Chapter 9: Bandit Siege

"Son, what are you doing? Why can't your father understand?"

Liu Dafu watched as Liu Zheng ordered the fifty able-bodied men sent by Lu Zhengyi to bring over a large pile of bluestone. Then, he began to fire up the kiln. He was a bit confused.

This broken stone—what kind of treasure could be burned out of it?

Qin Zhangfeng, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, "Young Master, if it's rolling stones, Yangzhou will surely be prepared... Could it be that you want to use hot stones to attack the Bandits? That is indeed a good method!"

Liu Zheng's mouth twitched; this Qin Zhangfeng looked like a smart person, but this guess really made him want to spit out his food. Of course, this couldn't be blamed on him; how would people in this ancient era understand these things?

"Just wait and see!"

Liu Zheng gave a mysterious smile and did not explain further.

Burning lime is actually not difficult. It falls into the category of "knowing is hard, doing is easy," and ancient people naturally did not understand this. But with a little guidance, the burning process would become simple.

Fifty people, following Liu Zheng's instructions, quickly began to operate. However, because time was limited, Liu Zheng used the Countercurrent Calcination Process. This calcination method produces lime faster, but it is very easy to result in over-burning or under-burning, so the control of the heat must be very precise.

Therefore, it goes without saying.

The first two kilns were complete failures.

"Son, let's run away quickly!"

At Liu Dafu's words, Liu Zheng turned back and kicked him.

"Continue!"

Time passed bit by bit.

There were three days left. While burning the lime, Liu Zheng observed the weather. A heavy rain was about to fall; this was unavoidable. It all depended on whether his lime could be successfully produced!

At night.

Qin Zhangfeng sat in a corner, his eyes flickering as he watched all of this, wondering what he was thinking.

At this moment, on the walls of Yangzhou City, heads were moving.

Lu Zhengyi had mobilized all the soldiers and civilians in the city to prepare for the defense; all kinds of rolling stones, oil cauldrons, and arrows were being sent up continuously.

The night grew darker.

Lu Zhengyi stood on the wall, looked out, and couldn't help but frown: "These Bandits are growing stronger by the day. In just two days, they have gathered over four thousand men. What is to be done?"

"My Lord, you must be cautious! Our eight hundred Garrison, how can they be a match for the Bandits?"

"How can my entire Yangzhou rely on that yellow-mouthed child? My Lord, we must capture that Qin Zhangfeng and hand him over to the Bandits to ensure the safety of our Yangzhou!"

Several Counselors beside him were frantic and at their wits' end.

"Shut your mouths!"

Lu Zhengyi scolded angrily: "I am a dignified County Marquis of the Longyan Dynasty, in such a large Yangzhou, how can I repeatedly play along with those Bandits? Where would the prestige of the government be? Do not speak of this again! Furthermore, that County Marquis Liu is a colleague; to go back on one's word, is that what a real man would do?"

The Counselors looked at each other, sorrowful and silent.

Just then, a horse and a rider came galloping up.

"Envoy from Liangzhou Prefecture!"

Everyone respectfully welcomed them.

The messenger looked at Lu Zhengyi and smiled slightly: "Is this a private Han from the Prefect, My Lord?"

Lu Zhengyi did not dare to be slow: "Please, Special Envoy, read it!"

"The father and son of the Liu Family are about to take office as the Yinzhou County Marquis. Liu Dahao bought his office with silver and is likely not skilled in governance. His son is notoriously dissolute, indulging in wine and women, causing his family fortune to decline, and he brought great shame to the Poetry Gathering. I ask County Marquis Lu to observe his character, correct his behavior, and if forced by necessity, you may act at your own discretion! County Marquis Lu, do you understand?"

The Special Envoy wore a meaningful smile.

Everyone was stunned.

Lu Zhengyi's face also turned dark.

This Liu father and son were this kind of trash?

This letter's implication was strong enough. It seemed this Liu father and son had offended the Prefect, who had directly told him he "may act at his own discretion"! That is to say, even if he killed this pair, Prefect Chen Ping would cover for him!

The crowd immediately burst into laughter.

