Chapter 1938: Military City

Commoners hate government soldiers, but government soldiers fear Panlongcheng, so quite a few commoners simply hope Panlongcheng can turn back and give those things that commit robbery under the guise of "requisition" a harsh lesson.

At this moment Xian You also hurriedly appealed to Ba Ling and Between Between Between Beijia for help, but the latter did not react, while the former took the opportunity to put forward harsh demands.

Ba Ling did not like Xian You much either; he had never liked them.

Once these matters settled, He Lingchuan reviewed the whole story of the troop withdrawal again and gained new insights.

Xian You was weak, chaotic, and riven by infighting, no longer able to act for Between Between Between Beijia against Panlongcheng, and no matter who ended up in charge of Xian You, they would not dare block Panlongcheng from opening the northwestern passage.

Panlongcheng did not even have to bear the high administrative costs of Gao Ang, and could devote itself wholeheartedly to building its own military-civilian force.

Meanwhile inside Xian You, the populace was extremely resentful of the new regime, official-civilian conflicts flared up repeatedly, and things never quieted down.

Is there a possibility that several years later, when the Panlong army returns and takes Xian You again, it would be even easier?

At that time, would the popular sentiment inside Xian You not have already fallen apart?

If the people cannot identify with their own country, how can they be of one mind and actively resist foreign enemies?

He Lingchuan did not know whether the current situation was already within Zhong Shengguang's expectations, or whether Zhong Shengguang had long harbored such a conception.

He had no way to verify it, because Zhong Shengguang had not mentioned a single word of it.

But if Zhong Shengguang was unintentional, why did he repeatedly stress "the time is not yet ripe"?

For He Lingchuan, this was also another line of war thinking he had never considered. As Panlongcheng's outstanding leader, Zhong Shengguang's mental caliber had never lowered.

Of course, this open stratagem was also a forced move.

The Panlong Wasteland was after all too close to Between Between Between Beijia's sphere of influence; every move was constrained by it. The Xian You they had taken with such difficulty could not be annexed for the time being.

This also highlighted how correct He Lingchuan's decision to cross the ocean and seize Shanjin was.

Far from Between Between Between Beijia, he obtained ample room to grow.

This was an opportunity Panlongcheng had never had before, and he would certainly cherish it well!

$$$$$

The ginkgo leaves in Duo City began to turn yellow, and the grass blades in Yechen also sprouted a touch of light frost. When the wind blew, they all turned into a slight chill.

Treading on the ground full of fallen leaves, the Bo Shi Li Bu and Su Yishui Bu arrived at Duo City and victoriously joined forces with the main army.

Over the past nearly two months, the Shanjin Plain had seen dramatic upheavals.

Apart from the war of the Yao State, all the storms on the Shanjin Plain were brought by the Nine Nether Great Emperor. His army changed from consistently acting on heaven's behalf to attacking cities and seizing territory.

Yet strangely, in the lands the Nine Nether Great Emperor's army occupied, most commoners' emotions remained calm, and some even expressed welcome.

When Fang Canran followed the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce into Duo City, this place had already transformed from a remote small town half a year ago into a bustling, important military garrison.

Most buildings were very new, still giving off the smell of fresh lacquer, but the style was simple and solid; the ground was very clean, and despite the traffic of carts and horses no dust flew up.

Centered on Duo City, the three towns and ten townships garrisoned seventy thousand troops.

What Fang Canran saw most on the streets were not ordinary residents, but neatly uniformed army soldiers.

They came and went in haste, striding purposefully, as if every person was very busy. Fang Canran walked from Chengxi to the east of the city, yet could not spot a single slack, lazy, or slovenly soldier.

People on the road even rarely spoke; the atmosphere was quiet and solemn.

He had a feeling that in this military city there seemed to be an invisible whip, lashing everyone into spinning like whirling tops.

This was quite different from the few armies he had seen in the Yangshan Archipelago.

Of course, the Yangshan Archipelago was after all a marketplace open to guests from all directions, not suitable for being too stern. Fang Canran did not know that this kind of military discipline atmosphere was precisely what He Lingchuan was best at, or rather what Panlongcheng was best at.

The one guiding him was Weng Xing, one of the Weng Brothers. Duo City was on strict alert, closed to strangers; without Weng Xing leading the way, Fang Canran would not have walked ten steps before being seized for severe questioning.

Weng Xing treated him with great respect: "Mr. Fang's great name, we have all heard often."

"The Weng Brothers' reputation has also long spread throughout Julu Port." At first glance Fang Canran saw that this deputy commander possessed both a soldier's tough mettle and a few parts of the jianghu man's uninhibited straightforwardness. Upon further inquiry, sure enough he was not a Yangshan native, but a native-born Shanjin wandering knight.

He Xiao truly has ability; he can recruit talent wherever he goes.

Weng Xing was smug but still had to be modest: "What do they say about us? That we once fought shoulder to shoulder with the Great Emperor? Ah, those are all trifles, trifles, not worth mentioning compared to our future undertaking!"

He did not know many phrases, but "not worth mentioning" was a high-frequency term. Big Brother said, whenever someone thanks them, he should reply like this.

No mistake, one chapter, one release, one content, all in one look!

Fang Canran couldn't help laughing: "Brother Weng is too modest."

Passing by the military camp, bugle calls sounded from time to time.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor's army used military bugles to relay orders. These bugles were made from the bugle horns of the black longhorn beetle, capable of producing different scales to facilitate transmitting different messages.

Fang Canran saw that many soldiers held brand-new armor in their hands.

The Yangshan Chamber of Commerce convoy he followed was delivering equipment to Duo City's military camp this trip.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor had taken too many forces under his banner; different armies had different armor, looking motley and uncoordinated.

This was not conducive to the army's integration.

Now the new armor has arrived; since they are all called the Xiao Army, from now on they must unify the standard pattern and unify the uniform.

Sometimes, outward form and inner substance are equally important.

"Many armies have converged on Duo City; these past few days the armies are all busy reorganizing and restructuring." Weng Xing tilted his chin toward the camp they had just passed, "This is still the Luodian camp, but by this afternoon it will be vacated and become ours."

"How many sources does Duo City's army have?"

"Ah, there are quite a lot." Weng Xing introduced to Fang Canran, "Besides Yangshan military personnel and western Shanjin people, Luodian, Kasha, and Longye are the three largest groups; the remaining armies come from nine small states or tribes. After the Great Emperor subdued Luodian, the resistance of those small places nearby was not fierce either, some even surrendered at the mere rumor of his approach."

In the central-northern Shanjin Plain, the names of Luodian, Kasha, and Longye resounded; the surrounding small forces were simply no match for them. Now that even these three have submitted, what capital do other places have to resist to the end?

Some tribes, seeing the Nine Nether Great Emperor's soldiers arrogant and generals fierce, even came to surrender on their own initiative.

This was not only admiration for the strong, but also actively buying shares, staking their entire lives and fortunes. If the Nine Nether Great Emperor later dominates Shanjin, they will rise with him and share a spoonful of the broth.

"With the army's composition so mixed, isn't He Xiao afraid of trouble in the ranks, old grudges erupting, causing disunity?"

Among these many forces, some were formerly mutual enemies; put together, won't chaos break out?