Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 147: The Harvest of Hua's Wubao, and the Imminent Fateful Showdown!

At this moment, the dim glow on the walls of Huashi Wubao disappeared.

Although the secret technique of ley line resonance allows the Warburg to connect with the surrounding ley lines, transferring the attacks received by the Warburg to the surrounding land.

However, there is an upper limit to this transfer.

Each transfer consumes dragon energy. Once the transferred attack reaches the transfer limit of this secret technique, the technique will disappear.

Of course, this upper limit is very high.

Under normal circumstances, the Earth Vein Resonance Secret Technique, performed by 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers, would require at least 50,000 strong troops of the same level who are skilled in siege warfare to reach the upper limit of this secret technique.

Ji Qiu doesn't have 50,000 strong troops of the same level who are skilled in siege warfare, but he does have an artillery battalion that can accomplish the same task!
Once this secret technique was broken, not only did Huashi Wubao lose its defensive capabilities, but the dragon energy within the 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers was also almost completely depleted.

On the walls of Huashi Wubao.

A dead silence.

All the Qingzhou soldiers lay weakly on the ground, gazing at the sky with despair on their faces.

Hua Xin was filled with disbelief, muttering, "Impossible, this is impossible. How could he have so many scholars? How could he have so much dragon energy?"

He didn't know what a howitzer was.

According to his understanding, these cannonballs that were placed on top of Fort Hua's head were undoubtedly a powerful secret technique.

Judging from its power, it should be around the early stage of the seventh rank.

A thousand cannonballs were fired in one round, which meant that a thousand scholars of at least the seventh rank were simultaneously using this secret technique.

Ten rounds of cannonballs were fired in succession, which meant that each scholar had used his secret technique ten times.

The former represents a large number of high-quality subordinates.

The latter represents a massive amount of dragon energy.

This was something Hua Xin had never expected and couldn't understand at all.

He knew Ji Qiu was strong, but he didn't know Ji Qiu was this strong.

His rise to prominence has only taken two short years, hasn't it?
Wasn't he born into a poor family in a remote county with no background or connections?
How could he possess such immense strength?!
Of course, at this point, it's pointless to think about why Ji Qiu is so strong.

Why should a dying person think so much?

Hua Xin gave a bitter smile, then closed her eyes and awaited death.

He closed his eyes and waited for a long time, but the next round of artillery fire did not come.

Instead, Liu Bei arrived.

Liu Bei reappeared outside Huashi Wubao and shouted to Hua Xin: "Master Ziyu, the Hua family of Pingyuan is now powerless to resist. Why needlessly throw away the lives of your children?"
For the sake of the Plains Hua clan, you should surrender!
I can guarantee that I will not harm the lives of any of the Hua family members from Pingyuan!

Liu Bei came again to persuade them to surrender.

This was naturally with Ji Qiu's permission.

As I said before, no matter what, the Hua clan of Pingyuan is still a part of the human race of Kyushu.

With powerful enemies eyeing the Nine Provinces from the outside and the Nine Provinces Barrier in grave danger, all human forces in the Nine Provinces should, as far as possible, protect themselves.

Therefore, with Huashi Wubao already incapable of resistance, Ji Qiu made the decision to offer surrender once again.

They were preparing to give Plain Hua one last chance.

Of course, this decision has certain drawbacks.

This will at least cause some trouble for the future governance of Plains County.

But Ji Qiu already had a proper way to handle the matter.

So there's no need to worry too much.

Faced with Liu Bei's second attempt to persuade him to surrender, Hua Xin knew that this was his and the Hua family of Pingyuan's last hope for survival.

So they didn't hesitate for long and quickly made a decision to surrender.

Powerful and influential families are known for their ability to bend and stretch.

Or, in modern terms, it is inherently weak and lacks revolutionary potential.

As far as Hua Xin himself and the mainstream desire of the Hua clan of Pingyuan were concerned, they had no intention of surrendering.

This was not only because they looked down on Ji Qiu's background, but also because Ji Qiu's actions towards Qi County and Le'an County over the past six months had shown them that surrender would never end well.

In the late autumn, all the people of Qi Commandery and Le'an Commandery were relocated to Taishan Commandery.

All land ownership was transferred to the governor's office.

