Diqin Designer

Chapter 473 The power of muskets is evident, and the enemy crumbles at the first contact.

To get these barbarians to draw more useful information, Meng Tian had his personal guards mark the drawings he approved with a checkmark.

Although the foreigners were illiterate and had never been to school, they could still distinguish between "√" and "×".

The Qin people just marked the first barbarian's drawing with an "X", and now they are marking their drawings with a "√", which clearly means they approve of what they are drawing now.

What to draw is obvious.

After examining all the drawings made by the foreigners, Meng Tian dismissed them and asked his advisors, "What do you think of these drawings by the foreigners?"

One of the staff officers said, "It should be true. Although those people were defeated by our Great Qin and became homeless dogs, that only applies to our Great Qin. As for the barbarians on the island, they are not easy to deal with."

The former nobles and weak states of the six states were facing the Qin Dynasty, not foreign barbarians. Once released, they would all be formidable warriors.

"After arriving at Ryuchiu Island, they discovered the island's inhabitants and found that the inhabitants were weaker than them. So they clashed with the inhabitants, defeated them, and made them work for them."

Another advisor said, "This is good news for us. The more brutal those people are to the local tribes, the less the local tribes will genuinely work for them; they will only be coerced by them. Once the local tribes discover that they are all bark and no bite, they will surely rebel!"

"Moreover, the deeper the hatred between the local barbarians and those people, the easier it will be for Great Qin to govern this place in the future. There is no need to do too much; just be different from those people. In fact, these nobles from the six kingdoms who fled to Liuqiu Island have done a good thing for Great Qin and can be called the pioneers of Great Qin in opening up the island."

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces. The arrival of the former nobles of the six kingdoms on Liuqiu Island was not a good thing for the local people, but it was a good thing for the Qin Dynasty.

Because the former nobles of the six states conquered and slaughtered the local barbarians, it was as if they had eliminated troublemakers and unstable factors among the barbarians in advance for the Qin Dynasty. With the former nobles of the six states taking action, the Qin Dynasty would not need to take action to eliminate them after its arrival.

By bestowing favors upon the local barbarians, demonstrating that Qin is a benevolent and courteous nation, unlike the cruel and inhumane former nobles of the six states, it would be easier to win over the local barbarians to submit to Qin.

The former nobles of the six states became victims of Qin's actions. They were driven to an island by Qin, and their deeds there ultimately benefited Qin.

They built a house, bought a car, and gave a bride price. When it was time for the wedding, Da Qin entered the bridal chamber, and that was the end of their business.

However, they had no choice but to do it. They wanted to survive on the island and strengthen their power to fight against the Qin Dynasty, so they decided to target the local barbarians.

If they don't seize the territory of the indigenous people or enslave them, they may still be able to survive on the island. But what is easier than enslaving the indigenous people and making them work?
Moreover, they don't have many people. If they don't use the barbarians, and rely solely on the few people they bring, when will they ever accumulate enough strength to fight against the Qin Dynasty?

Meng Tian then asked, "Many people fled today. They must have received news of our arrival and the capture of the water fortress. What do you all think they will do after receiving this news?"

One of the staff officers laughed and said, "They'll definitely be scared, and they might already be planning another escape."

Another staff officer said, "I don't think they'll escape immediately!"

Seeing Meng Tian looking at him, the advisor spoke his mind.

"They have been defeated by the Qin Dynasty many times and have fled multiple times. Their morale must be low. If they flee without a fight when they hear of our arrival, their morale will plummet to rock bottom."

“From now on, their morale will surely be low, and it will be difficult to boost their spirits and fight against the Qin.”

"Therefore, even knowing that they might be defeated and no match for the Qin, they still have to fight us. Young Master Li Nian once said: Whether we can win is one thing, whether we dare to draw our swords is another."

"If they are afraid of us this time and dare not draw their swords, then they will find it even more difficult to have the courage to draw their swords when facing us in the future."

"I believe they will definitely gather their forces and fight us. Even if they still try to escape after the battle, we will still fight!"

After careful consideration, everyone realized that what was said made sense. As long as the former nobles of the six kingdoms on the island still wanted to fight against the Qin Dynasty and restore the six kingdoms, they would choose to fight.

Otherwise, if morale is low and the people's hearts are scattered, they will have little hope of restoring the six kingdoms.

In order to preserve morale, we must fight whether we want to or not.

The staff officer added, "General, we must be on high alert. If they send troops, it won't be long, probably within the next few days. They may concentrate their superior forces to attack us."

After the strategist finished speaking, Meng Tian nodded and said, "That's right! As long as these people still have the idea of ​​counterattacking Qin and restoring their country, they will definitely fight us."

