Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

Located at the foot of the Western Hills in western Beijing, this former royal hunting ground has now become the first "modernized" military camp of the Great Xia Dynasty—the headquarters of the Left Army of the Divine Martial Army.

The autumn wind howled, fluttering the two gilded characters "Divine Martial" on the commander's flag.

A somber atmosphere permeated the training ground.

There were no traditional swords, spears, halberds, or cavalry charges here. Instead, there were rows of long, black, metallic-looking objects—the first batch of standard flintlock muskets, the "Yuanfeng Type 1" flintlock muskets, painstakingly crafted by Zhao Tie using Cizhou crucible steel.

The rifle is straight, with a stock that fits snugly against the shoulder. It features a flintlock clip, hammer, and trigger, and its construction is compact and robust. Each rifle is equipped with a cleaning rod, oil can, ammunition pouch, and bayonet lug.

On the high platform in the center of the training ground, Xiao Chen stood with his hand on his sword, dressed in military uniform.

Beside him stood Han Lie, the Left Commander of the Divine Martial Army. At this moment, Han Lie had taken off his old-style armor and put on a dark blue cotton tight-fitting military uniform, with a leather belt around his waist and leather boots on his feet. He looked more capable and upright.

Below the stage, there were three thousand soldiers, all of them strong and fit men, with an average age of no more than twenty-two.

They were no longer the frail bodies of hereditary military households, but elites selected from tens of thousands of soldiers in the Beijing garrison, or fierce soldiers who volunteered and longed to change their fate.

Holding Yuanfeng No. 1 swords, they stood in neat rows, silent as mountains.

"Han Lie," Xiao Chen said, his voice not loud, but clearly carrying throughout the entire venue.

"Your subject is here!"

"Tell me, how long have you been practicing?"

Han Lie stood tall and proud, his voice booming: "Your Majesty, I have been in charge of this unit for three months and seven days! We train every day, from dawn till dusk without fail! First, we practiced standing, standing for two hours at a time! Then we practiced loading, aiming, and volleying! I've discarded all those fancy techniques passed down from our ancestors and focused on just one thing—lining up and firing!"

Xiao Chen nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the young faces below the stage.

In their eyes, there was curiosity, there was nervousness, but more than anything, there was an unprecedented confidence—because the weapon in their hands was a weapon that their ancestors could never have dreamed of.

"it is good."

Xiao Chen raised his hand. "Let's begin. Let me see what makes your three thousand 'Divine Machine Battalion' so different."

"As you command!"

Han Lie turned around abruptly, drew his sword from his waist, and pointed it to the far end of the training ground—where hundreds of wooden targets, each about a person tall, stood, simulating an enemy formation, at a distance of one hundred and fifty paces.

"Everyone, listen up!" Han Lie roared. "Form three lines!"

At the command, the three thousand soldiers moved in perfect unison, as swiftly as a single person.

They were no longer a scattered mob, but a sophisticated machine.

The first rank of soldiers knelt on one knee, while the second and third ranks stood, forming a solid black wall in three columns.

"Load!"

"Click, click..." The sound of uniform metal clanging rang out.

The soldiers took out the paper-wrapped ammunition from the ammunition pouch, bit it open, poured the gunpowder into the barrel, compacted it with a cleaning rod, then put in the bullet, and finally poured in the ignition powder from the powder bath and covered the powder bath.

Although the process was still a bit rough, no one made any mistakes.

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes.

This process was a standard operating procedure that Xu Guangqi and Zhao Tie developed by referring to Western materials and combining them with the characteristics of the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Every action is aimed at firing the next bullet as quickly as possible on the battlefield.

"Aim!"

"put!"

Han Lie swung his sword down!

"boom--!!!"

The first rank of soldiers pulled the triggers, flintlocks struck, sparks flew, and three thousand flintlock muskets spat out tongues of fire in an instant! The deafening gunfire merged into a terrifying sonic wave, even sending dust flying from the ground!

Amidst the billowing smoke, distant targets lay fallen in large swaths, like wheat fields ravaged by a fierce wind! Wood chips flew everywhere, and the sound of shattering was incessant.

"Back up to reload! Forward to fill in the gap!"

The first rank of soldiers quickly stood up, ran backwards to rotate, and the second rank of soldiers stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and repeated the loading action. The whole process was like a giant, precisely operating gear.

"put!"

Second salvo! Hit the target again!

This cycle continued, and after three salvos, the distant target had been almost completely destroyed!

The drill ground was completely silent. Not only were the former officers who were observing dumbfounded, but even Xiao Chen's eyes flashed with a burning desire.

This was the prototype of firing squads! This was the ultimate army tactic before the industrial age! Relying on discipline, training, and standardized firepower, it crushed all armies armed with cold weapons!

"Your Majesty!" Han Lie wiped the gunpowder from his face and roared excitedly, "This is just static firing! I also want to demonstrate—the hollow square formation!"

"allow!"

At Han Lie's command, the original three-line formation instantly transformed as if by magic. The soldiers on both sides quickly moved towards the center, the rear ranks becoming the front ranks, and the original formation instantly contracted into a huge, hollow square!

Along the four sides of the formation, soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, their guns pointed outwards! At each of the four corners of the formation, a small squad of soldiers stood with their guns pointed diagonally outwards to prevent the enemy from flanking them!

"This is to deal with cavalry charges!" Han Lie roared. "If the Northern Di cavalry attacks, our army will form this formation, firing from all sides, and the horses will dare not approach! Once they are in disarray, our army will then attack with bayonets!"

Xiao Chen nodded slightly. The hollow square formation was a classic tactic for countering cavalry. In an era without machine guns, this was the most effective means for infantry armed with firearms to fight against cavalry.

"Load bayonets!" Han Lie ordered again.

The soldiers deftly drew long bayonets with catches from their waists, secured them to the swivels below the muzzle, and twisted to lock them in place. In an instant, three thousand flintlock muskets transformed into three thousand two-meter-long rifles!

Under the sunlight, countless bayonets converged into a gleaming steel forest!

"charge!"

"kill--!!!"

Three thousand people shouted in unison. The sound was no longer a simple superposition of individual shouts, but a unified and awe-inspiring collective roar! The formation began to advance, their steps in unison, and the earth trembled slightly, like a giant steel python awakening, crawling and crushing forward!

Xiao Chen was deeply moved as he watched this scene.

The jokes about lining up to be executed in the past have now become the purest form of violent aesthetics. When discipline, training, standardized weapons, and unified command are combined, the resulting destructive power is enough to destroy any army of the old era.

"Excellent!" Xiao Chen finally couldn't help but exclaim loudly, "This is my Divine Machine Battalion! This is the new army of Great Xia!"

He turned to Mo Qi, who had remained silent beside him: "Mo Qi, do you see this? This is the army I want. No longer those peasant soldiers fighting with hoes, but war machines wielding machines and killing on command!"

Looking at the imposing square formation, Mo Qi's eyes revealed, for the first time, a look of awe rather than bloodlust: "Your Majesty, with an army like this, three thousand against thirty thousand, I dare to bet!"

"Not only that." Xiao Chen's gaze drifted into the distance. "When Zhao Tie's artillery is brought up, when more 'Yuanfeng Spears' are manufactured, when the conscription system trains a million reserve soldiers..."

"I will make this world invincible!"

In the center of the drill ground, Han Lie was leading his "Divine Machine Battalion," practicing changing formations, volley fire, and bayonet charges again and again. Smoke filled the air, and gunfire shook the heavens.

The old era is crumbling little by little amidst these gunshots.

A new order will sweep across the land with this torrent of steel!