Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 540 Luo Yuan Apologizes, the Three Armies Encircle Him, Xu Ning's Little Scheme

"Luo Yuan's incompetence has caused our army to be attacked from both sides. He deserves to die ten thousand times over. I request to resign from my position as Marshal of the Central Route and leave my fate to the Lord!"

Before the combined forces of Jinshan and Wuchuan had even left sight, the two commanders of the central and rear armies arrived ahead of time.

Luo Yuan was very honest. As soon as he arrived at the city wall, he knelt down in front of Xia Hong to beg for forgiveness. His face was full of shame and self-reproach, and he didn't even dare to raise his head.

Xia Hong's expression was naturally not very pleasant.

Fifty thousand troops slipped away right under Luo Yuan's nose without him noticing. For a commander-in-chief, this was almost a fatal mistake.

The key point is that he had just used the fog and miasma trick to deceive the Wuchuan army and cleverly captured Donggu City, winning a brilliant battle; but only a few hours later, he fell victim to Cai Qiu's trickery and secret method.

The Great Xia Dynasty had plenty of supplies to deal with trickery, such as small torches, anti-trick jade, and yellow candles. All four armies were equipped with these supplies. The fact that they still fell for it shows that the entire central army, including Luo Yuan, was completely blinded by their previous victory and had no defenses whatsoever.

In fact, if Xia Hong hadn't handled the situation well and seized the pass in time, Yuwen Tao's 40,000-strong central army would most likely have been defeated, which undoubtedly added more uncertainty to the situation on the southern slopes.

Of course, the situation has now completely reversed, and Great Xia still holds the upper hand.

Winning is winning, but being wrong is being wrong!

Xia Hong looked at Luo Yuan kneeling before him and was about to speak when a figure suddenly flew out from inside the city and spoke first.

"My lord, the most urgent task is to pursue the combined forces of the two towns. Lord Luo's crimes can be investigated after the battle!"

The newcomer was none other than Xu Ning, the battle flag bearer who had just arrived at the pass ahead of the Wuchuan army to deliver the message.

Xu Ning was initially in Donggu. After the Wuchuan army disappeared, he immediately thought that Qin Feng was going to lead his army north to reinforce Wuchuan City, so he rushed to Wuchuan City to inform Xia Chuan. Later, after Xia Chuan reminded him, he realized that Qin Feng was leading his army east to the pass, so he changed course and rushed to the pass.

His journey back and forth, passing through three different places, took up a considerable amount of time. By the time he arrived at the pass, Wu Chuan's army was already close in, so the intelligence he brought was almost useless. By the time he arrived, Xia Hong's side had already made all the necessary preparations.

"We'll talk about that later!"

Changing commanders at the last minute is definitely not an option, so Xia Hong took the ladder that Xu Ning offered and stepped down.

Xu Ning had gotten himself out of a tight spot, and Luo Yuan immediately gave him a grateful look, which greatly eased his anxiety.

The battle at the pass has almost sealed the fate of the two towns of Jinshan and Wuchuan. The unification of the southern foothills by the Great Xia is now a foregone conclusion. If the lord does not pursue his crimes now, after the war and the Great Xia is established, even if he does pursue them, it will not be too serious.

"The allied forces of the two towns have fled north. If I'm not mistaken, they should leave Qinggu, then head west along the southern foot of Mo'ao Mountain, bypass Hanzhao, enter Yinhe Valley, occupy Jinyang City, and then hold Jinyang while waiting for Caiqiu's reinforcements."

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, the generals' eyes widened and they nodded slightly.

Cai Qiu's movements were not hard to guess; the allied forces of the two towns had no other options besides this route.

"My lord, if you ask me, we don't need to worry about these 100,000-plus people. Wuchuan and Jinshan are already two isolated cities, with only a few hundred thousand Digging Realm cultivators inside. If we concentrate our forces to take them down, and then capture all the families of the soldiers in the two towns, and drive them directly to the walls of Jinyang, are we still afraid that these 100,000 troops won't surrender?"

As soon as Xu Ning finished speaking, many people present exchanged glances.

With Xia Hong's Beast King-level puppet in hand, taking down two towns would not be difficult for the Xia army. If Xu Ning's idea were followed, the allied forces of the two towns would indeed collapse without a fight. In this way, the Xia army's casualties could be minimized, preparing for the war against the vassal states later.