This completely severed the foundation of powerful clans.

Any powerful family, if they had any other means, would absolutely not want to rely on Ji Qiu.

But no matter how ruthless Ji Qiu was, he ultimately only wanted money.

Faced with the choice between money and life, Plain Hua ultimately chose life.

After Hua Xin announced his surrender, he ordered his family's private soldiers to lay down their weapons and opened the gates of Hua's Fortress.

Subsequently, Liu Bei's army entered the area and began to take over Huashi Wubao.

Then comes the much-anticipated task of counting the spoils.

Just now, Ji Qiu accepted the surrender conditions offered by Liu Bei, which only stipulated that the lives of the Hua family members from Pingyuan would not be harmed.

The subtext of this statement is that the accumulated wealth of the Hua family of Pingyuan over hundreds of years will all belong to Ji Qiu.

Everyone in the Hua clan of Pingyuan was aware of this, so they did not stop Liu Bei's army from confiscating the Hua clan's wealth in the Hua clan's fortress.

After confiscating all the wealth of the Hua family of Pingyuan, Liu Bei presented it to Ji Qiu.

First, there are ordinary valuables such as gold, silver, jade, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.

For such items, Ji Qiu usually calculates the value based on the price they could sell for in the modern world.

This is no exception today.

Ji Qiu did the calculations and came up with a total figure of approximately three hundred million US dollars.

This made Ji Qiu nod secretly, feeling that it was not bad, at least he had recovered the cost of the tens of thousands of shells he fired.

When the cannon is fired, there is a thousand taels of gold.

This artillery battalion is certainly powerful, but it also costs a lot.

For example, a single 240mm standard grenade can cost as much as $50,000 on the international market!
Even if Ji Qiu could produce it herself, the cost would still be $2!

The 10,000 conventional shells fired just now cost 200 million US dollars!

The special shells used last time to deal with the North Sea Army were even more expensive.

Because these three types of special ammunition are all things that Annam cannot produce on its own.

Therefore, we must purchase them from the international arms market.

Even though Ji Qiu specifically chose the affordable Dongda product, the cost was still not low.

The M-240ZH stun grenade has an international market price of $8 per piece.

GY-240YW type high-intensity smoke grenade, international market price: US$12 per grenade.

ZD-240DN ground-shaking kinetic energy ball, international market price: US$15 per ball.

It can be said that Ji Qiu's decision to abandon conventional shells and choose special shells in order to capture the 50,000-strong Beihai army last time was truly a testament to his compassion!
Secondly, he acquired the secret techniques of the Qingzhou soldiers.

This is a very powerful secret technique for strengthening the army, and its power has already been demonstrated in the battle just now.

Although they were the defeated side, this does not mean that the Qingzhou soldiers' secret techniques were ineffective.

Rather, Ji Qiu's cheat code was too strong.

If Ji Qiu didn't have an artillery battalion, he would have to bring all his elite troops to break through Huashi Wubao, which was guarded by 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers!

However, this gain had no practical value for Ji Qiu.

Because Ji Qiu already possessed the secret techniques of the Qingzhou army.

This secret technique for strengthening the military is one of the military techniques collected by Qianjintang.

Ji Qiu obtained all the secret techniques of Qianjintang, including the secret techniques of Qingzhou soldiers.

Ji Qiu had once considered whether to train a Qingzhou army unit.

But eventually I gave up.

Firstly, his base in Taishan County could provide sufficient defense simply by virtue of its terrain.

There is no need to specially train the Qingzhou soldiers, a powerful army known for its defensive capabilities.

Compared to defense, he actually needs a strong military force that excels in offense.

In conjunction with his space-time portal and Qiankun Bag, he can launch attacks from any place the enemy cannot imagine, thus inflicting maximum damage on his opponents.

Secondly, the resources required for training Qingzhou soldiers are also quite special.

It is a ginkgo fruit.

Ginkgo is one of the oldest tree species on Earth, dating back to the Carboniferous period 3.45 million years ago.

During the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic Era (about 1.5 million years ago), ginkgo trees were widely distributed in Eurasia, North America, and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere, forming vast forest communities.

It is highly adaptable and can grow in humid subtropical regions as well as cold high-latitude regions, making it a dominant species in the ecosystem at that time.

