Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 342 The War Begins

Yong'an County.

Along the border, there are trenches; the weapons have changed, and so has the nature of warfare.

The wars that the Northern Kingdom will face in the future will no longer be defensive wars confined to the city.

Mu Changtian's 200,000-strong army is ready to clash head-on with the Da Wu army.

at the same time.

West of the border, Da Wu's 300,000-strong army was also ready to attack.

A tall man, clad in black armor, rode a horse and stood on a small hill not far from the border, gazing in the direction of Yong'an County. Behind him followed a number of soldiers.

At this moment, a lieutenant said, "I don't know what those soldiers from the North are up to. They've dug so many trenches. Do they think they can withstand the iron cavalry of our Great Wu with these trenches?"

Another lieutenant said, "Lieutenant Xue, you shouldn't underestimate the soldiers of the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was able to wipe out the barbarians in the north and defeat the army of the Tianqi King. They do have some strength."

Upon hearing this, Deputy General Xue snorted coldly, "What's so great about defeating those brainless barbarians? We're not those barbarians from the north."

At this point, some soldiers began to echo Vice General Xue's words.

"The Northern Kingdom is merely a fiefdom; how could it possibly be a match for our Great Wu Dynasty?"

"In my opinion, we will be able to defeat the garrison in Yong'an County and invade the northern country within three months."

"Three months? What are you thinking? We could have wiped out the entire Northern Kingdom in three months, how could we have only managed to capture Yong'an County?"

……

The soldiers discussed amongst themselves how long it would take to defeat the Northern Kingdom, as if in their eyes the Northern Kingdom was already doomed.

Just then, Commander Ying Feiyu, clad in black armor, spoke up: "Don't be too happy yet. We probably won't be the main force in this attack on the Northern Kingdom."

Upon hearing Ying Feiyu's words, the deputy generals behind him were stunned. Who knew how great an achievement it would be to destroy the Northern Kingdom? If they could be the main force to invade the Northern Kingdom, they would definitely gain a lot of military merit. But now their commander was telling them that they might not be the main force.

At this moment, a lieutenant said in confusion, "General, we are at the forefront bordering the Northern Kingdom, how could we not be part of the main force? His Majesty transferred us here ahead of schedule, wasn't it precisely to break through the defenses of Yong'an County?"

Ying Feiyu said calmly, "Most of the Northern Kingdom's forces are concentrated in Yong'an County. Do you think His Majesty will commit all his troops to Yong'an County to fight a war of attrition against the Northern Kingdom?"

"If we lose a large number of troops by attacking a small northern country, how will we be able to destroy the Great Xia in the future?"

Everyone was stunned when they heard Ying Feiyu's words.

Indeed, although they said that the Northern Kingdom had no strength, they knew in their hearts that the Northern Kingdom was capable of defeating the northern barbarians and even annihilating an army with a Grandmaster.

If the armies of Yong'an County and the Northern Kingdom were to engage in a head-on clash, Da Wu would certainly suffer heavy losses of soldiers.

The Great Wu's conquest of the Northern Kingdom was originally intended as preparation for the conquest of the Great Xia. If the losses in the conquest of the Northern Kingdom were too great, it would be a loss for the Great Wu. Therefore, the Emperor Wu is unlikely to concentrate all his forces in Yong'an County.

Ying Feiyu continued, "In my opinion, the real main force is definitely the army led by General Zhan and General Xu. They will likely take the route through Dayue, bypass Yong'an County, and attack the Northern Kingdom. Our role here is just to hold back the Northern Kingdom's garrison in Yong'an County."

Upon hearing this, some soldiers thought about it and felt that what their general said made some sense.

This made the soldiers feel somewhat disappointed. If they were not the main force, it meant that Da Wu would not send any more soldiers. If they could not enter Yong'an County, then the credit for destroying the Northern Kingdom would basically have little to do with them.

Although they held the enemy back, they did not immediately invade the northern kingdom; they only served a restraining role and their achievements were certainly not as great as those of the army that invaded the northern kingdom.

Moreover, there is another crucial point: if they cannot conquer the Northern Kingdom in the first instance, then all the wealth of the Northern Kingdom will be irrelevant to them. At that time, the main force that invades the Northern Kingdom will wipe it out first, and their 300,000-strong army will only be able to watch helplessly.

Seeing that the soldiers behind him seemed somewhat unhappy, Ying Feiyu chuckled and said, "Even if we are not the main force, as long as we can capture Yong'an County and invade the Northern Kingdom, we will still be the main force."