"But these people are a bunch of incompetent and cowardly fools. They will not dare to fight us to the death. They will prepare to fight us while planning to escape."

"Therefore, they will not deploy all their elite troops in this war; they will rely mainly on barbarian soldiers. Moreover, the barbarians are not of one mind with us, and now, frightened by cannon fire, they have been forcibly coerced into fighting us. How much fighting strength do you think they have?"

Meng Tian analyzed the situation and concluded that while it was possible for the enemy to launch an attack, there was no need to worry too much, as those people were not a threat.

Meng Tian then changed the subject, saying, "However, we must not be careless. As Young Master Li Nian once said, 'Even a tiger must go all out to catch a rabbit.' We must also be prepared. We should know that we can underestimate the enemy strategically, but we must take them seriously tactically."

"Furthermore, everyone, please don't forget our purpose in coming here. It is to find Liuqiu for the Great Qin, to find a suitable place to serve as a port, not to wipe out those stray dogs!"

Meng Tian's words suddenly brought many people to their senses. Since discovering traces of the former nobles of the six kingdoms on Liuqiu Island, many of them had forgotten the purpose of their trip and were preoccupied with how to wipe out the former nobles of the six kingdoms on the island.

Upon hearing Meng Tian's words, they became alert. Their purpose in coming here was to serve as the vanguard of the Qin Dynasty, establishing an outpost on Liuqiu Island in preparation for the arrival of the main army.

This is the top priority, far more important than wiping out the former nobles of the six kingdoms on Liuqiu Island. It concerns a series of arrangements for the Qin Dynasty, and if anything goes wrong, many people will lose their heads.

No wonder he is a leading general and is highly regarded by His Majesty; his awareness and understanding are far superior to theirs.

Several staff officers bowed to Meng Tian: "Thank you, General, for your insight!"

Meng Tian waved his hand and said, "Although our primary goal should be to accomplish this objective, if they actually dare to come, we must give them a proper welcome, or they will think we are afraid of trouble. Issue my order..."

The command "Pass on the general's order" immediately put everyone on a serious face, and the messenger responsible for recording the order became even more alert.

As Meng Tian and the others had predicted, within a few days, Xiong Xin and his men organized a large army and marched towards the water fortress.

Although it was called a large army, it actually only numbered a few thousand. After all, the tribes conquered by Xiong Xin and his men numbered only tens of thousands. If you exclude women, children, and the elderly, having a few thousand soldiers was already quite a lot.

The morale of this army is low; in fact, it can be described as quite low.

These barbarian soldiers did not want to come; they were only forced to come by Xiong Xin and others. It would be strange if their morale was high.

In the past few days, Xiong Xin and his men have been wreaking havoc in the tribes of the Tibetans, inflicting various forms of torture. These Tibetan soldiers only "voluntarily" came to avoid being killed themselves and their families being subjected to such cruelty!
As for why they didn't resist?
Those rebellious barbarians who dared to resist are long dead; those who are still alive are relatively peaceful barbarians with a certain capacity for endurance.

Xiong Xin and his men also sent their own men to accompany the army and supervise them. If any of the barbarian soldiers made any unusual moves during the march, they could be executed on the spot.

Amidst suppressed and low morale, the army marched to the vicinity of the water fortress.

Without rest, they launched a direct attack on the water fortress, aiming to catch the Qin people inside off guard.

What if we stop to rest and the Qin people discover us and become prepared?
Furthermore, according to the scouts sent out, the Qin people have only built part of the fortifications in the past few days and have not been able to fully repair the fortifications of the water fortress, so they should not be able to stop their attack.

This was a disaster caused by the Qin people themselves. If the Qin people hadn't destroyed the water fortress so badly, it would have been really difficult for them to defeat it, given its fortifications.

However, on the other hand, the Qin people would not have been able to capture the water fortress if they hadn't destroyed it.

Qin's labor was rudimentary and its military strength was limited. The only weapon they needed to be careful with was the crude-barreled weapon, but now that they had discovered its weaknesses, they no longer needed to worry too much.

The advantage lies with them. Even if they cannot destroy the Qin warships, they can still take down the Qin army on land. The only fear is that the Qin army is not in the water fortress and has retreated back to their ships.

Their choice of attack time was also brilliant, selecting a moment when the sun was about to set but had not yet set.

Although it was not yet night, the changing light in the world due to the setting sun would cause some interference with visibility, but it would not be too serious.

The reason for choosing this moment was to take advantage of the changes in light. The Qin people's weapons required aiming, and the changes in light between heaven and earth would inevitably affect their aiming.

What good is a powerful weapon if it can't hit its target?

These people were unaware that the scouts they had sent out had been discovered by Meng Tian and his men, who were already prepared to wait for them to arrive.

"Charge! All of you, charge! Anyone who dares not advance will be killed without mercy, and their entire family will be wiped out!"

Faced with the water fortress that had been captured by the Qin people, many of the barbarian soldiers were afraid and unwilling to move forward, but the people behind them urged them on, threatening the lives of their entire families.

Finally, with their entire families' lives threatened, the barbarian soldiers grabbed their weapons and charged out.

"Spread out, don't gather together. The Qin people's weapons can't hit you as long as you spread out and keep moving. Don't be afraid!"

Upon hearing these words, the many barbarian soldiers scattered and rushed towards the water fortress. Just then, a thunderous sound rang out, and they all knew that the Qin people had activated that weapon.

Despite their fear and trepidation, the barbarian soldiers dared not flee and could only charge forward.

Shells rained down on the battlefield, and screams could be heard from time to time, though not as many as expected.

The barbarian soldiers quickly looked in the direction from which the screams came, and saw that some people had been hit and lost their lives, but not many people were hit, only a few unlucky ones.

This boosted the morale of the barbarian soldiers. Their dispersed and constantly running strategy was truly effective, making them unable to be hit by the Qin people's weapons.

Since the Qin people's terrifying weapons couldn't hit them, what were they afraid of?
Once they get close, no matter how powerful the Qin people are, they only have two eyes, two legs, two arms, and one mouth. They don't have an extra leg or an extra arm, so they might not be unable to defeat them!

Killing one Qin person would earn them a generous reward, and killing two would bring an even greater reward.

The barbarian soldiers charged even more fiercely!

When they rushed closer, they found that the Qin people had set up many obstacles. Just as a group of barbarian soldiers were crossing the obstacles, a strange sound rang out, "Bang!"
Something struck a barbarian soldier, and with a splash of blood, the soldier collapsed.

Before the other barbarian soldiers could see what was happening, the "bang" sounds rang out one after another, and something hit them as well.

They felt a sharp pain, blood splattered, and then they collapsed to the ground.

It was as if some kind of deadly virus was spreading, and one after another, the barbarians fell to the ground.

This horrifying scene terrified the barbarian soldiers who were charging forward. Ignoring the threat of "Anyone who dares not advance will be killed without mercy, and their entire family wiped out!", they fled back in a frenzy.

It was terrifying. The Qin people were simply beyond their ability to defeat. They wanted to live, not die under the Qin people's inexplicable methods!
They had only come here under threat and intimidation, and had little will to fight. But when they saw their comrade killed by the Qin people inexplicably, their fear of the Qin people overwhelmed everything else.

The Qin people were definitely not human; no human could be so terrifying!
Influenced by these fleeing people, the thousands of Tibetan troops collapsed like dominoes, one falling and the rest scattered.

They all scrambled to escape, wishing their parents had given them more legs. If they had more legs, they could have run faster than the others and escaped the Qin people's attack.

The sound of "bangs" kept coming from behind, and with each "bang," a barbarian soldier fell to the ground, which made the others run even faster.

They had only one thought in their minds: escape, keep escaping, get away from this place!
Those supervising the battle from the rear were also bewildered. They had also seen those barbarian soldiers fall to the ground inexplicably. What had the Qin people used this time?
Fear also arose in their hearts. Instead of fleeing immediately, they began to kill the Tibetan soldiers who were trying to escape.

"Don't run away, all of you go back!"

"Don't you want your whole family dead?"

Despite their hacking, shouting, and threats, they could not stop the Tibetan soldiers from fleeing. Their actions only enraged the fleeing Tibetan soldiers.

These people are not letting them escape, but instead forcing them to go back and fight the Qin people. That's tantamount to taking their lives and not giving them any way out!
Since they're not even given a chance to survive, then these people shouldn't expect anything good either.

Although these barbarian soldiers are relatively more stable and tolerant, their honesty has its limits. Once they erupt, they become even more ferocious!

The anger of being driven to the brink of despair and the hatred of being oppressed and enslaved surged into their hearts: If they won't let us live, then you must die too.

One barbarian soldier brandished his weapon at those who were enslaving and coercing them; two barbarian soldiers brandished their weapons; three barbarian soldiers brandished their weapons…

With a foreign soldier defecting and fighting back, those supervising the battle were quickly killed.

Their numbers were already small, and the barbarian soldiers, now enraged, became quite fierce.

(End of this chapter)