Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 264 Prepare for a rainy day

Prepare for a rainy day

With the cooperation of the Crimson Shadow Guards, the enemy troops outside the city were once again stopped at a distance of fifty zhang. However, at this time, the Great Xia soldiers on the city wall also suffered casualties, because at a distance of fifty zhang, the enemy could already shoot arrows at the city walls. But very few of their arrows could actually reach the city walls. It was considered very good if one out of ten cavalrymen managed to shoot an arrow.

Seeing that nearly a third of his troops had perished without breaching the city walls, Dong Wei anxiously ordered four Celestial Realm experts and a winged puppet to fly over and directly kill the defending soldiers on the city walls.

But when the four Heavenly Rank Guest Elders and eleven winged puppets flew to the vicinity of the city wall, before they could even start causing trouble, several figures flew out from the city wall and became entangled with them.

Nine Heavenly Rank experts—Chen Jiahe, Duan Shichen, Ge Zhuang, Master Shun, Master Xing, Master An, Master Quan, Wang Baichuan, and Xiao Shan—surrounded them. Although they were all at the first or second level of Heavenly Rank, it was still possible to entangle them.

Standing at a distance, Dong Wei inwardly groaned. Where did this tiny Central Plains City get so many Heavenly Rank experts? Including those he encountered in Jingzhou, he had already run into twelve. Among them, the one in Jingzhou was a Heavenly Rank Level 4 master.

This battle is unwinnable. Of the 300,000 troops, only 100,000 remain, and they haven't even breached the city gates. Even if they eventually do, how many soldiers will be left? And how will they deal with those dozen or so Heavenly Rank cultivators? So far, the enemy hasn't suffered many casualties; it's practically a one-sided massacre!

Dong Wei felt guilty and wanted to retreat, but where could he retreat to?

Just as Dong Wei was wavering, shouts of battle rang out behind him. Soldiers from Wangxiang Town charged in from behind, a thousand cavalry and four thousand infantry, pouring in like a roaring flood.

At this moment, the soldiers defending the city on the front lines began hurling phosphorus wax bombs at the Wu Yi army on the ground. The four Celestial Rank warriors and the winged puppets in the sky were all entangled and had no time to attend to others. The screams of agony from the dense crowd, caused by the burning phosphorus fire, echoed once more. Moreover, the powerful anti-magic bombs would occasionally explode in the most densely populated areas, each explosion claiming hundreds of lives. However, the daily production of anti-magic bombs was only about a hundred, a limited quantity that could only be used selectively. Otherwise, even a larger Wu Yi army would have been completely annihilated long ago.

Five thousand Great Xia soldiers charged in from the rear, like wolves among sheep, utterly ferocious. Dong Wei, in his terror, finally witnessed the fighting prowess of the Great Xia soldiers. From cavalry to infantry, they were all mid-Earth Rank soldiers, wielding Xuan Iron treasures—a force that, against a vast majority of Martial Warriors at the early Earth Rank and late Human Rank, was practically a guaranteed kill.

Dong Wei now finally understood why the Great Xia army only had tens of thousands of soldiers. Their soldiers were not even in the same league as the Wu Yi soldiers. They were all top-notch experts, one in ten. How could their numbers be so large?

With a master of profound martial arts and a Xuan Tie treasure sword, every soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty could fight ten men.

Wu Yi's army was utterly routed, the chaotic soldiers scattering like headless flies. At that moment, the city gates opened, and another five thousand Xia soldiers poured out from within, launching a pincer attack and reaping the lives of Wu Yi's troops. Seeing that all was lost, Dong Wei had no choice but to lead his nearly ten thousand soldiers in a hasty retreat.

The battle at Linxiang Pass ended quickly. The Xia soldiers won a great victory, defeating Wu Yi's army of over 200,000 with only a few hundred casualties. They killed or wounded 120,000 of Wu Yi's troops, and captured or surrendered over 70,000.

The Great Xia had no intention of letting Dong Wei's escape go unpunished; once they arrived, they wouldn't leave! Jiang Yuheng ordered two thousand cavalry to pursue them. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Dong Wei's four Heavenly Rank retainers ceased their pursuit of the Great Xia's Heavenly Rank troops and began to flee. They were merely rogue cultivators hired by Wu Yi at high salaries; they had no intention of risking their lives for him. Now that their commander had fled, they couldn't continue resisting. Ge Zhuang and the others didn't stop them, allowing them to leave. After all, these four retainers were all Heavenly Rank Level 3 experts, their cultivation levels even higher than theirs. If they were determined to leave, they couldn't stop them. However, the eleven winged puppets were destined to be destroyed.

When Dong Wei led his remaining troops to Jingzhou City, he found that the city had changed hands. The flag of the Great Xia Empire was now flying over the city walls. The soldiers guarding the city had all become Great Xia soldiers. Ten thousand Great Xia soldiers were arrayed in formation, awaiting his arrival.

