Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 279: God’s Revelation
Except for the easy-to-appease common people, everyone assumed that the group of tigers blocking the road before was a "show" put up by Bai Tu.
But Hua Xin had no intention of taking the opportunity to turn around and return, so no matter which side it was, they saw through it but didn't say anything...
However, this scene at Xiaoshi Bridge has greatly stimulated the fragile hearts of the military and civilians on both sides of the strait!
The people, who were already very tired because they had been tossed around in the middle of the night, suddenly became energetic.
Faced with this wrathful scene of heaven, the people spontaneously began to kneel and worship God, especially those on the south bank… There were even people in Yangzhou who knelt in front of Hua Xin’s motorcade, begging the General’s Mansion to obey the will of heaven and take back the jade seal!
Even Liu Ye didn't expect that something like this would happen...
Although in his heart, Liu Ye still believed that this was a conspiracy of the General's Mansion, but... he also looked around, but did not find anything like a catapult!
And to be honest, the small stone bridge that was destroyed by the "wrath of thunder" not far away didn't look like it was destroyed by the catapult...
Little did they know that this was one of the Ministry of Industry’s research results this year – black gunpowder.
As a law-abiding citizen, Bai Tu did not have any gunpowder ratios on his hard drive that could not be found on the Internet. He only had the most basic principles. However... since the direction had been pointed out, the proportions and the like only needed to be experimented with.
The casting of copper cannons was still in the experimental stage, but "black powder" had already been prepared and could be used for mining. It was just that Bai Tu did not make it public before it was transformed into military power.
Gunpowder alone is not very useful. It can only scare the warhorse - if the warhorse is frightened, the engine will jam.
At least the technology points for copper cannons must be developed before gunpowder can be officially used in the military...
But it is very easy to blow up a stone bridge or something!
Although Liu Ye didn't understand the truth, he still struggled in his heart and didn't believe that there really was such a thing as destiny - most of the top strategists were the same. Destiny was just an excuse for them to act, not an obstacle.
The bridge was blown up, so no matter what, the team had to stop.
Liu Ye also came to the front of the team at this time, specially to see Hua Xin. If Hua Xin wanted to return at this time, Liu Ye... at least he couldn't lose in words!
With such a big commotion and so many people present, if Hua Xin now pretends to be destined to send the imperial seal back to Jinling, it would be really embarrassing for the Prime Minister's Mansion to rob it...
But at least verbally, Liu Ye must occupy the commanding heights first and must not be timid.
However, what Liu Ye didn't expect was that when he came to the front of the team, he saw Hua Xin persuading the people...
"My fellow elders, please don't do this. Xin was ordered by Lord Bai... Lord Bai had some strange dreams before he left. He predicted that there might be obstacles along the way. He told Xin that no matter what, he must return the imperial seal to the court and to your majesty!
"No matter what fate may hold, whether it is Lord Bai or me, we will sacrifice our lives to return the artifact to the Han Dynasty! Please stop trying to persuade us!" Hua Xin said in a heart-touching and tear-jerking voice.
Not only the common people, but Hua Xin had no intention of changing his mind even though Xu Rong tried to persuade him.
Even when the people were still unwilling to disperse and his soldiers were ready to turn around, Hua Xin, holding the jade seal, rushed into the river as if he was going to swim across.
The layer of floating ice on the river surface on the left and right sides of the bridge had been shattered by the "wrath of thunder", revealing the water surface underneath.
The soldiers around were still stunned. Hua Xin really waded into the river, with the water not even reaching his knees. Only then did many people react and pull him back to the shore.
Liu Ye was also moved when he saw this, not to mention the people on both sides of the strait. When they saw this scene, they even pulled their clothes and stamped their feet to stop crying, and their cries went straight up to the sky...
Originally Liu Ye wanted to maintain his composure, but after seeing this, he changed his words to: "Mr. Hua's sincere heart is as bright as the sun and the moon, but you still have to take care of your health."
Hua Xin grabbed Liu Ye's hand and said tearfully, "Master Liu, rest assured, I will definitely return the jade seal to Your Majesty..."
Looking at Hua Xin's appearance, Liu Ye felt a little embarrassed - he was a descendant of Emperor Guangwu of Han, and was much more of a "royal family" than Liu Bei, Liu Biao, and Liu Zhang.
Liu Bei claimed to be a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, but everyone knew King Jing of Zhongshan was a stud with more than a hundred sons. Who knows whether it is true or not? Even if it is true, he was too "bastard" to the extreme.
The ancestors of Liu Biao and Liu Zhang were both Liu Yu, King Gong of Lu in the Han Dynasty, who was also the son of Emperor Jing of the Former Han Dynasty and the brother of Emperor Wu. Now it was the Later Han Dynasty, and their relationship with the royal family had been damaged for nearly twenty generations.
In comparison, Liu Ye is far less virtuous than him. However, as a member of the royal family, Liu Ye has already given up assisting the Han Dynasty and is determined to follow Boss Cao...
Seeing Hua Xin's loyalty, Liu Ye felt a little embarrassed.
"Mr. Hua, please change your clothes quickly and warm yourself by the fire..." Liu Ye said hurriedly.
"Don't just stand there like idiots! Haven't you been to the front line? Go cut down trees and build a pontoon bridge!" Ding Feng, the chief of the guard of honor, urged his soldiers.
By noon, they were busy and a wooden floating bridge had been built on the water. As for some heavy vehicle frames, float boats were also made to transport them.
Hua Xin seemed to have caught a cold due to his excessive behavior in the morning and had been resting in the tent.
Of course, Hua Xin’s body below the knees was actually wrapped in wax paper…
After the floating bridge was paved, although Hua Xin looked unwell due to the cold, he still insisted on crossing the bridge immediately and resting after reaching Ruyin County.
Even Liu Ye couldn't persuade him...
After arriving at Ruyin County, Hua Xin indeed "fell ill" and was said to have parted ways with the deputy envoy Xu Rong on bad terms. The final result was... Xu Rong would finally calculate an auspicious day, after which Hua Xin would set off again, while Xu Rong would return home.
But no matter who it is, no one can accuse Xu Rong of being unkind. After all, as the Grand Historian, her duty is to follow the will of heaven. It is quite difficult for her to repeatedly go against the will of heaven.
Besides, according to the original plan, it was time for Xu Rong to return.
Especially now, people in Huainan and Huaibei are spreading the word that returning the imperial seal is "going against the will of heaven."
Zhong Ji, the Changshui commander sent by the young emperor, also joined the caravan at this time and was also very moved by the integrity of Hua Xin and Bai Tu.
Although Zhong Ji was only a "colonel", the "Changshui Colonel" was one of the Eight Colonels of Xiyuan, which was the position held by Yuan Shu when he was in the capital. It was a position very close to the emperor.
Especially Zhong Ji, who is a die-hard royalist...
Neither Zhong Ji nor Liu Ye had any objection to staying in Ruyin for a few days... and there was no reason to object!
Ruyin is already a city actually controlled by Cao Cao, so there is no need to worry that Hua Xin will regret it, especially since Hua Xin has already demonstrated his loyalty to the Han Dynasty and now he has caught a cold. Why can't he take a rest?
Liu Ye naturally could not guess that when Xu Rong was calculating the auspicious day, she did not use tortoise shells or a compass, but a barometer that used high-density liquefied qi instead of mercury, a thermometer that used low-density liquefied qi instead of alcohol, and a jar of dry powder...
The former is used to measure air pressure and temperature, and the latter is used to estimate air humidity after stirring!
When Xu Rong was using these, she couldn't help but think of the scene when she first saw the white map.
At the beginning, when Bai Tu advised her to learn new knowledge, Xu Rong was a little reluctant, thinking that Bai Tu was an amateur directing professionals.
Predicting the weather? Xu Rong thinks stargazing and divination are enough!
But soon Xu Rong entered the "true fragrance"...
It turns out that in addition to astrology, there are also magical indicators such as air pressure and humidity that can be used to estimate the weather!
Unfortunately, before she had the chance to learn in detail, she was pulled out to be the deputy envoy. Now she is also doing things according to the form.
Two days later, a general from Nanjing rushed to Ruyin overnight. Amid the tension and attention of countless people, he conveyed Bai Tu's meaning - continue to send the jade seal back, and some abnormalities were just coincidences, and no one should make any comments!
It was even as if Bai Tu had anticipated this, and he specifically emphasized that no matter what "coincidences" happened later, the seal must be delivered to His .
Bai Tu's firm attitude made Liu Ye and Zhong Ji feel relieved.
The scene before was too shocking. If Bai Tu really wanted Hua Xin to turn back, they would also be confused about whether they should forcefully rob him...
It often snows in the winter north of the Huaihe River. After Hua Xin had been "recuperating" for a few days, Xu Rong immediately discovered that judging from the temperature and air pressure, there was a high probability of snowfall in the next day.
So Xu Rong notified Hua Xin in advance, and Hua Xin immediately organized the departure - as usual, the people will see the team off tomorrow!
Liu Ye sensed some conspiracy in this regard, and proposed that in view of the previous "disturbance to the people", the original celebration plan should be cancelled and the people should no longer be mobilized to welcome and see off the guests.
However, not only was Hua Xin very excited when he found out about it, but even Zhong Ji strongly opposed it - wouldn't that be an admission on behalf of the court that "returning the jade seal" was against the will of heaven and that the court was guilty?
Seeing that Hua Xin refused to cooperate, and even placed the jade seal directly in front of him, asking him to either abide by the agreement or take the jade seal back himself, Hua Xin and the convoy returned home... Liu Ye had no choice but to compromise.
One day in advance, the people in the city knew that another auspicious day had arrived, but... the next morning, the sky felt a little gloomy, and sure enough, not long after leaving the city, snowflakes began to fall.
Liu Ye was also very upset and suspected that Xu Rong had done it on purpose. However... after all, the sky was not gloomy at all yesterday, and it was still sunny when the people received the news, so he could not directly blame the other party.
But it’s okay. With the foreshadowing of the “thunder god destroying the bridge” before, the heavy snow on the road now is not considered a “shocking” natural phenomenon.
However, what Liu Ye could not have anticipated was that it was not just a simple matter of rushing through the snow. More importantly... there were people in the baggage train behind the team who were quietly sprinkling white powder along the way that could not be detected in the snow.
Not long after, the people who were traveling with them in the snow discovered it.
They headed north, braving the wind and snow, but behind them... a clear path had melted away!
Ordinarily, although there were many of them, they would only trample the snow down in the current cold weather. However, the snow on the road behind them was melting clearly, and even the snow that was still falling from the sky could not stay on the official road.
If there really is a God, then this should be considered an "explicit revelation" now, right?
Go forward and the snow will fall heavily, return the original route and open the road to meet you...
Even Liu Ye and Zhong Ji would feel guilty when they occasionally looked back, but Hua Xin's attitude remained firm, and he even issued an order "Do not look back, violators will be beaten with thirty sticks"!
