Realm of Power

When he heard that the condition was to hold a ritual ceremony, the host of the Nirvana Chanyuan, Fa Kong, looked very bright. He hesitated and said, "Sir, you want to perform rituals for the dead Central Asians. This is the heart of kindness and the heart of the Buddha. I, the Nirvana Chanyuan There is really no reason to refuse!”

"Okay, I know the host is a happy person! Let's set the time for three days later. I will have all the arrangements ready. Then Master Lao will be there." The fat man laughed, and brought Bertrand, Bonnie and The Imperial Guards walked out of the gate of Nirvana Zen Monastery

"My lord is kind"

Fakong clasped his hands in greeting, and it seemed that even the air was filled with a peaceful atmosphere, which was exceptionally deep and distant, but the light in his eyes was unusually hot. It seemed that the empire was not as difficult to get along with as rumored, at least in front of him. This gentleman is a very keen person,

"Teacher? What are the rituals these monks are talking about?"

After leaving the Nirvana Temple, Bonnie looked around. After confirming that it was safe, she finally couldn't help but asked curiously. She had been in Zhongbia for a while. Bonnie roughly knew that the monk was in Zhongbia. The status of Ya is the same as that of the religious priests in the Obaro area. , the emperor's attitude towards religion has always been very strict. He initially adopted a series of overt and covert means to elevate the Salander Sky Cult to the position of the state religion. However, once a Sky Cult priest wanted to intervene in the secular kingship, Immediately it was a thunderous suppression method

"The so-called ritual is a ritual of Central Asian Buddhism to redeem the souls of the dead." The fat man curled his lips slightly with disdain, looked at the willow branches by the river swaying in the spring breeze in front of him and said, "You don't really think that the other party is doing it for Is that what Lu Ziqiu is here to do? "

"Isn't it?" Bertrand Bonnie was confused. Didn't those monks just say that they wanted to intercede for Lu Ziqiu?

The fat man took the riding whip from the guard, got on his horse, and said, "This Nirvana Temple is not simple. We have seen that if the empire wants to take a foothold on Imperial Capital West Road, what it needs most is still people's hearts, even though the empire adopts a tolerant policy. , but to the Central Asians, the empire is still a foreign race, and what they feel is that the grassland people are gone, and the empire is The kingdom has come, but the difference is that there is a new ruler. However, if Nirvana Chanyuan comes forward, it will have a self-evident effect on appeasing the hearts of people on the Imperial Capital West Road, so he simply proposed it. Lu Ziqiu is just a opponent to test the empire. Even if the empire doesn’t agree, Nirvana Chanyuan will come up with other things that can be done.”

"Why is this?" Bertrand Bonnie was completely confused. These monks risked their lives to test the empire's attitude? "

"I didn't think so at first, but you once said that the prairie nobles here are Buddhists, so they preserved the Nirvana Temple. I was surprised at that time. The prairie people caused a bloody storm on Dijing West Road and killed countless Zhongbi. Yaren, does Nirvana Chanyuan forgive him just because he is a Buddhist? This is not nonsense!"

"Obviously, Nirvana Chanyuan has taken the path of relying on the grassland nobles, but it has announced to the outside world that these grassland people have converted to Buddhism. Just like when I left just now, didn't I also say that I have a Buddha's heart and compassion? In fact, for these hands full of Zhongbi For the grassland aristocrats with subhuman blood, there is no point in converting to Buddhism. This is simply the reason that the Nirvana Chanyuan found for itself."

"No way!" Bonnie Bonnie blinked her charming eyes and stuck out her tongue playfully, "This Nirvana Chanyuan is really too cunning. If the other party knew the identity of the teacher, I don't know what kind of expression they would have. "

"Don't underestimate these monks. Some of the people who can preserve such a foundation in troubled times are simple. Don't forget that prairie people believe in immortality. Have you ever seen a well-preserved monk along the way? "Temple." Fatty rolled his eyes. "Only this Temple of Nirvana has been preserved, and it is one of the two famous temples in the Imperial Capital."

The fat man paused for a moment, looked into the distance and said, "Just watch. You don't have to wait until the sun goes down. The whole city will know that the rulers of the empire in this city were also inspired by the Temple of Nirvana and took refuge in the Buddha's heart. In this way, Nirvana Chanyuan will inevitably become famous again, and the empire will also need the sign of Nirvana Chanyuan to appease people's hearts. Only by acquiescing to this rumor and releasing Lu Ziqiu, those Central Asians who originally had opinions about the Zen Temple had no choice but to shut up. With the support of the empire, the Nirvana Zen Temple will inevitably be destroyed! In a short period of time, he became the only one in the entire Imperial Capital area. This opportunity cannot be missed and will never come back. That’s why this Nirvana Zen Temple is so eager to find the Empire."

