sjar Chapter 439 The artillery is complete!
Chapter 439 The artillery is complete!
The tombstones at the Heroes' Tomb started with three, then four, then five...
more and more……
Gao Mengli buried herself in the Shenji Camp, working day and night without distinction.
Every day, Da Niu delivers meals at set times.
At other times, he never saw his mother, let alone his father.
His father has been away for almost a year.
This year's Lunar New Year was not as lively as in previous years.
Faced with a table full of dishes, Da Niu felt a lump in his throat.
I could only have New Year's Eve dinner with my three younger siblings, Fu, Lu, and Lin.
Because his father was still leading the villagers in making coffin boards on New Year's Eve.
This took a whole year to complete.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"It's done!"
Gao Mengli's hair was a mess, and her black eyes were too "dazzling"!
She looked at the cannon in front of her with excitement and burst into tears of joy.
And the old scholar next to her wasn't much better off!
The old scholars were even slovenly than she was.
His hair was stuck together in clumps of oily hemp rope, and his long gown was covered in patches, with wood chips and copper rust clinging to it.
The patch was applied because the clothes were torn and there wasn't time to take them off; Aunt Lin brought people to patch them up directly.
Their fingertips were cracked, and their fingernails were full of black dirt.
But his eyes were remarkably bright.
"It's done! It's finally done!"
"After a year of painstaking effort, I have finally lived up to His Majesty's expectations!"
"My lord, let's give it a try!"
Gao Mengli wiped her face, which was covered in mud, but smiled brightly: "Let's fire it and test it! Let everyone see how powerful the cannon we made is!"
"Quick, let's move the cannon to the back hill and test its power!"
It was pitch black when the old scholar wanted to shout for help.
Gao Mengli stopped him, picked up an iron rod, and struck the large iron block they used in front of the ancestral hall.
"Clang-clang-clang-"
Gao Mengli banged on the old iron block at the entrance of the ancestral hall, making a deafening noise.
The clanging sound carried far on the mountain wind, instantly causing the whole village to erupt in excitement.
Every household put down their bowls and chopsticks and rushed outside.
"Quickly, towards the ancestral hall!"
"Let's go see quickly, the Marquis must have made some arrangements!"
Zhao Chen was so excited that he quickly arranged for someone to go to the ancestral hall.
He had once agreed with the Marquis that if they needed to give any instructions, they should knock on the iron block standing outside the ancestral hall!
They waited a year, a whole year!
The iron block finally made a sound!
The entire village, young and old, poured out.
On New Year's Eve, every household held up pine torches, and the flames formed a fiery dragon that snaked towards the ancestral hall, illuminating the village roads as bright as day.
“My lord, but that…”
As soon as Zhao Chen arrived, he rushed to Gao Mengli, feeling both nervous and excited.
Gao Mengli was completely covered in black, but when she smiled, her white teeth gleamed brightly in the darkness, making them quite conspicuous. "Yes, hurry up and send someone to push the cannon to the back of the mountain!"
There is an iron mine in the back mountain, and mining it relies entirely on manual labor, digging it out bit by bit!
The gunpowder shouldn't be wasted; while testing the cannons, let's also mine the iron ore!
Zhao Chen's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs, "All able-bodied young men, lend a hand!"
Gao Mengli waved her hand and gave instructions, "Quickly, push the blasting cannon towards the iron ore area behind the mountain! Test the blasting and blast the ore at the same time, saving labor and effort!"
The men immediately surged forward, tied thick hemp ropes to both sides of the cannon, and shouted in unison.
The heavy cannon moved slowly across the snow, creaking but moving steadily.
All the other villagers lit torches and stood in a relay on both sides of the mountain road, illuminating the road as bright as day.
The old scholar followed behind, holding blueprints in one hand and leaning on his cane with the other, occasionally reminding him, "Slow down and be steady!"
Come to the back mountain.
Gao Mengli adjusted the position of the cannon barrel, took a torch, and lit the flare amidst the tension and excitement of the entire village!
