All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

They are all seeds. Han Chunming's more than two hundred students, after four years of study, many of them have become very knowledgeable, even surpassing the knowledge of college students in later generations.

Among them was a group of young people who were particularly interested in gunpowder and chemical research, so Han Chunming asked them to make the first project to build the Shenlong Cannon.

They are scholars, and also the first artillerymen of the Dragon Kingdom; they will fire the first shot on Earth.

Two monarchs rode arrogantly on horseback about 500 meters away from the city wall, fearless of any arrows. They first sent someone to shout at the city, the gist of which was to offer empty words like surrender and no killing.

After they finished shouting, the two men saw that there was still no response on the city wall, and they became somewhat annoyed. They then began to arrange the attack plan with their respective generals.

Several young people on the city wall cheered excitedly, and then shouted to Han Chunming, who had been standing silently to the side.

"Principal, everything is ready, we can launch!"

Han Chunming glanced back at the cannon muzzle, then nodded and said.

"Hu Jun, you've been leading the research on the Divine Dragon Cannon, so you'll be the one to fire the first shot!"

The student named Hu Jun was a little nervous and excited. Hearing Han Chunming's words, he asked with excitement and surprise.

"Principal, can I really do it?"

Han Chunming gave the student named Hu Jun an encouraging smile.

The student named Hu Jun clearly did not have a Central Plains appearance, but rather a Central Asian appearance from later times.

In fact, more than 90% of the people in the Dragon Kingdom are of different races. Apart from the Yin people, who are somewhat similar to the people of the Central Plains, the appearances of other tribes are very different.

Regardless of their past race, from now on they will only have one ethnicity: the Dragon Clan. They speak Chinese, write simplified characters, and are all their own people.

And Hu Jun, standing right in front of us, is one of the most outstanding among them.

Hu Jun picked up a torch, looked at the location of an enemy monarch five hundred meters away from the city, revealed a bright smile, and then placed the torch on the fuse.

With a sizzle, the fuse was lit, and everyone's faces showed obvious excitement. Han Chunming also looked at the cavalry camp not far away.

Finally, with a deafening roar, the cannon shook violently, a burst of fire shot into the sky from the muzzle, and a round cannonball crashed into the cavalry camp like a parabola.

The first cannon shot of the pre-Christian era was fired, and a new era was completely changed with this shot.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Showing Off Muscles

When the heavy 10-kilogram shells whistled through the air and crashed into the cavalry formation hundreds of meters away, the enemy did not notice anything amiss.

Only occasionally did the horses at the very front feel somewhat uneasy amidst the deafening roar of cannons.

The cavalrymen, unable to see clearly ahead and wondering what was happening, raised their hands to shield their eyes from the sunlight, trying to see what had flown out of the city wall.

Just then, a shell rushed into the crowd like a gust of wind.

"Pfft..."

Before the screams could even be heard, the round cannonballs rolled through the cavalry, leaving a bloody, deadly trail.

Only after the cannonballs had rolled more than ten meters away did the horses and men neigh. The sound of flesh being instantly shattered was so dull, and blood and flesh fragments flew everywhere. All the cavalrymen were completely stunned.

A few seconds later, a two-hundred-meter-long path of flesh and blood in the shape of a human appeared before the eyes of the people on the city wall.

The thousands of cavalrymen in front of the city were thrown into complete chaos. Countless horses were frightened and ran wildly in all directions. In an instant, there was a cacophony of voices and cries of grief.

The people on the city wall were astonished by what they saw. At that moment, they had only one thought in their minds: this was truly worthy of being called the Divine Dragon Cannon. This was the real power of the Divine Dragon. How could such power exist in the mortal world?

Han Chunming smiled as he saw this scene. The true journey of the Dragon Kingdom begins here!

He then waved his hand, and the remaining four cannons began to fire, resulting in four more earth-shattering explosions as four cannonballs hurtled towards the enemy ranks below.

As the five shells fell, the 18,000 troops below were thrown into complete chaos and collapse. Fear and unease were spreading rapidly, and many soldiers had even turned back.

But now they were like a group of small fish caught in a fishing net; how could they possibly escape?

Han Chunming picked up the binoculars next to him and looked in the direction behind them. He saw that in the distance, it looked like a sandstorm was rising, with countless yellow sands flying all over the sky.

A massive earthquake shook the earth, and amidst the yellow sand, a cavalry force of several thousand men, fully armed, blocked their entire retreat.

This cavalry, both the horses and the soldiers, were all clad in iron armor, and the scimitars they carried were gleaming steel products, far surpassing the weapons of this era in both hardness and sharpness.

