Kays Translations

Chapter 257: Jin Kingdom Sends Out Troops, Part 1

The army led by Yan Zhengqing was currently engaged in battle with the allied forces of Dongyuan County and Nanyang County, separated by the Xiandai River. Due to the Heaven-Sealing and Earth-Locking Grand Formation, the allied forces of Dongyuan and Nanyang Counties were temporarily unable to cross the river quickly. Moreover, Nangong Zhi’s intentions were clear—he was there only to protect Dongyuan County, nothing more. As for Luliang County—hmph, if Nanyang County couldn’t obtain it, then neither could Dongyuan County!

Although there was a rift between Nangong Zhi and Kong Donglai, for the time being, Nangong Zhi had no ill intentions. He was merely considering matters from Nanyang County’s perspective. At present, Nanyang County had suffered heavy losses, its plans had failed, and its military strength had dropped to a historic low. The soldiers had lost their will to fight, and the generals lacked morale.

Since Dongyuan and Nanyang Counties shared a border, if Dongyuan County annexed Luliang County, it would inevitably grow stronger in the future and could even pose a threat to Nanyang County. Therefore, under no circumstances could Dongyuan County be allowed to obtain Luliang County.

Using the Xiandai River as a boundary and ruling the region by dividing the river—leaving the north to Anyang and the south to Dongyuan County—while ensuring the security of Dongyuan County, was the strategic plan of Nangong Zhi and Nanyang County.

In the north, Beichen Yuqing and Wang Jian led a mighty force of seventy thousand troops marching southward. The first wave of attacks, however, came from aircraft.

The aircraft flew at an altitude of 3,000 to 5,000 meters—a height that Golden Core cultivators could not easily reach. As a result, the aircraft could effortlessly attack the enemy from above.

Seeing Anyang’s aircraft arriving from the north, Nangong Zhi immediately reached a conclusion— the north had already fallen. The 100,000-strong army of Dongyuan County, along with its governor Yuan Zhong, had either perished or been captured.

When Nangong Zhi mentioned this to General Yuan Jinjiang of the Yuan family, Yuan Jinjiang could only sigh deeply. Who could have expected things to reach this point? Four armies had attacked Anyang from all directions, yet Anyang had seemingly won with ease.

“It’s all the fault of Songzhou County! They retreated without even resisting!” Yuan Jinjiang said resentfully.

Nangong Zhi rolled his eyes. You Yuan family aren’t any better—while we were locked in a life-or-death battle, you tried to claim Luliang County for yourselves. Now look at you—trying to steal the chicken but losing the rice instead. Your entire army of 100,000 was wiped out, and even Governor Yuan Zhong was lost. Hmph! If it weren’t for the need to keep Anyang in check, I’d wipe out Dongyuan County right now!

Truthfully, Nangong Zhi was 70% confident that he could turn around and destroy Dongyuan County to expand Nanyang County’s territory. However, he dared not act rashly. If he pushed Dongyuan County too hard, they might surrender to Anyang or even defect to the Jin Kingdom. A war between them could also create an opening for Anyang to exploit.

After some thought, Nangong Zhi said, “General Yuan Jinjiang, there’s no point in discussing this now. Anyang is about to launch an offensive, and we will have to switch to defense. We absolutely cannot allow Anyang to cross the Xiandai River, or else… I don’t need to tell you the consequences.”

Yuan Jinjiang’s expression was a mix of embarrassment and seriousness. He nodded and left to organize the troops for river defense. No matter what, Anyang could not be allowed to cross the Xiandai River. South of the river, there were almost no natural defenses—only a few small hills at the border of Luliang and Dongyuan Counties. Unlike Anyang, Dongyuan County was neither wealthy nor extravagant enough to use spirit stones to set up defensive formations.

Tension spread through the allied forces of Dongyuan and Nanyang Counties.

Meanwhile, north of the Xiandai River, as Nangong Zhi and Yuan Jinjiang transitioned from offense to defense, Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing finally met. Their discussion would surely leave Nangong Zhi and Yuan Jinjiang stunned.

“I believe we should stop at an appropriate point and not continue the offensive. Otherwise, if we push Dongyuan County too far, they might defect to the Jin Kingdom, which would be a problem,” Beichen Yuqing suggested.

Yan Zhengqing chuckled, “Of course, knowing when to stop is necessary, but it’s not time yet. We still need to negotiate, and Dongyuan County must offer compensation. Launching an unprovoked war and causing us losses—how could we let them off without paying?”

Beichen Yuqing nodded slightly. “Indeed. Although Dongyuan County did not directly attack us, they did issue a declaration. For now, we should maintain a division along the river and wait for news from Anyang.”

Yan Zhengqing smirked with a hint of mischief. “That’s the plan. But in the meantime, let’s give our soldiers some fun—keep the artillery fire going. Fire a few rounds every now and then to maintain pressure and keep them on edge.

Even if we don’t intend to cross the river, we can’t let the enemy relax. We must prevent them from figuring out our true intentions. At the very least, we need to keep them in a defensive stance, too afraid to attack us.”

“That makes sense,” Beichen Yuqing agreed. Their simple strategy immediately threw the allied forces on the southern bank into turmoil. Starting from nightfall, the artillery fire never ceased. There was no pattern to the attacks—one shell would land in the east, another in the west—causing significant casualties and spreading fear among the Kong-Yuan coalition forces. Soldiers were too afraid to sleep, worried that a cannonball might suddenly fall on their heads.

At the same time, further north in Anyang City, the streets were brightly lit as countless citizens followed the progress of the war. Anyang had truly become a city that never slept, though night travel was still prohibited near the City Lord’s residence.

