Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 63

Chapter 63 Airship Up in the Sky (2)
Flying in the sky has always been everyone’s dream. However, when this opportunity truly appeared in front of them, they retreated, even if it was a heroic frontier army.

Perhaps they were fearless when facing the terrifying Dazi Cavalry, but when they thought of riding such a thing and flying into the sky, feeling helpless, they felt a chill run down their backs. Seeing Lu Zhen’s gaze coming towards them, many people even subconsciously retreated.

Everyone was extremely afraid of what they didn’t know. Regardless of whether it was ghosts or gods, or heaven, it was a completely new and unfamiliar domain to them.

Even Hu Sui looked a little embarrassed. At this point, none of his subordinates dared to stand out directly. Actually, even he himself was uneasy. Whether this thing could be as reliable as Lu Zhen had said was something that he didn’t know in his heart.

But even so, for the sake of his own face, he couldn’t let Lu Zhen go up alone, so Hu Sui’s gaze began to sweep across the faces of the subordinates in front of him, as if he was considering who should go. Just as everyone was beating their hearts out because of General Hu’s glance, one of them stood up and said, “Sir, this lowly one is willing to board this airship with you.”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they saw someone taking the initiative to stand out and petition. But then, the faces of these soldiers turned red again, because the one who said those words was none other than Constable Lin Lie of the county government, not the soldiers in their barracks.

Lu Zhen had no intention of mocking them. He just nodded and said to the craftsmen beside him, “Bring me two leather robes.”

This order stunned everyone. He didn’t know why he still wanted to wear a leather robe even though he was wearing a thick enough robe. However, the craftsmen still took the robes they had prepared. Lu Zhen took them and threw them into the bamboo basket. Then, he waved to Lin Lie, “Let’s go.” As he spoke, he climbed up the rope ladder without hesitation.

Lin Lie hesitated for a moment before following Lu Zhen into the bamboo basket. After both of them stood firm, Lu Zhen poked his head out and rushed to the person below, “Release some ropes and let the airship rise.”

Immediately, a few craftsmen stepped forward once more and carefully untied the entangled rope bit by bit. As the ropes loosened, the hot air balloon slowly rose up.

Ten zhang, twenty zhang … fifty zhang. Very quickly, the airship rose to a height of nearly seventy to eighty zhang amidst the shouts of the group of soldiers. It was now much higher than the city wall of Little Guangling County.

Everyone was relieved when they saw that everything was safe and sound. What followed was an incredulous and heartfelt sigh. Hu Sui’s eyes shone brightly. He clenched his fists tightly and loosened them. He had always been steady, and even his face turned red with excitement.

County Magistrate Lu’s words were actually true. He had indeed created such a thing that could fly into the sky. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that there was such a miraculous thing in the world. Moreover, he knew one thing. With this airship, Dazi would have no place to hide under the watchful eyes of the Ming army. This meant nothing to the current Ming army.

We widen our views three hundred miles by ascending one flight of stairs. This airship could carry people up to more than one floor. It was only ten floors and eight floors. As long as there were enough ropes to restrain it, it would be able to keep the airship up, allowing it to see dozens of kilometers in all directions. At that time, if Dazi wanted to sneak attack another important passageway, he would probably be in a dream.

Under the excitement, Hu Sui and many of his subordinates also wanted to board the airship and read it from above.

At this moment, Lu Zhen and the other two on the airship were hurriedly putting their leather robes on their bodies. It wasn’t until he flew into the air that Lin Lie realized how prescient it was for Lu Zhen to let someone in with a leather robe. The weather here was much colder than below, and the bone-chilling winds blew over, causing one to tremble, and two rows of teeth were fighting fiercely.

It wasn’t until they wore impervious leather robes that the two of them felt better. At this time, the two of them steadied themselves and looked down at the ground.

At this moment, the boundless land was completely visible to the two of them, because there were no tall buildings and the sky had never been polluted by any industry. The visibility was quite high. Under the clear blue sky, there was a flat plain, and the grassland in the distance. Everything within a few dozen kilometers could be clearly seen by them.

“My lord … this airship is indeed a sharp weapon. With this item, it is no different from having a pair of clairvoyant eyes. Dazi’s movements will be completely undisguised.” Lin Lie had also been on the battlefield, so he immediately understood the use of this item.

