Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 654 It’s finally here

Speaking of the training regiment, they were quite formidable.

The Vanguard Battalion was composed of heroes selected from the new recruits of the entire New Army, the Broken Army, and the Green Forest Army. Each of them was a top-notch soldier. Even someone like Liu Shenyong, who could lift a 180-pound man with one hand, was eliminated because he did not meet the physical endurance standards. You can imagine what a hellish organization this was.

However, the training regiment was selected from the veterans of the vanguard battalion who had reached the end of their service term. They were all between twenty-six and twenty-eight years old, quick-witted, physically fit, experienced, and had a certain level of education and had received corresponding officer training.

Their equipment is also very steampunk-esque, but its main characteristic is its size. Big is good, big is powerful, caliber is justice, range is truth, power is romance, and explosion is art.

What? The Divine Machine Battalion isn't big enough?

That's basically correct. The Shenji Battalion is large, but the Training Corps is a plus-sized, pro-max-sized version of the Shenji Battalion.

Although they couldn't carry giant cannons, their other equipment was the same as the Shenji Battalion. What was most outrageous about them was their extreme materialism: super-heavy infantry equipped with large-caliber shotgun shells, white phosphorus shells and high-explosive grenades hanging on their waists, and rocket support from behind. Moreover, all their weapons were hammers, with big hammers and small hammers. The big hammer weighed eight pounds and the small hammer weighed four pounds. The big hammer was used to break armor and the small hammer was used to kill enemies.

Holding an armor-piercing hammer in one hand and a governor's spray in the other, aiming? Not a chance. Although he's an infantryman, he doesn't care what you are. He'll wash you with a spray as soon as he sees you. If one isn't enough, he can wash you several times. If you're still alive, he'll turn around and give you an elbow strike and a skull crusher combo. To be honest, all he's missing is power armor. If he could really get power armor, everyone would call him Mark VIII.

They are limited by their numbers, current technological capabilities, and logistical support; otherwise, these guys could really make a huge mess of things.

It took twelve large ships to transport these five thousand people, but thirty-one large ships were used to transport their supplies. Almost all the shipping capacity of the East China Sea was piled up in this place. Taking advantage of the current, they headed straight for the Bohai Bay. Although it was freezing cold there, it was still an ice-free port. As long as they could get them ashore, even if the leader of the opposing team was Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, they could still give him a good beating.

“Our speed may be a little delayed. If they have already broken through the barrier, we will knock on it. If they haven’t broken through, then you can go all out. If they want to touch my three northeastern provinces, I will smash their heads in.”

Xia Lin slapped his hand on the map and said to the surrounding officers and the person in charge of the training regiment, "This time I'm going to give you all full firepower, don't let me down. But I'm a novice when it comes to tactics, so you'll have to act according to the situation. I'll hand over the initiative on the battlefield to you, so make sure you fight a great battle, you hear me!?"

"understand!"

The winds at sea were bad, forcing the ships to take a long detour, making a large loop around the Bohai Bay from the direction of Japan. While at sea, the Japanese had no chance to see such a magnificent fleet. They had to stand on tiptoe to get a glimpse as the ships passed by. Meanwhile, the soldiers on the ship's gunwale put on a standard version of "Imperial Contempt," and even that contempt was enough to keep those naive island girls up at night.

This is understandable. It's no exaggeration to say that the ships on this mission are all first-class ocean freighters. The average cost of a single ship is 700,000 taels of silver. Even if you sold the capital city of the Baka Asuka era, you still couldn't afford these large ships. They are not even worthy of being first-class freighters to land and trade. You should know that first-class ships only trade with the black soil region. The barren Baka Island is not even worthy of being passed by first-class ships if it weren't for the weather.

This isn't contempt or arrogance, it's just utterly worthless.

Moreover, Han envoys generally do not easily go to this Gouba place. It's not that they are talking about anything else, but rather that their so-called emperor doesn't know what etiquette to use to receive him. According to the edict of the previous emperor of the Great Wei, the Japanese emperor who just ascended the throne, Shumei, is only a fifth-rank official, while the envoys that the Court of State Ceremonial can send abroad are generally between the fifth and fourth ranks.

Moreover, a superior country implicitly considers itself half a level above a inferior country, so when envoys arrive there, the emperor has to kneel before them, which is somewhat inappropriate.

"Should we just wipe them out while we're at it?"

Xia Lin stood on the ship's railing, looking at the undeveloped port and city, and wondered if they were to land now, it would be like Gulliver's Travels arriving in Lilliput, going on a rampage, and finally detonating half a ton of explosives at the Fuji Pass.

But thinking about it, I decided against it. We can't afford to waste time right now, and there's no time to mess around in a place like this.

"Hey, you."

"Lord Xia," the accompanying historian official stepped forward, "what are your orders?"

