On the walls of Liangzhou stood only four men.
Behind them, Pei Shouyue and Su Dingfang were surging with excitement, staring unblinking at the group of troops slowly approaching from the distance.
Between Xue Rengui and Li Jing, only the sound of wind passed.
Yet after months of close contact, Xue Rengui had gradually grown familiar with this old general. Though Li Jing said nothing at the moment, from his perfectly still posture and the steady breathing that even the wind could not fully conceal, Xue Rengui could tell clearly.
The old general placed immense importance on this detachment from the Bureau of Five Thunders.
And if one were to honestly ask themselves.
How could he not value it? How could he dare not?
During his time in Liangzhou, Li Jing had taught Xue Rengui without reservation.
Beyond repeatedly emphasizing that a commander must possess both courage and strategy, he often interwove past battles, using sand table simulations to force Xue Rengui to think as if personally present on the battlefield.
In moments of leisure, Li Jing would take miscellaneous weapons and equipment, explaining in detail how even small differences could lead to major tactical changes.
Through these gradual lessons, Xue Rengui had also heard of the Five Thunders Pavilion personally founded by General Li, and learned of a substance called gunpowder.
Though he had never seen it with his own eyes, merely hearing Li Jing describe its power was enough to make Xue Rengui uneasy.
Now that he was about to witness it firsthand, the heat in his chest only grew stronger.
From Guanzhong westward into the Western Regions, there were only three major strongholds along the route. Liangzhou, Zhangye, and Dunhuang.
If Hexi were regarded as the arm of the state, then Zhangye and Dunhuang were the elbow and wrist, while Liangzhou was without question the foundation of that arm.
Connected eastward to Chang'an and westward guarding the corridor, Liangzhou could truly be described as a place where all manner of people mingled. Merchant caravans, Hu traders, tribute envoys, Turkic spies, and Tuyuhun agents all passed through here.
Because of this, after Li Jing arrived, he relied on fierce and disciplined troops to comb through Liangzhou again and again.
Now results were finally visible. At the very least, once the curfew was announced, not a single person dared step onto the streets of Liangzhou.
The Hu people only dared to hide behind their doors, cursing under their breath about how difficult this sudden new governor was to deal with, while peeking through cracks to watch the troops marching slowly down the main avenue.
Silent and solemn. A truly formidable army.
As for why the court had suddenly dispatched a heavy general with heavy troops to Liangzhou, the Western Region Hu people were also puzzled, forming all kinds of speculation.
Some guessed that Tang intended to destroy Tuyuhun to eliminate a threat at its flank. But on one hand, Jieli Khan had only settled in Chang'an a little over a year ago, making it hard to believe Tang had the energy for continuous campaigns. On the other hand, everyone in the Western Regions knew that Tuyuhun excelled at fleeing. Defeating them was easy, but truly subduing them was exceedingly difficult.
Thus, the prevailing belief was that the Tang court intended to reorganize Hexi.
Li Jing knew this perfectly well, yet he neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, to reinforce this impression, he frequently dispatched patrols between Zhangye and Liangzhou, causing the Western Region tribes to further believe in this theory.
At this moment, seeing the Bureau of Five Thunders enter the city smoothly and head toward the northern encampment, Li Jing finally turned and spoke.
"If you wish to command soldiers, how can you not understand soldiers? Come with me."
Xue Rengui felt his entire body ignite with excitement.
Most of the Five Thunders troops went to set up camp, but a small contingent remained outside the city. Coupled with Li Jing's words, how could Xue Rengui not understand? He would see the gunpowder weapons with his own eyes today.
On the other side, Pei Xingjian and Su Lie saw Li Jing beckoning from afar and immediately cheered as they hurried after him together.
To test weapons, one naturally could not do so near Liangzhou. After descending from the city gate, Li Jing showed no airs, voluntarily handing over his token to be carefully inspected by the troops.
Once their identities were confirmed, Li Jing mounted his horse and led the group eastward from Liangzhou.
They traveled in stops and starts until more than thirty li from the city, where Li Jing finally raised his hand and pointed ahead.
"Use that beacon tower as the test."
After centuries of warfare, Han and Hu territories had shifted back and forth countless times. The northern lands were scattered with countless beacon towers like this one. Built of rammed earth, they were extremely solid. Even after centuries of wind and sand, the walls remained largely intact.
"Test what? Are we supposed to charge that earthen wall and knock it down ourselves?"
Pei Xingjian blurted this out immediately, nearly earning another hand clamped over his mouth by Su Dingfang.
It was not that Pei Xingjian doubted his master Li Jing. On one hand, his mouth simply could not stay idle. On the other, in historical records, phrases describing power like those Su Dingfang had used were notoriously exaggerated.
