Chapter 243: Taking the Initiative

Anyang was in an uproar. Upon hearing that the other regional governments had united, even aligning with the Jin Kingdom to attack Anyang, the people of Anyang were furious. The merchants, in particular, were more active than anyone else. Before Li Xian could even speak, they had already taken the initiative to organize the guards of their trade caravans. Through combined efforts, they managed to assemble an army of 200,000!

Zhang Xianzhang, the owner of the Pengcheng Wanli Civilian Technology Group and the son of Zhang Yunhai, the former head of Pengcheng Wanli Trading Company, was elected by the merchants as their representative to meet Li Xian.

Looking at Li Xian, who seemed even younger than himself, Zhang Xianzhang was extremely respectful, even somewhat admiring. He said, “Your Highness, although our 200,000 troops have been gathered from various sources, we are united as one. We may not compare to the enemy’s elite forces, but we are certainly stronger than their ragtag militias.

Please allow us to fight on the front lines and help repel the enemy!”

Li Xian glanced at Zhang Xianzhang, then at the dozen or so passionate merchants behind him, and smiled in satisfaction. “I appreciate your willingness to contribute. However, war is the duty of soldiers.

That said, since you are eager to support Anyang, I won’t refuse. You can take charge of logistics, wounded soldier care, and material transportation.

Rest assured, this attack was fully anticipated. There won’t be any problems.”

Hearing this, the merchants finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had been worried—if Anyang were to fall, where would they go? There was likely no other place in the world as suitable for business development as Anyang.

After the merchants left, Li Xian looked at the intelligence reports in his hands:
Dongyuan Prefecture claimed to have mobilized 200,000 troops, but in reality, they had just over 110,000. The rest were civilian laborers. However, after entering Lüliang Prefecture, their soldiers started dragging their feet, unwilling to march northward. It seemed that Dongyuan Prefecture’s real goal wasn’t to attack Anyang but to completely occupy Lüliang Prefecture.

Guangling Prefecture vowed not to betray its allies but only sent 10,000 troops and temporarily allied with Songzhou Prefecture, claiming a combined force of 150,000. While the two forces mobilized quickly, once they reached Anyang’s borders, they stopped moving forward.

Nanyang Prefecture was the most aggressive, claiming to have deployed 300,000 troops.

Meanwhile, the Northern First Prince’s faction also claimed to have sent 300,000 troops, preparing to attack Kaiping Prefecture from the north.

As for the Second Prince, Xia Shu, he had already vanished from the political stage. Although Xia Shu had declared himself emperor in Wuyang City, no one cared. Wuyang City had become desolate, home only to beggars and the poor. In other words, in this struggle for territorial control, Xia Shu was the first to be eliminated.

Li Xian’s fingers slowly traced the map:

According to plan, his father had already ascended the throne at noon today, adopting the title “Emperor Wu”—which sounded like “Invincible.” In any case, there was no need to worry about the Northern Frst Prince’s attack on Anyang.

Dongyuan Prefecture, led by the Yuan family, was primarily focused on occupying Lüliang Prefecture. Guangling Prefecture would likely remain passive unless Anyang showed signs of defeat. There was also the possibility that Dongyuan Prefecture was using deception, so cautious defense was necessary.

If needed, they could deploy new aircraft to bomb Dongyuan Prefecture’s capital, Quwo, to keep them off balance. The situation had changed!

The Wang family and Gao Bin, along with Guangling Prefecture and Songzhou Prefecture, were cooperating yet restraining each other. Currently, they were at a standstill, hoping to profit from the chaos.

The biggest threat was Nanyang Prefecture. They had been planning for a long time, preserving their strength, and had even gained from several past wars instead of suffering losses. They were the most formidable enemy.

“Attack Songzhou Prefecture first!” Xu Ren interrupted Li Xian’s thoughts.

“Why?” Li Xian asked in confusion. “Shouldn’t we attack the Kong family’s army in Nanyang County first? As long as we drive back the Kong family’s army, the remaining problems will be easily solved.”

Xu Ren confidently explained: “Starting with the difficult before the easy is indeed the correct way to do things, but ‘correct’ doesn’t always mean ‘suitable.’ Take this situation, for example—what if the Kong family’s army is particularly strong and ends up stalling us? What if Jin State suddenly intervenes and sends troops?

If we get bogged down, others will see an opportunity to strike. At that point, not only will Gao Bin from Songzhou County take action, but even the Yuan family from Dongyuan County might seize the chance to send troops and plunder Anyang.

Therefore, before the real battle begins, we need to clear the field.

We must first drive back the Songzhou County forces—and we must do it swiftly and decisively—to eliminate any threats from behind. Only then can we focus on dealing with the Kong family in Nanyang County with peace of mind.

Besides, I know Gao Bin too well. If he sees us suddenly attacking, he will definitely flee in panic. He will wait until we have fought the Kong family to exhaustion before choosing an easier target to strike.”

Li Xian thought for a moment. He still didn’t fully understand, but he grasped part of the logic. “So, if Gao Bin and the Songzhou County forces suddenly retreat, we will seize the opportunity to attack the flanks of Nanyang County?”

“Exactly!” Xu Ren nodded firmly.

“Then it’s decided.”

Xu Ren added, “Our ultimate goal, however, is in the east—Lüliang County and Dongyuan County.”

With the strategy set, the execution was left to the generals. Beichen Yuqing, Yan Zhengqing, Wang Jian, and Cheng Jiming were all present. The only one temporarily absent was the naval commander, Chang Lin. But Chang Lin was not idle—he had already set sail southward with two newly built ironclad warships and three older ones, exerting pressure on Dongyuan County from the coast.

If necessary—if Jin State actually sent troops—Chang Lin would even attempt to bombard Jin State’s coastal regions. Under the cover of the ironclad warships, they would land on Jin State’s shores and establish a fortress. That was the current plan.

From the vast ocean to the boundless sky, Anyang’s influence had quietly spread.

When the armies of various factions were preparing to besiege Anyang, Anyang was busy distributing “Foundation-Building Liquid.” Every tested and proven soldier received a portion of the elixir, along with other mass-produced medicinal liquids. Those with military achievements could exchange their merits for more elixirs and other rewards.

Some shrewd soldiers chose to save their military merits, hoping to trade them for better items in the future. Anyang was developing rapidly, and industrial goods were becoming cheaper—the longer they waited, the more they could get for the same amount of merit.

However, there were others with a different kind of foresight—”What’s the point of hoarding military merits? Exchange them now for Foundation-Building Liquid, Dan Liquids, and Liquid Spiritual Qi to enhance cultivation! Only by improving cultivation can we avoid death and earn even more merits!”

Some soldiers suddenly realized the truth—”That’s right! Hoarding merits is useless!” But by the time they reacted, it was already too late.

With a single command from Beichen Yuqing, Anyang’s 100,000 elite troops and more than 300,000 reservists all mobilized.

Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing, the two supreme commanders, decided to take a bold approach—exploiting the enemy’s lack of awareness and the element of surprise. They concentrated their superior forces and launched a lightning-fast assault on Gao Bin’s army in Songzhou County.

Songzhou County had 200,000 troops stationed at the border between Anyang and Songzhou, standing firm and refusing to advance. No matter how much the Kong family urged them or how many letters the First Prince sent to pressure them, they remained motionless.

But while they refused to act, Anyang made the first move.

With a roar of the trains, in just half a day, 30,000 elite troops were transported to the border between Anyang and Songzhou County.

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