Although the imperial court will most likely allow them to contain the main force of the Northern Kingdom, if they defeat the main force of the Northern Kingdom and invade the Northern Kingdom, their achievements will be just as great. Moreover, as long as they can invade the Northern Kingdom before the main force of the imperial court, they can also make a fortune.

Hearing Ying Feiyu say this, the soldiers behind him became excited again. The North Kingdom had so many strange and wonderful things. If they could conquer the North Kingdom before the main force of the imperial court, those things would be theirs.

Thinking of this, the soldiers regained their motivation.

Although that's what they thought, they could only stay within the territory of Dawu and wait for the imperial court's order before it was issued.

half a month later.

Yancheng.

Lu Chen and Zhuge Chongguang stood in front of the map, discussing how to proceed with the battle against Da Wu.

Lu Chen then asked, "Grand Scholar, do you think we should invade the territory of Da Wu this time?"

Lu Chen was very confident in the fighting power of the Northern Kingdom's army. In his opinion, the Northern Kingdom would have no problem defeating the Great Wu's army.

Defeating the Great Wu army was easy, but the subsequent matters were more troublesome, such as the counterattack against the Great Wu.

Lu Chen is still struggling with whether or not to launch a counterattack against Da Wu and occupy its territory.

Although Lu Chen already has experience in governing the Northern Kingdom, it is, after all, his fiefdom. If he were to occupy the land of Da Wu, he might not be able to manage the people there effectively.

Governing the people of another country is a very complex issue and not an easy task.

The Northern Kingdom is still developing, and Lu Chen doesn't want to cause chaos in the Northern Kingdom by occupying other countries' land.

Zhuge Chongguang then said, "Your Highness, in my opinion, the Northern Kingdom will not only launch a counterattack against Dawu, but also occupy Youping County, which is adjacent to Yong'an County."

"Only by launching a counterattack against Da Wu can we better deter other dynasties and buy more time for the Northern Kingdom to develop."

"Occupying Youping County would also allow the Northern Kingdom to directly border the land controlled by the Great Xia Dynasty."

"Most importantly, Youping County has a large population, and these people have become resentful of the Great Wu Dynasty over the past two years due to drought and tax issues. If some of the Northern Kingdom's policies are applied to Youping County, it can quickly win over the hearts of the people of Youping County to the Northern Kingdom, and the Northern Kingdom happens to need these people."

When Zhuge Chongguang first came to the Northern Kingdom, he traveled to many places in Dawu. He also passed through Youping County, so he had some understanding of the situation in Youping County.

When the Northern Kingdom bought Yong'an County from the Qi Kingdom, it only bought half of it, and the other half happened to block the direct border between the Northern Kingdom and the Great Xia Dynasty's controlled area.

However, Youping County of Dawu borders the area controlled by the Great Xia Dynasty. If the Northern Kingdom were to launch an attack on Great Xia, it could send troops directly from Youping County, bypassing the Qi Kingdom and other vassal states, and directly attack the cities controlled by the Great Xia Dynasty.

Of course, if the Northern Kingdom were to one day march south and attack the capital, it could choose to simply push through. However, having an additional route into the territory controlled by the Great Xia Dynasty would provide another option.

For example, if Da Wu wants to attack the Northern Kingdom, it will not concentrate all its troops in Yong'an County, but will instead use Dayue as a route to attack the Northern Kingdom.

Moreover, occupying Youping County has other advantages, such as caravans no longer having to pass through Qi State, resulting in less tax collection. Of course, these are all minor benefits.

For the Northern Kingdom, the real benefit lies in its population. The development of the Northern Kingdom depends on its population, especially the development of its industry.

Lu Chen looked at the map in front of him and pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright, once General Mu and his men have defeated the 300,000 Dawu soldiers of Youping County, we will immediately launch a counterattack."

Just then, a soldier's voice rang out from outside, "Your Highness, urgent report from the Great Wu scouts!"

Lu Chen immediately said, "Come in."

The next moment, a Jinyiwei soldier entered the study and handed the intelligence report to Lu Chen. Lu Chen opened it and read it carefully. Then, Lu Chen handed the report to Zhuge Chongguang, who was standing next to him.

Zhuge Chongguang took the intelligence report, glanced at it, and then said, "It seems that a fight is about to break out in Yong'an County."

At this moment, Lu Chen immediately picked up a pen and began to write a military order. In the order, Lu Chen wrote that once the Da Wu army attacked Yong'an County, Mu Changtian would lead his troops to counterattack Da Wu, take Youping County in the shortest possible time, and then cut off the main force of Da Wu's logistics, preventing Da Wu from providing supplies to the main force entering Dayue.

