Chapter 764

Advanced chapter join my patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair you will get free chapter to read until chapter 900+

“Five hundred thousand.”

Sitting on the dragon throne, Xiao Ming’s heart clenched. These additional over three hundred thousand men would again be a huge military expenditure.

However, even if Niu Ben didn’t say it, he also had the idea of expanding the army. When he was still King Qi, he felt that over one hundred thousand troops under his command was already overloaded, but now he suddenly felt that these few soldiers were merely like a drop of water in a lake for the Great Yu Empire.

Precisely because of this, it put him in a dilemma, with a feeling of having no troops to use.

“I have long intended this. If that is the case, the Grand Council shall proceed with conscription.”

Xiao Ming said in a deep voice. In fact, the army had never stopped conscripting every year; it was just that the number of conscripts was maintained at a certain standard.

His agreement this time, besides the reason of this barbarian invasion, had a most important underlying factor: in the context of gradually flourishing industry, he had the ability and the necessity to stabilize the surrounding environment and begin the process of contending for colonies with the West.

Moreover, to enable the common people of the Great Yu Empire to live as prosperously as those in the West, he also had to step out of the country and contend with the West for the dividends of the Age of Exploration.

Niu Ben breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t dared to bring it up in the council hall earlier, because he knew very well that as soon as he proposed expanding the army, the civil officials, led by Fei Ji and Pang Yukun, would argue vehemently.

He knew that the Great Yu Empire needed to recuperate again and that conscription would make the national treasury even more difficult. However, in the hearts of soldiers, defending the homeland and expanding territory was their duty. Only with strong military preparedness could the Great Yu Empire be stable.

Having discussed the expansion of the army, Niu Ben continued, “Your Majesty, I have another request?”

“General Niu, please speak.”

“I believe it is inappropriate to leave Luo Quan idle at home. Now is a time when the Great Yu Empire needs capable people, and talents should be utilized to their fullest,” Niu Ben said cautiously.

Xiao Ming gently nodded. If Niu Ben hadn’t brought it up, he would have forgotten about this cunning military strategist of the Great Yu Empire.

Previously, this old general had refused to join the army to avoid suspicion. And at that time, Xiao Ming, with the army not yet stabilized, was also unwilling to use him. After all, with the three Luo family members all in the military, anyone would be somewhat wary.

But now that the military reform was complete, and he held military power firmly in his own hands, he no longer cared.

After all, if he wished, he could remove any general at any time without causing a military rebellion.

After a moment of thought, he said, “Indeed, it is time for this old general to come out of retirement. During this time, I heard he often attended military academy lectures, so he must have some different insights into the current Great Yu Empire army.”

Niu Ben, hearing this, felt a cold sweat break out on his back. Xiao Ming’s words clearly told him that Luo Quan’s every move was under his watchful eye.

He said honestly, “Luo Quan, after all, is accustomed to leading troops in battle, so he is quite concerned about military affairs. Once, he mentioned to me that he wished to audit classes at the military academy, and I agreed at the time.”

“So that’s it. That’s good too; it saves him from remaining fixated on swords, bows, and horses. Since that’s the case, let him also go to Yizhou Province this time, and see if he is still the military strategist he once was,” Xiao Ming said.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Niu Ben bowed and said. His suggestion to activate Luo Quan this time also had his own selfish motives.

With the increasing number of troops and future battles, he alone was somewhat overwhelmed. With Luo Quan as a helper, he would be able to relax a bit.

And for Xiao Ming, he was also willing to have Luo Quan return to the army, because for him, he did not need Luo Quan and Niu Ben to personally command soldiers in direct combat. What he needed was their strategic vision in a war.

After seeing off Niu Ben, Xiao Ming looked towards Yizhou. Now he only hoped that Xiao Zhen and Di Ying could hold out a little longer in Yizhou.

…

Yizhou.

Xiao Zhen and Di Ying stood together on the city wall, looking at the barbarian army below the city. Ten days had now passed since the barbarians arrived outside Yizhou City.

In these ten days, barbarian slave soldiers launched daily assaults, wearing down the army within the city. The most important problem was that the army led by Di Ying was suffering severe ammunition depletion. If this continued, they would be unable to use firearms to stop the surging tide of barbarian slave soldiers.

“Damn barbarians! Once reinforcements arrive, I will surely slaughter them all!” Di Ying said, his eyes red.

After executing the King of Shu, he and Xiao Zhen took over the thirteen prefectures of Bashu. After receiving the decree from Qingzhou Province, this area was officially renamed Yizhou Province.

As with the original plan, one was responsible for handling government affairs, and the other was responsible for commanding the army. Bashu was becoming regularized in this year.

But now the barbarians had disrupted everything. He felt as much pain as if he had seen a child he nurtured being killed by the enemy.

Xiao Zhen’s gaze swept over the musketeers on the city wall. Now, he suddenly felt that his previous defeat was not unjust at all. In these ten days, he had truly witnessed the might of this firearm army.

After breaching Songzhou, the barbarians consecutively conquered two cities on the route to Yizhou, but their offensive was stalled in Yizhou.

In ten days of intense warfare, Di Ying led these twenty thousand firearm troops in a desperate, unyielding fight against the barbarians. Now, the corpses piled up below the city were far more numerous than their own.

“What a pity. If the thirty thousand soldiers in Songzhou had been musketeers, there would have been no barbarian breaching the city,” Xiao Zhen sighed.

Di Ying’s face was grim. He said, “Who would have thought that the conscripted former Shu King’s troops would be so vulnerable?”

At the mention of the King of Shu, a trace of guilt flashed in Xiao Zhen’s eyes. He didn’t want to kill this younger brother, but he had no choice but to kill him.

After the King of Shu was killed, the former Shu King’s troops in various prefectures and counties surrendered to Di Ying. Di Ying successively appeased these soldiers and then re-promoted some generals to command these armies.

Especially in Songzhou, he even dispatched his own junior general to take charge, but no one expected the barbarians to lead their army there.

“It’s not that the former Shu King’s troops are vulnerable, but that the barbarians’ tactics this time are different from before. Look at the earthen pits outside Yizhou City; I have never seen such tactics.”

Di Ying’s words were merely spoken in anger. Losing Songzhou would certainly lead to his punishment. As Xiao Zhen said, the barbarians’ tactics this time did indeed surprise him.

Because he discovered that the barbarians had actually learned to use trenches for siege warfare, which was previously a method used by the Great Yu Empire for defending cities.

During these ten days of siege, the barbarian slave soldiers, while attacking the city, also dug trenches around Yizhou City. Soldiers used the trenches to avoid bullet fire. Upon reaching the city walls, they would climb using ladders. This tactic greatly weakened the effectiveness of firearms in this siege battle.

However, this also meant that the barbarian cavalry could not enter the city. But Di Ying knew very well that the barbarians’ purpose this time was plunder.

Therefore, the cavalry had no intention of entering the city. They were merely having the barbarian slave soldiers fiercely attack Yizhou City. If they could breach the city, that would naturally be great. If they couldn’t, they would besiege them here and tie down the Great Yu Empire’s army.