Chapter 64 Section IX

Looking at the flames soaring into the sky below, Zeng Wanggu suddenly remembered the scene when she was still in the Governor's Mansion in Fudun City, Tianshui Province many years ago. At that time, she was still the concubine of Li Tuan, governor of Tianshui Province.Even though he was just a concubine, Li Tuan loved her like a treasure and never interfered with her hobby of dancing swords.But for Li Tuan, she couldn't tell what she felt like.Although she was just a concubine, Li Tuan loved her so much that she even made herself the captain of the personal army. Therefore, when Li Tuan responded to the rebellion of the Republican Army but was killed by the Empire, she still led the remaining troops in Tianshui Province. Activities in the area.Later, he moved to Wuyang City and became the leader of the first team as a member of the former republican army. When he got to know the husband-in-law who was the staff officer at that time, he rarely thought of Li Tuan.For some reason, Li Tuan seemed to appear in front of her now.

It's all over.When all this becomes a memory, it becomes clearer.She looked at the flames rising from the ground, and couldn't help but smile.A batch of mines were thrown down, and the airship was much lighter, and it was also rising rapidly, and now it slowed down.At this altitude, even the Shenlong Cannon can't reach it, and Youbi Fort has been engulfed in flames during the round of bombing just now.The defenders of Youbi Fort probably never dreamed that they would be attacked from the sky, and they were already in disarray. Now that the attacking Republican army has rushed into the fort, they must be engaged in hand-to-hand combat. It won't be long before the Republican army will be able to take it. Go down to Youbi Fort, this battle is now half won.

"Madam Hu..." A soldier in charge of observation said.Zeng Wanggu raised his eyebrows and shouted: "My surname is Zeng, and I'm called Captain Zeng!" Although she is indeed Mrs. Hu, Zeng Wanggu really doesn't want to hear this title.Many years ago, when she was the concubine of Li Tuan, Governor of Tianshui Province, she didn't want to hear others call her a wife. The soldier was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Yes, Captain Zeng. There was a little movement at the top of Dongping City just now." Zeng Wanggu frowned and said, "Abnormal?"

Will it be the Wind Corps?In this kind of weather, it is impossible for them to attack.She also knew that Zhong Yugu, the defender of Dongping City, had been instigated to rebel, but he had been refusing to surrender. She only said that there were many defenders in the city who still wanted to fight, and she wanted General Fang Ruoshui to deal with these troops loyal to the empire.But Zeng Wanggu also knew that most of Zhong Yugu still had a wait-and-see attitude, and wanted to see how powerful the Republican Army was.After breaking the Prime Minister's Second Fort, he will make up his mind by then.

"Captain Zeng." An old man's voice suddenly sounded.The old man had been sitting cross-legged in the corner, not saying a word, but when he said such a sentence suddenly, Zeng Wanggu couldn't help but moved: "Old Mu, what's your order?" The old man stood up and looked at the porthole, saying: "Captain Zeng, most of the people in the Wind Legion are desperadoes. Seeing the destruction of Fort Youbi, most of them will put all their eggs in one basket. Don't be careless. Get the airship up immediately." Although the Wind Corps is more flexible than the airship, it is not as resistant to wind as the airship, so the airship team chose such weather to attack.If the Wind Corps still dare to take to the sky, the old man said they are "desperadoes", which is indeed true.Zeng Wanggu said: "Could it really be the Wind Legion?"

At this time, the soldier who reported just now shouted: "Yes! Captain Zeng, it's really the Wind Legion!" The Wind Corps was rising faster than the airship, so they couldn't see clearly, and now Zeng Wanggu could vaguely see a few small dots circling upward along the wind.The design of this airship is very delicate, and it can go up at any time, but it is not so easy to land.Just now when you bombed Youbi Fort, you dropped a bomb weighing more than 200 jin, and the airship has already risen a lot. At this time, the momentum is exhausted, and the airship is already hanging below the clouds. If you go up into the clouds, you will not be able to see clearly The terrain has changed, but the old man still wants the airship to go up. Although Zeng Wanggu was a little worried, he still said without hesitation: "Go up!"

