Chapter 95: The Great Harvest

The bombardment lasted for over half an hour until nearly all the shells had been expended. Only then did Liu Lei Gang leisurely direct his soldiers to pack up and leave. At this moment, the border fortress of the Cai Kingdom looked as if it had been gnawed on by dogs, a sight too brutal to bear.

Lu Chenggang, his eyes red as rubies, roared, “Open the gates! Follow me in pursuit!”

The Cai soldiers, who had long been bullied, surged forward with fury, their anger ignited. 

Seeing the tide of over ten thousand troops pouring out from the border, Liu Lei Gang and his men quickly revved their motorcycles and began a hasty retreat. However, the speed of the motorcycles paled in comparison to the desperate chase of the Foundation Establishment experts, and soon, they were overtaken by the massive army of Cai soldiers.

At that moment, Liu Lei Gang signaled for the motorcycles to swerve, and guns emerged from hidden compartments, while ten cannons were positioned flat, their remaining shells readied for use.

By the time Lu Chenggang led his ten thousand troops to the scene, a makeshift line of defense had already formed.

The two sides faced off, with the soldiers of Cai Kingdom hesitating to advance. The fearsome power of the guns and cannons had left a profound impression on them.

Liu Lei Gang peeked out, calling out, “Hey, General Lu! My general (Li Xian) said to come over and say hello, and to remind you that the Prime Minister expects the negotiations and payments to be made quickly!

Oh, by the way, we’ve got over thirty thousand captives eager to go home.”

Lu Chenggang trembled with rage. “A hello? This is your idea of a greeting?”

“Of course! Who told you to go back on your word? Our general thought you might have forgotten, so we came to remind you,” Liu Lei Gang replied, grinning.

Lu Chenggang ground his teeth in frustration. “Well, you’ve successfully reminded me. But your people can go back; leave those motorcycles here.”

Liu Lei Gang chuckled, “Sure! Come and take them! Come on, come on.”

The soldiers from Anyang burst into laughter:

“Come on, come on! Don’t be shy like a little girl!”

“There are only a little over three hundred of us, but you’ve got over ten thousand!”

“Come over! Don’t worry, I only have ten bullets; I can only kill ten of you. If you charge over with eleven, I promise I’ll just stand there and wait to die.”

“Right, I only have nine bullets left.”

“I have even fewer; just one bullet remaining. Come to me first!”

“Ha ha…”

Hearing these taunts, the Cai soldiers didn’t advance; instead, they took a few steps back.

Lu Chenggang was utterly enraged, his face flushing with humiliation. “All Foundation Establishment experts, charge with your spells! They’re only three hundred!”

“Boom… Boom…” 

At his command, Liu Lei Gang immediately ordered the ten cannons to fire. The impact of ten shells hitting a crowd of soldiers at close range was catastrophic, leaving a swath of land clear, as if a playground had suddenly opened up in the middle of a wheat field—yet the playground was still in disarray, littered with debris.

An arm hung limply from Lu Chenggang’s shoulder, dirt mixed with blood raining down around them.

The team of Foundation Establishment experts preparing to charge suddenly halted in their tracks.

Lu Chenggang snorted angrily, “Charge! What are you waiting for? It’s just a hundred zhang away; it’ll be over in the blink of an eye!”

“Damn it, not even ten blinks will be enough!” The soldiers at the front thought bitterly, yet they hesitated, not daring to advance. After all, a Foundation Establishment warrior had a lifespan of one hundred and fifty to two hundred years; they had no intention of throwing their lives away so recklessly! This war had clearly been instigated by their side! If they were strong, it would be fine, but it was obvious they couldn’t win against the enemy—why not just agree to negotiate early on?

As they stood in this stalemate, a sudden commotion erupted from behind.

“What’s happening?” Lu Chenggang’s heart sank.

A soldier shouted, “General, we’re surrounded!”

“What?!” Lu Chenggang immediately soared into the sky. As he looked around, his face turned ashen.

Surrounding them were over thirty thousand soldiers from Anyang, effectively encircling Cai Kingdom’s ten thousand border troops!

After the last battle, the total number of Cai soldiers who had fled back was less than ten thousand. The current ten thousand at the border were hastily dispatched from the rear, meaning the backline of the Cai Kingdom was already exposed.

Countless thoughts raced through Lu Chenggang’s mind, but it was already too late.

Beichen Yuqing flew high in the air and called out, “General Lu, let your soldiers drop their weapons and surrender. Otherwise, I guarantee none of you will survive!”

“Surrender! Surrender and you won’t be killed! Surrender! Surrender and you won’t be killed…” The over thirty thousand soldiers from Anyang roared in unison.

Having endured several tough battles, the soldiers from Anyang had become true iron-blood warriors. As thirty thousand voices echoed, the very heavens trembled. In contrast, many of the newly replenished Cai soldiers were trembling in fear—never having witnessed such a scene before.

Lu Chenggang gritted his teeth, clenching his fists, caught in a dilemma.

Beichen Yuqing smiled, “General Lu, I know you’re a good general. Faced with a battle that is certain to end in defeat and death, you should consider your soldiers’ lives.

I guarantee that Anyang has never harmed a captive. We even provide medical aid to the wounded.”

This sentence is the last straw that broke the camel’s back; if they could avoid death, the soldiers lost their courage and reason to fight, and finally, the outermost soldiers slowly put down their weapons.

Lu Chenggang looked around at the nearly demoralized soldiers and had to sigh, ultimately giving the order to surrender.

Beichen Yuqing ordered that all soldiers from the Cai Kingdom have their cultivation sealed, bound up, and escorted back to Anyang. He then sent Wang Jian with a team to cross the now unguarded border of the Cai Kingdom and began to pillage!

With the rear of the Cai Kingdom left vulnerable, they were no match for these fierce and ruthless forces; Beichen Yuqing restrained his troops from disturbing the common people. However, all officials, military generals, and other key figures were captured without exception, and those who resisted were dealt with on the spot. Additionally, the wealth, grain, and accounts of the government were thoroughly looted.

Afterward, the prisons were opened, and prisoners and slaves were released. In just half a day’s time, this region in the southeast of the Cai Kingdom, Huaihua County, fell into complete chaos. Once the garrison from Anyang left, all sorts of outlaws emerged. Those seeking revenge, justice, or looking to kill and loot all came out.

To this, Beichen Yuqing didn’t even look back; he immediately led his army in retreat. Countless riches and mountains of grain were sent in convoy to Anyang. There were many people responsible for transportation, and as long as they promised a few pounds of grain, they could attract thousands of porters.

Taking this opportunity, Beichen Yuqing also aggressively recruited people! Anyang needed at least 200,000 people to bolster its population! Coincidentally, Huaihua served as an excellent base for supplementation.

In fact, life was not easy for ordinary people in either the Great Xia Kingdom or the Cai Kingdom. Yet, now Anyang was making all sorts of low-income support promises, instantly attracting countless individuals.

By the time the Cai Kingdom’s central authority received this information, it was already two days later.

Two days later, the vast Huaihua was found to be half-deserted! But those with any talent had all relocated to Anyang! What remained in Huaihua were ordinary citizens, crazed bandits, and many slaves committing crimes—finally liberated, they hurriedly sought to make up for their previous losses!

Meanwhile, in Anyang, Li Xian was excitedly watching the crowd that was slowly passing in front of the Anyang government. This time, it was simply a pleasant surprise.

How many surprises were there?

Everyone anticipated that Lu Chenggang would pursue them, but no one expected Lu Chenggang to be so “generous” as to mobilize all the garrison troops to chase them down; as a result, they were encircled by Beichen Yuqing’s commanding army. Seizing the opportunity, Beichen Yuqing crossed the Cai Kingdom’s border and plundered Huaihua County entirely.

Fortunately, Beichen Yuqing knew what to do; normal citizens and merchant families did not suffer any upheaval. Beichen Yuqing looted only the wealth of the Cai Kingdom’s officials—who it actually belonged to was irrelevant. In short, as long as it was officially attributed to the Cai Kingdom, it was all brought back!

In addition to this, the food from wealthy merchants was also forcefully acquired; it was purchased at the lowest market price—no robbery was already considered a mercy.

Subsequently, Beichen Yuqing utilized the wealth and grain of the Cai Kingdom to hire its citizens to help “relocate,” and in the process, he took away 200,000 of the best citizens. As such, Huaihua County wouldn’t be able to recover for at least twenty years!

Now, Li Xian was enjoying life alongside Xia Qingqing while watching the jubilant citizens below happily accept their arrangements. Li Xian executed the treatment promised to the citizens by Beichen Yuqing without hesitation. Over 100,000 taels of gold in rewards were distributed like flowing water.

Then, there were rewards for the victorious returning soldiers—breaking into the border, this was a great victory. This reward was another 100,000 taels of gold. By now, the gold and silver obtained from the Cai Kingdom had basically been squandered.

But the 500,000 stones of grain obtained from the Cai Kingdom still made Li Xian smile in his dreams.

Even after descending from the city wall, Li Xian couldn’t stop smiling: “Mr. Beichen, what a great achievement! You’ve resolved Anyang’s issues with population and grain all at once! According to the rules, this military operation will reward a total of 2 million points, and Mr. Beichen will enjoy 500,000 contribution points exclusively.”

Beichen Yuqing was overjoyed: “That’s great! I won’t be polite; I want a piece of spirit stone for cultivation.”

“No problem. Come, let’s head to Qingyun Valley and continue studying the spirit stone. Let’s strive to…”

“Xian brother, I’ve come to see you!” A loud shout interrupted Li Xian’s words. After three days of wandering, Li Wei finally arrived at Li Xian’s place.

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