Battle was imminent

"Riot shields, we need to equip them all."

Earth.

After Fang Weiyan returned, he immediately began preparing supplies. If he won this battle, his future plans would go much more smoothly.

According to the maid, if Emperor Kaide originally intended for him to inherit the throne, then his meritorious service in protecting the emperor this time should have earned him even more favor with the emperor.

"Some gas stations are less strict, and you can even buy gasoline with a gas can; it's good to keep some of those on hand."

Fang Weiyan pondered for a moment, and then thought of gasoline.

Just like his hometown, which is located in a relatively remote mountainous area, in the small town near the mountains, gas stations allow people to bring gasoline cans to buy gasoline.

Unlike some large cities, where regulations are stricter and it's harder to buy gasoline in bulk, this place is different.

As for gasoline, I'll get some Molotov cocktails later; they're simple to make and incredibly powerful.

It was a liquid, and when it broke, it splattered everywhere, causing fires all over the place.

This can also be used to make simple explosive devices.

With this in mind, Fang Weiyan immediately took action after placing the order, preparing to go to places where he could buy bulk gasoline and buy more of it.

You can't buy this from just one place, so Fang Weiyan will have to go to more places next.

However, this does make not having a car somewhat inconvenient.

Fortunately, money makes everything convenient now. After Fang Weiyan went down the mountain, he rented a car and then started looking for some relatively remote gas stations.

After confirming the location, Fang Weiyan drove there to buy loose gasoline.

After buying the gasoline, he dumped it in Pingshui City and left it in Fude's care.

Meanwhile, Fang Weiyan was buying gasoline while constantly monitoring the situation in the Jiang Kingdom, determined to raise troops to defend the king as soon as he learned of the rebellion.

Soon, five or six days passed. After Fang Weiyan had traveled to many places and purchased a lot of gasoline, alcohol and other supplies, he returned to Cloudwater City.

After transporting the riot shields purchased from the warehouse to Pingshui City, Fang Weiyan hurriedly returned to Pingshui City.

After Lin Liyun distributed the riot shields, Fang Weiyan took some gasoline and began to conduct simple experiments.

Gasoline can explode under certain conditions.

He wanted to experiment with what conditions would make it easier to trigger an explosion, and also try making Molotov cocktails.

Once you've learned it, then let your soldiers learn it too.

The carpenters in the city have begun making catapults as instructed by Fang Weiyan, and so far they have only managed to produce ten.

Some of the materials for this catapult were brought over from Earth by Fang Weiyan, so the production speed was quite good, the performance was also decent, and it could be disassembled and transported.

A moment later, Fang Weiyan had a small bottle in his hand.

Fang Weiyan looked at the bottle in his hand, with Tao Lingluo watching beside him.

Fang Weiyan was worried that he might go too far and hurt himself, so he specifically asked Tao Lingluo to stay by his side.

Finding a spot, Fang Weiyan threw the Molotov cocktail in his hand.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the Molotov cocktail exploded, and the splashed gasoline instantly ignited, setting off a large fire in the distance.

Seeing the fire burning, Fang Weiyan even tried to splash some water on it, but the water had no effect whatsoever.

The gasoline floated on the water and continued to burn, just as Fang Weiyan knew.

"This thing can be used."

Fang Weiyan nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

"Has anyone had someone practice operating the catapult?"

Fang Weiyan looked at the Molotov cocktail he had made and felt that the effect was okay. He then called Cheng Feng over to ask about the situation.

"After the first trebuchet was produced, people were trained to use it, and they are now proficient in its operation."

Cheng Feng approached and immediately spoke upon hearing this.

"What about the ships? How are the ship preparations going?"

It was a really good idea to have someone buy ships beforehand; it will be faster to take them to the Jiang Kingdom later.

With the help of the fish demon from the Wu River, the journey will be even faster.

Therefore, it is imperative to arrive in Yanhuai City as soon as possible after the enemy launches their rebellion.

"The ships have remained moored at the shore. As instructed by the adults, the city has begun preparing dry rations to be stored on the ships."

We continued with the same method of making dry rations as before: baking large flatbreads that were easy to carry and kept us full.

