Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 35: The Verbal Battle Over Magic and Technology, Part 3

“The Third Battle of Lüshun?” Zuo Hengbai asked, somewhat taken aback. “Why was it a naval battle?” Everyone, including Wei Xuezheng, looked at Zuo Yunyi and Ou Yang in confusion. Commander Zuo spoke again, his words as concise as ever: “Because that was the first time the navy’s new gunboats saw combat, and they crushed the Three Han navies in a single battle.” Ou Yang first bowed deeply to Zuo Yunyi: “You truly live up to your title, Commander.” During the Battle of Yaozhou, although the Tartars and their auxiliary forces were numerous and invincible in open-field combat, their ability to besiege cities was, to put it mildly, half-baked. After suffering humiliating defeats in several attempts to storm the city using earthen ramparts, the Tartars decided to resort to a siege to starve out the defenders. However, Yaozhou was situated by the sea and served as the mouth of the Liao River, allowing supply ships to sail directly into the harbor. Without defeating the Dengzhou Navy at that time, any attempt at a siege would have been a farce. The Steppe Empire itself had no navy, but its three vassal states on the peninsula did. In the third and fifth months of the nineteenth year of the Heta era, the Three Han navies intercepted the Dengzhou navy—which was transporting supplies and reinforcements to Yaozhou—on two consecutive occasions. In fact, there was little difference in the design of the naval vessels on either side at the time, and both fleets included a large number of merchant ships and fishing boats. Just as in land battles, the two forces first had mages and archers hurl fireballs and flaming arrows at each other, then rammed their ships together using thick planks, relying on the swords and blades of sailors and soldiers to decide the outcome. These naval battles were incredibly clumsy, and neither side achieved a decisive victory. However, the Three Han navy posed a massive threat to the Empire’s sole supply route to Yaozhou, forcing it to pay a heavy price for every maritime transport. With their small numbers, the mages’ impact was limited, and the use of flaming arrows at sea posed an equally grave danger to both friend and foe. Consequently, the Empire’s countermeasure was to mount cannons on specialized warships to enhance long-range firepower. However, the cannons themselves were too heavy; mounting them on the deck easily caused the center of gravity to rise too high, risking the ship’s capsizing. Smaller cannons, meanwhile, were incapable of destroying enemy vessels or achieving a decisive victory; they could only be used to sweep the enemy’s deck and prevent boarding. Ultimately, the Scientific Society—which had only recently been founded—came up with a simple solution: mount heavy cannons on the cargo deck, cut gun ports in the hull, and fire them from the ship’s side. The vacated upper deck could then be equipped with small cannons to repel boarding attempts. The Empire quickly converted thirty-nine new warships with a displacement of approximately 300 metric tons (the term “displacement” was also coined by the Scientific Society). Each ship was equipped with eighteen guns—twelve heavy guns and six mobile Hu Dun cannons on the upper deck. Starting in early June, all of the new warships were deployed to escort the transport convoys departing from Dengzhou. On the 18th day of the sixth month of the 19th year of the Heta era, the Three Han naval forces arrived as scheduled. The two sides clashed in the waters near Lüshun, and the Third Battle of Lüshun broke out. After two hours of naval combat, the modern fleet sank 69 enemy ships and captured 33, while suffering the loss of only one ship, which was set ablaze by an enemy fire ship. The transport fleet, meanwhile, sustained absolutely no losses. As a result of this battle, the main force of the Three Han navies was completely annihilated, and the remaining defeated troops never dared to cross the Bohai Strait again. From then on, the Empire’s maritime supply lines to Yaozhou remained unimpeded. The modern fleet even launched preemptive strikes, successively burning down three ports—Goryeo’s Anju and Nampo, and Silla’s Incheon—thereby completely annihilating the navies of two of the Three Han states: Goryeo and Silla. Everyone finally understood the meaning behind Ou Yang’s words. “Exactly!” Wei Xuezheng clapped his hands in delight and laughed, “Inventing ships doesn’t require magic, but it can deliver supplies to an isolated fortress in Liaodong! Inventing