To be on the safe side, Li Chang'an had the assembled Rebel Army soldiers fall back.
This way, even if the crudely made cannon backfired, it wouldn't endanger the ordinary people nearby.
Wang Su and Lü Changning, however, didn't retreat. Instead, they watched him with curiosity—or more accurately, they watched the strange iron contraption he was operating.
They were skilled in Martial Arts as well and could escape at the first sign of trouble.
Lü Changning sniffed the acrid smell in the air and couldn't help but ask, "This smell… it's a bit like saltpeter powder, isn't it?"
Saltpeter powder was this world's name for gunpowder.
Because Daoists often used it in alchemy to refine Elixirs, it had another name: Immortal Fire Powder.
Since Li Chang'an had mixed in all sorts of other things, Lü Changning found the smell faintly familiar but couldn't be entirely sure.
Wang Su, standing beside him, was clearly more experienced with alchemy. He just gave a slight sniff and said with certainty, "This is saltpeter powder. Are you planning to use it to start a fire attack? Not a bad idea, but since the Yan Residence is prepared for a siege, they wouldn't have left any kindling inside…"
'That plan is doomed to fail!'
Wang Su didn't say that last part out loud, afraid of discouraging Li Chang'an.
After all, for someone Li Chang'an's age, just thinking of a "fire attack" was a sign of a prodigy. There was no need to demand too much more.
After aiming the cannon, Li Chang'an smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. This thing is a superweapon, powerful enough to change the very era!"
...
At the Yan Residence, men peered over the wall at the dark mass of the Rebel Army outside and the young man fiddling with something at the front of their formation.
Master Yan, Yan Runjiang, looked a little nervous. He turned his head to the man behind him and asked, "Lord Cao, our signal for reinforcements has been sent, hasn't it?"
When the local gentry had met, they had agreed on a strategy for mutual defense.
No matter which family the Rebel Army targeted, the others would spare no effort to send aid upon seeing the signal.
During the planning, everyone had been full of bravado, acting as if they could decimate the Rebel Army in a heartbeat. But now that they were actually under attack and surrounded by a sea of people, the pressure was entirely different.
No wonder Master Yan was sweating profusely, his nerves a wreck.
The man in black, whom he called Lord Cao, had a grim expression. He replied coolly, "The signal has been sent. Under normal circumstances, the others can complete their encirclement in about three days…"
As he spoke, he glanced at the still-uneasy Master Yan, frowning imperceptibly before adding an explanation. "Don't worry. They're just a band of roving bandits. They haven't brought any siege weapons. Even if your 'allies' don't come to help, they can't pose much of a threat!"
Lord Cao's full name was Cao Tian. He was the head of the Sanhuang County Prison Control Department. When Sanhuang County fell, he happened to be out of town.
Cao Tian had been scared witless when he heard that Sanhuang County had fallen into the hands of the Rebel Army.
'The county seat has fallen, yet here I am, a Small Banner Officer of the Prison Control Department, idling about outside… If my superiors find out, I'll be skinned alive, even if they don't kill me!'
The Prison Control Department enjoyed extreme privileges.
But the punishments for making a mistake were often just as extreme.
In order to redeem himself, Cao Tian hadn't rashly returned to the county seat, nor had he dutifully returned to the prefectural city to accept his punishment. Instead, he had remained near Sanhuang County, waiting for an opportunity to retake it.
This way, even if the Prison Control Department did decide to punish him later, they might show leniency, seeing as he was trying to make amends.
Hearing his answer, the anxious Master Yan finally calmed down a bit.
After all, in the eyes of most ordinary people, the Prison Control Department symbolized absolute authority. As a Small Banner Officer, when Cao Tian spoke, his word was law.
After breathing a sigh of relief, and not wanting his subordinates to laugh at him, Yan Runjiang quickly forced a confident smile. He squinted into the distance and said, "What's that kid fiddling with all by himself? He brought so many people but doesn't dare to attack. Is he a coward hiding in his shell?"
Hearing his question, a recruited veteran lying nearby burst out laughing. "Whether he's a coward in his shell or not, we're fully prepared. We've not only stockpiled several months' worth of food and water, but we've also cleared out all the flammable kindling from the residence. If they want to break in, they have no choice but to build siege engines on the spot and throw lives away to breach our walls!"
Another veteran nearby chimed in with a laugh, "That young punk must have realized that, which is why he's hesitating!"
With several people confirming the situation, Yan Runjiang's mood brightened completely. He chuckled, "If that rabble had attacked right after negotiations broke down, they might have had a chance to pick us off one by one. But now that we've united, we're fully prepared to put up a desperate resistance. I wonder if that young brat from the Rebel Army is regretting it bitterly now?"
At his words, the group of men roared with laughter.
They were clearly disdainful of Li Chang'an's baffling maneuvers from the past few days.
Just then, a dull THUD echoed from the distance. A round object flew high into the air and landed near the wall.
The laughter died instantly. Everyone's nerves tensed.
However, they stared at the round object for a long while, but none of the expected commotion occurred.
After a long, stunned pause, seeing that the strange projectile was indeed not dangerous, someone plucked up the courage to retrieve it. He fiddled with it for a moment before bursting into laughter. "That kid tinkered for ages just to send us *this*? Is he an idiot? All bark and no bite! This is hilarious!"
Everyone else immediately doubled over with laughter.
In a crisis, people's nerves are often stretched taut. In such situations, emotional swings tend to be extreme.
A small disturbance could make them tense and hostile, while a trivial matter could send them into fits of laughter for no reason.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, they watched the cannonball arc through the air and thud softly to the ground.
Lü Changning was silent for a long moment before his lips twitched. "That's your superweapon? You've got to be kidding us!"
Li Chang'an felt a bit embarrassed. He rubbed his nose and said, "An accident. A complete accident!"
He had considered that this thing might fail at a critical moment, but he never expected the very first shot to be a dud.
Beside him, Li San, who was in charge of the work, flushed beet red and stammered, "Uh… well…"
Li Chang'an glanced at him but didn't reprimand him.
After all, having a group of youths who only knew Martial Arts and farming design a cannon barrel was a fool's errand to begin with. The fact that Li San and the others had managed to produce even a simple barrel was already quite impressive. To ask for more would be asking the impossible.
'In the end, it all comes down to a lack of trustworthy talent under my command!'
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to put his own disciple on the job.
With that thought, Li Chang'an bent down again, took another cannonball from the crate, placed it into the firing apparatus, and lit the fuse.
"THUD!"
Another dull thud. The cannonball soared into the sky, tracing a parabolic arc before landing inside the courtyard.
But just as everyone thought this shot would be like the last, landing on the ground without a sound…
"BOOM!"
A massive explosion, loud enough to shake the heavens and the earth, ripped through the air!
...