Chapter 667
Chapter 667
Tianbei Province.
Bian Wu's 100,000-strong army was garrisoned in Yanzhou, while the Grand Marshal of Tianbei Province, Ning Qi, had only 30,000 troops to defend a border stretching for thousands of li. Tianbei Province, like Tiannan Province, was long and narrow, and the border with the states of Wu and Chu was despairingly long. No matter how evenly Ning Qi distributed his 30,000 soldiers, it would be impossible to defend the entire thousand-li border.
Just then, Bian Wu gave the order, and the Deputy Marshal of Yanzhou, Zhang Chong, led 30,000 troops to reinforce Ning Qi and garrison Tianbei Province. At that moment, Ning Qi was so moved he could have run out barefoot to greet them. Bian Wu and Zhang Chong had truly come to their aid in a time of need. But even so, their forces were insufficient. They could only hope the King of Wu would honor their previous pact and not join the alliance to march south and destroy the State of Yue. King Ning Yuanxian of Yue also made continuous diplomatic efforts, sending envoys to the State of Wu several times. However, the King of Wu refused to meet them, and the State of Yue hurtled madly toward the worst possible outcome.
The King of Wu began to assemble a massive army, mobilizing forces on a scale that could bankrupt the nation. One hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand... He absolutely could not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He, too, had to avenge his past humiliations. The humiliation of defeat in the war twenty years ago, and the humiliation of defeat in the battle two years ago. This time, however, he did not personally lead the campaign. Although the southern expedition had not been formally declared to the world, rumors were already circulating that Privy Councilor Wu Zhi had been appointed as the commander. The great army of Wu was to be divided into two forces, east and west. One would invade Yanzhou, and the other would invade Tianbei Province.
***
For the past month, a stream of nightmarish news had arrived, and the people of the capital, battered by one shock after another, had grown numb. Because all the news was bad news; one commandery after another fell. At first, some thought of fleeing, but they soon realized there was nowhere to run. With war raging on all sides of the State of Yue, there was nowhere to go. The capital was, relatively speaking, the safest place. Soon, the capital became bizarrely prosperous. Every brothel was packed to the brim, as if everyone was determined to indulge themselves thoroughly before the country fell. Many thought, "The country is going to fall anyway, and everything has lost its meaning. What's the point of saving money?" But some of the more clever ones began to seek ways to survive.
‘Should I pledge allegiance to Chu? Or Wu? Or perhaps Ning Qun?’
The king no longer held court. The number of officials who claimed illness and refused to leave their homes was growing. Holding court at a time like this was meaningless. All state affairs were decided directly by the king, the Grand Secretariat, and the Privy Council. At least in these times, the Privy Council and the Grand Secretariat could work together. Zhu Hongzhu, Zhong Yue, and Ning Ji set aside all factional strife and poured their hearts and souls into arduously sustaining the state.
Everyone in the Grand Secretariat and the Privy Council could no longer go home. They were constantly busy with state affairs day and night, only dozing off at their desks when exhaustion took over. If one were to speak of the most desperate people in the State of Yue, it would be them. Inside the Grand Secretariat and the Privy Council, a map of the State of Yue hung on the wall. Each time a commandery fell, it was painted red on the map. The number of conquered cities and commanderies grew and grew until a third of Yue's territory was blotted out in red.
***
By now, the people paid no attention to Shen Lang. In the eyes of Yue's citizens, Shen Lang's ten thousand soldiers were too insignificant to be worth mentioning. Everyone's gaze was fixed solely on the west and the north. The decisive battle between Chu's 300,000-strong army and Zhong Yao's 120,000 troops was the true focal point of their attention, as was the question of when the King of Wu's great army would march south and formally declare war on Yue. Another point of focus was when Ning Qun's army would attack the capital. If any one of these three events occurred, the nation would fall.
If Zhenxi City, defended by Zhong Yao, were to fall, it would mean the complete loss of the western region—the end of the nation. If the King of Wu's 300,000 troops marched south to attack Yue, Yanzhou might be defensible, but Tianbei Province, with its thousand-li border, would be incredibly difficult to hold. Thus, losing it also meant the end of the nation. Furthermore, if Ning Qun's 100,000-strong army were to directly attack the capital of Yue, could they possibly defend it? They probably couldn't withstand them. The capital currently had only 10,000 Escort Guards and 15,000 Imperial Guards. How could they possibly defend against Ning Qun's army of over 100,000?
But how had Ning Qun's army grown to over a hundred thousand? That's right. Ning Qun's army was growing daily, and everyone was just waiting for the news that he was marching on the capital. When that day came, the fall of the nation would be officially declared, but until then, everyone could enjoy themselves to the fullest. Blame Shen Lang? Curse him as the architect of their ruin? At first, they certainly hurled fierce curses at him, but later, no one bothered to curse him anymore. You curse when you're angry. When you fall into despair, even curses won't come out.
However, Ning Qun's army seemed to have halted its advance. After conquering Tiannan Province, his army, which had been split into two forces, began to regroup. Only Yangguo Commandery remained, but they did not attack. Why was that?
A few months ago, Shen Lang had predicted the fall of Tiannan Province and had decisively identified Yangguo City as the turning point to stop the damage. Yet, even before Shen Lang's Escort Guard was garrisoned in Yangguo Commandery, Ning Qun had also concluded that Shen Lang would try to defend it. An ordinary person would expect Shen Lang to defend Lu River Commandery, since his home was there. But Ning Qun saw at a glance that Yangguo Commandery was wedged between Tianyue, Tiannan, and Tianxi provinces. Any brilliant commander would try to defend this place.
