lcionline Chapter 383 Going to war
Chapter 383 Going to war
"I'll be waiting for you at the foot of the Heavenly Saint Imperial City."
As she passed by him, Sikong Jin's soft words reached his ears. The moment her voice fell, her flowing robes swayed in the cold wind, and her small, cold figure, which had fallen in front of her, gradually disappeared into the distance.
Upon arriving at the training ground, Meng Benbo, Berger, and their subordinates were already waiting.
"lets go!"
Lord Sikong nimbly mounted his horse without looking back, and galloped away into the twilight ahead. Meng Benbo exchanged a glance with Berger, nodded, and gestured to his subordinates behind him, who immediately followed in an orderly fashion.
The sound of horses' hooves echoed, sounding exceptionally desolate and lonely. In no time, the 100,000-strong army was swallowed up by the silent twilight ahead...
Not far from the training ground, Di Beizun stood with his hands behind his back, facing the wind, watching the army gradually disappear into the distance. A cold glint suddenly appeared in his deep eyes—
With such a huge bet, we absolutely cannot lose!
He was determined to defeat Tian Sheng and win the great battle, even at the cost of everything. Only then could he and she truly be together...
"Your Majesty, why aren't my elder brothers with us?"
Sikong Mo finally came to his senses and looked over at Emperor Beizun.
Di Beizun glanced at him but did not answer. He simply lowered his hands and walked forward.
"Let's set off too. We'll see people soon."
His deep, authoritative tone left no room for doubt, and he had already walked quite a distance by the time he finished speaking.
Sikong Mo stared at Di Beizun's retreating figure with a puzzled look, and only after a while did he follow.
On February 8th of the 469th year of the Red Moon Calendar, Sikong Jin led an army of 100,000 from Hanyang City, detoured through the eastern part of the Jiangxi Fortress, entered the Malan Mountains, crossed the treacherous Malan Mountains, and headed straight for the Longxi Official Road between Tiansheng Imperial City and Yingzhou City. The destination was Tiansheng Imperial City.
The 100,000-strong army consisted of well-equipped cavalry. Speed was of the essence in warfare. After entering the official road, they swept along the surrounding area without concealing their large army. Just like when they attacked several cities on the border of the Liao Dynasty in the northwest of the Dayong Dynasty, they attacked and left without stopping.
The main force marched south with incredible speed and ferocity, moving so fast that no one could react in time. By the time the Tiansheng court learned of this, Sikong Jin's army had already captured two cities near Yingzhou City, as well as several small towns.
The ferocity of Sikong Jin's army's offensive was alarming, and bad news kept coming back to the Tiansheng court.
To make matters worse, at the same time, His Majesty the Northern Emperor personally led an army of 200,000 across the Jiangxi fortress, sweeping through the cities and towns near Yingzhou City, besieging it into an isolated city, and was about to reach the city gates. Tuoba Yu, who had just returned to Yingzhou City from the Tiansheng Imperial City, hurriedly gathered troops near Yingzhou City and actively prepared for battle.
Within a few days, Tuoba Yu had already assembled an army of nearly 500,000 in Yingzhou City, and even thickened and raised the city walls of Yingzhou City by several meters.
Tuoba Yu never dared to underestimate the Imperial Northern Army. The news that came back from the northeast of Tiansheng had already shocked him greatly. Even Xifeng Lie's Eagle Masters did not dare to easily fight against such a powerful fighting force, so he naturally had to make more plans.
The sky, which had been gloomy for many days, finally cleared up. After marching for many days, Sikong Jin's army had been on the move without stopping. As long as there were benefits to be gained when Lord Sikong spoke, his subordinates fought with unparalleled bravery and ferocity!
Every time they finished fighting those Heavenly Saints' soldiers, they would also strip them naked to see what valuables they had on them.
This situation greatly troubled Lady Sikong, because she discovered that while the legion's combat power had increased, the soldiers' overall quality seemed to have declined somewhat. After some thought, Lady Sikong decided to simultaneously carry out a rapid large-scale sweep and implement something called "Spiritual Civilization Construction." The aim was to strengthen the soldiers' moral education, ensuring that regardless of their family background, they could all become qualified, civilized, cultured, elegant, and graceful gentlemen like herself!
After making this decision, the Minister of Works instructed his several deputy generals and advisors to transform the soldiers into well-mannered and cultured individuals as quickly as possible, so that they could instantly become brave warriors in battle and qualified gentlemen in their leisure time.
Once the tasks were assigned, each battalion began to take action.
Deputy General Meng Benbo heard that understanding the art of tea could cultivate one's character and improve one's moral qualities. So, one afternoon after a large-scale mopping-up operation, during a break, he ordered his men to assemble and gave them a lecture on the art of tea.
“Everyone look at me, sit down quietly like me, and calm your mind…”
Meng Benbo sat down at a tea table in front of him, picked up a glass of water that had already boiled, poured it into a cup, then took out a packet of fragrant rose tea, added a few petals to the cup, then, feeling he hadn't added enough, added a handful more. Finally, he picked up the cup and slowly sipped the tea, saying, "That's how it is. Drinking tea is about savoring it little by little, to truly appreciate life..."
The subordinates whispered among themselves, "What's wrong with the general? He seems a bit off? Does he have a fever? Look at how engrossed he is! Is that tea really that good?"
"General, isn't it proper to put the tea leaves in first and then pour in the water when making tea? And, sir, why don't you wash yourself?"
"That's right, General, how can you brew tea like that? Hmm? This tea smells quite fragrant; I think I smelled it at Lord Sikong's place before..."
The soldiers' voices had barely faded when the sound of the Minister of Works cursing and swearing came from afar—
"Meng Benbo, you scoundrel, give me back my flower tea! I finally managed to get it from Emperor Beizun, and you dare to steal it when I wasn't looking? Do you even respect me as your superior?"
As the cursing subsided, Lord Sikong appeared before the crowd.
"grown ups!"
Upon seeing this, Meng Benbo quickly stood up and bowed. Seeing the gloomy look on the Minister of Works' face, he was startled. He hurriedly pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the Minister of Works, saying in a low, flustered voice, "My lord, I just received a letter from the Northern Emperor!"
A letter from Emperor Beizun?
The sparks of anger that had been flickering in Lord Sikong's eyes vanished instantly, a hint of calm flashing across his pupils. He coughed a few times before calmly accepting the letter presented by Meng Benbo with both hands, snorting, and tearing open the seal himself.