Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2160 System Mission, Five Strategists of the Song Dynasty, Poisonous Strategist Sima
Wang Yu attaches no less importance to this battle than he did to the previous battle in Henan.

To put it bluntly, besides the Han Dynasty, the original Da Cang land only had the Song and Yan dynasties left, plus Zhennan, which was just there to make up the numbers.

After the Great Yan was destroyed, the remaining Zhao Song dynasty was left to fend for itself.

Once that stage is reached, the complete takeover of the original eighteen Great Cang territories will be just around the corner.

Furthermore, after many years, the system's tasks have been launched again.

This time, a rare occurrence, another mission was issued.

"Unification War Mission 1 (Da Cang Version): Within five years, conquer and destroy the Great Yan and Great Song dynasties. For each side conquered, you will be rewarded with one random summon card and one opportunity to enhance a Heavenly Talent skill."

Task Two: Possess eighteen territories; reward: 1 Divine Attribute Point (host only), 1 Divine Political Attribute Point (subject only).

The rewards for this mission are pretty good.

However, the system's tasks only mentioned the Great Yan and Great Song dynasties, without mentioning the Zhennan Ma clan at all. Clearly, the system also considers the Zhennan Ma clan to be just a filler.

The Ma family of Zhennan today is simply living off the wealth accumulated over hundreds of years.

The Ma family of Zhennan, like the now extinct Lie family of Zhenbei, was nothing more than an old man still immersed in past glory amidst the chaos of the times.

They had no ambition whatsoever, yet they were unwilling to associate with the traitors they saw as corrupt officials, merely attempting to protect themselves in this chaotic world.

However, in such chaotic times, one must either choose a promising partner to rely on as soon as possible, or establish one's own power base. Those who choose neither and merely seek self-preservation will eventually be eliminated.

In times of chaos, it's a process of either moving forward or falling behind.

Moreover, although Yangdong Road in the south of the town was relatively wealthier than Yanbei in the east of the town, Shanyin in the north of the town, and Guanxi in the west of the town during the Dacang era, it was not much richer.

Furthermore, although Zhennan, as an important infantry town, spends significantly less on military expenditures compared to Zhendong and Zhenbei, which are important cavalry towns.

However, it is difficult to support so many soldiers in one place. At present, it is just barely holding on with its remaining resources.

Or rather, the three remaining enemies of the Han Dynasty in the Yuancang region—whether it be Zhao Kuangyin's Song Dynasty or Xuanyuan Huang's Yan Dynasty—will all enter a new phase of development.

Only Zhennan, by not taking the initiative to launch an attack while its military strength is still at a certain level, will only gradually decline. Now, Zhennan has reached its peak.

However, the three schools of Han, Song, and Yan still have enormous potential for development.

As for the latter half of the Eighteen Paths of Embracing the Land, it wasn't specifically marked as the Eighteen Paths of Great Cang, which made Wang Yu breathe a sigh of relief.

If we really want to go to the Great Cang Eighteen Paths, whether or not to fight to the death with the Tuoba tribe for the system mission rewards is indeed a big question.

If they did that, it would completely contradict their established development strategy.

The key point is that the system's reward is really not worth it at all.

Actually, fighting the Tuoba tribe alone wouldn't be a big problem.

But simply taking Shanyin is not enough; only by reclaiming all three passes of Zhenbei will it be meaningful. If even one of the three passes of Zhenbei is not reclaimed, the land will become a quagmire of war, and there will be no way to expand peacefully in the future.

That one place alone would tie down at least several hundred thousand of their troops.

However, if it's not the Great Cang Eighteen Paths, but only the Eighteen Paths of Land, then the feasibility becomes much greater.

This means that even if Shanyin is not taken back from the Tuoba tribe, the Han Dynasty still has Xiping, which was taken from the Dongyi, and Shenglan Road, which was occupied by the four minor dynasties, which is enough to fill the gap.

Moreover, this is without considering the Sword Yang Path, since, strictly speaking, the Sword Yang Path is currently only half a Path.

........................

Kansai! Kaifeng!
The Zhao Song imperial palace was actually very simple, so simple that it didn't even qualify as an imperial palace. It was just a simple renovation of the original Zhao residence.

After all, the Zhao Song dynasty was not financially well-off at the beginning. It not only had to maintain a large army, but also needed to invest a large amount in many institutions such as the Imperial City Guard.

