I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 219 Dimensionality Reduction Strike
"I'm sorry, I just can't help it. You said Xiao Ruofeng... No!"

Chu Zhao put away his smile and said seriously, "Lei Mengsha, the world and everything else are very heavy. Li Changsheng probably hopes that you can indulge in the world and live freely, just like your senior brother Jun Yu."

Lei Mengsha was stunned: "Do you know our mysterious senior brother?"

"I've seen it."

Seeing that Chu Zhao had no intention of talking further, Lei Mengsha did not ask further questions. He said calmly, "Actually, Master also told me what you said, but Master also told me to live up to my own expectations."

"So you are determined."

"Ah."

Just one short word actually showed how determined he was.

Chu Zhao picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then sighed, "Lei Mengsha, do you know what Beili's biggest problem is now?"

Isn’t Beili’s biggest problem right now Xichu?
However, Lei Mengsha knew very well that with Chu Zhao's character, the answer would definitely not be so obvious.

So, he filled Chu Zhao's glass with wine like a lackey, and said with a flattering smile: "Please give me some advice, Emperor Chu."

“It’s land annexation.”

Upon hearing this, Lei Mengsha showed an expression that said "as expected".

"If we count all the dynasties we know about, leaving aside some external factors, the most fundamental reason for the collapse of the dynasties is the uneven distribution of land. The royal family, wealthy nobles, and rich landlords account for 10% of the population, but occupy 90% of the land. The land annexation is too serious, resulting in the country's inability to collect taxes. It can only endlessly exploit the common people. Therefore, in order to survive, the people can only rise up. A true dynasty will always collapse from within and then go to destruction."

Yue Yao seemed to be thinking: "So that's why you nationalized our Chu country's land and distributed it uniformly, and the people only have the right to use it but not the right to buy or sell it?"

Chu Zhao nodded and continued to say to Lei Mengsha: "Now Beili has entered the middle stage of a dynasty, and land annexation has become quite serious. If you use our Chu model to change Beili, you will inevitably become enemies with the powerful families in the world, and even the Beili royal family. Have you thought about it?"

"I haven't thought about it, but I've made up my mind. You don't need to persuade me."

Chu Zhao sighed and said seriously: "Lei Mengsha, you will die!"

Lei Mengsha nodded and said with a very carefree smile: "Everyone will die, right?"

Chu Zhao was stunned for a moment, then started laughing.

"That's true, I respect you!"

Lei Mengsha picked up the wine glass and joked, "You, the emperor, actually took the initiative to toast me. Shouldn't I be honored?"

Chu Zhao laughed, drank it all in one gulp, and waved his hand, saying, "Since you have made up your mind, there is nothing more for us to say. Go ahead and tell Xiao Ruofeng that I only want to recover the old land of Western Chu, and there is a possibility of peace talks between the two countries. Of course, if Beili is unwilling to talk, I am always ready to accompany you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lei Mengsha put down his wine glass, bowed deeply, and then clasped his fists towards the three women present and said with a smile: "My two sisters-in-law, Miss Chu, see you again if we are lucky enough!"

Just like that, Lei Meng was killed and left.

Walking very freely!

Chu Yi glanced at his departing figure and said with a smile, "Ninth brother, did you scare him just now?"

Chu Zhao shook his head: "No, he will really die!"

If you want to solve Beili’s problem, you have to touch the cake in the hands of the aristocratic families, and if you touch their cake, you will inevitably be besieged.

Not to mention a mere Lei Mengsha, even the Emperor of Beili would surely die if he did not have absolute control over the military power!
Chu Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I heard that you like his daughter very much. You won't watch him die, will you?"

"Third sister, you care so much about Lei Mengsha, are you attracted to him?" Chu Zhao was shocked: "That won't do, Lei Mengsha has a wife and children."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yi said angrily, "Go away, what are you thinking? I just think it's not bad for Lei Meng to kill people. It would be a pity if someone like him who serves the country and the people died."

Yueyao and Yin Luoxia nodded in agreement, with Yueyao even saying, "It's really a pity, but don't worry, Third Sister, your brother will definitely save him in the end."

