Chapter 34: Xuance Goes on an Envoy Mission, Mortar Shells

At this moment, Li Er had also arrived at the Hibiscus Garden early.

Not only that, Li Er had also brought along Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui, as there were truly some matters he wished to consult Su Liang about.

Over the past two days, Li Er had received news from the northern borders of the Great Tang one after another, confirming that the Kumoxi and Khitan had formed a coalition, with their current military strength at no less than one hundred thousand; this was information that had been investigated by Su Liang’s Secret Agents.

Ever since the grand wedding with Princess Changle...

Su Liang had gifted all 7,200 of the black-clad, black-robed Secret Agents to Li Er. From then on, the Secret Agents were primarily under Li Er, though Su Liang could, of course, still mobilize them.

The two of them served as the primary and secondary leaders.

Today, the several ministers had come precisely for this matter; unable to find a proper solution, everyone felt deeply uneasy.

If many small nations were to unite, they would have nearly four hundred thousand men, while the Great Tang at this time only had an army of six hundred thousand.

If these many small nations were to take military action against the Great Tang, it would be a force that could not be ignored, and the consequences would be unimaginable!!

As for the news from the northern border, Su Liang was naturally aware of it as well.

Just before Li Er and the others arrived, Su Liang had been discussing countermeasures with Wang Xuance.

Su Liang intended to have Wang Xuance represent the Great Tang as an envoy to the Shiwei, the various Mohe tribes, and the Baiqi, which would also serve as a way to see just how much capability Wang Xuance truly possessed.

In history, Wang Xuance was a figure who could destroy a nation single-handedly; it was unknown for what reason Li Er later chose not to make heavy use of him.

Such matters were not easy to bring up and ask Li Er about.

Su Liang still trusted Wang Xuance; the tasks Su Liang entrusted to him were always handled perfectly, and in some areas Su Liang had not considered, Wang Xuance had considered them for him.

It was just that Wang Xuance was slightly young at the moment, and he needed to use a few nations to properly hone his skills.

Seeing that everyone had arrived at the Hibiscus Garden, Su Liang immediately looked at Li Er and said, "Your Majesty, I wish to request a position for Wang Xuance."

Li Er immediately became interested and, not caring about other things since he had plenty of time today, asked right away, "Oh? I wonder what position my virtuous son-in-law wishes to request?"

"Assistant Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies!!" Su Liang said nonchalantly.

"This... this..." Fang Xuanling, standing to the side, was speechless for a long time.

This Assistant Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies was a position of the upper sixth rank!

As one of the Nine Ministers of the Great Tang central government, the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies had one Minister of the upper third rank, two Vice Ministers of the upper fourth rank, and one Assistant Minister of the upper sixth rank...

The highest official of the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies, the Minister, was not only equivalent to a modern-day Minister of Foreign Affairs, but his power was even greater than that of a modern-day Minister of Foreign Affairs.

One could imagine how important this Assistant Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies was!

A moment later, Fang Xuanling continued, "Every move and every word of an official in the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies represents the national prestige and face of the Great Tang; this cannot be treated as child's play... Imperial Son-in-Law!"

Du Ruhui immediately took over the conversation and said, "Imperial Son-in-Law, you are putting His Majesty in a difficult position! Regardless of what talents Wang Xuance may have, conferring an official title without merit... is truly inappropriate."

Li Er waved his hand to interrupt, "Keming, Xuanling, you two should first listen to the Imperial Son-in-Law finish what he has to say; remember, do not draw conclusions easily."

"Have you not had your faces slapped fast enough during this period?"

"Yes, yes, yes, the Imperial Son-in-Law never shoots without a target; you all should listen to the Imperial Son-in-Law finish speaking," Qin Qiong also chimed in at this moment.

Seeing that everyone had finally quieted down and was no longer disturbing Su Liang.

Su Liang then spoke calmly, "I intend to have Wang Xuance represent the Great Tang as an envoy to the Shiwei, the various Mohe tribes, and the Baiqi. Since he is representing the Great Tang on this trip, it would be truly inappropriate if he held no official rank, so I ask Your Majesty to agree to this matter."

As his voice fell, Fang Xuanling immediately asked, "Is the Imperial Son-in-Law trying to win them over through peaceful submission?"

Su Liang could not help but think to himself that this Fang Xuanling’s brain was fast enough.

He then admitted, "Yes! To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme strategy."

"If we can win them over through peaceful submission this time, that would be the best result, and it also happens to train Wang Xuance."

"Although the Shiwei and the various Mohe tribes would not dare to act rashly, one must always be prepared for the unexpected; we need to be fully prepared."

"What do you ministers think about this matter?"

Cheng Yaojin was unhappy upon hearing this and immediately said, "Does the Imperial Son-in-Law look down on us military generals? The Great Tang was won by us military generals; could it be that we are afraid of those foreigners?"

He then snorted coldly, "Hmph... if they dare to take up arms against our Great Tang, our Great Tang’s Twelve Guards and over five hundred thousand soldiers are not to be trifled with."

"I, Old Cheng, will be the first to charge into battle and kill the enemy..."