"Make a note of this." Xia Lin pointed to the now indistinct Baga Island in the distance: "The Japanese are not to be associated with. Their natures are contradictory yet intertwined. They are martial yet benevolent, militaristic yet admire strength, arrogant yet respectful, steadfast yet adaptable, docile yet retain their will, loyal yet prone to wavering, courageous yet timid, conservative yet open to new trends. This contradictory nature is a perfect whole, like the combination of strength and gentleness in cherry blossoms. Be careful, be careful. Future gentlemen must not be negligent or careless. Do not associate with them because of etiquette or law, nor with them because of morality."

"Have you memorized it?"

"Remember it."

Xia Lin nodded: "When we go back and include it in the records, when we are compiling the new history, we will add a sentence saying that the land of Wa (Japan) originated from the refugees during the chaos of the Qin and Han dynasties, and should indeed be our native land. The status cannot be too high, it can only be refugees."

“Understood!” The young historian looked up suddenly, his eyes shining brightly: “I will go back and have someone carve the inscription on the stele, and compile the national history, local chronicles, astronomy and calendar for them.”

"Good for you." Xia Lin patted his shoulder with satisfaction. "You've got it." "Expanding territory always requires a pretext. My family of historians isn't just about recording people's superficial details." He spoke with a strong sense of pride: "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king."

Xia Lin didn't say anything more. He just gripped the thick sail rope with one hand and gazed at the vast ocean in the distance, with only one thought in his mind: "All land under heaven belongs to the king."

The journey would take more than a month, and Xia Lin, who was at sea, had almost completely cut off all contact with the outside world. He did not know where the enemy had gone or whether they had begun to knock on the gate, but according to his estimation, it should be in the next few days. In other words, Xiao Chenzi might have to hold out for more than twenty days.

I don't know if he can handle it.

As for getting support from Shanhaiguan, Xia Lin thought it was unlikely. Shanhaiguan was not what it used to be. Li Jing had been dead for almost ten years, and his son's abilities were really mediocre. He couldn't possibly manage such a large operation. He had heard that corruption was rampant within Shanhaiguan in recent years. The Shanhaiguan elite cavalry, which was once one of the three most formidable fighting forces in the region, had long since become an empty shell. Hoping for them to come out of the pass to help was less realistic than hoping that the cold air from Siberia would move south and freeze Yang Ying's men to death.

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai was still being held up by the Turks in Handan for negotiations. After all, it was a major event involving ceding territory and paying reparations to "forever unite as one heart." The military strength within the Great Wei was indeed stretched thin, and there was no way to send troops thousands of miles away to reinforce Huangyaguan.

Therefore, Xia Lin had already made the worst-case scenario plan: if her eldest son was unlucky, he might perish here.

Meanwhile, inside Huangya Pass, intelligence reports were being delivered to Xiao Chenzi, who sat in a chair with a furrowed brow.

The intelligence indicated that Yang Ying did not follow the plan to leave Zhangjiakou or go west, but instead went straight to Huangyaguan via Youyun, and was less than a hundred miles away from here.

They needed to leave the pass, but Xiao Chenzi couldn't tell him to leave, because leaving the pass and entering the pass were no different; both required opening the gate, and once the gate was opened, no one knew what would happen next.

Xiao Chenzi sighed softly. He wanted to ask for help, but then he put down his pen, knowing that his plea would be useless.

Who could he turn to? Those savages who still can't read? The one at Shanhaiguan who spends his days indulging in wine and women? Or perhaps he could write a secret order for help to Nanjing?
This journey to Nanjing is more than a thousand miles long; this letter pleading for help may very well become a farewell letter.

Relying on fate is ultimately not as good as relying on yourself.

Xiao Chenzi straightened up, took the fox fur coat off the shelf, and was about to go out.

"Husband, it's so late, where are you going?"

"It's alright, I have some military business to attend to. You take the children and go to sleep first." Xiao Chenzi stepped forward, pinched his youngest son's cheek, and said with a smile, trying to sound relaxed, "I'll be right back."

"It's cold outside, so be careful not to catch a cold."

"rest assured."

Xiao Chenzi pushed open the door and stepped out. The moonlight was bright and clear, reflecting off the snow-covered ground. On his way from home to the military office, he would pass through the market inside Huangya Pass. Although it was the dead of winter, the market was still bustling with people, and it vaguely resembled the prosperity of the area inside the pass.

He stood at the street corner for a long time, staring at the street he had built with his own hands. He already understood why Xia Lin was so loyal to Fuliang; this was the child he had raised.

Who could bear to watch their child be abused and mistreated?

"General Ye!" A roadside vendor waved to him: "Take two fish home, they're fresh, and stew them with tofu."

Xiao Chenzi smiled and waved his hand: "Take this back and help your wife recover; she's about to give birth."

I don’t know when it started, but Xiao Chenzi, like Xia Lin, has come to know everyone on the street, and everyone knows him too. They are familiar and friendly, affectionate yet dignified.

The further he walked, the heavier his heart became. As a top scholar in the imperial examination, he was well-versed in military strategy and history. He knew what would happen after the city was captured in order to establish his authority.

At this moment, his pressure surged, but he had no one to confide in. He could only clench his fists tightly and silently walk into the deep night.

(End of this chapter)