He was born as a blacksmith, but he dominated the world

Chapter 513 Take care of yourself
Don't underestimate a single dynasty; it cannot be compared to the Great Qian Dynasty.

However, when the seven or eight countries are combined, the combined forces are quite large, exceeding thirty million.

And there were many more dynasties that were watching from the sidelines.

Now that Jiang Lin has arrived carrying the giant's skeleton, everyone knows that this must be the secret weapon of the Great Qian Dynasty.

If they are actually transported back, they will face utter destruction.

No one thought that the Great Qian Dynasty would stop there. Emperor Shun made it clear that he wanted to completely conquer all dynasties, and no one could escape.

Even if they don't want to fight, they have no choice but to fight now.

Seeing that the seven or eight dynasties had already taken the lead, the other dynasties, after a slight hesitation, also chose to kick them while they were down.

When there are more people than people, there's always a chance.

This was not the first time the Great Qian border army had encountered being surrounded by a coalition of armies from multiple dynasties.

It can be said that during the four hundred years of the Great Qian Dynasty's conquests, they frequently encountered such situations and had already accumulated a wealth of experience.

The dozen or so generals remained calm and directed the border troops to form a battle formation, surrounding Jiang Lin.

The hundreds of miles of giant skeletons were their center point.

Faced with this situation, Jiang Lin did not intend to take action.

Although he could easily shatter the "coffin" above, the immense power of the giant's skeleton would pour out, unstoppable by anyone.

However, such power would indiscriminately harm the border troops of the Great Qian Dynasty as well.

Jiang Lin will not use it unless absolutely necessary.

As for now, all he can do is temporarily put down the giant's skeleton and join the battle.

Although Jiang Lin was not a border soldier, it was he who spoke about the border army's battle formations.

Jiang Lin's understanding of battle formations is no less than anyone else's.

With him leading the charge and combining the power of the battle formation, the combined force was naturally quite formidable.

Jiang Lin, who was joining the battle formation for the first time, was surprised by the sheer amount of power he felt.

This is so powerful; it makes me feel like I'm omnipotent and have endless power.

"As expected of a famous battle formation, no wonder they were able to suppress an enemy more than ten levels higher than them with sheer numbers."

It is truly unbelievable that soldiers with martial arts cultivation at the second or third rank could form a military formation that could contend with those at the Dao Martial Realm.

Jiang Lin swung his fists, unleashing the full power of his Dao Martial Realm.

The Dragon Sword, Bai Ze, Xuanwu, and the Divine Arrow of the Guardian Soldier can even kill enemies on their own.

These four top-grade divine weapons are also formidable; the allied dynasties had never seen such powerful weapons before.

The four top-grade divine weapons were specifically chosen for powerful individuals.

At the very least, one must be at the ninth rank of the Divine Martial Realm, the peak. If one is even stronger, then one would be at the Dao Martial Realm.

Among the allied forces of the dynasty, there were also experts at the Dao Martial Realm who had to step forward to block the four divine weapons.

However, they soon suffered a great loss. Who would have thought that each of these four divine weapons possessed unique and powerful attributes?

Their unique attributes make them formidable opponents even when facing Dao Martial Realm cultivators.

The war lasted for a very long time.

There was much debate within the Daqian government about this, with many believing that the border troops should be withdrawn first and a more cautious approach should be taken.

Although the giant's remains are important, they are not something that just anyone can take away.

Besides, people from other dynasties didn't understand warfare, so even if they took the giant's bones, it would be useless to them.

However, Emperor Shun refused to issue an imperial edict, not only because he trusted the border troops and Jiang Lin, but also because he wanted to use this opportunity to improve the border troops' combat effectiveness.

Those new recruits are too green. They haven't been in the army long enough. They're all greenhorns. How long will it take for them to become seasoned veterans?

We don't have that much time to hone their skills, so we might as well use this war to train them for future wars.

As for the separation of the Great Qian Dynasty and the border army, that's not a big deal.

To deal with more than ten million border troops, those dynasties would have to exert all their strength.

The dynasty is internally vulnerable. If Daqian were to send a million border troops to attack at this moment, it would be easy to conquer the country.

Yu Shuai did suggest that they take a risk and conquer several dynasties in one fell swoop.

However, the civil officials vehemently opposed this, as they were well aware that the enemies of the Great Qian Dynasty were not only the external dynasties, but also the powerful clans within the country.

If all the border troops were to be withdrawn, the garrison alone would probably be insufficient to resist the powerful clans.

After all, powerful clans controlled the armies of various prefectures and cities, numbering as many as two million.