However, Lu Zhen was somewhat immersed in the beautiful and magnificent natural scenery in front of him. This beautiful scenery without any traces of industrial destruction was like an oil painting. No, everything here looked even more beautiful than the paintings painted by the most brilliant painters. This was the great rivers and mountains of Daming …

It wasn’t until Lin Lie spoke to him that he suddenly woke up. He smiled and said, “It was precisely because of this that I was able to create this thing. Unfortunately, this airship could only be connected to the heavens, but it was unable to move freely. Otherwise, its function would be a hundredfold greater than it is now.” Of course, he hoped to create the kind of hot air balloon that would be used in later generations. Unfortunately, with his poor scientific knowledge, it was impossible for him to guide the craftsmen to make a qualitative leap at this time.

But even so, Lu Zhen was still satisfied. Therefore, he offered this airship to Hu Sui not only to protect himself, but also to do something for this glorious era of the Ming Dynasty. Because he knew very well what kind of calamity Daming would encounter in a few years, and he felt that with his current status, it was impossible for him to have the ability to change the course of history in a few years. Perhaps this airship that could pierce through enemy opportunities could help Daming overcome this calamity.

Moreover, in Lu Zhen’s opinion, an airship that could only be tied to the formation like a balloon was more suitable for the Great Ming army than a hot air balloon that could fly freely. After the Great Ming Dynasty, they had been the main guards for more than a hundred years, so with this airship that could see through the enemy’s situation hundreds of miles away, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. Even if this technique was learned by Meng Ren, it wouldn’t be of much use to the Meng Ren who was the main attacker.

On the other hand, if a flying airship could fly freely into Meng Ren’s hands, its function would be too terrifying. At this time, there was no surface-to-air defense system. Who knew what those Meng people who were good at surprise attacks could do?

Then let’s do it this way. Let this airship become a clairvoyant’s eye to observe the enemy’s movements on the Great Brightness Border. Unfortunately, Lu Zhen was unable to build a telescope because of technical flaws. Otherwise, if the two worked together, the effect would be multiplied.

Looking at Lu Zhen’s confident appearance, Lin Lie’s admiration grew even stronger. This county magistrate really has too many pleasant surprises. From daring to fight the Zheng Clan with one hand covering the sky, to daring to charge straight into the barracks, to his current fantasy … Although he didn’t have much knowledge, he knew that Lord Lu’s future prospects would definitely be limitless. At the same time, he had made a decision!

@ @ @ @

When everyone on the airship had their own thoughts, the citizens of Guang Ling County were completely stunned by the scene before them.

Early this morning, many people went on the streets, preparing to buy some lanterns for the upcoming Shangyuan Festival. Everyone thought that this would be their most celebrated New Year’s Day in all these years.

Unexpectedly, all of a sudden, they saw a huge sphere rising from the barracks in the north. At first, it was alright. It was only ten feet tall, and it didn’t cause much surprise. But very quickly, the sphere actually rose rapidly, reaching a height of 70-80 feet, stopping in front of everyone’s line of sight like a black cloud.

To the people at this time, such a miraculous thing could already be called a miracle. After a period of inexplicable surprise, many people felt that this was the descent of a deity, so a large number of people directly knelt on the ground towards the north.

Afterwards, even the people in their own families were shocked by the sudden change and ran out of the door. Then, they all knelt on the ground and bowed towards the round sphere that was high above them, unknown to what kind of thing it was.

The entire county, and even the countryside outside the county, was shocked by Lu Zhen’s airship to the point that only one thought of salute remained. Someone was praying to this divine object to protect their own safety. Someone was begging that divine monster not to bring any calamity to their clan. Anyone could say anything. For a time, the entire Guangling County fell into a state of fanaticism and confusion.

Lu Zhen, who was in the air, occasionally turned his head to look inside the city and discovered that something was amiss. Only then did he know that he was still making a big fuss this time. This airship was truly too shocking for the people of this era, especially the ordinary people who didn’t have much experience and believed in the immortal doctrine for their entire lives.

Lu Zhen finally decided to return to the ground in order not to cause any more trouble or disturbance. Thus, he pulled the rope on the side of the bamboo basket as agreed.

Not long after the news spread, the airship suddenly sank and was slowly pulled back by the craftsmen below.

After a meal, the two of them finally returned to the ground. Seeing the two of them landing safely on the ground, the expressions of all the soldiers changed. There was obvious admiration in their eyes. Hu Sui strode forward and patted Lu Zhen’s shoulder forcefully, “County Magistrate Lu, this airship of yours can be considered to have done a great service for our frontier army and the Imperial Court. This official must play on his watch and pay tribute for you.”

Lu Zhen grinned slightly as he endured the pain on his shoulder. Then he forced a smile and said, “Military Commander, you’re ridiculously praising me. As long as this little thing can make up for Xiaoguan’s previous rudeness, I’m already very satisfied!”