Dong Wei was completely dumbfounded. When did the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty occupy Jingzhou? Where did they come from? Did they fly in from the sky?

But the Xia soldiers gave him no time to think. Soldiers from the direction of Jingzhou City had already begun attacking Dong Wei's remaining troops. Once again, they were attacked from both sides. Dong Wei and his ten thousand soldiers had no chance of escape. The battle ended in half an hour; three thousand were killed or wounded, and nearly eight thousand soldiers had long lost the will to resist. Seeing the Xia soldiers encircling them, they immediately surrendered. Dong Wei, however, showed some backbone; with nowhere to escape, he chose to commit suicide.

Thus, Wu Yi's 300,000-strong army dwindled to only about 20,000 men stationed in Xin County within a few days. The 250,000 soldiers who came to attack Zhongyuan City were completely annihilated, and their commander committed suicide.

After resting and cleaning up the battlefield, the next day, Qi Feng, under Jiang Yuheng's appointment, led 2,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry directly from Jingzhou City to annihilate the 20,000 Wu Yi troops stationed at the border of Xin County. He then led his soldiers to take full control of all the counties and towns under Jingzhou's jurisdiction, eliminating any resistance. Because Wu Yan, the puppet city lord, had already openly surrendered, the smaller forces in those towns and counties surrendered without much resistance.

Upon learning of the defeat of the 300,000-strong Wu Yi army in just a few days, the garrison of Xianghuang Kingdom, which faced Xin County across the river, became highly alarmed. They immediately transferred 50,000 soldiers from the troops attacking Xijing to reinforce the pass, joining the original 20,000 soldiers stationed there to defend the pass at the junction of Xin County, Liangzhou, and other three prefectures. They also deployed ten magic crystal cannons to strengthen the pass's defenses.

However, the Great Xia had no intention of attacking it. After taking over Xin County in Jingzhou, they simply established a connection between the two passes, abolished the border pass in Xin County, and replaced it with a border pass in Liangzhou.

The Great Xia Empire had no intention of participating in the partitioning of the Great Chi territory. It only strengthened its defenses and consolidated its own territory. It would retaliate against any provocations directly and without hesitation.

After the great battle, Jiang Yuheng made further adjustments to the city defenses. The garrisons at Wangxiang Town Pass and Linxiang Town Pass were withdrawn, and the passes were garrisoned by Guoan soldiers dispatched by Su Ce. The 3,000 troops temporarily transferred from the arsenal during the defense of Wangxiang Town Pass were returned to their original arsenal location. After all, the arsenal was of paramount importance and could not be neglected.

The original garrison of 10,000 men from Wangxiang Town and Linxiang Town, along with 10,000 soldiers from Heilongzhai, were reorganized and deployed to the passes of Xin County and Qi County, another county under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou, to defend against hostile forces from the Zhenglan Kingdom. From then on, Jingzhou became the second prefecture of the Great Xia Empire: Jingzhou Prefecture, which governed four counties.

Originally, Shangyuan City had a population of only about one million, and Zhongyuan City had over eight million, totaling less than ten million. After being unified by the Great Xia, the population increased to nearly ten million. Now, with the four million people under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou and one million under Liangzhou, the total population of the Great Xia Empire has finally exceeded ten million, reaching around fifteen million. The territory has also increased by nearly one-third.

Although Zhongyuan City is only one of the ten major cities of the Great Chi Kingdom, its territory is the largest, almost equal to the combined territory of the other two cities. Now, including the areas under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou and Liangzhou County, its total area is almost one-third of the original Great Chi Kingdom. Although it is still pitifully small compared to the other vassal states of the Long Kingdom, its strength should not be underestimated.

The Great Xia Empire's previous victory over Wu Ji's army of over 100,000 with a smaller force was not widely believed by the nobles and clans of the Long Kingdom; most thought it was a fluke. Now, however, their victory over Wu Yi's 300,000-strong army with a smaller force was witnessed by all the other kingdoms. Greatly astonished, no one dared doubt the Great Xia Empire's military strength anymore. The other five kingdoms all changed their military deployments due to the war between Great Xia and Zheng Lan. In particular, the Yin Zi Kingdom and Tai Bai Kingdom, which directly bordered Zhongyuan City, made significant troop relocations.

The Yinzi Kingdom, which had been relentlessly attacking Yinfu County, surprisingly ceased hostilities for a day, directly redeploying a 50,000-strong army near the Great Xia border from its original encampment. This voluntary retreat of fifty li was clearly a friendly gesture towards Great Xia, indirectly acknowledging the Great Xia Empire's status and avoiding conflict.

