On the first day of the first lunar month, in Shanhai City.
According to tradition, the imperial court would hold a large-scale sacrificial ceremony on the day of the Spring Festival. This year's sacrificial ceremony was of a higher standard than last year's, as it was the first large-scale sacrificial ceremony since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Last year, they followed the feudal system, but this year, they followed the aristocratic system. Naturally, it was different.
Another difference was that apart from offering sacrifices to the Yellow Emperor and Xia Yu, they also had to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple. Just before the New Year, after deciding to accept the clan, Ouyang Shuo took advantage of the opportunity to build a temple in Royal City to worship the ancestors of the Ouyang bloodline.
Once the ancestral temple was completed, it could be considered as the last link of the dynasty.
In the eyes of the commoners, the scene of the sacrificial ceremony was so grand and clamorous, and it was naturally indescribably flourishing. Yet Ouyang Shuo's heart was like still water, and he'd long since become accustomed to it.
…
In the next few days, Ouyang Shuo was busy attending all kinds of banquets.
On the second day of the first month, Ouyang Shuo set up a banquet in the Summer Palace to entertain the officials led by White Birch, Magnolia Moon, Siege Lion, Suan Ni, and the Western Minister.
Today, they had become a new force that could not be ignored in the officialdom of Great Xia. Ouyang Shuo didn't want to drift apart because of the passage of time or the obstruction of space.
Especially these governors, they were related to the empire, and Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to attach importance to them.
On the third day of the first month, Ouyang Shuo hosted a banquet at the Imperial Guards' camp. Bai Qi, Han Xin, Sun Bin, Huo Qubing, Li Mu, Shi Wansui and the other commanders were all present.
This was also an opportunity for the generals to get to know each other, especially Li Mu and the other generals who had just joined the army. They could take this opportunity to get to know each other.
At the end of the holiday, Ouyang Shuo had to discuss the specific battle plan of attacking Annan with the generals.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Ouyang Shuo held a banquet in the hall of Southwest University China to entertain the professors and representatives of the outstanding students from the three schools.
That night, Ouyang Shuo was still in the Four Quarters Embassy entertaining the envoys from the various empires stationed in Shanhai City.
On the 23rd day of the second month in the fifth year of the Gaia year, the Imperial Court's break ended and the court officially began.
The first day was the court assembly.
The symbolic meaning of the royal court meeting was far greater than its actual meaning. As the Cabinet's Prime Minister, Jiang Shang represented the civil officials to give a speech. He reviewed the achievements of the previous year and announced Gaia's five-year plan and annual budget.
The commander of the Dragon Stallion Army, the dynasty's only general, Bai Qi, spoke on behalf of the military. He expressed his stance on the border defense, and at the same time, briefly explained Gaia's five-year battle plan.
All in all, this was a very harmonious court meeting.
There was no argument.
With the end of the Grand Court Meeting, Great Xia, the machine that had been dormant for a short period of time, started to rumble and run again.
…
Summer Palace, Imperial Study.
Ouyang Shuo received Yunnan's Governor-General Bai Hua alone.
"Sit!"
The two of them were old friends and could be considered half confidantes, so they were relatively casual.
When Ouyang Shuo met Bai Hua, it was not because he wanted to meddle in Yunnan's political affairs. Naturally, the cabinet would take care of that. The meeting this time was mainly to coordinate the cooperation between the military and the government.
To put it bluntly, it was to prepare for the battle of Annan.
As the saying goes, "Before the troops and horses move, the provisions and fodder move first."
Annam's territory was not large, but it had 8 million players, which was a tough nut to crack. In order to win this fierce battle, the Black Serpent Guard had carried out intensive reconnaissance and infiltration of Annam as early as the first half of Gaia's fourth year.
In the second half of the year, the Military Intelligence Department also became involved.
The Grand Council now had detailed information on all parts of Annam.
From the situation of the garrisons in Coastal Defense City to the topography, products, rivers, and so on in every corner of Annam, they were constantly gathered in the Grand Council and handed over to the staff for reference.
In front of Great Xia, Annam had no secrets to speak of.
Regarding all this, Ruan Tianque, the Lord of Coastal Defense City of Annam, only had a guess and a hunch, but he knew nothing about the actual situation. In terms of reconnaissance, Great Xia was far ahead of Annam. They were not on the same level at all.
For this reason, Great Xia invested as much as four to five million gold coins in the three major intelligence departments every year.
In addition to intelligence reconnaissance, the preparation of war materials had also begun before winter last year. As one of the provinces bordering Annam, Yunnan Province became a key province for war preparations.
"There is one thing I don't understand. The border between Mengding County of Yunnan Province and Annam is a rolling rocky mountain range. It is difficult for birds to cross. How are we going to send supplies to the battlefield?" Bai Hua asked.
Logically, because it was not the month of national war, if Great Xia wanted to attack Annam, they could only do so through waterways, including the allocation of war materials.
In this case, coastal provinces such as Lingnan Province and Minnan Province should be responsible for the preparation of war materials.
Bai Hua was puzzled.
But the order from the Privy Council was very clear, which was to let Yunnan Province make early preparations.
Ouyang Shuo smiled slightly, "This time I called you here to answer your questions." With that, Ouyang Shuo handed over a black iron seal, only half the size of a fist.
"What is this?"
Bai Hua took a look and checked the attributes.
[Mountain Opening Seal]: After use, it can open a tunnel in any mountain in the territory.
