At night, the sky was filled with stars.
The fog of the summer night slowly descended and turned into dew. The camp was damp, and the dew on the branches and leaves kept splashing down, making pitter-patter sounds on the tent as if it was raining.
Gong Shangming stood quietly under the lantern, raising his head to look at the stars in the sky. He did not speak.
"Whoosh!"
The tent door opened, and Caster, the commander of the Flowing Dawn Army, appeared.
"Why aren't you sleeping, Advisor?" he asked with a smile.
Gong Shangming nodded and smiled. "How can I sleep? Why aren't you sleeping, Commander?"
"I can't sleep either." Caster rubbed his nose and said, "Have you heard the news, Advisor? The Eternal Night Sect, the Blood Cloak Sect, and the other sects have all surrendered to the four-winged angel, Ziye. The entire Divine Cloak Army is no longer under our control. It's as if it has become the private army of the Radiant Angel. This is not good."
"What else can we do?" Gong Shangming seemed to be in a daze. "With the death of the Marshal, we are without a leader. Neither you nor I have enough prestige to command the three armies. Even Lord Dragon Rider Lin Tongtian died in battle, and that Dora has joined Ziye. At this moment, they are the true rulers. We can only take things one step at a time."
"The rear supply route has been cut off time and time again. The light cavalry of the Longdan Army Camp sometimes gathers and sometimes scatters. They come and go unpredictably and have already burned more than twenty of our granaries. We can't even feed our soldiers a full meal anymore. The warhorses have been eaten in three days, and it will take at least ten days to walk to Winter Frost City. What can these 150,000 soldiers eat to last ten days?"
Gong Shangming was silent.
"You are the Advisor. You should at least say something, right?" Caster said calmly.
"Alright." Gong Shangming looked up at Caster and asked, "Commander, do you think we are humans or beasts?"
"Nonsense, of course we are humans."
"Then I am at my wit's end."
"Then …" Caster frowned and said, "What if we are beasts?"
"Then there is a way to feed the army."
"What way?"
"Eating human flesh." Gong Shangming's voice was soft but firm. "Those who achieve great things don't bother with trifles. From here to Winterfrost City, although the land is barren and there are few cities and towns, there are still some villages. Send our people into the villages to capture the civilians of the Qin Empire and eat them. That way, the army may be able to make it back to Winterfrost City."
"…" Caster instantly broke out in a cold sweat. If they followed Gong Shangming's plan, the Tianji Empire would no longer be able to establish itself in the Shattered Cauldron Realm in the future. After all, who would support a man-eating army? His eyelids twitched violently as he said, "Military Advisor, this is simply heartless. If we really do this, the Tianji Empire can forget about ruling over the Shattered Cauldron Realm."
"Hehe, Commander, do you still think the Tianji Empire can defeat the Qin Army?"
"What do you mean? There are at least 800,000 troops recruited by our empire and Lord Zhang Cheng's troops. Why can't we win this war? "
Gong Shangming took a deep breath and said, "Because the Empress of the Qin Empire, Qin Yin, is back … With the loyalty of the people, and with the famous generals like Lin Muyu, Feng Jixing, Xu Jiantao, and Wei Chou, how can we fight the Qin Empire? Even if we take a step back, we can only rely on the Dragon Knights. But now they have giant cannons that can kill the Dragon Knights. They are ahead of us in terms of weapons. If we continue to stay in the Shattered Cauldron Realm, we will only be a burden to our homeland and the Tianji Empire. At that time, if the new Emperor of the Celestial Empire, Chen Yu, uses force, I'm afraid even our homeland will be in the hands of others! "
Caster felt a chill down his spine. "Military Advisor, are you … serious?"
"What else is there to hide from you?" Gong Shangming turned around and patted Caster's shoulder lightly. He smiled and said, "Previously, we may have had some disagreements in terms of strategy and caused some misunderstandings. But now, there are no gaps at all. Commander, don't think that we are the victors anymore. The expeditionary army has already been defeated. If we continue to be stubborn, we will only push the Tianji Empire to the edge of a cliff. After all, the Tianji Empire is different from the Blackstone Empire. Our territory is vast and the people are rich. It is enough to compete with the Celestial Empire. We don't have to bet all our bets on the Shattered Cauldron Realm. After all, in terms of military force and strategy, we have lost to the Qin Empire."
Caster frowned. "Military Advisor, do you think … we have lost to Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing in terms of strategy?"
"Yes."
Gong Shangming admitted. "We killed the enemy with an absolute advantage in military force, but we suffered a crushing defeat. At least half of the responsibility of military strategy and command has to be borne."
"Then, what do we do now?"
"Haven't we already decided to retreat? Commander, you can send 10,000 people into the villages and towns in the rear to capture people to make food. Then, you can leave 50,000 elites to persuade the Godly Yi Army to help us fight. We can camp every 20 miles and retreat step by step to prevent the Qin Army from chasing after us. In this way … maybe we can return to Winter Frost City alive. "
"Well, I got it. Thank you for your advice, Military Advisor!"
A ferocious smile appeared at the corner of Caster's mouth. "In the battle a few days ago, we captured more than 2,000 soldiers of the Qin Empire. It's just right. Let's make them into food first!"
Gong Shangming was silent.
From a military point of view, eating people was right. But from a moral point of view, the Tianji Army was gradually becoming a beast. The morale of the army would change sooner or later. It was just that a reckless man like Caster did not understand such a change.
…
The next morning, the soldiers of the Liuji Army got up one after another, ready to break camp and retreat. But the meal before the retreat made many people vomit, because they found human fingers, legs, and other body parts in the soup pot. Unknowingly, the army rations had changed from grains to human flesh. Many people refused to eat it, and many people vomited after eating or drinking a mouthful of soup.
Caster held the soup bowl and looked at the people coldly. He drank the soup in one gulp and shouted in a low voice, "If you don't eat, you won't have the strength to march. If you want to leave here alive, then eat. Eat as much as you can! Otherwise, stay here and become the food of the Qin Army! Let me tell you, the meat in the soup pot is the meat of the enemy. We are not afraid of the living Qin Army, let alone the dead ones. Eat the meat, and then you can go back to your hometown alive! "
Many of the soldiers cried and chewed as they cried.
Gong Shangming, dressed in a long robe, stood quietly among a group of strategists. His face was livid. He did not eat anything, but he was so hungry that his eyes almost went blurry.
"Break camp and retreat!"
The bugle horn sounded. The 150,000 soldiers of the Tianji Empire finally retreated.
…
In the west of Daojiang, behind a dilapidated steel wall, a scout of the empire entered the main tent and said respectfully, "They have retreated!"
"That's great!" Feng Jixing slammed the table and said, "Prepare to give chase immediately!"
The scout's face did not look too good. He said, "There's one more thing …"
"Oh? What is it? Say it, "Lin Muyu said.
The scout gritted his teeth and said, "Our people found out that they killed all the captives and used them as food last night. More than 2,000 people of the empire who were captured … all died for the empire!"
"Beasts … they are a bunch of beasts!" Xiang Yu roared.
Qin Yin's delicate body trembled slightly. She clenched her fists tightly. The golden flames between her eyelashes became even colder.
Lin Muyu gently held her hand and said softly, "War is like this … we have seen a lot of such things over the years."
"I know, but … those soldiers of the empire should not die like this …"
"They will rest in peace because we will avenge them."
Lin Muyu's words were sonorous. She said, "Since they are out of food, they will try their best to get food. Bring me the map and see which towns are on the way to Winter Frost City. We must reinforce these towns as soon as possible. We cannot let the people of the empire continue to become food for the enemy!"
"Yes!"
Zhen Yifan suddenly said in a low voice, "Your Highness Yu, if we give chase, what will happen to the feudal vassal army? They have gathered nearly 400,000 men and horses, and food is also very scarce …"
Lin Muyu frowned. "I don't know. Does Duke Fan have any ideas on this matter?"
"The feudal vassal army appears to be united, but they are actually divided. Each of them has ulterior motives. We must appease them well. Otherwise, there will be chaos."
"In that case, Duke Fan is the empire's God of War. Your prestige is enough to intimidate these feudal vassals. Why don't you stay behind and appease them? This way, Commander Feng Jixing and I can focus on pursuing the enemy."
Zhen Yifan nodded. "Please rest assured, Your Highness Yin and Your Highness Yu. I will do my best."
"Yes."
Qin Yin stood up and said, "I will pursue the enemy with Commander Yu. Aunt Si, you should stay behind as well and assist Duke Fan in appeasing the feudal vassals. We must be careful in this matter."
Su Yu cupped her fists. "Yes, Your Highness!"
"So … it's decided?" Feng Jixing asked.
Qin Yin nodded. "Yes!"
"Good. Tell the three armies to prepare to cross the river and pursue them!"
…
In the afternoon, countless bamboo rafts and wooden rafts were placed in the Rice River. They joined together to form a man-made pontoon bridge. War horses neighed as they crossed the river. The waves of the Rice River were turbulent, but it could not stop the pursuit of the imperial army. Nearly 100,000 people had crossed the Rice River in less than four hours. However, they could not carry heavy weapons anymore. The pontoon bridge could not bear the weight of the heavy magic crystal cannons.
Before evening, the cavalry led by Qin Yin, Lin Muyu, and Feng Jixing had already caught up with the Tianji Empire's army. After a fierce battle, more than 10,000 people were beheaded. It seemed that the Tianji Empire had lost their will to fight and was unwilling to continue the battle. They only left an army to cover the rear. However, they were unlucky. They were targeted by the main force of the Qin Empire's army.
At midnight, the war eagle scouts reported that an army of the God Yi Army had gone to Longhai County.
There were nearly 50,000 residents in Longhai County. Once the hungry God Yi Army arrived, almost all the civilians there would become food.
Lin Muyu decided to split up the army. Feng Jixing, Tang Xiaoxi, and Xiang Yu would lead the main force to continue the pursuit. Meanwhile, he and Qin Yin would lead 20,000 cavalrymen from the Longdan Army Camp and go straight to Longhai County.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