Even though the Song Dynasty now has four circuits, only Hexi is truly wealthy. However, Hexi has only been under their control for less than a year.

Therefore, prior to this, the Zhao Song dynasty was not financially well-off.

This explains why the emperors of the Zhao family were, perhaps lacking in martial virtue, but certainly skilled at developing commerce and making money. After all, among all the feudal dynasties in China, the Song Dynasty had no other outstanding talents, but it was undeniably wealthy.

The increasingly close relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Ximen family, one of the four great imperial merchants, was largely due to the fact that some of the Song Dynasty's policies were very favorable to the development of commerce.

Moreover, at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, they encountered such a distressing event. Therefore, for nearly two years, they had no intention of repairing the imperial palace and were content with what they had.

After all, their initial idea was the same as that of the Han Dynasty: after conquering Henan, they would naturally have access to the current imperial palace.

In every respect, this palace is far superior to the one they would have to spend a great deal of manpower and resources to build themselves.

The arrival of 100,000 troops from the Han Dynasty immediately drew the attention of the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Kuangyin promptly summoned a group of civil and military officials to discuss the matter.

The former study has been transformed into the council chamber of the imperial palace. Zhao Kuangyin sits in the very center, flanked by his five core advisors—Xie Guanying, Chu Zhaoye, Han Chongming, Zhao Pu, and Sima Chou—as well as a host of generals including Lian Po, Zong Ze, Zhao Wuji, Li Yuan, Ming Wei, and Shi Shouxin.

"Wang Pengfei personally led the expedition, and 10 Han troops have already reached the foot of Liang Pass!"

"My esteemed ministers, do you truly believe that Wang Pengfei's target is us?"

Although Wang Yu personally led an army of 10 men and had already reached the pass, Zhao Kuangyin remained calm and unhurried.

To put it bluntly, they still have 40,000 troops at Liang Pass. That number may sound like a lot, but Liang Pass isn't just there for show.

Let alone an army of 100,000, even if the number were several times larger, as long as Zhao Yong and Zhao She are not aggressive and make good use of the advantages of Liang Pass, holding out for several months would not be a problem at all.

If the Han Dynasty really only had 100,000 troops attacking, they wouldn't even need to send reinforcements. If it was just for defense, 40,000 troops would actually be enough.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if Han Xin has been transferred to Hedong?"

Zhao Pu ignored the situation at Liang Pass and instead inquired about the Iron Lion Legion stationed at the border of Hedong and Shanyang. If the Han Dynasty were truly going to attack them, Liang Pass would definitely not be their primary target.

After all, who would risk their life to tackle such a dangerous challenge?

Wouldn't it be more convenient to cross the river from the east bank to the west bank?

Therefore, the movements of Han Xin are the most crucial!
Even Han Xin's 100,000 troops alone would not be enough. If the Han Dynasty were to really attack them, the troops of the other legions of the Han Dynasty would definitely be moved to the east of the river!
However, Han Xin's Iron Lion Legion will be a bellwether!

Only when Han Xin's Iron Lion Legion moves will it mean that the Han Dynasty is serious about taking action against the Song Dynasty!

Otherwise, relying solely on the 10 troops below Liang Pass would be meaningless!
Upon hearing Zhao Pu mention Han Xin, Zhao Kuangyin looked in the direction where Xie Guanying was.

Just as the Han Dynasty's imperial guard did not have a single person in charge, the Song Dynasty's Imperial City Guard also did not concentrate power in the hands of one person. Instead, Zhao Kuangyin entrusted it to Wang Renzhan and Xie Guanying for joint management.

Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin gestured to Xie Guanying, indicating that he should answer the question.

"Han Xin is still stationed in Hedong, but Feng Yi, the deputy general of the Iron Lion Army, has already led a full 100,000-strong Iron Lion Army and is currently moving eastward!" Xie Guanying said slowly.

At this moment, the courtiers below looked at each other, and they all had some guesses about what was going on.

"Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, the Great Han is likely about to take action against the Great Yan!"

"Of course, in my opinion, we cannot let our guard down in Hexi before news comes from the Great Yan, lest the Han army launch a surprise attack," said Lian Po, who was already over fifty years old, with a mature and prudent demeanor.

A full army of 100,000 has headed east; it's obvious who their target is!
After all, only a few families remained of the original Great Cang Land.

