diymy Chapter 76 Airship Bombing
Chapter 76 Airship Bombing
Chang Yuan's stereotype of the Northern Garrison Command was: headquarters, slippery, and incapable of fighting.
During the search following the battle today, he discovered that the Northern Garrison Command was extremely professional in its investigations and was fully aware of all the tricks of the civil officials.
But by evening, an order from the Commander-in-Chief was issued, and the entire Imperial Guard of the Northern Garrison changed its demeanor.
The people were still the same, but their faces were no longer slick; they had become sinister, serious, and filled with murderous intent.
If the murderous aura of the Eastern Garrison's elite guards was like a drawn sword, sharp and cold, then the murderous intent of the Northern Garrison's Imperial Guards was like torture instruments in the imperial prison, bloody and terrifying.
In an instant, all the extraordinary elite guards of the Eastern Garrison Command, who had been lying in wait, were mobilized.
Chang Yuan even saw in them the unbridled freedom that comes with the removal of pretense.
Every pore of the Imperial Guards seemed to scream, "I'm not acting anymore! I'm laying my cards on the table! I'm actually incredibly ruthless!"
The imperial guards suddenly realized that their colleagues in the Northern Garrison Command... were truly terrifying!
Then Chang Yuan and his team discovered that the Northern Garrison Command had experts, and very, very powerful superhumans at that!
Gao Su even recognized an acquaintance: "It's Old Liu from the Henan Provincial Thousand-Household Office of the Eastern Garrison Command. Four years ago, after I broke through to the extraordinary realm, he was the one who led me on three extraordinary missions."
Qiu Yixin was shocked: "Old Liu was actually hanged in the Northern Garrison Command? I thought he went to a foreign land."
Chang Yuan's surprise was unusual: "Gao Su, what did you say? Someone's still giving you missions after you break through to the extraordinary realm?"
Li Hui, Han Ye, and Qiu Yixin were all shocked: "Captain, you don't have anyone to mentor you?"
Chang Yuan was even more shocked: "You all have them?"
All four nodded, and Han Ye even said, "I broke through in the Northern Wilderness Ice Plains. The one who led me on the extraordinary mission was an extraordinary person from the Northern Army."
Chang Yuan felt he had lost hundreds of millions and said aggrievedly, "It's been less than three months since I awakened my extraordinary marksmanship."
Gao Su said, "I've heard about what happened to the captain."
"It seems that the person in charge of screening gave the evaluation, believing that you are mentally mature, but have a highly aggressive personality, and are not suitable for leading tasks for elderly people."
Chang Yuan: "..."
"Damn it, that damned loan shark... I only pointed a gun at his head, why did he have to go to such lengths to cheat me?"
Gao Su: "..."
Li Hui: "..."
Chiu Yi-hsin: "..."
Only Han Ye, still confused, asked, "...Who is this loan shark?"
Gao Su replied, "Zhou Chengye of the Henan Provincial Thousand-Household Office is responsible for identifying new extraordinary individuals. He is a wicked fellow with a wicked personality who likes to tease newcomers."
"We've all been tormented by him."
"Except for the captain..."
Qiu Yixin and Li Hui nodded in agreement, clearly both of them being victims of Zhou Chengye's trickery.
In short, as the headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Northern Garrison Command had the authority to mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard from the four Garrison Commands. It should not appear to be a powerless entity that only bullies others by abusing its power.
The reason for keeping these slick and cunning Imperial Guards on the surface was to conceal their true nature and to serve as a lubricant in officialdom.
It's important to understand that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not only the emperor's and the court's henchmen, but also a stepping stone between the emperor and his officials.
It served as a buffer to prevent direct conflict between the emperor and civil officials.
The Jiajing Emperor was a genius, born with the ability to see through people's hearts. At the age of 15, he mastered the art of court politics without any formal instruction.
He could select his own official from among the civil servants with his eyes alone, and he could overthrow the civil servant group with his eloquence.
Note that it refers to the civil service group, not the Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe himself.
