Chapter 267: The Intimate Strike

Five armored warships from Anyang appeared in the east, bombarding Baize Town, leaving tens of thousands of elite soldiers dead or wounded. The fate of General Cheng Yunbo’s son, Major General Cheng Liqiu, remains uncertain.

Later, Another 5,000 elite soldiers from Anyang landed, all at least at the Foundation Establishment stage, each wearing a full set of magical equipment — probably. They also had firearms, talismans, and other items, making them highly formidable. Similar experts from the Jin Kingdom, also at the Foundation Establishment stage, stood no chance against Anyang’s Foundation Establishment fighters in a one-on-one battle.

Moreover, the armored warships and 5,000 elite soldiers launched a coastal assault, flattening 1,000 miles of coastline in one strike. The casualties of the military forces exceeded at least 30,000. All data and records were burned, all salt ponds were destroyed, and all stored salt was diluted with water and washed into the sea. The remaining wealth, including gold and silver, could not be moved in time, and Anyang even “drove” civilians to loot.

Finally, Anyang deployed 20 large aircraft, bombing all prosperous cities within a 500-mile radius along the coast. Casualties have not yet been tallied, but the numbers are expected to be significant! Such an attack devastated an area of “1,000 miles north to south, 500 miles east to west,” destroying salt fields and bombing cities, marking a catastrophic blow to the kingdom.

Though the data is scant and the information unclear, after receiving this report, His Majesty the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom trembled with rage. “Are you certain this was done by Anyang?”

The messenger, pale-faced, responded with difficulty: “Your Majesty, besides Anyang, there is no known faction with armored warships.”

The courtiers around them spoke up: “Indeed, Your Majesty. Only Anyang has armored warships, powerful artillery, strong aircraft, and the resources to continuously bombard the coastline for an entire day. No other force could possibly muster this level of military firepower.”

The bombardment continued for an entire day — think of how many shells that must be!

Some calculated that, based on Anyang’s pricing for such items, this would amount to an enormous sum in gold!

The conclusion was clear — this was indeed an attack by Anyang, clearly an act of retaliation rather than a purely strategic military move.

A retaliatory attack is a random assault with no specific military objective, while a strategic attack is planned, with military goals and follow-up operations.

This attack by Anyang was more of a retaliatory action than a strategic one.

After hearing all the reports, a minister stood up: “Your Majesty, we cannot back down from this. If we do, how will the Jin Kingdom’s authority be respected? Please send 300,000 troops at once to crush Anyang!”

However, not everyone agreed: “Your Majesty, since Anyang dares to fight in this manner, they must have some form of military preparedness. Before taking action, we should investigate Anyang thoroughly!”

“A small place like Anyang dares to challenge the majesty of the Jin Kingdom, and you want an investigation? Just send 300,000 troops, and in no time, we will flatten Anyang! Once we capture Li Xian, we can interrogate him freely, and everything will become clear!”

“Take this opportunity to crush the already fragmented Xia Kingdom. Join forces with Qi to attack, with us occupying the east and Qi the west. In twenty days, we can wipe out Xia!”

“No, we must be cautious. The situation in Anyang is special, and we cannot fully understand it yet. Caution is the better choice!”

“Cowards! The Jin Kingdom’s dignity must be nourished with the blood of Anyang! This must be done immediately!”

“We must first send reinforcements to the north. Since Anyang dared to open a second front, they still have the strength to fight. This means our 300,000 troops heading north may be in danger!”

“The priority must be to send troops to maintain order in the east and rescue the eastern coastal areas.”

…

The court was in turmoil, but it was normal for the Jin Kingdom, the most powerful nation in the east, to react with such a heated debate when faced with such a challenge. However, no minister opposed sending troops; the focus was on whether to act immediately or to investigate first. Some proposed an even more feasible plan: to unite with Qi and divide the Xia Kingdom between them.

The Jin Emperor’s face showed a sinister expression, as anyone in the Emperor’s position would react. Given Jin’s position in the east, it was unthinkable that others would attack them. They only attacked others.

The monarch and ministers urgently deliberated and decided on a course of action to support the east, which would be split into two parts: First, urgently contact the Eastern General Cheng Yunbo and send reinforcements immediately — his son is missing, so he must act. Cheng Yunbo is authorized to mobilize all 300,000 of the Eastern forces and urgently call up 500,000 reservists and laborers.

Second, urgently dispatch hundreds of special envoys to notify all military posts and official offices in the east, gathering all constables, security forces, and noble guards to consolidate their forces and send them to the eastern coast.