The only thing that makes them inferior to the border troops is that the prefectural troops don't understand battle formations.

However, with two million troops from the prefectures and the superior individual combat abilities of the powerful clans, it would have been far too easy to capture the capital without the threat of border troops.

To everyone's surprise, Emperor Shun completely ignored the opinions of the civil officials and actually sent Commander Yu out with his troops.

This greatly worried the civil officials, who submitted a memorial overnight.

Even more extreme were those who knelt outside the Imperial Study with ropes, declaring that if His Majesty the Emperor did not rescind the imperial edict, they would hang themselves there.

Emperor Shun still ignored it, which was something that many people could not understand.

They couldn't understand why His Majesty the Emperor would take such a risk.

Aren't powerful and wealthy clans terrifying?

Although several powerful clans have been inexplicably wiped out over the past year, the remaining ones still pose a significant threat.

What surprised everyone even more was that when Commander Yu led the border troops away from the heartland, the powerful clans not only did not take the opportunity to cause trouble, but remained very quiet.

Only after the border troops had completely left the border of Daqian did the powerful clans begin to make their move.

However, their target was not the capital or the imperial court, but the Li family of Qingzhou.

The powerful clan elders who had escaped recounted everything they had learned.

They learned that the attack team, suspected to be from the Li clan of Qingzhou, was the mastermind behind the annihilation of the clan.

The noble clans who owned the property were furious, and even though the news came from Jiang Lin, it was still credible.

They refrained from taking any rash actions because they did not want to cause any misunderstanding with the imperial court.

After all, the Li family of Qingzhou was able to kill more than two hundred people at the Divine Martial Realm and a team led by several Dao Martial Realm elders, yet they had not noticed anything unusual.

This is enough to show that the true strength of this clan far exceeds one's imagination.

A powerful enemy is already unsettling enough, and the powerful clans really don't want to start any more disputes with the court at this time.

So they didn't make their move until Yu Shuai and Bian Jun left.

The Li family of Qingzhou was completely surrounded by thousands of Divine Martial Realm experts, dozens of Dao Martial Realm elders, and tens of thousands of Yuan Martial Realm experts, making the place impenetrable.

Such power would make even millions of border troops wary.

However, the Li family of Qingzhou did not back down in the face of such power.

They denied attacking the group, but the powerful clans would never believe them.

At this moment, we would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free.

Who allowed your Qingzhou Li family to form a marriage alliance with Jiang Lin? You must have made some shady deal with the imperial court behind the scenes.

You've all lost your minds! You want to exterminate clans and curry favor with the imperial court!
Hand over the culprits, especially that vixen Li Qingluan, and perhaps we can preserve some bloodline for your Qingzhou Li clan.

The Li family of Qingzhou would not yield, and a fight broke out between the two sides.

Surprisingly, the clans that besieged the Li clan of Qingzhou were only a part of it.

And some people actually chose to help.

Among them were clans that the imperial court had infiltrated over the years, as well as opportunists who had inexplicably switched sides. Although their numbers were not large, they still accounted for about one-third of the powerful clans.

An internal struggle thus began.

The powerful clans were fighting fiercely, leaving the civil officials dumbfounded.

Who would have thought that powerful clans would fight amongst themselves?

Only now did they finally understand why Emperor Shun dared to let Commander Yu lead the border troops out of the heartland.

They probably knew all along that powerful clans would kill each other.

The powerful clans were also aware of this, and it seemed inappropriate to start a war rashly.

But now they are in a difficult situation, and the Li family of Qingzhou and their allies are using the pretext of casualties in battle to make exorbitant demands.

Unless we agree to their exorbitant compensation demands, we will fight to the death.

But the conditions they demanded were practically equivalent to emptying the coffers of the noble clans.

If they actually gave it to them, these powerful clans could simply disband.

One side was willing to give, while the other was unwilling to. The two sides argued and fought like this.

Even if the powerful clans no longer want to fight, it's still not an option.

Emperor Shun, in his study, learned of the latest developments every day, and his brows relaxed somewhat.

The information given by the Duke of Jiang was indeed correct. The clans were not truly united. Once they started fighting, there would be no peace.

The powerful clans are no longer a threat. Even if they reconcile and stop fighting one day, their strength will have been greatly weakened.

By then, the border troops of the Great Qian Dynasty had been tempered by blood and fire and had fully taken shape, so there was nothing to worry about.

As for the Xujiandao sect, the only remaining Daoist sect, it seems to have been forgotten by everyone.

That area was designated as a restricted zone by the imperial court, and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will.

As time continued to pass, after about three years, the struggle between the powerful clans came to an end.

