Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Compared to the hastily assembled imperial guards of the capital, they stood out like cranes among chickens. "Can this really be considered the Imperial Guard?"

Old Chen was dumbfounded. In her mind, the Imperial Guard should be the elite Shield Guards of Ursus that she had seen before, the kind of level that Big Daddy's subordinates were at. But what a bunch of freaks these were.

This is, of course, because the capital of the Great Yan has never suffered from war. The three major battalions that occasionally have to go on expeditions are a little better off, but the city guards of the Five Cities Garrison have long been wiped out by ghost employees, and the ones who actually do the work are all hooligans from the streets.

Moreover, these people did not receive any salary—the salary was obviously consumed by various officials and imperial relatives—so they brought their own food.

Of course not; their income came entirely from extortion and bribery. In other words, these "soldiers'" income depended entirely on corruption and dereliction of duty.

Expecting them to display military bearing under these circumstances is pure nonsense.

"I've inquired, and strictly speaking, these are Imperial Guards. Actually, the real Imperial Guards are over there. I took a look from afar, and they look somewhat similar." Sister Gui pouted towards the direction of the Imperial City.

After all, the Imperial Guards were under the emperor's watchful eye every day, making it difficult for them to fake anything.

Furthermore, there were indeed many strong individuals from the common people who volunteered to serve the emperor after mastering both literary and martial arts skills, and they certainly possessed fighting prowess.

As for the level of organization among these people who have never fought in a war and mostly do dirty work, it is unclear.

However, in a siege, the level of organization itself doesn't have a significant impact, since you can't escape anyway, so it still looks quite intimidating.

"The Shuofang army outside the city... is alright." But the problems of robbery and beatings are endless.

However, on the other hand, having rushed day and night to come to the aid of the emperor only to end up staying in a shack outside the city, these people probably wouldn't be able to swallow their anger without causing some trouble.

However, in any case, compared to other troops, this Shuofang army reinforcement at least looked like they were there to fight. They cleared out the shacks outside the city, beat up a few lackeys of wealthy families to clear the roads and collapsed shops [this is a business, you can search it on Baidu if you're interested, it's monopolized by wealthy families], got building materials and various equipment in place, and then built trenches, anti-demon bayonets, bunkers and various defensive weapons.

"The three major battalions seem to be different from what I heard in Victoria and what I see now."

Old Chen was speechless. What did Victoria think of the Three Battalions of the Great Yan Capital?

They were still living in the era when they could flatten the East in just one month and snatch Longmen back from Kosiche with just a detachment of troops.

However, looking at it now, well, compared to those useless city guards, it's at least somewhat presentable, though it feels a bit inferior to the armed police of the Imperial Guard Bureau that Old Chen brought. The equipment is quite good for the head guards, but looking further down...

In short, this incident proves that in a feudal environment, any army that has not fought for a long time will almost inevitably become utterly incompetent.

"I remember the Great Yan's Moon Harbor Fleet was very elite, right?" Old Chen had seen those people before. If the troops here were all of that size and combat power, this siege would be nothing more than a large-scale military parade.

"Ah, they're all dead. At least that's what the official gazette says. They all died on the first line of defense. And quite a few officials are impeaching them for being arrogant and domineering. But—"

According to the custom of the Great Yan Dynasty, regardless of their performance, the civil officials would at least refrain from speaking ill of the troops who died on the battlefield.

After all, their conflict was a struggle for interests, and the dead generals wouldn't be fighting them for positions and power, so it wouldn't hurt to act magnanimously.

Impeachment was merely a formality. On the contrary, they would receive some posthumous honors and titles, which the civil officials of the Great Yan Dynasty were quite happy to receive, even if it was just empty promises.

"The Celestial Master's Mansion, the Grand Tutor, and the Fate Bureau are the only reliable ones..." That's roughly the information Sister Ghost gathered. After all, the Great Yan Dynasty hadn't reached the point where all officials deserved to die; there were still some civil officials and generals who understood military affairs and dared to fight.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Quickly Apply for World Heritage Status

Chapter 33

In the Great Yan Imperial Palace, in the emperor's bedchamber, "It's shocking! It's shocking!" No matter how the ministers and generals in the court tried to whitewash the situation or shift the blame, the emperor realized something was wrong. In any case, the sea monster was already outside the capital of Great Yan, fighting against the troops that had been painstakingly mobilized.

