Chapter 880

The atmosphere in the General Staff Department was somewhat somber.

Niu Ben and Luo Quan naturally felt regret for Di Ying, while Xiao Ming, feeling regret, was also pondering a question.

Could he completely prevent the loss of talent?

After deep thought, he felt it was impossible, because the Great Yu Empire’s comprehensive education had already begun, and tens of thousands of Great Yu Empire citizens were learning modern scientific knowledge. He couldn’t keep an eye on everyone.

What he needed to focus on now was supervising the top talents who possessed cutting-edge technology, such as Su Liangcai, Lin Wentao, Lu Tong, and Song Changping.

As long as they were active on the scientific research front, even if others chose to betray for money, the Great Yu Empire’s technology would always maintain its lead.

Moreover, the Great Yu Empire’s true technological advantage lay with him, not anyone else.

And currently, he was pursuing a steady and gradual technological development path in the Great Yu Empire. Some advanced technologies were still in the technology crystal and had not yet been released.

What was currently being researched were merely 18th and 19th-century scientific technologies. Whenever the Great Yu Empire broke through a technological barrier, he would introduce a higher level of technology.

This way, the Great Yu Empire’s technological gap would be maintained.

“Your Majesty, I, your old servant, am willing to personally lead troops to annihilate Suzhou City! To personally slaughter the people of the merchants’ council!” Niu Ben’s eyes blazed with anger. Although the secret agent in Qingzhou City was planted by the Prince of Chu, he was now under the merchants’ council’s command.

Now that the war was in full swing, the merchants’ council had blindsided them at this moment. How could Niu Ben not be angry?

“I, your old servant, am also willing to go!” Luo Quan said loudly.

Xiao Ming sighed slightly. Having understood the crux of the matter, he was no longer entangled in the defection incident, although those six individuals had indeed stolen some knowledge.

Furthermore, the current level of European technology was basically equivalent to the mid-to-late 18th century in contemporary times. Various technological breakthroughs would soon follow. The knowledge they took away could not sustain them for too long.

Composing himself, Xiao Ming slammed his hand heavily on the table. He said, “We cannot give the merchants’ council any more opportunities to grow! You two generals, mobilize the remaining troops and march on Suzhou! Also, there’s no need to worry about wasting ammunition. Hit them hard for me!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Niu Ben felt a surge of excitement.

Although this incident was minor, Cao Kun had angered Xiao Ming. From Xiao Ming’s angry expression, they could see how enraged he was.

Having settled the plan for a full assault, Niu Ben assembled the two divisions in the city equipped with Falcon Rifles.

At the same time, he also mobilized forty thousand new recruits who were still using Conqueror Muskets. During the Northern Expedition, conscription had been ongoing in the Great Yu Empire.

According to their plan, the infantry would be expanded to at least two hundred thousand men. This way, the defense of the Great Yu Empire’s border regions could be handled with ease.

After all, after the Northern Expedition ended, they suddenly had many more areas requiring soldiers to be stationed. A small Goryeo alone required over twenty thousand men to be stationed there to ensure the King of Goryeo dared not harbor any dissent.

And for the defense of Guandong and the passes along the Great Wall, Luo Hong and Qi Guangyi’s soldiers could not move, totaling another seventy to eighty thousand men.

In addition to this, there was the Bashu and Tibet border. Although Tibet’s threat was not as great as the barbarians’, it was still necessary to station tens of thousands of men in Bashu.

This left him with insufficient remaining offensive power. From sixty thousand elite troops, he could only conscript another forty thousand new recruits who had been trained for six months.

On December 7th, with the consecutive victories of capturing Songjiang City and Jiaxing City, the General Staff Department issued a decision to concentrate forces and attack Suzhou.

In Songjiang City and Jiaxing City, Lu Fei and Luo Xin each left five thousand men to defend the cities. The remaining soldiers marched towards Suzhou City, while the army in Jinling Province, with the help of the navy, entered Taihu Lake via the Lou River.

Landing along the shores of Taihu Lake, west of Suzhou City, over one hundred thousand men prepared to completely encircle Suzhou City.

At the same time, Li Chuyuan ordered Sima Hao to have eighty thousand State of Chu troops approach Suzhou, fully cooperating with the imperial soldiers in attacking Suzhou City.

For a time, Suzhou City was enveloped in the clouds of war.

Such a large movement naturally caught Cao Kun’s eye. After a day of hesitation, he and the Azure Dragon King held a meeting and decided to retreat south.

“Father, are we abandoning Suzhou City just like that?”

Cao Zhengtong asked somewhat unwillingly. Yesterday night, they had left Suzhou City under the cover of darkness. Now, they were leading their main elite forces to relocate, leaving only some less valued council members and old, weak, and disabled soldiers to defend the city, to delay the imperial army’s southward advance.

They, meanwhile, planned to establish their power base in Fuzhou, Nanchang, Guizhou, Changsha, and Dali.

“Although the Jiangnan region is prosperous, it lacks natural defenses. The merchants’ council cannot establish a foothold in the Suzhou area. Originally, if Xiao Ming did not interfere, it might have been possible. But now, we can only pursue a cautious approach. On the contrary, Nanchang, Guizhou, and Dali are mountainous areas with fierce common people, perfectly suited for our merchants’ council’s long-term survival. As for Fuzhou and Guangzhou in the south, they are important trade hubs, allowing us to continue trading for supplies overseas. Most importantly, the further south we go, the closer we get to Western garrisons; they will provide us with convenience.” Cao Kun had long made up his mind.

Cao Zhengtong nodded. He looked back at the continuously advancing soldiers, and then at the common people transporting grain and fodder on both sides of the soldiers. These were all the followers the Azure Dragon King had gathered during this period.

He believed that with such a formation, the council army could establish a country belonging to the merchants’ council as long as they reached the old territories of Lingnan.

…

Lu Fei was confronting the State of Chu general Sima Lang. Both armies were now demanding the other to leave.

Xiao Ming and Li Chuyuan were watching the farce below from a hill not far from Suzhou. Suzhou was close to Jinling Province, so he decided to personally supervise the battle, but he didn’t expect to find nothing there.

“Damn it! If it weren’t for your intentional release, how would the council army in Suzhou City have completely fled!” Lu Fei swore angrily.

When they arrived outside Suzhou City, they found only old, weak, and disabled soldiers on the city wall. After a round of bombardment, these remnants cried and surrendered.

It was then that he discovered Suzhou City was already an empty city. On the night before they completed their encirclement, the council army had fled southward under the cover of darkness.

And Sima Lang, who had been blockading the council army on the southern line of Suzhou, claimed to know nothing. Clearly, they had deliberately let the council army escape.

“You watch your mouth! This is our State of Chu’s territory! Now that the council army is gone, you should all get back to where you came from!” Sima Lang said angrily. He was the eldest son of the Sima family and had always been accustomed to a life of luxury. How could he endure Lu Fei’s curses?

If it had been before, Lu Fei would surely have flown into a rage and beaten Sima Lang. But this time, he merely smiled, because he knew very well that this Sima Lang would soon be a dead man.

Looking coldly at Sima Lang, Lu Fei suddenly drew a short-barreled firearm from his waist and fired a shot at Sima Lang’s forehead. Then he shouted, “Hit them hard for me!”

As his words fell, the already prepared Huben Army soldiers immediately raised their guns and fired at the soldiers led by Sima Lang.

For a time, gunfire erupted.

After killing Sima Lang, Lu Fei quickly retreated to his own army. The reason the Sima family could still exist was that they needed the Sima family as cannon fodder.

Now that the council army had been intentionally released by the Sima family, they no longer needed to exist. Because having chosen to march south, both the State of Chu and the council army were their enemies.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair