Tao and Heaven

Chapter 204: The Fire in Bianjing, Millions of Firewood

Until the end of the year, the New Year is approaching.

The Nanchun Army remained motionless, and the soldiers in the city were even well-fed due to sufficient logistics.

With the Nanluo River and the abundant food resources at its back, and a bumper year ahead, the Nanchun Army had no shortage of food at all.

In contrast, the situation in the Daqian court was much more difficult. With the arrival of winter, logistical supplies could not keep up, and corruption was normalized and habitual.

The civilians escorting the baggage were stealing petty crimes, the escorting officers were greedy, the generals on the front line were vying for their own benefits, and the chief officers were only concerned with taking credit.

It is difficult to turn a big ship around; even if you have the ability to know everything, it is difficult to change people's hearts.

Both sides claimed to have a million-strong army, but the situation was different. The Nanchun army had a million men, including civilians, while the Daqian court army had at least 800,000 combatants.

Only in this way can we suppress the Nanchun Army and even launch a counterattack. Now that the Nanchun Army is defending the city and not leaving, the large number of troops has become a burden.

Jiang Jucai took Gu Wen to inspect the stable. The war horses, which were supposed to be on a diet to lose weight, were now fed until they were shiny and very strong.

The wooden trough contained soybeans, wheat, and various grains. What people eat is not as rich as what horses eat.

"Master Wen, I will follow your advice and raise horses in the winter. Next spring, I will organize a cavalry to charge into the enemy's ranks. We will surely be able to defeat the imperial court and conquer Bianjing in one fell swoop."

"You can at most gather a thousand heavy cavalry. Although they are powerful, there is no way they can defeat 700,000 or 800,000 people."

Gu Wen smiled and shook his head. This plan was similar to Huo Qubing's, but the circumstances were quite different.

Huo Qubing was facing a nomadic people, and based on their habits, he was certain that their horses would be thin and weak at the beginning of the year. And he was convinced that Daqian had no food to feed horses, and even if they did, they would be embezzled.

After all, people will cry when they are hungry, and horses will lose meat when they are hungry. As long as they don't die, there will be no problem.

"There are also cities as barriers. We can't win with cavalry alone. But as the Art of War says, attacking the heart is better than attacking the city. Psychological warfare is better than physical warfare. Zezhou has an open terrain, which is suitable for cavalry to roam freely. It can prevent the imperial army from fighting in the field and further cut off their food supply."

Jiang Jucai asked, "What if the imperial court forcibly sends troops to stop us? Then we will be back to war again."

"Don't be fooled by appearances. If our cavalry kills thousands of enemies with their superiority, it may seem that only half of the enemy is left, but there are still 95% left. In fact, if another half of them die, they will collapse."

"Master Wen's knowledge is like the sea,"

Jiang Jucai was full of admiration, as if Gu Wen knew everything.

He always speaks out something surprising, and what he says is not profound but very practical. Anyone who has fought a few battles knows that attacking a city is difficult, but no one has come up with a solution.

In Gu Wen's opinion, due to the existence of monks, Daqian's wars are still too elegant. They like the two armies to face off head-on, and there will even be scenes of duels in front of the battlefield.

But once his mind is opened, he will find that what he said is very simple, and all he can understand is to learn from history.

After a thorough inspection with his eyes and mind, Gu Wen did not find any serious corruption. There were some flaws, but they were not enough to become a problem.

Return to the small courtyard where we settled in the city.

The white-haired girl squatted at the door, staring at the sky without moving. Sensing Gu Wen's return, she turned her head slightly, looking at him even though she couldn't see him.

Gu Wen said, "We will soon face off against Emperor Daojun, and I need your help."

Now he was still at the 87th Dao Foundation, and only had the Divine Essence Perfection left to reach the 8th Perfection. In the past few days, he had already comprehended the corresponding realm with the help of Tiansui, but he did not have the accumulation to match it.

Therefore, Gu Wen needs Chiyuzi's nine-zhang golden man. She possesses an immortal Taoist body and her defense is comparable to that of a semi-immortal.

"I'll help you anytime you need me."

Akabaneko's words were concise and to the point, and her dull tone and expression made her seem even more determined.

"But we haven't reached Bianjing yet. Do you want to cross the battlefield and enter Bianjing directly?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, the dog emperor will be killed before or after the fall of Zezhou. He won't wait until he is completely weakened before taking action."

Gu Wen shook his head firmly.

If Emperor Dao Ji doesn't take action now, he will have no chance. The battle in Zezhou will decide the outcome.

The first day of January is the New Year, which is called the first year in this world.

Under Qing Cang's urging, Gu Wen meditated and followed his guidance, feeling the changing seasons and the renewal of everything.

The New Year is not only a festival, but also a new cycle of cycle of energy of heaven and earth.

In the invisible world, above the sky, there were aurora-like auras sweeping across the universe. Gu Wen put his mind into the world, and with great effort, he grabbed a wisp of pure air and swallowed it into his stomach, which greatly increased his essence.

But it is still far from being a perfect human immortal.

The divine essence is intact, the divine refers to the three souls and six spirits, and the essence refers to the magic power and spiritual energy. These two are the foundation and basis of cultivation.

It is easy to increase the inventory, but the quality needs to be refined thousands of times before it can achieve a ray of golden light.

"Master, understanding can lead to breakthroughs, but the foundation can only be honed over time?"

Gu Wen asked Qing Cang, and she answered in a rather common and funny way, but not in line with the style of a master:
"Disciple, can you poop right after you eat it?"

"..."

"Practice step by step. I know you can quickly absorb the medicine of the immortal land, but there is a limit after all. You have a high talent, so there is no need to be too anxious."

"Yes."

Gu Wen returned to the house to continue his practice, pressing forward to the eighth level of perfection with urgency and composure.

In mid-January, the imperial court launched several attacks but all failed.

Spiritual medicines from various places began to be delivered continuously. The number of spiritual objects and local treasures from Nanshui, Luoshui, and Linchuan, as well as the number of Heavenly Marrow Emperor's Juice, began to expand rapidly. In just a few days, the number exceeded one thousand, reaching four digits for the first time. The medicinal properties of the immortality medicine provided by the white-feathered bird were steadily decreasing, while its spirituality was becoming stronger and stronger, already possessing some of the aura of a divine beast.

[Tian Sui 1200]

[Emperor's Juice 830]

In the small courtyard, Qingcang, dressed in a plain Taoist robe, sat under a tree, and crystal clear spiritual fruits slowly fell from between the leaves.

She picked one up at random and put it in her mouth, saying, "Old tree spirit, what do you think of my disciple?"

"Like you, a saintly figure."

The old voice fell. The ancestral tree and Qingcang knew each other, but their friendship was not very deep.

Before this, she was half dead and had no friendship at all.

"However, being too righteous may make it difficult to resist the pain of immortality. As the saying goes, being too strong will easily lead to breaking, and being too gifted will easily lead to the envy of the gods, and this envy will often appear in ordinary places."

"He is still too young, so don't expect too much. Time will help him to improve his character."

Qing Cang didn't think he had the time to leisurely take care of Gu Wen for hundreds or thousands of years.

Although she wanted to, the conditions did not allow it.

"When will you become an immortal?"

"After you and Jianmu decide the winner, otherwise the world will be in turmoil. It is better to lie low for a while."

"After you become an immortal, please help me take care of him."

"can."

------------

At the end of January, the short winter passed and the temperature began to warm up. A team of 1,000 cavalrymen rushed out from the South Gate and swept across the entire Zezhou like the barbarian cavalry a year ago.

The millions of troops scattered across hundreds of miles of battle lines were divided into pieces, and the enemy became panic-stricken for a while.

One person's death scares a hundred people, and a cavalry charge scares ten thousand people.

The imperial court was losing ground, but the huge size of the Nanchun Army still slowed down its progress.

Gu Wen estimated that if he did not intervene at all and let the Nanchun Army fight step by step, it would probably take several years.

But if we just attack Bian Jing and only care about killing but not burying, occupying but not managing, one month will be enough.

By mid-February, half of Zezhou fell. When the war situation was at a stalemate, a rebellion broke out in the northernmost part of Daqian.

Since there were no garrison troops, the mountain bandits, who numbered less than a few hundred people, dared to ride donkeys and pull cows to the city gate to provoke.

Daqian's luck declined again, but Emperor Daojun remained unmoved.

On February 21st, the Nanchun Army was less than a thousand miles away from Bianjing, and they could reach the city in one day by galloping.

Emperor Daojun still did not appear, but the war situation was deadlocked again. There were still some capable people inside Daqian, and the closer to Bianjing, the less pressure there would be in the later period.

Wars go on like this over and over again.

Gu Wen descended from the sky and plunged into the battlefield. The soldiers inside and outside the city only saw a flash of white light, and the impregnable city gate collapsed.

The clear and mysterious sound enveloped the entire city.

"Those who surrender will not be killed."

After a stick of incense, the Nanchun army entered the city without losing a single soldier.

On the other side, Chiyuzi, Chanxi, and even Ao Tang also came out to end the war.

Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, such unspoken rules only exist when the strength of both sides is balanced. Gu Wen has no rivals below the level of immortals, and even the likes of the Heavenly Lords are hard to shake. He can even fight against the semi-immortals.

In the past, all the powerful forces had swallowed their pride and attacked him, but now it was just Gu Wen's turn.

In less than a day, Zezhou fell.

Emperor Daojun still did not appear.

Gu Wen frowned and realized something was wrong, so he informed Qing Cang. After discussion, they decided to abandon the Nanchun Army and head straight to Bian Jing to end this farce.

It was not a convention, but Gu Wen felt that the time had come. Using the art of looking at qi, he could see that the dragon vein was extremely weak, like an old man who was about to die.

If Emperor Daojun doesn't show up, he will come to the door himself.

The journey of eight hundred miles took only half an hour, and after a few dozen miles, the city of Bianjing came into view.

I saw flames rising into the sky, illuminating the entire sky red.

Gu Wen was stunned. He used his body skills to move ten miles in one step. He took three steps in a row and reached the city wall. Everyone followed closely behind him.

Looking into the city, all that came into view was fire. There were countless charred corpses, some collapsed, some standing. Without exception, they all reached out towards the city gate, stretching out their five fingers as hard as they could.

It seemed like he was asking them for help.

The entire Bianjing was turned into a sea of ​​fire, and millions of people were used as firewood.

(End of this chapter)