Chapter 853: Deception Is Never Unwelcome

"Alright!" Feng Zhou raised his hand and pointed to the two rows of straw dummies standing on the distant mudflat, "Those are the targets, both far and near."

"Fine, try them all." Xiao Yuanhang said succinctly.

Feng Zhou perked up, turned his head and shouted, "Men! Aim carefully, fire at the distant ones first then the close ones, light it!"

"Yes."

Xiao Yuanhang pressed his daughter's small head into his own neck hollow, "Cover your ears, don't let the shock hurt you."

"Mmm mmm." Tuan Tuan obediently raised a hand to cover the little ears, glanced at father, "Father, don't you need to cover yours?"

"Father doesn't need to," Xiao Yuanhang smiled, "You're the little one! Just keep yours tightly covered."

"Oh," she looked at the crowd, "You aren't big either, quickly cover your ears!"

"Alright! Tuan Tuan is really good." Xiao Ningyuan said nothing more, raised a hand and covered his ears.

Luo Zhenjiang followed closely, "Tuan Tuan still keeps me in mind."

Feng Zhou, Xiao Er and Lu Qi also grinned and covered theirs.

Xiao Ningchen stared intently at the distant straw dummy, "Second brother doesn't…"

"Cough cough cough!" The words were cut off by the father's coughing.

He turned his head and saw his father glaring at him, his face a scowl; Tuan Tuan tells you to cover, you just cover, why so many words!

Xiao Ningchen, Xiao Ningxun, Xiao Ze: "…"

The three raised their hands together and neatly covered their ears.

Tuan Tuan nodded satisfactorily, "Good!"

Several people were at a loss, both laughing and crying.

A squad of soldiers stepped forward, adjusted the cannon barrel's angle, and ignited the fuse.

After a few hissing sounds, a muffled thunderous blast rang out, the cannon body jolted backward, and the muzzle spewed a burst of flame.

On the distant mudflat, the farthest straw dummy fell with a thud, grass fragments and mud spray soaring high.

Immediately after, muffled thunder clapped repeatedly, blowing all the distant straw dummies down.

Feng Zhou, thrilled, shouted, "Switch cartridges! Fire at close range!"

"Yes!"

Another squad adjusted the cannon barrel.

The soldiers standing behind pulled out an empty cartridge, while another squad retrieved a pre‑loaded new cartridge from a wooden box, pushed it into the mother gun, snapped the latch shut with a click, and lit the fuse.

The cannon fire rang out again in succession, hitting all the nearby straw dummies, grass fragments fluttering in the air.

After the two groups of shells fired, the whole episode lasted only a brief moment.

Tuan Tuan lowered the little hand and kissed his father's face, "The sound is really loud! Father! Thank you for letting me cover my ears."

Xiao Yuanhang smiled at his daughter.

"Prince, please look," Feng Zhou beamed, "Whether near or far, it's both fast and accurate."

"With this change, our artillery is stronger than the Red-haired Barbarians'!"

Tuan Tuan frowned slightly, "Feng Zhou, your voice is so loud!"

"Huh?" Feng Zhou only then realized his hand was still on his ear; he had been shouting all along.

He gave an awkward smile, lowered his hand, "I forgot."

Everyone laughed.

"Well shot!" Xiao Ze looked at the wreckage of the straw dummies, eyes flashing, "Feng Zhou, Father Emperor sent you forward first; that was truly wise."

Feng Zhou rejoiced, "Thank you, Seventh Prince, for the praise!"

Xiao Ningyuan excitedly rubbed his hands, circled the two Bofors cannons twice, and hissed.

"Good, good, good!" He said "good" three times in a row, "We've already cut off the Red-haired Barbarians' trade; the goods are now in our hands."

He raised his hand and slapped the cannon body; the palm recoiled from residual heat, but he didn't mind, "Let them see the cannon's power again, they'll just surrender, right?"

Xiao Ningchen looked at Feng Zhou and asked, "How many of these cannons does the Tong have in total?"

