Chapter 561

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Chapter 561: Time Difference Is Terrible

Chen Kingdom, Daizhou State

King Dai, who proclaimed himself as the new Emperor of War, was discussing matters with his ministers. It was a tough time for King Dai in the year 3866 of the Xia calendar. The troublemaker Mr. Wolong was missing, other self-proclaimed princes were challenging him, and there were various internal troubles such as rebellious refugees seizing control of a county, influential families ignoring his orders and feuding among themselves, and warlords demanding official positions. All these issues were giving him a headache.

"Your Majesty, the current priority is to resolve internal issues. Although our Chen Kingdom controls five provinces, apart from Daizhou State, we have limited control over the other four provinces…"

In front of King Dai, an elderly man was explaining the current situation. After the death of King Chu of Zhong State, there were four princes in Southern Chen Kingdom who declared themselves emperors. King Dai was one of them, and their territory spanned five provinces, which was quite substantial.

However, only in Daizhou State did officials remain loyal to King Dai, while the other four provinces were beyond his control. They were either governed by civil officials or military commanders. King Dai was like a puppet emperor, which might be better than the previous situation under King Chu, but as a leader, how could he tolerate others usurping power?

"Your Majesty, I do wish to resolve our internal issues, but those ministers are not as loyal as Prime Minister Li. They are ambitious and difficult to control."

"Your Majesty, please consider my suggestion. By defending the north and governing the south, prioritizing military efforts before administrative actions…"

Prime Minister Li continued, suggesting strategies he had previously proposed to King Dai, such as focusing on the north to counter the south’s nobility who were reluctant to fight or unify, and supporting officials in the north to maintain a balance of power. He also recommended prioritizing military development, like reestablishing the Martial Arts Academy in Daizhou State to train warriors, among other measures.

However, King Dai did adopt these suggestions, but none of them could be carried out due to real-life difficulties and King Dai’s indecisiveness.

Prime Minister Li looked at King Dai’s hesitant behavior and knew that today’s discussion was in vain. King Dai may not seem like a good ruler, but the other princes were even worse. Even if they had some ability, they were controlled by other warlords or ministers, making it impossible for Prime Minister Li to seek their support.

Just as everyone was preparing to leave, a guard rushed in and handed a letter to Prime Minister Li. As Prime Minister Li read it, his expression changed.

"Prime Minister Li, what’s the matter?"

"Mr. Wolong has appeared."

"Oh, where?"

"In Qishan Prefecture of Feng State, he has teamed up with rebels from Qiyun Mountain and taken over Qishan Prefecture with them."

"What? How dare those criminals!"

Upon hearing this, King Dai was furious and fearful at the same time. Even a Martial Saint had joined the rebels. Wouldn’t this make the rebels too powerful?

The other high officials were discussing Martial Saints, who are very powerful and important like strategic weapons. With the support of a Martial Saint, the rebels would be much stronger.

"Your Majesty, we must not underestimate this matter. We need to be cautious. Wolong is exceptionally skilled in martial arts, Governor He of Feng State won’t be able to stop him."

"Feng State only has one Martial Saint. How can they defeat the thieves from Zhong State?"

"What should Prime Minister Li do?"

"What I mean is to mobilize a large army to attack Wolong. Although Martial Saints are powerful, they are still mortal beings."

Prime Minister Li said that even Martial Saints can die in battle, so with a well-planned strategy and sacrificing some soldiers, they could defeat Wolong.

"Um…"

However, when Prime Minister Li said this, King Dai hesitated. Governor He of Feng State had shown disloyalty by not meeting the king’s summons, which made King Dai question if it was worth it to protect him.

········

Qishan Prefecture was taken over in just a blink of an eye, it has been under control for half a month already. Other counties were also captured one by one. The process was similar to what Lin Jiang expected. It was easy to conquer them, but winning the hearts of the people in Qishan Prefecture was not so simple.

They had too few soldiers to sweep through every village and town. The resistance from the wealthy families and big landowners was unexpectedly strong. They didn’t dare to fight openly with the large army but instead used the geography to their advantage, engaging in guerrilla warfare with the rebel forces, causing significant losses to them.

Furthermore, Lin Jiang underestimated the common people’s reverence for the authority of the emperor. He thought that with a simple command, he would have the support of the masses, but that didn’t happen. The ordinary folks still saw them as rebels and hesitated to join them. Even the northerners who came to seek asylum in the south were not many.

The recruitment of soldiers went smoothly as there were many poor people and refugees. As long as there was a chance to have a meal, they were willing to join, which was the only thing that went smoothly for them.

"To govern a kingdom is harder than to conquer it, the ancients didn’t deceive me."

Lin Jiang sighed, he had anticipated these difficulties. At the moment, the challenges were not enough to make Lin Jiang feel overwhelmed.

Lin Jiang called for a meeting with his high-ranking officials, and they quickly gathered to report their work to Lin Jiang.