"The two vassal states of Chencang, Cai, and Qiu are shameless, but my Great Xia still has a sense of honor. Using women and children to coerce others into surrendering is an act that this lord despises!"

Having lived two lives, Xia Hong could not possibly be so pedantic.

The main problem was Xu Ning's suggestion, which sounded impressive but wasn't very feasible.

There are two major difficulties in capturing the town and then using the families of the soldiers to coerce the allied troops into surrendering:

First, they must capture the town. Although the allied forces of the two towns have retreated, Cai Qiu will definitely continue to keep an eye on the Xia army's movements. If they attack the town, who knows if the allied forces will return?
All fourteen Beast King-level puppets have appeared. Cai Qiu may have a countermeasure next time. If the town is not breached in a short time and the Xia army is put into a difficult battle, there will be more variables.
Secondly, they could capture the families of soldiers to coerce them. Regardless of whether this would work, even if it did, would the people of Jinshan and Wuchuan towns be willing to integrate into the Great Xia and become Xia people if they defeated the allied forces in this way?
Some things may not seem to have an immediate impact, but over time, the consequences can be endless. If you can defeat the combined forces of the two towns fair and square, there's no need to resort to such underhanded tactics. Whether you succeed or not, you'll end up with a lot of trouble.

"Furthermore, from this moment on, our enemies are no longer the towns of Jinshan and Wuchuan..."

Xia Hong's whisper caused the generals present to pause for a moment, but they quickly recovered.

"Dawn is approaching. According to intelligence, Cai Qiu's army will be able to cross the Bone-Eating Road by the night of the 3rd at the latest. We must annihilate the allied forces of the two towns before they head south!"

The entire right wing army knew that Cai Qiu's army was going south, so as soon as Yuwen Tao finished speaking, everyone nodded and looked at Xia Hong.

"We'll see if my guess is right. If Cai Qiu and his gang have really lost their minds and dare to retreat to Jinyang with 100,000 troops, then this battle is completely over!"

Xia Hong's eyes turned slightly cold, and his tone was full of menace.

Jinyang City was built from scratch three years ago by the Great Xia Dynasty, who recruited a large number of craftsmen and built it brick by brick. They had already made preparations. Besides, how could Yuwen Tao not have made arrangements before leading his army out of Jinyang at the beginning of the war?
Next, we'll see if our guesses are correct.

If Cai Qiu is truly arrogant and thinks he can rest easy with 100,000 troops, and recklessly attacks Jinyang, regardless of whether they can break through, they will ultimately meet their demise.

“Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, you two return to your respective headquarters and send scouts to keep a close eye on the movements of the allied forces. With Cai Qiu’s cunning methods, the allied forces will definitely march faster than you, so don’t bother trying to catch up. Just stay behind them and keep a close watch.”

"Subordinates take orders!"

"Yuwen Tao should reorganize first. After that, you can catch up. However, you must maintain contact with Yuan and Luo's armies. The three armies should not be too far apart. Beware of ambushes by the allied forces. As long as they are going through Yinhe Valley, you don't need to rush to catch up. Just stay behind them steadily."

"Subordinates take orders!"

Xia Hong arranged the three armies, then turned to Xu Ning and continued, "Xu Ning, pass on my order to Xia Chuan's left flank army. As long as it is confirmed that the 100,000-strong allied army from Jinshan and Wuchuan has gone to Yinhe Valley, then he no longer needs to besiege Wuchuan City. He should lead the army back to Dongchuan City and be wary of the north!"

"Subordinates take orders!"

Xu Ning pondered for only a moment before immediately understanding Xia Hong's meaning. If the 100,000-strong allied army really went to Yinhe Valley, not only Jinshan City but also Wuchuan City would become a dead city. Besieging it would be completely pointless, and as for attacking it, that would be even more unnecessary.

Just like with Jinshan, as long as the last 100,000 troops in the two towns are wiped out, the two towns, along with the remaining territories of the two towns, will naturally belong to the Great Xia.

Anyway, the grain reserves in the two towns are sufficient, so there is no point in besieging them for a short period of time. It would be better to concentrate our efforts on dealing with the 100,000-strong allied army first.

