Kays Translations

Chapter 147: Crisis

The Great Xia Empire was in turmoil. Fu Minghui, who had just become the Grand Chancellor, began to busy himself with forming more Imperial Guards. However, at this moment, very few people were willing to join the military! The people were quite clever, seeing that the Great Xia Empire was on the verge of internal strife. Joining the army now was like voluntarily seeking death.

Therefore, Fu Minghui was deeply troubled. Looking at the less than ten thousand Imperial Guards in front of him, who were of mixed quality, Fu Minghui could only sigh, and sigh again.

Helpless, Fu Minghui, in his capacity as the Grand Chancellor, sought out Shangguan Guang. Shangguan Guang was the Great General, and in theory, he was supposed to follow the Grand Chancellor’s orders. Unfortunately, Shangguan Guang directly shut his door to visitors—he would not see him! Furious, Fu Minghui wanted nothing more than to chop this bastard down with a sword. But alas, there were too many bastards like him in the Great Xia Empire now! Whoever held the soldiers in their hands held the power.

It was only at this moment that Fu Minghui truly understood: being an official was not easy! Becoming a political “evergreen tree” was even more difficult, something not everyone could handle!

As for the south, Nanyang County and the Kong family? The Kong family had agreed to send troops, and indeed, they did, but the Kong family’s troops did not directly attack the army of Zhongshan County. Instead, they slowly pressured from behind, advancing a little each day, dragging their feet. Yet, their momentum was imposing! This kind of pressure made Shi Chengsong, the Inspector of Zhongshan County, anxious. It also forced Zhongshan County to continuously strengthen its battles with Anyang, striving to open up a path to Anyang and make contact with the state of Cai.

To be frank, the Kong family was essentially “driving” the soldiers of Zhongshan County to attack Anyang, with malicious intent.

And reality, as the Kong family had “designed,” unfolded just as they had planned. Although Anyang relied heavily on a large number of charms, along with artillery and machine guns, they could temporarily block the attacks from Zhongshan County, they were on the brink of collapse. Two hundred thousand soldiers, two hundred thousand soldiers fighting desperately, were not something to be taken lightly. Right now, Anyang was like a small boat in a storm, ready to capsize at any moment.

As for Li Liang, Li Liang, like Fu Minghui, had lost control over most of the military authority in Pingping County. At this critical moment, many seemingly obedient generals had surprisingly feigned deafness and muteness.

This situation made things even worse for Anyang.

Fortunately, Anyang was the first to resolve the issue in Luliang County, at least solving half of the crisis. But the current situation was still not great, and Anyang remained in great danger! They could not afford any further delay!

With no other options, Xu Ren had no choice but to think of the Inspector of Luliang County, Zhao Guoshan, and the Brigadier General Zhao Youdan; to be precise, it was Brigadier General Zhao Youdan!

Zhao Youdan, whose true essence had been sealed, was brought before Xu Ren, Xia Qingqing, and Yan Ze’an.

At this moment, Zhao Youdan’s face was haggard. Anyone facing such a situation could not help but look worn out, not to mention the fact that he had nearly been blown to pieces by artillery fire earlier.

Xu Ren was the first to ask, “Zhao Youdan, you and your father can be spared death, but not punishment. Do you understand?”

Zhao Youdan snorted coldly, remaining silent.

Xu Ren waved his feather fan, “There is now an opportunity for you to redeem yourself. This chance can not only clear the charges against you and your father, but could even restore your wealth and status, and perhaps earn the emperor’s favor. What do you think?”

Zhao Youdan was no fool. His eyes narrowed, “You want me to be a puppet?”

Xu Ren smiled slightly and clapped his hands. The door slowly opened, and a group of young women entered. They were Zhao Youdan’s wives and concubines, over a dozen of them.

“Master…” “Sir…” “Husband…”

The chorus of delicate voices surrounded Zhao Youdan.

Zhao Youdan inquired one by one and received reassuring news. Anyang had protected the wives and concubines of high-ranking officials like Zhao Guoshan and Zhao Youdan, and they had not suffered. This situation made Zhao Youdan feel a bit more favorable toward Anyang.

Xu Ren smiled confidently, “Zhao Youdan, have you made up your mind?”

Zhao Youdan took a deep breath, “Speak, what must be done?”

“Dealing with smart people is easy. Two conditions: swear an oath and integrate the forces of Luliang County to attack Zhongshan County! You have three days!”

“Agreed, but I need to take Li Yuanming with me. Li Yuanming knows Luliang County like the back of his hand, and only he can quickly integrate Luliang County’s forces.”

Xu Ren’s eyes narrowed, “So you’re saying, as long as I get Li Yuanming to serve Anyang, you and your father will be of no use?”

Zhao Youdan was momentarily stunned, then let out a cold snort but remained silent.

Xu Ren immediately ordered Cheng Jiming to send Zhao Youdan back to Luliang County’s capital, Nanliang Prefecture, via an aircraft. He also instructed the commanders stationed at Nanliang Prefecture, Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing, to lead their troops and attack Zhongshan County from the side, making sure to disrupt Zhongshan County’s deployment. At the very least, they needed to cause confusion in Zhongshan County’s division of forces and logistics.