Although airships and airplanes can both float in the air, their principles are quite different.Airships are lifted by airbags, unlike airplanes that rise along the airflow, so they are less affected by the wind.But the advantages come with disadvantages, because the ascension of the airship depends entirely on the airbags. Once the airbags rupture, the people in the airship will be dead.The airship was already rising close to the clouds, Zeng Wanggu gave an order, and the soldier trembled slightly, but he didn't speak. He walked to the side, lit a stove, and pulled the bellows.A long pipe hangs from the stove, which is coiled into a spiral shape. The tongue of fire in the furnace keeps flickering, burning the pipe, and there is a slight sound from inside, like a small flute.

The airship rose again, though not quickly.When the airship was ascending, Zeng Wanggu said: "Old Mu, is the Wind Legion really that powerful?" The old man stood by the porthole and looked down, and said softly: "Captain Zeng, although the empire is corrupt, there are indeed a few talents among them, such as the person who made the flying machine and the person who made the dragon cannon. Wizards, in fact, are comparable to our open-minded real people." This airship was designed by the top craftsman of the Republican Army Craftsmanship Division, but the cause was an accident.At the beginning, the Republican Army and the Empire allied forces to fight against the Snakeman, but the Empire had always been deeply wary of the Republican Army and was not sincere.At that time, the empire was powerful, and various new weapons emerged one after another, but most of them were not delivered to the Republican Army.At that time, the Grand Command was still the chief general of the Republican Army. He knew that if he wanted to do his job well, he must first sharpen his weapons. Seeing that the imperial army was using more and more weapons, the Republican Army was still armed with knives, guns and sticks. In order to suffer losses, once the Grand Command was surrounded by snakes, but the imperial army stood by and watched. Only then did he escape with his life.Although the Great Commander escaped with his life, seeing the excellent weapons of the Imperial Army in this battle, the armored vehicles of the Land Legion, the flying planes of the Wind Legion, and the Shenlong Cannon of the Fire Legion were all weapons he had never seen before, and he was very worried. Therefore, an open-minded person in the legal system was exceptionally promoted as the head of the craftsman department.This humble man is very ingenious. First of all, he prepared the gunpowder. In addition, Datong Brake used various means to extract the Shenlong Cannon and Thunderbolt from the Imperial Army. The weapons and equipment of the Republican Army immediately approached the level of the Imperial Army. .But this also made the empire more vigilant. The Grand Command has always wanted to get the secret of the flying machine, and it still has no clue to this day.In desperation, Xu Xinzi accidentally discovered that the dry distillation of gunpowder will produce an extremely violent liquid, which can even corrode iron, and will release a very light gas, which is collected in the air bag. It will fly to the sky immediately.

This discovery might have been lightly let go, but Xu Xu persevered, tried and failed repeatedly, spent several years of hard work, and finally made the airship.When Datong saw the first airship, he was very excited, knowing that he finally got a weapon that surpassed the imperial army.This time Fang Ruoshui was ordered to attack Dongping City, another important task was to test the actual effectiveness of the airship in actual combat.Although it was only the first time, just like a sharp knife sharpened, the Youbi Fort guarding Dongping City was razed to the ground in one fell swoop. Zeng Wanggu looked at the top of his head.This airship is so huge, but the pod is so small that it can only seat six people in total.She said: "Yes, the generals of the imperial army also have a few heroes, but unfortunately, they are not like us, and they are mortal enemies." Speaking of this, her face also felt sad.

many years.Many years ago, she promised a general of the Imperial Army that she would never be an enemy of him again, but now she probably broke her promise.Thinking of this, she felt uncomfortable, and the old man also noticed Zeng Wanggu's preoccupation, and said, "Captain Zeng, you seem to have something on your mind?" Zeng Wanggu forced a smile and said: "Old Mu made fun of it, Wanggu is a little worried now." "Are you worried about Mr. Hu?" Yes, are you worried about your husband?But Zeng Wanggu also felt at a loss.Now that her husband has sneaked into Dongping City and is among the enemies, she feels that she should really worry about him, but in fact, she seldom thinks about her husband's safety.

