Shang Liao,the new Right General, had promised Dragon King that he would repel the enemy from Xiaoyao Lake within half a month. However, he did not seem anxious. In the first few days after he was appointed as Right General, he did not even come to check on his naval forces. Instead, he selected a batch of craftsmen and commanded these craftsmen to forge weapons in secret.
This was one way to put it; another way was that he set up a shrine secretly, intending to invite the immortals to come down to earth to help him. What is more, a malicious speculation would be that the Right General was wasting half a month of the Dragon Army’s time so that the Golden Rock Army could build a bridge calmly.
Gu Shenwei could not ignore these rumors. He pretended to trust the King of the Kang nation Shang Liao on the surface, but in private he had kept a close eye on him.
The rumors were exaggerated. Although Shang Liao had not been to check his naval forces, he had summoned high-ranking military officers daily to inquire about their situation and give detailed orders.
Shang Liao had destroyed more than half of the old and unqualified ships, and only about fifty ships were retained. Each ship had thirty to fifty oarsmen and the same number of soldiers. Under his command, workers were working overtime to transform the ships.
The bows were covered with iron to help with collisions, which meant that Shangliao did know a little about naval warfare, but his following measures confused many of his subordinates.
He had selected ten best ships among the naval forces and equipped each with a new set of weapons, one being a catapult used for the siege, but on a much smaller scale. It took workers great time to fix them on the hull of the ships.
Once facing the Dragon King, several high-ranking military officers of the Navy held the same opinion: The chances for a rock from the catapult striking an enemy ship was about the same as hitting a mosquito with a crossbow from one hundred paces away.
If that was what Right General had prepared to defeat the enemy, there was not much confidence. An impulsive general told Dragon King, “We don’t need these tricks. Our ships outnumber the enemy’sships. It would be more effective to rush over and have our soldiers solve this battle with their swords.”
Gu Shenwei was losing confidence in Shang Liao, but he did not show it in public.
“Why did I put him in such an important post? Because the Prince of the Kang Kingdom recommended him. Shang Liao should be an intelligent figure if the Prince still believed that he could change their kingdom’s current situation before his death.” Gu Shenwei mused.
Besides, Dragon King appreciated the King of the Kang nation-Shang Liao. Every time Dragon King met him, he always showed his superior insight and convincing manner.
Gu Shenwei hoped that the Prince of the Kang Kingdom had known Shang Liao better than himself.
On his fifth day in office, Shang Liao sent for the Dragon King. Gu Shenwei accepted his invitation immediately, curious to know the Right General’s plan.
The workshop Shang Liao had built was located in a remote location beyond the capital. There were no residents within miles of the workshop.
Gu Shenwei’s escort of hundreds of men surrounded the workshop. After Long Fanyun checked inside, he invited Dragon King to enter.
Gu Shenwei was unwilling to be followed by many people. But since the war began, Golden Roc killers had frequently shown up to attempt assassinations. To keep assassinations from barracks, sentry posts, disciples of New Moon Hall and killer apprentice spared no efforts to guard and defend against those killers.
Golden Roc killers were full of tricks. Even though Shang Liao was loyal to Gu Shenwei, he could be manipulated.
Before Dragon King decided to go south, the number of his personal guards increased to over 200. Surrounded by these guards, Gu Shenwei could not sneak out.
Shang Liao’s main purpose to invite Dragon King there was not to show off his achievement. He said to Dragon King, “I have something very troublesome.”
“Tell me, and I will try to solve it,” said Dragon King.
“The spies reported that more than thirty warships of Golden Roc Army were holed up in the fjord, trying their best to protect the bridge, and it seemed that they would not come out to fight.”
“I see.” In fact, Gu Shenwei was already aware of this.
“The problem is that the enemy ships are too close to the shore. If our warships rush over, they will be attacked by archers on shore.”
In front of them was a map of Xiaoyao Lake, Gu Shenwei pointed at the westernmost narrow lake on the map. He said, “The naval forces’ task is not to destroy the bridge. They need to bypass this lake to attack the Golden Roc Army who is tryingto reach the southern bank. There are only five hundred soldiers.”
As it went west, the Xiaoyao Lake became a big river running into Wushan. Before it formed a river, the north of Xiaoyao Lake was a high mountain which was a natural barrier. But with the assistance from the Hui Kingdom, Dragon King was working on an unprecedented project. They were digging a wide road which led to the bank of the lake.
A flat narrow area was in the east of the southern bank where soldiers of the Golden Roc Army who had crossed the sea were guarding. They set up barriers to stop the Dragon army from getting close to their unfinished bridge by land.
Dugu Xian had sent troops there to attack guards. But they had failed due to the crowded terrain.
However, the naval forces could easily attack the flank.
It was a simple plan. But Shang Liao shook his head and said smilingly, “Dragon King is unaware, the warships of the Golden Roc Army and the soldiers in the southern bank have each other’s back. Once one gets attacked, the other will help them out. Although these ships stay in place, they will fight against our soldiers with all their strength as soon as they notice our troops are landing.”
Gu Shenwei understood what Shang Liao meant. The most direct way was to send more warships so they could attack two sides. However, the waters could not hold a hundred ships. Once their ships were trapped there, they could be the target of archers on shore.
“So you want to lure the enemy ship to fight,” asked Gu Shenwei.
“It’s not me, but you. I’m only responsible for working out a plan to kill enemies.”
