The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1659 War begins

After calming his turbulent emotions, Lord Di asked, "Lord Chen, what brings you here?"

"You didn't come here just to behead us and curry favor with your new master, did you?" Lord Jiang continued sarcastically.

"Lord Di, Lord Jiang, the three of us have been colleagues for a long time. Don't you know my character? I've come here to discuss good strategies with you because I genuinely care about you both. Why be so cold and sarcastic?"

"Lord Jiang is just impatient. Lord Chen, since we've been colleagues for many years, should know that. Now that Wang Yan has cut off our retreat, it's inevitable that you, Lord Chen, our former colleague and friend, are turning against us and going against our will."

Lord Di laughed heartily and calmed the situation, something he often did.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting old and can't stand up anymore. Let's sit down, have some tea, and talk. We have plenty of time now, so we can chat at our leisure."

The three of them immediately sat down, picked up their teacups, and discussed tea for a while. Even Lord Jiang remained silent, as if he hadn't been the one who had been irritable just moments before.

Lord Chen said, "Right now, Huo Shan's army is cutting across the south and north of the Yangtze River. To the west of Hunan and Hubei lies Sichuan, and to the east lies the Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Jiang just said that he is trapped like a turtle in a jar, and that is no exaggeration. The best course of action now is for you two to withdraw your troops and surrender."

"What nonsense are you spouting, Lord Chen?" Lord Di chuckled. "As I just said, your family has left the capital, but our families are still here."

Now that Wang Yan has raised an army, you know I had a plan this morning, and my army will soon march south. Even if Wang Yan can hold out, don't forget that Lord Jiang and I still have 100,000 troops at our disposal. We are not without a chance to fight back. Jiangbei only has about 10,000 troops defending it. How long can they hold out? The Yangtze River is so long, can he defend it completely?
To say they'd cut off our supplies is a joke. Don't forget, there's the Heavenly Kingdom to the east; they're not fighting, but that doesn't mean they won't sell us supplies. And to the south, just across Guangzhou is the sea, which is still under our control; supplies can still be delivered there. Besides, there's Shi Dakai to the west; that Wing King, the Five Thousand Year Old, is no easy opponent.”

Lord Jiang skimmed the foam from his teacup: "Lord Di is absolutely right. We are now sitting on the sidelines. In my opinion, it is not us who should be worried, but you. Lord Chen, getting on a sinking ship will ruin your future, cost you your life, and harm your descendants. You should think this through carefully."

Lord Chen glanced at him and calmly sipped his tea: "Whether it's a good ship or a sunken ship, the ship has already set sail. I'm not a good swimmer. If the ship sinks, I'll die; if I jump ship, I'll still die. The only way to survive is to sail out safely."

He put down his teacup. "Are you two gentlemen determined to be enemies of Huoshan?"

"Hasn't what Lord Di said enough?" Lord Jiang said with a smile, taking a sip and spitting out the tea leaves.

"Of the three directions, east, west, and south, as Lord Di mentioned, the most serious threat comes from the Wing King, who is leading tens of thousands of troops to advance into the territory. These are elite troops with the strongest fighting spirit. However, they have already been blocked by Huo Shan and are retreating step by step. Perhaps you two gentlemen do not know, but Shi Dakai has probably already surrendered to Huo Shan."

Ultimately, he couldn't return to the Heavenly Kingdom, nor could he surrender to the Qing Dynasty; he was also isolated and alone. If Huoshan weren't strong, it wouldn't have mattered, but Huoshan was powerful. He couldn't conquer Sichuan or any other region; he had no choice but to surrender to Huoshan. What could the Heavenly Kingdom and the south do? In the end, the two lords still believed that their 100,000 troops could contend with Huoshan.

"Is it not possible, Lord Chen? Huo Shanqiang may be strong, but we have 100,000 troops, plus the firearms Wang Yan sold, and the firearms given by the foreigners. Other supplies are scarce, but just enough. What good would it do to incorporate Shi Dakai? At most, tens of thousands of men. Would you dare to use them with peace of mind? What else can Lord Chen teach me?"

Di and Jiang remained calm and composed, as if they had already won.

Lord Chen shook his head: "Then let's call it a day. Let's fight first, and then we can talk later."

"Oh? Lord Chen is very confident. Does he have some kind of powerful weapon?" Lord Di looked enlightened. "Cannons! He has already built cannons, and it is said that there are quite a few. In Sichuan and Chongqing, both our Great Qing and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have discovered the location of cannon production, but they have never figured out its true power and output."