For the republic, sacrifice everything.This sentence is the mantra of the Republican Army from top to bottom, but Zeng Wanggu really can't think of why he would sacrifice everything for the Republic.Li Tuan also said this before, and he did sacrifice everything, but what he got in exchange was only war, and there was no shadow of the beautiful world he was looking forward to.Naturally, these words could not be said to Mu Lao, she lowered her head, acquiescing to the old man's guess. "How tall is it now?" Mu Lao stood up. "Twelve hundred feet." "There is still room for eight hundred feet." The old man pondered for a moment.The limit altitude of the airship is two thousand feet, and it will be dangerous to go up any further.Confronting the Wind Legion, to seize the height is to seize the victory, but I don't know how high the Wind Legion can rise. He went to the porthole and looked out.The wind squeezed in through the window, blowing his beard and hair wildly.Looking down, there are several small dots circling and chasing after them, and the speed is surprisingly fast.He sighed, and said, "The Wind Legion really deserves its reputation." In just a short moment, the flying machines of the Wind Legion were just a few blurry dots, but now they can be seen clearly.Zeng Wanggu sighed: "The Wind Legion is indeed well-deserved." There was a smile on the corner of the old man's mouth.He usually looks very kind, but now his smile is extremely cold.He glanced around and said, "Captain Zeng, please sit in front of the piercing crossbow, it's probably time to use it now." This piercing crossbow is remade from the thunder crossbow obtained from the empire.Although the Thunderbolt Crossbow is powerful, it can deal with targets on land, so Hunxinzi made a major modification to it, changing the tail feathers of the crossbow arrows into thin steel sheets, and added two wings on the body of the arrow to increase the ability of flying in the air .Ever since the air-breaking crossbow was made, Zeng Wanggu has only used it in exercises.She was originally an excellent archer, and she could no longer hold the bow after losing her hand, but this crossbow arrow does not need to be supported by both hands, so Zeng Wang practiced several times harder than others. It is extremely good to be able to hit an arrow.Hearing that the old man said to use the piercing crossbow, she nodded and said, "Xiao Qi, take your place!" There are currently six passengers on the airship, each performing their duties, even the old man is also responsible for steering.Once fighting in the air, Zeng Wanggu and Na Xiaoqi are archers.In the air, the only ones who can fight are bows and arrows. Xiao Qi is in charge of the air-breaking crossbow at the bow of the boat, and she is in charge of the one at the stern.As soon as she sat in front of the piercing crossbow, the observing soldier lost her voice: "Ah!" Rush the airship. Desperadoes!Zeng Wanggu felt his hands and feet go cold for a while.Although she was already prepared, she never expected that the Wind Legion would risk their lives and bump into it.Although the airship was designed to prevent the enemy from attacking with bows and arrows, but now the enemy is actually crashing into it with flying machines.She was so scared that she forgot to pull the trigger. From the ground, the speed of the Wind Legion is not very fast, but now the distance is only a few feet away, and the true speed of the Wind Legion can be seen.That is more than twice as fast as the most handsome fast horse!With such a speed, I am afraid that no one can hit it.She almost screamed, and blinked her eyes involuntarily, but the flying plane had already passed by the porthole.A gust of wind rushed in through the porthole, and when I looked again, the flying plane had drawn an arc, and it was tens of feet away from the airship. Zeng Wanggu regained his composure, only to feel that his heart was still beating violently.She looked at the old man, and was surprised to find that even the old man had an extremely ugly expression on his face. The unexpected behavior of the aircraft just now probably made the usually calm old man break out in a cold sweat.Zeng Wanggu wiped the sweat from his palms on his clothes, and shouted: "Xiao Qi, aim!" As he spoke, he held down the machine bracket with his left hand, hooked the iron hook on his right wrist to the body of the piercing crossbow, and aimed at the crossbow. A flying machine that is circling and ascending. The flying plane was driven by Hong Shengdong.As soon as he rushed into the clouds, he felt that his eyes were blurred.Thick clouds covered his eyes like cotton wool. He just blinked, and suddenly he heard the deputy behind him scream. When he looked closely, he