Chapter 159: Fighting the Northern Rong

The classroom was rowdy, with everyone discussing how to be valued.

Yun Shu is now a Fourth Rank Official; many people toil for thirty or fifty years without ever reaching the Fourth Rank, yet Yun Shu went from the Ninth Rank to the Fourth Rank in a mere few months.

It was all thanks to the little gadgets Yun Shu invented.

What does this signify?

It signifies that if someone in the Science Class becomes an official, as long as they can invent all sorts of strange yet useful things, they can be promoted rapidly.

The discussion inside grew increasingly intense.

Doctor Jiang from next door kicked the door open: "What are you all talking about? It's so noisy, are you going to let anyone teach properly?"

Doctor Jiang knew Yun Shu's teaching habits: lecture through the textbook once, and once finished, go back to his office to tinker with things, answering questions before the next class starts.

However, they usually studied quite diligently, and he didn't know what they were going crazy about today.

Jiang Jin, who was well-acquainted with Doctor Jiang, said: "Master Jiang, do you know that Master Yun is now a Researcher at the Research Institute, a Fourth Rank official?"

Doctor Jiang froze, his tone full of disbelief: "What, he's a Fourth Rank official?"

Jiang Jin nodded: "I heard that if we in the Science Class can get into the Research Institute, we might also be able to land an official position; I don't know if it's true or false."

Doctor Jiang fell silent.

Is there still any hope for him to join the Science Class now?

Forget it, forget it; he is getting on in years and can no longer handle such tossing and turning.

Moreover, he might not necessarily be able to invent as many strange things as Yun Shu.

At this moment, an Eunuch arrived.

This was a little Eunuch from Yan Ning's side, Xiaoyuanzi.

As soon as Xiaoyuanzi entered, he said: "The Crown Princess has said that from now on, whoever can make useful little inventions will be rewarded, and those who do well can enter the Research Institute."

"Master Yun made a Steamship, a Steam Train, and an automatic loom, as well as an improved version of the Telescope; he was rewarded with a total of two thousand taels, along with some rare fabrics."

This was to tell them that they would receive a bonus for anything they created.

Half of the people in the Imperial Academy now come from poor families; five hundred taels is an astronomical figure to them.

A First-Rank Official only earns five hundred taels of silver a year.

If they could also make some little gadgets...

The breathing of several people grew heavy.

Before, they only knew that studying cost money; they never expected that now, if they studied well, they could also earn silver.

Xiaoyuanzi was very satisfied with their reaction and said: "Study well, and remember to respect your teachers and the Dao, otherwise..."

Xiaoyuanzi did not finish, but everyone understood his meaning.

After the person left, a new student asked: "Why the reminder to respect teachers and the Dao?"

The original nineteen people suddenly fell silent.

This was a jab at them.

Someone knew the inside scoop.

"I heard someone hired people to beat up Master Yun, but they were caught by the guards sent by His Highness."

"I heard that because Master Yun is young, the students didn't respect him."

Everyone looked at the original nineteen people.

Their faces were somewhat embarrassed.

Several people gasped; this was too bold, as Master Yun was at least an Eighth-Rank Official before, and his father is the Minister of Personnel.

These people are truly formidable.

Yun Shu was unaware of their discussion.

He had already finished organizing the next two Physics Books and was waiting for them to be printed.

They had almost finished learning the basics of Physics and were just waiting for these two books to be printed.

Yun Shu looked at the patterns on almost every page and began to worry.

The patterns were difficult to carve, and he would get scolded every time he went.

Yun Shu clenched his fist; he must find a suitable assistant, so that things like printing could be handed over to the assistant.

Once the assistant was scolded, they couldn't scold him anymore.

The border.

Several figures were slowly walking toward the side of the Northern Rong.

Every now and then, they would use a Telescope to take a look.

This group was none other than Xiao Huaijin and his son, who were preparing to deal with the Northern Rong, along with the soldiers they brought.

There were not many people, just ten.

General Qi, who was originally stationed at the border, had wanted to take a group of people over to drive them away or kill them.

But Xiao Huaijin rejected this plan.

The Northern Rong now had a Catapult, and they had collected quite a few giant boulders; so many people would just be live targets.

Therefore, Xiao Huaijin proposed selecting ten people to carry Explosive Packages toward the Northern Rong border; the target would be small and flexible, and each person carrying two Explosive Packages would be comparable to bringing a thousand-strong army.

Thus, Xiao Chengtian went over with eight carefully selected soldiers.

At this time, the sky was still dark.

Coming at this time was to catch them off guard.

They moved forward under the cover of night, getting closer and closer to the territory of the Northern Rong.

"Ah—"

At this moment, a Captain was struck in the arm by an arrow.

Xiao Huaijin shouted, "Scatter quickly!"

As he spoke, the few of them scattered and ran.

A giant stone was thrown down, smashing into the spot where they had just been standing.

The few of them gasped; the Beirong were unexpectedly fast.

The young master of the Beirong arrived with a thousand cavalrymen, and seeing only these few people, he sneered, "You dare to come here with just the few of you?"

Xiao Huaijin threw an Explosive Package over with an expressionless face.

The opposing side was instantly blown into countless fragments.

The young master of the Beirong had an arm blown off, fell from his horse, and looked at them in disbelief.

His voice was hoarse: "You, how do you still have this kind of thing?!"

Originally, seeing that Daxia did not continue to bomb them while they were severely weakened, they had assumed these explosives were already used up.

No one expected that they would still have so many of such high-level weapons of mass destruction!

Xiao Huaijin finished him off with a single blade strike.

There were more Beirong soldiers than just these; they quickly scattered and flanked them to prevent them from escaping.

"Bang—"

"Bang—"

Several sounds rang out, and there was basically nothing left of the Beirong soldiers stationed here.

Only a small group of people remained beside the Catapult.

They did not want to move the Catapult for the time being; they wanted to take the Catapult away.

Although Daxia could also make Catapults, there was no reason to refuse one that was already made.

Xiao Huaijin began to shoot arrows.

In a few moments, he had injured quite a few people beside the Catapult.

But very quickly, the Beirong side also reacted; several people took up bows and arrows and shot desperately at Xiao Huaijin.

Xiao Huaijin suddenly felt quite a bit of pressure.

He dodged an arrow aimed at his forehead; the arrow flew almost against his face, leaving a shallow scratch.

At the same time, another arrow was shot toward his heart.

There was absolutely no way to dodge it.

"Clang—"

The sound of the arrow colliding with his armor rang out, and Xiao Huaijin was surprised to discover that the arrow had not injured him, nor had it even left a mark on the armor.

Was the quality of this armor really this good?

Xiao Huaijin fell into deep thought.

The people near the Catapult had already been mostly killed, and the group was preparing to transport the Catapult back.

Who knew there was still one fish that had slipped through the net, his bow and arrow aimed directly at Xiao Huaijin's back.