Before Cheng Yaojin could finish, Qin Qiong hurriedly pulled his good brother, telling him not to say more and signaling him to listen quietly to the end of Su Liang’s words.

Su Liang smiled indifferently, "Hehe... if the Duke of Lu wishes to charge into battle and kill the enemy, there are plenty of places to do so; there is no need to be in such a hurry."

"If there is an opportunity, I will certainly accompany the Duke of Lu to charge into battle and have a good time."

"At that time, I will definitely let the Duke of Lu enjoy himself to the fullest!"

Just then, Li Er spoke up, "Virtuous son-in-law... Wang Xuance currently has no merit, so this matter is truly difficult to handle. The Assistant Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies is an official position of the sixth rank. Not to mention those ministers in the court, just a Wei Zheng alone is enough to give me a headache, and he has scolded me more than once."

"When I originally conferred upon you the title of Prince of Chu, I bore all the pressure from the court for you."

Su Liang was aware of this matter; Li Er had indeed shouldered everything back then.

He then looked at Li Er and said, "It does not necessarily have to be known to everyone; Your Majesty only needs to issue a secret decree. It is enough to prove to the foreigners that Wang Xuance is an Assistant Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Ceremonies of our Great Tang."

"Furthermore, Your Majesty does not need to worry about the envoy mission; the Secret Agents have already made arrangements over there."

"This time, Wang Xuance will only take thirty White-Robed Guards with him on his mission to the various nations."

Seeing that Su Liang had already made arrangements, Li Er immediately agreed. If Wang Xuance succeeded in winning them over through peaceful submission, there would naturally be no criticism in the court.

Subsequently, Li Er issued the decree, and Wang Xuance immediately accepted the order and departed.

Just as this matter came to an end, Fang Xuanling immediately looked at Su Liang and asked, "Regarding the remnants of the Eastern Turks, we all want to hear what good ideas the Imperial Son-in-Law has?"

"Hehe... as for those Turkic remnants who are still unwilling to submit to the Great Tang, we can just return the favor for how the Turks treated us before!" Su Liang laughed.

Su Liang then began to explain guerrilla warfare to everyone...

By utilizing the advantage of light cavalry being as swift as shadows and as fast as the wind, we can frequently harass the Turkic remnants; there is no need to wipe them out completely, as they are, after all, a large amount of free labor.

Wouldn't it be great to take them to mine for ore?

Although the Turks were indeed too cruel to the people of the Great Tang before, repeatedly entering the Great Tang territory to raid, Su Liang would not hold a grudge against the Turks who had already submitted to the Tang.

As for those Turkic remnants who still refuse to submit to the Great Tang, it is nothing more than them having done things that the people of the Great Tang cannot tolerate: treating the people of the Great Tang as "two-legged sheep" and eating them as food.

By comparison, Su Liang not wiping them out completely could be considered merciful.

It is also time to teach them a profound lesson.

A moment later.

Li Er spoke, "Virtuous son-in-law, are you trying to use their own methods against them?"

"Yes!!" Su Liang immediately confirmed.

"Each unit of light cavalry only needs one hundred men; we will sustain the war through the war itself!"

"Good... good..."

"In this way, not only can we achieve the best deterrent effect with the minimum military force, but we can also improve the quality of life for our Great Tang soldiers."

Du Ruhui clapped and praised upon hearing this.

Fang Xuanling, standing to the side, also looked at Li Er with excitement and said, "The Imperial Son-in-Law’s move will not only expand the territory for our Great Tang but also eliminate the need to bear additional military pay for the soldiers; it is truly wonderful... truly wonderful!!"

Following Su Liang’s method, it was actually very easy for the Great Tang to take action against the Turkic remnants.

After all, the Turkic remnants had no city walls or gates; once one entered the Turkic territory, it would be a direct drive, with no further obstacles.

Hearing everyone’s words, Li Er nodded without the slightest hesitation.

After this matter.

Su Liang looked at Li Er and said, "Your Majesty, could you lend me a unit after a while? I have some things I want to experiment with."

Although he did not know what Su Liang intended to do, Li Er understood one thing: everything in Su Liang’s hands was definitely good stuff, so he nodded heavily without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh... when do you need them, virtuous son-in-law? How many men do you need?" Li Er asked immediately.

"Of course, the sooner the better; as for the number of people... just ten thousand will do," Su Liang said.

At this moment, Su Liang was planning to make pistols and mortars as well.

Such matters must be handled by borrowing men from Li Er, and specifically, borrowing Li Er’s closest Thousand-Ox Guards.

The current Thousand-Ox Guards, with the left and right wings totaling thirty thousand men, did not require much from Su Liang; ten thousand men would be enough to take charge of this matter, and this way, it could be built in one month at the fastest.

The equipment produced could just happen to outfit ten thousand men, and by then, Su Liang would return a ten-thousand-strong army with extremely strong combat power to Li Er.

"I need Your Majesty’s Thousand-Ox Guards, just ten thousand men," Su Liang said calmly.

As his voice fell, Li Er nodded heavily, watching Su Liang quietly, though he was incredibly puzzled in his heart.

