Although Xuan Tianming and the others had expected chaos in the South, and even Emperor Tianwu had made some mental preparations, he did not think that the other side would come with such ferocity. When the battle report arrived, Lan Zhou was about to be defeated.
The flames of war had spread to Lan Zhou, which meant that the South had been broken through by the enemy. Two years of painstaking effort had been destroyed. The Eighth Prince, Xuantian Mo, angrily said in court, "Father, I have been stationed in the South for many years, and there has never been such chaos. Now that I have handed over the South's military authority, I naturally cannot return to the South. However, why is the new Commander still so leisurely in the capital? Shouldn't he immediately head to the garrison after receiving the Commander's Tally? " As he spoke, he looked at Xuan Tianming. The injuries from being beaten 100 times were still there. When he walked, his posture was strange, and everyone had to hold back their laughter. "Ninth Brother, how can you be so muddle-headed when it comes to matters of state and military?"
He spoke with a strong sense of righteousness, and his face was filled with heartache. Xuan Tianming did not understand: "Things have already happened. Eighth Brother did not properly analyze how Dashun would respond. Instead, you only cared about passing the buck and blaming others. I originally did not want to argue with you about this matter. Since the battle has come, leading the troops to deal with the enemy is the right thing to do. However, since you have spoken like this, then I will also argue with you. " As he spoke, he bowed to Emperor Tianwu, "Father, today is the 29th of the first month, and we have already received battle reports from the South. The Desert Alliance has broken through the South and is already attacking Lan Zhou. This kind of battle situation should not have been accomplished in a day or two, right? It would take at least 15 days to travel 800 li from the South to the North. In other words, around the 15th of the first month, the South had already been lost. Thinking about it carefully, Gu Shu and the Desert Ten Nations were not an alliance that could be negotiated overnight. Anyone with a brain can understand this. The Desert Ten Nations, plus Gu Shu, all of these small independent countries had the same opinion. Without a year and a half of discussion, how could the alliance succeed? A year and a half ago, the Southern Army still belonged to Eighth Brother. "
Xuantian Mo's eyebrows twitched as he listened. He knew that Old Ninth would be difficult to deal with. However, the previous Old Ninth was more capricious. He was more direct when it came to people and things that he disliked. He raised his hand and whipped them. He wasn't in the capital all year round, so he thought that his ninth brother was still the same as before. Although he had tested him a few times before, he still underestimated his younger brother. The Xuan Tianming of today was no longer the willful brat from a few years ago. He had his own independent thinking, and he had his own ideas and plans. He had set up hundreds of schemes, but not only did he not see the other party jumping into his trap, but he also turned the tables on them.
That's right. How could Gu Shu and the alliance of ten countries be formed in a single day? They had planned for nearly a year and had to continuously negotiate with the ten small countries. They had also made all sorts of promises before putting this battle on the agenda in the first month of this year. He wanted to use this battle to send Old Ninth, Xuan Tianming, to heaven. It would be best if he could send Feng Yu Heng to heaven as well. Even if that didn't work, he wanted to use this battle to have the Alliance's army attack the Southern Dashun Kingdom. He also wanted to put pressure on Emperor Tianwu and send him to the throne. As long as he sat on the throne, what alliance army, what betrayal clause, he, Xuan Tianmo, would not be so benevolent, and he was not someone who kept his promises. He would immediately deploy troops and send those small countries back to their nests one by one.
Xuantian Mo had his own ideas, but Xuan Tianming had already seen through them. Now that he thought about it, was this battle really his fault? He did not refuse and knelt to Tianwu to ask for forgiveness. However, he thought to himself, 'So what if it's my fault? You're the commander of the 300,000 soldiers in the Southern Army, so you'll definitely be the one to go to the battlefield. ' He was not afraid that Xuan Tianming would bring the 300,000 soldiers back. Those were his soldiers, and it was not something that could be made obedient with just a Commander's Tally.
Faced with the competition between his two sons, Emperor Tianwu did not make a clear statement. He also glossed over the investigation of who was to blame. Either way, the matter had already occurred. It did not matter whose responsibility it was. Right now, it was as Xuantian Mo had thought. As the commander of the 300,000 soldiers in the Southern Army, Xuan Tianming would be the one to face this battle. That was something that was set in stone.
Xuan Tianming received the order. He would return to the military camp on the outskirts of the capital the next day to gather the soldiers. He would be bringing his own soldiers to the South. The date of departure was set for the first day of the second month.
It had to be said that Xuan Tianming bringing his own soldiers to the South was something that Xuantian Mo was worried about. If it was just the small number of soldiers that he had, it would not be strange. The main thing was that there would be an additional 100 thousand soldiers from Qian Zhou. This was a bit of a problem. Moreover, he had only heard this morning that Qian Zhou had sent tens of thousands of Wolf Horses to the military camp on the outskirts of the capital. In addition to this, they were all equipped with steel weapons. This sort of group's destructive power could not be underestimated.
But no matter how much he worried, it was pointless. He could not stop them. But Xuantian Mo had his own plans. He gestured for an official from his own party to take over the task of transporting the military supplies. This was one of his plans.