Moreover, in the arena of grand ceremonies, a field in which civil officials excelled, a protracted struggle led to a complete victory.
At that time, what separated the emperor from the civil official group was a group of civil officials who were attached to the emperor, and there was no need for the Embroidered Uniform Guard as a buffer.
Therefore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard could act arrogantly and domineeringly, arresting whomever they wanted.
But not anymore.
Emperor Jinghe was merely a competent emperor who maintained the status quo, and he was incomparable to Emperor Jiajing.
In twenty years, the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty once again united, forcing the emperor to use the Embroidered Uniform Guard as a buffer, and forcing the Northern Garrison to smooth out its rough edges and soften its stance.
Having been caught in the middle, the Northern Garrison Command was freed from its shackles by the order of the Commander-in-Chief and immediately displayed astonishing sharpness.
In a deserted temple in Guide Hutong in the southern part of the city, the Northern Garrison's Imperial Guards stormed in, and more than a dozen extraordinary Imperial Guards rushed forward, instantly suppressing all resistance and capturing several core cult members alive.
Anding Hutong, also in the south of the city, Renshou Hutong and Xinghua Hutong in the east of the city, and Xiaochangkou Hutong in the west of the city...
The information seized from the homes of convicted officials identified dozens of cult strongholds that had been hidden for many years, all of which were breached by the elite troops of the Northern Garrison Command in less than an hour.
The operation was well-organized, targeting the core of the operation at every location, and each strike was decisive and effective, demonstrating the iron-blooded might of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
By evening, the cult that had been lurking in the capital for years had been completely eradicated, leaving only the last and also the biggest target: the Western Hills.
The Western Hills are 20 kilometers from the capital. Three hundred years ago, large-scale coal mining began there to supply the capital.
About a hundred years ago, the Xishan Coal Mine gradually dried up.
Just as steam locomotive manufacturing technology had fully matured and railway construction technology had also made breakthroughs, the ancient and difficult-to-traverse Taihang Eight Passes were carved through, opening up transportation between Shanxi Province and the capital.
Cheap and plentiful coal from Shanxi Province was continuously transported to the capital, suffocating the Xishan Coal Mine.
As the coal mining industry fell into disuse and the population dwindled, Xishan gradually became a desolate place, a hiding place for bandits and outlaws.
Now it has attracted the attention of many cults, and a large number of cult strongholds have sprung up.
Just three months ago, the scattered cults suddenly gathered in the valley between Tianmen Mountain, Guji Mountain, Dingdu Peak, and Qianling Mountain, and carried out large-scale construction, building numerous altars, warehouses, barracks, and bunkers, transforming the valley into a fortress.
Elite members of more than a dozen cults gathered here, including fanatics, suicide squads, protectors, and holy messengers, numbering more than 2,700.
These cultists, who possess evil magic, are mentally deranged, and fearless, are extremely powerful in combat, far surpassing any scattered strongholds in the city.
After the sun set, Chang Yuan was ordered to rush to the battlefield.
The main forces of the three major camps in the capital had arrived ahead of time, and 100,000 elite troops were deployed to blockade the four mountain peaks, cut off all roads, and lay a tight net.
Two hundred and forty cannons of various types were deployed, their dark muzzles pointing towards the hilltops and valleys occupied by the cult.
But tonight's protagonists are not them, but the Shenlong Battalion airship force that quietly flew to the target area under the cover of night.
The massive airship hovered high in the sky, overlooking the entire valley and spotting the scattered lights within, pinpointing the cult's exact coordinates.
"Target confirmed, time has arrived, all fleet, attack!"
The Shenlong Battalion Commander decisively issued an order, which was broadcast through signal lights and loudspeakers, directing the entire airship fleet to commence operations.
The bomb bay doors of the twelve airships opened, and heavy anti-tank missiles poured down in sequence.
The massive bomb, weighing hundreds of kilograms, transformed into a black shadow and plummeted rapidly into the night, without smoke or fire, silently heading straight for the spot in the valley where a fire was burning.
Boom! Boom! Boom—!