You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

"Wandering the Heavens as a Tyrant, You Don't Understand My Joy" - Stunning writing style and a captivating plot!

At dusk.

As the shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the cries of agony gradually subsided, the siege came to an end.

Outside the city, the battlefield was littered with corpses, and tattered flags and broken weapons were mixed in with the blood and mud.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the sky red, gilding this battlefield with a tragic, blood-red hue.

The allied auxiliary troops moved silently among them, collecting the bodies of their comrades, counting the spoils of war, and extinguishing any remaining fires.

A dozen or so Taotie mechanical beasts stood silently inside and outside the breach in the broken city wall, their shells covered with scratches from swords and knives.

Inside the city, the private soldiers of the five great families either died in battle or knelt down to beg for surrender. A few core members and experts tried to break out from other directions when the city fell, but most of them were intercepted and killed by the Song Clan cavalry and the Nantong New Army's cavalry.

The once bustling streets of Kuaiji are now a scene of devastation, with signs of battle everywhere.

The people kept their doors and windows tightly shut, with only the occasional sound of the Allied soldiers' orderly footsteps and deep commands breaking the silence.

At this moment, Song Que was standing not far from the mechanical beast, his eyes reflecting the ferocious outline of the Taotie, his pupils slightly contracting.

"uncanny workmanship……"

"Such deadly weapons are simply not of this world."

"Indestructible, immensely powerful, and capable of shredding everything in an instant, sweeping across several meters in size with its jagged storm..."

"Ordinary soldiers, or even skilled martial artists, are no different from paper figures in the face of such weapons!"

Song Zhiwen took a deep breath of the air thick with the stench of blood, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart, and replied:

"This thing has completely changed the way of offense and defense. With such a powerful weapon, coupled with a well-trained new army..."

"In open field battles, it can sweep away all enemies with overwhelming force."

"When attacking a city, nothing is insurmountable; the enemy will be utterly crushed!"

"With this aid, which of the remaining counties in Jiangnan, still observing or stubbornly resisting, can withstand us?"

"Sweeping across Jiangnan is no longer a difficult task!"

Song Que nodded slowly: "Not bad..."

"But the key lies in health!"

"As long as Jiankang City stands, once our army has pacified Jiangnan, secured our rear, and the new armies of Nantong and Dongyang are fully trained, coupled with such powerful weapons..."

"At that time, even if the Sui army has a million soldiers, how can the Buddhist masters withstand such absolute power for long?"

……

Another month passed, in the prefectural governor's mansion in Nantong City.

Having recovered some of his strength, Lu Zuo sat in the main seat, quietly listening to Shen Luoyan's report.

"My lord, the battle in Wu County has reached a stalemate."

"Five of our mechanical beasts have been destroyed by them, and more than 10,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded."

"General Chu Yunlong's latest military report says that although the casualties are heavy, the enemy has also suffered great losses, with nearly half of their top soldiers lost and many parts of the city's defenses breached."

"He made a solemn pledge; give him another half month, and he will surely capture Wu Commandery!"

Five Taotie statues were destroyed, and over ten thousand people were killed or wounded...

As expected of a powerful family that has dominated Jiangnan for hundreds of years, their foundation remains strong. Even in a desperate struggle, they are incredibly fierce...

Lu Zuo sighed inwardly, then nodded slightly, signaling Shen Luoyan to continue.

"There's also good news."

Shen Luoyan softened her tone and continued, "After the news of the fall of Kuaiji City spread, the counties that had previously been ambiguous and hesitant have successively sent envoys to surrender."

"And as requested by the adults, they delivered a large quantity of military supplies, including grain, meat, and medicine."

"Currently, Huang Ye is in charge of receiving and resettling them."

We've finally reached this point...

Using war to promote peace, to intimidate others, to stabilize the rear, to replenish resources, and to allow the new army to grow rapidly.

"besides……"

Shen Luoyan's voice became serious: "Urgent report from Jiankang: For the past month or so, the Sui army's offensive has been extremely fierce, with casualties disregarded."

"Yesterday, the last line of defense leading to our rear from the south gate fell."

"Our land routes with Jiankang City have been completely cut off, and supplies can no longer be transported in."

"Although the city's food reserves can last for a while, the arrow vortex is consuming a huge amount of resources to supply the arrow magazine, especially with so many wounded and a severe shortage of medicine..."

Lu Zuo waved his hand, interrupting Shen Luoyan's words: "I have my own way of handling things in Jiankang, you don't need to worry."

How is the training of the new army progressing?

Shen Luoyan replied, "Reporting to the Lord, the troops in Dongyang, Nantong, and Jurong are training day and night."

"At the earliest, it could be an army of 300,000 in just over a month."

In just over a month, 300,000 combat-ready soldiers...