Putting everything else aside, Wang Yan is quite adept at maintaining secrecy. Our side is like a sieve, we have no secrets whatsoever. He, on the other hand, manages to keep everything perfectly secret. If it weren't for bad luck, back when the Qing Dynasty was still outside the Great Wall, and Li Zicheng was ruling, Wang Yan might actually have succeeded.”

"My lords, there's no need to look at me like that. I'm not here to fight this battle. You may not know, but I've already relinquished my military power and am now solely in charge of administrative affairs. I was sent here to negotiate peace because of a past connection between you two. Since we can't agree on anything, and you both think you have something to rely on, then let's wait until the battle is over before making any further moves."

Lord Chen left decisively and took a boat across the river.

Lords Di and Jiang were left behind, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Lord Jiang hesitated and said, "That man surnamed Chen is so confident, is there some kind of conspiracy? Lord Di, Wang Yan is a master of bribery and infiltration, as evidenced by his experiences in Sichuan and Shaanxi. Perhaps we should investigate his subordinates again?"

"Can we investigate everything?" Lord Di shook his head. "At this point, we don't have time to investigate so much. We can only deal with things as they come. I don't believe that Wang Yan is a god. With such a small force, how can he turn the world upside down? Lord Jiang, instead of thinking about those useless things, let's think about how to fight this battle."

"Lord Di is a skilled strategist. In this battle, the enemy will come from the west and north. Judging from Chen's confident assertions, we should prioritize defense. After all, over the years, Wang Yan's bandits and outlaws, although they haven't fought any major battles, shouldn't be underestimated in smaller skirmishes; they are still quite capable. Wang Yan himself said that his soldiers are all officers, and he has ample firearms. We should proceed with caution."

"Lord Jiang is wise and prudent. Now that we are separated in the south, we must work together to support and help each other. Only in this way can we overcome the difficulties and break the words of the King of Huoshan."

"Don't worry, Lord Di, I know what I'm doing in this situation."

"Alright, then we'll do it the same way as before. I'll guard the north side, and you'll guard the west side."

"it is good."

Lord Jiang readily agreed. Although it now seemed that the Yangtze River would make it easier to block Wang Yan's southward advance to the north, while the west was mountainous and connected to Sichuan and Chongqing, with more routes available, making it much more difficult for Lord Jiang to fight there, this arrangement was not without reason.

In fact, it was Lord Jiang who fought the Taiping Army in the north before, but later, due to a disagreement with Lord Chen, Lord Chen defected to Wang Yan and deliberately betrayed Lord Jiang, giving him a severe beating.

Later, in order to reconcile the conflict between the two sides, Lord Di took the initiative to propose swapping posts with Lord Jiang. Lord Di was quite considerate in this regard, because at that time the pressure from the north was still greater.

But now the situation has changed, the enemy has changed, and although Lord Jiang is quite shameless, since Lord Di insisted on maintaining the original situation, he could only accept it and couldn't voice any complaints...

Shi Dakai surrendered.

Or more accurately, it's about seeking refuge.

As Lord Chen said, he had nowhere else to go. Wang Yan's troops were very strong, and he was surrounded before he could even enter Sichuan. It was Zhao Erhu, who was in charge here, who remembered that Shi Dakai was also a righteous rebel against the Qing and had a sense of duty, so he did not take action directly. Instead, he reported the situation to Wang Yan and asked him to make a decision.

Otherwise, Zhao Erhu wields considerable power and could easily kill someone on his own initiative… Shi Dakai is a valiant man, strong and robust, and currently in his prime. However, fate is cruel. Not yet thirty, Shi Dakai's skin is already rough from years of military campaigns, and the chaos in Tianjing has made him even more weathered. Then, he suffered defeat and was surrounded, forcing him to surrender. The dramatic changes in such a short time have shattered his spirit and energy.

The Shi Dakai that Wang Yan saw did not resemble Shi Gandang at all.

Wuchang, on the banks of the Yangtze River. Wang Yan, wearing a bearskin cloak, was tending a small red clay stove, drinking tea from a teapot, and pouring tea for Shi Dakai, who was sitting opposite him.

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. General, you should take it easy. You are in your prime and can still do many things. Why dwell on yesterday's mistakes and be unable to move on?"

"I am now a stray dog..."

"General, you are mistaken. What matters most is one's own ability. You have fought for many years and are a renowned, ever-victorious general. You have also assisted the Heavenly King in managing military and political affairs without any oversights. If it weren't for the Heavenly King's deliberate obstruction, you could have done even better. These abilities are all your own, and no one can take them away from you. Furthermore, you left the Heavenly Kingdom, and what was the result? You received overwhelming support! At first, you had only a few thousand followers, but now you have tens of thousands!"

