Peace Order
Chapter 218 - 109 Breaking Army Joins the Ranks_2

Chapter 218: Chapter 109 Breaking Army Joins the Ranks_2

"He is a fierce general with tactical skills, yet he is not the leader who can bring peace to the world."

"These Divine Generals stabilize the court and expand the territory; the civil officials in the court praise them."

"However, they make the Emperor believe that it is his own merit. The alignment within the ranks is off, and the civil and military officials do not cooperate. This is the primary malady of Chen Country, and Emperor Chen seems to have forgotten that the current strategic policies were inherited from the era of the Taiping Duke as the Regent King, when the empire was managed by dual regents."

"By neglecting both civil and military officials, he solidifies his own power and kills famous generals."

"Although this Emperor plans to shift the blame for killing the famous generals onto the civil officials and the aristocratic families."

"It still disheartens the martial artists."

"This is the second malady of Chen Country."

"Government officials are redundant, and extravagance is the norm in the court, extending even to human trafficking and rampant taxation, while the court opened the West Garden; this is the third malady of Chen Country."

"The Crown Prince has been established, yet he favors the noble concubine and the royal family who confront the aristocratic families, all vying for the Crown Prince’s position, forming the fourth malady of Chen Country."

"Should the Crown Prince assume power, the victors will surely purge the losers, who will then contemplate fleeing abroad to save their own lives. This is the fifth malady of Chen Country. Any of these could weaken a great nation, and with all five present, Chen Country will inevitably weaken within twenty years."

"If not a sudden uprising of martial artists seizing power, then it will be the aristocratic families controlling the politics."

"Within fifty years, if there is no saintly and wise ruler to stem the tide, Chen Country will surely perish."

Breaking Army took a sip of his wine, his expression turning solemn: "And in Ying Country, there is a wise and capable king, feared by the Turkic, with five of the top ten generals in the world. One of them is stationed outside the border, one is the Turkic King himself, leaving three in Ying Country."

Li Guanyi said, "Three... "

"How can Chen Country hope to win?"

Breaking Army sighed: "Because one of them is already growing old."

"Therefore, during those most flourishing years of Chen Country, when the Regent King led Xiao Wuliang and Taiping Duke led Yue Pengwu, they were only deadlocked with Ying Country, each with their own victories and defeats. That was also when the Central Plains were most powerful and dominant, from what I recall."

"In those years, the Western Regions, the Turkic, and those outside the border, no matter who it was."

"If they dared show their faces in the Central Plains, they would be severely beaten."

"When the finances and population of the Central Plains were drained by the numerous battles, they would retaliate on their return by sweeping through the Western Regions and the Turkic areas. There were also Divine Generals in the Western Regions, but they could only fume silently in anger. Alas, those years were but a few."

Li Guanyi asked, "What defines the World’s Number One Divine General?"

Admiration and awe appeared on Breaking Army’s face as he said:

"Master of various combat skills, bloody and ruthless, yet also recognizing the true heroes."

"In infantry combat, he surpasses the group of external heroes; in cavalry combat, he surpasses the Turkic King."

"In naval combat, he conquers Chen Country."

"Winning against the odds, he fought seventy-three major battles in his lifetime."

"And he only ever came to a draw once."

Li Guanyi straightened up, saying, "Once..."

Breaking Army spoke softly: "His opponent was the Regent King, Taiping Duke. It was before the era of Xiao Wuliang and Yue Pengwu’s rise. That battle, with the Turkic King leading the Iron Futu on the grasslands, waiting for the wind to rise, with the Tuyuhun withdrawing their troops, and the abruptness of it all was only because of one reason."

"The World’s Number One Divine General led his troops around from behind, descending from the cliff mountains extending thousands of miles north to south. Deeply penetrating alone into the enemy territory, he nearly directly destroyed Jiangzhou City, forcing the Regent King and Taiping Duke to join hands in a fight to the death. Only after they stepped onto the land of Ying Country did he retreat."

"So composed, his invasion was as fierce as fire, coming and going like the wind."

"He suppressed both Taiping Duke and the Regent King with his spear, promising those two young men, allowing them to grow and then come to battle him for the world."

"That was the great battle that truly made Taiping Duke and the Regent King famous across the world."

"And the cause of their fame was merely because they could withstand the World’s Number One Divine General’s deep penetration into their country."

Li Guanyi was shocked.

Breaking Army said, "According to the records of our lineage."

"After that battle, Taiping Duke dealt with the aftermath, preventing the fleeing soldiers from harming the civilians."

"The Regent King furiously returned, and when he asked his brother why support was delayed, he saw the current Emperor welcoming him. The Emperor, smiling warmly, took his hands enthusiastically, telling him that he had been fasting for thirty days, bathing and burning incense daily, requesting his consorts to pray with him."

"He said the Buddhas had blessed them, and that peace was finally achieved."

"Then he handed a stick of incense to the Regent King."

Breaking Army recounted the documentation by the disciples of the East Continent Star Observation at the time.

With the calm narration, Li Guanyi felt as if he had returned to that time.

At that time, the Regent King, who had just killed an enemy with his own hands, felt numbness in his wrist from the World’s Number One Divine General’s spear thrust. He tried to press his palm against his tearful eyes, struggling to hold back, thinking of the brother who had been with him since he was sixteen, fighting battles across all directions, now dead there."

The bodies hadn’t even been buried yet!

He wanted to ask why, but he saw the jubilant royal family.

Then he was handed Buddhist incense and led by his compassionate elder brother to worship Buddha.

The Regent King looked up at the towering and majestic golden Buddha, looking into his brother’s eyes. He nearly crushed the incense but did not; it was sandalwood mixed with gold thread, each stick more expensive than a bundle of arrows. He could not bear to waste it."

He wanted to cry, to howl with rage, but in the end, he silently placed the incense in the burner. The incense burned brightly, and the songs and dances were oblivious to the surrounding slaughter."

The scent of blood still potent in the sheath."

The history books recorded the Emperor’s reaction when he saw the battle report.

[The Emperor wept for several lines, then stopped.]

After this battle, Li Wanli, an outsider, was extraordinarily appointed as Taiping Duke, and the Emperor’s brother was titled Prince Puyang. The Emperor relocated Taiping Duke to the Western Regions, and Puyang in the Central Plains, far from both Jiangzhou and the Capital City.