Chapter 247: The Divine Might General

"Terrifying to this extent!"

Zhao Heng gripped Liang Cheng's arm tightly, struggling not to reveal his trembling legs beneath his long robes.

In order to keep his voice from shaking, he let out a loud roar.

Liang Cheng, however, was in a sorry state; his legs were half-bent from weakness.

But feeling the strength of Zhao Heng's hand on his arm, he braced himself.

He could lose face, but the Emperor could not.

After the initial shock, Dou Wei, Han Zheng, and the others were filled with awe; it took them quite a while to recover their senses.

Immediately, the looks they cast toward the Artillery were filled with desire.

Before this, they had only been guessing.

But now, having seen it with their own eyes, they finally understood why the Yuan Family's two hundred thousand troops had been defeated by Yan Wang.

This thunder-like roar alone would be enough to terrify soldiers on the battlefield.

"Congratulations to the Emperor for obtaining such a divine weapon!" Dou Wei moved his legs with difficulty to stand before Zhao Xu and bowed deeply.

Han Zheng, Liang Kai, Xie Duan, and the others realized what was happening and hurried to follow suit with their congratulations.

They were all calculating in their hearts; they were determined to obtain this Artillery.

Even if it meant being submissive to Zhao Heng or yielding huge interests, they had to acquire this powerful weapon.

"Hahaha..." The submissive appearance of the officials made Zhao Heng feel unprecedentedly exhilarated, just like the moment the Artillery erupted.

The Third Prince looked toward the Second Prince, who was still lying on the ground unconscious.

Originally, he thought he would be very happy, but now he could not feel happy at all.

Indeed, he had made the Second Prince lose face.

But this had also confirmed the immense power of Yan Wang's Artillery.

And such a powerful firearm had been manufactured by Yan Wang.

Without a doubt, from now on, the Artillery would become another important bargaining chip for Yan Wang.

After all, his Imperial Father did not seem to have any intention of making Yan Wang hand over the Art of Cannon Casting.

Exclusive to Yan Wang—this was a hold over everyone.

"All officials, rise." At this moment, Zhao Heng's laughter ceased, and his voice carried a pride and confidence never heard before.

After Yan Wang took control of Yanzhou, the prestige of the Imperial Clan rose greatly, which gave him the backbone to contend with the powerful clans.

Now that the Artillery had appeared, who in the Great Song Imperial Clan could compete?

As long as the Artillery was equipped by the Great Song Imperial Guard Cavalry.

The Great Song Imperial Guard Cavalry would be able to restore its former glory, and he, Zhao Heng, would no longer need to look at the faces of the powerful clans for everything.

Thinking of this, the smugness on his face even faintly revealed a trace of imperial majesty.

Dou Wei noticed Zhao Heng's expression, and his heart sank.

He had never seen Zhao Heng radiate such confidence before.

From now on, the days for them, the officials from the powerful clans at court, would likely be difficult.

Seeing Zhao Heng's gaze shift toward him, he immediately lowered his head honestly.

Seeing this, a cold, imperceptible sneer flashed across the corner of Zhao Heng's mouth.

He had ascended the throne with the support of the Dou Family and the Xie Family.

But over these years, he had also had enough of the arrogant attitude of these two families.

From now on, he would no longer allow the two families to look down on him.

"Just hearing the sound of the cannon, one knows its terror; if one were struck by the Cannonball it fires, I wonder what would happen?" Zhao Xu glanced sideways at the officials.

Looking toward the Yan Wang artilleryman commander in front, his expression was pleasant, "Can you demonstrate the power of its projectile again?"

"Yes, Emperor. However, please have someone build three walls five hundred paces in front of the Artillery," the artilleryman commander said.

The cannonball fired just now had flown off to who knows where.

Zhao Heng was in high spirits and hurriedly ordered the Imperial Guard Cavalry to summon craftsmen.

He also ordered food to be prepared, spending the noon hour in Lin Yuan.