But Chu Zhao shook his head and said firmly: "No, I won't save him."

"Why?" Yueyao was a little surprised.

"Because their positions are different, because he is loyal to Beili."

After more than a year of visits, Lei Mengsha is no longer the Lei Mengsha who knew nothing about internal affairs.

Chu Zhao didn’t know how powerful Lei Mengsha was now, but he was sure that if Beili was willing to allow Lei Mengsha to reform, it would definitely improve the country’s strength.

What is honey to me is poison to me.

For a person like this, not killing him is already his limit, so how could he possibly save him?

Yueyao and Yin Luoxia looked suddenly enlightened.

Chu Yi didn't think too much about it and changed the subject, "By the way, when I left Yuelu City, there was news from Tianqi City that Chu Jun was not feeling well after giving birth."

Yes, that’s right, his second sister gave birth to a son, and that son was none other than the male protagonist in Song of Youth—Xiao Chuhe.

Before Chu Zhao could speak, Chu Yi added: "I know you are very busy. I am not asking you to go to Tianqi City. I just want to ask if you can ask Dean Xin to go to Tianqi."

The so-called Dean Xin is the King of Medicine Xin Baicao, and he is now the Dean of Chu State Medical College.

"Third sister, don't you have a bad relationship with second sister? Why do you care about her so much?" Yue Yao joked. Although she and Yin Luoxia were older than Chu Ai, there was nothing they could do. After all, they were married to Chu Zhao, so they could only follow Chu Zhao and call her sister.

Chu Yi smiled and said, "It's true that our relationship is not good, but we are sisters after all."

Chu Zhao hummed, "I'll order someone to escort Dean Xin there. Let's have dinner."

On the other side, the Beili army camp.

Xiao Ruofeng was very worried.

He just had a brief meeting with the generals of the Zhenxi Army.

Judging from the attitudes of most of the Zhenxi Army's generals, they wanted to withdraw their troops to attack the Blood-Cloth Army behind them and withdraw the entire army to the rear to recuperate.

This is actually understandable. After all, they have fought two battles with the Western Chu army in Langya City, and lost both battles.

As the saying goes, once you make great efforts, you will be exhausted again and again.

We have already lost two battles, can we win the third time?

To be fair, most of the generals were actually quite satisfied with the battle on the 23rd of the winter month. If Chu Zhao had not displayed his supernatural power and scared a large number of soldiers, they would have already captured Langya City in that battle.

Even though they lost 90,000 soldiers in that battle, they also succeeded in inflicting great casualties on the other side. The casualty ratio of nearly 1 to 6 seemed a bit exaggerated, but in their opinion it was not unacceptable.

However, what no one expected was that in a battle on the second day, that is, on the 24th day of the winter month, their Beili army actually showed signs of being exhausted. On the other hand, the Western Chu soldiers in Langya City gave them the impression that their morale was high and they were even more courageous than in the fierce battle the day before.

This is simply unbelievable!
The morale of the enemy and our side changed dramatically within just two days, to the point that the entire army was no longer optimistic about taking over Langya City.

More importantly, the remaining supplies in the army will not last long.

If they do not retreat and break through the Blood-Cloth Army that is besieging them from the rear, their Zhenxi Army will be defeated without a fight when they run out of ammunition and food.

There is no way we can fight this battle.

Of course, this is the view of most generals, but what Xiao Ruofeng is waiting for is the desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food.

Because he really has no better way to boost the morale of the soldiers now, he can only let the entire army fall into a desperate situation and then make a last fight.

After all, when people are in desperate situations, no one knows how much strength they can unleash, so he never gave the order to attack the city again.

But if they fail to capture the city in the end, with the ruthlessness displayed by Chu Zhao, is it possible for anyone in the army of 200,000 to survive?

You have to know that these are 200,000 living lives, and behind these 200,000 troops are countless families.

So Xiao Ruofeng was actually very conflicted. Should he retreat to break the encirclement of the Blood-Clothed Army in the rear, have the entire army return to the rear to rest, and then attack Langya City again next year, or should he make one last gamble?