This seal was a special item dropped by a lord of Star Nation when they attacked the Star Nation. It had been kept by Ouyang Shuo to this day.
At that time, Ouyang Shuo had thought about using this seal in the Annam battlefield.
Since Bai Hua thought that Great Xia's materials could not be transported into Annam, Ruan Tian Que naturally did not think that Great Xia could open a secret tunnel in the rocky mountains, leading directly to the hinterland of Annam.
"Now you should understand why the Privy Council asked Yunnan Province to make early preparations, right?!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Bai Hua shook his head.
With this secret weapon, Bai Hua felt sad for the Annam players.
Of course, a seal alone could not win the war. In the end, they still had to fight with real swords and guns. It was just that with this passage on land, the odds of winning the war were higher.
"I understand. After going back, I will speed up the preparation of war materials." Bai Hua agreed and carefully put the [Mountain Opening Seal] into his storage bag.
"Commander Bai Qi will contact you for the specific location."
The tunnel was naturally not only used to transport war materials, but also a secret military passage. The location of the tunnel would be decided by Bai Qi, the war expert.
"Got it!"
The conversation between the two came to an end.
…
February 25th, Martial Heroic Hall.
Ouyang Shuo summoned the generals to discuss the attack on Annam.
This war involved almost the entire Great Xia army. Which unit would be the vanguard, which unit would be the main force, and which unit would be responsible for guarding the domestic borders had to be discussed properly.
After the beginning of spring, the war would begin.
Great Xia was vast, and in order to mobilize troops on a large scale, orders had to be given in advance. Such a large-scale mobilization of troops was not something that could be done in a week or two.
At the same time, in order to numb the enemy as much as possible, the mobilization of the troops had to be kept secret.
There were all kinds of complicated matters.
Fortunately, with the Grand Council taking the lead, Ouyang Shuo temporarily transferred two top strategists, Jia Xu and Pang Tong, to the war department to assist Zhao Kuo in formulating a strict military plan.
As the emperor, Ouyang Shuo had to oversee the capital and might not be able to rush to the front lines. Therefore, before discussing all the issues, it was necessary to decide on the commander and deputy commander of this expeditionary force.
A snake couldn't be without a head, let alone a large-scale military campaign.
Among the armies, apart from the imperial guards and city guards, the Dragon Stallion Army had the lightest defense task. Moreover, the secret tunnel between Yunnan Province and Annam was about to be opened. The Dragon Stallion Army was the main force in the Annam war.
The commander of the Dragon Stallion Army, Bai Qi, was naturally the best candidate for commander.
In fact, last year, when the various armies were reorganizing their defensive areas, Ouyang Shuo had a secret discussion with Bai Qi.
According to Ouyang Shuo's plan, the Dragon Stallion Army would use the opportunity of the Annam war to leap out of the domestic circle in one fell swoop. In the future, they would mainly conquer the ASEAN region, becoming the strongest sword in Great Xia's expansion.
Upon hearing this, Bai Qi had no objections.
Thus, at the end of last year, even though the Dragon Stallion Army didn't have any defensive tasks, Bai Qi had taken advantage of the winter break to increase the intensity of the training of the officers and soldiers, ensuring that the entire army's combat strength was at its peak.
This year's martial scholar had come from the Dragon Stallion Army.
"Bai Qi, hear my order!" Ouyang Shuo's expression was solemn.
"This general is here!"
Bai Qi stepped out of the ranks, still expressionless and cool.
"I appoint you as the commander of the expeditionary force in the Annam war. You will be in charge of both the land and sea armies, and you will be in charge of all the generals. Outside of the war, I bestow upon you the authority to act as you see fit. "
As he spoke, Ouyang Shuo personally handed over the certificate of appointment and commander's seal.
Upon hearing these words, Bai Qi's expression finally changed a little. With a whoosh, he knelt on one knee and respectfully received the certificate of appointment and commander's seal with both hands.
When Han Xin and the other commanders saw this, they couldn't help but feel envious.
Annam had eight hundred thousand Imperial Guards, three hundred thousand territorial soldiers, and one and a half million combat professional players. In order to capture Annam, the Great Xia would have to send at least a million soldiers.
There was no doubt that this was the largest battle in the wilderness to date.
Even the military maps didn't have such a scale.
The Great Xia's expedition force was estimated to include the Imperial Guards, City Guards, Dragon Stallion Army, and Flying Bear Army. The navy would include the Royal Fleet, the Cliff Mountain Fleet, and the Pacific Fleet.
Not a single one of them wasn't an elite among elites, an ace among aces.
To the Great Xia generals, to be able to lead such an army and command such an epic battle was worth dying with no regrets.
As soon as the news of the attack on Annam spread, the army's requests for battle rang out incessantly.
Among the commanders, the commander of the Imperial Guards, Huo Qubing, was the closest to the king, but everyone knew that Huo Qubing was a Divine General who specialized in individual combat and wasn't as adept at commanding such a large-scale battle.
Therefore, Han Xin and the others didn't want to be the commander.
If the king had appointed someone else as the commander, there would probably be people who wouldn't be convinced. However, the king had chosen the Killing God Bai Qi, and even the arrogant Han Xin was convinced.
In addition to his illustrious reputation in history, Bai Qi was worthy of being the top meritorious general throughout the Great Xia's journey. He was also extraordinary and invincible.
No one in the army was dissatisfied.
The people of Great Xia had long regarded Bai Qi as the 'God of War'.
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