Everyone knew what it meant for the Shu Han Dynasty to send reinforcements to Swordsman City.
No one would have thought that Swordsman City, one of the giants of the Yan Huang Alliance, would abandon its integrity and choose to be a "slave" to an NPC force.
This time, Swordsman City became "famous".
However, it was not a good name, but a bad one, which made Di Chen and the others ashamed. For a time, all sorts of ridicule surged towards Swordsman City like tidewater, and it really revealed the aura of 'devouring the world.'
"Swordsman City is afraid before the battle begins. Heroes are amazing!"
"Lord of the Wilderness has a new way of playing. If you get beaten up, find your godfather. If you are shameless, you have to respect Swordsman City!"
"Big-eared Liu Bei, Feng Qingyang has a unique taste!"
In addition to mocking Swordsman City, the players did not hold back their words against the Yan Huang Alliance.
"The Yan Huang Alliance claims to be orthodox but still refuses to change. What a joke!"
"Colluding with Jack from the United States and submitting to the Big-eared Liu Bei, the Yan Huang Alliance has no shame!"
Swordsman City was silent in the face of these mockery.
Although it had already been done, a little mockery would not have any substantial impact on Swordsman City. Just like the players of the Qingyang Sword Sect, no one left even though they were ashamed.
When it came to their own interests, they did not care about losing face.
…
Handan City, Jingdu Province.
"What a bastard!"
Di Chen was furious. Feng Qingyang's sudden move had destroyed the positive image of the Yan Huang Alliance that Di Chen had been trying to maintain. Years of hard work had gone down the drain.
"Once this war is over, we will expel Swordsman City from the Alliance." Di Chen was very decisive. He would not allow a subsidiary territory to remain in the Alliance.
Peerless Elegance was more optimistic than Di Chen. "That's good too. If Shu Han sends troops, Great Xia will definitely follow. It will be a great help to our deployment."
Di Chen shook his head and sighed. "This is just a small benefit. I am worried that the Swordsman City's actions will affect our plan Z."
"It won't affect much." Peerless Elegance was very confident. "Swordsman City is remote and only has two counties. It won't affect our overall plan much."
"I hope so!"
Di Chen couldn't be blamed for worrying about the gains and losses. The implications of Project Z were too great, and he couldn't afford any mistakes.
Shanhai City, Xia Palace.
Strangely enough, as the planner of this battle, Ouyang Shuo had always been secluded within the palace since the battle began, and he hadn't gone to the frontlines to supervise the battle nor had he made any world shocking statements in the media.
Even so, this silent king made people even more fearful and fearful.
There were even some who were depressed and bitter because of this, such as the ambitious Xiong Ba.
As far as Xiong Ba was concerned, Ouyang Shuo was keeping a low profile now because Ouyang Shuo was already standing at a completely new height, and he wasn't on the same level as all of them.
"He's already looking down on us!"
This kind of mental blow was the most fatal.
In the quiet imperial study, the most obvious change compared to before was that a map of China's territory was hung on the west wall, almost taking up the entire west wall.
The map was densely packed with all kinds of markings.
Every movement at the frontline was marked on the map by a specialist. Which pass was captured, which city was taken over, which troops were marching to where, everything was clear.
Such a masterpiece was a reflection of Great Xia's efficient communication network.
It was precisely because of this that Ouyang Shuo could command the entire war without leaving his residence. Military Minister Du Ruhui, Grand Scholar Jia Xu, Secretary Chen Gong, and the others were all on standby, waiting for the king's inquiry.
Outsiders thought that Bai Qi's command center in Lingxi City was the center of Great Xia, but no one knew that this secluded imperial study was the real brain and command center of the entire war.
After Ouyang Shuo ascended to the throne, there were fewer and fewer opportunities for him to personally lead the army. This was the only way to participate in the war, control the overall situation, and rule the world.
In the imperial study, Ouyang Shuo wasn't looking at the map at this moment. He was focused on a report.
Ouyang Shuo wasn't surprised that the Shu Han Dynasty would send troops to Swordsman City. The situation in Shu was naturally controlled by Bai Qi. Ouyang Shuo was in charge of the capital city, and he was in charge of the overall situation.
The report was submitted by the Mountain Sea Guards, and it was about the abnormality in Dali Prefecture.
With the previous example, Ouyang Shuo wouldn't let the four remaining territories in Dali Prefecture do as they pleased. He had already ordered the Mountain Sea Guards to keep a close eye on them and report any abnormalities immediately.
Now that the four territories had merged into one, it naturally aroused Ouyang Shuo's vigilance.
Thinking about the current situation, Ouyang Shuo couldn't help but be suspicious of the merging of the four territories. Based on Ouyang Shuo's understanding of Di Chen and the others, it would be abnormal if they didn't play some tricks at this time. It seemed like Di Chen wanted to make a fuss about Dali Prefecture.
This was exactly what Ouyang Shuo wanted.
Speaking of which, the fact that these four territories were in Yunnan Province made Ouyang Shuo feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. He was afraid that something would happen, and he was worried that he couldn't get rid of this hidden danger.
With the protection of the Great Li Imperial Court, it was inconvenient for the Great Xia army to break into Dali Prefecture.
Now that they took the initiative to jump out, they couldn't blame Ouyang Shuo for being ruthless. At the same time, Ouyang Shuo also wanted to teach the Great Li Imperial Court a lesson so that they wouldn't go too far.
