Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 258 The war begins

War broke out

In the backyard of Fuyuan Restaurant in Jingzhou City, Ji Xianlin and Mo Yuming sat drinking tea. Sun Min was also there. These days, he had been personally leading the Falcon Guard to make arrangements in Jingzhou City, and all the major forces in Jingzhou City had planted spies.

To deceive Wu Yi, Wu Yan continued to act as the carefree city lord, spending his days wandering between restaurants and brothels, living a life of pleasure.

"I have arranged for the second group of the Crimson Shadow Guard to ambush in Xin County, which is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou. Because Xin County is located between Jingzhou City and Liangzhou, Wu Yi's army will have to pass through Xin County whether they want to come to Jingzhou City or change their route to Liangzhou."

Commander Jiang said that the third group of the Shadow Guards had also been formed and would be sent to Jingzhou after two days of training.

I plan to hide this third group at the post stations along the route to Jingzhou. There are two post stations between Xin County and Jingzhou City. I intend to seize these stations after receiving accurate news of Wu Yi's army's arrival and send the third group to disguise themselves and stay there.”

"The idea is good, but we should try to do it without leaving a trace. After all, this is an ambush on enemy territory, and the enemy has many spies. It would be easy to expose our whereabouts. We must not be too hasty."

“Okay!” Sun Min replied.

"I have a hidden dart launching device and nine hidden darts here. You might find them useful!"

Mo Yuming took off the leather sleeve holster from his arm, gave it to Sun Min, and told him how to use it.

Mo Yuming estimated that Elder Huo would not be able to replicate the hidden arrow for the time being. With the great battle imminent, Sun Min could make better use of the hidden arrow.

"This thing is good. Even a second-level Heavenly Realm expert would have a hard time dodging its shots within two zhang."

Ji Xianlin saw everything clearly when Mo Yuming used a hidden arrow to attack the old man in black.

"Most importantly, its launch is not based on spiritual power, so it is difficult for the opponent to detect it in the event of a surprise attack."

Mo Yuming said.

For a skilled assassin like Sun Min, who ambushes others from the shadows, this hidden dart is practically a tailor-made weapon.

Just as everyone was chatting and drinking tea, Jiang Yuheng brought news of the battle in Liangzhou. Just as Ji Xianlin and Mo Yuming had predicted, the Great Xia soldiers had almost no swords drawn before they marched straight in and occupied Liangzhou, and accepted the surrender of the remaining two thousand soldiers.

The National Security Bureau has now begun to take over the security of Liangzhou. Ten thousand soldiers have taken over two passes: seven thousand troops are stationed at the pass leading to Xianghuang Kingdom, and three thousand troops are stationed at the pass leading to Xijing.

News also came from the Xianghuang Kingdom that they had officially begun their campaign against Xijing, and that the Zhenglan Kingdom had sent approximately 20,000 soldiers towards Liangzhou to contain them. They were expected to reach the border in two days.

The 300,000-strong army originally dispatched by the Zhenglan Kingdom to conquer the Central Plains City had its plans changed at the last minute due to the Yu Huang Palace's handling of Wu Ji. The army was divided into two groups: one group of 50,000 was sent to Liangzhou, while the other group of 250,000 continued to conquer Da Xia. They have now reached the border of Xin County and are expected to enter Xin County by noon tomorrow.

"I didn't expect Wu Yi to act so quickly. I originally estimated that it would take another three or four days for him to make a move. It seems that he had already taken action. Sending two guest advisors was just a pretext. He didn't expect these two guest advisors to bring him any news at all."

He had already made plans when he sent the two men; these inhuman mad dogs really treat human lives like a game. "When he learned that Wu Yi's army was approaching Xin County, which was under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou, Ji Xianlin couldn't help but sigh.

"It's not just Wu Yi; the other mad dogs of the Wu family have started biting each other too. The internal strife in the Long Kingdom is about to begin again!"

Mo Yuming said:

"The first to launch the war was Marquis Yin Zi. His target was Yin Fu County of Da Chi. It is estimated that Yin Fu County of Da Chi Kingdom should have belonged to Yin Zi Kingdom in the past, but was later occupied by Da Chi."

Otherwise, the Yin Kingdom would have launched an attack before the Yu Emperor Palace had even issued the proclamation.

Secondly, the army of Marquis Taibai has already assembled on the border of Chidi County and could start a war at any time.

Yaohei and Dailu also began to gather their forces. When the seven marquises of Longguo heard that they could deal with Da Chi, they immediately went their own way, not taking the king of Longguo seriously at all, and not even thinking about how the king planned to deal with Wu Ji.

They never imagined that Wu Ji was originally a member of the royal family of the Long Kingdom, just like them, and that they were cousins, all descendants of the Wu clan.

"What kinship, blood ties? In these royal families, there is absolutely no kinship to speak of. Interests and power trump everything."

"Only ordinary people are suffering. In this war, who knows how many more families will be destroyed and how many people will be displaced."