"My Lord, this fellow actually bought his office!"

"My Lord, I have also heard that this child is a famous playboy who squandered all of Liu Dafu's family wealth, and only then bought a County Marquis title to go take office. Poor Yinzhou, it is already barren, alas..."

Lu Zhengyi looked at the Special Envoy and asked: "Is this true?"

The Special Envoy chuckled and listed the information coming from Liangzhou as if he knew it by heart, treating this Liu father and son as a fallen wealthy family, a bunch of scoundrels who wanted to be officials to prey on the local people.

"Preposterous, absolutely preposterous!"

Lu Zhengyi's face darkened, and he shouted angrily: "Follow me to capture these two! This fellow almost ruined my important business!"

With that, he took a hundred soldiers and rode toward the Shichang.

At this time, Liu Zheng was staring with bloodshot eyes at his kiln of lime. In the past two days, he had tried dozens of times. Yet every time it ended in failure, which made him feel that since he had transmigrated back, wanting to rely on modern technology to make a comeback was not that simple. Seeing that dawn was approaching and the weather was getting more humid, he feared that by early morning, there would be a downpour.

By then, if he still couldn't produce any results, losing face would be a small matter, but Qin Zhangfeng's life might be lost.

He was pacing back and forth in anxiety.

Outside the door came the sound of weapons clashing, people shouting, and horses neighing—a scene of chaos.

"Who goes there?"

Liu Zheng shouted angrily, only to see Lu Zhengyi leading a group of soldiers, looking murderous. Qin Zhangfeng saw that the visitors were ill-intentioned and picked up his long saber to protect Liu Zheng.

"What is the meaning of this, My Lord?"

Liu Zheng frowned.

Lu Zhengyi snorted: "You brat, you dare to deceive me? Take them all down!"

Liu Dahao was terrified: "Why is Lord Lu doing this?"

Qin Zhangfeng shouted angrily and was about to move.

Liu Zheng quickly pulled him back and asked with a smile: "What is the meaning of this, Lord Lu?"

At this moment, those Counselors also arrived, pointing angrily at Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng, denouncing their various crimes, mostly being playboys, spendthrifts, and buying official positions with money; Liu Dahao was furious, but he dared not retort.

Even Qin Zhangfeng looked at Liu Zheng with surprise.

Liu Zheng, however, laughed heartily and said magnanimously, "My father used money to donate for an official position, which is recognized by the Longyan Dynasty; which commandment did he violate?"

"This..."

Lu Zhengyi was suddenly speechless.

Liu Zheng sneered, "I, Liu Zheng, disgraced the Poetry Gathering? Do you know that most of the poems recently spread were written by my hand? Although I am a playboy, what crime have I committed?"

"You, you, you..."

Lu Zhengyi was trembling with rage.

Liu Zheng shook his head with a smile, "It is you, Counselor Lu, who go back on your word; that is truly not the conduct of a gentleman!"

"Presumptuous!"

"How dare you insult the Counselor?"

"Quickly, capture him!"

"Are you lot spies sent by the Bandits?"

The Counselors were all anxious, hurling various insults and mockery.

Liu Zheng looked at the indecisive Lu Zhengyi and suddenly smiled, "Counselor does not believe me? Fine, then why don't you have the mind to make a wager with me?"

"I shall sign a Military Order!"

"If I cannot successfully repel the enemy by tomorrow, my father and I shall be executed on the spot!"

Everyone was shocked to hear this.

Qin Zhangfeng's eyes were red, "Young Master, you absolutely must not! This matter started because of me, Zhangfeng; you must not risk your life, just come at me if you have any issues!"

He shouted fiercely.

With a wave of his long saber, the whole scene fell into chaos.

Lu Zhengyi waved his hand to stop the soldiers, looked at Liu Zheng, and asked, "How shall we wager?"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily, casually took out the ten thousand taels of Silver Notes from his pack, slapped them onto the table and chair beside him with a bang, and said proudly, "If I lose, I will donate ten thousand taels of silver to be used for the construction of Yangzhou!"

"What?"

"Ten thousand taels?"

"This..."