On the twenty-fifth day of the first month, the 10,000 Escort Guards led by Ning Zheng and Shen Lang were garrisoned in Yangguo Commandery City, and a plaque reading "Headquarters of the General-in-Chief for Pacifying the South" was formally hung.
***
If you were to magnify the map several times, you would find that a small part of Tiannan Province had not yet fallen. It was the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate. But it was so small that it was just a tiny dot, invisible on the map. Xuanwu City had also fallen, but the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate and the surrounding hundreds of square kilometers of land had not.
Xu Qianqian was heartbroken. After two years of arduous struggle, she had finally made a comeback, restoring her business to a scale comparable to the old "Xu Covering Tiannan." But now, nothing was left again. The war had cost her all her workshops and mulberry fields. She retreated into the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate with several hundred people. At that time, she said just one thing.
"Son of a bitch!"
It was a situation so desperate that even a goddess-like woman like her couldn't help but curse.
On the twenty-sixth day of the first month, a plaque was hung at the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate.
Marquis Jin Zhuo officially became the Admiral of Tiannan Province. To become the Admiral of Tiannan directly without being appointed to an official court position was, in fact, an injustice to him. Jin Zhuo was a full-fledged marquis; if he entered the court, he would have to be given a seat in either the Grand Secretariat or the Privy Council.
***
Soon, Ning Qun's next move became clearer. The two great armies of Su Nan and Nangong Ao regrouped. Su Nan's 60,000 troops marched toward Yangguo Commandery City, while Nangong Ao's force of over 50,000 advanced on the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate. My god! Attacking the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate with 50,000 troops? There wasn't even enough space there to deploy such a large army. No matter how large the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate was, it was at most a few hundred acres in size. Would they really need over 50,000 troops for that?
How many defenders were inside the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate? Everyone expected there to be at most five thousand, or even fewer, people in the estate. This was because the Jin Clan only had 6,000 private soldiers, and 3,000 of them had been dispatched to defend Raging Tide City. But in reality, there were 7,000 defenders inside the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate. In addition to the Jin Clan's 3,000-some private soldiers, there were 3,800 soldiers of the Second Nirvana Army, and Jin Mulan was their supreme commander.
***
*Bwoooo!*
As the horns blared, the 50,000-strong army under Nangong Ao marched majestically toward the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate. Looking out at the fortress built on the mountain, Nangong Ao was filled with mixed emotions. He had always thought he would one day lead soldiers to attack this fortress, but he imagined he would do so under the banner of the State of Yue, carrying out the king's orders for the New Government to crush the Jin Clan. Yet, unexpectedly, he had come to annihilate the Jin Clan as the Vice Councilor of the Privy Council of the Great Southern Kingdom. Truly, the workings of fate were inscrutable.
‘Marquis Jin Zhuo, my apologies! Why didn't you retreat to Raging Tide City? Why didn't you surrender the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate? Now you've forced me to take your head!’
***
Su Nan's 60,000-strong army also marched majestically northward and began to surround Yangguo Commandery City. Yangguo City was similar in size to Lu River City. It had a population of 70,000, its walls were no more than fifteen li long, and its height was about five meters, so it could not be called a large city. Furthermore, the terrain was flat, a wide plain where horses could gallop freely. This city was neither as sturdy nor as tall as the capital of the Southern Gull Kingdom.
Yet, previously, Ning Qun's 40,000 troops had nearly conquered the Southern Gull capital on the very first day. At that time, the city was defended by a combined force of over 100,000, including the main army of the State of Yue and the vassal troops of the Southern Gull Kingdom. Among them, 100,000 were the true main force of Yue, the elite frontline troops guarding the border. Now, Ning Zheng and Shen Lang had only 10,000 Escort Guards under their command. And they were a rear-echelon army at that. At a glance, it was a hopeless battle, destined for defeat. Everyone, including the 10,000 Escort Guards, thought so, and a desperate aura of death hung over them. Yangguo City had long been empty; all the civilians had fled, leaving only the 10,000 Escort Guards.
‘We're going to die. Defeat seems inevitable.’
Everyone thought so. Although their combat prowess had greatly improved under Chou Du's training, they were not the Nirvana Army, and they were even inferior to Zhu Lin's Army for Pacifying the South.
‘Even Zhu Lin's army of over 100,000 couldn't defeat 30,000 to 40,000 of the Sand Tribe soldiers. How can our 10,000 Escort Guards possibly defeat 60,000 of the Sand Tribe's main force?’
***
"If Young Master Shen is so miraculous, then show us your miracles quickly. Otherwise, we will surely lose this battle, and the morale of the 10,000 Escort Guards will plummet and collapse."
At Chou Du's words, Shen Lang nodded, then brought out a box and opened it.
"This is the blood of a golden dragon, brought from the ancient ruins beyond the sea. Consuming this will transform your bloodline, making you brave and invincible! Today is the second day of the second month; the 10,000 Escort Guards of Tianyue will become dragons and raise their heads!"
Wasn't this the liquid from the dead Golden Bloodline parasites he used in his old scams? It was basically a super-stimulant. That's right! He originally had two thousand test tubes' worth, sold eight hundred, and still had over a thousand left. Shen Lang then diluted it to make ten thousand doses, one for each of the 10,000 Escort Guards. Chou Du was dumbfounded when he saw it.
"Young Master, will... will this really work?"