"Yes, get the people in the city mobilized. Also, see if we can urgently recruit some soldiers; we need them right now."

Fang Weiyan was quite satisfied with what he heard and immediately continued to give instructions.

"Yes, I'll go right away."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng turned and left.

Seeing this, Fang Weiyan approached Lin Liyun again and asked him to select about a hundred clever people to learn how to make Molotov cocktails.

It would be more convenient and safer to transport the gasoline cans together, and then make them on-site at the battlefield.

This requires manpower.

The bottles that Fang Weiyan brought were all relatively large.

According to Fang Weiyan's own plan, when he returned to Yanhuai City, the worst-case scenario would be that the city gates would have already fallen to the enemy.

If we want to attack the city, we'll have to capture the city gates.

The massive city gate would be a wide target, and given the use of catapults, a larger bottle would be just right.

This is different from using Molotov cocktails on the battlefield in the past, when it was a one-man job to deal with tanks, and they were easy to carry and throw.

The worst-case scenario here is that we'll have to attack the city gates.

In addition to gasoline, alcohol can also be burned and can be used.

Seeing that the adults needed manpower, Lin Liyun immediately dispatched a hundred men.

These one hundred people are now all dressed smartly and standing there with great spirit.

Fang Weiyan looked at the people in front of him, then took out a gasoline bottle and began to explain to them.

Some properties of gasoline still need to be explained to the people in front of you. For example, it cannot be extinguished with water, it is flammable, and it is very dangerous.

Fang Weiyan explained in detail to the hundred people in front of him, demonstrating as he went.

After Fang Weiyan finished explaining, he then had the people in front of him come forward one by one to operate the equipment.

They need to practice this more to avoid accidentally burning their own people when they get back to the battlefield.

If something like this happened on the battlefield, it could cause a lot of trouble.

Fang Weiyan watched the hundred people practicing in front of him. He went from being nervous at the beginning to becoming more proficient before starting the next throwing practice.

We might not need this, but we might.

In Fang Weiyan felt that he still needed to practice more.

While urging everyone to practice, Fang Weiyan also looked at the supplies he had purchased this time.

In addition to the gasoline and alcohol he bought, Fang Weiyan also purchased gas cylinders.

Although this thing won't explode, if the valve is opened and a source of fire is present, it will continuously spew flames.

The people in this world don't know how to close valves, so if Fang Weiyan opens the valve and throws this thing onto the city wall, it will keep spewing flames, and no soldier will dare to approach.

So Fang Weiyan also bought some gas cylinders.

As darkness fell, Fang Weiyan instructed the hundred or so people in front of him to return to their ranks and continue practicing here the next day.

After dismissing everyone, Fang Weiyan walked towards the yamen and saw a bustling scene on the street. They were making flatbread according to Fang Weiyan's request.

Flatbreads were baked and then set aside.

With previous disaster relief experience, the speed of making dry rations is much faster now.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Fang Weiyan glanced at it, then turned around and walked towards the yamen. However, when Fang Weiyan glanced at Tao Lingluo, he suddenly felt something was strange.

Tao Lingluo looked a little pale at this moment.

I'd been busy with other things and hadn't noticed Tao Lingluo.

Upon closer inspection, I immediately sensed that something was amiss.

He was using chemical fertilizers to keep the other person healthy, so why does he suddenly look a bit weak?

"It's nothing. I just left Pingshui City a few days ago and got into a fight with some demons, so I'm a little weak."

Upon hearing this, Tao Lingluo forced a smile at Fang Weiyan.

Did I fight with some demons?

Fang Weiyan thought for a moment, could it be that after she failed her tribulation, she was surrounded by those demons?

As far as he knew, Tao Lingluo seemed to have a grudge against them.

"A great battle is imminent, and we'll need you then. Conserve your strength; use the fertilizer in the warehouse as you see fit. Don't forget to preserve your power."

Fang Weiyan felt somewhat helpless, thinking that Tao Lingluo was seeking revenge without considering the timing. He could only offer her some words of advice.

He didn't have many people he could use, but Tao Lingluo was definitely one of them, so he didn't want the other party to waste time on this kind of thing.

He understood the desire for revenge, but said it should wait until after this matter was over.

