All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 478 - 99 Martial Army Organization (5500, today’s word count: w) _3

Chapter 478: Chapter 99 Martial Army Organization (5500, today’s word count: w) _3

"I told you in advance that if Virtuous King were to extend an invitation someday, I would definitely join him, but you are different... You are the first city lord whom Virtuous King rewarded personally; this wasn’t even an invitation, it was a direct affirmation. You are his direct line."

As An Jing widened his eyes and pointed at himself with an ’Me?’ expression, Gu Yunzhi chuckled: "What’s there to be surprised about? An edict from the Imperial Court’s Town King—and you think it lacks legitimacy?"

"Listen, with a new king ruling, many old city lords and officials will be swept away and scrutinized, but not you, because you have been personally acknowledged by the Town King himself... Your success represents the success of the Virtuous King, which will lead more people to him, and he will control the Hanhai Domain even faster."

"But likewise, there are many people now, whether from the local areas or Shenjing, who are watching you, hoping you fail, thereby interrupting Virtuous King’s gradual control over the Hanhai Domain. Behind these forces, there might be high officials from Shenjing, various influential families, or... other Town Kings."

"Do you still think that being positioned at the center of these conflicts, just getting a little Martial Army ordination is not a big deal?"

"Hmm." An Jing thought for a moment and then brazenly raised his hand in a demanding gesture: "I think I am short-changed; you should give more."

"Ha ha, there’s no need for me to give more. Wait until you win; the Virtuous King will surely show his gratitude."

Speaking of which, Gu Yunzhi also felt it strange: "Didn’t you say that an envoy from the Virtuous King was supposed to come? How come he hasn’t arrived yet?"

An Jing didn’t know either, but he wasn’t very concerned; it would probably be within a few days.

Although Gu Yunzhi was extremely calculating and somewhat a gambling addict with a somewhat strange attitude, overall, he was still one of their own. Having gained benefits from him and a lot of information about the Northern Border that he couldn’t have obtained through his own channels, An Jing’s understanding of the situation at the Northern Border had become much clearer.

Especially since he had captured a few prisoners, from whom he had roughly learned about the current relationship between Iron Li and the Sects at their end.

Just as he had thought, Iron Li’s Thirteenth King invading the Northern Border wasn’t only due to the Frost Calamity making life unbearable there, but also because the Sects were behind it, probing the situation at the Northern Border of Da Chen.

Initially, the goal of Iron Li’s Thirteenth King was merely to ’severely damage the Green Jade Pass garrison so they could fish and farm around Wusduo Lake (also known as Bost Lake) near Green Jade Pass’—in other words, from the beginning, the Iron Li tribes had no intention of truly pushing into Da Chen, they just hoped that Green Jade Pass wouldn’t guard a few resource points, allowing them to enjoy a bit more riches."

Unexpectedly, the Green Jade Pass garrison collapsed at the first touch, which turned from a surprise into a fright for the Thirteenth King’s allied forces; they feared that it might be a trap by Da Chen, getting actual proof to slander them for a massacre, vehemently deny Iron Li’s tribes such incidents; they didn’t dare to kill even a single prisoner, sending them all back to their rear lines, living and eating with them, treating them as one of their own. "

This move allowed many Iron Li tribes to replenish their manpower, and in some tribes, these Da Chen people even held high positions. In an unexpected turn, they didn’t cause any disturbances and even helped lead them back to their homelands, establish bases, and greatly facilitated the Iron Li army’s southward push.

Because Da Chen did nothing in response, only local armies resisted, the Iron Li tribes managed to surge in deeply, ravaging southward, sweeping through many towns—and then leveraging the military equipment and artisan forges that Da Chen had left in those towns, and along with the captured artisans, the military capabilities of Iron Li’s tribes quickly grew during their loots and battles, even forming several elite units similar to Iron Cavalry."

This outcome greatly exceeded the expectations of Thirteenth King and the backing Sects... which also led to some conflicts between them.

In Dust Li, all the tribal royal families were either Inner Sect disciples or True disciples of the Great Sect, and those who became chieftains had all studied at Zuohuan, Hong Fu, or Taiming Sect.

War could bring rewards and merits from the sects, consolidating their rule. Initially, the chieftains were indeed entirely aligned with their sects, fully committed to conquering the cities of Da Chen, expanding their territories, and reclaiming ancestral lands.

However, when the tribes of Iron Li had eaten their fill and were about to cease their campaigns to recuperate, the sects still forcibly demanded that the tribes continue to assemble their troops and head south, crossing the Broken Blade Mountain to invade the relatively warmer region of Han South.

This was clearly beyond the capabilities of the Iron Li tribes — setting aside logistical issues, the defenders in Han South were vigorous and well-rested, and many cities were guarded by Divine Weapons, solid like iron blocks, utterly indomitable. To wage war was merely to drain the blood of Iron Li’s youths to satisfy the sects’ testing of Da Chen’s limits of tolerance.

But the control of the sects over the tribes was just that strong. Their joint leader of the three Iron Cavalry forces, Cui Siluo, was a former Inner Sect disciple of the Taiming Sect. Following his master’s orders and with the approval of a fellow sect brother who was king, he led his troops southward to attack cities and conquer Broken Blade Mountain.

The old scout named Kuo Yunlv was an esteemed elder of Iron Li, well-informed of many secrets. His cooperation made An Jing realize that Iron Li and the sects were not truly united; Iron Li had long been reluctant to fight but was forced by the sects to continue the war.

If handled properly, the chaos of war throughout Northern Border brought on by the Frost Calamity, displacing countless people, might never have happened — Iron Li people, more adapted to the cold climate, could have recouped by Lake Bos; and Da Chen, by timely disaster relief, would not have had so many casualties.

All this warfare and death, disaster and suffering, ultimately boiled down to two issues: "the death of King Jing, Northern Border losing its leader" and "the Five Sects of Dust Li testing"; or rather, it all stemmed from the aftereffects of "Da Chen’s internal strife"!

"At this point, as long as I defeat your Iron Cavalry, at least for a short time, the pro-war faction won’t rashly launch an attack in this direction."

An Jing said to Kuo Yunlv, "You have failed, yet you can naturally go back and recuperate, which is a method to strengthen yourselves more than warfare and live on your ancestral lands."

"And if I win, it will also allow Virtuous King to find a fulcrum to exert force from, starting with me, and gradually gain control over the warfare in Northern Border."

"Though it sounds a bit cruel, your loss is indeed a better outcome for both sides. I think you have also come to understand this, which is why you cooperate with me this way, right?"

The old scout said nothing, yet his attitude made An Jing smile, "You’re a smart man, Kuo Yunlv... I will remember you."

"When I return triumphant, I will come to see you again."

An Jing turned and left the prisoner camp, now having seen through most of the intricacies and details of the situation in Northern Border. Unless something unexpected happened, the news of his easy victory over the Iron Cavalry Vanguard Camp would accelerate the arrival of the messenger from Virtuous King.

As expected, the next day, just as An Jing felt a slight tremor in the Emperor’s Blood within his Divine Sea, the messenger from Virtuous King arrived at Linjiang City.

Coincidentally, this messenger was also an old acquaintance.