The Jin Kingdom had not engaged in large-scale warfare for over a century, and this time, they had truly been provoked. It was like a sleeping cat suddenly having its tail stepped on, jumping up in anger, claws bared.

In any case, fighting others was no problem, but if others dared to fight the Jin Kingdom, they would explode in fury. Once the messenger left, the court continued to deliberate for a long time, but eventually, a decision was made.

The Emperor immediately issued an order: “General Chen Zhongping!”

“At your service.” Chen Zhongping stepped forward. As the General of Great Majesty, his rank was just below that of the four great generals, but his position was elevated due to his role in guarding the imperial capital.

As the defender of the capital, Chen Zhongping’s abilities and wisdom were slightly inferior to the four great generals, but his loyalty was unquestionable. In times of danger, the four generals might flee, but Chen Zhongping would likely stay and defend the capital. For instance, he was the only general in the court who wore full armor, showing that he was prepared for battle. He probably hadn’t even taken his armor off after returning last night.

Seeing Chen Zhongping in his full armor, the Emperor was very satisfied. “Chen Zhongping, listen to the order. I hereby temporarily promote you to ‘Supreme Commander.’ You are to lead a force of 100,000 elite soldiers from the capital and mobilize 50,000 soldiers from the northern regions of Madou, Tieluo, and Huangze. Also, instruct the governors of these regions to recruit 100,000 laborers and ensure sufficient military supplies. Move north immediately to join the 300,000 soldiers. If the main commander, Li Lishong, commands well, you are to follow his orders. If Li Lishong performs inadequately or encounters an accident, you will take command of the entire army and crush Anyang!”

“Understood!” Chen Zhongping took the royal decree and the seal of Supreme Commander, then left the palace and set out for the northern campaign.

Chen Zhongping led 100,000 elite soldiers from the capital, 150,000 soldiers drawn from the northern regions, and 300,000 laborers, totaling 550,000 troops. Dubbed the “million-man army,” they surged northward. Of course, it would take three to five days for Chen Zhongping to travel over two thousand miles and reach Anyang, but we will leave that for now.

As for the Jin court, after Chen Zhongping left, the Emperor immediately issued orders for nationwide military preparedness, just in case. Additionally, the Jin Emperor dispatched Golden Core and a few Nascent Soul experts to the east to defend. If necessary, they would bring Anyang’s armored warships and aircraft under control. Nascent Soul experts represented the highest level of combat capability in Yingzhou.

To eliminate Anyang’s military strength in the East Sea, the Jin Emperor sent three Nascent Soul experts:

Qiao Pengfei, mid-stage Nascent Soul, appointed as “General of the Sky”; Huang Bingquan, early-stage Nascent Soul; Yang Maohui, early-stage Nascent Soul. Additionally, over 500 Golden Core experts assisted.

These 500 experts represented a tenth of the Jin Kingdom’s military strength. Their effectiveness was incredible. In just six hours, they could cross half of the Jin Kingdom and reach the East Coast.

When these experts arrived on the East Coast, Anyang’s armored warships had already left, leaving only a ruined landscape. Leading the group, Qiao Pengfei even saw many locals looting the destroyed military posts and storage warehouses, not to mention some “temporary bandits.”

“All those who are robbing, all bandits, all criminals, kill them all!” With a murderous aura, Qiao Pengfei gave the order. Over five hundred Golden Core experts truly acted as if they were “entering an uninhabited place,” with no one being able to withstand these powerful experts.

Qiao Pengfei continued his march, slaying as he went. In just half a day, he had initially stabilized the chaotic situation. Afterward, it was naturally time for alerting, restoring order, and counting the losses, among other tasks.

…

In the north, at the Xian Dai River battlefield, another day of battle had ended. But on this particular day, the allied forces on the southern bank of the Xian Dai River were curled up for an entire day.

After suffering two days of devastating defeats, the morale of the soldiers from the Jin Kingdom, as well as those from Nanyang and Dongyuan counties, began to collapse. Planes and artillery never ceased overhead, with bombs exploding every moment. The soldiers had not had a proper night’s sleep for three full days.

Yesterday, the Jin Kingdom launched another “Ten Thousand Swords Formation,” causing heavy casualties to Anyang. As a result, General Yan Zhengqing of Anyang was furious. Yan personally led an elite assault and slaughtered over twenty thousand weakened elite soldiers from Jin, who had been exhausted after launching the “Ten Thousand Swords Formation.” The waters of the Xian Dai River were stained red with blood.

Then came a frantic barrage of artillery, bombings, and machine gunfire, forcing the allied forces on the southern bank to retreat further and further, now more than 10 miles away from the riverbank.