This speed is faster than he and Zhang Zhongjian had anticipated.

enough.

If Jiankang can hold out for more than a month, then the final battle with the Sui army will begin!

……

At this moment, in Jiankang City.

For more than a month, Yang Su has poured almost all of his elite troops into this endeavor!

The catapults worked day and night, bombarding the city wall with huge stones like raindrops. The surface of the city wall was covered with spider web-like cracks, and many crenellations collapsed.

"Release the arrows!"

"Put down rolling stones!"

On the city wall, the hoarse roar of the defending captain was almost inaudible amidst the shouts of battle.

Arrows rained down like locusts from the city walls, while the Sui soldiers, shielded by large shields, climbed the siege ladders like ants.

Immediately, logs and rocks rained down, accompanied by screams of agony.

Hiss!

Suddenly, the sound of rapid mechanisms rang out from several locations on the city wall.

The thousand-machine repeating crossbow cart unleashed its power, its specially designed vortex arrow magazine allowing bolts to be fired in rapid succession at an astonishing speed, creating a deadly metal storm that swept away swarms of Sui soldiers who had just emerged.

At the battlements, the fighting had reached a fever pitch.

Just as one of the defenders pierced through an enemy soldier who had half his body sticking out with his spear, a flash of cold light appeared from the side, and another Sui soldier with a swordsman seized the opportunity to leap up and slash his neck with his sword.

"clang!"

At the critical moment, a blunt-bladed knife appeared from the side, narrowly blocking the fatal blow.

The veteran soldier holding the knife was jolted back, his hand split open, but he roared and charged forward again, wrestling with the enemy.

"Bang!"

The logs crashed down, breaking a ladder in half, and soldiers on it fell screaming.

"Fire the arrows! Fire them now!"

The captain's voice was completely hoarse, but the rain of arrows was sparse, far less dense than before.

Just then, a blood-soaked soldier scrambled to Zhang Zhongjian's side, crying, "General! Something terrible has happened!"

"Reports from all the ballistae have come in that the vortex-feed magazines are completely empty!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhongjian was taken aback at first, then turned to look at the repeating crossbows that had been roaring just moments before but were now completely silent, and then looked down at the seemingly endless black tide surging up again below the city. His heart tightened suddenly.

"This is troublesome..."

At this moment, on the watchtower of the Sui army camp outside the city.

Han Qinhu's sharp gaze was fixed on the walls of Jiankang.

When the relentless storm of metal that was reaping lives suddenly stopped, he was first stunned, then his face lit up with ecstasy!

"Hahahahaha!"

"It's stopped! It's finally stopped!"

"Those damned crossbow bolts, they're finally all gone!"

Clang!

He drew his sword sharply from his waist, the blade pointing directly at the blood-soaked, isolated city, and roared throughout the army: "My comrades, the Chen invaders have lost their teeth!"

"Jiankang City will surely fall today!"

"Follow me and kill!"

"Kill them all!"

Han Qinhu took the lead, and his elite troops poured out like a flood, carrying more than a month's worth of pent-up anger and killing intent, launching an unprecedentedly fierce attack on the walls of Jiankang.

In an instant, war drums thundered and battle cries shook the heavens and the earth!

On the city wall, Zhang Zhongjian's face was ashen.

The silence of the repeating crossbow means the disappearance of the most effective means of long-range suppression, and the upcoming siege battles will be purely a matter of flesh and blood.

Just then, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps approached. A group of eunuchs were seen struggling to carry several heavy, gleaming, vortex-shaped arrow magazines as they staggered toward the silent repeating crossbow carts!

"Quick! Install it!"

"His Majesty has ordered that the crossbow bolts here be replenished immediately!"

An old eunuch at the head urged him on in a shrill voice, shoving the arrow box in his arms into the arms of the bewildered crossbowman.

The crossbowmen were both surprised and delighted. They hurriedly took the arrow magazines and began to change them with a series of clicks.

Zhang Zhongjian strode forward, grabbed the old eunuch's arm, and asked urgently, "Where did you get this?"

The old eunuch, wincing in pain from the pinch, hurriedly said, "General Zhang, this old servant didn't know!"

"His Majesty suddenly issued an edict, ordering us to quickly move the treasures from several hidden treasuries within the palace!"

"General, let go! This old servant still has other goods to transport!"

After saying that, he broke free and hurriedly ran down the city wall with the other eunuchs.

The Palace Treasury?

Did His Majesty prepare this in advance?

Zhang Zhongjian was momentarily dazed and confused.

Since Your Majesty made preparations in advance, why did you only bring them out when you were at your wit's end?

"Another expert from the Sui army at the Inner Heaven and Earth Realm has arrived!"

Just then, a shout came from afar!