Especially in accounts of the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties he had read at the Hongwen Pavilion, such descriptions appeared everywhere.
Thus, in his imagination, even if the Five Thunders Bureau was formidable, at most it should possess sharper weapons. Could it truly borrow thunder from the heavens?
This belief only solidified when he saw the troops unload a copper tube from the supply carts, its thickness comparable to Su Dingfang's thigh.
Pei Xingjian felt more confident in his judgment. Then suddenly he froze.
Wait. Why are they mixing powder?
Completely different from what Pei Xingjian expected, this unit looked less like elite soldiers and more like craftsmen.
Yet watching them carefully blend the powder and maneuver the copper tube, their expressions grave and reverent, as though handling something worth a thousand pieces of gold, made even him fall silent.
Driven by curiosity, Pei Xingjian instinctively shut his mouth and stood beside Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui, watching intently as the soldiers worked.
They were not kept waiting long.
The first to stand up were a row of particularly burly soldiers. What nearly made Pei Xingjian laugh was that each carried a bamboo basket on his back, containing earthen jars with small handles, tied tightly with thin hemp cords.
He could not help himself.
"These tadpole like clay jars are weapons?"
Tadpole was indeed an apt description, and even Su Lie found the comparison fitting.
But after a sharp look from Li Jing, Pei Xingjian quickly clamped his own mouth shut and stared wide eyed.
The soldiers acted as if they heard nothing. They took out one of the "tadpoles," produced a fire striker, and touched it to a small tail on the clay jar. Once smoke began to rise, they gripped the cord, swung it around several times like a sling, and then released them together toward the beacon tower.
The next instant, Pei Xingjian fell straight off his horse.
The sudden thunderous explosion not only caused his mind to go blank but also made the warhorse beneath him rear and neigh. Fortunately, Su Dingfang reacted on instinct, forcefully calming the horse and bending down to haul Pei Xingjian back up, sparing him from being trampled.
Pale and shaken, Pei Xingjian could no longer laugh. His eyes bulged as he muttered.
"This surpasses ghosts and gods. This seizes the might of Heaven and Earth. Su Dingfang, your words were far too restrained."
Su Lie was momentarily speechless and could not be bothered to argue. From his elevated position on horseback, he saw clearly that the clay jar had exploded in a cloud of dust, and when the dust settled, fragments of pottery were embedded deep into the beacon wall.
If rammed earth was like this, one could imagine what would happen if it struck a human body.
Just this alone made Su Dingfang feel the trip was already worthwhile. But it was not over.
Next, they observed slender bamboo tubes that produced thick smoke and small flames. These were said to be made from spent gunpowder. The bamboo tubes were disposable and suited for soldiers to carry two each, lighting and throwing them into enemy ranks before battle.
The true centerpiece, however, was the iron tube.
Su Dingfang watched as the soldiers dug a pit, buried half the tube to secure it, then inserted a smoothly polished stone ball.
At the rear of the tube, they lit a fuse as thick as a finger. Then the soldiers all ran away at full speed.
Though he did not know why, Su Lie instinctively pulled his reins and retreated slightly.
He was soon profoundly grateful for that decision.
A blast far fiercer than the clay jars, smoke dozens of times thicker, an earth shaking roar, and even a faint tremor underfoot followed. When the dust cleared, a breach large enough for a mounted rider to pass through leisurely had been blown open in the rammed earth wall.
Pei Xingjian fell off his horse once again.
Among everyone present, only Li Jing seemed completely unaffected by the noise.
The former master of the Five Thunders Pavilion was filled with joy. He understood these things better than anyone.
The clay jar bombs and smoke tubes aside, this cannon was both simple and difficult.
Simple because he had already seen something called a cannon within the light screen. By imitating it and experimenting repeatedly, results had begun to emerge over the past year.
Difficult because the choice of material for the barrel, copper or iron, affected its size, firing power, and many unknown factors.
For instance, after merging into the Directorate of Works, the Bureau of Five Thunders once confidently cast a wrought iron cannon with the help of blacksmiths. After one shot, cracks appeared. After a second shot, the entire cannon burst apart. Had they not prepared in advance, many craftsmen would have died.
Because of this, the only cannon they dared bring to Liangzhou was this copper one.
Even so, it was enough.
Li Jing was brimming with ambition, feeling utterly impatient for the coming war.
Meanwhile, Wen Mang glanced at the large exclamation mark that suddenly appeared in the top right corner of his interface, clicked it curiously, and read aloud.
"Congratulations on reaching a major historical turning point?"