Chapter 26: From This Day Forward, the Ministry of War Answers to Me!

"Vice Minister... Vice Minister Xiao..." Liu Cheng’s voice was as raspy as if it had been scraped by sandpaper. "What... what is the meaning of this? The Ministry of War has its own established protocols. By acting in such a manner, are you not afraid of impeachment by the censorate, or of shaking the very foundations of the state?"

"The foundations of the state?" Xiao Zhan laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "A bunch of bookworms who have never even seen a battlefield dare to speak to me of the state’s foundations? Director Liu, are you aware of how many times the northern barbarians have breached the passes this year? Do you know how many of our Great Ming soldiers have died?"

Liu Cheng faltered, instinctively retorting, "The barbarian forces are mighty! For our Great Ming soldiers to hold back one hundred thousand enemies with a mere force of thirty thousand is already... is already a monumental achievement!"

"An achievement?" Xiao Zhan’s smile deepened. "You have the gall to brag about an achievement built upon a pile of corpses? In my eyes, that is not an achievement; it is incompetence! It is the ultimate incompetence of you lot, sitting in your offices, sipping hot tea, and waving your pens like cowards!"

"You... you are slandering us!" Liu Cheng was so furious his goat-like beard trembled. "What do you know of military strategy? What do you know of battle formations? The barbarian cavalry is peerless in this world; to face them head-on is no different from throwing eggs against a rock! Only through our careful planning and strategic command can we ensure the security of the border!"

"Well said," Xiao Zhan clapped his hands, sweeping his gaze across the faces of those around him, whether they were filled with rage or indignation. "Since you lords are so knowledgeable, let us head to the training grounds. I shall let you open your eyes and witness what 'careful planning and strategic command' truly means."

Without giving anyone a chance to react, he turned and strode toward the training ground in the back courtyard.

Liu Cheng and the others exchanged glances, each seeing the same embarrassment of being trapped in a situation they could no longer back out of.

"Go! Follow him! I want to see what kind of tricks a greenhorn like him can pull! If he doesn't provide a satisfactory explanation today, we shall submit a joint memorial to impeach him for disrupting the order of the imperial court!"

The group found their resolve and followed him in a rush.

The Ministry of War’s training ground was paved with bluestone, with racks of blades and spears standing like a forest, their edges gleaming with a cold, sharp light. Xiao Zhan stood in the center of the yard. Behind him, two of his retainers carried a heavy, long wooden crate and dropped it onto the ground with a resounding thud.

"Pretentious nonsense!" Liu Cheng snorted, feeling a sense of relief. He had expected something formidable, but it was merely a box.

"Vice Minister Xiao, we are busy with official duties and have no time to play games with you here," an official from the Armory Bureau stepped forward, his tone hostile.

Xiao Zhan ignored him, leaning down to unlatch the wooden box himself. He lifted the lid, revealing a strange, pitch-black iron object lying silently inside.

"What is this?"

"It looks like a fire poker..."

"It’s so oddly shaped. Could it be some trinket from the Westerners?"

Xiao Zhan took the iron object from the box, skillfully inserted a magazine, and pulled back the bolt.

"I call this the Thunder Lord Cannon," Xiao Zhan said in a flat voice.

"Thunder Lord Cannon?" Liu Cheng nearly burst into laughter. "Vice Minister Xiao, are you joking? You dare call this hunk of iron a cannon?"

"Whether it is or not, you shall know once you test it." Xiao Zhan’s gaze fell upon Liu Cheng. "Director Liu, I have heard that the Ministry of War’s armory houses a suit of Heavy Black Iron Armor. It is said to be the pinnacle of Great Ming’s forging craft—impenetrable by blade or arrow, impervious to water or fire. Is this true?"

At the mention of the Heavy Black Iron Armor, a look of pride appeared on Liu Cheng’s face. It was the pride of the Ministry of War and the ultimate manifestation of Great Ming’s military technology.