After morning court, Xuan Tianming did not stop for a single moment. He quickly returned to the manor. He would often go on long trips, so there was not much that needed to be done in the manor. With Lady Zhou at home, there was nothing to worry about. He just gave new orders to the hidden guards that would remain in the capital. A portion of the hidden guards would be stationed in the Imperial Palace Yu. Another five would be sent to the Yao manor. Another five would be sent to Xiao Zhou to secretly protect Feng Zirui.
As for the Yao manor, aside from the people that Xuan Tianming had sent, there were also the people that Feng Yu Heng had left behind. In addition to the imperial daughter's manor's Imperial Guard, the two manors were now being protected together. In addition, the Seventh Prince, Xuan Tianhua, had also sent many people to secretly protect the Yao manor. Even if Xuan Tianming left the capital, the Yao manor should be able to rest assured.
The next day, Xuan Tianming returned to the barracks on the outskirts of the capital. Yao Xian had already treated most of the Divine Arms soldiers who had been injured by the explosion. However, those people still needed to recuperate from their injuries. They definitely could not travel this time. In fact, those who were seriously injured would not be able to return to the battlefield in the future. This was what pained Xuan Tianming the most. As for those who were lightly injured, they would be able to head south on their own after recuperating for a month and catch up with the army's progress.
Experimenting with new weapons had great benefits, but at the same time, it also required a corresponding great sacrifice. Xuan Tianming told them that the five of them would be exchanging the lives of more than 50,000 enemies in the future. Dashun would not forget them.
Other than treating the injured, Yao Xian had also personally led the Divine Arms Battalion's soldiers in military drills over and over again. Regardless of whether it was Xi Fang, He Gan, or the many soldiers of the Divine Arms Battalion, they were all full of admiration for this old man. They even wondered, could it be that the people that were close to Imperial Daughter Ji An were all so powerful? In the past, they had only heard that Yao Xian was a divine doctor; however, they never thought that he would be able to use this sort of strange weapon with such ease.
With Yao Xian's help, the soldiers practiced even faster. The Divine Archery Team was now able to hit their mark nine times out of ten. Although they still could not compare to the divine archers of the modern era, in this era, it was sufficient. The Tianji Team had also developed a few more formations with Yao Xian's help. They had also made full use of landmines and grenades in these formations. The destructive power of these formations was extremely great.
On Qian Zhou's side, the Wolf Horses that Feng Yu Heng had arranged to be sent over had also arrived. In addition to the horses that had been brought over by the Zhou army, there was enough to equip every soldier. There were even some left over that could be used as replacements.
In short, all of the soldiers in the military camp were in a state of excitement. The increase in their equipment made them impatient to go onto the battlefield and compete with the enemy. When they heard that the battle in the South had begun and that His Ninth Highness was about to lead them to the South to fight, the soldiers were all overjoyed. It was as though they were not going to fight a battle. Instead, they were going to participate in a grand banquet.
It was not just the soldiers in the military camp that were originally in the suburbs that were happy. Even the 100,000 soldiers from Qian Zhou were rubbing their hands in anticipation. They had lived in the military camp for a long time. Their initial nostalgia had gradually faded. The welfare of Xuan Tianming's army was good. In addition to this, Dashun's treasury was plentiful. The weather was clear throughout the year, and there was no lack of food. Their living conditions were not something that Qian Zhou could compare to.
Qian Zhou's seasons were cold. Vegetables and food did not grow. Everything had to be obtained through trade with Dashun. There was a quota in the army, and they could not even eat an extra bowl of rice. Although Feng Zhaolian was already very benevolent to them, their living conditions were limited. They could not compare to Dashun.
These soldiers from Qian Zhou had already become one with the soldiers from Dashun. In addition to this, they originally hated Gu Shu, which had often provoked Qian Zhou. Now that they heard that they would be going to fight with Gu Shu, they all wanted to accomplish great things.
Xuan Tianming was very satisfied with the mood of his soldiers. Confidence was the most important factor in winning a battle. Since ancient times, a weak army was bound to be defeated. As long as he had enough confidence, he could face the enemy in his best state of mind. Also, he did indeed have absolute confidence in winning. The so-called "firearms" that Feng Yu Heng had brought out from her space allowed him to see the hope of conquering the world.
Of course, he did not tell the soldiers that the supplies had already fallen into Xuantian Mo's hands. Without the timely supply of supplies, this would be fatal to the soldiers going into battle. If this matter was known by the soldiers, it would undoubtedly be a large blow. But it was fine. He still had his wife as a shield. When he set out from the capital, he could bring along some supplies. It would be enough to last for three to four months.
The military camp in the suburbs of the capital was ready to set out. Yao Xian returned to the capital the next day. The medical officer that accompanied the army was led by Song Kang. Before Feng Yu Heng left, she had given them enough medicine. It could be said that everything was prepared.
As for the current situation in the South, the situation was not as bad as the reports made it out to be. The South was no longer safe, but it was not completely occupied. Who knew if it was because Gu Shu and the ten countries had shown mercy or if the Southern Army had truly put up a strong resistance. Only half of the South was lost, and the other half remained. With Xuantian Mo's small court as the boundary, it had not been broken through.
But that was only temporary. Even the prefect of Lan Zhou, Ji Ling, knew that the people of the desert would break through the South and enter Dashun in the blink of an eye. He needed to think carefully about how to respond.
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