"That's it, I understand."

There was a hint of realization on Bonnie's face. She knew that since the emperor used this place as the headquarters of the Empire's Wilderness Corps, the golden signboard of Nirvana Chanyuan must be hung high. It can be seen that the Nirvana Chanyuan's The host seemed calm, but inside he was an ambitious guy who wanted an empire. support, but unable to lose face, he licked his face and found an excuse to ask the empire to release Lu Ziqiu. As long as the empire agreed, the Nirvana Temple could be legitimately used by the empire, and there was no need to bear the infamy. I'm afraid people do this too. This move is really high enough!

"Will the teacher leave after the ceremony?" Berlant Bonnie turned around, hesitated for a moment, looked at the fat man with her big eyes and asked

"I'm afraid we won't be able to wait until three days later." The fat man shook his head under the earnest gaze of Bertrand Bonnie. "The Western Army of the Long family stormed Lanzhi City, and Ruitang Tingna's Eastern Army marched south. The two armies will meet in the next few days. You know the virtues of the Dongting Army. Naturally, their combat power is not weak, but the prairie people are wild and habitual. Well, you must know that the current Zhongbia region, that is, the southwest and southern mountainous areas are considered well-preserved and have not been devastated by war. If I don't go and take charge personally, if the Long family army is defeated, I am afraid that the entire southwest will be destroyed. The whole area has been reduced to ashes, which is not what I want to see!”

When she heard that the emperor had arranged for the prairie murderer Rui Tangtingna, the eldest princess of the East Court, who always got angry when they met, to go south, Berlant Bonnie expressed angrily, "The base camp has just been settled, and there will be a so-called religious ceremony in three days. I'm busy with work, and I really don't have time to accompany you, so I won't ask the teacher to stay." Then he rode away with his bodyguard, leaving the fat man still there, stunned.

A woman's falling out is indeed faster than turning the page in a book! The fat man couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He shouldn't have said in front of Bonnie that Bertrand had flirted with Ruitang Tina and went south. These two women were enemies. That time they met, they were filled with murderous intent and sparks flew. I, a passerby, was really hurt. ??

At the foot of Lanzhi City, in the thick white fog in the early morning, a huge shield car covered with iron plates as the precursor was seen, emerging from the thick fog.

In front are hundreds of fine iron shields tied to erected wooden rafts, with four pulleys underneath, and behind them are pushed by soldiers with all their strength. It's like a ferocious beast peeking out half its head from the thick fog, slowly driving along the walkway. In the middle section of Lanzhi City, under the cover of the shield car slowly moving forward, a large number of Long family soldiers The soldiers followed up. Each of these heavily armored Long family infantry hid their bodies behind the shields. Countless crossbow arrows flew out from the upwind direction and poured wildly towards the shield car's baffles. A dense fire was heard. With the sound of wood, dense ripples rippled out in circles.

"Attention, it's coming up again!"

On a row of street defenses composed of Yanmen chariots, an imperial officer shouted loudly. In front of him, there was a heavy ballista that was pulling out a powerful machine spring and aimed at the slowly moving vehicle in front. The shield carts and imperial crossbow carts have already been twisted with iron strings, and the front ends have been quickly replaced with semicircular ones specially designed for killing infantry. Shovel arrows, semi-circular shovel metal arrow clusters with their tail feathers removed. This featherless shovel arrow is the crystallization of the empire's experience in many battles, because archers now face groups of shield-protected arrows. The enemy infantry, this kind of arrow cluster without tail stabilization has a miraculous effect,

Although a certain balance has been lost, it is precisely because the balance is too poor. Once it hits the shield in front, it will turn into a horizontal killing force, like a rotating windmill, which is enough to overturn the shield and bring in the people behind the shield. That kind of terrifying rotation is much worse than normal. Penetrating three to four enemies with one arrow will be more lethal and shocking.

This is already the fourth day of the attack and defense of Lanzhi City. The army of more than 100,000 Long family met in front of Lanzhi City and suffered a bloody blow. Lanzhi City, which was expected to be broken through soon, unexpectedly managed to hold on for four days. The Long family's battle losses also reached a shocking figure, thirty-five thousand people. In other words, one-fifth of the Long family's northward march was already lying in the streets and alleys of Lanzhi City.

