Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 236: Florence

Chang'an, Daming Palace.

Li Longji lived a very comfortable life these days. With the dominoes, dice and poker presented by Qinhuai providing him with entertainment, he even visited the several opera gardens in the palace less often.

If the envoys sent by Western countries had not actually traveled thousands of miles to Chang'an and wanted to meet the ancient sages comparable to Yao and Shun, he would not have bothered to order the six ministries and officials to reopen the grand court meeting in the Hanyuan Hall.

Listening to Raphael's thousands of words of boasting and praising at the steps below, Li Longji was very pleased and immediately accepted the Messiah's letter of peace.

After leaving the complicated and cumbersome specific compensation matters to the officials of the six ministries and asking them to negotiate and haggle, Li Longji returned to Xingqing Palace with the beautiful Yang Yuhuan in his arms.

The mighty and majestic Tianrui horse pulled a luxurious carriage full of gold and jade. Li Longji sat among a group of beautiful girls and looked up at Qin Huai who was riding a Kuilong horse and guarding him.

Compared to the steam chariot developed by Tianrui Si, he prefers the traditional gold and jade chariot. Just like before, no matter how good Raphael said the mobile armor was, he still liked pure warriors with superb skills and strong bodies.

Wang Zhongsi, Chen Xuanli, Li Siye
The fact that these Tianrui hybrids with outstanding martial arts skills could succeed was certainly inseparable from their military exploits, but without Li Longji's appreciation, it would have been difficult for them to obtain high military officer positions above the fifth rank.

"Jingbo, I heard from Brother Nu and my wife that you want to go back to the northwest?"

"Your Majesty, I do have this intention."

"In that case, do you have a candidate in mind for the temporary replacement of the Skyriders Commander?"

Li Longji felt a little bit sorry, but remembering Yang Yuhuan's advice to him these days, he decided to let Qin Huai go back to the northwest to look for the rare treasure that could increase his lifespan.

"The Eagle Strike General Geshu is bold and careful, and has thorough thoughts. With him and General Xuanli protecting Chang'an, there will be no chaos in the Tang Dynasty."

Qin Huai had already made up his mind. This time when he went to Florence, he would only bring the two people with the highest mechanical attainments in the Shenwu Tianqi, namely, the guardian of all directions Xiao Gui and the bearded Jing Zukang.

"The boy from the Geshu family is quite loyal and brave, so he can temporarily take over the position of commander."

Li Longji nodded and approved Qin Huai's arrangement.

In the Hanyuan Hall, the faction led by Li Linfu and the loose alliance composed of the Five Surnames and Seven Families were engaged in a heated argument with the Western Yi envoys, haggling over every item of the armistice agreement.

After a long tug-of-war, the prosperous Tang Dynasty finally negotiated a condition acceptable to both sides with the Western Yi.

In terms of territory, the Zhaowu area, which was originally the Nine-Surname Hu Kingdom, was completely ceded to the Tang Dynasty. The two sides used the Turan Lowlands as the boundary and ruled the vast Black Caliphate.

In terms of war reparations, Western countries were willing to pay 30,000 taels of gold and 200,000 taels of silver, to be paid in five years.

The remaining compensation conditions vary, but generally speaking, they can satisfy these greedy gluttons.

As for the most critical Tianrui mine, the three parties tacitly did not discuss it. The aristocratic families headed by the Five Surnames and Seven Families had Qin Huai's greetings, so they would not take the initiative to mention it, and the narrow-minded Li Linfu and Raphael looked at each other tacitly. They reached another deal in secret.

Through yesterday's exchange of interests, Raphael promised to send a mechanic with profound theoretical knowledge to Chang'an to teach the steam machinery technology of the Papal State.

Li Linfu could also place people in the Tang Dynasty delegation and go to Florence together to learn some of the technologies of the Minerva mechanism.

After exchanging edicts stamped with the emperor's seal, the Western Yi delegation led by Raphael left the Hanyuan Hall with satisfaction.
-
Beiya, Shenwu military camp.

Qin Huai looked at the leader of Shouzhuoting, Fire Master, who was sent by the Jinwu Guards, with a strange look in his eyes.

He had thick lips, protruding nostrils, and dark skin with a slight oily sheen. It was obvious that the leader of this underground assassination organization in Chang'an was a Kunlun slave who was trafficked to Chang'an by the Arabs.

he died.

His old, withered face was covered with scales, and deep nasolabial folds formed crisscross grooves along his protruding nose. A large-caliber single-headed bullet blasted into his heart, shattering half of his chest.

"Killing people to silence them is very straightforward."

Qin Huai realized at a glance that the murderer was not using standard weapons, but some kind of rougher and more primitive large-caliber flintlock rifle.

"A Jing, after I leave, you have to be careful about what happens in Chang'an. The Zoroastrian priests under An Lushan are not simple."

