Iron Dynasty Chapter 1027

Duokang.

This served as the capital of Tibet, situated about four hundred li (roughly 200 km) southwest of Songzhou City. Following six days of arduous travel, Dengba at last returned home.

“Zaxi Donzhu has perished!” Shock dominated Dawa’s features.

Dengba bobbed his head vigorously, tears and mucus cascading down his face as he wailed. He relayed the full account of the Lingzhou assault to Dawa without omission.

Dawa’s face darkened progressively with each detail from Dengba. Ultimately, profound dread filled his gaze, for such events lay far beyond his grasp. To him, only a deity could summon heavenly thunder.

“Prime Minister, what course shall we take now? The Great Yu Empire’s commander granted us scant time. They warned that refusal to yield means they’ll reduce Duokang to ruins.” Despair gripped Dengba. With Zaxi gone, the Prime Minister held the utmost authority in Tibet. He turned to Dawa for guidance alone.

Dengba’s arrival drew numerous Tibetan aristocrats. At that moment, his tale left them all thoroughly daunted.

For the Lingzhou incursion, Tibet had committed over half its troops, including the sons of these very nobles.

“Prime Minister, we ought to ponder this deeply. Only after witnessing it firsthand can we determine our path,” one noble declared. The rest of the nobles voiced agreement with nods.

Dawa inclined his head. He regarded Dengba and stated, “Yielding to the Great Yu Empire carries grave weight. We must behold it ourselves to accept it as truth. Dengba, this touches Tibet’s destiny, so lead us to Songzhou.”

Dengba scanned the surrounding nobles, noting their blend of skepticism and suspicion directed at him. He grasped at once that they viewed his words as a cover for their loss.

He huffed and replied, “Fine, I’ll guide you. Just ensure you don’t soil yourselves upon arrival.”

Dawa let out a sigh. “Dengba, it’s not disbelief on our part, but I must account to the Tibetan nobles. Return and recuperate; we depart at dawn.”

Only then did Dengba’s countenance ease. After a night’s repose, he, alongside Dawa and the other Tibetan nobles, saddled their mounts and set out for Songzhou come morning.

Six days onward, the party reached Songzhou.

Luo Xin had already tracked Dengba’s entourage prior to their entry into Songzhou. Relief washed over him upon learning they’d brought merely 3,000 warriors.

This indicated that Tibet harbored no intent for vengeance, or they’d muster far greater numbers.

And as anticipated, upon reaching Songzhou City, Dengba clarified their intent: negotiation of surrender.

“Honored General Luo, they seek a glimpse of the god-like weaponry.”

Once inside the city, a soldier escorted Dengba to the Songzhou barracks, where he encountered Luo Xin within the command tent.

“God-like weaponry?”

Luo Xin eyed Dengba curiously, while a twinge of unease stirred in Dengba. Truth be told, lingering resentment from the nobles’ earlier distrust fueled him; he aimed to leverage the Great Yu Empire to cow Dawa and his ilk.

After a brief contemplation, a grin spread across Luo Xin’s face. Dengba’s motives meant little to him. This could serve as an ideal means to overawe Tibet. In Dengba’s view, their arms already embodied divine might.

Should these unenlightened Tibetans grasp the Empire’s true strength, notions of uprising might vanish forever.

With a subtle nod, Luo Xin summoned his officers. They resolved to stage a tailored drill, allowing these Tibetan lords to witness the Empire’s formidable prowess firsthand.

Dismissing Dengba, Luo Xin and his aides swiftly outlined the drill’s elements. Come afternoon, Luo Xin himself guided Dengba’s company to the training field.

“Do these represent the arms of the celestial deity?” Dawa inquired, gesturing toward the Han-style rifles slung over the soldiers’ shoulders.

Luo Xin gave a faint nod. Addressing a nearby trooper, he instructed, “Perform a display for the Tibetan Prime Minister’s benefit.”

He’d already discerned Dawa’s status. In Tibet, the Zanpu mirrored an Emperor, while the Prime Minister paralleled the Cabinet’s head. Dawa now wielded supreme influence in Tibet.

The soldier, heeding the command, adeptly shouldered his Han-style rifle and discharged it toward a clay vessel positioned a hundred meters distant. A sharp “bang” echoed, and the pot exploded into fragments.

As the shot reverberated, Dawa and the Tibetan nobles shuddered in terror. Even Dengba recoiled anew at the spectacle.

Luo Xin observed Dawa and the others’ reactions, a pleased expression crossing his features. He then escorted them to the cannons.

“Loose a round!” Luo Xin commanded steadily, a sly smirk playing on his mouth.

The gunners retrieved a metal projectile from a crate on the earth and loaded it into the breech. They added the propellant charge before yanking the lanyard. A resounding “boom” propelled the shell straight at a white mark on a distant knoll, where it detonated, hurling dirt skyward.

Following the cannon’s roar, the Tibetans’ legs buckled, forcing them to the ground. The pair who remained upright had so lost their composure that they fouled themselves.

“The celestial deity’s armament, this is the celestial deity’s armament!” Dawa stammered, shaking as he rose from the dirt, his eyes wide with horror.

Amusement bubbled within Luo Xin. Though the Great Yu Empire had surged in might, surrounding realms remained oblivious to these shifts, hindered by sluggish travel that stifled tidings.

Now and then, a trader might whisper of it, only to face mockery as if spinning yarns.

Tibet epitomized such isolated clans. The world had transformed vastly, yet they clung to their insular existence.

“This merely showcases two of our instruments. With Prime Minister Dawa present, I’ll reveal our full might to you.”

Thereupon, Luo Xin signaled to Gao Meng, the Northwest Army’s Chief Scribe at his side.

Empowered, Gao Meng directed the drill’s bugle to sound. As the notes faded, two hundred Imperial Guard cannons unleashed in unison.

This barrage targeted not the barren rise but a modest woodland on the field.

A deafening thunderclap ensued, enveloping the grove in a storm of shells; the struck zone flattened amid roaring infernos.

Concurrently, the machine gun unit advanced, directing their guns at the timber and unleashing a barrage. Sustained fire soon severed a sturdy trunk clean through with bullets.

Yet this was merely the prelude. The Southwest Army next exhibited grenade tosses and mine deployments.

As the maneuvers concluded, a massive hot air balloon drifted above Dawa, shattering his resolve entirely.

“Venerable Commander Luo Xin, we request to journey to Qingzhou ourselves to tender our credentials of submission. For Tibet, the Zanpu holds no further need. His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Empire stands as our ideal Zanpu,” Dawa intoned with deference.

Doubts of the Great Yu Empire’s capacity to devastate Duokang had evaporated. The sole question was their willingness.

A triumphant grin lit Luo Xin’s visage. “Naturally. The Southwest Army shall accompany you there.”