Lu Chen then handed the military order to the messenger Hong Ling, instructing him to deliver it to Yong'an County as quickly as possible.

After handing the military order to the messenger Hongling, Lu Chen wrote another military order, instructing Song Xuelin and Dongmen Feiyue of Yingyang County to prepare to face the main force of Dawu.

The intelligence Lu Chen just received was the news that the Great Wu Sect's 300,000-strong army was passing through Dayue.

Now that Da Wu has sent two Grandmaster-level generals and 300,000 troops into Dayue, Yong'an County will definitely take the first action. Da Wu will try to hold back the Northern Kingdom soldiers in Yong'an County and buy time for the main force led by the two Grandmaster-level generals.

In other words, the Great Wu mobilized a total of 600,000 troops to conquer the Northern Kingdom.

This news not only reached the Northern Kingdom, but also quickly reached the Xia Emperor. When the Xia Emperor heard that the Great Wu had mobilized an army of 600,000 to destroy the Northern Kingdom, he was overjoyed.

Now that Da Wu has already mobilized 600,000 troops to destroy the Northern Kingdom, his plan should begin.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

The people of Yong'an County have basically all left. In order not to affect the people, Lu Chen issued a notice in advance asking them to leave. Now, there are almost no people other than soldiers on the roads of Yong'an County.

Just then, a soldier's excited voice rang out from outside the tent, "General, they're here, they're here!!!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Changtian immediately stood up.

The next moment, the soldier entered the tent. After catching his breath, he said, "General, the enemy general Ying Feiyu is leading an army of 300,000 men towards our fortifications. They say some of their soldiers were killed last night and they're coming to demand justice!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent smiled. After waiting for so long, the enemy had finally sent out their troops, and they couldn't wait any longer.

Mu Changtian immediately said, "Prepare the horses and prepare to meet the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Changtian strode out of the tent.

After Mu Changtian stepped out of the camp, continuous drumbeats resounded over Yong'an County.

Before long, both armies had formed their battle formations.

However, when the soldiers of Da Wu saw the Northern Kingdom's army, they were all extremely confused.

Their confusion wasn't that the Northern army dared to leave the city to fight; their confusion was why the Northern soldiers seemed so few.

In fact, most of the soldiers in the North were already waiting in their respective positions. For example, the artillerymen were already in their positions, and the soldiers with guns were already waiting in the trenches. The army behind Mu Changtian was the force that would charge after breaking up Ying Feiyu's army formation.

Upon seeing a burly man from the Northern Kingdom wearing a red cloak emerge, Ying Feiyu knew it must be the Northern Kingdom's commander-in-chief. He immediately channeled his inner energy and shouted, "Last night, soldiers from the Northern Kingdom infiltrated my Great Wu territory and murdered my soldiers. Today, this general has come specifically to seek justice!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Changtian chuckled, then channeled his inner energy and shouted, "Ying Feiyu, stop your nonsense! If you've got the guts, bring your soldiers and attack!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Ying Feiyu paused for a moment, then frowned and looked intently at Mu Changtian in the distance.

The next moment, he realized what was happening.

Before he could say anything, someone behind him spoke up: "Mu Changtian, the commander of the Northern Kingdom is Mu Changtian!"

"Wasn't Mu Changtian eliminated by Emperor Xia long ago? Why is he still here!"

"What's going on?"

……

After regaining his senses, Ying Feiyu didn't pay much attention to who the commander was. He continued, "So you didn't die. I heard about your death in Dawu and felt sorry for you. But not only did you survive, you became the great general of the Northern Kingdom."

"Perfect timing! This general has long wanted to test General Mu's abilities!"

Ying Feiyu and Mu Changtian were old acquaintances, after all, they were of the same generation and had met before. That's why Ying Feiyu recognized Mu Changtian immediately after hearing his voice.

However, even if Mu Changtian is recognized, it will not affect the fact that Da Wu is sending troops to the Northern Kingdom.

War is imminent!

The next moment, Ying Feiyu shouted, "Attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, drums sounded in the Great Wu army formation, and archers and halberd-wielding soldiers began to move around rapidly.

Seeing them setting up their formation, Mu Changtian couldn't help but smile slightly.

In the past, when two armies fought, they needed a certain amount of time to set up their formations.

But times have changed.

Even the best military formation cannot withstand the bombardment of artillery.

The Great Wu army was rapidly forming ranks, but the Northern Kingdom soldiers remained unmoved, standing motionless on their horses.

I'm not very good at writing about war, so I write relatively slowly.

(End of this chapter)