On the 29th of January, although it was already the beginning of spring, the night was still very cold. The walls of Huoyuan City were all red, like a huge red mountain standing in the darkness. It was said that the bricks of Huoyuan City were made from special volcanic rocks, which was why they were so red. The bricks were hard and smooth, which was not good for climbing. Therefore, Huoyuan City, which had less than ten thousand guards, was able to withstand the attack of hundreds of thousands of Chen Yu's troops. Chen Yu had to give up Huoyuan City and go to the Blackstone Empire in the south.
If Huoyuan City had not been defended, perhaps Chen Yu would not have suffered a crushing defeat in Hongyan Province.
The old general on the city wall was holding a flagon of wine, his eyes staring into the distance. Suddenly, he raised his arm and said, "Ballistae, archers, be on guard, someone is coming!"
A ten-man squad leader couldn't help but laugh, "Lord, you are nervous again. Chen Yu's troops have been defeated long ago. It is impossible for them to come back. Who will come now?"
"Watch carefully."
Sure enough, the dense and slow sound of horse hooves could be heard on the official road. Soon, a flag could be seen. It was a flag embroidered with the mythological beast Bai Ze. Under the illumination of the fire on the city wall, at least ten thousand Bai Ze mercenaries appeared below the city wall.
"Who is it?"
The general shouted, "Huoyuan City has implemented a curfew. No one is allowed to enter the city at night. This is the order of Marshal Gong Shangming. No one can disobey it. Please go back!"
Under the city wall, a girl who was originally riding on a war horse suddenly flew up to the same position as the top of the city wall. She smiled and said, "What? Bai Ze mercenaries have just helped you drive away the army of the Celestial Empire. Now Huoyuan City has started to refuse Bai Ze mercenaries to rest in the city? Lord, what is your name? "
The old general said, "I am Hua Qiang, the vanguard general of Huoyuan City. Who are you?"
The girl smiled and said, "I'm Si Kongyao, Old General Hua Qiang. I've seen you in Tianji City before. Have you forgotten me? You see, my Bai Ze Mercenaries have run out of food due to the heavy snow. We can no longer set up an ambush in the Forest of No Return, so we are now hungry and tired. We are returning to Xiping City via Huoyuan City. I hope that General will allow us to enter the city to rest for a while and provide us with some food and fodder. We will leave after a day's rest. I guarantee that we will not cause any trouble to Huoyuan City. "
"So it's Miss Si Kongyao. Please excuse my lack of manners."
Hua Qiang cupped his hands and said, "Miss Si Kongyao's Bai Ze Mercenaries have attacked the main force of the Celestial Empire at the edge of the province. They have killed fifty thousand soldiers. The Celestial Empire is terrified of them. I've heard about this. But I didn't expect that Miss Si Kongyao's army would actually pass through Huoyuan City. You've taken a long detour!"
Next to him, a chiliarch lowered his voice and said, "General Hua, the Marshal's secret order clearly states that we should guard Huoyuan City and wait for the Empire's army to arrive. He also said that we need to guard against the Bai Ze Mercenaries. They are even more terrifying than the Celestial Empire's army. General, you must not let them enter the city. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, both of us will go to see the Marshal!"
Hua Qiang furrowed his brows and said in a clear voice: "Commander Gong has ordered us to defend the city to the death. Before receiving the military order, this old general does not dare to open the city gates. How about this, Eldest Miss Si Kong Yao, why don't you lead the army and set up camp outside the city? This old general will immediately order the Supplies Department to provide you with all the necessary rations and military equipment.
Si Kongyao couldn't help laughing, "It seems that General Gong has begun to guard against me, Si Kongyao?"
"No, it's just that General Gong is being cautious."
Si Kongyao's pretty face turned cold, "What do you mean by being cautious? It's obvious that you don't trust the Bai Ze Mercenaries. Gong Shangming, don't forget that if it weren't for the Bai Ze Mercenaries cutting off the Serpentine Road's food supply route and cutting off the Celestial Empire's retreat, would he have been able to defeat the million-strong army? I'm afraid that Gong Shangming is still eating human flesh in Eastcalm City! "
Hua Qiang's expression was very ugly, but he remained silent.
Si Kongyao held the sword in her hand and said in a low voice, "You have to open the city gate whether you want to or not. Do as you see fit. I know the situation inside the city better than anyone. Seven thousand old, weak, and crippled soldiers with incomplete armor. I'm afraid there are less than ten thousand arrows left. Do you think you can stop the fifty thousand cavalrymen of the Bai Ze Mercenaries with just you?"
"Fifty thousand cavalrymen …" Hua Qiang trembled when he heard this. It was pitch black outside, and the cavalrymen behind Si Kongyao were endless. No one knew how many there were.
Liu Buyi's voice came from below the city. "Yao, why are you wasting time with him? If he hesitates any longer, I'll order for the city to be breached!"
Si Kongyao looked at Hua Qiang coldly and said, "Old General, I only want to enter the city to rest so that my soldiers can have a warm night and eat their fill. If you keep making things difficult for me, then I can only use force. But don't forget, going against me means going against the Tianji Sect. Moreover, I'm the Princess of Xiping, five levels higher than you. Are you really going to stop me?"
Hua Qiang finally relented. "Will the Princess of Xiping really not offend my army after entering the city?"
"Of course."
"Alright …"
Hua Qiang took a deep breath and said, "Someone, open the city gate and lead the Bai Ze Mercenaries into the camp inside the city to rest."
"Yes, General!"
The gate slowly opened. Liu Buyi immediately led a group of Bai Ze Mercenaries into the city. However, the moment they entered the city, they immediately took control of the city gate and pointed their cold swords at the old and weak soldiers in the city. Si Kongyao jumped and landed beside Hua Qiang. She placed the sharp sword on his neck and smiled. "Old General, I'm sorry. I'll take over the Huoyuan City!"
Hua Qiang's face was ashen. "Didn't you say that you would not offend my army?"
"There's nothing too deceitful in war."
Si Kongyao revealed a sly smile and said, "But you don't have to worry. We only want the Huoyuan City. We don't want your lives. This time, we will not offend you."
Hua Qiang gasped. "What do you want, Princess? Isn't it enough that you already have Xiping Province? Do you want another Huoyuan City? Although your Bai Ze Mercenaries are powerful, they may not be able to defend the city! "
"You don't have to worry about that."
Si Kongyao smiled. "Hand over the governor's seal immediately. I'll be in charge of the Huoyuan City from now on! Oh, no, the whole Huoyuan Province will be under my control. "
Hua Qiang's face was ashen. He said in a trembling voice, "What do you want, Princess? There are only four provinces in the Tianji Empire. What do you want to do by occupying two provinces? "
"You don't have to worry about it. Hand over the seal."
"It's in the governor's hands."
"Take me there!"
"Yes …"
Two hours later, Hua Qiang successfully obtained the governor's seal and took over the entire Huo Yuan City. Finally, Hua Qiang left the Huo Yuan City with more than three thousand remaining soldiers before dawn. The remaining four thousand soldiers had pledged their allegiance to Si Kong Yao. For most of the local armies, it didn't matter who they were loyal to. What was important was who could give them food. As long as they had food, they wouldn't starve to death.
…
At daybreak, a large number of high-level demon spirits entered Huoyuan City and went straight to the governor's mansion.
The group of people were wearing thick cloaks, and their faces were hidden by the cloaks. When they entered the mansion, Lin Muyu, Qin Yin, and Tang Xiaoxi also appeared.
A graceful woman took off her cloak and revealed a beautiful face. It was Nü Shi. She seemed to be a little nervous. "Is it really okay to take over Huoyuan City like this?"
"There will be no problem."
Si Kongyao said, "Your Majesty, you need to order the high-level demon spirits to disguise themselves as humans and blend into the army. You need to establish an army that you can control to control Huoyuan Province. Then, you need to designate the forest area in the city as a forbidden area for the demon spirits to live in. When the time is ripe, you can announce the peaceful coexistence between humans and demon spirits. Of course, the most important thing is to restrain the demon spirits. From now on, they will only eat grains and not humans. Otherwise … whatever you say will be false. It's impossible for humans to coexist with demon spirits."
Nü Shi said, "Don't worry. I will issue a decree. If any demon spirit disobeys, they will be killed without mercy. It's no different from a human's decree."
"That's good." Si Kongyao smiled. "The distance between Huoyuan City and Xiping City is less than 500 miles. It will take the cavalry a day and a night to get there. Our Bai Ze Mercenaries can reinforce you at any time. Your demon spirit clan will also be able to reinforce Xiping City very quickly."
"Yes, we will watch over each other like this."
As she spoke, Nü Shi turned around and bowed deeply to Lin Muyu. "This little girl thanks Your Highness Yu for your kindness. If it wasn't for your idea, I'm afraid that the demon spirit clan would not have a place in this world."
"Your Majesty is too polite."
Lin Muyu said, "However, this is only the first step. We still have other plans."
"What plans?" Si Kongyao and Qin Yin asked at the same time.
Lin Muyu smiled. "Right now, the Tianji Empire is struggling at death's door. It's true that Gong Shangming has defeated Chen Yu, but the number of troops he has is pitifully small. Coupled with the fact that he has lost the taxes of two provinces, the Tianji Empire's national strength has declined to only 20% of what it used to be. It's impossible for them to contend against the Celestial Empire and the Blackstone Empire. Therefore, our next opponent will no longer be the Tianji Empire. Instead, we should focus our strategy on forming an alliance with the Tianji Empire and expelling the Blackstone Empire. After training our troops, we will march south and seize Qianshan City and Red Rock City. This will force the Blackstone Empire's army to advance eastwards and let them snatch the territories of the Celestial Empire and fight to the death with the remaining troops of Chen Yu."
Tang Xiaoxi smiled. "Mu, you're really getting worse. You can even come up with this kind of idea."
"This is just a balance. We must make the Celestial Pole Continent reach a balance as a whole."
Nü Shi smiled. "Then, what happens after this balance is reached?"
"We need another force to break this balance and re-establish the order of the Celestial Pole Continent," Lin Muyu said confidently.
"What is this force you're talking about?"
"Naturally, it's the army of our Qin Empire!" Lin Muyu's words were full of pride.
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.