The two thousand men at the very front were each carrying a crossbow, a new product developed by the Dragon Kingdom's weaponry. Due to insufficient production capacity, only two thousand cavalrymen were equipped with it.

This new type of crossbow is somewhat similar in style to a later revolver, with five bolts fixed to the launcher, only resembling a large revolver.

This crossbow was not ahead of its time in terms of power and range; its only advantage was its lightness and speed.

With the five crossbow bolts, it weighs only about four pounds, and can even be held with one hand. It can fire single shots and bursts, with an effective range of about two hundred meters.

The Qin Dynasty's crossbowmen had a maximum range of over 800 meters, but those were rigid bows that required stepping on the arrows to load them, making them very cumbersome to operate.

The Dragon Kingdom, on the other hand, pursues an elite force, emphasizing speed and ease of operation. On the battlefield, every second counts, and crossbows are merely auxiliary tools; the real decisive battles rely on steel blades.

Han Chunming predicts that guns will be available in about five years at the earliest, and crossbows will just be a transitional product.

However, it may be many years before spears appear on the battlefield in large numbers. By then, I may have already unified the world. Who knows?

The ten thousand cavalrymen of the Dragon Kingdom have been training for three years for the war, and their steel blades are already imbued with a thirst for blood.

Three years of physical training did not make them feel tired, because they also underwent three years of intense religious indoctrination.

If we were to say which group of people in the Dragon Kingdom have the purest faith in Han Chunming, the Dragon God, it would undoubtedly be this group of soldiers.

The military is the true fist of a country, and Han Chunming would naturally not give up his own fist.

Over the past three or four years, he has led them in countless training sessions amidst danger and peril, demonstrating his strength to the soldiers. The walls of the army are covered with portraits and slogans of Han Chunming, ensuring that his image is etched in the hearts of these soldiers at all times.

Only soldiers who had actually spent time with Han Chunming knew that he was a true god, because their dragon god possessed divine power that mortals could not have.

Han Chunming's orders were the only voice of the army.

The cannon fire just now seemed to be a signal, and thousands of cavalrymen began to launch an attack. When the two armies were about 300 meters apart, thousands of cavalrymen took out their crossbows, loaded the bolts, and fired them directly into the sky. The five bolts in the crossbows were almost instantly scattered.

More than 10,000 crossbow bolts rained down on the enemy at the forefront, like a storm of pear blossoms.

The dark mass of enemies fell in droves. Before they could even react, thousands of cavalrymen had already charged into their midst, wielding steel scimitars and cutting them down in swathes like wheat.

With saddles and stirrups, the cavalry's combat effectiveness increased by at least 30%. The sudden appearance of thousands of cavalrymen was like thousands of wolves charging into a flock of sheep.

The enemy's terror had reached its peak. Countless generals were screaming, trying to organize their soldiers to resist. Some soldiers who wanted to live tried to fight back and rush out, but they had almost no power to resist the heavily armed Chinese cavalry and were cut down from their horses.

Han Chunming, standing on the city wall, looked at the one-sided massacre below with cold eyes, showing no pity whatsoever. He had been in this world for five years and had established the Dragon Kingdom for almost four years. Today, he could finally make his voice heard in this world. He had arrived.

Finally, after thousands of people had been slaughtered, the remaining tens of thousands had all crowded under the city wall. People and horses jostled together, and the sounds of crying, angry roars, and the mournful neighing of horses made it seem as if the area under the city wall was a living hell.

After an unknown amount of time, a ray of sunlight shone on Han Chunming's indifferent face. He looked at the tens of thousands of people kneeling and trembling below the city wall and finally shouted to the messenger behind him.

"Withdraw the troops! Open the city gates and escort all the prisoners into Gem City. This time, we will show the whole world the true might of our Dragon Kingdom!"

The messenger received the order and left. Half an hour later, ten thousand enemy soldiers, who had been completely disarmed, regardless of their rank, were escorted by thousands of imposing Dragon Kingdom cavalrymen towards Gem City.

Merchants from various countries, who had already received the news, stood around the street watching.

When the first soldier, covered in blood and trembling, walked into the street, everyone stared wide-eyed. The blood on his body was still wet, and it even looked like there was a piece of flesh hanging on his shoulder.

As the first prisoner appeared, a long, dense line began to form behind him. Everyone was listless, as if their spirits had been severely damaged. The fear in their eyes had not yet dissipated, and they followed the line forward in a daze.

Merchants from various countries around them were shocked to see the hundreds-of-meters-long procession. What shocked them even more were the thousands of cavalrymen escorting the prisoners.

The gleaming steel blades, the full-body iron armor that revealed only the eyes, and the strange-looking crossbows held by several cavalrymen—a chilling atmosphere permeated everyone's hearts.