"Qin Yong, when will the troops from Feng State arrive in Qishan Prefecture?"

"Sir, although the governor of Feng State ordered the assembly of troops ten days ago, they have not gathered more than twenty thousand soldiers yet. I don’t think they can march out in two or three months."

"Oh, why is this?"

"Sir, Governor He is not from Feng State. After King Dai ascended the throne, Governor He respected King Dai as the emperor, but he had ambitions of his own. Even though King Dai summoned him several times, he didn’t go to Daizhou State. He also cleared out the officials in Feng State and mainly appointed officials from Feng State to protect their homeland with local troops. While they were willing to do so, sending them to battle was difficult, especially for respected individuals like yourself. If they were defeated and suffered heavy casualties, they would be at a disadvantage."

The military strategist explained on the side that this was the complex and chaotic internal relationship in Chen Kingdom, leading to extremely low efficiency.

"Everyone, based on your thoughts, how can we quickly stabilize the situation in Qishan Prefecture?"

"Mr. Wolong, I have a plan."

"Please go ahead, military strategist."

"Although the court of Chen Kingdom doesn’t have the people’s support, it has ruled for hundreds of years, causing a huge inertia. The common people are unaware of the corruption and incompetence of the court, and they remain loyal to Chen Kingdom. Therefore, we might as well pretend to respect King Dai as the emperor, submit a request for amnesty, and then we can take actions in the name of the court."

"The strategist’s suggestion is a national strategy that I agree with. But if we are to request amnesty, capturing just Qishan Prefecture won’t be enough. What about taking Feng State as well?"

Lin Jiang nodded. The military strategist and he were on the same page. Pretending to be part of the court temporarily wouldn’t be embarrassing. Even someone as powerful as Zhu Yuanzhang was once under the command of a minor king. It wouldn’t matter to unify the Southern Chen Kingdom under the name of King Dai. When the time comes, they would just let King Dai fall.

Only capturing Qishan Prefecture isn’t enough. Let’s aim to conquer the entire Feng State.

"Sir, do you think you can take over the whole Feng State? The city of Feng State is famous for its strong defenses. Governor He was recruiting soldiers last year. Currently, as long as there are 100,000 troops stationed near Feng State, and he even has a Martial Saint for support."

"100,000 troops? The strategist is joking. Feng State has about 50-60,000 soldiers at most. It’s not a big deal."

Lin Jiang chuckled. It’s not uncommon for the imperial troops to be overpaid with no work. With 100,000 troops, at least half could be defeated. Even with 50-60,000 soldiers, it’s not a lot, especially since Governor He only controls one region.

"No more talking. The decision is made. Qin Yong will lead 5,000 troops with me to attack Fengzhou City. We will march all the way. Tian Xiong will lead the remaining troops and the strategist to guard Qishan Prefecture. Mobilize all the rebel forces from Qiyun Mountain. This is our foundation. Within three months, we will conquer Qishan Prefecture."

"Sir, I’m afraid…"

"Don’t worry. If we didn’t do well before, we will correct it now. The countryside is vast, and we can’t control it all at once. So, we will focus on controlling the county towns and key locations for now. We won’t rely on the noble families and aristocrats; instead, we will use the poor peasants and refugees. In this world, there are more poor people. Following my model in Qiyun Mountain, we will provide concentrated learning. In one or two months, they will be ready, and then we will send them out to work. Don’t worry about their youth; young people are full of energy.

Tian Xiong will be in charge of training the troops, using the people from Qiyun Mountain as the core. The more troops, the better. Don’t worry about food and supplies; the enemy will provide for us. With troops under our command, what do we have to fear? After three months, the new troops will help the literacy work team go to the countryside."

"Sir, many noble families have people skilled in martial arts. Although we don’t have a Martial Saint, there are still many Innate Martial Artists and Martial Arts Masters. What should we do?"

"The people in the countryside were left alone for now, but those in the city were pressured to help maintain order. They were promised leniency in the future, but if they refused to cooperate, consequences would follow. Anyone who dared to resist would be dealt with, and they were warned that when the time came for action, their entire group would be destroyed."

Lin Jiang, speaking coldly, gave them a chance to cooperate. Since they didn’t understand the situation, Lin Jiang would not be gentle. As long as the vast countryside was safe, rebuilding the city after it was destroyed was all that mattered.

Ten days later, Lin Jiang left Qishan Prefecture with five thousand well-trained soldiers who had been practicing at Qiyun Mountain for a whole winter. They were fully equipped and could compete with the imperial army.

Between Qishan Prefecture and Fengzhou City, there was another ordinary place called Dongping Prefecture. Lin Jiang immediately attacked the city upon arrival at Dongping Prefecture, leading the battle himself.

Lin Jiang left five hundred soldiers to wait for Tian Xiong and his companions to take over Dongping Prefecture, while he headed straight for Fengzhou City, beginning the first major battle after coming out of seclusion.