Putting down the report, Ouyang Shuo laughed and shook his head. "Sure enough, it's still the same old trick. There's nothing new." Saying this, he raised his head and shouted, "Come in!"
"Here!" A clerk from the Secret Texts Pavilion walked in.
"Draft an edict to Commander Bai Qi to immediately carry out Plan B." Since the fish had taken the bait, Ouyang Shuo naturally had no reason to abandon it.
"Yes!"
… …
September 10th, Yunnan Province.
The Shu Han Dynasty's dispatch of troops to Swordsman City had undoubtedly made this war that affected the entire wilderness even more complicated. Although the players were mocking Swordsman City, they were truly worried for the Great Xia Dynasty.
The outside world was very curious as to how the Great Xia Dynasty would respond to the sudden addition of Zhao Yun's troops.
The mystery was soon revealed.
That morning, the Third and Fifth Legions of the Dragon Stallion Army, temporarily stationed in Dongchuan Prefecture, were ordered to break camp and head north. They closely followed the vanguard army and became the second batch of Great Xia troops to enter the Shu territory.
Under the orders of the Dragon Stallion Army's Commander Bai Qi, the Third Legion led by Zhang Liao and the Fifth Legion led by Xiao Chaogui were appointed as the Left and Right Protectors respectively.
There was a reason for them to be called the Protectors.
If the Left and Right Protectors were two sharp arrows flying in a straight line toward the heart of Jiangyang Prefecture — Swordsman City, then the Left and Right Protectors were two bodyguards with three main responsibilities.
First, they supervised the transportation of rations and supplies for the vanguard army.
As the vanguard, they naturally had to race against time and advance courageously with invincible spirit. However, the army wasn't a lone ranger. If they wanted to forge ahead, they had to have perfect logistical support.
Rations and supplies were of utmost importance.
Fortunately, as the cities in Jiangyang Prefecture fell into enemy hands, more than half of the Great Xia army's rations could be gathered locally, greatly reducing the logistical pressure. Otherwise, there was no telling how long this war would last.
Second, they had to wipe out the remaining cities on both flanks.
The vanguard army traveled in a straight line, and any cities that they missed along the way would naturally be cleaned up by the Left and Right Protectors. Even the cities captured by the vanguard army would be left to the Left and Right Protectors to deal with the aftermath.
After all, the conquered cities were under the rule of Swordsman City. Feng Qingyang wasn't a tyrant, and he had a certain level of popular support among the cities.
Therefore, the fall of the cities didn't mean that the local people would submit to Great Xia. While the cabinet arranged for officials to take over the cities, they also had to arrange for a large army to guard them in order to deter thieves and evildoers and prevent any unforeseen events.
Third, they had to coordinate with each other on the battlefield.
At the same time, the Left and Right Protectors would surround and protect the flanks of the vanguard army. At the same time, before the vanguard army reached Swordsman City, they would assemble and fight the enemy to the death.
In addition to arranging for the Third and Fifth Legions to head north, Bai Qi personally led the First Legion of the Dragon Stallion Army to Dongchuan County to command the war situation in Shu from afar.
The frontline command center naturally moved to Dongchuan County as well.
Of course, moving the First Legion of the Dragon Stallion Army to Dongchuan County was also intended to intimidate the North Sichuan City State. Although Lord Ximen's letter clearly stated that the North Sichuan City State wouldn't intervene in this war, Ouyang Shuo still had to take precautions. After all, Lord Ximen couldn't cover the sky with one hand.
Following this round of military mobilization, Great Xia practically mobilized the entire Dragon Stallion Army to attack Shu.
At this point, the Great Xia Dynasty's intention to annihilate Swordsman City was already clear, and they wouldn't hesitate to confront the Shu Han Dynasty head-on.
As soon as the news came out, public opinion boiled over.
The busybodies were even more excited and looked forward to the battle between the two powers in the wilderness.
…
That afternoon, Swordsman City responded almost immediately after receiving the news of the Great Xia army's mobilization. Not to be outdone, they immediately dispatched the First Legion stationed in the main city.
It could be said that they were opposing each other with equal harshness.
But as a result, Swordsman City was practically an empty city before the Shu Han Dynasty's army arrived.
Even so, no one thought that Feng Qingyang was crazy. Everyone knew that the other territories of the Yanhuang Alliance had left an emergency force in the main city that could reinforce Swordsman City at any time.
Although Di Chen and the rest were angry with Feng Qingyang's actions, they wouldn't really ignore it. After all, Great Xia was their common enemy.
Feng Qingyang dispatched the First Legion because he was unwilling to let Jiangyang County be devoured by Great Xia bit by bit. The First Legion would set up defenses along the way and strengthen the defenses of the major passes and cities.
In this way, the Great Xia army would have to pay the price of blood for every pass they captured.
Initially, Feng Qingyang wanted to wait for the Shu Han army to arrive before sending them south to block the Great Xia army. However, Liu Bei was a cunning person. He had already said that the Shu Han army would only be responsible for the decisive battle in Swordsman City.
When Feng Qingyang saw this, he could only silently curse Liu Bei for being shameless as he dispatched the First Legion.
Feng Qingyang also had some ulterior motives for doing so.
Feng Qingyang hoped to slow down Great Xia's attack through layers upon layers of sniping so that Great Xia would retreat in the face of difficulties. He hoped that there would be new variables in the battlefield in the wilderness and shift the focus of the war.
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