Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 745 - 616_1

Chapter 745: Chapter 616_1

Upon hearing Xue Yunrou’s words, Li Xuan could not help but hold his breath.

He had once repelled an imposter version of the Liao Empress ’Shulv Ping’ and her tens of thousands of cavalry at the mausoleum of the Tai Grand Emperor of Liao.

But Li Xuan still dared not underestimate the mausoleum of the Tai Grand Emperor of Liao.

He knew that the real Empress of Liao had certainly attained the immensely powerful Rule of Extreme Heaven.

What they had encountered was just a fraction of the undead army roaming the outskirts of the mausoleum.

The real elite of the mausoleum of the Tai Grand Emperor of Liao were always within the mausoleum.

The Pishi Army concealed within the mausoleum, along with many accomplished generals and founding heroes of the Great Liao who were forced to be buried alongside Empress Shulv Ping, were very significant indeed.

Li Xuan couldn’t help but furrow his brows, "I don’t quite understand, Chengde is thousands of miles away from the mausoleum of the Tai Emperor of Liao. The Dragon Vein here is beginning to erupt, can it really affect the mausoleum there?"

"What if someone intentionally guides it though?" Xue Yunrou countered, "Don’t forget, the blood of the Khitan people flows in the bodies of the Meng Wu people now. They can fully use the power of their bloodline to utilize the mausoleum of the Tai Emperor of Liao.

Even I could think of at least three ways to bring the undead army from within the mausoleum here. For example, if Empress Shulv Ping properly utilized the Dragon Qi here, she could indeed be reincarnated and bring about an astoundingly illustrious new life. In her next life, she might very well hold the status of an empress, reigning over the court."

For a moment, Li Xuan’s forehead throbbed with a massive headache. He couldn’t help but think that this is indeed a great predicament.

He just knew that these two, Abas and Zhang Guanlan, were up to no good when they were together!

Xue Yunrou looked at him in puzzlement, "Why the headache? Even if the Mongols and the undead army from the mausoleum of the Liao Tai Emperor join forces, it would only amount to more than 600,000 to 700,000 riders. The Jin Dynasty should be able to handle it, right?"

It should be noted that the current power of the Jin State is somewhat stronger compared to the twelfth year of the Jingtai era. Several key fortresses on the border have been recovered, and morale in the army has greatly increased throughout the country.

Besides, there are two strong individuals who mastered the Rule of Extreme Heaven, Yu Jie and Venerable Zhu, not to mention the Jingtai Emperor himself, who is unfathomable.

As for the Mongols, they are on the decline. Since the early spring of last year, due to starvation alone, they have lost over a hundred thousand people, most of whom were old people, children, and slave herders. The mobilization ability of the Mongols is far worse than before.

In addition, the prestige of the Khan of Vala, Yexian, has sharply declined on the grasslands. He no longer has control over the various tribes.

Xue Yunrou estimated that the most the Khan can gather now is about 300,000 to 400,000 riders.

Li Xuan couldn’t help but smile bitterly, "Just now, Sun Chuyun warned me to be careful of the Empress and the True Emperor, and especially the people from the direction of Chengde. Those were her exact words."

Xue Yunrou hesitated for a moment, then chuckled, "Such deep affection from a beauty, her whole heart is with you."

But while mocking, Xue Yunrou also looked serious.

—— If these two parties join forces, it will be a situation of attack from both within and outside.

"What deep affection? It’s a deep sense of righteousness! It’s justice reigning supreme!"

Li Xuan corrected loudly, then inquired, "Is it possible to extract this ’Lihe Zhouguang Lei’ from the Dragon Vein?"

"It can be extracted." Xue Yunrou of thought deep, "But I suggest you shouldn’t do it. What if they cause an explosion? This is an open conspiracy; knowing about it won’t help at all."

Li Xuan glanced again at the valley that contained the Dragon Vein: "What would happen if the Dragon Qi of Chengde Villa was taken away?"

The pass city of Gubei Pass had only just been restored, and Yu Jie just selected 8,000 elite soldiers to station there.

Li Xuan judged that even the Pishi Zombie Army from the mausoleum of the Liao Tai Emperor would definitely not break through.

Therefore, the place where they can make a move could only be the Dragon Qi in this Chengde Mountain Villa.

"Let me think!"

Xue Yunrou pondered deeply: "There will be an earthquake, a large-scale earthquake, affecting the area within three thousand miles. Besides that..."

