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Chapter 435: An eye for an eye, a tit for tat! (asking for monthly votes)

Just when the Southwestern Allied Forces were about to set out, Chen Wenmian arrived with the Canglang Guards. His aura was calm and he was no longer the same as before. Wen Qingyu was extremely surprised, and then he was overjoyed. The Eighth Heaven Duan Qingyu was the main general and led tens of thousands of Southwestern Allied Forces.

Chen Wenmian was the commander-in-chief and led 30,000 Canglang Guards to go out by water.

Going out along the waterway, like a sharp blade, they cooperated with the main force of the Angry Scale Dragon King to break the city blocking the road. The two forces combined were like a tiger with wings, swooping down with great momentum.

This waterway was originally within the State of Chen, and the domestic city defenses were not as difficult to break through as the border fortresses.

There are also the Southwestern Flying Army, leaping lightly, like the Gray Wolf heavy cavalry, with an icy murderous aura.

After Pojun learned that reinforcements were coming, he and Yuanzhi arranged strategic plans and won victory after victory. Chen Wenmian, with his power as a seventh-level general, completely showed his prowess on the battlefield and made his way into the top 30 of the list of generals.

Most of the city lords along the way were not determined to fight.

Even if there are those who are brave and dare to fight.

It can be seen that the former prince went into battle personally. Before he even fought, he had already lost three points of his strength. How could he fight? Not to mention that the death of Lu Youxian was a huge psychological shock to the defenders of the entire Chen State, and their morale was greatly damaged.

The more famous Lu Youxian was for his invincible ability in defending the city.

The death of Lu Youxian at the hands of the Anxi Protectorate army had an even more severe impact on the hearts of the generals defending the cities across the world.

Po Jun has another clever plan.

Yan Daiqing, Ye Buyi, Zhou Liuying and others were originally from aristocratic families of the State of Chen.

He followed the military advisor's strategy and tried to use his family's influence to magnify the effect of Lu Youxian's defeat. All the defending generals said that if Lu Youxian, the best city defender in the world, had been defeated, what about them?

Before the army of the Anxi Protectorate arrived, they had already used the public opinion of the world and Lu Youxian's reputation and death as their weapons to attack his heart.

This is the best strategy to attack the enemy’s plans.

In addition, the former crown prince went to fight, and Xiao Wuliang attacked the city.

Mr. Pojun was deliberately extremely lenient towards those who surrendered, which resulted in the defensive resolve of the cities becoming less firm. The effect of the siege was like the autumn tide, which was unstoppable and unstoppable.

On that day we captured another city and took some time to rest.

The Anxi Protectorate is different from the Jiangnan where Li Guanyi is now. The Anxi Protectorate, which is the southwestern rear of the Western Regions, is vast enough and has a deep enough foundation. After occupying the city, there is no need to leave elite troops to garrison there.

Naturally, a steady stream of people can be transported from the rear to complete the duties of taking over the city's internal affairs and integrating the guard duties, in order to ensure the quality of the troops advancing forward. From this perspective, the troops attacking the cities around the waterways at this moment are already the army of an entire country.

Mr. Pojun and Yan Daiqing were discussing the current situation.

Po Jun is in charge of the overall strategy.

Yuan Zhi was in charge of the front-line troops.

Yan Daiqing was in charge of the logistics supply of the entire army.

Thanks to the support of the abundant treasuries of the Khans in the desert oases, Yan Daiqing was relatively calm.

"It seems that the lord has lifted the siege of Jiangnan and has begun to advance to the front line."

"My lord, you are no longer as sharp as you used to be. However, the pressure of logistical supply will be great if you are carrying out an expedition on land."

Yan Daiqing sighed and said, "Jiangnan's logistics can no longer hold up."

Pojun looked at Yan Daiqing and asked, "You know so much?"

Yan Daiqing glanced at him, sorted out the files, and said calmly: "Every granary and every logistics arsenal in Jiangnan was accumulated bit by bit by me in the past two years. I know how many there are better than you."

"And I know the lord's extravagance better than you do."

"He usually cries about poverty and wishes he could break a tael of silver into two halves to spend, but when it comes to the critical moment, he is not stingy at all. With his fighting style and the amount of logistics, it is really hard to say how much he can support."

"I guess Changfeng Tower will help solve part of the problem."

"Humph, the front line is likely to have to buy food from the people."

"Given the lord's character, if the people give him a day's food, he will bet his life on it."

