The two men stared dumbfoundedly at the two boats that had inexplicably appeared on the river.
Had they really fainted for such a short time?
Glancing down, the mud on their boots was still wet. When had these boats arrived?
"Stop gawking and get the boats back!"
Just then, Fang Er impatiently urged the two, then turned and walked away towards the Yangzhou pier.
Wang Xuance and Zhou Yanxi exchanged glances and could only wade through the river and board the hovercrafts.
As Guan Chang and Hao Dan Niu saw Fang Er's figure, they heard the roar from the river, and then two brand-new hovercrafts appeared in their sight.
Although shocked by the appearance of these two new boats, everyone had no mind to discuss anything.
The three boats could easily carry over a thousand people, and the arriving boat also had ten tons of fuel reserves, enough for the three boats to use.
After everyone boarded the boats, the hovercrafts left the pier and sailed out to sea, heading north along the path they had come.
Langya Commandery had a long history, named when Qin divided the empire into thirty-six commanderies.
The fleet landed on the coast over a hundred li from Langya Commandery the next day. They found a fishing village, hired a fisherman as a guide with silver, and then drove along the beach directly inland.
The enormous hulls, their ground-skimming flight, and the deafening roar stunned everyone who saw them.
The guide, standing on the boat and feeling all this, trembled uncontrollably, not daring to touch anything for fear of damaging it.
To avoid the complex terrain of the wilderness damaging the skirts beneath the hulls too much, the fleet flew into farmland after entering the interior.
The wheat and rice in the fields were blown about by the hovercrafts.
"Your Grace, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
The fisherman pointed at the crops outside with a pained expression.
"Afterwards, have someone come to register whose crops these are, and compensate them double the harvest year's yield!"
Fang Er replied indifferently.
"The drought is getting worse, and the crops in these fields are almost dead. Even if they were left, there would be no harvest."
Otherwise, Fang Er would rather have led the troops on foot than drive the boats into the fields.
"Double the harvest year's yield? Your Grace, is that true?"
Hearing this compensation plan, the fisherman momentarily forgot the nervousness the hovercrafts had instilled in him.
Whether the boats were alright or not had nothing to do with him, but the farmland they had just passed through included his land.
"Rest assured! My lord always keeps his word!"
Zhang De dispelled the fisherman's doubts from the side.
"Good! Good! Let's go, go wherever you please!"
The fisherman grinned, his heart already bursting with joy.
The journey was over a hundred li, but farmland was not like a road; sometimes, they had to detour far to get back on the correct route.
After driving for two hours in the farmland, a large river appeared ahead: the Yi River.
The fisherman pointed at the river and said, "Your Grace, following this river for another ten li or so will lead to Langya Commandery."
"Pass down the order, enter the river channel!"
Fang Er stood at the bow of the boat and said to Zhang De.
"Yes!"
Zhang De took out his walkie-talkie and conveyed the order to the other two boats.
As soon as they entered the river channel, the fleet's speed nearly doubled within a few seconds.
The ten-odd li passed in a flash.
Langya Commandery was a plain on its north, east, and south sides. The Yi River flowed west of the city, and a branch was diverted to serve as a moat.
The fleet, with an extremely domineering posture, leaped up along the river channel and appeared west of the city.
The civilians entering and exiting the city gate, as well as the guards, watched this scene with wide eyes, their legs feeling weak, unable to move.
"So big!"
Fifty meters long and twenty-six meters wide, its footprint alone covered over a thousand square meters.
One could imagine how it would feel to see such a behemoth suddenly appear before them.
"What the hell is this thing, why is it so big!"
"It's so big, and it can actually fly, it's incredible!"
"Mommy, come save me! There's a monster!"
"Quickly notify the Prefect!"
"Guards! Guards! Be alert! Be alert!"
"Quick, close the city gate!"
After a while, these people finally reacted.
The civilians fled into the city in panic, and the guards at the gate raised the drawbridge of the moat as quickly as possible, while also sending someone to inform the Prefect.
Guan Chang leaped down from the boat and strode towards the moat.
"Look, someone has come down from it!"
"Is that thing possibly the legendary tractor?"
"You're spouting nonsense! I heard tractors have wheels, and this thing has no wheels!"
"Then what is this thing?"
"Stop talking, that person is coming!"
The soldiers on the city wall were discussing the hovercrafts with surprise. Seeing Guan Chang walk to the edge of the moat, they immediately stopped talking and watched Guan Chang's every move.
"I am the Duke of Shenyang, here to investigate a case by imperial decree!"
"Why do you not quickly open the city gates!"
Guan Chang shouted, then flicked his wrist, sending a token straight towards the soldiers on the city wall.
The guards at the gate heard his shout, their faces changed instantly. After receiving the token and recognizing it, they sent someone again to report to the Prefect.
"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency. We cannot make decisions on this matter. Allow us to inform you first!"
After sending someone to report, the guard at the city gate did not open the city gate immediately.
Guan Chang was furious. He turned back to report the situation to Fang Er.
This made Fang Er angry as well. He returned to the cockpit, turned on the microphone on the dashboard, which was connected to the speakers all over the hull.
He drove the boat directly to the edge of the moat, picked up the loudspeaker, and issued a warning to the soldiers on the city wall.
"I am Fang Anzhi, Duke of Shenyang!"
"Soldiers behind the city gate, withdraw quickly!"
After announcing it three times consecutively, he turned to Zhang De: "Prepare the portside machine cannon!"
"Yes!"
Zhang De turned and left the cockpit.
On both sides of the deck, there were two places covered with tarps. He pulled open the one on the left.
Beneath the tarp was the Ak630 machine cannon!
"Fire control room, aim at the city gate, prepare!"
"Order received, aiming at the city gate!"
Li Da in the fire control room immediately manipulated the machine cannon to adjust its direction, the dark cannon barrel pointing directly at the city gate.
"This is your final warning. Either open the city gate, or withdraw the soldiers behind the gate, otherwise, you will be responsible for your own lives!"
Fang Er issued a final ultimatum to the soldiers on the city wall.
Just then, an official wearing green clothes and a green hat appeared on the city wall. It was the Prefect of Langya.
The Prefect's face was grim as he looked at the cannon barrels on the boat, pondering something.