However, Xia Hong's order also meant that Xia Chuan's 20,000 elite troops were unable to participate in the great battle to annihilate the combined forces of the two towns.

However, it's understandable. Firstly, Chencang is a major threat and must be guarded against; secondly, the left wing army has already gained a lot of military merit in this battle, and if they are allowed to participate in the great battle to wipe out the allied forces, the soldiers of the other three armies will probably have some objections.

Thinking of this, Xu Ning's eyes also became burning with desire.

Once this great battle is over and the Great Xia Dynasty has firmly established itself in the southern foothills, it will surely bestow lavish rewards, and Xia City will definitely have a large number of military merits and nobles.

"My accumulated military merits were already over 6700 before the battle, less than 1300 away from being promoted to a noble rank. After this battle, I should at least be promoted to the fifth-rank Golden Palace Viscount. If I can achieve some outstanding feats in the subsequent battles against the regional warlords, I might even have a chance to become the fourth-rank Jade Balance Viscount..."

The nine-rank nobility system currently implemented in the Great Xia Dynasty, from lowest to highest, are Xuanling, Chixiao, Qingming, Zidian, Jinque, Yuheng, Tianquan, Taiwei, and Zhunbo.

The Xia Dynasty stipulated that the title of nobility was conferred only on military merit. The lowest rank, the ninth-rank Xuanling Viscount, required accumulating 500 military merit points. Military merit was the number of enemies killed on the battlefield. The nine-rank nobility system was promulgated after the Battle of Longyou. At that time, one point of military merit meant killing an enemy soldier at the limit of the Digging Realm on the battlefield.

Times have changed. With the rapid advancement of the Great Xia Dynasty's strength in recent years, the number of Cold-resistant level soldiers in the entire Nine Towns region has also increased rapidly. Three years ago, the Ministry of War took the lead in revising the regulations on military merits. The current regulations are: a Cold-resistant level enemy soldier with a strength of less than 8 manes receives 1 point of military merit; those with 8 to 24 manes receive 2 points; those with 24 to 40 manes receive 3 points; and enemy generals with a strength of 40 or more receive 5 points...

The change in the military merit calculation method came along with the growth of the Great Xia's strength, which also means that the difficulty for the Xia people to be granted titles has always been ridiculously high.

Killing 500 enemy soldiers with the Cold Resistance level cultivation on the battlefield is something that would be very difficult for even top experts with a cultivation level of 50 or above, let alone ordinary Cold Resistance level soldiers, or even, to exaggerate a bit, top experts with the Manifestation level cultivation.

Moreover, 500 military merits is only the lowest rank of ninth-grade Xuanling Viscount.

The conditions for promotion in the Great Xia Dynasty were even more stringent. For each rank higher, the required accumulated military merit doubled. Therefore, the eighth rank, Chixiao, required 1000 merits, the seventh rank, Qingming, 2000 merits, the sixth rank, 4000 merits, the fifth rank, 8000 merits, and so on.

Xu Ning had followed Xia Hong since the Tupo period. He was not only among the earliest Xia people, but also among the first to be granted titles after the Longyou War.

He held a high position and had far more channels to acquire military merits than others, not to mention the opportunities. Yet, even so, from the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty to the thirteenth year, a full eleven years, he only accumulated a little over 6700 military merits, which currently only qualifies him as a sixth-rank Purple Electronic Noble.

You should know that in the seventh year of the Great Xia Dynasty, he went to explore the Great Jue Temple alone and almost lost his life in order to earn 1000 military merits. If Xia Hong hadn't saved him with Master Wusheng's organs, he would still be a cripple.

This shows how difficult it was to obtain military merits in the Great Xia Dynasty!
"The title hasn't changed in over three years; it's about time it was promoted..."

Xu Ning turned to look at Yuan Cheng and Luo Yuan, a slight thought stirring in his heart.

Currently, the highest-ranking nobles in the Great Xia Dynasty are none other than Xia Chuan, the Director of the Ministry of War, and Yuwen Tao, the Director of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Both of them are already fifth-rank Golden Palace Viscounts. In this great battle, both of them served as commanders-in-chief of their respective armies. With high positions, great power, and great responsibility, they will naturally be more advantageous when it comes to rewarding merits. It is foreseeable that once the great battle ends, both of them will be promoted by at least two ranks, and perhaps even further, directly becoming second-rank Taiwei Viscounts.

Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao are far ahead of the others, followed by him, Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Luo An, Lu Yang, Yue Feng, Lin Kai, Liu Yuan, Hong Tian, ​​Hong Guang, Meng Yi, Zhao Long, Cheng Feng, and others. In recent years, they have also caught up and are currently all sixth-rank nobles.

Although everyone follows Xia Hong, they all have their own ambitions. Moreover, as their status and power have increased over the years, they have naturally begun to compete with each other, not only in terms of strength but also in terms of titles.

"Originally, the four commanders-in-chief should have received the most credit, but Luo Yuan stumbled, and there's no point in trying to remedy the situation later, unless the other three armies also make mistakes. However, Si Cheng is exceptionally wise, Yuwen Sizheng is prudent and steady, and Yuan Cheng, though seemingly reckless, is actually meticulous. With Qiu Peng assisting him, there shouldn't be any major problems. Therefore, Luo Yuan's title will definitely not be awarded as quickly as the other three, and it might even affect his future. Whether he will be allowed to serve as commander-in-chief in the next major battle is a question!"

Xu Ning's expression flickered; Luo Yuan's mistake was actually a good thing for him.

While the position of battle flag bearer is important, it would certainly be better if he could serve as the commander-in-chief of an army. It is a pity that the lady did not think of him when she was selecting generals for this battle.

It's easy to understand if you think about it. When Lady Li Xuanling was selecting generals, she would definitely choose someone who could command respect. Xia Chuan was a given; as the Director of the Ministry of War, he was more than qualified to be the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition. Yuwen Tao was the same; as the Director of the Ministry of War, he was the one in charge of the entire Xia army.

As for Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng, one was in charge of the Hunting Department and the other was in charge of the Garrison Department. Of the eight departments of the Great Xia Dynasty, the only ones that were even remotely related to combat, besides the military, were these two departments. It was understandable that these two were appointed as commanders.

"In other words, the next large-scale military expedition will most likely still select its commander from among the eight tribal leaders. As the deputy director of the garrison, I actually have a chance..."

"Alright, everyone go and get back to your own business!"

"Subordinates resign!"

Xu Ning's train of thought was interrupted by Xia Hong, and he quickly snapped out of it. He and the others bowed to him and then sped off towards Wuchuan City to the west.

Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng also returned to their headquarters, mobilized a large army, and continued to advance north to pursue the Wuchuan-Jinshan allied forces.

Xia Hong did not leave; he wanted to remain in Yuwen Tao's right flank army.

All three armies were going to pursue the combined forces of the two towns. Cai Qianshan and Cai Qiu's group of assassins were all there, so he naturally couldn't stray too far from the army.

"Xu Ning just told me that Qiu Peng has mobilized all of the Great Xia's garrison troops to the north. One force of twelve thousand will come up via the Hanqiong secret passage and will be able to enter Dongchuan City before nightfall tomorrow. The other force of sixty thousand will come north from Chuishan and will be a little later, arriving in the Yinhe Valley area before dawn the day after tomorrow. You can control your marching speed a bit and don't rush things. Anyway, Cai Qiu's army won't be heading south for another three days. As long as we make sure we wipe out the allied forces before they arrive..."

"My subordinates know!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's advice, Yuwen Tao nodded emphatically.

This newly added army of 160,000 was certainly not intended to eliminate the Wuchuan-Jinshan coalition, but rather to defend against the two major northern warlords.

However, Xia Hong hadn't finished speaking.

"Moreover, we don't necessarily have to take action against those 100,000 allied troops!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's last words, Yuwen Tao was taken aback at first, but then quickly realized what was going on. A strange light appeared in his eyes, and he quickly said with a puzzled expression, "Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang should be powerless to reverse the situation, right? They are probably already under the control of Cai Qiu's people. Otherwise, they should have made a gesture when the lord tried to persuade them to surrender."

Xia Hong disagreed with his idea, shaking his head and laughing, "Shangguan Yang and Qin Feng are not the kind of people who sit idly by and wait to die. They will definitely find a way. With an army of 100,000, they can cause enough trouble for Cai Qianshan. Just wait and see. I have high hopes for these two."

(End of this chapter)