Chapter 395: Wang Chong Ascends to Heaven

"Subjugating Xiliang is much simpler; what I fear is that this is merely bait from the Northern Di," Zhao Xu said, knitting his brows.

Although the Northern Di is the mortal enemy of the Great Song, he had to admit that this maneuver by the Northern Di was extremely shrewd.

This was simply the same tactic as the contemporary United States inciting small nations to provoke major powers, fighting a proxy war.

Now that Xiliang had successfully enraged the Great Song, his Imperial Father and the entire court of civil and military officials had unanimously decided to send troops.

There was no doubt that the Northwest of the Great Song would become a meat grinder between the three nations.

After all, once the Great Song went to war with Xiliang, the Northern Di would certainly enter the fray.

"It is just that since the Emperor has made up his mind, even if the Northern Di participates, this war is likely unavoidable," Chang Wei frowned, then relaxed his expression, "However, this seems to be a good thing for Your Highness."

Liu Fu, lost in thought, also nodded.

Chang Wei continued, "The Northern Di is currently researching and manufacturing Artillery, and sooner or later they will attack Yanzhou. Rather than letting us in Yanzhou resist the Northern Di alone, it is better to join the Imperial Guard and the Shizu Army this time to strike hard at Xiliang and the Northern Di."

Zhao Xu deeply agreed.

Fighting alone is never as good as having three helpers for one hero.

Even if these three helpers were not particularly impressive.

Yet even so, caution was still paramount, as he did not know if the Northern Di had other conspiracies.

Moreover, the Northern Di clearly wanted to use this war to severely damage the military strength of the Great Song, paving the way for their southward advance.

"It seems they have great confidence in their Bronze Cannon," Zhao Xu sneered.

Xu Ke had told him about the Northern Di requesting copperware from Xiliang.

He guessed after a moment's thought that the Northern Di was building Bronze Cannons.

If that Missionary from the country of Ross only knew this kind of Artillery, he would be at ease.

Because compared to Iron Cannons, the technical requirements for Bronze Cannons are very low, relying merely on the ductility of bronze material.

Whereas Iron Cannons and Steel Cannons test one's steel smelting capabilities.

This is the foundation of industry.

At the same time, the shortcomings of the Bronze Cannon are significant.

One is that it is extremely expensive.

The Great Song is a copper-poor nation, and copper is hard to come by, which will severely limit the number of Artillery the Northern Di can build.

Secondly, bronze conducts heat quickly, making it impossible to achieve rapid fire like a Wrought Iron Cannon.

Consequently, they will not have the advantage when fighting a war.

Unable to be mass-produced and having a slow rate of fire, these two points were already surpassed by his own Artillery.

Moreover, his Artillery had been machined, and its range was even greater than before.

"Hmph, the Artilleryman of the Prince's Personal Army will teach them a lesson," Chang Wei raised his eyebrows.

"Since this battle is unavoidable, you should start preparing from now on," Zhao Xu said.

With the matter of the Third Prince dragging on until now, it was about to enter the eighth month.

According to Zhao Heng's intentions, this war was to be fought in the autumn and winter seasons, and there was not much time left.

At the same time, he also felt annoyed by this powerful enemy that had long entrenched itself in the North and constantly harassed Yanzhou.

Therefore, he also gladly supported this punitive war.

One wanted to wash away the shame of the Great Song, the other wanted to severely damage the Northern Di.

Thinking of this, he asked, "How is the equipping of the Bayonet for the Flintlock coming along?"

"Eighty percent of the soldiers are equipped, and another twenty percent will finish it," Chang Wei said, feeling a surge of excitement at the mention of this.

In this way, the advantages of the Flintlock would be fully utilized in the war.

Zhao Xu showed a satisfied expression.

The Bayonet is quite simple to make; after all, now that there is the Water-Powered Trip Hammer, forging a Weapon is very simple.

Having given instructions to Chang Wei.

Zhao Xu said to Liu Fu, "Your task is still to organize the laborers and grain, and at the same time, while war is war, the development and construction of Yanzhou cannot stop."

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu responded.

Ordering the two to return, Zhao Xu continued to write his "Naval Training Manual".

At this moment, Wang Ying suddenly ran in in a great hurry, his face deathly pale.

Feng'er followed behind Wang Ying, panting, and scolded, "Director Wang, how can you trespass into the Prince's Mansion?"

The servant said that Wang Ying had arrived at the gate of the Prince's Mansion and barged in without waiting for an announcement.

Wang Ying had an expression as if he were about to cry.

He first apologized to Feng'er, then said, "Your Highness, something has happened to Wang Chong."

"What is it?" Zhao Xu asked. Seeing that Wang Ying's state was not right, his heart immediately sank.

"Wang Chong, he... he flew away," Wang Ying said stuttering.

Feng'er giggled, "Director Wang, are you joking? How could Wang Chong fly?"

Wang Ying pulled a long face and dragged Zhao Xu outside, "Your Highness, this subordinate is not lying to you, he is right up in the sky!"

Zhao Xu was dragged outside by Wang Ying, and looking up in the direction of his hand, he was immediately drenched in a cold sweat.

He saw a huge spherical object floating in the sky at this moment, with what appeared to be Flame burning.

A person could vaguely be seen on it.

This thing was none other than a Hot Air Balloon.

He returned to the study to pick up the Telescope and looked up; it was indeed Wang Chong standing on it.

At this moment, Wang Chong also seemed very panicked, shouting something continuously on the Hot Air Balloon.

But because the distance was too great, they could not hear him at all.

Just at this moment, a servant of the Prince's Mansion reported that students from the Technology Academy, accompanied by guards, requested an audience.

He immediately ordered the students to come in.

"What on earth is going on!" Zhao Xu lost his temper at the students for the first time.

The three students all hung their heads, and one of them said, "Your Highness has recently valued Qu Sheng and others who excel in Chemistry, while neglecting those of us who excel in Physics, so Wang Chong approached the three of us, saying he wanted to create something impressive to surprise Your Highness."

The student on the left added, "Your Highness once said that air rises when heated, which is the principle of a Hot Air Balloon, and you even drew the structure of a Hot Air Balloon in the textbook, so Wang Chong decided to build one."

"We cannot leave the academy without permission, but Wang Chong is an official of the Weaponry Bureau and can come and go freely, so he found people outside to sew the envelope of the Hot Air Balloon; today was supposed to be a secret test, but we didn't expect the rope to be improperly secured, and the Hot Air Balloon flew away," the student on the right said, hanging his head.

"You few are far too bold." Zhao Xu pointed at the three students and raised his hand to strike, causing the three to shrink their heads in fear.

However, his hand stopped; he could not suppress this kind of death-defying technical exploration.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for Yanzhou to produce true talent.

It was just that whether Wang Chong could still survive was truly unknown.

"Follow me to give chase." He immediately ordered horses to be prepared and went off in pursuit of Wang Chong's Hot Air Balloon.

The earliest record of a Hot Air Balloon in the modern era was in 1782, which is the eighteenth century.

At that time, this Hot Air Balloon was sewn from linen and paper.

The fuel was straw and wool, and when it flew, a cage was hung underneath, inside which were stuffed chickens, ducks, and sheep.

This balloon flew to an altitude of 450 meters and drifted in the air for eight minutes.

The French King Louis XVI at the time attended this performance.

According to the students' account, Wang Chong's fuel was also straw mixed with lamp oil, so it should not fly far.

Now, one can only hope that this Hot Air Balloon can land safely.

Otherwise, Wang Chong will truly be ascending to heaven.