"Since war is about to break out, we should divide the border area of ​​Zhongyuan City into several refugee resettlement areas. Anyone who wants to enter our Great Xia to escape the war, whether they are farmers or merchants, can enter as long as they do not have weapons."

However, three rules must be agreed upon: all refugees must remain within the resettlement area until the war ends, and must obey our arrangements, cultivate and reclaim land, and are not allowed to wander around or engage in fighting. Otherwise, they will be expelled and punished.

Effective immediately, the Great Xia Empire is placed on a state of war. No one who is not a citizen of the Great Xia Empire is permitted to possess weapons within its borders. Group gatherings are prohibited; violators will be treated as rebels.

All merchants must have all their goods inspected when entering or leaving the Great Xia Pass. The sale of unauthorized items is strictly prohibited.

Grand Secretary Su, Huo Sikou, and others convened a meeting of the Grand Secretaries to implement these matters.

Mo Yuming immediately used the Soul Jade to inform Jiang Yuheng and the others of his wartime strategy. He also instructed the arsenal to quickly produce dozens of catapults and deploy them to the border passes of Liangzhou and Jingzhou. Two additional Crimson Shadow Guards were to be stationed at these two passes to assist the catapults in defending the cities.

He also sent a message to Jia Shan and Fu Ye, who were operating outside the country, instructing them to purchase more standard weapons and various medical elixirs as soon as possible and transport them back to Longguo for sale when the opportunity arises.

The arsenals, in addition to ensuring the supply of weapons for their own use, also increased the production of iron-forged weapons, which were then sold to the surrounding marquisates through the Ji family's trading post. Once the seven marquisates went to war, it would be impossible to calm down anytime soon, and the consumption of weapons and elixirs would be enormous. The Great Xia Empire would then be able to profit from this national crisis.

Although the Great Xia Empire has declared independence, the ruler of the Long Kingdom has not recognized it and still places the Great Xia Empire under the Great Chi Marquisate. Therefore, the other six marquisates have not excluded the Great Xia Empire, and if possible, they would not mind swallowing the Great Xia Empire as well.

Therefore, Mo Yuming was aware of this as well. After all, the current territory of the Great Xia Empire was only one-tenth the size of the Great Chi Empire. And the Great Chi Empire was only one-seventh the size of the entire Long Kingdom.

In their eyes, the Great Xia Empire was merely a prefecture. Therefore, the Great Xia Empire certainly couldn't remain uninvolved in this battle. Fortunately, besides the Zheng Lan Kingdom, the only other country bordering the Great Xia Empire was the Yin Zi Kingdom, which shared a small border with the Great Xia Empire and a border pass. Currently, the Yin Zi Kingdom's primary concern was dealing with the Yin family.

If we include Liangzhou, which has already been occupied, it also shares a border with the Xianghuang Kingdom. Apart from that, only the Yinfu and Chidi passes remain, but these two prefectures are currently under the jurisdiction of Da Chi. Therefore, at the start of the great war, Da Xia will directly face Jingzhou from the Zhenglan Kingdom.

Although the Great Xia Empire was small, it was not weak. In the three years of Mo Yuming's rule, its overall national strength had become quite formidable. In particular, the soldiers' combat power had been greatly enhanced; after rigorous selection and training, each soldier was capable of taking on ten enemies. Moreover, the weapons used by the soldiers were of the highest quality. Coupled with Mo Yuming's continuous research and development of new weapons, their combat strength was even more formidable.

The only shortcoming was the size of the army. Although the army was constantly being expanded, apart from the soldiers stationed in various places, only about 60,000 to 70,000 were actually capable of fighting. Compared with other states that had armies of hundreds of thousands or even millions, it was pitifully small.

Therefore, after discussion, the army of the Great Xia Empire decided to defend as much as possible and not attack. However, when facing an enemy who challenges them, they will either not attack or, if they do, they will strike hard and cripple them.

After conveying his thoughts, Mo Yuming once again inquired about the recent situation in Liangzhou from Jiang Yuheng.

Jiang Yuheng informed him that the 20,000 troops of Xianghuang Kingdom had assembled on the opposite bank of the Ji River, and the 50,000 troops of Zhenglan Kingdom had arrived at the border between Xin County and Liangzhou and were setting up camp.

The soldiers guarding this location are on high alert, and the one hundred catapults from Zhongyuan City are in place and being assembled. The first group of the Red Shadow Guard's Second Shadow Guard has arrived and is also on high alert.

Fortunately, this pass is located on the banks of the Ji River, and this is the only section of the Ji River within Liangzhou where the current is relatively gentle, making it suitable for crossing. Both the armies of Zhenglan and Xianghuang Kingdoms can only enter Liangzhou via this waterway. Liangzhou also has another pass leading to Xijing, which remains relatively safe until Xianghuang Kingdom captures Xijing.

Jiang Yuheng also told Mo Yuming that what was most encouraging was the people of Liangzhou. After we entered Liangzhou, they actively cooperated with the management of Guoanshi.

