Diqin Designer

Chapter 475 Cutting off the retreat route of the former nobles of the six kingdoms

The Qin navy, Xiong Xin and his men, and the barbarian soldiers were all moving quickly.

Among them, Xiong Xin and others were the first to move, but their speed was slowed down because they had foreign women in their group. However, they did not intend to abandon these foreign women.

Firstly, they believed they were one step ahead of the Qin and the barbarian people. Neither the Qin nor the barbarian people could catch up with them. By the time the Qin or the barbarian people caught up, they would have already boarded their ships, laughing as they sailed away from the island, leaving the Qin and the barbarian people to only sigh in despair.

Secondly, these barbarian women were given as a reward to appease the soldiers.

The soldiers who are still with them now are truly loyal.

However, loyalty is not something that remains unchanged. If there are no rewards or incentives, and one is forced to continue fleeing without any hope for the future, even the most unwavering loyalty will develop cracks.

These soldiers must be rewarded so that they feel they will benefit from following them, thus maintaining their loyalty and willingness to continue serving them. These barbarian women are a reward that will satisfy the soldiers.

As for the place Xiong Xin and the others were heading to, it was a harbor located in the northeast of Liuqiu Island, southeast of the northern water village.

This is a place that Xiong Xin and his team discovered when they surveyed the terrain of Ryuqiu.

Originally, the terrain and environment of the water village were better, but unfortunately it was located north of Liuqiu. If the Qin people came, there was a high chance that the village would be the first to be discovered by the Qin people, which was not very safe.

Therefore, Xiong Xin and his group chose another location that was not in the north but also had the potential to become a seaport.

This place is not in the north, so it would not have been discovered and attacked by the Qin people immediately after they found the island.

This place is not far from their village, so in case of an accident, they can evacuate here in time and leave the island by boat.

Furthermore, the terrain here is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with the bay opening to the southeast. There are two small arc-shaped peninsulas on the left and right that embrace the harbor. The terrain is quite precipitous, making it a natural and excellent harbor that can be used without requiring a lot of manpower and resources for construction.

Xiong Xin and his group were very insightful in choosing this location.

After deciding to use this place as their escape harbor, Xiong Xin and his men hid their ships here, and even the barbarians were unaware that this was the harbor of the six kingdoms.

At this moment, this natural harbor was not as dark and quiet as usual. Many torches were lit, and by their light, dozens of ships could be seen moored on the water.

These ships were all used by the former nobles of the six kingdoms when they fled to Ryuchiu Island, and most of them were high-class ships.

The ship was well maintained, after all, it was Xiong Xin and his men's backup plan. If it wasn't well maintained, it would be a real disaster if it broke down when they needed it.

All the boats have their sails hoisted, ready to depart as soon as people arrive and board.

Soldiers patrolled the ship and its surroundings, vigilant against enemy attacks that could damage the vessel.

After a continuous, almost non-stop march, Xiong Xin and his men were not far from the harbor and could see the light of torches in the harbor.

Except for the barbarian women who had been forcibly abducted, everyone had a smile on their face.

If they just hold on a little longer, they'll reach the port soon. Once they board the ship, hoist the sails, and plunge into the sea, even if the Qin people are powerful, they won't be able to do anything to them.

What, could the Qin people possibly stop them on the vast ocean? Did the Qin people know where they were going to sail?

The thought that they would soon be able to leave the island and that the Qin people would no longer be a threat to them eased the tension that had been building up in Xiong Xin and the others.

A nobleman from one of the six kingdoms, looking at the harbor that was not far away, suddenly burst into laughter.

The laughter attracted the attention of others, and one of them asked in confusion, "Why is Zhenyin laughing?"

Seeing that others were looking at him, the man who was laughing explained, "I was laughing at the Qin people for being nothing more than this. I've heard that Qin dog Li Nian has extraordinary talent, he knows everything about astronomy and geography, he knows everything about the world, both at home and abroad, and even the overseas maps we obtained were made by him."

"Since he is so capable, why didn't he know that this island has such a natural harbor? It's clear that he's just a figurehead praised by the Qin people!"

"If Li Nian is truly as capable as rumored, he would surely mark out which places could be used as harbors for the Qin army before they arrive on this island, so that they can be on guard."

"Gentlemen, imagine if the Qin people had noticed this place beforehand and sent ships to block us, what would we do?"

Following the person's perspective, everyone realized there was some truth to it, and they couldn't help but laugh. In the end, it was Qin Huang's lack of strategy and Li Nian's lack of wisdom that allowed them to escape successfully once again.

The worries and anxieties that had arisen from the arrival of the Qin people have subsided considerably.

The Qin people were nothing special!

While Xiong Xin and the others were laughing at the Qin people for being nothing special, they did not notice two ships appearing on the eastern sea.

After a night's voyage, the Zhenguo and Anbang ships arrived at this harbor.

With Li Nian in Da Qin, how could he not know which places on Ryukyu Island were suitable as seaports?

Not only did they know, they knew even better than the nobles of the six kingdoms on the island!

What Xiong Xin and his group considered a secluded haven was actually designated as "Target Site A" by Meng Tian.

It was only natural that the Zhenguo and Anbang ships, which were ordered by Meng Tian to go to "Target Location A", found this place.

The people on the Zhenguo and Anbang ships also noticed the torchlight in the harbor. It was so conspicuous that it was the only light in the surrounding quiet darkness, and it was obvious that the light was man-made rather than natural.

The only people on this island who would light a fire, besides themselves, are the barbarians and the former nobles of the six kingdoms.

The barbarians had just been utterly defeated by them. Although they didn't know where they had fled to, it certainly wasn't here, because it couldn't have happened so quickly.

Moreover, this is a harbor, so unless the natives want to leave the island, there is no reason for them to flee here.

Since they are neither barbarians nor them, then only the former nobles of the six kingdoms remain.

If the former nobles of the six kingdoms wanted to escape from Ryuchiu Island, they would need to travel by boat, and therefore they would need a place to moor their ships. This place happened to be a harbor. All the clues were now connected; this was indeed the harbor where the former nobles of the six kingdoms moored their ships for their departure from the island.

The cunning nobles of the six states built a water fortress in the north, but actually had another harbor in secret.

This hidden harbor was their backup plan; if anything changed on the island, they could escape using the boats that had been prepared there.

Today, the former nobles of the six kingdoms have given up their desire to escape; they cannot leave the island easily.

Although the Zhenguo and Anbang only had two ships, and were outnumbered by the ships in the harbor, the naval officers and soldiers on the Zhenguo and Anbang were not afraid at all. On the contrary, they were very excited. Although they only had two ships, they were determined to leave all the ships in the harbor behind and cut off the retreat of the nobles of the six kingdoms.

Upon discovering the harbor, the officers and soldiers on the Zhenguo and Anbang ships immediately sprang into action: measuring their distance from the harbor, carefully observing the number of ships in the harbor, assigning targets to each cannon, adjusting the cannon's firing parameters, and loading shells...

Their goal was to sink as many ships in the harbor as possible before the enemy could react, thus rendering the enemy incapable of resistance. Therefore, the first wave of attack had to be successful!
The officers and soldiers on board the Zhenguo and Anbang ships had received nighttime naval combat training, and now they were demonstrating what they had learned during the training.

On the other side, after joking about Qin Huang's lack of strategy and Li Nian's lack of wisdom, Xiong Xin and the others continued their journey toward the harbor.

Suddenly, a thunderous sound came from the eastern sea. Before they could react, there was another sound, then two, then three... as if the entire eastern sky was shaking.

This commotion naturally caught the attention of Xiong Xin and the others, who all looked eastward and had a thought: Is it thundering?
The moment it was born, it was rejected by Xiong Xin and others. Not a single flash of lightning was seen in the eastern sky, so it didn't seem like thunder. But if it wasn't thunder...

Xiong Xin and the others had a bad feeling. They thought of the urgent military intelligence reported by Dou Yang and Zhao Yue: the Qin people had a terrifying weapon that could make a thunderous sound.

The Qin people used this very weapon to destroy the northern water fortresses!

The thunderous roar that is now heard here suggests that the Qin people have arrived and are using this weapon!
How did the Qin people find this place? How did they know they were coming here? How did they know there were their ships here?
Xiong Xin and the others, who had just been mocking the Qin people for not being able to find this place, now looked grave and grim. They dared not go any further and could only stand still, watching the harbor illuminated by the torches.

If it really was the Qin people who arrived, and they were still attacking the harbor with those terrifying weapons, there was nothing they could do but pray that the Qin people's weapons weren't that powerful and that the ships in the harbor could be saved.