Inside the City Lord’s residence, Li Xian was discussing how to handle the “victory” at the front lines with Xu Ren, Li Yuanming, Yan Ze’an, and others.

At the entrance of the council hall, a lone chair sat occupied by Yuan Zhong, whose cultivation had been sealed. His eyes burned with fury as he listened to Li Xian and his ministers openly discussing how to deal with Dongyuan and Luliang Counties. This was a humiliation, a disgrace! But for the sake of Dongyuan County and the Yuan family, Yuan Zhong had no choice but to listen carefully.

The handling of Luliang County was straightforward and ruthless—it would be directly annexed into Anyang, erasing its administrative status entirely, just as Anyang had done with Zhongshan County before.

As for Dongyuan County, there would be no further attacks. The division along the river was meant to prevent Dongyuan from being pushed into a desperate last stand or seeking refuge with the Jin Kingdom. However, Anyang would impose war reparations, requiring Dongyuan County to compensate one-quarter of Anyang’s war expenses.

Anyang had spent a great deal on this war, and by slightly exaggerating the costs, the figure became astronomical. Not to mention, the use of spirit stones for formations alone was no small expense. Thus, Dongyuan County was required to pay 3 million taels of gold as compensation.

But the “benevolent” Young Lord Li took Dongyuan County’s financial situation into consideration and graciously allowed a 20-year installment plan—with interest, of course. A 10% compound interest rate, to be precise.

Three million taels of gold!

Hearing this figure, Yuan Zhong nearly leaped up to bite Li Xian. Paying it off over 20 years meant an annual payment of 150,000 taels of gold!

There are also prisoners. Since both sides are in a state of war, prisoners will be judged but not released; however, they can be ransomed or exchanged. To ransom a prisoner naturally requires a hefty price: for those at the third level of the Qi Refining stage, it costs three taels of gold per person; for the fourth level, four taels of gold, and so on. If the prisoner is at the Foundation Establishment stage, the price is measured in “hundreds of taels of gold.”

However, there is a prerequisite for ransoming prisoners: the compensation must be fully paid first.

Yuan Zhong, listening at the “door,” was boiling with rage, feeling that Anyang and Li Xian were simply too excessive. At this moment, Yuan Zhong had selectively forgotten how he had publicly declared his intention to attack Anyang.

After concluding discussions about Dongyuan County, Li Xian and his group continued their deliberations on Songzhou County and Nanyang County. Regarding Songzhou County, they decided not to pursue harsh measures but instead sought to win them over, as their decision to flee without a fight had already brought significant benefits to Anyang. Furthermore, drawing Songzhou County to their side would effectively disrupt Nanyang County’s strategic alliances. As for the distant Guangling County, that would depend on future developments.

By the end of the discussion, the conversation shifted to Li Yulong’s ascension to the throne and the First Prince’s withdrawal of troops. All this information left Yuan Zhong utterly stunned—he hadn’t expected such drastic changes. Unfortunately, he had learned about it too late!

When Li Xian and the others finally finished their discussions, Yuan Zhong, his voice trembling slightly, spoke up, “Li Xian, you had me listen to everything from start to finish—what exactly do you want?”

Li Xian smiled slightly. “Oh, it’s quite simple, actually. I just wanted to tell you, Uncle, that it’s time to make a decision. If you wait too long, you might regret it!”

“What decision!”

“Why ask when you already know?” Li Xian smiled “warmly.” “Someone, take Lord Yuan down to rest.”

Yuan Zhong quietly looked at Li Xian for a moment, then suddenly said, “It’s not impossible for me to make a choice, but let’s see if you can survive this crisis first.”

Li Xian confidently nodded. “I truly appreciate Uncle’s reminder. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time.”

Yuan Zhong was stunned—this time, truly stunned, not just pretending. Li Xian’s words were too abrupt. Yuan Zhong really wanted to say: I was just speaking casually, just putting up a strong front to avoid admitting defeat. But from the way Li Xian spoke, it seemed like something else was indeed happening.

Seeing Yuan Zhong’s wide-eyed stare, Li Xian offered no explanation. Instead, he felt a sense of satisfaction. Only after Yuan Zhong left did Li Xian sit down again. This time, his expression turned serious as he looked at Xu Ren, Li Yuanming, and Yan Ze’an. “How likely do you think it is that the Jin Kingdom will send troops?”

Xu Ren was the first to respond: “Ninety percent! Even if Nanyang County and the others don’t actively invite them, Jin will still send troops. Last time, we refused Jin’s offer for cooperation—they won’t let us go. To be precise, they won’t give up on seizing our industrial technology.”

Li Yuanming also spoke up: “Jin Kingdom has great ambitions. During the battle in the imperial capital, they even sent their central army commander, Li Liusong, to observe. That alone exposed their ambitions. Later, they sent both their Prime Minister and central army commander to ‘visit’ us. Officially, it was a friendly visit, but in reality, it was a veiled threat.

Now, Jin Kingdom will not let this opportunity slip by. It’s very possible their army is already on the move.”

Yan Ze’an spoke slowly, but his topic was different: “The price of ironware and grain in Jin Kingdom has risen slightly and has remained elevated for quite some time. Additionally, many craftsmen and skilled workers are being conscripted.”

Li Xian nodded slightly, lost in thought. After a dozen breaths, he suddenly looked up. “Send orders to Admiral Chang Lin—have five ironclad warships return to port for resupply. Also, deploy the latest four-engine aircraft, placing 20 units on the ironclad ships.

On land, even if we manage to hold off Jin Kingdom’s attack, we might suffer heavy losses. Therefore, we will launch an offensive from the sea—seizing territory along the coast. On land, we will trade space for time, minimizing casualties while dragging out Jin’s military campaign.”

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