Chapter 1017: Chapter 1017: The Beginning of Sweeping Across the World Chapter 1017: Chapter 1017: The Beginning of Sweeping Across the World Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst a series of explosions like the sound of frying beans, the dummies positioned a hundred steps away shattered into pieces, with every wooden and grass-made figure being torn apart.

“Tweet~”
The next moment, a sharp whistle pierced the ears of everyone at the training ground, as a squad of soldiers with firearms advanced swiftly, aiming their weapons at the dummies ahead.

Meanwhile, the firearm shooters who had just fired retreated in unison, yielding the combat space.

Gunshots rang out again.

Wave after wave, squad after squad of firearm shooters moved forward in an orderly fashion, their bullets–each packed with tremendous lethality–rapidly decimating the dense dummy formation.

In the end, only a few broken wooden poles were left standing.

At this moment, Shangguan Wuji, who was observing the exercise beside the training ground, shook his head with a very complex look in his eyes.

He had clearly realized that the “inventions” of Wang Chen–the cannons and firearms–would greatly change the future mode of warfare.

If the enemy could not adapt, they were destined to be crushed into dust!

This was no exaggeration.

Because these new weapon-wielding firearm shooters were not elite soldiers from the Hanhai Army but rather new recruits that had only recently been enlisted, most of them with only First or Second Order cultivation levels, and there were even many ordinary people among them.

But firearms leveled this hierarchy, with martial artists below the fifth tier unable to withstand the onslaught of ordinary firearm shooters.

And with special heavy firearms, even a fifth-tier Martial Ancestor had no choice but to kneel!

With equal numbers, a squad of newly trained firearm shooters facing a squad of elite Hanhai Army troops had a greater chance of winning.

Once these weapons became widespread, would it still make sense for everyone to strive to improve their cultivation levels?

Especially for martial artists with limited talent, such a gap truly spelled despair!

Shangguan Wuji sighed for them.

At the same time, the commander of the Hanhai Army felt more confident about Princess Qingyun’s quest for the throne.

He said to Wang Chen beside him, “Minister Wang, this firearm guards will undoubtedly be an invincible force!”

Under Wang Chen’s arrangement, a large portion of new recruits were designated as cannon and firearm shooters, and based on this, a formidable firearm guards unit was organized and expanded.

The traditional Military Foundry Camp, once part of the Hanhai Army, had also been incorporated into the firearm guards.

Currently, including auxiliary troops, the firearm guards numbered over five thousand.

However, according to Wang Chen’s plan, the size of the firearm guards would expand more than tenfold to become the main force of the New Hanhai Army sweeping across the world!

The main issue now was that the speed of weapon manufacture could not keep up. Producing a qualified firearm was a complex process that also took a lot of time. Although Wang Chen introduced the so-called “assembly line” manufacturing method, it could not fully solve the problem of production capacity.

The firepower of the firearm guards relied solely on fire cannons; without these new weapons, they had no fighting capability.

Wang Chen smiled.

He could understand Shangguan Wuji’s feelings; after all, he had started as a low-tier martial artist and invested countless efforts and resources to reach his current level of power.

But cannons and firearms were like having a cheat code!

“Grand Tutor!”

At this time, a guard rushed over hurriedly and reported: “The Jia Five Prospecting Team has just sent someone back with news; they’ve discovered a Sulfur Mine!”

Wang Chen’s eyes instantly lit up: “Where is he? Where?”

Gunpowder is indispensable for Firearms; without it, it would just be a pile of useless scrap iron, and among the three materials needed to make gunpowder, charcoal is the easiest to obtain, saltpeter can be produced in saltpeter farms, and can also be mined.

But sulfur, also known as brimstone, is quite rare. Previously, Wang Chen had only managed to gather a few hundred catties from the entire Hanhai City.

Because in this world, sulfur is considered a medicinal ingredient, it is normally used in small quantities, so traders would not stockpile large amounts.

In order to prepare enough gunpowder to support his plans, Wang Chen sent team after team to prospect for mines and purchase materials.

Unexpectedly, good news arrived in just half a month.

The Sulfur Mine that the Jia Five Prospecting Team discovered is located in a large mountain more than two hundred miles southwest of Hanhai City. There is a volcano that constantly spews thick smoke and fierce flames. The mine with a broad expanse of brimstone is situated along its mountainside and at the foot of the mountain.

After understanding the situation, Wang Chen immediately assembled a group of miners and sent them under the protection of three thousand Hanhai Army to mine the Sulfur Mine.

He then ordered the other prospecting teams to continue their search for saltpeter and new Sulfur Mines.

The following month, Wang Chen personally led three thousand Hanhai Iron Cavalry and five thousand Firearm guards, marching east into West Sea and capturing the Prefectural City.

The process of conquering West Sea Prefectural City could hardly be called noteworthy – the Firearm guards set up thirty Cannons and bombarded the city walls for three rounds, and then white flags were raised inside the city.

There was no challenge at all!

With this, both Hanhai and West Sea Prefectures came under Princess Qingyun’s flag and officially declared their intention to restore the legitimate rule of Great Liang.

Becoming a member of the Anti-Jing forces.

At this point, it had only been three months since King Jing’s accession, and within Great Liang, signal fires had begun to erupt.

One of the first major actions Emperor Yuanjing took after usurping the throne was to forge a brotherly alliance with Great Qi, ceding three northern Prefectures to Great Qi, this “older brother,” in exchange for their support.

At the same time, Emperor Yuanjing turned against his own Royal Family, confiscating properties from Princes and Kings and imprisoning them.

The court and the public of Great Liang were in an uproar!

Emperor Yuanjing’s retrogressive actions sparked fierce opposition from all levels of the court; his position was unrighteously obtained to begin with, and bowing to the ancestral enemy Great Qi, let alone ceding three Prefectures, completely alienated the people.

Thus, apart from the Central Plains and seven eastern Prefectures, the rest of Great Liang’s Prefectures rebelled one after another. Seeing the opportunity, the Rebel Faction rose up, sweeping through the southern counties.

Now, Great Liang was already embroiled in a situation of Vassal power struggles.

Among the factions flying the legitimate banner of Great Liang, there were not only Princess Qingyun. Others also had more influence than her.

While both Hanhai and West Sea Prefectures were vast in territory, they were border regions with limited populations and potential. To most people, they seemed incapable of making much of a stir.

When news spread that Princess Qingyun had raised the Anti-Jing banner, most people sneered at it.

Since Great Liang has never had the precedence of a female Empress ascending the throne, even if people were eager to gain the glory of supporting a successful regime, they would not turn to a woman like Princess Qingyun.

In fact, the most promising contender among the rebels was King Ming, Liang Mingrui. This Prince of Great Liang held a high position, being the uncle of both Princess Qingyun and King Jing; in terms of strength and popularity, he was among the forefront of the Royal Family.

Emperor Yuanjing had once attempted to summon Liang Mingrui to Daye, but this King Ming directly rebelled, seizing two adjacent Prefectures of his fief, expanding his influence rapidly, making all under the heavens take notice!

After King Ming showed a momentum of contending for supremacy, heroes from all walks of life came to join him, further elevating his prestige.

Undoubtedly, if Princess Qingyun wishes to take over Great Liang, her primary adversary is Emperor Yuanjing, followed by King Ming!

——-
First update delivered.