Tao Lingluo did not argue upon hearing this, but nodded gently to indicate that she understood.

Fang Weiyan didn't notice that there was an extra peach branch hanging from Tao Lingluo's waist.

Yanhuai City.

The Imperial Palace.

"Father."

Princess Jin'an hurriedly put away what she was holding, then stood up and greeted Emperor Kaide, who had come to visit her, with a composed expression.

Emperor Kaide looked somewhat tired, and as he looked at his daughter before him, a forced smile appeared on his face.

"Sit down. Your father just wanted to come and have a meal with you."

The Emperor Kaide's face was indescribably ugly at this moment, and he waved his hand as he spoke.

Immediately, a servant came forward and brought out a food box, taking out the delicacies inside.

Princess Jin'an glanced at the contents inside, then her expression shifted slightly. "Why is it so lavish today..."

Her father was always frugal and didn't care much about food.

But with so many delicacies in front of me, it's a bit of a waste.

"My daughter and I don't have much time left, so it's only right that we eat something good."

Emperor Kaide replied softly.

Princess Jin'an's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.

At that moment, an attendant divided the dishes into two portions, preparing to place them on two separate tables, as was customary in the palace.

Each person always has their own meal.

"No need, I'll be sitting at the same table with my daughter today."

Upon seeing this, Emperor Kaide waved his hand, indicating to the guards that there was no need for such behavior.

The attendant, seeing this, obeyed the order.

Soon, a table full of delicious dishes was laid out, but neither of them seemed to have any appetite.

Now, the situation in the palace has become somewhat delicate, and the court sessions these days have been particularly strange.

In the past, whenever he wanted to do something, his subordinates would outwardly comply but inwardly disobey.

Now, the ministers above are very obedient to whatever he says or whatever arrangements he makes.

However, Emperor Kaide knew that all of this was just an illusion.

He also considered taking this opportunity to summon some of his personal guards to the city, but after thinking about it, he gave up the idea.

Now, he doesn't even know that those soldiers belong to him.

If we rashly move them, we might accidentally bring the enemy's troops into the city instead.

But the more the other party acted this way, the more he knew that these people would eventually lose their composure.

"You sent your personal maid to escape?"

Qiao'er has been gone for more than ten days and has not returned yet. Unless she was killed, Princess Jin'an must have sent her to escape.

This maid was someone he carefully selected to keep his daughter company; her status was absolutely correct, and her loyalty should not be an issue either.

"Yes, Qiao'er and I grew up together. I couldn't bear to see her die with me, so I sent her to Pingshui City."

Princess Jin'an nodded gently upon hearing this.

Upon Emperor Kaide paused for a moment, and upon hearing the Pingshui City, he immediately thought of Fang Weiyan.

"She went to Commandery Governor An? Commandery Governor An is quite capable; I heard that Pingshui City is almost completely governed now, and the disaster victims he gathered from other places have all been properly taken care of. He's a capable person, it's just a pity..."

If it were this Fang Weiyan, he would have been born decades earlier.

The Jiang Kingdom is not yet so riddled with problems; perhaps it can still be salvaged.

But now, things have already come to this.

This man was truly born at the wrong time and could not be used by the Jiang Kingdom.

Emperor Kaide felt a strange resentment rising in his heart when he thought of Fang Weiyan.

Compared to the other ministers, he felt Fang Weiyan's outstanding qualities even more.

He grew to admire Fang Weiyan even more.

Unfortunately, Fang Weiyan arrived at the worst possible time, appearing in such a chaotic world.

If Fang Weiyan had appeared a few years earlier, he felt that the Jiang Kingdom could still be saved, but it was too late.

"This person was indeed talented, it's such a pity..."

Princess Jin'an couldn't help but sigh at this moment, lamenting the impending demise of the Jiang Kingdom and her status as a princess whose kingdom was on the verge of collapse.

However, Qiao'er should be able to survive once she gets there.

Given Fang Weiyan's talent, as long as the person who ascends the throne in the future isn't incompetent, he should also give Fang Weiyan an important position.

Princess Jin'an felt a pang of jealousy at this thought. This man was originally a capable minister of the Jiang Kingdom, but now he was going to be recruited by other traitors.