Kays Translations

Chapter 252: The Army Points to the East

Kong Donglai’s scheming was indeed very deep. Once Anyang and Jin State clashed, Anyang would undoubtedly suffer, but Jin State would also face heavy losses. This would leave Jin State incapable of attacking Nanyang County, granting Nanyang County a period of peace to develop northward, seize cities, and expand its territory.

By the time Jin State recovered, Nanyang County might have already established itself as an independent nation.

At present, Anyang was so powerful that it could deal a severe blow to Jin State. However, since Jin State was a major power, it would not easily concede defeat. Thus, the two sides would inevitably engage in a relentless struggle—at least, that was Kong Donglai’s belief.

This was Kong Donglai’s way of thinking—the mindset of a politician. Therefore, he completely disregarded Nangong Zhi’s strategy and instead decided to take no action, allowing Nanyang County’s army to suffer a complete defeat.

Of course, to prevent Anyang from advancing unchecked, Kong Donglai outwardly agreed to Nangong Zhi’s strategy and allowed him to lead troops in defense. However, in secret, Kong Donglai had already prepared for a “deliberate retreat,” even at the cost of losing some of Nanyang County’s land.

Yet, Kong Donglai seemed to have overthought things—Anyang did not fall into his trap. It did not continue its assault on Nanyang County.

After Yan Zhengqing and Wang Jian joined forces, they merely took custody of the seventy to eighty thousand defeated soldiers from Nanyang County as prisoners. Then, Anyang did something quite “interesting”—it forced these prisoners to swear an oath to help guard Anyang’s borders. Those who refused were simply “killed in battle.”

After all, Anyang had already slain over a hundred thousand Nanyang County soldiers in this war. Out of the 300,000-strong Nanyang army—comprising around 150,000 soldiers and 150,000 laborers—only about 50,000 managed to escape. The rest were either killed or captured, and no one knew the exact number of dead versus captured. Killing a few more would be easy to cover up.

Under the threat of death, these Nanyang prisoners began swearing loyalty, agreeing to guard Anyang’s borders for one year. In return, Anyang promised to release them after this period—this was the deal. Of course, if circumstances were favorable, they would be released earlier.

Thus, while Kong Donglai was still “hoping” for Anyang’s army to press on so he could seek aid from Jin State, Anyang’s forces instead left behind around 70,000 prisoners, 10,000 elite troops, and 100,000 laborers to guard the border. Meanwhile, another 70,000 main troops briefly circled the Nanyang County border before launching a surprise assault eastward!

Eastward, towards their target: Dongyuan County! Their ultimate goal: Luliang County!

It turned out that Anyang’s strategic plan was also very clear. Given its limited strength, expanding inland would be difficult and would provoke widespread hostility. Conveniently, to the east of Anyang lay Luliang County and to the south lay Dongyuan County. These two counties were isolated and happened to be near the coast—practically a feast laid before Anyang!

Thus, Anyang’s true military strategy was to first annex Luliang County and then seize an opportunity to take Dongyuan County. The isolated and defenseless Dongyuan and Luliang counties were simply too tempting.

So, Yan Zhengqing and Wang Jian led 70,000 elite troops in a forced march eastward, while Yang Yishan remained behind to guard the frontier.

Meanwhile, aircraft transported supplies back to Anyang City for refueling and replenishment, bringing back large quantities of bullets, talismans, and medicinal elixirs for the troops.

As for Kong Donglai, he waited for a day, but Anyang’s army did not come. He thought: “Oh, Anyang must be resting. They must be exhausted from continuous battles. But hurry up and come! Even if you send just 10,000 ragtag soldiers, I will ‘retreat’ immediately.”

Yet, after waiting two days, Anyang’s army still did not appear. Kong Donglai thought: “They must be resupplying. Their ammunition must have run out. I’ll wait a little longer.”

But after three days, there was still no sign of Anyang’s forces. Finally, Kong Donglai could no longer deceive himself—something was wrong!

Even without much military insight, he understood the concept of “military strategy.” If Anyang had not launched a follow-up attack within two days, it was illogical. Would they really wait for their enemies to recover before attacking again? That made no sense!

At this point, Kong Donglai thought of Supreme Commander Nangong Zhi once more. Being a man of some stature, he did not send someone to summon Nangong Zhi but instead went to consult him in person.

Upon seeing Kong Donglai, Nangong Zhi spoke before he could even ask: “Anyang has not attacked us yet. There’s only one possibility—they have abandoned us and are attacking the east.”

Kong Donglai was no fool; he had simply not considered this scenario. Upon Nangong Zhi’s reminder, he immediately understood the full implications! Anyang had attacked Songzhou County first and then utterly defeated Nanyang County, but its true objective had always been the east.

Realizing this, Kong Donglai immediately declared: “We cannot let Anyang annex the eastern territories. If the Li family takes control of four counties, they will become unstoppable, and we will have no hope left.”

Nangong Zhi sighed deeply. “I fear it is already too late. I suspect that Luliang County has already fallen to Anyang. Our only option now is to ally with Dongyuan County and defend it together, preserving its military strength. As for what happens next, we will have to see.”

“Can we launch an assault on Anyang to relieve the pressure on Dongyuan County?”

Nangong Zhi let out a cold laugh. “If we attack Anyang now, we will only suffer greater losses. We have already lost nearly 40% of our military strength, and morale is in shambles. Right now, our soldiers lack the will to fight, and our generals have lost their courage. If we continue attacking Anyang, the losses will be devastating. At that point, Dongyuan County may very well turn on us instead!”