"Sir, I didn't..."

Wang Yan waved his hand: "You are the Fifth Prince of Yi, with a good reputation, and your soldiers and civilians all support you. If you couldn't muster this many men, then there would be a problem. I may not be good at much else, but I am very ambitious."

As you know, Lord Chen is now my deputy, assisting me in handling government affairs. Do you think I'd let a victorious general like you take it easy? Dream on. He's too old and frail to fight in battles, while you're young and still capable of many things.

Don't have any other worries, don't be afraid of overshadowing me with your achievements. I have the capacity to tolerate others, and I won't be a tool for betrayal. As long as you don't rebel against me and abide by my rules, our relationship will last a long time. After all, I'm several years younger than you, and we both have decades to live.”

Shi Dakai, who had been keeping a low profile, looked up at Wang Yan with a piercing gaze.

After exchanging glances for a few moments, Shi Dakai cupped his hands and said, "Then thank you very much, sir. I will certainly not disappoint you."

"Drink tea."

Shi Dakai readily agreed, picked up the teacup with his rough, dark hands, and drank the sweet tea.

Then he asked, "What do you intend to do with my soldiers, sir?"

"I'll give you half, and I'll arrange the other half of the troops for you, break them up and reorganize them, and then send you a deputy general." Wang Yan poured him tea. "I believe you understand this point. It's not enough for me to trust you alone; there still needs to be some checks and balances. After all, you are the newly arrived Wing King, not Shi Dakai under my command."

I believe that with your abilities, you can definitely achieve great things, but you need to achieve something before others will believe in you.

Wang Yan spoke in a convoluted way, but explained simple truths.

There is no way that tens of thousands of troops could be handed over to a newcomer without any restrictions. It would be impossible for anyone to do so, let alone the well-regarded Shi Dakai.

Where should I go to fight?

"Lord Jiang, your troops aren't far from there. Have a good showdown with your old rival. In order not to delay military intelligence, reorganization and fighting should be carried out together. Fight slowly and reorganize slowly."

Seeing the question in Shi Dakai's eyes, Wang Yan explained, "First, we'll transfer half of your men away for further training, and then we'll replenish your forces with the other half, under the command of the deputy general I've assigned to you. You'll command him, and he'll command the soldiers below. During the battle, we'll continuously draw men from both sides to form new units. After some basic training and familiarization, they'll gradually become involved in the war."

After fighting like this for a while, the army will be reorganized without any major issues. The main conflict is with those two men surnamed Jiang, so it doesn't require too much effort. If they gain the upper hand, they'll relentlessly pursue them; but if they fall behind, they'll start thinking about how to preserve their strength.

"You know I've built cannons, and they're being sent forward right now. You can fire a few rounds, and Lord Jiang will behave."

Shi Dakai nodded in response, without saying anything else. He was truly not in the mood right now. Even though Wang Yan had given him his trust, made him a promise, given him power, and encouraged him, he was still in a phase of questioning his life, which was not so easy to adjust.

After leaving Tianjing, Shi Dakai's actions were nothing more than a desperate struggle, never amounting to anything significant. In the end, while trying to protect his subordinates from surrendering, he was tricked, few of his men survived, and he himself was executed by slow slicing…

However, with Wang Yan's help, the situation has improved considerably; after all, it's good to have a powerful backer. Although Wang Yan's territory has low tax revenue, it is vast, has a large population, and wields considerable influence.

Otherwise, the three-way balance of power wouldn't have been able to be maintained for several years. If it weren't for the Tianjing Incident, this situation could likely have continued for a much longer period without being broken…

Shi Dakai left and returned to his troops. Only then did he discover that Wang Yan had assigned him Zhao Erhu as his deputy. He was also well-equipped with weapons and ammunition, and he witnessed the power of artillery firsthand…

Across the Yangtze River, gazing at the Qing army camp on the opposite side, Wang Yan spoke without turning his head.

"Pang Qingyun, I've given you the opportunity. Whether you can seize it or not is up to you."

Behind him, Pang Qingyun, sporting a stubble-covered buzz cut, knelt on one knee.

"I will certainly live up to your expectations, sir!" Pang Qingyun's voice trembled as the steep staircase leading straight up into the sky finally appeared before him.

"Go ahead," Wang Yan waved his hand.

Pang Qingyun then stood up and quickly left.

A short while later, the booming sound of cannons rang out, and the Qing army camp on the opposite bank of the river was blown to pieces.

Meanwhile, north of the river, under the cover of artillery fire, soldiers boarded countless boats and forcibly crossed the river to the south...

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the kind readers who have given me generous support through tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and those who have been reading quietly!