With a "whoosh," the flare burned rapidly and disappeared into the cannon barrel in an instant.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the cannon, not daring to blink.
The next instant, a thunderous explosion shook the mountains and the earth. The cannon spewed out a flame ten feet high, and the iron bullet, accompanied by a sharp whistle, crashed into the iron ore rock layer!
Gravel mixed with dust shot into the sky and then crashed down onto the snow.
The mine entrance, which was originally as hard as iron, was blasted open with a gap more than ten feet wide, exposing the dark ore, which was clearly visible.
The silence lasted only a moment before the entire village erupted in thunderous cheers!
The men waved their pickaxes and shouted, the women's eyes reddened, the teenagers jumped and ran around telling each other the news, and the torches were waved, making the sky bright.
The old scholar staggered a couple of steps, leaning on his cane. The veins on his hand, which was gripping the blueprints, bulged. His voice was choked with emotion, but each word was firm and resolute: "It's done! The cannon is done!"
Zhao Chen rushed excitedly to Gao Mengli's side, his voice trembling: "My lord! We've succeeded! We have cannons, and we have even more iron ore!"
Gao Mengli stared at the cannon that was still emitting blue smoke, her white teeth shining brightly against her dark face.
She raised her hand to wipe the smoke and dust from her face, then gestured for everyone to be quiet. "Remember this, everyone! This blast is not just hitting rocks, it's protecting our territory!"
"Now that more iron mines are being opened, we can cast more cannons and make more sharp weapons to send to the army."
The day when those warriors who have driven out the foreign invaders return home is just around the corner!
As soon as he finished speaking, the cheers grew even louder, echoing through the mountains and valleys.
Other villages are celebrating Lunar New Year's Eve.
But in Wangyue Village, people start working on the mountain on New Year's Eve.
Miners are mining, blacksmiths are forging iron, and everyone is working hard!
Gao Mengli stood with her hands behind her back, looking north, her eyes shining like stars: "Dou Weiyi, hang in there, it's almost over!"
Three months later!
"Report——"
The chubby scout, covered in dust and with her armor stained with undried blood, staggered into the central command tent.
He knelt on one knee, his voice booming like thunder: "Your Majesty, General! Our Wangyue Village's military equipment has arrived!"
Five powerful cannons have been transported to the camp, and the accompanying villagers have also brought iron ore concentrate and a hundred cannonballs!
A moment of deathly silence fell over the tent.
Dou Zhan slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. The fatigue from the days of fierce fighting vanished, and a bright light shone in his eyes. He strode out of the tent!
Dou Weiyi was so excited that her heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys were all celebrating!
His golden opportunity has finally brought news!
Outside the camp, five cannons gleamed and stood imposingly on the open ground.
Although the men of Wangyue Village were weathered and worn, they all stood tall and straight. When Dou Zhan and Wei Yi arrived, they all bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, General Dou!"
"We are here on the orders of Lord Gao to escort artillery to our aid! The Lord instructed us to convey that once the cannons are calibrated and loaded with explosives, they can be used to fire at the enemy. The cannons are still being manufactured in Wangyue Village, and the remaining armaments will arrive soon!"
Dou Weiyi was so excited that he trembled as he rushed over, looked up and reached out to touch the cold cannon barrel. His fingertips caressed the two characters "Guard the Border" engraved on the cannon, and his throat suddenly tightened.
His soldiers fought desperately, their arrows nearly exhausted and their swords and spears dulled, and many brothers fell beneath the city walls.
However, despite being a century behind, the Northern Mu Kingdom has become far more powerful than them.
Their repeating crossbows could pierce through heavy armor, their iron cavalry were heavily armored and had sharp blades, and their catapults bombarded the city walls day and night.
Holy crap!
Even if they had martial arts masters, they would be helpless against this.
Dou Weiyi suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot but burning with an inextinguishable light: "Wangyue Village has sent cannons. A century's gap, today we'll use these five cannons to make up for it!!"