Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1818 - 1811: The Source of Conflict

Chapter 1818: Chapter 1811: The Source of Conflict

Jiuyun Shuang did not expect to receive help from the family so easily, even though it was only a mere three thousand men.

But one must know, these three thousand men are all elite cavalry of the family, not intimidated in the slightest when clashing with Yipa cavalry.

Obviously, although Jiuyun Zheng had concerns and knew he was being schemed against by the Wen Family Imperial Court, he ultimately couldn’t hold his ground and dispatched his own cavalry.

After all, compared to several thousand cavalry, his precious son was the most important.

If he were to lose this precious son too, not only would the family elders not forgive him, but his wife and children would also resent him.

Jiuyun Zheng had only four sons in total, and he genuinely couldn’t afford to lose another.

Clearly, the Wen Family Imperial Court was quite skilled at scheming, knowing exactly what Jiuyun Zheng feared most.

Had Jiuyun Shuang not been summoned into the court earlier, he would likely have remained aligned with the family, and the Wen Family Imperial Court would have been powerless against the Jiuyun Clan.

But now, Jiuyun Shuang had almost been assimilated into a member of the Wen Family. In such times, if Jiuyun Zheng spoke of prioritizing family interests, Jiuyun Shuang wouldn’t pay heed.

The current ambiance in all of Kyushu is that the Wu Family has become moderate, and the moderates have become like the Wen Family.

It can be said that the shift in Kyushu society has become an undeniable fact, especially with commoners entering the bureaucratic system through the Imperial Examination System, a tremendously vast group that is nearly touching the central authority institutions.

Whether to defy the heavens or align with the heavens, all families are observing. But Jiuyun Zheng cannot simply watch, as trouble will actively come his way.

Therefore, after deploying the family’s cavalry, Jiuyun Shuang returned to camp, officially began preparation for crossing the frontier into battle.

At this time, the leaders of the three divisions of Yipa had already received the Imperial Edict for Extermination from the Kyushu Dynasty and began urgent mobilization, with the cavalry of the three divisions deciding to strike first.

However, the assistance Jiuyun Zheng gave to his son was not merely those three thousand cavalry.

Under his arrangements, all the family garrison stations of the Northern Province mobilized, beginning to gather troops and stockpile provisions, fortify the fields and ensure the enemy would not get a single bit of supply from here.

The people of Kyushu have grown accustomed to the raids of the Yipa cavalry, and thus from the nobility to the commoners, essentially everyone has become soldiers.

With the mobilization for war, these commoners began to arm themselves and gather, waiting for the invasion of the enemy and ready to counterattack.

Since his son crossed the frontier into battle, Jiuyun Zheng hasn’t been idle either, armored and stationed at Jingjiang Prefecture, ready to lead the main forces in attacks should the situation change.

As the most talented person in the family, his wife Gaofeng Yu hasn’t been idle either, becoming his strategist and planning assistant, aiding him in logistics and coordination.

Nominally, the new army led by Jiuyun Shuang received supplies from the Wen Family Imperial Court.

But the court merely transported the grain and provisions to the Northern Province, leaving Jiuyun Zheng to oversee them instead of directly sending them beyond the frontier.

So Jiuyun Zheng also had to appoint people to manage the logistics supply line for Jiuyun Shuang’s army, keeping them exceedingly busy.

Frankly speaking, the way the Wen Family Imperial Court is tormenting the Jiuyun Clan is indeed quite heartless.

But at this moment, the Wen Family Imperial Court is speechless because they truly have no people or money to spare.

After failing and withdrawing from the West Outer Heaven war, the Wen Family Imperial Court immediately started reforms to the military.

These reforms were comprehensive and profoundly memorable. The court’s army was almost entirely overhauled from top to bottom.

Generals of the Wu Family were removed from the military system, veterans were all dismissed, and new recruits were enlisted for modernized training.

Although the Demon Clan army served as a model, the Wen Family Imperial Court still found military reforms exceptionally challenging, struggling for over a year to barely gather a hundred thousand troops.

Thus, the new troops naturally had inherent weaknesses. The Wen Family Imperial Court had no choice but to put Kunzhou into battle, not merely as a transport mechanism.

With the weak new army in front and the Wu Family eyeing them eagerly from behind, the Wen Family Imperial Court had no retreat left, only able to grit their teeth and wage these two wars to prove their military strength.

Should the wars achieve total victory, it would officially declare the Wen Family the absolute ruling class of the Dongsheng Empire, with no forces daring to challenge their status anymore.

Therefore, despite insufficient preparation or weak troops, the Wen Family Imperial Court must fight these two battles, and must win.

It is precisely because of this goal that the Wen Family Imperial Court exhausted every person or force that could be leveraged, including the Advance Team and the repeatedly tormented Jiuyun Clan.

After being confirmed as the commander of the western army, Jiuyun Shuang researched an extensive amount of military and historical documents related to warfare with the three divisions of Yipa, understanding their military style.

He found that once the court decided to engage the Yipa three divisions or the Yipa initiated raids, these cavalry from nomadic grasslands would not remain passive but utilize their high mobility to raid within the frontier.

When encountering weakly resistant groups, they would directly attack. When faced with resistance, they would rely on their mobility to retreat.

Combining these records with his experiences against Yipa cavalry through family influence since childhood, Jiuyun Shuang concluded that once war began, Yipa cavalry would surely initiate raids within the frontier.

Whenever faced with such situations, the Jiuyun Clan could only scatter forces to defend and deploy elite cavalry patrols for timely support.

Historically, the Jiuyun Clan seldom actively crossed the frontier to solve issues with the three divisions of Yipa.

After all, the court’s army and the Jiuyun Clan’s soldiers belong to different entities, and successive patriarchs of the Jiuyun Clan did not want to lose themselves in achieving the court’s longings.

Gradually, the Jiuyun Clan was perceived as nurturing bandits for self-interest.

But in truth, when the Jiuyun Clan’s cavalry crossed the frontier, they faced boundless grasslands, not unbeatable but would certainly pay a heavy price.

Moreover, the three divisions of Yipa were not isolated, they had allies in the Demon Clan.

In the far northwest of East Continent, north of Thousand Peaks Cloud Top, lived the Demon Clan people of the Yingzhao Clan, allies of the Yipa three divisions, with quite formidable combat strength.

Therefore, if the war between the Jiuyun Clan and the Yipa three divisions reached a deadlock, the Yipa three divisions could likely summon their allies into battle.

Hence, under such circumstances, the Jiuyun Clan was reluctant to invite this trouble.

Of course, regardless of anything else, the most crucial reason remained: the absence of any benefit from warfare, making the Jiuyun Clan very reluctant to engage in frontier battles.

Since the Nine Thousand Battalion of the Jiuyun Clan was practically not affiliated with the Wen Family Imperial Court, their salaries were not drawn from central finances. Moreover, during warfare, the court would not provide full support, only offering grain and provisions to meet basic military needs.

Under such circumstances, a victory in battle might still earn rewards and recognition. But if defeated, not only would no support be given, but criticisms from the court would follow, accusing them of squandering troops.

Victories yield no profit, defeats draw criticism. Given such turmoil, the Jiuyun Clan’s combat will being weak is naturally understandable.

So, doesn’t the Wen Family Imperial Court realize this approach is problematic?

Of course they do, not only do they realize it, but precisely because they realize it is why they choose this approach.

The root of all this is the issue known as the Private Soldiers System.

The nobility holding military power for long periods, although repeatedly weakened by the Wen Family Imperial Court from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands, and now to the Nine Thousand Battalion, the military power they hold is still a thorny issue the court cannot strip away.

While private family soldiers do not drain the court’s financial budget, in real wars, they are unmanageable, forcing requests to these major family patriarchs.

On this issue, the court and local nobles have a natural sharp conflict, almost irreconcilable unless one side willingly compromises.

In wartime, the court hopes to directly command the local Nine Thousand Battalion. But in peacetime, they find maintaining such large numbers burdensome, wanting to offload soldier upkeep onto local nobles.

But where in the world are such ideal situations to be found?

Although the Wen Family Imperial Court steps forward with reforms, gradually gaining most of the tax rights, simultaneously, their expenditures are immensely high, keeping the treasury in a long-term deficit, sometimes needing loans from the merchant class just to keep the court running.

Hence, why hasn’t the court reclaimed the constructions of the various state’s Nine Thousand Battalions? Simply put, it is due to lack of funds.