Diqin Designer

Chapter 470 The Qin people came from the north, and the former nobles of the six states were astonished.

"Take care, General!" With Qu Tong's deep urging, Zhao Yue led more than ten soldiers away from their hiding place and headed south, where their main camp was located in the southern mountains and forests.

There were people on the six warships closely monitoring the water fortress. Although the departure of Zhao Yue and his group was not very loud, it was observed by the lookout on one of the warships.

Qu Tong, who had just seen Zhao Yue and the others off, noticed that a strange copper pipe on one of the six warships was being adjusted. The dark opening of the pipe was pointing in the direction where he was hiding. He knew perfectly well that the Qin people had discovered them and were about to attack them!

It's not a big deal if we ourselves are exposed, but we can't expose Zhao Yue and the others who are retreating. With the Qin people's weapons, they can definitely attack Zhao Yue and the others at this distance. We have to do something.

Qu Tong immediately made a decision. He asked the remaining dozen or so soldiers, "Are you afraid of death?"

More than ten soldiers understood the meaning behind Qu Tong's question and replied, "It is our honor to live and die with the general!"

"it is good!"

Qu Tong said "Good!" and then leaped out from his hiding place, drew his sword, pointed it at the six warships on the water, and shouted at them: I am right here, you Qin dogs, if you have the guts, come ashore!

The dozen or so soldiers jumped out with him, brandishing their weapons and shouting at the warship, trying to attract its attention and provide cover for Zhao Yue and the others as they retreated.

Qu Tong had already witnessed the power of the tube weapons on the warships. He led a dozen soldiers to fire cannons in the ruins of the water fortress while shouting to attract the warships' attention.

He had just observed the firing of the tube weapons on the warships and realized that he had discovered another weakness of those weapons: as powerful as they were, they required aiming. As long as they kept moving and did not stay in one place, thus preventing the weapons from aiming, the danger would be greatly reduced.

Seeing the dozen or so people running on the shore and shouting for a pay raise, the six warships did not fire at them. Hitting such a small number of constantly moving targets would be a waste of ammunition. No rush, let them run for a while, and we'll find a way to take them down.

The six warships turned their cannons, ignoring the dozen or so men, and continued to bombard and clear out the suspicious places in the water fortress, even the place where Qu Tong had just been hiding was shelled.

Seeing that the six warships ignored them and were unmoved by his provocations, Qu Tong appeared both angry and anxious, and intensified his insults and provocations. However, he was actually relieved, as it seemed that his cover plan had succeeded and the Qin people had not noticed Zhao Yue and the others' withdrawal.

His guess was correct. The Qin people's weapons required aiming, and as long as they kept moving, they were not easy to hit, unless they used the same weapons that had been used to attack the water fortress.

Thinking of this, Qu Tong wondered why the Qin people did not use the same weapons they had used when they attacked the water fortress.

That kind of weapon was probably not common among the Qin people. They felt that since they had already destroyed the water fortress, there was no need to use it anymore, and they could use weapons that were less powerful.

Even with the inferior weapons of the Qin people, they were still unable to withstand the attack. After fleeing to this island, the gap between them and the Qin people widened. Did they still have a chance to counterattack and restore their old kingdom?
A pessimistic answer that Qu Tong didn't want to think about appeared in his mind: it seemed that there was no hope of restoring the old country!
While thinking, Qu Tong kept moving. Feeling that the Qin people's pipe weapons couldn't hit him, he became bolder and took the initiative to move closer to the six warships: since they couldn't hit him anyway, he might as well get closer and see the Qin people's ships and their weapons clearly.

This time, he made a very wrong decision!

As the first naval force of the Qin Dynasty, the Qin fleet led by Meng Tian was equipped with the best equipment in the Qin Dynasty. It was equipped not only with the most advanced cannons, but also with the firearms that had been developed.

Moreover, this was the first time the Qin Navy had been deployed for a mission, so it was naturally well-equipped with food and ammunition to ensure the mission was successfully completed.

Qu Tong approached the six warships, but instead of swimming directly to them, he remained on the shore, gazing at the warships across the water.

As he approached, Qu Tong kept an eye on the movements of the six warships, estimating the distance between them to avoid being shot by the Qin soldiers on board with crossbows.

He noticed that some people on the Qin ships were holding strange wooden sticks in front of them, with one end pointing at them. The Qin people would not use an ordinary stick as a weapon; there must be something strange about these sticks. Perhaps they were a rather unusual kind of bow or crossbow.