At this position, the artillery could no longer reach them; only the planes overhead continued to “deliver packages.” These planes were unavoidable, and all the soldiers could do was sound the alarm and have a few Golden Core experts fly up into the air to deter them. This tactic made the planes wary of flying too low, making their bombings less accurate.

But even after suffering losses, the allied forces still had a massive army of four hundred thousand soldiers, with their position stretching over forty miles. Whether the bombs were accurate or not was of no significance. After all, Anyang’s planes only dropped bombs from high altitudes and turned around to run.

Over time, planes occasionally flew by just to scare people. Now, many soldiers, upon hearing the sound of planes, instinctively duck down and cover their heads. Some clever ones would even hold up shields and armor above their heads. Eventually, everyone realized that these planes were only there to scare them. However, this kind of phantom threat had an even greater negative impact on morale.

During the day, Jin’s commander, Li Lishong, attempted to launch an attack multiple times but was ultimately unable to do so—his soldiers were too fatigued and had no good way to avoid the slaughter caused by Anyang’s weapons.

In fact, Li Lishong’s best option was to charge forward in one big push, or to divide his troops, and so on. But unfortunately, with Nanyang and Kaiping counties being “useless teammates,” Li Lishong could not rest assured—he feared that these two “useless teammates” might retreat while he was charging ahead. Hadn’t something similar happened before?

The soldiers of Anyang had never crossed the Xian Dai River to fight, and the soldiers of Nanyang and Dongyuan counties were all relieved. However, Li Lishong noticed something—Anyang seemed capable but unwilling to cross the Xian Dai River to fight!

The ability to cross but not doing so could only mean they had ulterior motives—this was obvious. Since it’s war, facing victory within reach but not seizing it clearly indicated they were aiming for a bigger victory.

To prevent Anyang’s schemes from succeeding, the best and only solution was to deploy four hundred thousand troops and, at any cost, defeat the ninety thousand soldiers in the north of Anyang. After two attacks with the “Ten Thousand Swords Formation,” Anyang had also paid a heavy price.

Especially after the second “Ten Thousand Swords Formation” attack, which nearly tore apart Anyang’s defense; however, due to the drag caused by his “useless teammates,” Li Lishong had no chance to fully break through Anyang’s defenses. Instead, he was ambushed by Yan Zhengqing, and the twenty thousand elite soldiers who had used the formation were all slaughtered. At that time, Nanyang and Dongyuan counties were “struggling to block” Yan Zhengqing’s assault and couldn’t offer any help in time.

Before this battle, Li Lishong had spoken multiple times to Kong Donglai, Nangong Zhi, and Yuan Jinjiang. Nangong Zhi and Yuan Jinjiang were moved. Though their stances were different, they were both generals, and their perspectives were similar to Li Lishong’s.

However, Kong Donglai and Yuan Yong disagreed—they were considering the matter from the perspective of politicians, not military strategists. Naturally, this led to a deviation in their views. In the end, this situation resulted in the current deadlock.

But for the sake of the Jin Kingdom and Anyang’s various technologies, Li Lishong had to suppress his anger and, time and again, carefully plan how to acquire technology from Anyang. As for the two “useless teammates,” Li Lishong had already decided—he would show no mercy when it came time to betray them.

Whenever Li Lishong thought of the scene where “Anyang slaughtered the weakened soldiers after using the Ten Thousand Swords Formation, while the soldiers from two counties stood by and did nothing,” his anger boiled.

What Li Lishong didn’t know was that while he was plotting, Kong Donglai and Yuan Yong were also scheming. A letter from General Yan Zhengqing of Anyang made both of them excited!

As long as they cooperated with Anyang, Yan Zhengqing promised:

First, past grievances would be forgiven.

Second, machine tool technology would be shared. This technology could be used to produce artillery, firearms, internal combustion engines, weapons, armor, and so on.

Third, to seize Jin’s land and gain fame—after all, the Jin Kingdom was vast. And since the two of you were already near Jin, even if you didn’t attack Jin, you would eventually be annexed by them. Since that was the case, why not strike first?

Fourth, if you can defeat Jin, think about it—countries like Qi and Liu to the south of Jin would certainly send troops to attack Jin.

Fifth, Anyang and Jin are locked in a death struggle, so you don’t have to fear Anyang retreating in the face of battle.

The letter was short, but its meaning was clear: temptations, prospects, military deployments, and strategies were all included. Kong Donglai was moved. He finally decided to invite Jin’s commander Li Lishong to “discuss matters.”

Around them, experts and elites were quietly changing into new gear, swords and knives in hand!

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