Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 203 - Knowing How to Make Fire-thunder
Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Knowing How to Make Fire-thunder
Visit freёnovelkiss.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.
Chapter 203 -203: Knowing How to Make Fire-thunder
Murong Jiu only then learned that the destination her father and brothers were to depart for wasn’t Jizhong, but the Hexi Border Pass.
Because the Xiongnu had invaded, plundering and slaughtering, they had killed many civilians at the Frontier Pass.
The General of Hexi had fled into the night, and upon hearing the news, the Emperor flew into a rage, immediately dispatching General Fu to lead an army to repel the Xiongnu.
As for Jizhong, it was merely a temporary stop for her father and brothers, as her father would lead the troops from there to Hexi.
After hearing Jun Yuyan’s words, the color drained from Murong Jiu’s face.
“The Xiongnu have come to invade so soon?”
Didn’t she remember it being after winter had begun?
At that time, news of Hexi’s defeat had spread to the Capital, and her father, possibly due to the Emperor’s suspicion, did not lead the troops to war. Instead, the Emperor had dispatched numerous warriors, all of whom returned defeated. It was only after Jun Yuyan, wounded, had gone to war, enduring a ferocious battle, that he achieved a final victory.
However, after many years of lying dormant, the Xiongnu, now with strong troops and horses, would rise up again after their defeat.
In her previous life, Jun Yuyan had been traveling back and forth on the road fighting the Xiongnu. After the victory of the last war, he should have stayed to recuperate, but he hurried back and ultimately died at the foot of the Capital City.
“The Xiongnu troops are strong and skilled at lying in wait. In the early years, we did not interfere with each other, but I also did not expect them to suddenly invade. According to the scouts’ reports, six cities in Hexi have quickly fallen. Aside from the incompetence of the General of Hexi, it also has something to do with the secret weapon they’ve acquired. Regrettably, the scouts have not been able to uncover what this secret weapon is.”
Upon hearing this, Murong Jiu’s face turned even paler. Without waiting to enter the house, she hurriedly broke away from his embrace and grabbed his hand, saying:
“I know! I know! It’s…”
Jun Yuyan quickly covered her mouth: “Let’s talk inside.”
Although everyone in the mansion was his person, he knew that what Ah Jiu was about to discuss was certainly a secret. He did not want others to overhear, not even those he trusted most, fearing it would bring disaster upon her.
Once inside, Murong Jiu’s emotions had not settled, and she urgently said:
“Prince, do you know of Fire-thunder? It’s a hundred times more powerful than gunpowder.”
“A hundred times more powerful than gunpowder?”
Jun Yuyan’s eyes showed a look of astonishment: “Ah Jiu, are you saying that the Xiongnu’s secret weapon is what you call Fire-thunder?”
Murong Jiu nodded: “Yes, it’s Fire-thunder! That’s what the Xiongnu call it! When it explodes, it’s like thunder, shattering everything within a thirty-zhang radius! If one is close, it can blow a horse to pieces!”
After hearing this, Jun Yuyan’s expression grew grave.
No wonder the scouts couldn’t find out; such a secret weapon would be closely hidden by the Xiongnu and not easily discovered.
Anyone who had seen it was dead.
Murong Jiu thought of the soldiers who went to the Frontier Pass in her past life, the tremendous number of sacrifices, and she couldn’t help but think of her father and three brothers.
This time, her father was the general leading the troops to battle, aiming to repel the Xiongnu. Yet, on Great Yan’s side, no one was aware of how long this war would last and how heavy the losses would be.
Her father and brothers would be the first to bear the brunt.
Murong Jiu had witnessed the power of Fire-thunder firsthand. In later stages, several Princes, all wishing to make achievements, sent their confidants to discover the secret behind the Xiongnu’s invincibility. The Second Prince would be no exception.
The Second Prince took her and a few Court Physicians to a city a hundred li away from the battlefield.
What Murong Jiu saw were bodies with grievous injuries, with shrapnel embedded in their flesh and bones. Out of every ten people she treated, at most, only one could survive.
And often, many more people die on the battlefield.
The weapon known as Fire-thunder had astonishing killing power.
Murong Jiu remembered this war; she stockpiled grain not just because of the crop failure caused by summer floods, but also for the army’s food supply.
Because in the end, Jun Yuyan would go to battle, and the first problem he faced was the shortage of food and fodder, which would be a matter for the next year.
Murong Jiu remembered very clearly, she gave birth in the Prince Mansion, but the confinement was in a residence arranged by the Second Prince. The two children were also taken care of by wet nurses arranged by the Second Prince. She felt very safe with the Second Prince because she regarded him as the biological father of her children, believing he would definitely treat the children well.
During her confinement, she heard much news about the war, but her understanding of it was not extensive at the time; all her heart and eyes were filled with her two children.
It was not until the children were three months old that she was taken by the Second Prince on a long trip.
The Hexi Border Pass was really too far, thousands of miles away from the Capital City; she traveled nearly ten days by carriage in the rear.
By then, Jun Yuyan had already been on the frontline, but the supply of food and fodder was lagging behind. Murong Jiu didn’t know if the Second Prince had sabotaged the efforts, but by the time she arrived, she heard from the local people that the troops no longer had any food to eat.
It was only when Murong Jiu reflected on it recently that she understood why Jun Yuyan let her follow the Second Prince: he was going to the battlefront, and since she was determined to go with the Second Prince, he was powerless to stop her.
If the war hadn’t broken out, the outcome in her previous life might have been different.
The war lasted for more than two years.
Jun Yuyan fought bloodily on the front lines, the Second Prince established his power in the court, and The Third Prince died in the second year of the war. She was certain it was the Second Prince who had discovered the Emperor’s intentions. With no interference from Jun Yuyan in this lifetime, he succeeded in killing The Third Prince.
Upon the death of The Third Prince, the Emperor suffered a great blow both mentally and physically, his condition worsening day by day.
The Second Prince likely intended to seize the throne directly, but the Emperor did not let him succeed; instead, the Empress “fell ill” and remained bedridden.
Later, the court officials jointly petitioned to establish the Second Prince as Crown Prince, and for some reason, Jun Yuyan also sent a message back to request the appointment of the Second Prince as Crown Prince. The Emperor had no choice but to establish the Crown Prince.
Subsequently, Murong Jiu became the Crown Princess Consort.
Many people were surprised and taken aback at that time; they all thought Murong Man was the one who would be the Crown Princess Consort.
Having been reborn, Murong Jiu finally realized that the Emperor must have resented the Second Prince and wished to appoint Jun Yuyan as Crown Prince. However, for her happiness, so that she could become the Crown Princess Consort, Jun Yuyan was willing to give up his position as the heir.
This was the deal between Jun Yuyan and the Second Prince.
And there was more than this one deal between them; Murong Jiu suspected that the Second Prince later knew the formula for Fire-thunder because Jun Yuyan had revealed it to him.
Yes, by the end of the war, Great Yan had also invented Fire-thunder, and all the credit went to the Second Prince, now the Crown Prince. With Fire-thunder, the war came to a quick end.
Jun Yuyan, unsummoned, died at the hands of “mountain bandits,” and with some malicious framing, he bore a bad reputation posthumously.
As Murong Jiu recalled the events of her past life, a sudden and inexplicable fear gripped her heart.
She clung to Jun Yuyan: “Prince, I’m so afraid that you, my father, and brothers, none of you will have an accident, right?”
Jun Yuyan patted her back gently: “Don’t be afraid, none of us will have an accident.”
“I don’t know how to make Fire-thunder, but I know what’s needed. Prince, let’s find a way to make Fire-thunder. I don’t want my father and brothers to go to the front line as cannon fodder, it’s too dangerous, really too dangerous. It’s all my fault for being too complacent, not aware that time was running out.”
She had thought it was a matter for next year, and she had not expected her father and brothers to go to the front line so soon.
“Okay, don’t worry now, we still have time. And we already know the Xiongnu have Fire-thunder. I’ll send a message to your father-in-law, telling them to be extra careful.”
