Chapter 1946: Take Everything That Can Be Taken

The Tanggu viper is a venomous snake unique to the central Shan Jin region; its toxicity far exceeds that of the five-pace snake. The viper yaos in the Bai Rong Forest have over three hundred years of cultivation; a bite is essentially fatal on contact, and they command several nests of lesser snake yaos. Nearby residents turn pale at the mention of vipers; no one dares enter the forest.

Although the python yaos of the Bai Rong Forest typically begin hibernation in autumn, heaven-and-earth spiritual Qi has been growing increasingly dense of late, and yaos are all very active; one can no longer judge them by common sense.

Tao Ran continued: "However, according to the soldiers who broke out of the forest, the enemies they encountered were not only giant pythons, but also a bunch of hideous yaos. Two had the heads and tails of giant pythons with hippopotamus-like bodies; several more lurked underground, their true forms unclear; another two greatly resembled the Earth-Spider Matriarch, spraying acid that could dissolve human flesh."

He paused: "There was also a swarm of things like bees yet like butterflies, tens of thousands of them; a single sting caused skin to ulcerate."

Such physical descriptions sound like Hui beasts or Yao puppets.

When caught unawares, Hui beasts are most lethal at wounding men. Du Xiao Yi's squad may have been on heightened alert upon entering the Bai Rong Forest, but they were guarding against python yaos — they never expected these monsters.

He Lingchuan's brows furrowed slightly: "Did the eyewitnesses ever see normal python yaos?"

"I asked that too, but from their recollection, there were none."

A forest famed for python yaos, yet not a single python yao emerged from its den? "Tanggu vipers would not share territory with other great yaos. It seems that place has likely become a second Red Lu."

Python-yao forests are usually too dangerous for anyone to enter, so no one knows exactly what goes on inside — an ideal venue for Between Between Between Beijia to set up Yao-puppet experiments.

Who knows how long this experimental site has existed; only today was it stumbled upon by the Dragon God Army by pure accident. It appears Between Between Between Beijia has quite a few operations in Shan Jin.

He Lingchuan asked again: "How many men did the deputy squad lose?"

"Two hundred thirty-five."

"Effective immediately, Xu Zi Yang is promoted to your deputy." He Lingchuan deliberated, "As for the Bai Rong Forest, I will dispatch a specialist to investigate."

Dong Rui Qing cleared out one Red Lu and profited handsomely, staying happy for months; if he cracks open a Hui-beast experimental site next, it would give his research another massive boost.

He Lingchuan turned to the other two squads: "What about your situations?"

The other two squads had also suffered heavy losses. Although this round's targets were not hard to hit, He Lingchuan pushed the schedule too tight; constrained by realities, the squads sometimes had to move hastily — what is called a forced push.

Moreover, this campaign had entered its later stage; targets along the route had all received news of the Black Armor Army's conquests and were sharpening their weapons, feeding their horses, and standing on strict alert.

With the enemy prepared, the campaign was no longer as easy as the early phase.

These two squads saw a complete turnover below the vice-general level; even the military officers under the Weng brothers were half replaced — some killed in battle, some dismissed — personnel changes were drastic.

He Lingchuan was not surprised in the least.

In his estimation, if one-fifth of the originally deployed general-officer first string remained, that would already be good.

As long as fresh talents keep emerging one after another, in the eyes of the "Nine Nether Great Emperor," every sacrifice is worth it.

War is the cruelest screening tool: the capable rise, the incapable fall or die.

Elite soldiers and fierce generals can only be forged in round after round of bloody slaughter.

And the battle achievements of these several squads were also remarkably rich.

They strictly followed the routes He Lingchuan laid out; resistance encountered along the way was usually quite weak. Even Bo Shi Li swallowed four towns and five villages midway, practically claiming territory by galloping horse — pocketing them with hardly any effort.

Tao Ran even took an extra city not on the attack list; the garrison, hearing the Black Armor Army was nearby, suddenly mutinied, beheaded their own commander, and came to surrender the city.

The enemy had already gone this far; Tao Ran would have felt awkward not accepting with a smile.

After this rendezvous, the Black Dragon banner flew over vast lands of the southern Shan Jin Plain and the Zhongnan Force. Annexed territories included states, counties, townships, towns, and clan lands; additionally, three petty kingdoms — including Qiao Kingdom — were reorganized into prefectures.

The armies absorbed by the three squads swelled like a snowball; at the uprising they totaled barely seven thousand men, yet by the rendezvous they had brought over eighty thousand!

This still wasn't all the manpower they had recruited.

Per He Lingchuan's requirement, every time they captured a locale, they would take the local troops with them and backfill with part of their own forces.

After the three armies rendezvoused, the troops were immediately shuffled and reorganized; the sharpest were selected for intensive training. At that point this eighty-thousand figure would rapidly "slim down." Because the Nine Nether Great Emperor's next phase of sweeping Shan Jin was about to begin!

According to He Lingchuan's plan, seizing the entire Shan Jin Plain would take at least three steps.

Phase one: from the start, claim territory by galloping horse. Seven great armies would strike city after city with thunderbolt speed, seizing massive territory at full tilt.

The Shan Jin Plain teems with forces great and small — some with states, some without; some with sects, some without; some with clans, some without — a bizarre assortment. Some places are even held by fierce bandits and routed armies, such as the man-eating demon Zhao Guang Zhi whom He Lingchuan previously killed.

Among them are easy targets and hard targets; careful discrimination is needed.

The Yang Shan Chamber of Commerce has gathered exceptionally complete intelligence on this front, so in the uprising's first phase each army picked only soft persimmons to pinch — the strategy: take everything that can be taken.

Not a single mistake, a single word, a single shot, a single inner, a single content, a single in, a single one, a single look!

Every hard nut encountered midway was tossed aside — not touched, not gnawed, not entangled.

The difficulty of this phase lies in "speed." They must seize as much ground as possible before the Heavenly Gods, Spirit Mountain, and the various Shan Jin factions can react, while simultaneously severing connections between those factions, turning them into isolated islands in the sea — cutting off traffic, communication, and transport all at once.

If the seven great armies can rendezvous in succession, this phase is essentially complete.

Phase two: retrain elites, focus on propaganda and momentum.

While proclaiming the Dragon God's unstoppable sweep across Shan Jin, the Xiao Army must also make the remaining forces feel encircled on all sides — Dragon God territory in every direction.

From this point on, whoever can be persuaded to surrender, persuade them to the utmost; those who stubbornly refuse, fight.

Fight until they submit.

This phase focuses on overcoming tough obstacles.

He Lingchuan placed Yao Di in this phase.

Phase three is just tallying and mopping up; it's still too early to speak of it.

He Lingchuan reassigned tasks to his subordinates; the generals listened and took notes, their brushes flying.

In truth, He Lingchuan had also recorded each squad's mission on jade slips — a fine tool brought from the Upside-Down Sea — but hearing it spoken sticks better in memory.

This battle plan was more difficult; He Lingchuan spent two hours arranging it, then told the generals:

"In this phase, Du Shan will hold the center at Duo City to coordinate and dispatch; the Dragon God Army's overall logistics will be handled by Mo Qi Feng and Ding Zuodong."

He Lingchuan himself has a mission; the most cunning, most ferocious, most formidable enemy naturally falls to him personally.