Hearing this, Gu Shenwei doubted his choice again. He did not say a word.“Ignoring casualties, I can send a great number of ships to occupy western Xiaoyao Lake. Once we take the enemy position in the southern bank, we can destroy the bridge and force Golden Roc Army to carry their soldiers in batches.
In this way, all the sacrifice will not be in vain,” he thought.
Shang Liao had confidence in managing to persuade Dragon King, so he continued, “Dragon King, this way please.”
The Right General was going to reveal his secret weapon. After all, he had convinced the Prince of the Kang Kingdom with it.
They came to the backyard where all the houses were demolished. Several craftsmen were awaiting there with three round objects. The objects looked like painted animal’s stomachs, full of fluid.
“With this, we don’t have to sacrifice our soldiers to fight with their weapons.”
Shang Liao nodded and the three craftsmen bowed to the Dragon King first and then carried the round bags to the middle of the yard, dozens of steps away from the onlookers.
“Are you a good archer,” Shang Liao asked Dragon King.
“Kind of,” he answered.
Another craftsman brought a bow and arrow.
The bow was common, but the arrow was a little different. It came without an arrowhead, but instead, a cotton cloth tip soaked oil.
This was a fire arrow.
When Gu Shenwei was ready to shoot, the craftsman held a tinder and lit the arrowhead.
The target was not far. Gu Shenwei aimed at it and shot.
“Excellent!” Shang Liao complimented and applauded. He knew when to flatter.
Gu Shenwei had guessed the contents of the sac, but he was still amazed at the result. When the sac was shot, flames towered into the sky. Then, lots of flakes fell to the ground, which lit the other two sacs. The strong flames did not extinguish immediately, but instead, covered a large area. Although the onlookers stood far from the sacs, they could still feel the heat.
“That’s why you asked me for black kerosene?”
Black kerosene was one of the resources unique to Xiaoyao Lake and could be found in many places. Gu Shenwei had used it to threaten Shangguan Jianyi and had a full stock of it. In fact, he had planned to use it to handle the enemy’s cavalry, but most of it had been given to Shang Liao.
“Black kerosene is combustible, but it doesn’t have much power. Therefore, I have added many ingredients to it with the proper amounts. I got this recipe from a foreign land. Norland and the Central Plain don’t have it. I named it ‘Fierce Bomb’,” Shang Liao explained with slight excitement. He pointed at the burning fire, and said, “Dragon King, you can imagine the scene with more flames. It has many other functions. Please forgive me that I can’t show all to you.”
The scene did increase Gu Shenwei’s confidence in Shang Liao. He said, “How do you plan to throw it at the enemy ships? With a catapult?”
“I have my own way. As for detail, I’ll keep it to myself for now. No one can guarantee that there is no spy from Golden Roc Fort. In a word, if Dragon King can lure the enemy ship out, I promise to kill all of them, no matter how many they are.”
Gu Shenwei pondered for a while then answered, “Wait for my news.”
“I will lead the troops to battle the day after tomorrow. I hope to receive your orders as soon as possible.”
Gu Shenwei nodded.
Fierce Bomb was new, so Gu Shenwei decided to think about it carefully. “If used incorrectly, it could prove useless,” he considered.
Gu Shenwei left the workshop on horseback. He started to imagine all of the possibilities, but one problem could not be solved. When cavalry led the charge, even excellent archers could only shoo three to four arrows within a certain distance. If they needed to shoot the Fierce Bomb, they probably could only shoot once.
“Shang Liao concealed the Fierce Bomb’s full power. Perhaps the enemy ships in the western bank of Xiaoyao Lake would force him to show its real power. Only actual combat was the most reliable test.
In this way, we still have to find a way to draw out dozens of the Golden Roc army’s warships.
“It’s time to put Shangguan Fei to use,” Gu Shewei thought.
Although the “three-in-one qigong” experiment had not achieved perfect results, Gu Shenwei thought it was enough. As long as the two divine kung fu did not go against each other, they could be integrated. He thought it unnecessary to turn Shangguan Fei into a kung fu master.
Gu Shenwei did not only keep Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong in the Dragon army to embarrass the Supreme King. The reason Gu Shenwei had saved their lives was for them to pay a great price for what they had done. In Gu Shenwei’s eyes, it was far from enough.
Shangguan Fei dwelled in a remote house, and Maid Lotus came to supervise his practice three times a day.
When Gu Shenwei arrived with guards, Maid Lotus was not there.
Shangguan Fei was apparently surprised by the Dragon King’s arrival. He disguised it with exaggerated enthusiasm, “It’s a great honor to have the Dragon King here before us. When I got up this morning, I felt that something would happen. Dragon King, I am practicing every day. It was said that strict masters produce excellent disciples. If I don’t become an excellent disciple, I will fail to live up to your expectations.”
Shangguan Fei successfully hid his surprise, but he betrayed another thing.
“Did you challenge Chu Nanping to a duel?”
“Unh, not yet. I am in no hurry, because I know I am not his equal. I need more practice…”
That was not Shangguan Fei’s character. In Gu Shenwei’s impression, Shangguan Fei could think of several schemes to defeat Chu Nanping overnight. But now he even did not even try, which meant he concealed a more important scheme.
“How many days have you failed to practice,” Gu Shenwei asked.
Shangguan Fei’s face suddenly changed.