"Indeed! That suit of armor weighs sixty-four pounds. It was forged from refined steel blended with celestial black iron by sixteen master craftsmen over the course of three years! Not to mention blades or spears, even an eight-ox crossbow would fail to leave a scratch on it within thirty paces!"

"Good," Xiao Zhan nodded. "Then please, Director Liu, bring that precious armor here. I shall test its quality from fifty paces away."

A clamor broke out among the officials.

"How arrogant!"

"He wants to challenge the Heavy Black Iron Armor with that fire poker?"

"It’s an absolute joke! Is he trying to humiliate himself?"

A flash of malice crossed Liu Cheng’s eyes.

"Very well!" Liu Cheng declared proudly. "Men! Go to the armory and bring the Heavy Black Iron Armor! Today, I shall make Vice Minister Xiao eat his words!"

Soon, four brawny Imperial Guards arrived, straining under the weight of the massive black armor. They set it firmly upon a thick wooden stake fifty paces away.

All the officials stepped aside, ready to witness Xiao Zhan’s failure. Liu Cheng stroked his beard, a victorious smirk already curling his lips.

Xiao Zhan said nothing. He pressed the stock of the Thunder Lord Cannon against his shoulder, the cold frame of the weapon seeming to meld with his very being. Without even bothering to aim properly, he pulled the trigger.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!*

An unprecedented, dense, violent, and air-tearing roar suddenly erupted!

The sound was not the muffled thud of a musket, nor the thunderous blast of a cannon; it was the frenzied roar of a steel beast!

Every official present felt their eardrums ache from the terrifying sound wave, their minds going blank with shock. They watched in horror as a long tongue of fire spat from the "fire poker" in Xiao Zhan’s hands.

*Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!*

Countless visible sparks burst wildly against the sturdy breastplate!

In a mere two or three seconds, the gunfire ceased abruptly.

The training ground fell into a deathly silence. Everyone stared, mouths agape, eyes wide, standing like wooden statues as they looked into the distance. The Heavy Black Iron Armor, touted as impenetrable, was now a unrecognizable wreck.

*Gulp.*

Someone swallowed hard.

The pride and smirk on Liu Cheng’s face had long since frozen, now cracking and collapsing bit by bit. He stared fixedly at the pile of mangled iron, his complexion shifting from red to blue, then from blue to white, finally turning a deathly grey.

His convictions, the military knowledge he was so proud of, had been utterly shattered and ground to powder by that roar.

Yet, the performance was not over.

Xiao Zhan tossed the empty Thunder Lord Cannon to his retainer and pulled a pitch-black, fist-sized iron sphere from the wooden box.

"You speak constantly of military strategy, of impregnable fortresses, of holding the line alone." He weighed the iron ball in his hand, his tone dripping with mockery. "But in my eyes, those things are nothing but weaklings in the face of true power."

He fixed his gaze on a rockery in the corner of the courtyard, swung his arm, and sent the black iron sphere tracing a parabolic arc, landing lightly at the base of the rocks.

*Thump.* A soft sound—the sphere rolled twice at the foot of the rockery and came to a stop.

The officials looked at one another in confusion. What was this?

Just as they were wondering—

*BOOM—!!!!!*

An earth-shattering roar erupted!

The very ground trembled violently! A violent shockwave, mixed with dust and shattered stone, swept outward in all directions!

Liu Cheng was knocked off his feet, landing hard on the ground, his official hat sent flying. A foul, pungent stench filled the air as someone in the crowd, terrified out of their wits, had wet their pants on the spot.

As the dust began to settle, the crowd trembling, they raised their heads.

The rockery, built of solid bluestone, had been blasted into ruins; half of it was obliterated, debris scattered everywhere, the stone scorched black as if struck by the hammer of a god.

The training ground fell into a deathly silence once more. Fear, like an invisible hand, gripped everyone’s throat.

"Director Liu, now, I ask you one more time."

"If I take three thousand soldiers equipped with these weapons to face those thirty thousand barbarian cavalrymen you spoke of..."

"Do you still dare to take this bet with me?"