Pojun laughed dryly and looked away.

He is also the type who only looks at the overall situation and interests when a war breaks out.

A person who doesn't care about logistics at all.

The heroic Yue Qianfeng, the warlike Qibili, and the silent and solemn Fan Qing.

Only in this respect, the entire Tian Ce Mansion, Qilin Army, Anxi Protectorate, no matter they were generals from the Western Regions or from aristocratic families from Jiangnan, all kinds of generals and counselors, heroic and treacherous or magnanimous and calm, all seemed to be in unison and bowed their heads before Yan Daiqing.

There's no way, this guy has to figure out how to handle the logistics.

When he was in the south of the Yangtze River, he was able to use the 18 states of Jiangnan to ensure the expansion of people's income while enriching the country and strengthening the army. He tightened his belt to raise 150,000 Qilin soldiers, expanded and promoted the system of military service, and promoted the policy of learning martial arts and literacy for the people.

The "Three Ones" strategy was implemented to ensure that every village and town had a doctor, a martial artist, and a teacher. The criminal law was implemented, the aristocratic families were confiscated, commerce and agriculture were encouraged, and a census of unjust, false and wrong cases was conducted again.

In this case, the granaries can still be filled.

In this regard, Pojun and others were dumbfounded.

He also suddenly understood why Yan Daiqing, who was at the fourth level of heaven, was in a bad mood.

When he came to the Western Regions, Li Guanyi went deep into the desert and confronted the Wolf King and Jiang Su in the Anxi Protectorate. The battle was turbulent, with many generals and counselors.

But behind the scenes, it was Yan Daiqing who withstood this logistical pressure.

By the way, we can suppress the casino black market, support multi-line operations, and implement new tax policies with the Khans, so that the people can have enough food and clothing. By the way, because of the development of the style of the Qilin Army and the robbery of sand bandits, the sand bandits have disappeared in the desert.

This kind of logistics would have been of a level that had to be respected in all dynasties.

However, under normal circumstances, promotions in various countries are promoted step by step from just showing one's talents to assuming responsibilities. Yan Daiqing had to be in his forties or fifties to show such talent.

Only the Qilin Army and the Tiance Mansion would directly hand over such a big thing to a young man and force this guy to unleash all his potential.

After all, it was because of the great talent like Yan Daiqing that the development of Tiance Mansion was guaranteed.

It was because of the Tiance Mansion’s sufficient trust that Yan Daiqing’s abilities were honed.

Yan Daiqing pursed his lips, looked at the files, rubbed his brows, lowered his eyes and thought of his parents who were still in Chen State, and thought of the past. He had not been home for three years... He exhaled and put aside the distracting thoughts in his mind.

"But it doesn't matter. There is still enough food reserve in the Western Regions. Although most of it is highland barley and dried meat that are unique to the Western Regions, transporting it to Jiangnan will be enough to solve the problems there."

"Moreover, we can use Jiangnan's silk and specialties for exchange to stimulate commercial circulation."

"This is the benefit of having a large enough territory. Jiangnan's foundation is not enough to support the expedition, and it may also drag down the livelihood of the people in the rear because of the expedition. However, under the command of Tiance Mansion and Qin Wuhou, there are more than just Jiangnan."

As the battle front of this side continued to advance, in the rear, the Western Regions, where there was no war at the moment, served as the main logistics force, and relied on water transportation during the high tides in autumn for supplies.

The cost of transporting supplies is much lower and faster than on land.

The Khans of the Western Regions and their cavalry were not good at water battles.

But the Qilin Army dropped them off along the way and engaged in land battle.

As for food and logistics, the Khans provided them without hesitation. Mr. Pojun improved the grain-transporting ships, so that only a few people were needed to transport food for thousands of people by water. On the Yangtze River, the grain-transporting ships of the Anxi Protectorate were almost always available.

With such perfect logistical support and the enemy's weak will to fight, the Anxi Protectorate can defeat the enemy in every battle and its momentum is high. How can the city defense army in Chen State stop this elite and powerful army that has just won a great victory in the Western Regions?

There were no significant obstacles in the cities along the way.

Po Jun looked into the distance. This place was far away from the drought in the Western Regions. When he breathed, he could already smell the moist air. "It's not very far from Jiangnan. Although the cities we captured along the way are not a big deal for the entire Chen State."

"But holding this waterway in your hands is enough to make you cramp."

