Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1786 - 1779: Northwest Conquest

Chapter 1786: Chapter 1779: Northwest Conquest

A bout of intense coughing interrupted Ichuan Fei’s memories. He covered his mouth, his face looking somewhat unpleasant.

"Are you alright, Manor Lord? It’s best if you rest more," Huayu Xuan said with concern.

"I’m fine." Ichuan Fei waved his hand, his gaze falling on Jiuyun Shuang.

Jiuyun Shuang was the fourth son of Jiuyun Zheng, the patriarch of the Jiuyun Clan in the Northern Province, and also the younger brother of Jiuyun Ying. Jiuyun Ying, who had protected everyone on their return to the pass, passed away five years ago due to illness.

That war brought severe consequences for many people, including mental and physical damage. Both Ichuan Fei and Jiuyun Ying were left with ailments that would flare up every winter because of that war.

And Jiuyun Ying left everyone in that winter five years ago.

Ichuan Fei could not forget the scene of the last time he saw Jiuyun Ying, lying on the bed, his face pale, lips devoid of color.

He and Jiuyun Ying were the closest, almost calling each other brothers.

On his deathbed, Jiuyun Ying grabbed Ichuan Fei’s hand during a visit, excitedly saying, "My brother Jiuyun Shuang, talented and virtuous, fit for a great role, I implore you, brother..."

"I know, don’t say more, rest well..." Ichuan Fei said, deeply saddened, nodding while holding back tears.

"My life won’t last much longer; I only hope Shuang can take on my responsibilities." Jiuyun Ying sighed deeply and began recalling various past events with his eyes closed.

Upon returning to the Imperial Court, Ichuan Fei took the lead in forming this young officers’ organization, the Gongxin Association.

As the heir of the Yichuan Clan, he could access resources far beyond what anyone imagined.

When the old patriarch of the Yichuan Clan was still alive, he had already appointed Ichuan Fei as the next patriarch and one of the Hundred Chiefs of the Cabinet, with Ichuan Fei’s father, Yichuan Qing, merely being an intermediary.

Yichuan Qing, in mourning, loyally carried out his father’s arrangements, granting Ichuan Fei enormous autonomy, even relinquishing the real leadership of the Emperor’s Sect, thus making his son the actual highest leader.

Since its establishment, the Emperor’s Sect, initially led by Emperor Wu, was then handed over to one of the Cabinet’s Hundred Chiefs, and ultimately it fell to Ichuan Fei, making him the most powerful person in the Empire.

During those ten years, there were conflicts within the Gongxin Association, but most of the time, they were united, jointly promoting the Dongsheng Empire’s civil development.

They constantly squeezed out the Wu Family’s influence in various fields, eliminating most potential threats, eventually facing the toughest challenge — the military.

The military reform needed to be handled with great caution because any mistake could trigger a military mutiny, even they couldn’t control it.

After the Wen Family suffered a defeat at Snow Boundary Pass, the Wu Family’s power became even more rampant, believing that without them, the army couldn’t achieve any great victories. Thus, amidst this climate, the Wu Family instigated the War of the Western World, trying to revive the Kyushu Empire’s conquest.

The reason for attacking West Outer Heaven had been explained before. The people of Kyushu feared the Demon Clan, believing they would taint Kyushu’s bloodline. Secondly, the West Outer Heaven possessed rich Magic Crystal Mines, essential Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for cultivation, so the Wu Family was eager to seize complete control of West Outer Heaven and dominate the Magic Crystal Mines originally belonging to the Demon Clan.

However, the Wen Family in the Imperial Court evidently did not think so, as neither the governance distance nor the will to rule was sufficient to sustain the Wen Family’s rule over West Outer Heaven. Thus, the Wen Family obstructed military efforts, allowing Demon Clan forces to hunt down members of the Wu Family within the Dongsheng army — namely, the generals.

Ultimately, the Dongsheng army returned in sullen defeat, leaving behind the Kyushu aristocratic families to fend for themselves. The result goes without saying, as the Demon Clan consecutively defeated the three major aristocratic families, eventually expelling all Kyushu forces and reclaiming all territories of West Outer Heaven.

While Jiuyun Ying and Gaofeng Yang were both cultivators, they did not endorse the Wu Family’s rule over the Court, thus naturally becoming supporters of the Wen Family.

"Manor Lord?" Noticing the gaze, Jiuyun Shuang inquired respectfully.

"Oh, it’s nothing, just lost in thought for a moment. Let’s begin our discussion," Ichuan Fei said, shaking his head faintly.

"Have the Western Continent people decided to help us?" Huayu Xuan asked straightforwardly.