However, the severe cold of the Quaternary Ice Age (about 200 million years ago) led to dramatic changes in the global climate, causing the ginkgo tree to become extinct in most parts of Europe, North America, and Asia.

They survived only in "refuges" with superior natural conditions, such as Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang, Dahong Mountain in Hubei, and Tengchong in Yunnan, which are located near Southeast University.

In the modern world, wild ginkgo populations in these regions are extremely small and mostly isolated, facing problems of declining genetic diversity and difficulty in natural regeneration.

Later, through artificial introduction, ginkgo trees spread all over the world again, but cultivated individuals are mostly of a single genotype and lack the adaptability of natural evolution.

These plantations are mainly used for ornamental purposes, medicinal purposes, or timber production, and their ecological functions are far inferior to those of virgin forests.

It almost never produces ginkgo fruits.

Therefore, ginkgo fruit is one of the few plant and animal species in the modern world that is even rarer than those in the world of Dragon Qi Three Kingdoms.

Under these circumstances, Ji Qiu would naturally not cultivate the Qingzhou army, which requires a large number of ginkgo fruits as cultivation resources.

In fact, this was not only Ji Qiu's choice, but also the choice made by many powerful families in Qingzhou.

Although the Qingzhou Army is a secret military technique named after Qingzhou, within Qingzhou, only the Hua family of Pingyuan has actually trained Qingzhou soldiers on a large scale.

Other families, too, had to abandon training such a powerful military force due to resource constraints.

The reason why the Hua clan of Pingyuan was able to train the Qingzhou army was because they had a wild ginkgo forest.

This ginkgo forest, covering an area of ​​about 100 acres, can yield about 15 tons of ginkgo fruit every year.

Enough to support the 30,000 Qingzhou soldiers of the Hua clan of Pingyuan!

However, although the Plain Hua family possessed such a priceless ginkgo forest, they lacked the ability to cultivate ginkgo trees.

This resulted in the ginkgo forest not increasing its yield much for hundreds of years. It also allowed the Hua clan's private army in the plains to remain at a size of 30,000 for a long time.

Their average level of secret arts has also been consistently at the early stage of the eighth rank.

But now that the Plains Hua clan has been subdued by Ji Qiu, this forest naturally belongs to Ji Qiu.

Ji Qiu had a great talent in planting, Yuan Huan, under his command.

If Yuan Huan were to take charge, he could expand the ginkgo forest and increase the yield of ginkgo fruits.

Then Ji Qiu might be able to train more Qingzhou soldiers, or upgrade the secret techniques of the existing Qingzhou soldiers.

Thirdly, he obtained a high-grade third-rank dragon artifact, the Phantom Fan.

The jade joints shimmered with a warm glow in the morning light. The nine fan ribs were carved from millennia-old cold jade, and each texture seemed to be the solidified deep blue of an ancient glacier.

The fan surface is made of mermaid silk gauze, on which intricate cloud patterns are embroidered with gold thread. What's even more amazing is that on the gauze, which is as thin as a cicada's wing, there is also a layer of faint light that flows and changes with the light, creating a dreamlike color.

A string of dark purple beads hangs from the end of the fan handle, each bead like a drop of solidified starlight, swaying gently in the breeze and making a soft, pleasant sound.

When you gently unfold this folding fan, a faint, exotic fragrance will fill the air.

The fragrance is like a blend of roses glistening with morning dew and ethereal orchids in the mountains, a scent that stirs the soul.

As the fan slowly danced, the surrounding air seemed to become misty, forming a hazy halo around the user.

Within the halo, the user's face became increasingly clear and captivating, every gesture seemingly imbued with a unique rhythm, every smile and frown possessing an irresistible allure.

Holding this fan, the man exudes elegance and refinement as he chats and laughs.

When a woman gently waves a folding fan, her graceful figure and captivating charm irresistibly draw the eye.

This folding fan can not only change the user's outward appearance, but also subtly influence the emotions of others.

When facing an enemy, a gentle wave of the folding fan can unleash a captivating power, plunging the enemy into a dazed and confused state, causing them to lower their guard without realizing it.

When interacting with others, this power transforms into a gentle aura, unconsciously making people feel close to and trust the user. No matter how difficult someone is to persuade, under the influence of this charm, they will gradually let go of their prejudices and become sincere friends.