Yan Daiqing said: "There is still one more barrier to get here."

"It is the most turbulent end of the entire river in the Central Plains. There is also a big city there. It was originally a fortress-level city built by the State of Chen to defend against people from the southwest. There are many ferries and fleets of ships."

"There is a famous naval commander of the State of Chen, and it is also the last obstacle on this journey."

“As long as we cross it, we can follow the general trend and reach the front of Jiangnan.”

"There are no more cities along the way that are strong enough to stop the army."

The territory of the State of Chen was also vast, occupying a vast territory from the waterway to the east, while the Tiance Prefecture only occupied the territory from the waterway to the west, that is to say, the main part was the southwest area.

This part was originally taken by Duke Taiping and King Shenwu twenty years ago.

The territory of the State of Chen was being driven back to the stage before the birth of Duke Taiping by the powerful Anxi Protectorate, with the State of Chen making a barely futile effort to resist.

The person who completed this step personally was the son of Duke Taiping.

For this.

Pojun just sneered and said, "You deserve it."

Stupid Chen Huang.

Report from this world!
Yan Daiqing was a little worried: "However, the one guarding there is none other than Chen's original famous naval commander and former superior of the Wrathful Scale Dragon King Kou Yulie. It was because of the conflict between Kou Yulie and his superior and the many dirty deeds he saw in the navy that he rebelled against Chen in anger."

"He is still resentful about this matter and has a strong murderous intent."

"But after all, the army is in a state of chaos. Once the emotions are out of control, it is easy to fall into the trap. Without a neutral and peaceful mind, it is easy to suffer a great defeat."

Pojun and Yan Daiqing were both a little worried when they talked about this final hurdle.

However, since Yuan Zhi went with the vanguard army, they could feel relieved.

Outside of this main road, the Southwestern Allied Forces are assisting the Angry Scale Dragon King.

They are somewhat confident.

Yan Daiqing left and continued to be responsible for logistical arrangements, while Po Jun still needed to coordinate various departments.

First, it was decided to prepare city defense based on the cities around the waterways.

Abandon some cities and only occupy the key city ferries around the waterways to avoid a battle line that is too long and having to engage in multi-faceted and multi-level warfare with the State of Chen, which would lead to the possibility of being dragged to death by the State of Chen.

I have to write another letter to appease Yue Qianfeng.

Because they were worried that the Turkic steppes in the north would take advantage of the great war between their own forces in the Central Plains and march south, Yue Qianfeng was left in the Western Regions. He actually fought a battle with the Turkic Khan and was badly beaten.

But because of Shi Dalin's presence, I have recovered during this period of time.

Knowing that we were in trouble, he kept coming to help.

The letter was quite unhappy.

He said: "You can't ask me to fight those top five generals every time we need to lift the tripod. When there are military merits to be won, I have to rest in the rear and watch those younger generations plunder the military merits!"

"How can this be possible!"

"How can this be possible!" "I refuse to accept this!"

"Military advisor, please send me a transfer order and send me to the battlefield."

Mr. Pojun replied, saying: "God of Yue, please be patient. It's not that we don't want God of Yue to come here, but we are attacking the city in the front, so the back is bound to be empty. The Great Khan of the Turks is the second most powerful God in the world, and he is very ambitious."

"If we all come out in full force, and the Great Khan takes the opportunity to come back and capture our Western Region, then we will lose even our base camp. Wouldn't that be tragic?"

"General Yue Qianfeng, guard the rear to protect the morale of the soldiers on the front line."

"After this battle, I will ask for credit for General Yue!"

"Please give me the first credit!"

Pojun sighed and said, "This should be fine."

These gods can be really troublesome sometimes.

Po Jun needs to coordinate all parties to ensure the full implementation of the strategy. He also needs to reconcile the relationship between the generals of the Western Regions, the generals of the Central Plains, and the old subordinates of Taiping Gong, the general of the Qilin Army, to ensure the harmony of all parties, as well as divide the parties to avoid the emergence of factions.

He also has a lot of things to do.

If it weren't for Wen He, Yan Daiqing and others to share his worries.

Pojun felt that he might be so tired that he closed his eyes early.

When the Qilin Army was only in Jiangnan, there were not many people and they were able to handle things with ease. When there was Anxi City in the Western Regions, it was still relatively simple. At this moment, Li Guanyi's forces have not yet been completely connected, but judging from its level, it is clearly a country.