Moreover, the once mighty and powerful Imperial Guards seemed utterly vulnerable. After all, battle reports could be faked, but the chaotic scene he saw from the top of the palace could not be faked.

"Your Majesty?" The eunuch who had been sent to investigate near the Third Battalion and various military camps answered cautiously, though he couldn't reveal his identity.

Therefore, not much information was collected, but even this was enough to illustrate the severity of the situation.

"When I went to sleep yesterday, there were still about 500,000 soldiers in the Great Yan. When I woke up this morning, according to this calculation, there were only 200,000 left at most, and that's only if you include those who were temporarily conscripted. Tell me, didn't these people who were drawing salaries without working think that this was a matter of losing their heads?"

As a mere ordinary eunuch caught in the act, he dared not say a word and could only kneel on the ground with his head pressed to the ground, fearing that the emperor would ask him some more thoughtless questions.

On the surface, 200,000 soldiers seem sufficient to handle this war. After all, each soldier needs at least 3-5 support personnel, plus the army's command system. In reality, 200,000 soldiers is around a million strong.

The original data on the Great Yan Dynasty's official records showed that it had more than 540,000 soldiers. If you include special forces such as the Celestial Master's Mansion, the Year-Suppressing Platform, and the Year-Suppressing Army, the total number would be around 700,000. In terms of actual troop strength, including the command system and auxiliary troops, the number would be more than 4 million.

This was the source of the confidence that the former emperors of the Great Yan Dynasty could readily send millions of troops to fight against evil. But now... their forces have shrunk by more than half.

Moreover, this is the entire nation's military strength. He cannot possibly mobilize the entire nation's troops and hoard them in one place. Putting aside everything else, the Zhen Sui Army in Shang Shu, the Zhen Bei Army in Shuo Fang, and the Black-Clad Guards monitoring Longmen in the south cannot be moved. The sea monster siege can still be fought, but if we add the invasion of evil spirits from the south, the breaking of the seal by the Sui Beast, and the ascension of the prince to the throne, that would probably be what the Great Yan calls "three calamities approaching the door," a sign of national demise!

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

"Alright, alright, get out of here..." The emperor rubbed his forehead. Now it seemed that the people from the Imperial Palace and the Celestial Master's Mansion were quite loyal and reliable. At least, they didn't have many people who were just sitting around, although a bunch of young masters who had been gilded had also left.

However, since those rich kids are just getting a gilded resume, they certainly won't become civil engineers or similar frontline positions. They've already run away, so let them go.

"Moreover..." Compared to the sea monster, the people his older cousin brought were even more alarming. Before yesterday, he wouldn't have been worried.

Because the Great Yan has a million soldiers, even if the Longmen Guard Bureau's forces and combat power were doubled, they could still be crushed with a single finger.

Then, when we woke up this morning, the Great Yan only had less than a million Xiong soldiers left. Although the Dragon Gate Guard Bureau's forces could still crush them, the price they would have to pay would be enormous.

In addition to the problem of troop strength, there was also the problem of money. Yuegang stopped paying money, which was to be expected. The new governor was blocked on the canal by a sea monster before he could be sent out and died on the spot. When a new governor was to be elected, the capital was besieged. Which official would care about the governor of a border port city?

The problem now is that the national treasury is empty, which is surprising: How could our Great Yan, which is rich in all the world, be out of money? To be more precise, it's not that we're out of money, but that we still have money, but it's simply not enough to spend. In fact, we're out of money.

Those troops who came to the emperor's aid need to be rewarded, right? They need to be fed and clothed, right? Those monopolistic wealthy families are hoarding goods and speculating, causing people to have to pay higher prices than usual to buy various essential supplies.

Moreover, those troops with waning morale would immediately collapse and desert without generous rewards, meaning that the Great Yan would need to increase its expenditures significantly beyond normal costs. This doesn't even consider the losses caused by the flight of officers and feudal bureaucrats at all levels. No money, no manpower, no morale—how could the capital be defended?!