In the past three years, at least ten clans have been completely wiped out.

The surviving clans have had their strength reduced by at least 30% to 40%.

They stopped fighting, not because they didn't want to fight anymore, but because the instigator had disappeared.

The Li family of Qingzhou has been wiped out in the past few years.

When everyone came to their senses, they realized that the original trigger had disappeared, and there was no point in them continuing to fight.

After the losses were settled, the faces of the powerful and wealthy clans were all extremely grim.

In the past three years alone, at least dozens of Dao Martial Realm ancestors have perished.

In this era, advancing to the Dao Martial Realm is almost impossible; every death reduces the chances of advancement.

The deaths of dozens of people, even though they were scattered across various clans and families, still caused them immense heartache.

But what could they do? They were the ones who started the war, and then they were entangled by the Li family of Qingzhou, so they couldn't stop even if they wanted to.

Even now, everyone understands that the Li family of Qingzhou was just a front.

They were not afraid of death at all, and were even willing to give their lives to prevent the decline of other clans.

By the time this truth is understood, it is too late.

As for the complete annihilation of the Li clan of Qingzhou, it is not something to be happy about, at least not among the powerful and wealthy clans.

In addition, there's the border tens of thousands of miles away.

Commander Yu has led a million-strong army to join forces with tens of millions of border troops.

The ancestral homes of those dynasties were completely wiped out by Commander Yu.

Over three years, the allied forces suffered heavy losses.

At least tens of millions of people died, and the losses of the Daqian border army were also considerable, with nearly half of them killed or wounded.

But those who survived were all battle-hardened veterans.

Although the battle formation is weaker than before, the improvement in individual abilities makes the future infinitely promising.

Once the number of troops is replenished, the power of the battle formation will surely be further enhanced.

This is a positive cycle: more veterans can quickly train more new recruits.

The more soldiers a dynasty has, the easier it is to defeat other dynasties.

The more dynasties you conquer, the easier it is to acquire soldiers.

In three years, the Great Qian Border Army withstood the attacks of a coalition of more than a dozen dynasties, and now stands tall and majestic.

After joining forces with Yu Shuai, they decisively defeated the enemy army of millions directly behind them.

After fighting their way through, the Daqian border army began to retreat.

They even abandoned the land conquered by Yu Shuai and retreated to a safe enough position.

The allied forces of other dynasties wanted to pursue and kill them, but after suffering several losses and being exhausted in recent years, they had to temporarily stop and rest.

Having had a good chance to catch their breath, the border troops retreated tens of thousands of miles back to their original territory before stopping.

Jiang Lin carried the giant's skeleton and headed towards Kyoto.

Yu Shuai and the others stared at his retreating figure, remaining silent for a long time.

Everyone knew that the current Duke Jiang was no longer on the same level as them.

When these giant skeletons were transported back, the Great Qian Dynasty was no longer the same Great Qian Dynasty.

"From a humble blacksmith to where he is today, the more I witness, the more unbelievable it all seems," Yu Shuai said.

Hong Shuai added, "I think so too. That kid wasn't that great back then, but in such a short time, he's become so capable. Even the fate of our Great Qian Kingdom rests on his shoulders."

In those three years, Miao Yonghuai was also rapidly promoted from a centurion to a brigadier general.

He remains the youngest military commander in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty.

He held a long spear, looking imposing.

Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "That's my master, invincible under heaven!"

Ling Shuai came over and kicked him out: "Then what am I?"

Miao Yonghuai stopped outside the tent, chuckled, and said, "You can only be considered my second master."

Ling Shuai treated him very well, almost like a father and son, but in Miao Yonghuai's heart, Jiang Lin's place would always be the most important.

Ling Shuai asked casually and didn't really take it to heart.

He knew he couldn't compare to Jiang Lin.

On the contrary, he felt that being able to bring in the Duke of Jiang's apprentice to teach for several years was something to be proud of.

Looking at all the great generals of the Great Qian Dynasty, who else could do the same thing?
The border troops began to rest and reorganize, while also replenishing their ranks with new recruits, awaiting further orders.

Jiang Lin, carrying the giant's remains, returned to Kyoto after a long and arduous journey.

When his figure passed by the gate of the powerful clan's house, everyone came out to look up.

The powerful and noble clans all knew what the enormous object he was holding was. Many people's eyes flickered, wanting to stop him, but no one dared to make a move.

The border troops have returned, but their own strength has been greatly reduced.

The imperial edict from Emperor Shun was delivered to the doorsteps of every powerful and noble clan the day before.

"I will only tell you four words: Take care of yourselves!"

(End of this chapter)