Mr. Pojun rubbed his brows. Someone came to look for him, but he had no intention of meeting him. However, that person was Li Zhaowen, so Mr. Pojun had to sigh and force himself to meet him. Li Zhaowen performed extremely well in the battle to attack Chen and made outstanding achievements.

Po Jun laughed and said:

"So it's General Li. I wonder what brings you here to see me?"

Originally, he thought that he came to offer advice as usual, but what Li Zhaowen said surprised Pojun a little.

"I'm going to resign."

Po Jun suddenly became alert and puzzled, and asked, "This is a time of great events and great turmoil. Why did Master Li resign at this moment?"

Li Zhaowen said: "It is for the general trend of the world."

She smiled and said, "There is only one last hurdle left. If we can break through this gorge, we will be able to see the south of the Yangtze River. There are many brave generals and counselors in the Anxi Protectorate. I heard that Chen Wenmian has returned, so my presence or absence will not have much impact here."

"But there is one place where there is a world of difference between having me or not."

Po Jun was surprised, then realized something and whispered:
"Xiyi City, Duke Guo's Mansion."

Li Zhaowen said: "If our plan can be accomplished, then Ying State will be greatly impacted. Your Majesty is old and has encountered the incident with the Wolf King. Even if you are full of lofty sentiments, you cannot go against the laws of life, aging, illness and death."

"If your majesty passes away, there will be chaos in the court. By then, you will occupy one-third of the world, and Ying State's control over Xiyi City will probably be weakened. I am worried that my father will make the wrong choice at that time."

Xiyi City is the springboard for Ying State to extend its power into the Western Regions.

But if Xiyi City fell in the Anxi Protectorate.

This means that Xiyi City will become a stepping stone for the corresponding country of Anxi Protectorate.

Even if it did not side with the Anxi Protectorate and just remained neutral, it would be equivalent to directly cutting off Ying State's influence in the Western Regions.

Pojun looked at Li Zhaowen and said:
"I didn't expect that General Li would have such intention."

Li Zhaowen said: "My family has never been tolerated by Daying. When the world was in chaos, we were loyal ministers and generals of Daying. But once Daying was unified, or if Your Majesty passed away, my family would probably be on the verge of collapse in this world."

"If the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne, there is still some room for maneuver. If it is the Second Prince..."

Li Zhaowen said nothing, and finally said: "I am going back this time, I just hope that Xiyi City will not attack the Western Region at this critical time, and, if possible, we can conspire for a big event, isn't that okay?"

Li Zhaowen smiled carefreely, stood up and said:
"Then, please ask Mr. Pojun to pass on my matter to Brother Li."

"The world is in turmoil, so I will wait for the day when I can meet you again."

She paused and said, "Tell Brother Li."

Li Zhaowen smiled and said, "Don't forget the three promises you made to me."

Li Zhaowen left.

The entire situation in the world changed. On the second day, there was a battle report. The Angry Scale Dragon King Kou Yulie failed in his attack on the Great Gorge Pass ahead. He fell into the opponent's trap. Although the losses of the vanguard army were not heavy, the momentum of the charge was forced to stop.

I came back to ask and only then found out.

The general defending the fortress knew that the Anxi Protectorate's army was too powerful and could not be fought head-on, but he also saw the general situation and knew that his goal was not to defeat the Anxi Protectorate's army, but to stop them.

"Why not take advantage of the natural and geographical advantages!"

"We have the best of both worlds. Even if the Anxi Protectorate's army comes, what do we have to fear?"

So they built iron chains across the river in the most turbulent and dangerous areas, and secretly placed iron spikes and driftwood in the water. When the warships passed by, they were often intercepted, suffered heavy losses, and had to turn back.

Po Jun stripped the Angry Scaled Dragon King of his official position and demoted him to the position of commander of the navy as a punishment. He then climbed to a high place and looked into the distance, and saw that between the mountains, iron chains blocked the river. Despite the natural danger, the water was turbulent and it was not easy to cross.

Po Jun exclaimed: "What a great iron chain to block the river. We used the rising tide to speed up our progress, but the other side used the tide to make such an arrangement, making it impossible for our large ships to pass. How can we do that?"

But this place is not far from Jiangnan. Once they cross this gorge, there will be no more obstacles and they can rush down in one breath. No one knows what to do. Suddenly, Yan Daiqing has a plan and tells Pojun.