As for the empire, due to the investment in the Yanmen chariot, it has been firmly stuck on the center line. After several days of running-in, the entire empire has also been quite sure of the actual effectiveness of the Yanmen chariot. At first, it was just considered Some small Thors were placed on the chariots. After the Thor cannonballs were fired, a small number of Imperial heavy ballistas were now pushed up. The results turned out to be quite practical.

The soldiers of the empire are quite satisfied with the stable and practical tank in front of them. This is basically a weapons platform that can be built at any time. It has shooting holes and stabbing guns. Now it can also be equipped with a Thor and a heavy ballista. It is simply a natural fit. The best assistance weapon created for the Imperial Army

"Aim, fifty meters in front!" Beside the imperial heavy ballistae, the imperial officer shouted in a sharp voice. Behind the huge shield carriage, the Long family infantry were densely packed like the ferocious body of this giant beast.

"Steady. Don't be afraid." The officers of the Long family who were hiding behind the shield car also loudly encouraged the soldiers' courage. Then they heard a violent sound of breaking through the air, and a white iron arrow suddenly hit the enemy from a distance. On the iron shield in front of the shield car

"Pah!" With a heavy blow, the iron shield of the shield cart was directly knocked away by the powerful force. White light pierced into the group of soldiers behind. Due to the narrow aisle and several days of fierce fighting, the ground was filled with smoke, dust and rocks. , so the Long family soldiers advancing forward were almost crowded with people on top of each other. They were so densely packed that you could hear the sound of cracking flesh and cracking bones piercing the eardrums like raindrops. The tailless heavy arrows lost their balance during impact and formed a semicircular trace like an arc, directly scattering the crowd. With a tragic cry, the bombardment surface was shattered with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

"Papa papa" Even the heavy infantry's armor couldn't stop the sweeping clusters of fine steel arrows. They were immediately smashed to pieces, and the red, white, and gray matter of the people behind them flew everywhere. The person who was hit had large mouthfuls of blood spurting out of his mouth. In an instant, he was knocked up and fell to the ground by the arrow nock swept by the shaft next to him, like a bases-loaded hit.

"Everyone works hard and rush forward."

The Long family troops behind the heavy shield vehicle suddenly began to surge, and some directly rushed over the shield vehicle in front. They swarmed towards the front, some shouted loudly, and pushed away their companions in front. These elite infantrymen of the Long family who could be sent up as death squads were all the true direct descendants of the Long family. I thought that the shield car could protect them, but I didn't expect the imperial heavy crossbow. The car's lethality is so terrifying. In such a narrow area, it is simply a nightmare for infantry. If you don't use the shield car to get to the position, the people behind will be beaten into bloody corpses by the heavy ballista.

The Long family infantry who had just crossed the shield car heard a vibrating sound in the sky. The light in the sky suddenly dimmed. It was countless cold lights covering the light in the sky, and the attack of imperial arrows! There were shrill shouts. At the moment when they were hit by countless arrows, these Long family soldiers still held their weapons tightly in their hands. Because the dead people were too dense, the way forward was blocked again.

"No, it seems to have failed again!"

"Yeah, it's like this every time. If you knock off the shield with a heavy ballista, you'll start to attack with arrows!" The generals were talking about it. Longshan was helped by his adjutant and sat on a bench. He was dancing in white, and the hand holding the armrest of the bench made a gurgling sound.

The Long family generals who were watching the battle behind let out a long sigh. However, the Yanmen Arrow Cluster equipped with bows and spears was indeed not bad, otherwise it would not have blocked the prairie people for decades, but it was absolutely impossible to be so powerful. All because the weapons of the emperor were many times sharper than those of the original Yanzhou army, which also doubled the power of the Yanmen chariot, a battlefield weapon that integrates both offense and defense.

Lanzhi City has become a monster that devours the flesh and blood of the Long family. If the previous attack on Lanzhi City can still inspire the courage of the entire army, it has been conquered for several days in a row. The number of casualties has once again broken the record, and the entire Long family army has begun to feel numb. , a full-line attack was not possible, so it was changed to a focused attack, but every time I just rushed up, I would be baptized by the opponent's fierce arrow attack, and the corpses left behind were even more shocking, and the human blood flowed along the The ramps converge into a series of red 8