Iron Dynasty Chapter 1027

Duokang.

The capital city of Tibet lay four hundred li (about 200 km) to the southwest of Songzhou City. Following six grueling days on the road, Dengba at last made his way back.

“Zaxi Donzhu has perished!” Shock dominated Dawa’s features.

With vigorous nods, Dengba let tears and mucus flow freely down his cheeks as he wept bitterly. He faithfully relayed to Dawa every detail of the disastrous assault on Lingzhou.

As Dengba unfolded the tale, Dawa’s face darkened progressively. Ultimately, profound dread filled his gaze, for such occurrences lay far beyond his grasp. To him, nothing short of a deity could summon heavenly lightning.

“Prime Minister, what course shall we take? The general of the Great Yu Empire granted us scant time. He warned that refusal to yield means they’ll turn Duokang into ruins.” Despair gripped Dengba tightly. With Zaxi gone, the Prime Minister held the greatest authority in Tibet. Dengba could only turn to Dawa in his plight.

The arrival of Dengba drew numerous Tibetan aristocrats as well. They too felt terrorized by his vivid account at that moment.

In launching the offensive against Lingzhou, Tibet committed over half its troops, including the heirs of these very nobles.

“Prime Minister, we ought to deliberate this deeply. Only by witnessing it ourselves can we determine our next steps,” one aristocrat declared. The rest of the nobles agreed with nods upon hearing this.

Dawa gave a nod in response. Fixing his gaze on Dengba, he stated, “Yielding to the Great Yu Empire carries grave weight. We require personal verification to accept it as truth. Dengba, Tibet’s destiny hangs in the balance, so guide us to Songzhou.”

Dengba glanced at the surrounding nobles, noting their expressions of skepticism and uncertainty. He quickly realized they accused him of fabricating tales to justify the loss.

With a derisive huff, he replied, “Fine, I’ll lead the way. See to it that you don’t soil yourselves upon arrival.”

Dawa let out a heavy sigh. “Dengba, doubt isn’t the issue, but I must account to the Tibetan elite. Return and recover; we depart at dawn.”

At last, Dengba’s countenance eased. After a night’s repose, he joined Dawa and the other Tibetan nobles on horseback, setting out for Songzhou come morning.

After another six days, the party reached Songzhou.

Before Dengba’s contingent entered Songzhou, Luo Xin had already tracked their movements. Relief washed over him upon learning they traveled with merely 3,000 troops.

Such a modest force signaled no intent for vengeance from Tibet, which would surely muster far greater numbers for reprisal.

True to his expectations, upon reaching Songzhou City, Dengba clarified their mission: negotiations for surrender.

“Honored General Luo, they seek a glimpse of the divine weaponry.”

Once inside the city, a soldier escorted Dengba to the Songzhou barracks, leading him to Luo Xin’s command tent for their meeting.

“Divine-powered weapons?”

Interest sparked in Luo Xin’s eyes as he regarded Dengba, who in turn felt a twinge of remorse. Truth be told, lingering resentment from the nobles’ suspicions fueled his desire to humble Dawa and his peers through the might of the Great Yu Empire.

After a brief contemplation, a grin spread across Luo Xin’s face. Dengba’s motives held no concern for him; rather, this presented an opportunity to cow Tibet. Indeed, Dengba already viewed their armaments as godlike.

Should the naive Tibetans grasp the Empire’s true strength, notions of uprising might forever vanish from their minds.

With a subtle inclination of his head, Luo Xin summoned his officers. They resolved to stage a tailored drill, allowing the Tibetan elite to behold the Empire’s formidable prowess firsthand.

Having dismissed Dengba, Luo Xin conferred shortly with his subordinates on the drill’s elements. That afternoon, he himself guided Dengba’s entourage to the training field.

“Do these represent the arms of the celestial deity?” Dawa inquired, gesturing toward the Han-style rifles slung across the soldiers’ shoulders.

Luo Xin inclined his head faintly. Addressing a nearby trooper, he commanded, “Perform a display for the Tibetan Prime Minister’s benefit.”

He was well aware of Dawa’s station. In Tibet, the Zanpu mirrored an emperor, while the Prime Minister paralleled the Cabinet’s chief. Thus, Dawa commanded supreme influence in Tibet now.

Obeying the directive, the soldier deftly shouldered his Han-style rifle and took aim at a pottery vessel positioned a hundred meters distant. A sharp “bang” echoed, and the pot exploded into fragments.

The crack of the shot sent Dawa and the nobles quaking in terror. Even Dengba shuddered anew at the spectacle.

Observing Dawa’s and his companions’ reactions, Luo Xin displayed evident approval. He proceeded to conduct them toward the cannons.

“Loose a round!” Luo Xin instructed steadily, a sly smirk curling his mouth.

From a crate on the earth, the gunners retrieved a metallic projectile and loaded it into the breech. They added the charge next, then yanked the cord. A resounding “boom” propelled the shell straight at a white mark on a distant mound, where it detonated, hurling soil skyward.

Following the cannon’s roar, the Tibetans’ legs buckled, forcing them to collapse onto the dirt. The pair who remained upright had succumbed to such fright that they soiled themselves uncontrollably.

“These are the celestial god’s instruments of war—truly the god’s own arms!” Dawa whispered shakily, rising unsteadily from the ground with horror-stricken eyes.

Amusement bubbled within Luo Xin. Though the Great Yu Empire had surged in might, surrounding realms remained oblivious to its transformations, hindered by sluggish travel that stifled information flow.

Now and then, a trader might whisper of these shifts, only to face mockery as if spinning tall tales.

Tibet epitomized these isolated clans. While the world evolved dramatically, they clung to their secluded existence.

“Such is the impact from merely a pair of our devices. With Prime Minister Dawa present, I shall reveal the Empire’s full might to you.”

Thereupon, Luo Xin signaled to Gao Meng, the Northwest Army’s Chief Scribe at his side.

Granted permission, Gao Meng directed the sounding of the drill’s trumpet. As its notes faded, two hundred Imperial Guard cannons unleashed a simultaneous barrage.

This volley targeted not the barren slope but a modest woodland within the training area.

A deafening rumble accompanied the onslaught, engulfing the copse in explosive fury; the struck zone flattened amid roaring infernos of vivid fire.

Concurrently, the machine gun unit advanced, directing their weapons at the timber and unleashing sweeping volleys. Amid the relentless fire, a sturdy trunk soon severed under the hail of shots.

Yet this marked only the onset. Next, the Southwest Army showcased grenade tosses and mine deployments.

As the maneuvers concluded, a massive hot air balloon ascended above Dawa, shattering his psychological barriers entirely.

“Venerable Commander Luo Xin, we request to journey to Qingzhou ourselves to present our submission. Tibet requires no Zanpu henceforth; the Great Emperor of the Empire stands as our ideal sovereign,” Dawa declared with deference.

Doubt no longer clouded his mind regarding the Great Yu Empire’s capacity to devastate Duokang utterly. The sole question was their willingness to act.

Triumph lit Luo Xin’s features with a smile. “Naturally. The Southwest Army shall accompany you directly.”