"Brother, I save it."

Geshu Jing had personally experienced the madness and terror of the Half-Dead, and he deeply agreed with Qin Huai's reminder.

"Take these three purple scrolls. As long as you don't encounter strange people like Siye and me, it should be enough to save your life."

Qin Huai took out the [Shangqing Sanmao Taiyi Resurrection Talisman], [Lingbao Wuliang Yunzhuan Meteorite Fire Talisman] and [Shenxiao Yuqing Ziwei Dragon Thunder Talisman] and stuffed them into Geshu Jing's hands.

Geshu Jing didn't act pretentiously. He just nodded and put it away.

The two men parted ways, Geshu Jing went to prepare for the handover, while Qin Huai, holding the copper stove hot pot, came to the room where Rundstedt was imprisoned.

"Xiaolong, want to chat?"

"it is good."

Looking at Qin Huai who came to see him off, Rundstedt ignored his strange address, but stood up and helped clear the wooden table in the room.

Ever since Rundstedt had been away from the [Black Dragon] that was constantly absorbing nutrients from its host, and had been well fed and well fed by Tianqi for two months, its originally frail body had noticeably become much stronger.

Qin Huai brought the condiment plate, chopsticks, knife and fork to Rundstedt, and after pouring a large amount of meat slices and seasonal vegetables into the pot, he started to talk about business.

"I came to you this time to ask you to do me a favor."

The meat slices in the sieve were scalded to a pale white, emitting a rich aroma. Rundstedt picked up a fork, raised his head and replied, "If it does not violate my chivalry, it is fine."

Qin Huai nodded, put down his chopsticks, and took out three nectar yellow talismans. "This yellow talisman is a precious medicine made by alchemy. I want to use its manufacturing technology to make a deal with Minerva, but I have no way. You are the leader of the Blazing Knights, and you must have some relationship with Minerva, so I want you to give these to the head of the Minerva agency after you return to Florence and give me a message."

The nectar in Qin Huai's hand was also used by Rundstedt, so it was not a dangerous item that might explode at any time. After thinking about it carefully and finding that there was nothing contrary to chivalry, he agreed.

After the two men had their meal, Qin Huai led a few Fire Sky Cavalry and escorted hundreds of captured Western Yi soldiers to the embassy’s residence at the Honglu Temple.

These prisoners had already been disarmed, so there was no need to worry about any adverse impact on the public security of Chang'an City.

After adding the ransom to Li Longji's Taifu treasury's 2:1 and making it 5:1, Qin Huai took the 3,000 taels of gold and the remaining gold from yesterday to the Chang'an Money House and exchanged them for 50,000 taels of silver and 60,000 Medici gold coins (the common currency of Western countries).

As the saying goes, a poor home brings rich journey. I don't know how long I will stay in Florence, so I naturally have to pack my luggage first.

Five days later, the Tang Dynasty delegation, with Anxi Grand Protector Qin Huai as its core, returned with the Western Barbarians delegation to Florence for state exchanges and to participate in the international ceremony hosted by the Messiah.
-
AD 751, May.

The city fell into a dark slumber. Above the night sky, the huge Leviathan airship was swimming slowly like a giant whale. The Cyclops-like light was cast from it, moving and observing in the sleeping city.

Sharp car horns interrupted the silence of the night sky. Hot white steam erupted from the manhole covers near the streets. Then it was blown away by the cool night breeze into even finer droplets, and finally dispersed into a grayish-white mist that covered the entire city.

The lunatics of the Minerva Agency hollowed out the city's underground and built the largest steam system in history. They also dug kilometers of underground channels to bring the Tiber River into the iron furnace, which burned day and night and drove the city's mechanical factories.

Complex underground canals are their discharge facilities. Every day, tens of thousands of tons of water vapor flow into the streets after purification cycles, and are then buffeted by the hot winds from the Mediterranean Sea, turning into intermittent convective rain that falls.

It is hot and humid in summer and mild and rainy in winter. It is a paradise on earth praised by Messianics.

When Qin Huai and his companions arrived in Florence, it was sunrise. Tens of thousands of tons of water vapor that was about to be evaporated by the heat gathered above the city, as if a dome of clouds covered everything. The morning light illuminated the sky golden, like the holy flame burning in heaven.

The scenery outside the car window changed slowly. After passing several inspections, they entered the outer city. Unlike the dilapidated and desolate plains of East Europe, towering Gothic and Baroque buildings could be seen everywhere here. Tall steam towers stood between each block, and thick smoke rose from the chimneys, turning everything gray.

"General Qin Huai, this is Florence, the birthplace of steam technology, the most advanced city in the world. With the innovation and development of technology, all believers of the Messiah are living in heaven on earth with hope."