"Yes, the National Advisor has decided to assist us in military reform," Ichuan Fei replied. "We have a month to optimize the military and its equipment, and then, in the fall, it will be the perfect time to deploy troops."

"Although it’s been hard to gather a new army of a hundred thousand, a significant number of soldiers are from the Demon Clan. Is that a problem?" Gaofeng Yang expressed his concern.

"The advantage of firearms is that they require minimal training to be immediately ready for battle. In this regard, Huayu Xuan should have the deepest insight," Ichuan Fei looked at Huayu Xuan and said.

"Indeed," Huayu Xuan nodded without emotion, seemingly unfazed by the disgrace of the War of the Western World, "The Demon Clan was almost annihilated and driven into a desperate situation, yet dared to launch a large-scale counterattack within just one year, proving that firearms truly have their merits."

"We have two major concerns, and I believe none of you have forgotten them," Ichuan Fei said, supporting himself on the table with some agitation.

"We haven’t forgotten," everyone said in unison.

"If we can resolve these two major concerns, the Wen Family’s court would no longer rely on the Wu Family’s military power, allowing them to completely sever ties with the Imperial Court," Ichuan Fei said with narrowed eyes.

"But..." Huayu Xuan squinted, revealing a worried demeanor, "Will the Wu Family give up so easily?"

"I’ll keep a close watch on them," Ichuan Fei said.

Then, he turned to Jiuyun Shuang, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "Jiuyun Shuang!"

"I’m here, please instruct me, Manor Lord." Jiuyun Shuang responded with a shiver, quickly clasping his hands.

"I assign you to lead ten thousand new troops and thirty Kunzhou north to conquer the three Yipa tribes. Can you do it?" Ichuan Fei asked.

"Ten thousand to conquer three tribes?" Everyone expressed surprise but quickly realized.

Why Jiuyun Shuang and why just ten thousand troops? The reason is simple: because the Northern Province is the Jiuyun Clan’s territory, having Jiuyun Shuang lead ten thousand new troops to conquer the three Yipa tribes, the Jiuyun Clan likely won’t stand by idly, so they are very likely to get involved.

For a long time, the willingness of aristocratic families in the frontier regions to fight externally has been low. Unless external invasions pose an actual threat to their interests, they wouldn’t deploy private soldiers to help the court in war efforts.

Thanks to Dongsheng Empire’s Nine Thousand Battalion Private Soldiers System, the frontier region’s aristocratic families can maintain a formidable armed force. They often coordinate with other aristocratic families within their domain, unifying the private soldiers under centralized command, with their forces potentially exceeding tens of thousands in scale.

However, these aristocratic families absolutely will not mobilize their armed forces to assist the court in handling invasion threats unless there are strong orders from the Imperial Court.

Sometimes, they might even nurture bandits, allowing the frontier to be invaded, putting pressure on the court, forcing them to pay more attention to the construction of border defenses.

The purpose of having Jiuyun Shuang lead ten thousand green recruits to campaign against the three Yipa tribes is to compel Patriarch Jiuyun Zheng to make a choice: either watch his son enter a perilous enemy territory or deploy private soldiers to assist his son in solving the conflict.

The frontier aristocratic families are the natural supporters of the Wu Family, so Jiuyun Zheng was very displeased with his son’s and the Wen Family’s intertwining behavior. After Jiuyun Ying’s death, he even lashed out at the Wen Family but was stopped by his sons, preventing him from making trouble in the capital.

Nowadays, Jiuyun Shuang is getting closer to the Wen Family, and Jiuyun Zheng has come to terms with it, no longer interfering, even finding the idea of having another option not a bad thing.

"This subordinate accepts the order and will certainly meet the Manor Lord’s expectations!" Jiuyun Shuang, without much contemplation, replied somewhat excitedly.

"It’s to meet the expectations of the Imperial Court," Ichuan Fei corrected.

"Yes, the Manor Lord is right."

Ichuan Fei nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Gaofeng Yang and said earnestly, "Gaofeng Yang, you are assigned to lead eighty thousand new troops and hundreds of Kunzhou to march to Beichang and overthrow The Pretender’s Regime. Can you accomplish this?"

"This subordinate accepts the order and will surely meet the Imperial Court’s expectations," Gaofeng Yang also appeared quite excited.

Ichuan Fei was actually only making a rough arrangement of the tasks; the actual expedition orders need to be issued by the Cabinet.

But as the person with the supreme real power, as long as Ichuan Fei spoke, the Cabinet would promptly issue the decrees. It was merely a procedural matter.