Bringing the farm to another world

Chapter 16449 Warlords
Gongliang Juewen glanced at the others and then said, "We underestimated the strength of the Blood Slaughter Sect before. We must be careful this time. I plan to build another defensive line behind it, but this will change the overall layout. What are your thoughts on this?"

Upon hearing Gongliang Juewen's words, everyone understood what he meant. Establishing a defensive line is never a simple matter. Take the third defensive line Wu Qian mentioned, for example. Although only a few bases are built on the third defensive line, what about the other cities? Should they be defended? If the other cities also need to be defended, how should they be defended? Furthermore, there are some sects and aristocratic families along the third defensive line. Those sects and aristocratic families all have their own territories. How should these territories be defended? If their territories are defended, how should their bases be defended? These are all problems.

Most importantly, whether it's a sect or a powerful family, they control either the markets or the cities. These markets and cities are all important distribution centers for resources. Whether it's a rogue cultivator or an ordinary person, they all have to buy whatever resources they need from these places. But if they gather all the people from various powerful families and sects at the base, then where will those rogue cultivators and ordinary people buy resources? These are all problems.

That's why Gongliang Juewen asked that question, and everyone felt a bit of a headache after hearing Gongliang Juewen's words, since this matter was indeed difficult to resolve.

At this moment, an official suddenly stepped forward, bowed to Gongliang Juewen, and said, “Your Majesty, this matter is actually quite easy to resolve. The places where the various sects and aristocratic families are located cannot be left unguarded, but our bases are even more important. Therefore, in my opinion, we can increase the number of permanent guards at the bases, while the people of the various sects and aristocratic families can continue to operate their own markets and cities. However, once the bases are attacked, they must come to support them immediately. At the same time, we should draw manpower from the sects, aristocratic families, and the army to strengthen the bases’ defenses. In each market and city, we only need to keep people in charge of maintaining order. However, we should also form a patrol team to ensure the safety of each market and city. We cannot allow those with ulterior motives to cause trouble just because the defenses of each city are weakened. If anyone does cause trouble, the patrol team can arrest them directly and send them to the base, forcibly placing restrictions on them so that they can fight the enemy in wartime. This is their punishment. I believe that this will solve the problem.”

Upon hearing his words, everyone understood his meaning. His intention was quite simple: all sects and families should concentrate most of their forces in those bases, while only a small number of people should remain in each market and city to maintain order. At the same time, a patrol team should be formed. If anyone is found causing trouble in any city or market, the patrol team should take action and arrest them, taking them to the base. When the war with the Blood Slaughter Sect begins, they will be used as cannon fodder. Moreover, if those bases are attacked, all the people in the markets and cities must go to their aid.

This is one way, but in doing so, it seems that each family and sect will lose its own defensive capabilities, which makes the sect leaders and sect leaders look rather unpleasant.

Gongliang Juewen frowned. He agreed with the idea, but he was worried that the families and sects would disagree, which was why he reacted this way.

So Gongliang Juewen waved his hand and said, "Step down." The official acknowledged and stepped back. Gongliang Juewen glanced at everyone and then said, "Our current situation is actually quite dangerous. If we cannot unite completely, we will likely be defeated by the Blood Slaughter Sect. However, relying on the strength of one family alone is not enough to become a match for the Blood Slaughter Sect. Therefore, General Wu's suggestion of establishing a large base is feasible. However, this will affect everyone. So I think it would be better to establish bases based on the current locations of each family, and make each base as large as possible. We should relocate all the people from other sects or aristocratic families in the surrounding areas to the bases. Only a small number of people should be left to defend the territories of those sects and aristocratic families. The patrol teams should also be led by each family. What do you think?"

Upon hearing Gongliang Juewen's words, Qingxuan and the others' expressions shifted. Those who could attend this meeting were all from major sects and powerful families, each with its own small alliance. Gongliang Juewen knew this, and now he was directly instructing those sects and families to integrate the power of their small alliances and bring them under unified command. This was no longer the kind of small alliances they had before; it was equivalent to an officially recognized force, which was extremely important.

This is extremely important; it's about having a legitimate reason to act. To be honest, if Gongliang Juewen were to do this normally, he would be courting death. He would be essentially cultivating warlords who could legally command armies and become powerful. Taking this step is easy, but taking it back is difficult. You could say that he's doing something suicidal. The consequence of his actions would be that even if they defeated the Blood Slaughter Sect, these small alliances would become even more united than before. At that point, he, the emperor, would probably be sidelined by these small alliances.