Ji Qiu held the folding fan, seemingly reluctant to put it down.

To be honest, the power of this Phantom Fan isn't actually that strong.

It has almost no direct lethality.

Indirect control is also no match for Ji Qiu's mind-controlling techniques.

But Ji Qiu just likes it.

From a young age, he admired the noble young men of ancient times, who were handsome, elegant, and graceful, always waving their fans with an air of refined elegance.

Unfortunately, although he was confident in his good looks, his parents weren't very supportive, and he was still slightly less handsome than those who are obsessed with appearances.

In terms of temperament, it is also slightly lacking.

But this Phantom Fan is truly amazing.

Not only does it showcase his demeanor, it also enhances his overall presence; he's truly destined for this!
Get equipped right away!
After taking stock of the Plain Hua Clan's spoils, the next step is to consider how to deal with them.

Ji Qiu first summoned Hua Xin.

Without saying a word, he directly placed a dragon seed into Hua Xin's body.

Then they began to learn about Hua Xin's secret techniques.

Hua Xin's innate secret technique is the ability to discern talent, which helps him discover talented individuals under his command and govern local areas.

He also possesses two acquired secret techniques: the Equalization of Transportation and the Edict for Pacifying the People.

These two acquired secret techniques are: the former can build a resource control network, reduce losses during grain transportation, and automatically balance the reserves of each warehouse during wartime to prevent the phenomenon of "low grain prices hurting farmers".

The latter can infuse dragon energy when issuing decrees, reducing the probability of rebellion under its rule to zero and increasing the speed at which refugees submit by 400%.

Furthermore, for every three months that a prefecture is stabilized, one [People's Heart Jade] can be condensed, which can withstand mental attacks!

"Yes, a very unsuitable talent in internal affairs, perfect for Liu Bei!" Ji Qiu nodded.

Liu Bei now has two generals, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who are capable of leading troops into battle, as well as a strategist, Fa Zheng, who is skilled in military tactics. What he lacks now is a talent for internal affairs.

If Hua Xin were placed under Liu Bei's command, then this small force would truly take shape.

Of course, along with Hua Xin, the 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers of the Hua clan of Pingyuan were also handed over to Liu Bei by Ji Qiu.

Before understanding the world background of Dragon Kingdom, and making the ultimate decision to preserve the overall strength of the human race in Kyushu.

In his battles against powerful clans, Ji Qiu usually annihilated the clans' private armies on the battlefield, rarely resorting to tactics of recruiting them to surrender.

This is not because he is bloodthirsty.

Rather, it's because this is the most convenient and efficient way to deal with these aristocratic families' private armies.

Within the internal system of powerful clans, these family private armies were part of the ruling class and enjoyed many privileges.

Therefore, they are very difficult to persuade to surrender.

Even if they were forced to surrender to Ji Qiu due to circumstances, they would not be very loyal to Ji Qiu because of the reduced treatment.

If you casually throw a cornbread at a person who is about to starve to death, he will be extremely grateful to you and swear to be loyal to you to the death.

Even if you provide three meals a day for someone who eats lavishly every day and ensure they have enough to eat and wear, they will not be grateful to you; they will only resent you!
This is human nature.

Therefore, for Ji Qiu, it would be better to train a strong army from scratch than to try to recruit these aristocratic private armies.

However, it's not feasible to completely abandon those family private armies that have surrendered.

Because they had all cultivated secret techniques, possessing greater strength than ordinary people, and were all ruthless individuals who had come from the battlefield.

If we ignore them and let them run wild, they will soon become a destabilizing factor in society.

So it's a real dilemma: we can't use it, and we can't let it go.

Ji Qiu didn't want to be caught in this dilemma, so he chose to simply eliminate them on the battlefield!

This may seem a bit cruel, but in the long run, it is beneficial.

A revolution must be thorough; only a blank sheet of paper is easy to draw on!

However, after learning about the true situation of the human race in the Nine Provinces of this world, he stopped doing so.

Because at this point, external contradictions have become greater than internal contradictions.

He needs to unite as many forces as possible to resist foreign enemies.

That's why we previously recruited 50,000 Beihai troops to surrender, and now we've recruited another 20,000 Hua family private troops to surrender.