Xue Yunrou looked at the direction of Gubei Pass with a hesitant look on her face: "After the earthquake, the passage of the Gubei Pass should expand, probably about three times wider than now, which should be sufficient for the army to cross."

Li Xuan fell into contemplation, thinking that while earthquakes are terrifying, people in this world mostly still use low, wooden and stone buildings, even thatched huts.

The key point was still Gubei Pass. After the enemy had exhausted the Dragon Qi, they would still have a follow-up move.

At this moment, he heard Xue Yunrou say in a speculative tone, "I suspect they are not ready either, maybe waiting for an opportunity. If they don’t launch on the second day of February when the ’Dragon Raises its Head’, it would most likely be at the end of March."

There are two nodes at the end of March. One is Genghis Khan’s birthday when Meng Wu’s ancestral spirit will become exceptionally strong. The other one is Empress of Liao, ’Shulv Ping’s’, death anniversary. As I faintly remember, ’Shulv Ping’s’ death also occurred at the end of March."

Immediately Li Xuan’s heart became at ease, his face displaying a faint smile. "Let’s go back."

Xue Yunrou noticed that his expression had visibly relaxed and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow slightly, "Xuan, are you confident you can handle this?"

Li Xuan was thinking that in at most thirteen days, the first batch of eighty field smooth-bore cannons, commissioned by him to be forged by the Shenqi Union, could be delivered.

The design is modeled after the ’Napoleon cannon’, light, easy to use, and it can be quickly moved under the drag of a horse.

Considering the formidable horse power in this world, the caliber Li Xuan adopted was one hundred and thirty millimeters, also known as the eighteen pound cannon.

Their power is terrifying, especially when using buckshot.

And with the support of powerful field artillery, the square formation would truly become a square formation!

Only then would Li Xuan’s left Shenji battalion be able to withstand the force of a large-scale Iron Cavalry head-on.

Li Xuan thought as long as it’s not tomorrow, so long as the timing is at the end of March, he would not fear that seemingly invincible Pi Room Iron Cavalry.

In particular, the hilly terrain within Yan Mountain is the perfect battlefield for flintlock rifles.

※※※※

After returning to Capital City, the first thing Li Xuan did was report to the Emperor about the Dragon Vein in Chengde.

He also subtly hinted that the True Emperor and the Empress Dowager might have colluded with Meng Wu.

However, this was of little effect, everyone knew that the True Emperor had a good relationship with the Khitan people. When the Meng Wu envoy entered the court, he would even present a gift to the True Emperor Zhengtong.

But without any substantial evidence of their collusion, it was helpless.

Li Xuan didn’t quite understand the thoughts of Jingtai Emperor. If it were him, he would have directly offered Zhengtong Emperor a glass of poisoned wine.

The Taizong Emperor of Tang assassinated his brother and imprisoned his father, but historical accounts still speak highly of him.

The second thing Li Xuan did was simultaneously place an order to the Junqi Bureau, Inner Weapon Staff Bureau, and the Shenqi Union for the custom production of three million rounds of fixed ammunition with damaging effects.

This bullet, designed specifically for the Pishi Zombie Army, can significantly increase the power of destruction.

Although they are not hard to manufacture, ample human labor is required to build them. Therefore, Li Xuan also utilized the labor force of the Junqi Bureau and the Inner Weapon Staff Bureau.

As for the one thousand two hundred ’Rune Flintlock Rifled Guns’ of the Shenji right camp and the eighty ’Wheel-to-Wheel Field Smooth-Bore Cannons’, Li Xuan planned to commission the Shenqi Union for production.

Junqi Bureau had strong opinions about this and the following day, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Works personally questioned him, asking if he was receiving favors privately?

However, when he heard the quotation of the Shenqi Union, he had nothing to say, even at triple the price, the Junqi Bureau side couldn’t afford it.

At this moment, Li Xuan was still a bit worried. February 2nd was Dragon raises its head day, here, the "dragon" refers to the constellation of the Eastern Azure Dragon in the twenty-eight constellations. At the beginning of the year, in the mid-spring month (Dou points directly east), the "Dragon Horn Star" would rise from the eastern horizon, hence the phrase "dragon raising its head".

At this time, the Dragon Vein’s power throughout the world would be somewhat strengthened.

However, until the early hours of the day, Qiuhu Office in Chengde had no sound or movement.

By February 3rd, when the court was in chaos over the ’Prince Xiang Conspiracy Case’ and the ’Imperial Grandson’ issue, the many Weisuo army generals, who Li Xuan had summoned for the ’Shenji right camp’, had already arrived in the capital.