By evening, three walls, each over ten meters long and two meters high, had been built.

At this time, the artilleryman commander reloaded and aimed at the wall five hundred meters away.

"Boom..."

Another loud sound rang out.

Everyone immediately looked toward the wall five hundred meters away.

But it seemed as if nothing had happened.

Zhao Heng's expression was a bit ugly, while Dou Wei and the others secretly chuckled.

"So the Ninth Brother's Artillery is all thunder and no rain; I was frightened for nothing."

The Second Prince had long since woken up.

Because he had lost face, he had been listless for the entire afternoon.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, hating that he had been frightened.

However, after speaking, he realized what he had done and looked at Zhao Heng cautiously.

What he met was Zhao Heng's angry gaze.

The artilleryman commander scratched his head and said, "Emperor, the accuracy of this Artillery is not very high. Let me try again..."

Before he could finish his words, faint shouts were heard.

Looking back, he saw an Imperial Guard Cavalry soldier responsible for the inspection riding over at full speed.

Only when they drew near did his words gradually become clear.

"It hit, it hit, all three walls have been pierced through!" the Cavalry shouted.

"Pierced through!" Hearing this word, the Artilleryman commander breathed a sigh of relief.

To hit on the first shot, that was indeed very lucky.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng's face gradually recovered its smile.

He said to the ministers, "Let's go, follow Us to take a look."

Because the distance was too great, they could not see very clearly.

Therefore, they could not observe at all that the walls had been pierced through.

The ministers were filled with suspicion and uncertainty; three walls five hundred meters away had been directly pierced through.

To them, this was simply impossible.

If it were truly so, this Artillery could indeed be called the number one sharp weapon of Great Song.

Yet this skepticism vanished into thin air as they saw it with their own eyes.

The Imperial Guard Cavalry had not been wrong; they arrived before the three walls.

On the left side of each of the three walls was a hole.

Scattered on the ground were the pulverized fragments of blue bricks from the impact.

Zhao Heng's spirits were greatly lifted, and he said, "My beloved ministers, will you accompany Us to go find where this Cannonball has flown to?"

Having said this, he headed forward himself and ordered the Imperial Guard Cavalry to search on horseback within Lin Yuan.

When only a red speck of the sunset remained before it sank below the horizon.

An Imperial Guard soldier shouted, "Your Majesty, it has been found."

Zhao Heng and the ministers looked toward the sound and saw the black projectile lying quietly at the base of a tree.

And this place was one thousand paces away from the walls.

"Piercing through three walls and still flying one thousand paces, incredible, incredible." Yang Feng picked up the Cannonball and felt a heaviness in his hand.

He said to Zhao Heng, "Your Majesty, this Iron Ball weighs over ten jin."

"What, over ten jin!"

"How is this possible."

"I never imagined this Artillery could fire an Iron Ball of over ten jin so far; it truly lives up to its reputation."

"..."

Zhao Heng hurriedly took the Iron Ball from Yang Feng's hand, and it was indeed as Yang Feng had said.

Now, he was not only excited, but also felt an added layer of shock.

Dou Wei and the others no longer had any doubts, their eyes flickering as they wondered what schemes to hatch.

"Tie a red cloth on this piece of Artillery and transport it back to the Imperial Palace; I shall personally inscribe a name for it—let it be called the Divine Might General!" Zhao Heng laughed heartily.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Imperial Guard soldiers shouted in unison.

Zhao Heng continued, "Prepare a banquet in the palace; tonight, We shall host a grand banquet for all the ministers."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Dou Wei and the others felt sour in their hearts.

But who would dare not agree now? With a sharp weapon like the Artillery, the Imperial Clan was bound to hold the upper hand over them.

None of them wanted to be the first target suppressed by Zhao Heng.

That night.

The celebration in the palace was like the Lantern Festival, with lanterns hanging from every treetop.

It was not until midnight that the Wine banquet finally dispersed.

Harboring different thoughts, the ministers each returned home.