After Zhao Youdan left, Xu Ren immediately set off for the front lines himself, leaving Xia Qingqing and Yan Ze’an to handle matters in the rear. The responsibility for logistics and governance fell to them, while the front-line battles were Xu Ren’s domain.

Currently stationed at the front lines in Anyang were two generals: Cheng Jiming and Wang Jian. The only troops defending the borders of Anyang were a small force. After all, the Emperor of the Cai Kingdom had sworn an oath, and there were guarantees in place, but the key was not allowing the Zhongshan County forces to break through Anyang’s defenses.

Standing on a flying magical artifact, Xu Ren gazed toward the battlefield. The 200,000-strong army of Zhongshan County was no joke. Perhaps these soldiers had not seen battle before, but the sheer pressure of 200,000 men still weighed heavily on Anyang—after all, the entire population of Anyang was just under 400,000.

The reason Anyang had been able to withstand the pressure so far was largely due to the psychological impact of the artillery. The soldiers of Zhongshan County had not experienced the brutality of war, so they were somewhat timid. However, after more than two days of fighting, the soldiers of Zhongshan County were quickly maturing. Let’s not forget, every soldier here had cultivation, and many were in the Foundation Establishment stage!

Xu Ren took a deep breath. If things didn’t change soon, in no more than three days, Anyang would fall! The 200,000-strong army was terrifying, and Anyang really couldn’t hold out much longer!

Zhongshan County also had its own gunpowder and fire guns—technology sent by the Cai Kingdom. They even had “primitive cannons,” the kind that fired solid projectiles. The artillery technology in Zhongshan County was rapidly maturing and was gradually becoming a threat to Anyang!

Cannonfire continued to rumble. For now, the Anyang soldiers, who had the advantage in artillery, desperately fired—during the day and through the night. This was the only thing keeping the pressure at bay. However, the Anyang soldiers had been without rest for more than two days and were beginning to feel exhaustion.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the distance, followed by an urgent distress signal. Xu Ren’s heart sank. This wasn’t the first time. Shi Chengsong, the Prefect of Zhongshan County, wasn’t an idiot; he certainly wouldn’t “honorably” send soldiers to their deaths.

Shi Chengsong had organized several assault teams, all composed of Foundation Establishment experts, who, under the protection of talismans and magic, used a large number of magical devices to launch their attack.

Among these magical devices were many one-time-use self-destructing devices! While the power of self-destructing devices might be weak, their speed slow, their range limited, and their cost high—even damaging the senses of the Foundation Establishment experts who used them—this was still a useful tactic!

A batch of low-quality self-destructing magical devices flew toward Anyang’s defenses. The Anyang defenders immediately released a large number of talismans, and a “dragon” of ice appeared, surrounding and sealing these low-quality devices.

But the next moment, the low-quality magical devices exploded. The resulting blasts tore open the ice dragon from within, and a wave of freezing cold spread outward, affecting the Anyang defenders. Meanwhile, elite troops from Zhongshan County seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

The rapid-fire machine guns and crossbows began to show their effectiveness, injuring many of Zhongshan County’s Foundation Establishment experts. However, these experts stubbornly pressed forward, relying on their talismans, magic, and true essence to continue the assault.

In the sky, a war machine arrived just in time. The temporarily installed 47mm rapid-fire cannon managed to repel the enemy’s assault, inflicting heavy casualties on Zhongshan County’s forces. Half of their Foundation Establishment experts were lost in the process. However, the assault still cost Anyang dearly, with over a hundred casualties.

Such raids were happening almost constantly, sometimes multiple teams of Foundation Establishment experts attacking at once. Over the past two days, Anyang had suffered over two thousand casualties, while Zhongshan County had lost more than three hundred of their own Foundation Establishment experts.

Shi Chengsong, the Prefect of Zhongshan County, had clearly lost his sanity. Xu Ren understood this all too well. After two days of intense fighting, Shi Chengsong, even if he were slow-witted, should have realized that Luliang County was finished, and his strategist, Gu Songfeng, was dead. With no way out, Shi Chengsong had only one course of action: to go even more insane and drag Zhongshan County down with him. Perhaps he even intended to bring the Great Xia Kingdom to its ruin as well.

Furthermore, Zhongshan County had another influential figure from the Cai Kingdom—Ye Mingquan, the Minister of the Honglü Temple. With him pushing for action behind the scenes, the danger facing Anyang was even clearer.

Originally, Anyang had hoped for sufficient support from Kaiping County in the north, where Li Liang had been expected to provide reinforcements. However, many of the defending troops in Kaiping County had ignored orders, shirking their responsibilities at critical moments. They had been carefree during peacetime, but when the crisis came, they had abandoned their posts!

Li Liang had only been in charge of Kaiping County for just over six months, and at this point, he could only control a few dozen miles around the county seat. The troops he sent, only around 20,000, were mostly green recruits.

At this moment, even Xu Ren found himself at a loss. The disparity was too great, and it was hard to find any means of remedying the situation. Anyang was facing a catastrophe, a great calamity!

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