also rewarded them with ten taels of silver. After receiving the reward, these people finally disembarked happily. He also asked Zhang Long to lead 5,000 elite soldiers to set up camp beside the ship to be prepared for any eventuality.
In this tense atmosphere, the "Five-clawed Golden Dragon" flag was raised high on the mast where the Li family's "White Whale Flag" was originally flying. The entire giant ship was filled with a tense atmosphere that was loose on the outside but tight on the inside.
As night fell, following Zhongli Kuang's instructions, the guards lit countless torches and pine torches, completely dispelling the darkness on the deck, as if it were daytime.
The room that Li Shengjie had vacated was also brightly lit. Qiu Yizhi bowed and answered, "As far as I know, the cannon is a device that was introduced to Japan from the West. It was originally quite inconvenient to use, and could only have a fixed angle and direction, with the amount of gunpowder determining the range. Li Shengjie spent a lot of money and hired a craftsman to install the cannon on a movable chassis, so that the cannon can move left and right, up and down, and aim freely... Oh, the reason why the Prince of Lingnan fell into my hands was all thanks to Li Shengjie's cannon, which was able to turn the tide of the battle in an instant..."
Zheng Rong listened and pondered, and suddenly interrupted, "Is this cannon really that powerful?"
Qiu Yizhi reported truthfully: "It is true. At that time, I was already trapped by the Lingnan prince's heavy troops near Yanziji, and was thinking about whether to perish together with the enemy or jump into the river to commit suicide. But when Li Shengjie's artillery fired, the Lingnan army was either killed or injured, and the advantage was instantly gone. However..."
"But what?" Emperor Zheng Rong continued, "If you have something to say, just say it. There is no need to be shy."
Qiu Yizi bowed and replied, "Cannons are very sophisticated. I have fought against the Lingnan Palace, the Turks, the Lingnan barbarians, the Japanese pirates, the Tianzun Cult, etc., but no one has ever used this weapon. Even Li Shengjie only has the ten cannons on this ship."
Zheng Rong pondered and said, "It's a good thing that the news didn't get out. Otherwise, which strong city in the world would be able to hold on?"
"Your Majesty is wise, but there is one more thing..." Qiu Yi said.
Zheng Rong said: "Go on."
Qiu Yizi then replied: "Also, the cost of using artillery is extremely high. What the emperor saw today was a trigger bullet, which will explode when it encounters a hard object after being fired. Although the trigger bullet is powerful, it is also very expensive. Each one is worth one hundred taels of silver. Just now, Li Shengjie demonstrated the firepower, and three hundred taels of silver were fired just like that..."
Everyone gasped when they heard this: a middle-class Han family's annual expenses were only twenty or thirty taels of silver, and this one cannonball could consume the energy of two or three families, which was extremely expensive; and Li Shengjie could fire three cannonballs while chatting and laughing, spending three hundred taels of silver in one go, which was enough to show how wealthy the Li family was.
Everyone was in shock when Zheng Rong asked coldly, "Yizhi, did Li Shengjie tell you what you just said? Is it reliable?"
Qiu Yizi bowed and replied, "It's reliable. Although Li Shengjie is the so-called 'young master' of the Li family, he is an upright person and has not experienced the world. He is a pure child, so his words are not false."
Zheng Rong nodded and said, "I just said that if we have this thing, there will be no strong city in the world that can be defended. Fortunately, this thing is only owned by Li Shengjie's family, and not just anyone can use it. For now, we must first use these cannons properly to quickly put down the rebellion of the Lingnan Palace. Secondly, we must strictly prevent this thing from spreading out, neither to the ears of domestic villains, nor to Japan and the West, otherwise there will be endless troubles. Finally, I will also grant Li Shengjie another official position, slowly separate him from our own fleet, and then let the court control these huge ships and cannons, and then we will have the capital to make a name for ourselves."
The people present, besides the emperor and Qiu Yizhi, were Zhongli Kuang and the two brothers Zheng Xin and Zheng Sen. After hearing the emperor come up with such a countermeasure and decision in just a blink of an eye, they all admired him and praised him, saying, "Your Majesty (father) has a wise opinion, and I respect you very much."
Qiu Yizhi felt a little chilled after hearing this: the emperor had only met Li Shengjie in one afternoon—and he had introduced them to each other—and he was deliberately trying to seize his ships and weapons. Although it was for the sake of long-term peace and stability in the world, it was too ruthless...
However, this matter was indeed of great importance. From the emperor's point of view, this was the only way to deal with it. Qiu Yizhi could not think of any reason to persuade him, so he bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision, which I cannot compare with. If there is any need for communication, I am willing to act as a liaison."
Seeing that no one objected, Zheng Rong was quite proud and said with a smile: "Well, this is my first time staying on a boat. Zheng Xin, Zheng Sen, and Yizhi are all my sons, so it is only natural for them to serve me personally. It's a pity for Mr. Zhongli..."
When Qiu Yizhi heard the emperor compare him with the two princes again, he was so excited that he didn't even hear what Zhongli Kuang said...