But even with a crossbow, he should be safe at his current distance. Just as Qu Tong was thinking this, he felt a pain in his body, as if he had been hit by something. Then, he felt pain in several other places on his body, and his running body fell to the ground uncontrollably.

What happened? How did I get injured? I was wearing armor...

Then, everything went black before Qu Tong's eyes, and his consciousness fell into permanent silence. The dozen or so soldiers who followed him also fell to the ground in the same way.

After killing Qu Tong and his men, the six warships acted as if they had done something insignificant, and continued to clean up any suspicious areas in the water fortress.

Not long after all suspicious points were cleared, marines were sent ashore. These soldiers were elites selected from the Qin navy, and they walked cautiously through the ruins of the water fortress with their weapons.

After confirming that there were no living people in the water fortress and that there was no danger, the six warships sent a message back to the fleet behind them. Only then did Meng Tian lead the twelve warships to approach the water fortress.

This place is indeed a natural harbor, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on one side. This terrain not only shelters it from the wind but also serves as a barrier against external enemies, and the water is deep enough to accommodate giant ships of tens of thousands of tons.

This was the location chosen by Qu Tong after he carefully surveyed the terrain of the Liuqiu coastline upon arriving at Liuqiu Island. He believed that if the Qin people came from the north, this place could serve as a key location to defend against the Qin navy.

His thinking was correct, but unfortunately he did not expect the technological advancements in the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Navy was no longer the Qin Navy he remembered.

Meng Tian disembarked and walked to Qu Tong's body. A staff officer beside him said, "This man is very likely the enemy commander who is stationed here. Does the general recognize him?"

Meng Tian glanced at Qu Tong's corpse and shook his head, saying, "I don't recognize him. I've never seen this man among the generals of the six kingdoms I know. With the fall of the six kingdoms, almost all their generals with names and titles perished. This man must have been promoted later and cleaned up the battlefield, clearing away all the corpses." After speaking, Meng Tian continued his tour of the ruins of the naval fortress. Through his studies at the naval academy, he had learned a great deal of naval knowledge he had never known before. He said to the staff officers accompanying him, "This place has the potential to be a good harbor. The person who decided to build the naval fortress here is quite capable. The layout of the fortress is not entirely wrong."

"But they never expected that Great Qin is no longer what it used to be. How can yesterday's shield withstand Great Qin's spear today? This water fortress belongs to Great Qin from now on. Fang Ling, go and find someone to raise the national flag for me!"

One staff officer immediately took the order and left, while another staff officer asked, "General, many people fled from here during the attack. Should we pursue them?"

Meng Tian said, "Although our soldiers are better equipped than theirs, we are outnumbered. We should not pursue them. We should hold this water fortress and wait for reinforcements."

At this moment, Meng Tian noticed several broken poles and saw human heads and mutilated limbs hanging on them. He narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems that after those nobles from the six kingdoms fled here, the barbarians here did not willingly listen to them."

Yes, if people were willing to listen to them, there wouldn't be so many human heads and remains hanging on these tall poles. This is clearly a cruel way to instill fear in the local Tibetans.

One of the advisors looked at Gao Gan and said, "The local barbarians are not on the same side as those nobles from the six kingdoms, which is actually a good thing for us. It's just that these barbarians aren't very capable..."

The advisor shook his head and said, "The nobles of the six states have been beaten into a state of utter destitution by Qin and are no longer what they used to be. Yet these barbarians have been defeated by them."

The six states, once like stray dogs, were beaten down by the Qin Dynasty and lived in constant fear. Yet, overseas, they transformed into vicious wolves, subduing the local barbarians and making them obedient.

While Meng Tian was observing from the water fortress, the fleeing barbarians and people from the six kingdoms were running south in a frenzy. The barbarians were terrified by the cannon fire and dared not fight against the terrifying enemy, so they became deserters. Although the people from the six kingdoms were also frightened, they were not terrified to the point of being scared out of their wits. They fled in order to send news back.

Located about 50 kilometers south of Shuizhai, in a mountain forest, a well-preserved fortress has been built.

The main style of this fortress is that of the local Tibetans, as it originally belonged to the local Tibetans. It was the former nobles of the six kingdoms who fled here by sea, defeated the Tibetans, and seized the fortress. Therefore, it now also has the architectural features of the six kingdoms.

The fortified village was quite large, covering a vast area. It was surrounded by wooden walls, complete with watchtowers and arrow towers, and even contained a palace in the style of the Chu Kingdom.

The local aboriginal people naturally did not have such palace-style buildings. They were brought to the island by the former nobles of the six kingdoms. The palaces were not large, and the workmanship was not very exquisite or beautiful. They could even be described as rough.