Li Er immediately asked, "This... what exactly are you trying to make, virtuous son-in-law? And you insist on having my Thousand-Ox Guards."

"Hehe... the Thousand-Ox Guards are Your Majesty’s personal guards; I suppose the Imperial Son-in-Law is not at ease leaving some matters to laborers, which is why he requested them from Your Majesty," Cheng Yaojin said carelessly.

Li Er immediately looked at Su Liang and asked, "Virtuous son-in-law, could it be for the good things you mentioned two days ago?"

"Hehe... it is precisely for this matter; the items have long been prepared, and we will go to Taoyuan Mountain in a while to test them," Su Liang said.

Su Liang had not only produced pumpkin grenades, but he had also worked tirelessly over the past two days to build mortars.

It was just that the time was too short, and Su Liang could only build 60mm mortars.

A quarter of an hour later.

Su Liang sat in a carriage, leading everyone toward the desolate area of Taoyuan Mountain.

Inside the carriage at this moment, the five people besides Su Liang were all staring fixedly at the large black box in front of them.

No matter how they asked, Su Liang simply would not say what it was, only telling them that they would naturally know when they arrived.

Su Liang was truly afraid that they would mess around; if they accidentally pulled the pin of a grenade, that would be no laughing matter.

That would cost lives.

Half an hour later.

The group arrived at a desolate area of Taoyuan Mountain.

Su Liang chuckled to himself, "Today, I will let you all see clearly what a modern weapon of war is."

"Don't you all want to know what this is? This is called a grenade; it looks like a pumpkin, so I call it a pumpkin grenade," Su Liang said, holding the pumpkin grenade in his hand and looking at everyone.

In the following ten minutes or so, Su Liang gave everyone a detailed introduction to the specific power and use of the grenade.

After Su Liang finished speaking, he pointed to a dilapidated, uninhabited house in front of him and looked at the group, saying, "Everyone, let's first take a look at the power of a grenade."

Su Liang then pulled the ring and effortlessly threw the grenade into the dilapidated house fifty meters away.

Following this, a violent "bang..." explosion rang out.

The group was immediately given quite a scare, though fortunately, Su Liang had explained it to them beforehand, and they had made the necessary preparations.

However, the Thousand Bull Guards standing guard not far away were not so calm; hearing the sound, Li Junxian immediately led dozens of Thousand Bull Guards running over.

Seeing this, Li Shimin immediately waved his hand, signaling them to stand down.

When the smoke and dust cleared, everyone was dumbfounded.

This... this...

There was no trace of the house left.

"Damn! Damn! You... you scared the life out of me, Old Cheng..."

Cheng Yaojin, the first to recover his senses, immediately cursed and grumbled.

"Imperial... Imperial Son-in-Law, this thing is a weapon of war," Qin Qiong also said, still feeling a lingering fear.

"If this were to be used in coordination with the Imperial Son-in-Law's hot air balloon, wouldn't we be invincible?"

Du Ruhui, who had just reacted, suddenly said.

Damn... as expected of Lord Du, he has already... already invented the concept of an airdrop.

Su Liang couldn't help but think to himself; it hadn't been long, and the term "airdrop" had already slipped from Du Ruhui's lips—he truly lived up to his reputation as "Du the Decisive."

At this moment, Li Shimin was silent, thinking to himself: If the things in the small box are this powerful, then wouldn't the things in the large box be...

He then looked at Su Liang with a profound gaze: "Good son-in-law, what is in that large box of yours?"

Hearing this, the others all reacted as well, their gazes fixed intently on Su Liang.

Su Liang smiled slightly, then took out the mortar and looked at them, saying: "This is called a mortar; you can understand it as using a bow and arrow to launch a grenade."

"However, compared to a bow and arrow, its range is much further, and the grenade is also a larger version, called a mortar shell."

"If this were fired from within the Hibiscus Garden right now..."

Hearing this, everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for what Su Liang would say next.

Then, Su Liang's words fell slowly.

"I'm afraid it could blow up Pingkang Ward."

"Hiss..."

Everyone present gasped in unison; wouldn't that mean it has a range of eleven or twelve li?

"Hehe... would you all like to try it?" Su Liang asked, looking at the group with a slight smile.

The group became even more interested.

Half an hour later.

The Thousand Bull Guards reported that they had secured the hilltop ten li ahead and that there was no one within a radius of two li.

Li Shimin signaled to Su Liang that he could begin.

Su Liang was already prepared.

The next moment, everyone only heard a "bang."

Before they could even see the shadow of the mortar shell, they heard another "boom" a breath later, still hitting that same already-shattered house.

The group immediately went forward to inspect the situation.

They saw a crater nearly three feet deep; this was far more powerful than the pumpkin grenades Su Liang had described.

Su Liang then began to introduce the PP93 60mm mortar in detail...

The group only knew that the mortar Su Liang spoke of weighed a full 36 jin, and a single shell weighed about three and a half jin.

The minimum range was fifty meters, and the maximum range was a little over eleven li.

The lethal radius was even as much as five zhang.

With just a simple shot, a small house could be razed to the ground in an instant...