Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2434 The army approaches Black Stone, Han Xin is hit by an arrow.

"Mukujin, once we've taken this step, there's no going back!" After everyone had left, Matsushita Iso spoke to a young man beside him.

This young man was none other than Mutsuhito, a member of the royal family of the Sun Kingdom, who had previously met with Jiang Ziya of the Great Qian Dynasty.

As a politician, his meeting with Jiang Ziya allowed him to immediately and keenly perceive the impact of this event on the future of the country.

Moreover, it will have a fundamental impact and could very well directly change their previous national strategies.

Therefore, immediately afterwards, he took a boat to Dongyi Nanping Road.

Although the journey was long and arduous, we only arrived recently.

However, it can only be said that it was better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early, as it happened to be at a crucial juncture in the Han Dynasty's campaign against the barbarians.

"Given the current situation, our country has no other choice!"

"Furthermore, the Sun Kingdom is not without allies. The benefits that the Great Qian Dynasty is willing to offer are much more generous than those of the Great Han Dynasty!" Although Mu Ren's expression was equally heavy, there was not a trace of hesitation in his tone.

Even if the Han Dynasty is powerful, it is useless to the Sun Kingdom if it cannot bring them any benefit.

Therefore, it would be better to choose the Great Qian Dynasty, where Jiang Ziya resides.

Before this, although they had obtained a lot of culture and technology from the Han Dynasty, it was only the most basic things that could be directly obtained from the people.

For things that are slightly more advanced, the Han Dynasty maintains very strict control, almost never giving them any opportunity to access them.

To put it bluntly, what they gained from the Han Dynasty was only a drop in the ocean compared to what the Eastern Yi people had achieved.

As one of the important military industrial bases of the Eastern Yi, Nanping Road was where they obtained a large number of craftsmen and technical blueprints after they conquered it.

This has led to the most significant enhancement of their nation's soft power.

In contrast, while the Great Qian Dynasty also maintains some control over certain core elements, it at least provides them with some opportunities to access them, making it much easier than the Great Han Dynasty.

Not long ago, Jiang Ziya directly agreed to provide the Sun Kingdom with certain "advisors" once the two sides formed an alliance. These advisors would naturally refer to various technical or cultural personnel.

Given that a fundamental conflict of interest was already inevitable in the Han Dynasty, choosing the Qian Dynasty was their best option.

Moreover, although Mu Ren and Jiang Ziya did not meet for long during the Great Qian Dynasty, only a few times, it still left a deep impression on him.

The other party also subtly hinted that they had sent someone to contact Da Wu, which further tipped Mu Ren's mind toward Da Qian.

"What about that man from the Han Dynasty?" Matsushita Iso asked, thinking of Kuai Tong, the envoy sent by the Han Dynasty.

Kuai Tong's purpose in coming here was to maintain a relationship with the Sun Kingdom as much as possible, even if the fundamental interests of both sides conflicted, but to delay the other side's involvement in this war as much as possible.

When Kuai Tong first arrived, Matsushita Iso did not directly agree, but at least met with him every now and then to maintain appearances on both sides.

However, after Mutsuhito's arrival, the Japanese Empire's attitude became perfunctory, refusing to meet with Kuai Tong for various reasons. They even dispatched one of Matsushita's Seven Fierce Beasts, Oni-no-Kami, ostensibly for protection, but in reality, for house arrest. In fact, when the Japanese Empire made this choice, it foreshadowed that they had already made a decision beforehand.

"Just take good care of him, he's still useful to us!" Muren said without hesitation.

"Protecting" the other party was a suggestion he made after he arrived.

It's not that he wanted to do anything to Kuai Tong. In times of war, envoys are not to be killed. Besides, what use would getting rid of such a Han envoy be to their Sun Kingdom?

Mutsuhito wouldn't do anything that didn't bring him any benefit, let alone something that was detrimental and offered no advantage.

The reason for doing this was simply to be on the safe side. After all, if the two countries went to war, the many Qianhan envoys and students they had left in the Han Dynasty would definitely be affected.

When the time comes, these people will eventually have to be brought back. Protecting Kuai Tong at this point is merely giving them a bargaining chip.

………………

The Eastern Barbarians, Zhongping Road.

Han Xin, Wen Zhong, and Huli Guang's three armies successively broke through the cities they were responsible for, with only Wanyan Xieye still blocked at Wenquan City.

The geographical location of the spa town was what it was, and Leonidas had made ample preparations before this battle, stockpiling sufficient supplies and drinking water. If any other general had been in this battle, as long as Leonidas did not risk leaving the city, it would have been difficult for them to take it down in a short time.

Han Xin's speed remained the fastest among all the armies.

Of the four cities in the second line of defense of the Eastern Barbarians, Black Stone City, which Han Xin was in charge of, was the most fortified.

Even with the fortifications of Blackrock City, it is only slightly better than Hot Springs.

The moment Han Xin saw Blackrock City, he knew that this city was absolutely not to be attacked by force.

Don't underestimate this small city with only a few thousand defenders. If you were to try to take it by force, you might end up with tens of thousands of casualties.

Moreover, even with Han Xin's confidence, he had to admit that if they launched a full-scale attack, it would be impossible to take the city in less than two or three months.

After all, these cities, which form the core of Yelü Abaoji's three defensive lines against Xiping Road, must have stored a considerable amount of grain, supplies, and various military equipment.

It was precisely because he realized that taking this city would be a time-consuming and laborious endeavor that Han Xin's first thought upon seeing the city was to win through strategy.

After carefully studying the information about Wei Minglinggong, the garrison commander of Black Stone City, through the intelligence provided by Luo Wang, Han Xin quickly devised his own plan.

After formulating the plan, Han Xin personally went to the front lines several times during the siege in the following days to supervise the battle and boost the morale of the entire army.

It was under these circumstances that Han Xin's proximity to the city wall gave the Eastern Yi generals an opportunity.

An Renyi, a renowned archer from the Dongyi people, personally took action. Even though Hou Yi, who was guarding Han Xin, managed to pull him back in time, the arrow still "hit" Han Xin.

(End of this chapter)