After all, times have changed. The former nobles of the six kingdoms who fled to the island have fallen into decline. Even if they conquered the local tribes, they did not have enough manpower and resources to build a luxurious palace. Moreover, they did not bring many craftsmen who knew how to build palaces with them when they fled. It is already quite remarkable that they were able to build this one.

Inside the palace, King Xiong Xin of Chu sat on his throne, feeling rather bored. After fleeing to this island, he was no longer pursued by the Qin people, but he had become quite bored as there was really nothing to do. With such a small place and such a small population, what important national affairs could he possibly have to handle every day?
Just as bored as him were the dozens of civil and military officials inside the hall. Although they were small in number and their territory was small, they were still fully equipped with all the necessary functions, including doctors and magistrates...

Moreover, this wasn't a purely Chu-based team, but a mixed team from six states. This official was from Qi, that prime minister was from Chu, and that magistrate (or minister of justice) was from Yan...

It was unprecedented for the nobles of the six states to gather together in such unity and serve as officials in the same court. Although they held official positions, there was little political work for them to handle. Their daily activities after court mainly consisted of chatting with others in the hall, criticizing the Qin dogs, and dreaming about the future.

The Qin dogs will surely meet a terrible end, and the six states will surely rise again. Don't be fooled by their current state of being homeless dogs; they still have a bright future. Especially the Chu people here, who firmly believe in the prophecy: "Even if Chu has only three households left, it will surely be Chu that destroys Qin!"

We, the people of Chu, will definitely go back and teach those Qin dogs a lesson. We will repay them tenfold for the humiliation they have caused us!
Looking at the group of civil and military officials chatting in the hall, Xiong thought to himself that today would be another boring day. After arriving on this island, apart from the first few days when he was quite busy, he had been idle ever since.

When they first arrived, they were busy surveying the island and figuring out how to deal with the local aboriginal people. But after the aboriginal people were defeated and enslaved, there wasn't much left for them to do.

Thinking of the local barbarians, if they hadn't been conquered, they wouldn't have been able to build this simple palace or maintain a decent life. It was the barbarians' labor that allowed them to continue enjoying the life of nobles, although it was far inferior to the nobles of the previous six kingdoms.

'If only the Qin dogs could be like the barbarians!'

Xiong Xin had this thought. Back in Shenzhou, they were beaten into a state of utter destitution by the Qin people and forced to flee their homes to this place. But it wasn't that they were weak; it was that the Qin people were too strong.

Upon arriving on the island and engaging in combat with the local barbarians, Xiong Xin and his companions realized: We are actually quite strong.

This is not surprising. The six states were indeed destroyed one by one by the Qin Dynasty. They seemed like six weaklings, but were they really weak?

This is the sixth of the seven great powers that emerged from centuries of war, equivalent to the six of the seven surviving nations in a battle royale tournament held by the Great Zhou Dynasty!

The State of Chu conquered the Bai Pu and Ba people in the south, brought the southern barbarian lands under its rule, and subjugated the Yang Yue and Gan Yue tribes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The States of Zhao and Yan also crushed the Hu tribes in the north. Li Mu's battles shattered the courage of the Xiongnu, destroyed the Chanlan, defeated the Donghu, and subjugated the Linhu... all of which have verifiable achievements.

The defeat of the six states by the Qin Dynasty was not because the six states were weak, but because the Qin Dynasty was stronger. Apart from the Qin Dynasty, it would be almost impossible for any other country in the world to win against the six states. Although we are six weak chickens in front of the Qin Dynasty, as fearful as stray dogs, once we leave the Central Plains, what will you call us?
As Xiong Xin was recalling these things, a guard rushed in from outside, immediately attracting the attention of the officials in the hall, whose eyes fell on the guard.

The guard entered the hall, bowed to Xiong Xin, and said, "Your Majesty, General Dou Yang is outside requesting an audience, saying he has urgent military intelligence to report!"

Dou Yang's request for an audience, along with urgent military news, caused Xiong Xin and the civil and military officials in the hall to change their expressions; this was not good news.

Dou Yang was with Qu Tong in that water fortress in the north. His return means that something has changed in the north. It's just unknown whether the barbarians in the water fortress have betrayed them, or if there is... another reason!

Hopefully it's not "another reason." A rebellion by the barbarians is easy to deal with; just suppress them and kill a bunch of them. But if it's "another reason," especially the reason they're thinking of, then it will be tricky and difficult to handle!
(End of this chapter)