cannons doesn’t require magic, but they can destroy cities and strongholds with unstoppable force! Even the simple method of mounting cannons on a ship’s lower deck doesn’t require magic—but it does require a thorough understanding of the principle of center of gravity! This is the power of science: simple methods require a solid foundation, but yield a hundredfold return!” “If we follow your logic, we might as well stop everyone from learning magic altogether and abolish mages once and for all!” Master Yu, whose face had previously radiated grace and charm, now had her willow-like eyebrows furrowed and her almond-shaped eyes wide with fury. Ouyang couldn’t help but wonder if this Taoist nun—who was at least a Grand Sorceress—might settle the dispute with a single strike of her “Thundering Palm.” According to Murphy’s Law: If you worry about something happening, it’s more likely to happen. “But…” The middle-aged, beautiful Taoist nun stood up with a cold smile, dangerous arcs of electricity flickering at her fingertips. “If I were to slaughter you right here on the spot, you little rascal, would your technology save you?” Force cannot solve problems, but it can deal with problematic people. The officers in the room naturally didn’t believe that Master Yu would actually kill Ou Yang on the spot. But the two young girls were terrified. The one who looked even younger than Zuo Shuijing clung to the hand with which the Taoist master was casting her spell, pleading in a voice so sweet it was sickening: “Master, please calm down~~~ Master, please calm down~~~” Zuo Shuijing clutched the female Taoist Master’s hem with both hands and asked, her eyes brimming with tears, “Master, you’re just scaring Shuijing, aren’t you? You’re just joking, aren’t you?” Of course it was a joke. This was the headquarters of the Imperial 13th Army in Junwei City, where a commander-in-chief and an education commissioner sat right before them. There were at least two hundred regular army guards in this compound, and no fewer than twenty thousand armed personnel throughout the entire city. To kill an Imperial officer with full citizenship here would mean the Taoist Master herself had no desire to live. But what she was saying actually raised a pointed question: With all your advanced technology, can you even save yourselves? Ou Yang sighed. On the forum, forcing the other party to throw a tantrum was already considered a victory; the rest could be left to the moderators to handle—especially since he had some connections there. “Do you dare kill me?” Ou Yang didn’t say this to further provoke his opponent, so he didn’t give him time to respond, continuing rapidly, “You don’t dare, because Imperial law stands in your way. You could kill me right now, but do you think General Zuo would allow you to walk out of this door unhindered after killing me?” Ou Yang turned to ask General Zuo Yunyi, “Commander, what is the proper punishment for killing an Imperial officer without cause?” Wei Xuezheng chimed in cheerfully, “That’s right, Commander Zuo, how should this be handled? I seem to recall that in peacetime it’s public execution, and in wartime, having one’s head displayed, isn’t it?” Zuo Yunyi gave an awkward smile and remained silent, while Master Yu’s face—which had been flushed crimson from holding back his anger—had now turned ashen. Ou Yang didn’t expect Zuo Yunyi to actually speak up for him, so he continued, “Do you really think it’s a good trade—a young Grand Sorcerer like you for the life of a colonization captain? Besides, it’s not just you; your sect won’t come out of this well either.” Master Yu certainly hadn’t intended to kill him. But these words infuriated her so much she gritted her teeth: “You little brat, I won’t kill you, but Zuo Yunyi won’t stop me from teaching you a proper lesson! Besides, even if I did kill you, what does that have to do with my sect!?” “Master Yu,” Ou Yang said, looking at her with a half-smile, half-serious expression. “I don’t know what your relationship with General Zuo is, but do you really think General Zuo is the one in charge in this room?” “Grandpa Wei’s rank isn’t as high as Uncle’s either!” Zuo Shuijing retorted on her master’s behalf. Another little girl nodded in agreement. “Miss Shuijing, I’m referring to the imperial government.” “Huh?” Ou Yang sighed and, putting on a solemn air, said gravely, “Master Yu, do you recall the incident in the twenty-second year of the Republic, when Marshal Yang mobilized his troops and bombarded the Shaolin Temple after County Magistrate Bai of Dengfeng County was beaten by Shaolin monks?”