However, there are differences between these two units.

The Beihai army is relatively good; this army mainly cultivates the secret arts of gentlemen and has a very high level of morality.

Ji Qiu was not worried that they would harm him, so he could keep them in his possession with peace of mind.

But the Hua family's private army cannot be guaranteed.

This Hua family private army is the kind of aristocratic private army that I just mentioned, the kind that would put Ji Qiu in a dilemma!

Fortunately, Ji Qiu now has a third option when dealing with the private armies of surrendered aristocratic families.

The idea was to place these private armies under Liu Bei's command!

The reason for placing these private armies under Liu Bei's command is related to Ji Qiu's arrangements for Liu Bei.

Ji Qiu had no intention of bringing Liu Bei under his command.

Given Liu Bei's abilities, it would be a huge waste of his talents to have him serve as a subordinate general under Ji Qiu.

He should be released to take charge of a region and be able to stand alone.

Therefore, Ji Qiu planned to send him to Jibei County, which is next to Pingyuan County.

That's the territory of Yanzhou.

It borders Pingyuan County and Jinan County of Qingzhou to the north.

It borders Taishan County to the east.

The State of Lu bordered Yuzhou to the south.

It borders Dongjun and Dongpingjun in Yanzhou to the west!
Cao Cao has only recently occupied Dongjun in Yanzhou.

Historically, during the later stages of the campaign against Dong Zhuo, when Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an and withdrew his troops, he was ambushed while pursuing Dong Zhuo, defeated by Xu Rong, and lost all his troops. Therefore, he had no choice but to return to his hometown and live in seclusion.

It wasn't until two years later, when Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, died at the hands of the Yellow Turban rebels in Yanzhou, that he accepted an invitation from a prominent family in Yanzhou to serve as the governor of Dongjun.

Based on this, they embarked on the path of vying for supremacy.

However, in the world of Dragon Kingdom, this aspect has changed somewhat.

Because Cao Cao did not pursue and kill Dong Zhuo as he withdrew his troops, he preserved his original assets.

Therefore, there was no need for him to return home and live a secluded life; he went directly to Yanzhou and occupied Dongjun.

Liu Dai, who was still alive, was banished to the neighboring Jiyin County.

Dongping Commandery, which bordered Dongjun and Jiyin Commandery at the same time, was the main base of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yanzhou.

Thus, a tripartite balance of power was formed within the entire Yanzhou region, consisting of Cao Cao, Liu Dai, and the Yellow Turban rebels of Yanzhou.

However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Cao Cao should be able to eliminate the other two forces soon and then take control of the entire Yan Province!

This speculation has no other theoretical basis; it is entirely based on Ji Qiu's trust in Boss Cao's abilities!
However, Ji Qiu did not want Boss Cao to occupy the entire territory of Yanzhou so quickly.

He hopes that Yanzhou will remain in chaos for a considerable period of time.

Therefore, he decided to find a worthy opponent for Boss Cao and send him to Yanzhou to compete against Boss Cao.

Who else could rival Cao Cao besides Liu Bei?

This is why Liu Bei's strength was greatly enhanced in the autumn.

Only in this way can we make him keep Boss Cao company!

He handed Hua Xin and 20,000 Hua clan private troops over to Liu Bei, but he would not hand over the remaining Hua clan members to Liu Bei.

Ji Qiu planned to relocate them and the other people from Pingyuan County to Beihai County, making them the first batch of original inhabitants of the soon-to-be-built Beihai New City.

This is because Beihai New City needs its residents.

This was also to contain the 20,000-strong private army of the Hua family.

Although Hua Xin had been controlled by him using the dragon seed, these two private soldiers of the Hua family were not under his control.

If the Hua clan members were placed under Liu Bei's command along with them, it's hard to guarantee they wouldn't develop some inappropriate ideas.

In particular, Liu Bei also had to face the cunning and ruthless Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao were to turn these Hua clan private troops against Liu Bei, they might actually be able to take Liu Bei down in one fell swoop.

But if they were to place it in Beihai New City, they would have no other options.

Unless these 20,000 Hua family private soldiers are willing to abandon their families, they will have no choice but to obediently follow Liu Bei's orders.

(End of this chapter)