They prepared large rafts and placed scarecrows on the boats, wearing armor and pretending to be human. Each boat also had soldiers of the Angry Scale Dragon King who were excellent swimmers and lurked on the boats. Dozens or even hundreds of large ships surged down along with the water.

The floating wooden iron spikes in the water naturally pierced into the boat and into the straw soldiers.

Let those who are good at water bring the raft back, collect all the driftwood and iron spikes, and recast them into arrows for the army to use. Yan Daiqing also ordered people to gather the straw stalks after collecting the grain on the big ship, which was more than ten feet square.

It was filled with Western Region kerosene.

And a powder based on the enhanced version of Hou Zhongyu's combustion-aiding powder.

The defenders on the other side watched from afar as the Anxi Protectorate army was not aware of their own safety. They had already been defeated once, but there were still large ships coming down. They all laughed and saw that the ships were indeed blocked by iron chains.

He laughed to himself: "Hahahaha, everyone says that under the command of Qin Wuhou, there are brave generals like clouds and wise counselors like rain, but now it seems that they are just like this."

In the army, the silver-haired girl opened her eyes: "The wind is blowing."

The wind suddenly picked up.

Yan Daiqing said, "Thank you, General Wang."

Wang Shunchen smiled and said, "It is my honor to be able to implement this great plan."

The sharpshooter general Wang Shunchen drew his bow and shot an arrow, but the arrow was extremely far away and hit the large ship, which suddenly exploded into flames. In just an instant, the dozen large ships turned into a dozen raging flaming torches.

It hit the chains hard.

The sticky kerosene from the Western Regions fell on the iron chain.

Hou Zhongyu's combustion powder was spread on the iron chains, and the flames roared violently. The blocking iron chains gradually softened and liquefied visibly, and then fell into the water. Without any obstruction, more than a dozen flaming fire ships, like the soul-catching ropes of the King of Hell, rushed towards the gate of the fortress below.

Above the river, flames shot up into the sky!
The previous sneering sound turned into a scream:

"Aaaaaaah, fire attack, boiling the river, burning the city, yes, it's Yan Daiqing from the Northwest!!!"

"Northwest Yan Daiqing is here again!!!"

Yan Daiqing was originally standing at the highest point of the ship, with his hands behind his back. When he heard the sound coming from the wind, his face turned blue with anger.

I'm so angry that my liver hurts.

These dozen or so raging fire ships surged down and touched the Chen State warships in front of the fortress. The Western Region kerosene on them was already viscous, and with Hou Zhongyu's combustion powder, those ships were also directly stained with flames.

At this moment of panic, the army of Anxi Protectorate rushed down.

The battle lasted all day and night.

The fortress was broken.

On that day, a handsome scholar called out his name with a sneer.

"Remember it!"

"I am Jiangnan Wen Qingyu!"

"Remember?!"

"Jiangnan, Wen Qingyu!!!"

Wen He, the military advisor of the Southwestern Allied Forces who landed by another water route: “…………”

Yan Daiqing raised his eyes and the two looked at each other.

My fists were hard.

There are unofficial histories in later generations.

Both the left and right prime ministers were famous for their strange strategies and cruelty.

………………

Before the news of this great victory could spread throughout the world, Li Guanyi stood on the city defense. The Jiuzhou Cauldron roared and vibrated, and it seemed that a mark was about to be drawn on it, but time was running out.

That overwhelming force that could swallow the world had not yet reached the south of the Yangtze River.

Grand Tutor Jiang Su has arrived at the front line.

The army was surging and their momentum was as high as thunder. Grand Tutor Jiang Su led the army to the front line of the Tiance Mansion's defense. The world's number one general, wearing ink-colored armor and looking majestic and solemn, held the Silent Divine Spear in his hand and quietly gazed at the city defense in front of him, as well as Li Guanyi standing on the city wall.

Li Guanyi was in high spirits, and a huge formation was hovering over the entire city.

Jiang Su said: "It's been a long time since we last met, Qin Wu Hou."

Li Guanyi replied: "Yes, long time no see."

"The Grand Master has come from afar."

"I've got a present for you."

Li Guanyi raised his hand, holding a box. He flicked his wrist and the box flew towards Jiang Su. Jiang Su remained calm and raised his hand to grab the box. The box shattered into pieces, and a head with its eyes open appeared in Jiang Su's eyes.

The head of Jiang Xuantao!
Jiang Su’s sight.

Suddenly froze.

(End of this chapter)