Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 294: Prelude to the Battle
Nanyang County, City Lord’s Mansion – Kong Donglai frowned deeply. Nangong Zhi was not present—he had already gone to the front lines, heading northwest to defend the border. The front lines were, frankly, a complete mess. Even Nangong Zhi could only barely hold the situation together, constantly being forced to “trade space for time and wait for an opportunity.” To put it bluntly, it meant a continuous retreat.
“The nature of warfare has changed,” sighed Guo Hongyan, a strategist and administrative aide of Nanyang County.
Kong Donglai also let out a long sigh. “Damn Anyang, damn Li Xian. We should have strangled Li Xian and his industrial-commercial ventures in the cradle!”
After venting with a useless outburst, Kong Donglai finally calmed down and began analyzing: “The current situation is that industrial technology has demonstrated immense killing power. Armies composed of Qi Refining cultivators are now obsolete. Should we form an army of Foundation Establishment cultivators and adopt guerrilla tactics? Let’s have the Qi Refining troops withdraw and focus on production and industry while also accelerating their cultivation. By the way, how are the negotiations going regarding large-scale purchases of ‘spirit spring water’ from Anyang?”
Guo Hongyan pressed her lips tightly. “Anyang said that until war reparations are fully paid, Nanyang County cannot purchase anything from them. If we want to make purchases, it has to be through land exchanges. So, right now, we can only trade land with Anyang.”
“Bang!” Kong Donglai slammed the table hard. “Fine! Accept Anyang’s terms! Quickly exchange enough spirit liquid and begin training more Foundation Establishment cultivators. Once we have enough of them, we’ll seize land from Guangling and Songzhou Counties! Also, (Kong) Yingzhi, how is our industrial development progressing?”
Kong Yingzhi spoke in a subdued tone: “We’ve just built the first functional internal combustion engine, but fuel is lacking. As for the production of firearms and cannons, we still need Foundation Establishment cultivators to use their spells for final calibration. The quality… is not great.”
Anyang had provided Dongyuan and Nanyang Counties with a basic set of machine tools and a small amount of documentation. But to be fair, Anyang was relatively generous in business. The shared technology was sufficient for Nanyang to explore and establish its own industrial base—enough to produce firearms, cannons, and internal combustion engines. With engines, many other things became possible, such as locomotives and trains.
However, industrialization wasn’t that simple—it required technology, skilled people, and steel. In short, everything needed to be accumulated. It wasn’t something that could appear overnight. In fact, the process of developing industry was much like cultivation. What Li Xian had given Nanyang was akin to “a cultivation technique,” and to make it work, Nanyang still needed to “cultivate” it over time.
But right now, Nanyang County didn’t have that time. Songzhou’s Inspector, Gao Bin, was like a greedy wolf—always able to “sniff out” where the prey was and highly alert.
Previously, when Anyang launched a sudden attack, Gao Bin chose to retreat without a fight. He didn’t even send word to Nanyang County to prepare its defenses. Why? It was all for this moment!
When the wars among Nanyang, Dongyuan, Anyang, and Jin were over, with everyone exhausted—especially Nanyang County, which was utterly depleted—Gao Bin struck before Nanyang could even digest the technology gained from Anyang. He launched an aggressive military campaign!
And it wasn’t just Gao Bin alone—he joined forces with Guangling County.
Guangling County held a third prince, a fake emperor, who immediately issued an imperial decree: “Nanyang County is committing treason and rebellion—let all loyal subjects unite to punish them.”
Alright then, the so-called “loyal subjects” were really just three parties: Inspector Gao Bin of Songzhou, Inspector Wang Yuhe of Guangling, and the newly appointed Grand Commandant, Shangguan Guang. Wang Yuhe and Shangguan Guang were both from the royal Wang family—a pack of jackals.
Songzhou and Guangling jointly launched a surprise offensive. Their 500,000-strong army crushed Nanyang’s first defensive line, which hadn’t even had time to recover after the war. Over 60,000 defenders were reduced to fewer than 30,000, who barely managed to retreat to the second defensive line.
The situation was extremely dire. In the short term, Nanyang could only pin its hopes on machinery and weaponry. There was no time to recruit more experts or gather more troops. Today’s soldiers didn’t just need cultivation—they also had to adapt to the rapidly changing battlefield.
As such, Kong Donglai had assigned his most capable son, Kong Yingzhi, to oversee technology, industry, and armaments. But with so little time, the results were bitterly disappointing.
Seeing this, Guo Hongyan was also at a loss. A clever woman can’t cook without rice. Guo Hongyan might have talent, but she wasn’t a pure military strategist—she leaned more toward the scholarly and administrative side. At this moment, she could only offer a mediocre plan:
“Let’s contact the First Prince in the north and ask him to attack Guangling and Songzhou from the north. If they defeat us, the First Prince’s position will be endangered too. He doesn’t need to send many troops—just 100,000 would be enough to force Songzhou and Guangling to pull back 200,000 troops. That would give us a chance to win.”
Kong Donglai stared at the sand table, silent for a while, and finally nodded. “Then I must trouble you, sir, to make the journey.”
“Naturally,” Guo Hongyan accepted without hesitation. On one hand, it was her own plan, so she should carry it out; on the other hand, persuading the First Prince wasn’t easy. He himself was dealing with threats—from Cai Kingdom to the north, Li Yulong’s Tang Kingdom in the east, and the powerful Chen Kingdom in the northwest. He couldn’t let his guard down. What’s more, Li Yulong had Anyang behind him!
So persuading the First Prince to send troops would be exceptionally difficult. In Nanyang, only Kong Donglai and Guo Hongyan had the ability and status to undertake such a task. Since Kong couldn’t leave, it had to be Guo.
Time was of the essence. Guo Hongyan packed simply and set off—by airplane. And indeed, airplanes were no longer a rare sight within the borders of Great Xia.
Anyang sells engines, propellers, bearings, standard parts, and so on — people can take them home and assemble them directly.
Airplanes still dare not fly directly over Songzhou County. Guo Hongyan flew to Anyang first, and then detoured through Wuyang County from Anyang before finally reaching the area controlled by the First Prince.
As a result, nearly three hours were delayed. At a time when every second counts, soldiers are dying almost every moment; and with every moment of delay, Nanyang County becomes more endangered.
After finally arriving in the area controlled by the First Prince, Guo Hongyan revealed her identity and purpose and was immediately allowed to pass. She then flew straight to the administrative center of Baofeng County— Wufeng City.
The First Prince — no, His Majesty the Emperor — sat high on the throne and received Guo Hongyan.
After Guo Hongyan paid her respects, the First Prince sneered, “Guo Hongyan, let me ask you — in what capacity have you come to plead for help?”
Guo Hongyan was taken aback. That question really wasn’t easy to answer — after all, First Prince, you yourself lack legitimacy, and you have the nerve to ask this? But no matter — Guo Hongyan hadn’t become the civil assistant of Nanyang County for nothing. She immediately responded with fear and reverence, “This subject, Guo Hongyan, civil assistant of Nanyang County of the Great Xia Kingdom, greets Your Majesty.”
“Oh… so Nanyang County still remains loyal to the Great Xia Kingdom?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Nanyang County has never harbored disloyalty — we were simply forced by circumstances. Now, we are being obstructed by the governor of Songzhou County and other traitors.
Nanyang County is willing to coordinate with Your Majesty in a pincer attack from north and south to jointly eliminate the traitor Gao Bin.
In addition, Nanyang County will publicly declare its support for Your Majesty.”
The First Prince pretended to sigh, “Ah… our situation is also difficult. In the east, Li Yulong is rebelling. In the north is the Cai Kingdom, and to the west, the Chen Kingdom. Danger lurks on all sides, and though we are willing, we lack the strength. What can be done?”
Guo Hongyan spoke with fervor: “Your Majesty, as the saying goes, ‘To hesitate in crisis invites disaster.’ If this stalemate continues, the situation will only deteriorate.
In today’s Great Xia, changes brought by industry and commerce, and technological advancement, are accelerating. If unification isn’t achieved quickly, the future is bleak.
Once every region develops its own technology, the situation will spiral out of control. Anyang is the best example: with only one County’s worth of land, Anyang was able to defeat Jin without allowing any counterattack — forcing them to apologize and sign eight unequal treaties.
Moreover, all the surrounding countries are developing industry and commerce. These nations are unified and complete — their rate of development will be incredibly fast and will soon surpass us.
Therefore, the longer we delay, the more danger the Great Xia Kingdom faces. At this moment, we must strike with thunderous force, swiftly taking control of Wuyang and Songzhou Counties; then eliminate Guangling County. After that, riding on the momentum of victory, we can ally with Jin and Cai Kingdoms to annihilate the Li family in one blow, and recover Kaiping and Anyang Counties.”
After speaking, Guo Hongyan quietly watched the First Prince. Having said this much, she had revealed everything — now it was up to the First Prince to make the final decision.