They knew very well that the Qin people attacked the harbor to destroy the ships there, cut off their escape route, and force them to remain on the island, where they had just massacred the barbarians...

hiss!
The thought of staying on the island and facing the barbarians gave Xiong Xin and the others a headache. Given their actions, the barbarians on the island must hate them to the extreme and would definitely fight them to the death.

On this island, unless one side is completely wiped out, the hatred of the natives towards them will be difficult to eliminate.

The Qin dogs are too treacherous and cunning. They clearly know that the Qin people slaughtered the Tibetans, so they want to destroy their ships, leave them on the island to fight the Tibetans to the death, and then reap the benefits.

Whether they defeated the barbarians, the barbarians defeated them, or both sides suffered heavy losses, the Qin people could still profit.

Both they and the barbarians, severely weakened, would ultimately become like snipe and clam caught by the Qin fishermen.

The best solution to this predicament would have been for them to unite with the barbarians and fight against the Qin people, but this method became impossible after they massacred the barbarians.

Given the hatred the barbarians harbored towards them, they would not only be less likely to join forces with them against the Qin, but would be more likely to side with the Qin and fight against them together.

The barbarian tribes surrendered to the Qin people and fought a life-or-death struggle with them on the island...

Just thinking about it sent chills down Xiong Xin's spine.

The worst-case scenario for them is likely to occur, but unfortunately, they are powerless to change it; it is something they themselves have created.

If they hadn't thought they were about to leave the island and wouldn't need the indigenous people anymore, they might as well plunder them and slaughter them before leaving, and they wouldn't be in this situation now.

Just as Xiong Xin and the others were regretting their actions, bursts of fire rose in the harbor ahead, followed by thunderous explosions.

Every flash of fire, every explosion, sent a shiver down Xiong Xin's spine. These flashes and explosions meant that the ships in the harbor were under attack!
Xiong Xin and the others were extremely anxious, but they could only watch helplessly.

The Qin people launched their attack from a distance, making it impossible to stop them. The only way to avoid them was to move the ships in the harbor. But the Qin people were not in the harbor, and moving the ships in the harbor would have allowed them to avoid the attack.
What Zhaoyue and Douyang said is true; the Qin people really did have such terrifying weapons!

With such weapons appearing on the battlefield, in a head-on confrontation, what army in the world could defeat the Qin army?
Xiong Xin and the others felt jealous and envious again. Why did the Qin people get all the good things in the world?
Oh, heavens, how boundless is your will! Why is it that the Qin people created this weapon, but they didn't?

If only they could have created such a weapon!

Was the Qin unification of the world truly ordained by Heaven, and were the other six states defying Heaven's will?
As soon as the first round of shelling ended, the second round began swiftly, with continuous booming sounds. The Qin people were determined to destroy the ships in the harbor and prevent them from leaving the island.

The shelling continued for several rounds until it got light.

The light rises from where the sea and sky meet in the east, gradually spreading across the entire world and revealing the state of the harbor.

The harbor was in complete disarray. Some boats had sunk, while others were still afloat, burning fiercely as they sank. The surface of the harbor was littered with scattered wreckage, leaving the entire area in ruins.

Xiong Xin and the others finally understood the scene of the water fortress being destroyed described by Zhao Yue and Dou Yang. It was a weapon they did not understand, and the effect it caused was incomparable to those weapons they knew.

Some of the former nobles of the six kingdoms felt that the war had changed everything, but they were still stuck in the old ways of war.

After conquering the six states and unifying the world, the Qin people continued to progress and their strength gradually increased. However, instead of advancing, they continued to weaken...

How long has it been? How could the gap between them and the Qin people have become so large?

Amidst the flames and thick smoke from the burning ship, the nobles from the six kingdoms realized that there wasn't a single intact vessel in the harbor, making it impossible for them to leave the island by boat.

The boats are all gone, are we supposed to let them swim in the ocean?

The Qin people destroyed the ships in the harbor, so they must have sent a lot of warships over, right?
Xiong Xin and the others looked towards the eastern sea, only to see two warships, which filled them with both anger and sorrow!

The Qin people then dispatched two warships, which destroyed all the ships in their harbor, leaving them with no chance to fight back.

Xiong Xin and his men glanced at the Qin warships on the eastern sea, then looked at the harbor, and then headed south.

The ships in the harbor have been destroyed, and there's no point in staying here any longer. Returning the way we came is also not advisable, as the barbarian soldiers will surely discover what they've done once they return to the fortified town, and they may already be chasing after us. We must avoid their advance for now.

(End of this chapter)