At this, the crowd surged, and mouths watered uncontrollably.

Lu Zhengyi's eyelids also twitched.

In these chaotic times, ten thousand taels of silver was no small sum.

"And if you win?"

Lu Zhengyi could not resist the temptation of so much silver.

Liu Zheng sneered, "If I win, I hope to be able to use two hundred taels of silver to hire fifty of your soldiers to escort us to Yinzhou, and protect us for one month, that is enough!"

Lu Zhengyi calculated for a moment.

These Garrison soldiers only had a monthly salary of ten coins, which was half a tael of silver.

Calculated this way, it was not a loss at all.

"Fine!"

Lu Zhengyi pondered for a moment and said, "If you cannot repel the enemy, don't blame me for handing over Qin Zhangfeng!"

After the crowd left, Liu Zheng finally let out a deep breath.

He knew he had just walked through the gates of hell. This Lu Zhengyi was indecisive and fickle; he was not someone to work with.

"My son..."

"Young Master!"

Liu Dahao and Qin Zhangfeng wanted to say something, but were stopped by Liu Zheng with a shake of his head.

Just at the Zi hour of this second day, one batch was finally completed successfully!

Although the crowd did not know what this was, hearing that it was a success, they all congratulated each other. But time did not allow them to rest; if they wanted this Lime to be effective, they needed at least three batches to succeed!

When the sky was just beginning to brighten, at the second quarter of the Mao hour.

The rain finally came.

In a barren place like the Northwest of Yangzhou, rain was a rare thing, and along the way, the common people used all kinds of pots, bowls, and basins as containers to catch the rainwater. But today's rain was not a sweet dew for Yangzhou City.

Because once it rained, the oil-drenched Rockets would lose their deterrent power, and the Bandits' combat effectiveness would instead be even greater.

"Counselor, the enemy's momentum is unstoppable!"

"That Liu Family Young Master still hasn't thought of a way to defend the city; he should be executed on the spot!"

Outside the city, the Bandits had already begun to clamor, with people shouting and horses neighing, extremely arrogant.

"Arrest them for me!"

Lu Zhengyi could not wait any longer and shouted angrily.

"Coming, coming, everyone make way!"

Just at this moment, several pushcarts were wheeled over, covered with Oilcloth, looking like pieces of stone.

The crowd burst into laughter.

"Young Master Liu, what is this?"

"Could this be your method to repel the enemy?"

"A laughingstock! We already have enough rolling stones prepared!"

They mocked him one after another, feeling that this matter was absurd.

Liu Zheng braved the rain, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Lu, you may order the soldiers to place one cart every five zhang and launch them with the Catapult, but you must wrap the hands and feet with sheepskin, as this substance is highly lethal!"

These words made the others burst into laughter again.

Although Lu Zhengyi did not believe it, for the sake of the ten thousand taels of silver, he gave the order as requested.

Soon, three carts of spheres made of Lime were prepared on the city wall.

At this moment, the Bandits clamored again, demanding the surrender of the scoundrel Qin Zhangfeng, otherwise they would enter the city themselves to capture this thief; their arrogant threats made everyone furious.

"Kill!"

The Bandits finally let out a great shout, splitting their forces into two paths, one taking the main gate and the other taking the west gate. One man and one horse each, they approached aggressively.

With such an offensive, a small city like Yangzhou would likely not be able to withstand even a few charges.

"Launch!"

Just as the Bandits were fifty zhang away from the city, Liu Zheng shouted.

The Lime spheres, wrapped in Oilcloth, flew out under the force of the Catapult.

Initially, the others did not take it seriously.

But when those Lime spheres landed with a thud, or burst directly into Lime powder in mid-air and fell into the water, the entire area outside the city instantly filled with billowing white vapor, and the temperature rose sharply; as the Lime landed in the eyes and on the bodies of the Bandits, combined with the pouring rain, these ordinary white stones immediately turned into deadly killers!

"Ah!"

"It hurts!"

"What is this? Why can't I see clearly?"

Four thousand Bandits felt as if they had arrived in a white Hell.

On the city wall, there was already dead silence.