saw that the flying plane was only a couple of feet away from him.Even if he was so bold, he broke into a cold sweat from fright.If it hits the airship head-on, the flying machine will definitely fall apart. Although I boast that I have nine lives like a cat, but if I hit the airship, ten lives are not enough.He held on tightly to the handle, trying desperately to adjust the direction of the flying machine. At the very moment, the wings of the flying machine almost brushed against the gondola under the airship, narrowly passing by. After circling around, Hong Shengdong also felt his hair stand on end.This airship is really too big, the flying machine is hardly worth mentioning in front of it, and it simply doesn't know how to launch an attack.He rolled his eyes twice, and the pair of hands behind him said: "Sir, Captain Xiao and the others are here!" Xiao Ziyan and the other two flying planes came very quickly and are now below him.Hong Shengdong felt a sudden surge of pride in his chest, and said: "I owe this credit to me..." Just as he was about to pull the flying plane up again, he didn't know that he hadn't finished his sentence when his body shook suddenly, he looked down, and A long arrow pierced his chest and nailed his body to the flying machine. Are you going to die?Hong Shengdong suddenly felt extremely funny.The Wind Legion is inherently the most dangerous, and it is common for one or two to die during training, but he has been lifted into the air hundreds of times without any mistakes, and when he is in the air, the arrows below cannot reach, and the only thing to beware of is the ever-changing wind direction That's it, I really believed in what the fortune teller said that I had nine lives like a cat, and I would be able to save myself from danger. For a while, I couldn't believe that the scene in front of me was true.He turned his head and said, "Qi Fei, I...have I been hit by an arrow?" The deputy named Qi Fei saw that Hong Shengdong was pierced by an arrow, and when he spoke, blood gushed out of his mouth, and he shouted in fright: "General Hong, you...you..." There was no time to say these words, and suddenly felt his body As soon as it sank, the aircraft fell straight down.It turned out that Hong Shengdong was fatally injured and had already died. The flying machine was unmanned, so how could it still float in the air.The assistant panicked and just screamed. The scream was loud and long, like dragging a long thread, Xiao Ziyan and the others noticed it.When Hong Shengdong's plane landed, he was right next to Xiao Ziyan's plane. Tang Wei could even see Hong Shengdong's mouth and nose bleeding, and the assistant named Qi Fei was panicking and screaming.He felt like a heart was about to jump out of his throat, and he shouted: "Captain Xiao, save General Hong and Qi Fei quickly!" Xiao Ziyan shouted: "Shut up! No one can save him!" He was also shocked.Hong Shengdong's ability to control the flying machine was not inferior to his own, but the enemy's airship would have crossbow arrows, which was never expected.The aircraft does not carry much weight, except for two people and a bomb weighing several tens of kilograms, if you can do without other things, you don't have any other weapons except a waist knife.He said loudly, "Xiaotang, have you brought a bow and arrow?" Tang Wei said: "There is a handle crossbow." He was a little hesitant, and then said: "It's just that the range is only twenty or thirty paces." Xiao Ziyan couldn't help feeling disappointed.There are powerful crossbow arrows on the airship, and the airship is still more than ten feet away, the enemy's crossbow arrows must not be accurate, but if you want to get close to the range of the hand crossbow, it is too dangerous. You have to be shot through the heart by them first.He was slightly distracted, and Tang Wei suddenly exclaimed: "Captain Xiao, there are arrows!" An arrow shot quickly.Fortunately, the wind was very strong, and the arrow must have hit someone when it was shot, but after only flying a few feet, it was blown away by the wind for more than a few feet.It's just that although the arrow's aim was poor, it flew extremely smoothly in the air. It seemed that it was specially made for aerial combat.Xiao Ziyan made up his mind and said, "Xiao Tang, sit down, let's go up." It is definitely not possible to attack from the arrow. Even if Tang Wei brought a strong bow instead of a hand crossbow, it must not be the opponent of the crossbow on the airship.The only way now is to fly above the airship and attack with mine blasts.No matter how strong the airship is, it cannot withstand the explosion of the mine. However, the enemy is obviously also guarding against this, so it is still rising.