This problem not only lingered in the emperor's mind, but it was also a problem for the officials and generals who still had passion and loyalty.

"How come there's so little stuff?" Old Chen's head exploded when he looked at the military supplies that Sister Gui had brought back. It would only last them for half a month at most.

Moreover, the horse feed and all sorts of suspicious-looking items also need to be included. As for the warehouse manager who caused all this, he has already committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Even if his whole family is exiled and their property confiscated, it will be of no use—who knows where those originally stored war supplies went.

Even if they knew, they couldn't reveal it. Who knew how many royal relatives, high-ranking officials, and dignitaries were involved in sharing this money?

Therefore, we can only gather up the remaining trash and then sort it according to how close or distant the relationship is.

To be honest, as a member of the "royal family," what Old Chen received was already considered to be of the "superior" standard here.

As for the combat supplies received by those outside the city, that was truly indescribable. This forced Si Suitai to take out his already strained reserves and give everyone a supplement.

However, no matter how chaotic the Great Yan was, the sea creatures would not stop because of the internal turmoil of humanity. They advanced step by step towards the capital along the dense network of waterways, and quickly clashed with the garrison of Ziwu Town.

Meridian Town is located on the meridian line of the capital city, directly south of it. It is one of the subordinate cities of the capital city of Great Yan. As one of the few super-large cities on Terra, the capital city of Great Yan is difficult to cluster together like mobile cities such as Lungmen, after all, there are not many solid plains.

Besides the core urban area, namely the imperial city and the surrounding capital, the "Four Towns" located in the four directions were also part of the capital, serving as outer satellite cities connected to each other by rail transit.

When besieged, these four cities, which were also quite large, served as barbicans, cities that functioned more as fortresses than capital cities.

These are Ziwu Town to the south, Shuofeng Town to the north, Baihu Town to the west, and Guanhai Town to the east. The "towns" here do not refer to towns or small towns, but rather to a military unit, that is, a military fortress.

At the same time, it was also the only way to defend the capital. Its towering city walls and numerous fortresses would provide a commanding crossfire against any enemy that tried to bypass them and attack the capital.

Furthermore, these four towns can accommodate surplus population, and during battles, they can gather surrounding civilians and resources to complete the scorched-earth policy.

However, years of peace have made the structure of these four fortresses look somewhat incongruous now.

After all, it had not performed the function of a fortress for a long time, and instead gradually developed into a normal satellite city with the increase in population and economic growth.

However, regardless of the circumstances, since it was still under the emperor's nose, the city's defenses still looked quite formidable. As a result, during the first wave of attacks, Hai Si encountered crossfire from the top of the walls.

The beams of the Divine Light Cannon, the fireballs of the Divine Fire Cannon, and the dense barrage of red-hot steel arrows fired by the White Tiger Rocket shattered Hai Si in swathes on the roads and tracks on both sides of Ziwu Town.

To enter the capital, one must either pass through the four towns on either side or directly conquer one of them.

Otherwise, they would be attacked from multiple directions, and the defending troops could quickly set out from the four garrisons to attack the enemy forces attempting to bypass them and directly attack the capital from the rear.

In reality, after years of development and population growth, the capital city had many smaller urban areas attached to the four towns, which became springboards for Hai Si's attacks. At the same time, they also became obstacles hindering their advance.

Black tides spread along the canal, carrying countless sea monsters. Besides the species familiar to the Great Yan people, the hatchers that wriggle like lotus flowers are not the only new species.

The emergence of burrowing species within the sea creatures was a devastating blow to the garrison deployed along the riverbank.

During long-range battles, the garrison troops and even the city guards recruited by the Great Yan Dynasty demonstrated outstanding fighting spirit.

Crossbow bolts, beams of light, and various spells clashed with the venom and bone spikes sprayed by Hai Si, greatly surprising the emperor who was watching from the highest point of the imperial city. He thought these people would collapse at the first touch, but he did not expect them to be able to hold on.

Just as he was wondering if he had underestimated the soldiers of the Great Yan, he saw several huge fleshy flower buds emerge from the battlefield. These biological tools, originally designed by the ancients to transform soil on alien planets, had dug through the riverbank.

