Chapter 436: Science and Technology are the Primary Productive Forces

Chapter 436: Science and Technology are the Primary Productive Forces

Tuo Ba Xiao's expression froze, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned down.

But just for a moment, before he soon curled his lips again: "Lord Xie's skill with words is impressive, but let me see how much you've improved, Lord Xie!"

As he was about to rush forward with his men, a sudden flash of light appeared in front of them.

It was as if a fuse had been lit, burning rapidly, and torches suddenly ignited across the land, forming an encirclement. The Dongrong troops were thrown into disarray.

Under the light of the flames, they finally saw the trebuchet standing behind Lord Xie's men. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary trebuchet, unremarkable, but the Dongrong soldiers who had experienced its power instantly paled.

Tuo Ba Xiao's expression remained unchanged, as if the scene wasn't enough to frighten him.

Until he heard a voice, his expression finally changed.

"Tuo Ba Xiao, today is your day of death!"

Su Youyue, dressed in a neat male outfit, slowly emerged from behind the guards. Her eyes were calm like still water in the night, with the flames reflecting in them, glowing with a fierce light.

They were extremely close to Jiuyuan Town, only two li away. Knowing that Xie Yuan would lead his men to storm the Rong Wang's camp tonight, she had come to provide support, guarding against any pursuers.

She hadn't expected that it would be Tuo Ba Xiao chasing after them.

To her, this was perfect timing. Today, he would be left here forever.

At the sound of her voice, Tuo Ba Xiao's smile faltered for a moment, but deepened shortly after.

"Su Youyue, I hope you don't fall into my hands again."

He lifted his gaze abruptly, seeing the slightly petite figure standing among the guards, her face handsome. He threatened her with a fierce look.

But the Su Youyue of today was no longer someone to be easily manipulated. With her secret guards by her side and Xie Yuan in front, she raised her red lips in mockery: "Tuo Ba Xiao, you talk too much."

Tuo Ba Xiao was never a man of good temper, and hearing her response, his eyes instantly seemed to catch fire.

But Su Youyue no longer cared whether he was angry or acting irrationally. Raising her hand, which was gently illuminated by the night, she gave the order with a resolute tone: "Open fire! Leave no one alive!"

Three fuses were lit at once, and the throwers quickly placed the lit explosive jars onto the trebuchet's nest. Then, three of them pulled the ropes together, launching the jars accurately toward the Dongrong forces.

"Fall back to the flank!" Tuo Ba Xiao's brows finally knitted together as he shouted an order, leading his men toward the weakest point of the encirclement.

Indeed, he was a natural on the battlefield, able to quickly assess the situation and seize the moment.

But Xie Yuan was not one to be underestimated. At his command, he led his men to charge toward the flank.

The shells exploded on the open ground, and even from a distance, Su Youyue could feel the earth tremble beneath her feet. The sound was deafening, startling birds that had already gone to sleep, and reaching her ears, it filled her entire eardrums.

She kept a close watch on Xie Yuan's movements, occasionally glancing at Tuo Ba Xiao, ready to order a ceasefire at any moment. If the two sides came too close, there was a risk of friendly fire.

Any of Tuo Ba Xiao's Dongrong men who were even slightly slower were blown into the air. The fastest among them was Tuo Ba Xiao himself, who reached the flank of the encirclement in the blink of an eye. But Xie Yuan was evidently faster, and before long, he had caught up, engaging Tuo Ba Xiao in direct combat on horseback.

Su Youyue's heart skipped a beat, seeing that most of the Dongrong men had been blown away. She immediately ordered a ceasefire.

"Gao Sheng, rush to support Lord Xie."

But upon hearing this, Gao Sheng shook his head: "My lady, Lord Xie gave a strict order that I must guard you well."

Recalling the tense atmosphere in the Xie Mansion during the time when the lady was kidnapped, Gao Sheng still found it hard to breathe. He now understood completely that even if Lord Xie suffered some injuries, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if the lady lost a single hair, they would all be finished.

At this moment, all the people they had brought out were shadow guards, so they were all aware of Su Youyue's identity, and Gao Sheng had resumed his previous form of address for her.

Su Youyue wanted to speak further but restrained herself. Since it was a strict command from Xie Yuan, no matter what she said, Gao Sheng definitely wouldn't listen.

So she glanced at Li Ying.

Li Ying was watching her and Gao Sheng and, upon seeing this, immediately turned away, pretending he wasn't looking at her.

Seeing his completely fake gesture, Su Youyue was speechless. "I didn’t need you to go."

Li Ying immediately let out a sigh of relief, chuckled, and turned back. "No need to worry, my lady. These people have mostly been blown up, and that Tuoba Xiao is no match for Master Xie at all. He only gets chased and beaten by Master Xie! Just wait for Master to bring back Tuoba Xiao's head to avenge you!"

Su Youyue nodded slightly. Though she wished to vent her anger on the living Tuoba Xiao, this man was too dangerous, so it was best to kill him first.

"I wonder if the Rong King is dead yet."

Regaining her composure, she furrowed her brow again.

To set up tonight's plan, they had put in quite some effort. If they managed to kill the Rong King, this war could be settled as quickly as possible. Even if Dong Rong tried to cause trouble again, all the armies of Sheng State could reunite and face the enemy as one.

Li Ying laughed. "My lady, as you said, even if he wasn't killed on the spot... the infection..."

"Infection kill him," Gao Sheng interjected.

Li Ying's eyes lit up. "Exactly! We mixed in so much manure that even if he isn't blown up, he'll stink to death!"

Su Youyue was helpless. She had learned about infections from her mother and quickly understood that it referred to the worsening of wounds due to pathogens. But when explaining it to these people, they could only grasp it as being stink to death...

But at this point, she was too tired to explain, and it was pointless anyway. Furthermore, according to her mother, not only could they add manure to the ammunition, but adding some other things also had remarkable effects.

Thinking of her mother still in Yanjing, researching new secret weapons for them, Su Youyue felt less tense as she watched Xie Yuan’s retreating figure.

The Rong King’s idea was clever—stealing the enemy's secret weapons and replicating them could make one stronger.

However, he overlooked a critical point.

Since her mother could produce such ammunition, she could develop an advanced version. By the time the Rong King replicated the enhanced version, her mother could already be working on a superior version.

As her mother put it, they would always be one step ahead of the enemy.

Science and technology were the foremost drivers of progress, after all!