However, although such a conjecture was made, this was not the first time that the Han Dynasty had made such a feigned military expedition.

Therefore, Lian Po concluded that it was not yet time to let his guard down.

Although Xie Guanying, Chu Zhaoye, Han Chongming, Zhao Pu, Sima Chou, and others made the same judgment, they did not feel much more at ease as a result.

After all, they had already anticipated this judgment.

Currently, between the Song and Yan dynasties, the Yan side is indeed relatively easier to defeat.

Moreover, given the same development time, the Great Yan region would have greater development potential in a shorter period.

From all perspectives, it's not hard to guess that Xuanyuan Huang was their primary target, even before the Song Dynasty.

However, this was, after all, their Song Dynasty's long-standing ally and brotherly nation!

Of course, the most crucial factor is the relationship between the interests of both parties!

Just like the Han Dynasty and the Golden Horde, they need each other. The same is true for the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Yan Dynasty; both sides need each other now.

After all, to put it bluntly, the current Han Dynasty is far stronger than the combined national strength of those two countries. Even if you add Zhennan to the mix, the three countries combined are still far inferior to the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, if the Great Yan Dynasty were to perish, the Great Song Dynasty would become its next target. It was only a matter of time before the Yan and Song Dynasties were eliminated. If one were to fall, the other would likely follow within a few years.

At the same time, if the Great Yan were to perish, the Great Han would lose a powerful enemy on its back. What would the Great Song do then?
To put it bluntly, if the two sides don't take down the Han Dynasty first, and instead one of them is taken down by the Han Dynasty, the other side won't be able to last long either.

"Then what do you all think we should do?"

"You should know that Wang Pengfei's 100,000-strong army is blocking Liang Pass, clearly intended to act as a roadblock so that they can focus on attacking Da Yan without any distractions!"

Zhao Kuangyin had already made a similar judgment. However, although the crisis of the Great Yan was not a direct crisis for the Great Song Dynasty, it was an indirect crisis for the Great Song Dynasty.

How should their Great Song Dynasty overcome this crisis?
"Your Majesty, the Han Dynasty cannot be defeated by force!"

"In my humble opinion, it would be best to seek assistance!" Han Chongming said with maturity and composure.
Just as Wang Yu had anticipated the possibility of the Da Wu and Tuoba tribes interfering in their war before it even began, Han Chongming's first thought at this moment was also about the Da Wu and Tuoba tribes.

These two countries are strong enough that if they could join, their role would be far greater than that of the Great Song Dynasty.

There's no other reason than the difference in size between the two sides!

"After years of fighting, the Great Wu has been focusing on recuperation and strengthening its forces since last year!"

"Even though Su Dingfang attacked Hao, Da Wu only mobilized troops from the east. The troops in the west and north were not moved at all, and none of Da Wu's central army was moved either!"

"Even if Da Wu makes a move, how many more troops will it deploy to the eastern battlefield at this time?" Han Chongming was not optimistic about this.

In terms of actual combat, Da Wu had already begun localized skirmishes with Su Dingfang at this point.

However, even if Da Wu received the news from here, Han Chongming was not so optimistic about how much more power the other side would continue to invest.

To put it bluntly, if the Great Wu were to send troops, the impact on the Great Han would be direct, and might even lead the Great Han to abandon the war altogether. However, that would only be if the enemy went all out!

But at this moment, will Da Wu go all out?

Anyone with a bit of strategic vision can see that at this stage, the most important thing for Da Wu is to recuperate and rebuild. At most, they will only invest more resources in certain areas, but it is almost impossible to get them to really get serious.

"Don't have too high hopes for the Tuoba tribe in the north!"

"Don't forget, the Great Han has a strategic ally over there!" Xie Guanying chimed in at this moment.

With neither of these two sides able to go all out, the Han side will definitely fight this battle despite the pressure.

"Even if Da Wu and Tuoba take action, what can they do?"

"If they really manage to break in, the Han will certainly be the most unfortunate, but what good will it do us?"

"What benefit does this matter bring to our Great Song Dynasty?"

"Ding, Sima Chou's Poisonous Strategist skill activated."

Poison Master: Ruthless and vicious, cunning and calculating. Those who devise ruthless and unparalleled schemes have a chance to awaken their abilities, and the specific effects vary depending on the individual who activates them…