They can't spew out tons of monsters like a certain queen's worms, and they don't have much fighting power.

However, the problem is that there is a river on the other side of them. As the monster retreats, the hole it burrowed out spews out a large amount of turbid river water, and then countless Sea Siren melee units rush into the crowd along the water flow.

As a result, the first line of defense collapsed in less than half a day. The Dayan soldiers who had been brave enough to exchange fire with Hai Si earlier scattered like birds and beasts, and no one could stop them.

Fortunately, the troops dispatched by Shuofang to support the emperor stopped Hai Si, who was coming along the river.

Otherwise, the sea monster would rush directly to the water gate of the capital, and no one knows whether the water gate, which has been in disrepair for many years, could withstand it.

"Fire!" Old Chen shouted, supporting the Crimson Sky Sword. The crisp sound of the Snow Rabbit Rifle was unique among the Great Yan people's crossbows. The launch tubes were constantly being ejected from the ejection port, landing with a clanging sound as they hit the ground at high temperature.

When faced with a clear attack from Tare weapons, the Haisi below the city walls were clearly thrown into disarray.

Although they weren't among those who were indiscriminately bombarded by their respective Talulah officials on the Iberian beaches, the shared neural memories shared by Haisi allowed them to empathize with each other—

Why choose to break through the Great Yan? Wasn't it because they were decimated by the molten metal weapons, resulting in heavy losses and forcing them to choose a different direction to attack?

After encountering such an attack, the sea monsters, who had initially rebuilt their frontline command system, began to retreat. They had to determine whether these enemies were the tough targets; if so, they would attack from a different direction.

For the Haisi, their only objective is to plunder biomass, not to wage a normal war. Therefore, there is no need for them to occupy human cities and strategic locations, and it doesn't matter where they fight.

Similarly, losing is the same, because if you lose, all those "excessive" Sea Treasures will be wasted.

The balance of biomass in the ocean is restored, which also achieves the purpose of the marine colony: either to plunder enough biomass and food, or to consume enough individuals, or both.

Those who attacked the land were individuals created out of instinct after the mainframe was destroyed, and they didn't care if they were all lost. Or rather, their goal was to consume them all and bring back enough biomass to create new mainframes.

Of course, the new mastermind doesn't have as many technological blueprints. But at least it can restore Hyster's internal balance and stability, right?

Let them grow at least a new brain from the decapitated giants, even if their brains are empty like Huihui's, it's still a brain, isn't it?

This gave the people of Da Yan a chance to catch their breath. No matter how lax Da Yan's military preparedness was, the equipment that thousands of factories across the country had worked day and night to produce after the border fell was still a frightening sight when it was piled up on the city walls.

The armory was wide open, and the city's arsenals were working day and night to produce more ammunition and war supplies, including various types of ammunition, crossbows, and armor.

In contrast, conventional military supplies such as food are extremely scarce. Theoretically, there are enough food and supplies stored here to feed and drink everyone for two years, not even counting civilian reserves and the amount that can be requisitioned from various grain merchants and warehouses.

Ordinary families have enough food, since only a minority of families have enough to last for a while. Most families just feel very poor.

The problem is that those guys who don't think the city will fall are all waiting for prices to rise so they can sell at a good price!

"We have enough ammunition and equipment." Old Chen sighed. The wealth accumulated by the thousand-year-old dynasty was still quite frightening. The ammunition for the Snow Rabbit rifle needed to be used sparingly.

However, the newly manufactured Divine Arm Crossbow and the individual Fire Crow Cannon, a weapon similar to a grenade launcher, which were issued by the Great Yan, were barely adequate.

As for the various types of ammunition, including the mountain of crossbow shells forged by Longgang Steel, Haisi is indeed not a threat if we only consider this aspect. But... no matter how good the weapon is, someone has to use it.

"Your Highness, we were sent by the Imperial Household Department as reinforcements, as you see..."

"Hey, I'm not a prince!" Old Chen hurriedly waved his hand. Yes, when she came back, the emperor gave her a title, but she herself had no interest in it. Besides, it was just an empty title of princess, nothing special.