[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers":3,"chapter-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-63":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Restoring the Mountains and Rivers",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364332,4623,"Chapter 63: Accident","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-63",63,"\u003Cp>“Boom… boom… boom…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roar of artillery fire marked the beginning of the great battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two squads of rookie artillerymen exchanged fire; it didn’t matter if they became each other’s targets—what mattered was that the areas near those targets were even more dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing at the observation post on the city gate tower, Li Mu saw everything clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A large area around the enemy artillery position had been cleared out, yet the row of cannons remained intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Issue orders to cease fire coverage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The First Artillery Platoon will conduct free fire; after half an hour, the Second Artillery Platoon will take over.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Send someone to inform the Regional Military Commissioner—he must be told the southern firepower is severely insufficient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ask him to urge the Nanjing Ministry of War to deliver the cannons immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Any firearm—Red Barbarian cannons, three-barreled matchlocks, arquebuses, five-heaven machines, tiger-crouching cannons, fire-spewing crows, flame-oil cabinets, Lu-mi guns, Folangji cannons…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t care what kind—I won’t turn any down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The excellent fire coverage tactic failed due to the incompetence of their own artillery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu did not lose heart—he would compensate for poor accuracy with sheer volume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him stood the Da Yu Dynasty, which could afford to outlast the rebels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinforcements from the Nanjing Ministry of War had arrived in Zhenjiang, including a large quantity of firearms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now there was only one river between them—when else would he press for them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the rebels attacked Zhenjiang and the garrison seized the reinforcements for themselves, it would be a catastrophic loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training a competent archer takes three years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training a matchlock soldier takes only three hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether they hit accurately didn’t matter—so long as they learned to load and fire properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like his own artillerymen, who had never hit anything precise, yet still killed plenty of enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defending a city doesn’t require perfection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having said that, the personal guard turned and left immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rebel camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Begin filling the moat and building bridges simultaneously—each of our factions handles one side, and we strive to breach Yangzhou City as soon as possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As previously agreed, whoever’s troops enter Yangzhou City first shall be installed as the new leader of the Two Huai Alliance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I, Huang Mou, keep my word—if your troops break into Yangzhou first, I will step down and yield the position!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Renlong spoke with great vigor, showing no trace of disappointment at the prospect of losing his leadership.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the first rebel force to arrive beneath Yangzhou’s walls, he commanded the largest army and had prepared the most thoroughly for the assault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Offering the leadership position as bait was mainly to prevent the other factions from slacking off during the siege.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Huang, rest assured—we folk of the jianghu value righteousness above all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If anyone holds back or deliberately preserves strength during the siege, I, Cui Zi, will be the first to oppose him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Master Cui spoke, all rebel commanders echoed in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what they truly thought, they had all now embarked on this path of rebellion—with no turning back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either they would fight their way through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood to become kings, generals, and nobles—or\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>they would fail in their venture and perish along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The imperial court was too powerful; if the various rebel armies wished to avoid being crushed one by one, they must unite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for how hard they would fight during the siege, that would depend on circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one principle must be upheld: each faction may slack off and pretend to contribute—but never allow allies to do the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best option was to attack together, watching each other closely so no one could shirk duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this had obvious drawbacks: no one trusted handing their troops over to another’s command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mixing commands led to conflicting orders and poor coordination among allied forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dividing the siege zones and launching separate attacks became the only viable choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then let it be—may our next meeting take place inside Yangzhou City!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Renlong declared with heroic spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the rebel commanders returned to their posts, the defense of Yangzhou erupted fully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, bridge-laying carts were pushed to the edge of the moat and assembled on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, carts loaded with earth continuously dumped soil into the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The once-clear water rapidly turned murky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General Huang, the plan to draw enemy fire has failed—order the artillery to cease firing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We are too far from the enemy walls; our artillery cannot hit targets accurately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our ammunition is limited—we cannot afford such waste.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once our troops cross the moat, we will concentrate cannons, trebuchets, and battering rams for a unified assault!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the defenders change tactics, Zong Guangtai spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, even before the battle began, he had opposed attacking from the southeast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earlier failures of the siege had made him realize the defenders were formidable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Huang Renlong could not swallow his pride—he insisted on rising from where he had fallen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Zong, halting artillery fire will crush morale.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our ammunition reserves can still last several days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I believe…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Huang Renlong finished speaking, a thunderous explosion shook the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust billowed into the sky; tents near the front lines were flipped into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go find out—what happened up front?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Renlong spat out dirt and roared in fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound came from the artillery position—such a massive disturbance could only mean disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General, one cannon exploded, triggering nearby ammunition.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps because the cannons were packed too tightly and too much ammunition was stored nearby—the entire artillery position was blown apart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not only were the artillerymen decimated, nearby troops were also caught in the blast—at least…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the soldier finished speaking, Huang Renlong rushed toward the artillery position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dust had cleared; the ground was littered with corpses and the moans of the wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene was so horrific—even hardened by battle—he felt sick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Guangtai, who followed him, fared worse—he vomited on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a scholar like him, facing such battlefield carnage was unbearable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who the hell arranged this? Why were the cannons placed so close together, with so much ammunition piled up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Renlong demanded angrily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a classic technical disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cannons exploding from overuse was nothing new.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone who understood artillery tactics knew that after prolonged firing, the barrel must be cooled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the temperature got too high, usage had to stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maintaining safe distances between adjacent cannons during artillery setup was basic common sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Storing all ammunition directly at the artillery position was the greatest taboo of all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chain of technical errors directly caused the disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General, the officer in charge of the artillery was Captain Zhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After assigning duties, he left with his men to recruit new soldiers—he is no longer in camp!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Huang Renlong felt like spitting blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn that Zhou Zekai—I should never have believed his lies!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1160,"2026-06-21T08:09:02.410Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","78847583e75d830704c6aab199c24f021e827bf4d642ec10c4314ff7f4a937ab","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-64","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-62",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]