Gongliang Juewen understood this as well. If he hadn't joined the Blood Slaughter Sect, this move would indeed have been a foolish one. But since he had joined the Blood Slaughter Sect, he didn't care whether these people would become too powerful in the future. In his opinion, they couldn't possibly defeat the Blood Slaughter Sect anyway, so why worry about them becoming too powerful?

Gongliang Juewen's words struck a chord with the powerful families and sects. Didn't they want to annex the smaller families and sects? Of course they did, they dreamed of it. But previously, they couldn't do so because Gongliang Juewen wouldn't allow them to grow stronger in this way, and the smaller families and sects wouldn't agree either. If pushed too far, they might side with the royal family. Therefore, the powerful families and sects could only control the smaller families and sects through alliances. But now, with Gongliang Juewen's order, they could legally and legitimately annex the smaller families and sects, leaving them with no recourse. Naturally, the powerful families and sects were tempted.

Gongliang Juewen looked at the people and then said, "However, each defense line still needs to have a commander. This commander is responsible for leading the entire defense line. If a base is attacked, this commander can mobilize people from other bases to provide support within a specified time. People from each base must obey his orders. What do you all think?"

After thinking it over, Qingxuan and the others nodded in agreement. They couldn't possibly give up this opportunity. It was a legitimate chance to annex other smaller forces and strengthen themselves. If they missed it, they might never have another chance. As for setting up a commander, that was fine. After all, Gongliang Juewen had said that the commander would only have the authority to mobilize them when the Blood Slaughter Sect attacked. If the Blood Slaughter Sect didn't attack, they could completely ignore the commander.

Having figured this out, Qingxuan and the others naturally agreed. Gongliang Juewen then said, "Wu Qian will be the commander of the third line of defense. Let's also determine the scope of the third line of defense."

Everyone's eyes fell on the map again, and then they began to divide the area of ​​the third line of defense on the map. The area of ​​a line of defense cannot be small; it must have a certain depth. There must be several bases, and the location of each base must be carefully studied.

Moreover, they not only need to build a third line of defense, but also a fourth, fifth, and sixth line of defense, and at the same time, the personnel in charge of command must be determined.

When Wan Hai proposed to finalize the fourth, fifth, and sixth lines of defense, Gongliang Juewen did not object. In fact, he also finalized the commanders for these three lines of defense. Wu Qian was to be the commander of the third line of defense, and Tie Huanshan was to be the commander of the fourth line of defense. Tie Huanshan was the sect leader of the Ironclad Sect, which was located at the fourth line of defense, so he was the commander of the fourth line of defense.

The commander of the fifth line of defense was Shi Zhongyu, the head of the Shi family. The Shi family was a large family, and the city where the Shi family was located was at the fifth line of defense. Therefore, Shi Zhongyu was appointed as the commander of the fifth line of defense.

As for the commander of the sixth line of defense, it was Gongliang Ziyu who took on the role. Gongliang Ziyu was a member of the royal family and was very powerful. The royal family controlled a large city located at the sixth line of defense, so the position of commander fell to Gongliang Ziyu.

The personnel of these commanders were quite deliberate. Wu Qian was a general in the military, Tie Huanshan was the sect leader, Shi Zhongyu was the head of a noble family, and Gongliang Ziyu was a member of the royal family. Each of these forces had someone serving as a commander, so no one in any faction could say anything. This was actually a result of compromise among all parties. Although no one said it explicitly, everyone understood that they had to do it this way, otherwise no one would be satisfied, and if everyone was dissatisfied, then the war could not be fought.

Once Gongliang Juewen saw that the commanders had all been chosen, he continued, "Although we have divided the defenses into different lines, there is one thing everyone must remember: the lines must cooperate well. You cannot just focus on your own line and ignore the others. Our divine kingdom is a unified whole, and the enemy we face is also a unified whole. So, if any line breaks down and needs support, those on other lines must go to its aid. If anyone dares not to go, don't blame me for being ruthless. I will unite everyone to deal with those who disobey orders first, and then deal with their sect or family. Do you all understand?" Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and then responded in unison.