Chapter 99 Illusion (First Order)

"Fire a cannon?"

Hu Sanniang was guarding beside Yang Chang, and she straightened her legs when she heard the sound.

Later, the couple came outside the camp to check, and saw that the small village of Yazuitan at the foot of the mountain was on fire. The minions on the beach were in chaos and were fleeing towards the mountain like wild beasts.

Hu Sanniang frowned and said to herself, "When I was in Hujia Village, I heard people say that artillery is powerful and can attack cities and strongholds from a long distance. Today I see that it is indeed true."

"Well, the distance from Yazui Beach to the other side is only reachable by artillery."

Yang Changxu raised his eyes and responded, thinking that he almost forgot about this. Firearms had made great progress in the Song Dynasty, and he didn't know whether the damage was physical or magical.

Unfortunately, productivity was insufficient at that time, artillery was expensive to manufacture, and extremely inconvenient to transport, so it could not be widely used on the battlefield. Otherwise, how could we be defeated by the Jin people?
"Sir, Yazui Beach is already being evacuated. Should we evacuate as well?"

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Yang Chang hurriedly comforted him: "Don't panic, my lady. Although the artillery has a long range, it is not that far..."

The range of thermal weapons in later generations was sufficient, but artillery was still in its early stages at that time, so Yang Chang was not at all worried about bombarding the island in the middle of the lake.

After all, according to the original plot, the imperial court failed to suppress Liangshan several times and finally resorted to the tactic of recruiting them, so the island was very safe at this time.

After watching for a long time outside the camp, he did not see the other side continue firing. Were the three shots just now not to test the range? Yang Chang estimated that the government troops had limited shells and were reluctant to fire blanks to fry the fish.

Soon, the Yazui Beach thugs went up the mountain along the road.

Seeing Yang Chang watching from the side of the road, Song Jiang came over and said, "It's not convenient for all the brothers in Yazui Beach to go up the mountain, so they should temporarily settle down in Sanlang Village. You and Sanniang should make arrangements, and the uncle and nephew of the Zou family will bring people here later."

"Uh..." Yang Chang was startled when he heard this, and then he showed an embarrassed expression, "There may not be enough housing for the soldiers, I guess we can only vacate some horse sheds."

"It's okay, just make do with it for now, we'll make adjustments soon. After you complete the handover with them, rush to the Juyi Hall to discuss matters. There may be combat missions."

"understood."

Looking at Song Jiang's back, Yang Chang complained that this guy couldn't even climb a mountain before, but now he runs faster than a rabbit. But what kind of combat mission can he have? Can a bow and arrow beat a cannon?
No, the big boss Gongsun Sheng is still here.

He summoned the wind and rain and cast a few spells. Wouldn't the government troops on the other side be terrified?

Yang Changben didn't like holding meetings, but he was looking forward to Gongsun Sheng's great power, so he asked Hu Sanniang to settle the troops at Yazui Beach and retreat, and he followed closely to the top of the mountain.

Inside the gathering hall, all the leaders had solemn expressions.

Faced with the invasion of powerful enemies, Yazui Beach was hastily abandoned, and Chao Gai also put aside the fight and patiently listened to Wu Yong's report.

"A new gunner from Tokyo, named Hong Tianlei Ling Zhen, just set up a cannon by the water. He fired three cannons in a row, two of which hit the water, and one hit the fence of the small camp, which caught fire. I then suggested abandoning the camp and going up the mountain. Now the brothers at Yazui Beach should retreat to the Ma Jun camp in the back mountain."

"I also heard the noise on the mountain. Liangshan is located in the north, closest to the opposite bank. The flying artillery will definitely not be able to reach Wanzi City, but should we abandon the village in the back mountain as well?"

After Chao Gai finished speaking, he looked at Yang Chang with an expression that said, "I'm thinking of you."

Wu Yong twirled his beard and shook his head, responding: "It has been a long time since he fired the cannon. I guess it is because the cannon is not easy to use. Now we have abandoned the Yazui Beach camp and see how he can fire the cannon."

"Just waiting like this doesn't seem to be a solution."

Chao Gai glanced at everyone after he finished speaking. He saw Song Jiang frowning and not saying anything. The others also looked worried. Only Yang Chang had a natural expression. So Chao Gai tried to ask, "Brother Yang, do you have a plan to repel the enemy?"

"I have a suggestion."

Upon hearing this, Yang Chang stood up, first glanced at Gongsun Sheng, then clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Yiqing is well versed in magic. He was able to knock Gao Lian down in Gaotang Prefecture before. Why not ask him to cast a spell to suppress the artillery?"

"This"

Seeing Chao Gai and everyone else looking at him, Gongsun Sheng bowed his head and responded, "Although I have joined forces with all the brothers, I am a monk after all. How can I use magic to kill people? It is not appropriate, not appropriate."

"Why Gao Lian?"

"Gao Lian is using evil magic to harm people. I am breaking his rule without violating the laws of nature."

"But Liangshan is now in danger"

Yang Chang knew that Liangshan was safe, so he deliberately provoked Gongsun Sheng to fight, wanting to see the power of his magic. Unexpectedly, Wu Yong interrupted him and said sternly, "Don't make things difficult for Master Yiqing. If someone is using magic, Master will resolve it. As for ordinary sword fighting, we ordinary people will fight."

"Ah."

Gongsun Sheng bowed again and smiled at Yang Chang as he sat down, with a calm and matter-of-fact expression.

There was a moment of silence in the hall. Song Jiang suddenly stood up and looked at Wu Yong, asking for advice: "The only problem right now is the artillery fire. Does the military advisor have any plan to resolve it?"

"Hmm." Wu Yong hesitated for a moment, then muttered with empty eyes, "Ling Zhen is in charge of the artillery. If we can lure him to the water, we can capture him and break his tactics. Then we can discuss how to break the linked horses."

"Makes sense!"

Chao Gai slammed the table and stood up, saying solemnly: "Let the Ruan brothers row the boat, and brothers Zhu and Lei will support us on the shore."

"Yes."

The three Ruan brothers were in the water stronghold at this time. Zhu Tong and Lei Heng stood up at the same time when they heard this.

Seeing this, Song Jiang immediately stood up and added, "Let Li Jun, Zhang Heng, and Zhang Shun go as well. They rowed their boats to support us last time and are familiar with the essentials of naval warfare."

"Yes." Chao Gai nodded in agreement, then walked to Song Jiang and said in a concerned tone: "It will take time to catch Ling Zhen. My dear brother was frightened just now. Go back and rest and wait. When we have news later, we will meet up with the brothers."

"Don't worry, brother. I'm not tired."

"Well, I'll go and tell the navy myself."

After Chao Gai finished speaking, he raised his hand and strode out of the Juyi Hall. Gongsun Sheng also left from the back hall afterwards.

Yang Chang didn't want to stay there and stare at everyone. He remembered that his golden armor had been improved by Hou Jian, so he bowed and said goodbye to everyone and left the gathering hall.

He had only taken a few steps out of the door when he suddenly heard Song Jiang calling him from behind.

"Wait a minute, Sanlang."

"Brother Gongming, do you have anything else to say?"

Yang Chang turned around with a surprised expression. Song Jiang ran after him and said softly, "Sanlang was too reckless just now. Master Yiqing is a Taoist master. How can he be treated as an ordinary leader?"

"I am also doing this for Liangshan."

"Of course I know, but the method is wrong. You just need to be careful next time. He won't be angry."

"I have something I don't understand. With Mr. Yiqing's powerful magic, he should be able to defeat the enemy in a snap of his fingers. Why don't you ask him for help?"

"Hmm? Haha."

Song Jiang stopped and looked at Yang Chang, shaking his head and laughing, and then asked back: "Sanlang, you don't have enough experience. You don't think that so-called magic can really kill people without being seen, right?"

"Isn't it?" Yang Chang's eyes widened as he argued, "Didn't Gao Lian do the same thing in Gaotang Prefecture before? And Master Yiqing used magic to knock him down from the clouds."

“It’s all just an illusion.”

Seeing Song Jiang shaking his head contemptuously, Yang Chang's eyes widened even more.

"What do you mean?"

"All of Gao Lian's magic is an illusion. His black air and yellow sand are only used to assist in the battle. The real killers are the government troops behind him."

"Then he flew up on a cloud."

"It's also fake."

(End of this chapter)