Madam Cai, who had been sitting cross-legged on the city wall, adjusting her inner energy and recovering her strength, suddenly opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

"snort!"

She snorted coldly, and her figure shot out like a ghost, transforming into a faint, almost invisible stream of light, heading straight towards the powerful aura outside the city!

……

The following day, in the Sui army's main tent.

"Damn it!"

"General Han was defeated at the city walls?"

Where did the crossbows from Jiankang come from?

Yang Su suddenly looked up at Yang Guang, whose face was equally gloomy: "Your Highness, this is illogical!"

"It's been over a month; Jiankang's crossbow bolts should have been exhausted by now!"

"Our roads to the rear have been blocked, and Jiankang cannot receive reinforcements..."

"But yesterday's rain of arrows from the city walls was more intense and violent than ever before!"

"How could they possibly still have reserves?"

"And it just so happened that it broke out when General Han thought victory was assured and personally led his troops to storm the city!"

Yang Guang's chest heaved violently as he frowned and said, "Could it be that Chen Shubao's palace truly contains a treasure trove capable of conjuring crossbows out of thin air?"

"Report!"

"Your Highness, Grand Tutor, General Li Yuan has arrived."

The messenger's voice was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds, instantly easing the extremely oppressive atmosphere in the tent.

Yang Su and Yang Guang were both instantly roused and stood up abruptly.

"It's finally here!"

The two exchanged a glance and hurriedly left the tent.

Outside the tent, a dusty but disciplined army was lined up in front of the camp.

The leading general, dressed in gleaming armor, strode forward with his hand on his sword; it was none other than Li Yuan, who had been ordered to come to the rescue.

"Li Yuan greets His Highness Prince Jin and the Grand Tutor!"

Yang Guang strode forward and extended his hand in a gesture of support: "Cousin, there's no need for such formalities."

Yang Su, without bothering with pleasantries, went straight to the point: "General Li, how many reinforcements did His Majesty send you with him this time?"

Li Yuan straightened his posture and replied solemnly, "Your Highness, Grand Tutor."

"His Majesty has urgently ordered the mobilization of the last remaining elite troops in the country, totaling 100,000 men!"

He paused slightly, then continued, "In addition, His Majesty has selected one hundred Innate Realm martial artists from the Imperial Guards of the capital to be incorporated into the army, awaiting the command of Your Highness and the Grand Tutor!"

"An army of 100,000!"

"There are still a hundred innate martial artists?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Su's solemn expression instantly transformed into ecstatic joy: "Great, wonderful!"

He slapped Li Yuan's arm hard: "With 100,000 elite troops from Guanzhong deployed to the battle lines, and a hundred Xiantian masters more than enough to neutralize or even suppress the remaining experts within the city!"

"The defenses of Jiankang are crumbling; the power of crossbow bolts is no longer a threat!"

"General Li, you've arrived just in time!"

Yang Guang nodded vigorously and said, "Cousin, with you and this formidable army here, I feel at ease!"

"Order the three armies to provide generous rewards to the reinforcements, allowing them to rest and recover their strength and morale."

"At dawn tomorrow, our army will mobilize all its elite forces and launch a general offensive!"

"I want to see with my own eyes how this damned Jiankang City will completely collapse and turn to dust!"

……

Soon, an even more brutal battle broke out!

The entire city of Jiankang was turned into a blood and flesh millstone, with tens of thousands of soldiers dying every day.

The Sui army had a numerical advantage, but due to repeated attacks on its supply lines, it suffered from insufficient food and supplies, difficulty in replenishing weapons and weapons, and a shortage of medicine, resulting in a gradual decline in its combat effectiveness.

But Jiankang isn't feeling well either!

The Imperial Guard and the Five Cities Garrison suffered heavy losses, the Four Great Camps suffered as many as 60% casualties, and the more than 20,000 warriors who came to Nantong's aid were almost completely wiped out.

The addition of Li Yuan's new army only made matters worse.

If it weren't for the repeating crossbows and various mechanical weapons, they would have collapsed long ago...

……

Several days later, in the depths of the Lu residence in Wu County.

The key figures of the five great families in the city were all covered in blood and looked exhausted.

Lu Mingyuan: "Gentlemen, less than three out of ten of the Lu family's experts remain. I'm afraid we can't hold Wu County."

"Are we just going to hand it over like this?"

Su Wenbai of the Su family said bitterly, "Was all the blood of my Su family's sons shed in vain?"

"More than 100,000 soldiers are still fighting desperately outside the city!"

"How can I face them if I give up now?"

"What good is not giving up?" Wei Ning of the Wei family sighed. "Brother Su, does your Su family perhaps have hidden masters or private soldiers who haven't yet come out?"