Among these merchants from various countries were countless spies from enemy countries, some of whom were even merchants who were also spies, coming to China on missions. Their eyes were practically popping out of their sockets as they watched.

This was the first time they had truly faced the Dragon Kingdom's cavalry, and the first time the Dragon Kingdom had truly made its debut. Some scouts who had military experience were so shocked that they could not express their thoughts in words.

Some scouts noticed the saddles and stirrups they had never seen before, and their eyes lit up as they watched the cavalrymen galloping effortlessly on their horses.

Just then, several people in the prisoner group suddenly ran towards the streets on both sides, causing a commotion.

Just as these people were fleeing, several crossbow bolts pierced through their bodies, pinning them to the sides of the street. This scene drew gasps of alarm from the surrounding merchants.

The chaos subsided quickly, and the tour only came to a complete end an hour later when the tens of thousands of prisoners passed through Gem City.

Outside the city, countless cavalry and infantry were cleaning up the battlefield. Truckloads of armor and weapons were hauled away, and finally, truckloads of corpses were taken to a pit six miles away to be burned and buried.

Han Chunming did not stay in Gem City. After issuing some orders, he led his men to two neighboring countries a hundred miles away.

Even before the two neighboring countries launched their attacks, Yin Tian had already led five thousand cavalrymen to launch a surprise attack on the rear of the two countries' territories from another route.

The two monarchs had already left their home countries vulnerable by sending all their elite cavalry to Gem City, leaving their own forces depleted. Five thousand new-style cavalrymen made no progress and the small country occupied the entire territory in just three days.

When Han Chunming arrived, more than 10,000 soldiers had already occupied various cities, and officials and workers were arriving one after another to take over the country's assets and reap the fruits of victory.

Two days after the city of Gem City was placed under martial law, the city gates were reopened. Immediately after the reopening, hundreds of merchants poured out of the city gates, wanting to leave.

Han Chunming did not stop the group of merchants from leaving, although he knew very well that these hundreds of people were mostly spies who were eager to return and report back.

These people all left the city smoothly. Seeing that they had left successfully, other merchants in the city began to leave with their goods.

In less than a week, Gem City saw its usual foot traffic drop to less than one-fifth, losing all trace of its former prosperity.

This was all within Han Chunming's expectations. Most of those who left were ordinary merchants, but they chose to leave at this time because they were worried about the war breaking out again.

With war imminent, the desolation in Gem City is to be expected. After four years of preparation, the Dragon Kingdom is well-prepared, and its factories are operating at full capacity to produce various war supplies.

At the same time, tens of thousands of reserve personnel and militia reservists also began to be armed. These people did not need to go to the front lines, but instead guarded the country or even went to occupied countries to maintain order.

For those enemy spies who fled back, the Dragon Kingdom's sudden display of strength in front of them could not have been without reason.

Indeed, with tens of thousands of prisoners parading through the streets and thousands of fully armed armored cavalry patrolling, Han Chunming had two purposes in flexing his muscles.

The first message is a warning to all enemies who are eyeing China: China is not a pushover. Those who are preparing to take action or have other intentions should obediently shrink back.

Previously, not only two neighboring countries wanted to take action against the Dragon Kingdom, but at least seven or eight out of ten countries in the Western Regions were also interested in the priceless technologies of Gem City and the Dragon Kingdom.

If those people were to unite and launch an attack, the Dragon Kingdom's 20,000 troops would have no chance of stopping them.

Now, the power that the Dragon Kingdom has suddenly displayed has made everyone wary. In less than two hours, it has defeated nearly 20,000 troops and captured 10,000 prisoners. Such a terrifying record has instilled fear in all the smaller countries.

Once this muscle is flexed, at least 80% of the countries will back down from their previous ideas, while some of the remaining 20% ​​will reassess China's strength before making any further plans.

A small number of countries, upon learning of the Dragon Kingdom's power, will quickly mobilize their forces to launch an attack, because the Dragon Kingdom's power makes them extremely uneasy and they must eliminate it as soon as possible.

This is the second reason why Han Chunming showed off his muscles.

He wanted those who truly wanted to eliminate the Dragon Kingdom to show themselves as soon as possible, and those who dared to show themselves would definitely be the most powerful forces in the Western Regions.

Among them must have been the Xiongnu people. The Xiongnu were known for their ferocity and power, a fact acknowledged by the various states of the Western Regions and the tribes of the northern grasslands.

The man who brought the Xiongnu people to their peak in this era was a Xiongnu man named Modu Chanyu.

Modu Chanyu was a true hero, and some people in later generations called him the Genghis Khan of the Qin and Han dynasties, which shows how powerful he was.