Perhaps it was because he had returned to his own territory, there was a strong sense of pride in Raphael's words, as if this city was built by him.

Qin Huai nodded without comment. He was flipping through a book on mechanical theory borrowed from a mechanic from the Papal Mission.

The spine of the book is fixed with an exquisite lock, and the edge of the cover is decorated with mottled brass. This seems to be a common decorative technique in Florence. Gears and pipes, everything seems to be inseparable from the steam engine. For this reason, some mechanics in the Papal States also believe that those hot machines also have souls, and that it is a great power bestowed by God on humans.

After reading the last page, Qin Huai put away the book full of Latin and mechanical drawings and looked out the window.

"This is the earliest industrial area in Florence. It is not as prosperous as the inner city. We established the first generation of industrial civilization here, but fifty years ago, the factories were moved to nearby towns. What you see now are just ruins."

Raphael pointed outside the window and continued to introduce Qin Huai.

In fact, Qin Huai could understand it even without him saying it. There were often large machines like a steel forest flashing outside the car window, rusty and covered in rust, like the skeleton of a giant.

Mechanical civilization has only developed for more than a hundred years, but this place has been abandoned for at least several decades.

Qin Huai looked at the scene in front of him, but was thinking about when to pull Li Siye and Ye Fashan to melt these steel giants and reduce them into fine cast steel ingots. After all, these creations are also an amazing wealth as scrap steel, but the Lombards just casually abandoned them in the wilderness and let them turn into rust.

What a waste.
While Qin Huai's thoughts were wandering, the [World Python] under his seat was spewing out white mist-like steam and roaring towards the inner city along the intricate railway tracks.

Florence is big. Very big.

As the capital of the Papal States, it took ten years to build Florence from scratch, and every time the steam technology was updated, Florence would expand outward.

The ever-accelerating expansion speed brought about an astonishing building area. Florence occupied the northern part of the Apennine Peninsula. The huge urban area demonstrated its terrifying national strength and the glory of its paradise on earth to the kings of the European continent.

But everything has its pros and cons. The first negative effect brought about by the huge urban area is the high transportation cost.

For a citizen of the South Outer City to go to work in a factory in the North Outer City, it would take half a day just to walk. With the income of ordinary citizens, they could not afford a steam carriage, let alone purchase an outdated and expensive animal-drawn carriage.

In order to solve this problem, the Minerva Agency used the rail space reserved at the beginning of the city's construction to build a train that could cross Florence. They called this thing light rail, which means a civilian light-capacity steam locomotive.

This kind of transportation system uses Florence as a test site, and after success, it will be promoted and expanded to European countries. Recently, they are trying to add the Leviathan airship to this huge transportation system. Then the night sky will no longer be exclusive to angels.

[Snake of the Courtyard]

The mechanics of the Minerva Agency named this civil transportation system after the giant python in Norse mythology. This beautiful and rich paradise on earth is the atrium in the myth. Everyone only needs to pay a few copper coins to become a member of this earthly snake, relying on the power of machinery and steam to surround this increasingly smaller world.

But today, the docile Atrium Serpent was replaced by the violent World Python. Four [Leviathan] airships were patrolling and on standby in the sky. In the loading bay, fully armed [Griffin Riders] wearing black cloaks were holding [Thunder Fang] long-range sniper rifles. The crosshairs in the scope locked onto the steam carriage Qin Huai was riding in from all directions.

The destructive power of this oriental alien was so great that the Cardinal, for various reasons, set up a tight net in Florence to prevent Qin Huai from launching an excessive rampage even though he knew the results would be minimal.

The Steam Python soon drove into the prosperous inner city area, the area where Florence's wealth was most concentrated. Unlike the Sanctuary, the most central area of ​​Florence which was protected by the Templar Crusaders and the Inquisition and was off-limits, this was the last place most nobles could access.

The inner city was covered with electricity, which was not widely used in that era. It was brightly lit every night. You could see people walking in the tall buildings, and the luxurious clothes of the nobles were cast on the ground by the lights, spreading out into a blurred and fragmented splendor. As the steam rose, you could smell the intoxicating aroma of wine even at the edge of the inner city.

The steam carriages that used to fill the streets have disappeared, replaced by spirited mounted police in shiny clothes and Templar Knights with golden patterns on their armor.

The World Python drove into the station with its whistle blaring, and its hundred-meter-long blood-red carpet stretched all the way to the steel compartment door that had just stopped.

"General Qin, please?"

As the magnificent holy music sounded, Qin Huai looked at Raphael who had taken the initiative to invite him, nodded slightly, and whispered something in Chinese that he could not understand.

"Messiah, what a grand ceremony~"

Recently, I was working on the ten types of inheritance and suddenly found a problem. If the many plants in traditional Chinese mythology are used as inheritance, which category should they belong to? The earth category? The naked category?

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(End of this chapter)