Chapter 494: Yangqu Council: Resistance and the Lord

In the 136th year of Mo Ao, December 27th

Yangqu Town City, Lord’s Hall

Inside the hall, a fiercely heated argument was underway.

“Such large-scale troop movements reveal the Great Xia’s true intent—our Lord can wait no longer. If we do not raise troops and seek aid now, Yangqu’s century-long rule may be destroyed utterly!”

“Seek aid? From whom? The Three Northern Towns or Dragon Valley? Sixty thousand Xia troops are stationed in the north—they’re barely holding on themselves; how can they save us?”

“Great Xia is merely relocating troops; no concrete actions have been taken. Pingkang in Chuishan has secretly defected to them—that’s common knowledge. This might just be a routine rotation; why panic?”

“Easy words to say. Pingkang’s Pingkang Garrison is less than ninety kilometers straight from Yangqu Town City; Tie Ling Garrison is even closer, only seventy kilometers. In the past, just those two units gave us headaches. Now seven entire units have arrived at once—not mere garrison troops, but elite forces totaling fourteen thousand Yuhan-level soldiers. Even if Great Xia does nothing else, can we still sleep at night?”

“So we can’t sleep—what then? Even the Three Northern Towns are crushed under Great Xia’s weight. How can Yangqu alone turn the tide?”

“Seek aid! Bring in reinforcements! If the Three Northern Towns won’t help, go to Dragon Valley—they’re right beside us; they won’t stand idle.”

“Even if Dragon Valley sends troops, what good will it do? Over the past two years, backed by the Alliance, Yangqu has indeed grown strong—we now have roughly twenty-one thousand Yuhan-level soldiers in the entire town. Subtract two thousand in the Alliance army and four thousand in the Hunting Teams, and we’re left with just over fifteen thousand. But over a third of them are currently scattered across other towns; whether they’ll even return is uncertain, and even if they do, they can’t be recalled in short order.”

That means, right now, