The unexpected fall of Black Iron City marked the beginning of a new phase in the battle of Shu Province.
Swordsman City's garrison in Jiangyang County, other than the Second Legion that had already gathered at Awong Pass, only the Imperial Guard Division and City Guard Division were left.
Other than that, there were also the local garrisons.
Thus, after the fall of Black Iron City, Swordsman City fell into a predicament where they had no soldiers to send.
This made Feng Qingyue, who had just taken over the territory, feel extremely awkward. She realized that with the fall of Black Iron City, Shanhai City would no longer be satisfied with the price they had previously offered.
The intelligent Feng Qingyue thought even further.
An iron ore base like Black Iron City was only slightly important to Swordsman City, but to Shanhai City, which had grasped the technology of steelmaking and was vigorously promoting industrialization, it was a treasure.
Since Shanhai City had taken over Black Iron City, they would not give it back.
Just as Feng Qingyue had guessed, even without this matter, Ouyang Shuo would have found a reason to take over Black Iron City in the near future.
To Shanhai City, the value of Black Iron City was even greater than a county.
23rd of January, Black Iron City.
Because of the battle last night, the citizens of the city were so afraid that they could not sleep.
When the cold morning light shone on the sky above the city again, this remote city that was previously inconspicuous had a new ruler.
During the battle last night, Shi Hu led five thousand elites to occupy the city lord's mansion, and even defeated the Black Iron City Guard Division in one fell swoop, eliminating all resistance in the city.
The entire city was now firmly under the control of Shanhai City.
The battle last night was not limited to battles between armies.
After the barbarian warriors took control of the situation, hundreds of elite spies from the three intelligence agencies in Black Iron City immediately took action. Under the cover of the night, they completed beautiful assassinations.
All the important people in the city who obstructed Shanhai City from taking over Black Iron City were killed. Although not many people died in the assassinations of the intelligence agencies, it was the key to paralyzing Black Iron City.
If one had to make a comparison, Shi Hu's troops were slaughtering, while the intelligence agencies were performing a precise surgery. Those who should be killed were killed, and those who should not have died, none of them died.
In one night, Black Iron City had changed.
After Shi Hu took over Black Iron City, his first order was to cut off the food supply to Aolong Pass. This alone was enough to make the garrison of Aolong Pass suffer.
…
At noon on the 23rd, the news of Black Iron City's fall reached Aolong Pass.
When the commander of Swordsman City's second army received the news, he was immediately dumbfounded. This commander was not a nameless figure. He was the great general of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period, Wei Yan.
After Liu Bei took control of Chengdu, most of the generals of Shu Han, with the exception of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei who died in battle, followed Liu Bei and served in the Chengdu Imperial Guards.
In Swordsman City, Feng Qingyang, of Feng, Feng of Of Dynasty, Feng, Feng, Of the King of of Dynasty, Dynasty, of Feng, and of Feng. The general that Feng Qingyang had chosen was Wei Yan.
Feng, and Feng of Feng of Of Yang of Iron City, of Wei.
When Liu Bei entered Sichuan, he was appointed as the General of the Yamen. After capturing Hanzhong, an exception was made and he was promoted as the General of Zhenyuan, commanding the Governor of Hanzhong and guarding the city.
During this period, Wei Yan requested Zhuge Liang to give him 10,000 troops to attack Guanzhong. After conquering Hanzhong, he was promoted to General Zhenyuan. During this period, Wei Yan repeatedly asked Zhuge Liang to give him ten thousand troops so that he could take another route to attack Guanzhong. Finally, he would join forces with Zhuge Liang at the Tong Pass. But Zhuge Liang always refused.
This was also one of the reasons why Wei Yan was willing to take a step back.
In Wei Yan's opinion, instead of being restrained by Zhuge Liang, it was better to take a step back. Once he arrived at Swordsman City, Wei Yan was appointed as the commander of the second army by Feng Qingyang.
However, Wei Yan did not expect the first battle to be so difficult.
With his retreat cut off, Wei Yan did not dare to make a decision. He immediately asked Feng Qingyang if they should continue to defend Aolong Pass, recapture Black Iron City, or even withdraw.
However, Feng Xiaotian was temporarily in charge of Swordsman City. Wei Yan's memorial was naturally drowned in the vast sea of books, not stirring up a single ripple.
Wei Yan had no choice but to fight to the end.
This lasted for an entire day. While enduring the bombardment from the sky, they also had to face the fierce attacks of the Barbarian Mountain Division. It was truly unbearable.
If it weren't for Wei Yan's presence, the Dragon Cave Pass would have fallen.
Even so, Swordsman City's second army suffered heavy casualties.
At night, Wei Yan once again submitted a memorial to Feng Qingyang, pleading for his lord to make a decision. Otherwise, he could only act at his own discretion. To put it bluntly, Wei Yan wanted to retreat.
Fortunately, Feng Qingyue took over the authority of Swordsman City the next day and read Wei Yan's memorial.
This allowed Swordsman City's second army to escape the calamity.
24th January, Swordsman City.
Feng Qingyue read the frontline battle report and did not dare to be negligent. On one hand, she issued an order to Wei Yan, ordering the Second Legion to temporarily guard the Aolong Pass; on the other hand, she urgently summoned the diplomatic mission of Shanhai City.
City Lord Residence, Reception Hall.
"Does this mean that Swordsman City is willing to send back our Imperial Guards and compensate 800,000 gold coins for the looting of Dongchuan Prefecture?" The leader of the diplomatic group sent by the Chamberlain of Dependencies said slowly with no more anxiety on his face.
Obviously, the news of the Imperial Guards taking over Black Iron City had reached the ears of the diplomatic group.
Feng Qingyue suppressed her anger and nodded. "That's right. We accept the two conditions raised by Shanhai Duke and are willing to carry them out immediately. We hope that your army will withdraw from Black Iron City and cease hostilities. "
"This lowly official has already understood the wishes of your territory. This lowly official will immediately report to the Protectorate after I come down. As for the specific decision, we will still have to hear from my lord. "
The leader only promised to pass on the message and did not respond to Feng Qingyue's request to withdraw.
"Only a fool would withdraw at this time."
Feng Qingyue sighed inwardly. She knew that things weren't so simple. She helplessly said, "Then please give me an early reply. An extra day of delay is a sacrifice for the warriors of both sides. "
"Don't worry, Lord. This lowly official will take his leave first." With that said, he turned and left.
Feng Qingyue frowned as she watched the diplomatic group leave. "I hope that your appetite isn't too big."
At this moment, a black-clothed man entered the hall.
Feng Qingyue asked the black-clothed man, "What's the reply from Chengdu?"
"Shu Han's Prime Minister Zhuge replied: The Shu Han Dynasty will not tolerate Shanhai City acting recklessly in Shu. As long as we apply, the Shu Han army will be able to reinforce Swordsman City at any time."
According to the rules of the system, Royal City's army was not allowed to leave the city and fight with the overlord's army in the wilderness. The only exception was when a territory in the wilderness applied for Royal City's protection and willingly became a vassal of Royal City.
Only then, Royal City's army could send out troops in the name of 'protection'. Even so, Royal City's army couldn't go beyond the territory that applied for protection.
For a territory in the wilderness, once they applied for Royal City's protection, there would be no way out. Once they became a vassal, they would be a vassal for life. They would no longer have any autonomy.
Thus, unless it was absolutely necessary, no territory would be willing to apply for protection from Royal City.
Also, out of the Nine Great King Cities in China, not all of them could apply for protection. Only Xianyang, Luoyang, and Chengdu, which had emperors stationed in them, could accept the overlord's request for asylum.
The scope of application was also limited to the province where Royal City was located.
Feng Qingyue didn't feel relieved. He waved his hand tiredly and said, "I understand. You can go in the afternoon!"
"Yes!"
How could Feng Qingyue not know about Shu Han's ambitions? Right now, they probably wanted Swordsman City to apply for protection so that they could use this opportunity to occupy Shu.
Thus, Feng Qingyue wouldn't take this path unless it was absolutely necessary.
On the same day, in Shanhai City.
In the afternoon, the diplomatic mission's memorial was already on Ouyang Shuo's desk.
After meeting with Huo Qubing in Lingxi City, Ouyang Shuo didn't stay there and immediately returned to Shanhai City. The Spring Festival was approaching. As the lord, he had to stay in Shanhai City even if there was an important matter.
To the people in the territory, this was a powerful symbol that couldn't be underestimated.
Thus, Ouyang Shuo delayed the inspection of the three counties of Yunnan until after the New Year.
Before the war, Ouyang Shuo didn't have any doubts about whether the imperial guards could take down Black Iron City. With Huo Qubing's ability, if he couldn't even do such a small thing, how could he be worthy of the title of Divine General?
As it turned out, Huo Qubing did a good job.
To be honest, Ouyang Shuo didn't have much ambition for Swordsman City or the entire Shu.
From the beginning, Ouyang Shuo knew very well that in Shu, Shanhai City's biggest opponent was the Shu Han Dynasty and not some Swordsman City.
Shanhai City didn't have the strength to challenge Royal City yet. Thus, he couldn't force Swordsman City too much.
Even a cornered dog would jump over a wall.
As for when to wrestle with the Shu Han Dynasty, it would be better to wait until after the nation was established.
The most important thing now was to calm the war in the Southern Border as soon as possible and incorporate the Yunnan Province into Shanhai City's governance system. This was the final sprint and preparation for the establishment of the nation.
Thinking of this, Ouyang Shuo picked up his brush and commented on the memorial presented by the diplomatic mission:
"The original two conditions remain unchanged. Add one more. Black Iron City and its surrounding territories must all be ceded to Shanhai City. With the mountain pass as the boundary, both sides will stop fighting and not invade each other. "
Ouyang Shuo had long intended to learn from the operation of the steel giants in reality. He wanted to integrate all the steel mills, coking coal factories and other factories in his territory to establish a large steel group to lay a solid foundation for the industrialization of his territory.
Black Iron City, which was rich in iron ore and didn't lack coal, was undoubtedly the best choice. Ouyang Shuo had even thought of a name for the group. It would be called [Shushan Steel Group]. Mobile users, please browse and enjoy a better reading experience.
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