Just as he was struggling, two figures walked into the general's tent.

One of them was Ye Xiaoying, the future general of Beili, and the other was Lei Mengsha who came from Langya City.

They hadn't seen each other for more than a year, and now they met again, Xiao Ruofeng and Lei Mengsha were very happy.

After the joy of reunion after a long separation, Lei Mengsha got down to business.

"Your Highness, I just came from Langya City. Chu Zhao said that he only wants the old land of Western Chu and can negotiate with us Beili."

Xiao Ruofeng was very sure that the so-called old land of Western Chu was definitely not the territory of Western Chu fifteen years ago.

After all, the territory currently occupied by Western Chu exceeds that of Western Chu fifteen years ago, so it is obvious that Chu Zhao wants the land west of Langya City.

This...even he couldn't accept it, let alone the Beili court and his father.

"You have been in Xi Chu for so long, what do you think?" Xiao Ruofeng asked.

"Let's negotiate."

Lei Mengsha recounted everything he had seen and heard over the past year in detail, and finally said: "Your Highness, the Beili court has oppressed the people too much in recent years, and their hearts have already leaned towards Xichu. Just when I came to Langya City, I saw with my own eyes that the people of our Beili lined up to welcome the Xichu Shenwu Army into the city..."

Hearing this, Ye Xiaoying immediately interrupted and said, "Are you sure?"

The people of Beili lined up to welcome the Western Chu army?
This is simply unbelievable.

Why doesn't he believe it so much?

Lei Mengsha sighed: "I also hope that I am wrong, but this is the fact."

Ye Xiaoying opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he heard Xiao Ruofeng sighing, "Chu Zhao's method of beating up the local tyrants and dividing up the land has really caused me to lose the support of the people in the entire Western Territory, and even the southwest and northwest regions."

According to the news from Bai Xiaotang, it was nothing that the people lined up to welcome the Western Chu army. Some people even took the initiative to lead the Western Chu army and spontaneously launched an attack on the Beili soldiers, just to allow Western Chu to take over the city as soon as possible.

It can be said that countless people in the northwest, southwest and west of Beili, who are still under their Beili rule, are looking forward to the arrival of the Western Chu army.

Seeing Xiao Ruofeng's expression constantly changing, Lei Mengsha persuaded him again: "Your Highness, let's negotiate."

Xiao Ruofeng was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Does Chu Zhao really only want the old land of Western Chu?"

"That's what he said."

Xiao Ruofeng hummed, "We can negotiate, but we still have to fight the final battle."

Lei Mengsha was stunned: "Must we fight?"

"Well, we must fight!"

"We will lose. When I entered the city today, I found that the reinforcements from Western Chu had already arrived in Langya City."

Hearing this, Ye Xiaoying hurriedly asked, "How many support troops do they have?"

"As far as I know, the Shenwu Army has dispatched 50,000 troops to provide support. And the most important thing is not the troops, but their artillery and ammunition have also arrived."

They were the ones attacking the city, which meant they needed to gather a large army. With the power of artillery, one shot could kill dozens or even hundreds of people.

This is not a war, it is about letting the soldiers from Beili die.

It can be predicted that if the two sides really fight, it will definitely be a one-sided massacre.

No one knew better than him how powerful the Western Chu artillery was, and no one knew better than him how cruelly the Western Chu treated the resistance.

"I know we will lose, but we have to fight this battle. If we don't fight this battle, the court will not negotiate with Beili, and more people will die." Xiao Ruofeng smiled bitterly, silently saying sorry, sorry...

Time quietly came to the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Zhenxi Army was close to despair.

Early in the morning of that day, Xiao Ruofeng personally beat the drum for the attack.

The morale of the 200,000 Zhenxi Army, which was almost in a desperate situation, reached an unprecedented level.

If the battle on the 23rd of the winter month was the only one that showed courage and fearlessness under Xiao Ruofeng's direct line of Langya Army, then today the entire army was fearless of death.

