April 30th, at the northwestern border of Annan.
Mengde City was a small northwestern city with a rocky mountain range five kilometers north of it. It had already been swept by the Great Xia Northern Army a week ago, along with a few other small cities in the vicinity.
Yesterday morning, Mengde City had been placed under martial law. The relay station, the city gate, and the main road were all guarded by the Great Xia City Guards to prevent anyone from approaching.
The entire city only allowed entry, but not exit.
The locals were aware that something big was about to happen, but they didn't dare to send any information to the main city. All possible channels of communication had been cut off by the Great Xia.
The Black Snake Guards in charge of intelligence in Annan cooperated with the military intelligence department to seal off Mengde City's surroundings. Not even a fly could escape.
All signs indicated that something big was about to happen in this small border city far away from the three major battlefields.
Just last night, a pitch-black tunnel appeared out of nowhere in the originally desolate and isolated rocky mountain range to the north of Mengde City, as though it had been enchanted, leading directly to Yunnan Province.
Very soon, torches were lit up in the tunnel, illuminating the entire tunnel. At the border of Mengding County in Yunnan Province, the Great Xia expeditionary army, which had long been ready, passed through the tunnel and magically appeared in the territory of Annan.
From last night until the afternoon of the 30th, the tunnel was packed with people and carriages. The vast army passed through the tunnel in an orderly manner day and night, assembling in the Annan wilderness.
This expeditionary army consisted of the five corps of the Dragon Stallion Army, the fourth imperial guard corps, the first and second corps of the Flying Bear Army, totaling 720,000 soldiers.
The ones that appeared now were only the vanguard troops. There were still more troops coming out of the tunnel. Behind the main troops, there was an even larger auxiliary army of logistics and supplies, numbering 500,000 people.
In the evening, the Great Xia expeditionary army commander, Bai Qi, was escorted by Lai Hu 'er, Zhang Liao, and a group of other generals as he slowly walked out of the tunnel and officially set foot in the Annan territory.
"Marshal!"
The commander of the first corps of the Dragon Stallion Army, Zhao Bonu, was appointed by Bai Qi as the vanguard and led the first corps into the Annan territory. Upon seeing Bai Qi arrive, he immediately came over to greet him.
Bai Qi got up, donned in black iron armor, and asked with a solemn expression, "Is the perimeter guarded?"
"Don't worry, Marshal. I've already sent out five sentry posts. Within a radius of a thousand miles, including Meng De City, we'll be able to detect the slightest movement."
As Huo Qubing's right-hand man in history, Zhao Bonu was adept at tracking and warning, which was why Bai Qi had appointed him as the vanguard. It seemed that he had done a good job.
Bai Qi nodded. Naturally, there were no words of praise.
Zhao Bonu, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief. It was already a great honor to receive the Marshal's nod.
"Be extra vigilant at night. Don't let your guard down," Bai Qi instructed.
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Bonu nodded and went to make arrangements.
Bai Qi led a group of generals to the temporary command center to discuss the next military operation.
Other than Vanguard Official Zhao Bonu, Lai Hu'er, Zhang Liao, Luo Shixin, Xiao Chaogui, E Lai, Chen Tang, and Pei Renji were all present.
Bai Qi used the triangular eyes unique to the Qin people and silently swept a circle of generals, causing the fierce generals to have goosebumps. Then he said solemnly, "These few days, the enemy's counterattack is swift and fierce, greatly exceeding our expectations before the war. Now the three armies are bitterly holding on and every day there are twenty to thirty thousand deaths. The situation is not optimistic."
When the generals heard this, their expressions became solemn.
Of course, they knew that the sacrifice of the three armies was to create an opportunity for them to lure the enemy away from King City so that they could kill them in one fell swoop.
"We have to be quick!" Bai Qi concluded. "We can't wait any longer. Tomorrow morning, the troops that have already arrived will set off first and try to reach Hanoi within four days. "
"Yes, Marshal!"
The generals replied in unison.
Because the size of the army was too large, Bai Qi had already made arrangements beforehand. The infantry would pass through the tunnel first, with the cavalry one step behind. This way, the cavalry that arrived later would be able to catch up and ensure that all the armies would arrive at the outskirts of Hanoi at about the same time.
At the same time, in order to reduce the target and at the same time rationally distribute the official roads to avoid "traffic jams," even the vanguard troops had to split into several routes and advance side by side before meeting up at the outskirts of Hanoi.
As for the specific arrangements, it was up to Bai Qi, the commander-in-chief, to make a unified arrangement.
The military meeting only came to an end at 11 o'clock in the evening. As the commander-in-chief, Bai Qi didn't sleep. Instead, he got up, went outside the tent, called the guards, and began to patrol the camps one by one.
This war was related to the fate of the dynasty, so Bai Qi had to be cautious.
Even in the historical Qin Kingdom, Bai Qi had never commanded an army of such a scale. It was hard for outsiders to understand how heavy the burden on his shoulders was.
…
Time quietly entered May.
Since the start of the war, the Great Xia army had been fighting in Annan for a month. Seeing that there was only one month left before the highly anticipated month of war, the war in Annan became the focus of Asia.
Even the ongoing war in West Chu wasn't as eye-catching as this war.
At the northwest border of Annan, in the Great Xia army's encampment.
Early in the morning, the sky had just brightened. Bai Qi, who had slept for less than six hours, personally led an army, decamped, and rushed toward Hanoi according to the predetermined marching route.
From this moment on, the war in Annan ushered in the final battle.
In the afternoon of May 2nd, the Great Xia army broke through the control area of the north route and officially appeared in the field of vision of Annan. In other words, the early efforts of the north route, the Black Snake Guards, and the Military Intelligence Division had won two days for the army.
This was the key to turning the tide of the war.
When the mighty army suddenly appeared near Hanoi, one could imagine what kind of psychological impact it had on the Annan players and the Annan royal family.
"Oh my god, it's the Great Xia army. Where did they come from?"
No one could give an answer. The northwest border was an endless rocky mountain range. Logically speaking, it was impossible for an army to cross such a natural moat and appear in Annan.
Annan was almost defenseless against the northwest.
However, it happened so unbelievably. No matter how hard the officials and generals of Annan racked their brains, they couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Didn't they say that the second batch of Great Xia's expeditionary army came by sea?"
The person who said this had an unpleasant look on his face. Obviously, he had realized that the so-called sea route was just a smokescreen deliberately released by Great Xia to deceive everyone.
For a moment, the capital was in chaos, and everyone was in a panic.
Someone speculated, "Perhaps there is a karst cave in the rocky mountain range that connects to China's Yunnan Province."
Some geographers followed suit. According to the speculation of geographical structure and kinematics, it was also possible for such a secret passage to appear in the mountain range.
This theory really couldn't stand up to scrutiny. It was already the fifth year of Gaia. If there really was a secret passage, it would have been discovered by the Annan players long ago. How could Great Xia take advantage of it?
It was obvious how spacious the secret passage had to be for the Great Xia army to pass through.
"There is no point in discussing this now. The key question now is, what should we do?"
Yes, what should we do?!
The first reaction of the Annan royal family was to immediately order the recall of the three imperial guards.
In fact, they did do so. Not only the imperial guards, but even the three mutant troops were also recalled. After all, "Heaven and Earth are vast, but King City is the largest."
Once King City fell, the war would be over, and it would be futile to achieve great results on local battlefields.
However, the three armies were already far away from King City, and it would take more than two or three days to rush back. The Annan royal family could only unite with the leader of the mutant guild and summon the remaining troops in King City to save themselves.
A storm suddenly struck Annan.
…
In the China region.
Unlike the Annan players who were panicking, the China players were in a complicated mood.
Two days ago, they were still worried that Great Xia would encounter a "Waterloo" in Annan. In the blink of an eye, Great Xia was turning the tides in Annan and was about to completely conquer Annan.
The speed of the plot reversal was really flabbergasting.
The players who ridiculed Great Xia and Bai Qi on the forum became the target of public criticism. They were found and severely humiliated in the game.
As long as they weren't too thick-skinned, they wouldn't dare to show their faces on the forum again.
Di Chen and the others were even more depressed. The only thing worth rejoicing about was that they were smart enough not to make a statement on the forum. Otherwise, they really didn't know how they would end up.
Throughout the whole process, Xia Gong didn't say a word.
There was a saying that went, "Invisible pretentiousness is the most fatal!"
In the eyes of the China players, Xia Gong didn't express his position and didn't respond. "Great Xia's tactics are still brilliant. They seem indifferent, but in fact, everything is under control."
"Brilliant, really brilliant!"
Many people subconsciously gave a thumbs up. Ordinary players could only worship the layout of Great Xia. This was a realm that they couldn't learn even if they wanted to.
As a result, Ouyang Shuo ushered in another round of voting for the leaders of the national war. As of the 3rd of May, Ouyang Shuo had already obtained 45 million votes, which was 20 million more than Di Chen.
The competition for the leaders of the national war had almost ended in advance.
…
The China players were happy, but the Annan players were having a very hard time.
Apart from the players who were still in King City, the three armies that went to war received the military order. Their hearts suddenly turned cold, and their faces turned pale. If they still didn't understand what was going on now, they would be unworthy of being called elites.
In particular, the Haifang Lord, Ruan Tianque, learned that the Great Xia army suddenly appeared in the suburbs of Hanoi. At first, he couldn't believe it. Then, his face turned pale, and then red.
It was a shame, a shame that he couldn't show his face!
Things were already very obvious. All of this was a trap set by Great Xia. Ironically, Great Xia's trap was able to progress so smoothly because of Ruan Tianque's initiative to mobilize the army of King City.
In other words, it was Ruan Tianque who personally buried Annan.
Guilt hit Ruan Tianque like a tsunami. At the thought of the upcoming condemnation from his countrymen, Ruan Tianque immediately lost all his courage.
Ruan Tianque didn't dare to face those comrades who trusted him.
That night, Ruan Tianque committed suicide in the study room. His last words were left on the table. There were only three blood-colored words on the snow-white rice paper: "I am guilty!"
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