Feng Zhou scratched the back of his head, "Fewer than fifty."

"They were all captured when the Quanzhou navy fought the Red-haired Barbarians before, all with some damage."

"These two were the least damaged; after I figured out a method, I had the craftsmen repair these two first, managing to restore them before you arrived."

Xiao Ze frowned, "Only a few dozen?"

Xiao Er shook his head, "A bit few."

Xiao Ze was silent for a moment, then looked at Feng Zhou, "If we restore them all, how long will it take?"

Feng Zhou replied, "All restored? That will take at least a few months."

Xiao Ningxun slowly shook his head, "If we use them to deter the Red-haired Barbarians, a few dozen cannons is far from enough."

"If they learn we only have this few, they certainly won't be scared."

The Training Ground fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Yuanhang stared at the cannon barrel for a while, a flash of light in his eyes, a smile slowly rising at his lips, "No problem."

Everyone turned their heads toward him together.

Xiao Yuanhang, however, did not continue, "Feng Zhou, push the craftsmen to work quickly, make sure all are restored, and spare no money."

"Yes!"

Xiao Ningxun looked at his father's smile, "Father, your smile… is rather intriguing."

Tuan Tuan clutched Xiao Yuanhang's neck and asked eagerly, "Father! Speak quickly! Did you think of a good plan?"

Xiao Yuanhang curled his lip, "Xun Er, you're right; relying only on these few cannons is indeed insufficient."

"But if hundreds of cannons protrude from the ship's side, …"

"How many hundreds of cannons?" Xiao Ningyuan was stunned, "Where did they come from, so many?"

Xiao Yuanhang raised his hand and pointed to the edge of the training ground, where a clump of thick old bamboo grew, the stalks as thick as a bowl's mouth, swaying gently in the wind.

"Select old bamboo, cut it to about the length of a cannon barrel, paint it black and stuff it into the gun ports; as long as the red-haired barbarians don't get close, they will definitely not see through it."

As he spoke, he himself laughed: "Concentrate all the real cannons on one warship, to fire them in a volley."

"The rest we use bamboo tubes, but to them it looks like our warship is bristling with gun muzzles."

Xiao Er looked at him with a face full of admiration, and Lu Qi gave a thumbs-up.

Feng Zhou's mouth opened and closed, opened and closed again, finally he managed to utter: "Your Highness, this method… is absolutely brilliant!"

Xiao Ningyuan stared for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Swapping bamboo for cannons, wonderful! This deal is too profitable!"

Tuan Tuan tugged at her father's collar: "Dad, can bamboo fight in war?"

Luo Zhenjiang chuckled: "Little Tuan Tuan, bamboo can't fight in war, but the Prince's trick can fool people."

Tuan Tuan suddenly understood: "Oh! It's just to deceive them!"

Everyone laughed upon hearing that.

Xiao Yuanhang lowered his head and kissed the top of his daughter's head: "Exactly, just to deceive them."

"Let them think we have several hundred cannons, then they won't dare to attack; if they can't attack, the common people will suffer less."

"This is what is called 'warfare does not disdain deceit.'"

"Dad," Tuan Tuan said, full of admiration, "how are you so clever?"

Xiao Yuanhang looked at his daughter's expression and smiled contentedly.

He turned his head to look at Feng Zhou: "Quanzhou is full of bamboo; tomorrow we will summon the artisans, you personally supervise, and make sure they are lifelike."

"Good!"

More than ten days later, Tuan Tuan ran happily on the beach, constantly picking up pretty seashells to show everyone.

Xiao Ze gazed at the vast sea before him and asked: "Feng Zhou, how much longer until all the cannons are fully repaired?"

Feng Zhou replied: "At most another ten-odd days; those fake cannons made of bamboo tubes have already been transported onto the ship."

Xiao Ze nodded: "Good, then in three days we will set out and land on the island to meet that Governor Kui Yi."