Vine City was a city located in the mountains. Around the city walls of Vine City grew a kind of vine called "Dragon's Beard". It could extend for dozens of meters, so it wrapped around the walls of Vine City. Every summer, it would bear fist-sized fruits. They tasted sour, but they could be used to fill one's stomach in times of famine. Because of this, the walls of Vine City were covered with vines, but no one cut them down.
Around noon, the banners on the city gate fluttered. The flag of the Purple Yinhua Empire fell into the muddy water and was trampled by the cavalries coming and going. A flag with a red cloud symbol fluttered high in the air. Just last night, Vine City had fallen. Now, it was under the control of nearly 150,000 soldiers of the Tianji Empire. The city was surrounded by densely packed camps and tents. It was a magnificent scene.
Inside the City Lord's Mansion, General Beiming Huan gently placed the report on the tea table, his face a bit ugly. Looking at the generals on both sides, he said, "Two days ago, three prefectures in Cangzhou were attacked. Most of the rations were burned, and the attackers were all cavalry. They left immediately after the attack, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. How many times has this happened?"
Below him, the strategist Gong Shangming said respectfully, "The eleventh."
"Let's talk about it. What should we do?"
Beiming Huan looked at the generals coldly. After a long while, no one spoke. He suddenly slammed his palm on the table and said angrily, "A bunch of useless things! Speechless at the critical moment! What is the point of the Tianji Empire keeping you all?!"
"General, please calm down."
Gong Shangming raised his teacup and said, "This is obviously Lin Muyu's tactic of harassment. The Valiant Dragon Battalion in Tongtian Province has been disbanded. Lin Muyu knows that they can't confront the main force of our Tianji Empire head-on, so he disbanded the Valiant Dragon Battalion into small forces and used their mobility to pin us down. Then, he set fire to our rations. With the rations as the foundation, he will destroy our foundation."
Beiming Huan took a deep breath and said, "Sir, do you have a plan?"
"Yes."
Gong Shangming smiled, "I have three plans, which one do you want to hear first?"
"Tell me first."
"Yes. Actually, it's very simple. The Tongtian Province is like a huge basin. As long as we are willing to sacrifice our military strength, we can send over a hundred thousand soldiers to attack the Luo River Estuary Stronghold. After we take over the Luo River Estuary Stronghold, we will be able to catch a turtle in a jar and eat up Lin Muyu's hundreds of thousands of Dragon Courage Battalion soldiers one by one. However, if we do that, we will definitely suffer heavy losses. I heard that Feng Jixing and Qin Yan have already led their troops to defend the Luo River Estuary. Feng Jixing is also a famous general of the Shattered Cauldron Realm.
"Yes." Beiming Huan nodded and said, "What about falling into the trap? Tell me."
Gong Shangming clapped his hands and smiled, "It's even easier. My army can ignore the safety of the five provinces behind us and attack Heaven Connect City with all our strength. It is said that the people there have already evacuated. After we take Heaven Connect City, we will declare that we will slaughter the whole city and cut off the heads of their guards to serve as civilians. On one hand, it will shock the Qin Empire, and on the other hand, it will chill their morale. But the disadvantage of this is that it is only a temporary plan. Once we slaughter the whole city, I am afraid that the people of the Broken Realm will be very afraid of us, and we will not be able to win the hearts of the people."
Beiming Huan frowned and said, "This plan will not work. Before I left, His Majesty had repeatedly said that to conquer the Broken Realm, we must first win the hearts of the people. We can lose the city, but not the hearts of the people. Let's talk about the best plan, sir."
"Yes."
Gong Shangming's eyes flickered with a hint of fanaticism as he smiled: "Lin Muyu has been on the battlefield for a long time and is well-versed in the art of war. From his harassing tactics, we can see the capabilities of this unparalleled general. However, harassing tactics have their drawbacks as well. Each of Lin Muyu's troops has close to ten thousand men. They will also need to replenish their troops with rations and fodder. Therefore, we can take it slow."
"What do you mean slow?"
"Don't be hasty. Take it slow." Gong Shangming said, "The first step is to strengthen the walls and clear the fields. Close the gates of each city and send a part of the army to guard it. Without orders, no one can leave the city to fight. The second step is to take over the granaries and pastures outside the city, so that the people in the Longdan Army Camp can't replenish their supplies. The third step is to open up all the granaries in different places to help the poor people and win the hearts of the people. The fourth step is to send people everywhere to spread rumors that the Longdan Army Camp is robbing the people's food and killing countless people. We can even send our people to pretend to be the soldiers of the Longdan Army Camp and slaughter some small villages. This will make Lin Muyu lose the hearts of the people. Then, the thirteen prefectures of the Tong Tian Province will be ours."
Beiming Huan's eyes brightened. He smiled and said, "Sir, you are really a wise man. No generals of the three armies can compare to you!"
Gong Shangming smiled faintly. A trace of loneliness flashed across his face. He said, "If it weren't for the fact that I've been sick and weak since I was a child, I would like to charge into the front line and die on the battlefield. That would be better than being a weak scholar who can only make plans and overturn the seas in this turbulent world."
Beiming Huan smiled and said, "Sir, don't worry. When the right time comes, the Western Heaven Realm will definitely send a messenger to help you open up your meridians and Qi Sea with the Light Raw Stone. Please believe me. You can definitely reach the level of a Sacred Warrior before you are old."
"Then, thank you, Marshal."
"Then … what about Tong Tian City? Should we fight or not?"