“Tsk…” Kong Donglai stood frozen for a long while before suddenly bowing solemnly. “General Nangong, this battle was my mistake. It was my failure that led to our 300,000-strong army being crushed.”

A strange glint of caution flashed in Nangong Zhi’s eyes, but outwardly, he appeared “humbled” and quickly helped Kong Donglai up with both hands. “Lord Kong, you jest. The failure of this war is my responsibility as well.”

“Haha, we will have to trouble you even more in the future,” Kong Donglai said cheerfully, appearing both magnanimous and optimistic. After laughing heartily, his tone suddenly shifted. “Nangong, I have only 50,000 battered troops left, plus 50,000 fresh reinforcements that arrived this morning. I am entrusting them all to you. You must hold Dongyuan County. For our own sake, we must keep it intact.

Of course…”

At this point, a ruthless gleam flashed across Kong Donglai’s face. “If an opportunity arises—seize Dongyuan County!”

If the chance presented itself—if Dongyuan County suffered heavy losses and could not withstand Anyang’s assault—then they would take the county for themselves. There was no way they would let Anyang have it.

“Understood!” Nangong Zhi responded and immediately went out to reorganize the army.

After Nangong Zhi left, Kong Donglai’s expression seemed to change several times, as if he was deep in thought.

Meanwhile, at an altitude of 5,000 meters, unbeknownst to Nangong Zhi, Kong Donglai, and others, an aircraft hovered silently in the sky. The surface of the aircraft constantly had at least three invisibility spells active, with fourteen invisibility spells rotating in sequence to ensure no issues occurred. This allowed the aircraft to sometimes disappear entirely or blend into the white clouds. The sole purpose of this aircraft was to monitor the movements of the Nanyang County border defense forces.

As soon as Nanyang County began reorganizing its army, the aircraft immediately floated above Anyang’s border defense and fired an arrow, delivering a message to the ground.

Yang Yishan, stationed there, quickly received the message and immediately ordered, “Aim all artillery at Nanyang County’s border defenses—attack!”

Although he said “all artillery,” only the 105mm and 150mm cannons had a range exceeding five kilometers. However, even so, the assault was terrifying. With more than a hundred cannons launching a bombardment after being resupplied, the unprepared Nanyang County was once again engulfed in explosions.

Under the bright daylight, shells rained down from the sky, creating an incredibly terrifying scene.

As for Kong Donglai, he trembled with rage and a hint of fear but could only order a retreat, using space to buy time—falling back ten miles, about five kilometers.

Despite the retreat, Kong Donglai was determined to save Dongyuan County. If they allowed Li Xian to take Dongyuan County unchallenged, the entire Xia Empire would soon belong to the Li family. Such a thing could never be allowed to happen—absolutely not!

Nangong Zhi, a true military talent, made the most of the artillery attack. The soldiers, previously lax, were now fully alert. By the afternoon, 100,000 “elite troops” had already set out eastward.

Even before the army departed, several waves of messengers had already been dispatched to Dongyuan County to coordinate and prepare in advance.

Meanwhile, in the east, the war had been ongoing for two days. After entering Luliang County, the Dongyuan County army halted and set up camp, clearly intending to swallow Luliang County whole.

Two days ago, Yuan Zhong—the younger brother of Yuan Yong, the former Grand Commandant of the Xia Empire and now Governor of Dongyuan County—stood atop the city walls of Nanliang Prefecture, exuding confidence. He once sighed, thinking that if they could completely take Luliang County, the Yuan family would have the capital to vie for supremacy.

But just one morning later, over three hundred aircraft suddenly appeared over Nanliang Prefecture, dropping tens of thousands of bombs. The bombardment lasted the entire morning without stopping.

The sudden outbreak of war left Yuan Zhong stunned, followed by furious rage—

“Li Xian, you bastard! My Yuan family never attacked you! We only wanted to take Luliang County!”

But no matter how enraged he was, it was too late. By noon, Yuan Zhong was receiving chaotic reports from the frontlines:

First report: To the northwest, about 100,000 soldiers from Anyang suddenly surged past their defensive lines, supported by aircraft and artillery. The unprepared Dongyuan County troops were utterly routed and had already fallen back to their second defensive line, which was also in grave danger.

The battlefield commander for Anyang in this region was Beichen Yuqing.

Second report: To the southwest, Anyang had also launched an attack with an army claimed to be 100,000 strong. They split into two forces—one heading directly for Nanliang Prefecture, led by Wang Jian, while the other force of 30,000 to 40,000 men moved to blockade Xiandai River, cutting off contact between Luliang County and Dongyuan County.

Third report: Five ironclad warships, previously patrolling the East China Sea, suddenly sailed 50 miles up the Xiandai River from its estuary. Their gun turrets now threatened the surrounding 50-mile radius near the river’s mouth.

At this moment, Yuan Zhong finally recognized the truth—Anyang’s real objective had always been Luliang County! And after Luliang County, Dongyuan County would undoubtedly be next. Only by securing these two regions could Anyang confidently push further inland.

This was a completely new style of warfare for Anyang. Unlike in the past, they now prioritized maritime expansion due to their naval power, rather than focusing solely on inland conquests.

Yuan Zhong sighed helplessly, finally understanding Anyang’s strategic direction—the sea. But by now, it was too late.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter