Chapter 306: Let the Goddess Cast a Spell

As soon as Xiao Moting finished speaking, the expressions of the several generals nearby changed instantly.

They had seen the power of the Explosives with their own eyes.

The Fusang People had always been eyeing the Daliang Kingdom covetously; if they were to forge weapons, produce Gunpowder, and then attack Daliang after being fully prepared, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Qin Zhan spoke up immediately, "We cannot let the Fusang People get their hands on the Iron Ore and Saltpeter!"

"Right!" Han Guiying also sensed the crisis and quickly agreed, "The Fusang People are a tiny nation, yet they have always wanted to invade Daliang! Since their own land is barren and lacks minerals, they have set their sights on our Daliang! We must never let them succeed."

General Liu also hurriedly said, "We absolutely must not let the Fusang People get the ore! Ever since the founding of Daliang, Fusang Ronin have been running rampant in the East Sea, burning, killing, and looting, committing every evil; the fishermen along the coast have suffered deeply and are already in unbearable misery!"

"Yang Tianhu guards the East Sea, and he has 160,000 naval troops under his command, as well as dozens of sturdy warships, but even so, he struggles to deal with this gang of Fusang Ronin and cannot wipe them out at all."

"If we let these Fusang People transport the ore back to their island to produce weapons and Explosives... and then launch a full-scale attack on the East Sea, I fear that even if Yang Tianhu sends out his entire navy, they will return in total defeat."

Qin Zhan gritted his teeth, "This Yuan Canghai is simply a scourge! To think he would hand over so much Iron Ore and Saltpeter Mine to the Fusang People!"

"He has been colluding with the Fusang People for more than a day or two," Xiao Moting said coldly. "According to Er Gou's letter, Yuan Canghai has ambition and wants to unify Daliang, while Zhou Yanli only wants to destroy the Imperial Court; the two seem to be of one mind, but in reality, they are divided in heart."

"Now that Zhou Yanli is ill and cannot help Yuan Canghai achieve his goal, and it just so happens that the Fusang People have brought supplies, Yuan Canghai is secretly cooperating with these Ronin."

"Er Gou says that this locust plague was orchestrated by the Fusang People. They brought medicinal powder that attracts swarms of insects and sprinkled it along the road, which can gather the locusts together and lead them to Beijiang."

"What?" General Liu exclaimed in astonishment, "This locust plague is man-made?"

Han Guiying gritted her teeth and said angrily, "Is Yuan Canghai crazy? Doesn't he know that bringing about a locust plague will devour all the crops and trees, and cause millions of common people to starve to death?"

"Yuan Canghai couldn't care less about that." Qin Zhan crossed his arms, his tone very cold, "Now that the Imperial Court is weak, Yuan Canghai has so many troops and horses under his command that he is wolfishly ambitious to become emperor. Yang Tianhu is far away in the East Sea and cannot reach that far; the Northern Frontier Army is his greatest obstacle."

"If a locust plague is brought on and all the trees and crops are eaten, a large number of common people will starve to death, and those who survive will certainly seek help from the Northern Frontier Army."

"Once the locusts have eaten the crops, the Northern Frontier Army will have no grain to eat either; where would they get surplus grain to distribute to the people?"

"By then, the Northern Frontier Army will be short of clothing and food, unable to provide disaster relief, and will also provoke public resentment. Then Yuan Canghai can step forward to provide relief and distribute grain, since his territory hasn't been hit by the disaster, he naturally has surplus grain."

"Once he finishes distributing the grain and raises his arms to call for the overthrow of the Imperial Court, the masses will surely respond in droves."

Han Guiying listened, stunned for several seconds, "A-Zhan, when did you become so good at analyzing things? You speak so logically, it really sounds like it could be true."

Qin Zhan smiled, "After following the Prince for so many years, even a fool could understand it."

"What, are you calling me a fool?" Han Guiying glared at him, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

"How could I dare..."

Xiao Moting interrupted them, "Qin Zhan is absolutely right. That is exactly Yuan Canghai's intention. He wants to be emperor, but he doesn't want to lose the hearts of the people, so he uses such despicable means to divert the disaster, then pretends to be a great philanthropist to win people over."

"Then, what should we do now?" Han Guiying paced anxiously, "The Fusang People are hiding in Yuan Canghai's territory, we can't send troops there, and Yuan Canghai won't do anything about it. We can't just watch them transport the ore back to Fusang, can we?"

Xiao Moting glanced at the secret letter, "According to the information gathered by Er Gou, the Fusang People have obtained tens of thousands of catties of Iron Ore and over a thousand catties of Saltpeter Mine. With so much material, they cannot transport it away in a short time. Moreover, since the Fusang People got the ore from Yuan Canghai, they certainly won't stop there; they must want to get more."

"Right," Qin Zhan nodded, "They are so greedy, they definitely won't just take this little bit of ore!"

Xiao Moting said, "Therefore, the Fusang People won't be able to transport the ore away for a while, so we still have time. I will write a letter to Bai now."

"Write to the Goddess?" Han Guiying blinked in confusion, then her eyes suddenly lit up, "I understand! You want the Goddess to cast a spell, use magic to kill these Fusang People, and take back the ore!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Xiao Moting and Qin Zhan staring at her.

Han Guiying felt a chill down her spine from being stared at and spoke immediately.

"Why are you two looking at me like that? Isn't that what you're doing, asking the Goddess to help with immortal arts? Like turning beans into soldiers or taking someone's head from a thousand miles away?"

Qin Zhan shook his head, rubbed his temples, and sighed.

"I thought that if we didn't bring Xiao Dabao along this time, we could have some peace and quiet."

"I didn't expect that after one Xiao Dabao left, another General Han would arrive."

Han Guiying's almond eyes widened, and she scolded him unceremoniously.

"Qin Zhan, which part of what I said was wrong? The Goddess sent so many things to the Northern Frontier; wasn't it all conjured up by her using magic?"

"The Minivan and trucks the Goddess sent can run without horses; isn't that immortal art?"

"And the Electric Lamp can light up by itself; isn't that magic?"

Qin Zhan couldn't bear it anymore, "That is electricity generated by solar energy, which is what makes the Electric Lamp light up."

"Isn't electricity a divine power bestowed by the Sun God!" Han Guiying retorted, "Solar panels, as the name implies, collect the divine power of the Sun God and then transmit this power to the Electric Lamp, so the Electric Lamp lights up!"

Qin Zhan was left speechless and couldn't answer for a moment.

At this moment, Han Guiying put her hands on her hips triumphantly and sneered.

"Heh, you can't answer, can you? It's clearly immortal art!"

"You still dare to look at me like I'm a fool; watch out, or I'll dig your eyeballs out."

Qin Zhan felt a headache coming on.

This was simply like talking to a brick wall!

He raised his hand and slapped his forehead.

"I'm truly at my wit's end. Prince, I'll leave the explaining to you."

Xiao Moting coughed, "Senior Sister, Xiao Lujing has a few primary school textbooks he's finished with. Later, I'll have him bring them to you so you can study them in your spare time."

He knew Han Guiying's temper, so he didn't bother explaining.

Anyway, even if he did explain, she wouldn't listen.

Han Guiying was still pestering Qin Zhan, bickering and fooling around.

Xiao Moting ignored the two of them and wrote a note to send to Bai Wei.

He explained the situation regarding the Fusang People hoarding the ore.

"Bai, I intend to take a few trusted aides, disguise ourselves as cloth merchants, penetrate deep into Yannan City, kill the Fusang People, and take back the ore."