"The reality is, our elite forces are almost wiped out!"

Xie Anshi of the Xie family sighed, his tone heavy: "What Brother Wei said may be unpleasant to hear, but it is the truth."

"The mechanical beasts under Chu Yunlong's command are truly beyond human capability."

"To stubbornly hold out will only result in the deaths of all the young men of each family."

"What we need to consider now is how to preserve a sliver of strength for the family and how to strike the Southern Chen dynasty to the greatest extent possible."

Yu Shinan, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke: "Gentlemen, if I may be so bold, the loss of Wu County is a foregone conclusion."

"But looking at the big picture, health is the key."

He stood up, walked to a map, pointed in the direction of Jiankang, and said, "According to the last message we received through our secret channels with the Sui army, Grand Tutor Yang and His Highness Prince Jin have received reinforcements from Li Yuan, and their morale has been greatly boosted."

"But the biggest weakness... our supplies are almost exhausted!"

"The Sui army has been launching fierce attacks for days, and the soldiers have been greatly exhausted. Now they may not even be able to get enough to eat."

"How many days can an army, no matter how large or how high its morale, hold out on an empty stomach?"

"And we, in our secret granary a hundred miles outside Wu County, still have enough provisions to feed hundreds of thousands of troops for over a month!"

"This was our last resort. Now that Wu County is about to fall, if these provisions fall into Chu Yunlong's hands, it will be tantamount to aiding the enemy!"

Lu Mingyuan raised his eyes and asked, "You mean...?"

"Abandon Wu County!"

Yu Shinan said in a deep voice, "But not in a sorry state!"

"We can feign defeat, abandon the outer perimeter, concentrate our last strength, and cover an elite force to transport as much food as possible from the secret granary under cover of night!"

"Then, deliver this life-saving grain to His Highness Prince Jin!"

"Imagine what it would be like when the starving Sui army received this batch of provisions!"

"Morale is greatly boosted! Combat strength has been restored!"

"Our actions may be more likely to turn the tide of the war than a desperate defense of Wu Commandery!"

"even……"

"This could be the final straw that breaks Jiankang's back!"

……

The situation is constantly changing, and there are many things that cannot be fully predicted by human beings.

Take, for example, the secret granaries of these five great families...

Two weeks later, by the time Lu Zuo and Zhang Zhongjian learned of this news, it was already too late!

The grain had already been transported to the Sui army camp, but Lu Zuo's skills had not yet recovered; at this moment, he was only at the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm.

Even in the Qin Dynasty or the fictional Song Dynasty world, it would take several years to fully restore everything!

Converted to the Tang Dynasty timeline, that would take at least three or four months!

In the Imperial Palace, in the Imperial Study.

Lu Zuo's face was still somewhat pale, and although his breathing was steady, it was far from the calm and imposing presence he once possessed.

"His Majesty."

Zhang Zhongjian's voice was hoarse as he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Right now... the only option is to withdraw the main force of the Shenwu Battalion, which has been harassing the Sui army's supply lines!"

"The previous harassment of the supply lines was to delay the Sui army's offensive, wear down their morale, and buy time for our new army to train in the rear."

"However, the situation has changed now. The grain from the five great families has fallen into Yang Su's hands, temporarily relieving the Sui army's food crisis and allowing them to sustain their relentless offensive for at least another month!"

"At this point, further harassing their long supply lines would be far less effective and would only divert our already valuable mobile elite troops!"

He stepped forward, his finger emphatically pointing to Jiankang on the map: "The most urgent matter is Jiankang!"

"With this grain supply, the Sui army's morale will surely be boosted, and their offensive will only intensify!"

"Many sections of the Jiankang city wall have collapsed, the defending troops are exhausted, and even the skilled warriors, including Lady Cai, are weary and their horses are worn out..."

"Without external support to restrain them, they won't be able to hold out for long!"

"Your Majesty, Jiankang must not be lost!"

"Once Jiankang falls, those counties and prefectures in Jiangnan that have just submitted and are opportunistic will surely turn against us immediately!"

"At that time, there will be no peace in the rear, and it may even collapse instantly!"

"And our army's thousand-shot repeating crossbows and thousand-shot repeating crossbow carts within Jiankang will also fall into enemy hands!"

"At this critical moment of life and death, the rear must not be lost!"

"And the foundation of the front lines, Jiankang, must not collapse for even a moment!"

Lu Zuo nodded and said in a deep voice, "It's the final battle!"

"I will order Chu Yunlong to lead the new army to attack the Sui army's southern front, in order to support the Shenwu Camp."

"Jiankang City, you must defend it no matter what!"

"Wandering the Heavens as a Tyrant: You Don't Understand My Joy," a masterpiece by a man whose mental illness has slightly improved. Click to read now!