It can be said that in the great battle in the winter month, if the Zhenxi Army had its current morale, Langya City would certainly not be able to be defended.

Because the east and south of the city may not be broken, but the west of the city will definitely be broken!
Unfortunately, it's too late.

Boom boom boom boom——

The sound waves, accompanied by flames, bloomed one after another under the sky.

The bodies of the Beili soldiers were pushed away, blood spurted into the air, the breath of flames burned across their faces, and broken corpses smashed into the soldiers' faces. The war drums were still beating. Some people reacted and rushed forward with shouts, while others were stunned by the sudden change.

Dozens of artillery shells exploded in a salvo, forming an irregular curve that crossed the formation of the vanguard.

Then, there were hoarse shouts and the neighing of war horses.

At the moment of the explosion, although there was a loud noise nearby, with the impact of the flames and air waves, the brittle shrapnel sprayed in all directions. In just a moment, the story of the artillery was over. The flames burned on the broken bodies nearby, and those who were a little further away were blown away by the air wave, and then there was the range of impact of the shrapnel.

The bodies of the Beili soldiers who were still advancing around them were covered in bloodstains. Some were from the flying blood, while others were from fragments that had embedded into or penetrated various parts of their bodies.

The pain does not arise the moment you are shot. Because the explosion happens too quickly, the soldiers who are not mentally prepared only discover their injuries a moment later.

Someone sat up from the ground, flames burning his broken body, shrapnel destroying his hands, feet, waist and abdomen. He slapped the charred body in a daze, surrounded by broken body parts, internal organs and intestines all over the ground, and countless people let out miserable screams!
For the soldiers who were still on the move, these things happened in the blink of an eye. They were still about two hundred feet away from the city wall in front of them. At the moment when the artillery attack fell from the sky, many people didn't even know what was happening.

This feeling is... very weird!

The war drums are still beating and the Beili soldiers are still charging forward.

The Chu artillery troops who saw this scene all laughed. It was the first time they had seen such a fearless and brave Beili Army. They could have a great time firing their artillery today.

Boom boom boom boom——

Round after round of artillery fire bombarded the ground, exploding in the 200,000-strong Beili army, causing great chaos in the huge army formation. The Beili soldiers in the formation did not have a broad view to overlook the battlefield, but for the battle-hardened generals in the army, they knew they were defeated without even looking. The unknown fear brought by the chaos ahead had swept across the entire battlefield like a tide.

The sound of the artillery drowned out the sound of the drums. Xiao Ruofeng gave up beating the drums to boost morale. He flew to a high place. In his field of vision, he first saw yellow flames, then charred black corpses, and then red blood...

It was as if the whole world had turned blood red, countless soldiers were fleeing and retreating, and countless chaos were occurring in the army.

At this moment, he felt as if an invisible hand was tightly grasping his heart, making it very difficult for him to breathe.

He knew that his side would lose, but he didn't expect it to be lost so quickly and so tragically.

"General, give the order to withdraw the troops. We can't fight any more. We can't fight any more."

Lei Mengsha came hurriedly and stood below, shouting anxiously.

For them, Western Chu with its artillery was... well, in Chu Zhao's words, a dimensionality reduction attack.

The explosion of each shell is equivalent to a full-strength attack from a master in the Free and Easy Heaven Realm. Can the soldiers in the army resist this?

More importantly, Western Chu not only has long-range cannons for attacking and defending cities, but also small steel cannons for short-range, small-scale combat.

If they do not retreat now, and wait until their entire front is defeated and the Western Chu army blows the horn of counterattack, they will face a ruthless bloody massacre.

Xiao Ruofeng fell from a great height, as if he had lost all his strength, and uttered four words with difficulty.

"Send the order, withdraw the troops!"

The second year of Kaiyuan, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Today is a sunny day, with clouds rolling over Langya City.

Relying on the advantage of artillery, the Chu State's Eastern Expedition Army once again repelled the full-scale attack of the Beili Army.

The smoke and flames rising from the war can be clearly seen from miles away!
(End of this chapter)