Originally, their tax burden was three out of ten, and with other exorbitant taxes and levies, it basically exceeded fifty percent. When we announced the policy of a one-twentieth tax, all the people and merchants were overjoyed, singing and dancing, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" Many commoners' sons even enthusiastically enlisted in the army.

Su Ce had already set up a temporary recruitment office in Liangzhou City to send the recruited soldiers to the Black Dragon Village Fortress for military training.

With the autumn harvest season fast approaching, the local people, knowing that most of the grain would belong to them, became even more concerned about the safety of Liangzhou. People near the border took the initiative to come to the pass in their spare time to help build fortifications.

Because Wu Qing took away the vast majority of the fine horses, the herdsmen and horse traders in Liangzhou had almost no horses to feed that year, and they sold most of their surplus grain to the army at extremely low prices. The troops stationed at the Liangzhou passes would not need to transport grain from the interior for at least six months, thus relieving the Liangzhou garrison of their logistical worries.

As for the battle in Jingzhou, it will begin tomorrow. After a brief rest at the border of Xin County, Wu Yi's army, which is attacking the Central Plains, will enter Xin County tomorrow and head towards Jingzhou City.

The Falcon Guards can now move out, and the third group of the Armored Shadow Guards can begin occupying and guarding the post stations.

After finishing the spiritual tea in her cup, Sun Min immediately disappeared from the courtyard.

At Fuyuan Restaurant, Master Da is still recovering from his injuries and is basically unable to participate in the battle. As for Master Long and Master Hu, they only have some superficial injuries, which can be treated with a little care and will not affect their combat ability.

Mo Yuming ordered the two men to follow Sun Min to Xin County, where a hundred armored shadow guards and a dozen or so falcon guards were lurking in a farm on the border of Xin County and Jingzhou.

This team of warriors was the vanguard in the battle against Wu Yi. Previously, Lord Long and Lord Hu were primarily responsible for guarding against the Heavenly Rank experts in Wu Yi's army. Their role was to ensure the safety of the Armored Shadow Guards during their retreat.

The distance from the border of Xin County to Jingzhou City is only a little over a hundred li. Although the Crimson Shadow Guards all travel on Crimson Cloud Horses, after completing their ambush missions, they have little defensive weaponry left besides their swords. Their biggest fear during the retreat is pursuit by enemy Heavenly Rank experts. After all, Heavenly Rank experts can fly, especially those of the Metal element, whose speed is incredibly fast; the Crimson Cloud Horses might not be able to outrun them. If they are caught, the Crimson Shadow Guards will suffer heavy casualties.

What Lord Dragon and Lord Tiger want to intimidate are these Heavenly Rank individuals.

On the border of Xin County in Anning, the post road is flanked by rocky mountains covered with shrubs. The mountains are not high, but there are many scattered rocks, which are vaguely embedded in the shrubs.

There is a small mountain village with a dozen or so households. They make a living by picking a kind of medicinal herb called "thorn flower" from the bushes. The thorn flower mainly grows in these rocky bushes and can be picked all year round.

Thorn flower is a commonly used herb by alchemists, mainly playing a supporting role in enhancing and stabilizing the efficacy of elixirs. Therefore, it is used in relatively large quantities.

The people living here were originally herb farmers. Later, seeing the abundant growth of wild raspberries, they migrated here and settled down, eventually forming a village. The village is not far from the official road, only a hundred feet away.

A few days ago, the head of this area from the Jingzhou Urban Management Bureau brought a stranger here, saying he wanted to rent several pharmacies. Harvesting wild thorn flowers requires drying and baking, so each villager has built several pharmacies to store wild thorn flowers. It's not the flowering season yet, so most of the pharmacies are empty.

A commander of a thousand households was a rare opportunity for these medicinal herb farmers to meet a high-ranking official, especially since it was a rental position; the farmers were certainly happy to agree. After the stranger paid the rent, he left with the commander of the thousand households.

The night before last, at some point, over a hundred tall, fine horses moved into the rented pharmacies. They were all chestnut horses, each equipped with exquisite saddles and bridles. They were clearly not ordinary horses.

But the villagers did not see anyone riding the horses; the hundreds of horses were being looked after by only three warriors dressed in black.

The samurai were masked, so the villagers couldn't see their faces. The villagers couldn't help but worry. Fortunately, a local headman who was traveling with them explained to the villagers that these were noble Crimson Cloud Horses, the mounts of distinguished guests invited by the lord of Jingzhou City, who would be hunting in the area for the next few days.

To avoid disturbing the prey, the Crimson Cloud Horse had to be hidden away. The herbalists were also instructed not to leave their homes for the next few days, as the prey consisted of a large herd of man-eating magical beasts, which might harm innocent bystanders.

To compensate the herb farmers for their losses, the distinguished guests gave them a sum of money. After the village head distributed several hundred copper shells to each person, the herb farmers happily went home to hide. This was a considerable sum of money, enough to cover several months' worth of their earnings.