Only a small portion of Taibai Kingdom's land borders Zhongyuan City; it's a narrow, desolate mountainous region, almost entirely uninhabited, situated between Yinfu County and Chidi County, and lacking a direct connecting road. Therefore, the chances of conflict are slim. However, things change after Taibai Kingdom conquers Chidi County. A wide main road connects Chidi County and Zhongyuan City, directly linking to the capital of the Great Chi Kingdom, Zhongdu. This road is also the primary route connecting Zhongyuan City to the inland areas. Most trade is conducted through this road.

Jiang Yuheng was stationed in Zhongyuan City, overseeing the allocation and deployment of all military forces. Zhongyuan City comprised nine subordinate counties and towns, covering a vast area. Five of these bordered other marquisates, and six passes required defense. Now that Liangzhou County and Jingzhou City were incorporated into the Great Xia territory, the two passes originally leading to Liangzhou were abolished and relocated to the Liangzhou border, remaining two checkpoints: one leading to Xijing Commandery and the other to Xianghuang State. The passes of Linxiang Town and Wangxiang Town, originally bordering Jingzhou, were also abolished. However, two passes leading to the interior of Zhenglan State, located in Xin County and Qi County under Jingzhou's jurisdiction, still needed defense. Therefore, the number of passes requiring garrisoning remained six, but they had been moved further forward, increasing the distance between each pass.

Su Yangyan and Huo Chengde were not idle in Shangyuan City either. They were allocating a large amount of government resources to take over and maintain stability in Liangzhou and Jingzhou, which they had just acquired. They were quickly extending the policies of the Great Xia Empire to these two regions and further improving the government administration in these areas. Fortunately, many civilian officials had already been secretly placed in the four counties under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou more than a month ago. Now, all that was needed was to continue to increase the staffing and bring the previously underground agencies to the surface. Therefore, the administration of Jingzhou was handled very quickly, and the transition was very smooth.

The external war is intensifying. War has broken out in all of Da Chi's territories, including Yin Fu, Chi Di, Xi Jing, Dong Jing, Li Du, Jiang Ling, and Shang Jing. Only the wasteland in central Da Chi and Zhong Du remain temporarily safe. However, it won't be long before the flames of war engulf Zhong Du, until Zhong Du is destroyed.

However, all of this is no longer the concern of the Great Xia Empire. According to the resolution passed by the Council of Elders and publicly announced, the Great Xia Empire will remain neutral and not participate in this struggle unless invaded. But anyone who dares to attack will be dealt with severely. Developing and consolidating the existing economy is more practical than acquiring more land; after all, the Great Xia Empire is still too young and its foundation is weak.

After the battlefield was cleared, Huo Chengfang, who was in charge of managing the raw materials for the arsenal, led a transport team to Jingzhou City. They collected all the weapons left behind by Wu Yi's army, transported them to the arsenal for processing and repair, sorting and categorizing them, and then sold them through sales channels. This great battle had also cost the Great Xia Empire a considerable amount of silver; disposing of these spoils should still leave a surplus.

Every nation has limited weapon reserves. While supplies may be sufficient initially, over time, inventories will dwindle, making timely replenishment a crucial issue for every power. Consequently, the business of weapon and elixir shops is naturally booming; anyone with stock will undoubtedly reap substantial profits. However, this is just the beginning. Large-scale battles consume not only weapons and elixirs but also vast amounts of material resources, causing massive displacement and leaving behind widespread devastation and ruin. This will inevitably lead to soaring prices and resource scarcity.

Therefore, the next step for the Great Xia Empire was to use the money earned from selling military supplies at high prices to purchase grain and goods from various places and transport them back to the Great Xia Empire.

The Great Xia Empire currently has three sales channels. The first is the chain of hotels established by Huang An, Jia Shan, and Master Fu, which are spread throughout the Tianxuan Continent: Wushuang Hotel, Fuyuan Restaurant, and Fushan Hotel. The number has reached over a thousand, with branches in major cities across the five kingdoms. The hotels deal primarily with food, daily necessities, and various spiritual herbs and seasonings.

The second is the Ji Family Fur Trading Company, established by Ji Xianlin's descendants. This company primarily deals in magical beast products, including hides, flesh, bones, inner cores, and magical crystals, and has close ties to weaponry and military supplies. It also engages in weapon crafting and armor making. The trading company is mainly located in the Long and Dan kingdoms. After all, the Ji family is a prominent clan in the Dan kingdom. Although Ji Xianlin's wife and children have left the Ji family with their descendants, they still maintain many close relatives within the main Ji family clan.

The third point concerns the sales channels of Huo Chengde and Su Yangyan. However, in recent years, the strength of these two families has been declining due to the suppression by the Liao family, and their family connections and business channels have also decreased significantly. Although there has been some development now, it is not very prosperous.