"Tong Tian City is already an empty city. The Longdan Army Camp has already retreated. But between here and Tong Tian City, there is a Greedy Wolf Cliff. The Dingzhou Earl of the Qin Empire is guarding there with nearly fifty thousand soldiers. If we want to go to Tong Tian City, we must pass by Greedy Wolf Cliff. So, the Dingzhou Earl must be eliminated."
"That's easy."
Beiming Huan smiled and said, "The Dingzhou Earl is just an old man. We can use gold and silver to tempt him and his subordinates to join us. Have you forgotten? Along the way, how many prefectures of the Qin Empire have surrendered? Hmph … no matter how important power and position is, can it be more important than life? "
Gong Shangming smiled and said, "The Dingzhou Earl is an exception. He has lived in Dingzhou for a long time and has always been very honest. Even after we entered Dingzhou City, we didn't find any of his belongings."
"So, this Dingzhou Earl is like an egg without a seam?"
"No, it's very easy to deal with him. I sent people to investigate. The Earl of Dingzhou has three sons. One follows by his side, and the other two are in Dingzhou doing business. We sent people to travel through the night to capture his two sons to use as blackmail. He loves his third son very much. As long as we capture his third son, the Earl of Dingzhou's 50,000 people will be ours. "
"Okay, okay. I'll leave this matter to you."
"Yes!"
…
Two days later, the Earl of Dingzhou surrendered, and the Cliff of Greedy Wolf was lost. The 30,000 troops under the command of the Earl of Dingzhou surrendered to the Tianji Empire. The remaining 20,000 troops resisted with all their might, but they were killed and scattered. The few remaining soldiers wandered into the forests.
On the nineteenth, Lin Muyu's troops seized nine cities in Leizhou and set fire to the rations to cut off the Tianji Empire's retreat.
On the twenty-first, Wei Chou's troops intercepted the reinforcements of the Tianji Empire in Cangzhou and killed more than five thousand people.
On the twenty-second, Situ Sen's troops burned the city of Junzhou.
On the twenty-fifth, Lin Muyu's troops attacked the main camp of the Liuji Army in Shangyuan County in Dingzhou at night and killed more than three thousand people.
On the twenty-sixth, Lin Muyu and Wei Chou's troops met in Xuzhou, but they were chased by the fifty thousand soldiers of the Liuji Army. They were forced to take refuge at the foot of the Tianqiong Snow Mountain.
By the night of the twenty-seventh, the one hundred thousand Longdan Army Camp that Lin Muyu left in Tongtian Province could no longer do anything. They suffered heavy losses and were routed.
On the twenty-eighth, Beiming Huan gathered a large amount of rations and led an army of two hundred thousand soldiers to the Luo River Estuary Fortress.
The battle at the Luo River Estuary was very important. Once the Luo River Estuary was lost, it meant that the entire Lingdong Province would be exposed to the iron hooves of the Tianji Empire. It would be difficult for the empire to resist the invasion of the Tianji Empire.
…
Late at night, a warm wind blew across Lingdong. The fourth month of the Middle-earth Continent was about to pass in the blink of an eye. After entering the fifth month, the scorching hot summer was about to arrive.
On the western side of the Lingkong Province, the sound of war drums rose to the sky. On the ground, the densely packed army of the Blackstone Empire was shouting fanatically. Their iron spears carried rotting human heads. Behind their warhorses, ropes were used to drag the conquered women of Lingdong. Battle flags were erected in great numbers. Marshal Baili Qin's face was filled with pride as he looked at the forest in the distance.
There, the war flags of the empire covered the forest. It was the army of the Cangnan Province, and the commander was the Marquis of Cangnan, Xu Jiantao.
"Xu Jiantao, that fox!"
The corners of Baili Qin's mouth curled up. "After hiding from us for so long, this time, he finally wants to face us head on? Baili Yan, do you think that we can successfully defeat them in this battle? "
At the side, the scholar Baili Yan's gaze was ice cold. "Ancestor, Xu Jiantao is not a simple person. We cannot underestimate him. Since he dares to fight, it means that he has made preparations. Otherwise, with his steadiness in doing things, it is impossible for him to set up such a formation to face us."
"Is that so?"
Baili Qin smiled. "Lin Muyu's Longdan Army Camp has already been destroyed by the Flowing Spirit Army in the Tong Tian Province. This Qin Empire is like a stray dog. What does Xu Jiantao have to fight against us? Using his measly fifty thousand provincial army to fight against my three hundred thousand strong army? "
"Ancestor, how should we fight?"
"Crush them head on. Let Xu Jiantao witness the might of the Blackstone Empire!"
Baili Yan was silent for a few seconds. "Then, let me bring ten thousand Tiger Leopard Cavalry to flank them. Is that alright?"
"En, as you wish. Go!"
"Yes!"
… …
Deep in the night, a warm breeze blew against the dark blue flag of the Empire. The war horses seemed to feel the sharpness of the Tiger Leopard Cavalry, and became restless. They snorted and stomped their hooves on the ground.
Xu Jiantao held a long spear in his hand, and stood tall and straight on his horse. He looked into the distance.
Could they win this battle?
How good would it be if they were able to win? At the very least, they would be able to stop the slaughter of the Darkstone Empire and allow the commoners of the Southridge Province to avoid the calamity of annihilation. After all, the Southridge Province was the most fertile of the four great provinces in the south, and its yearly taxes were an entire 70% of the other three provinces. Once the Southridge Province fell into enemy hands, the Empire's treasury would be strapped for cash. How would they fight a war without money or food?
Xu Jiantao took a deep breath and said, "Let's prepare for battle!"
"Yes!"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
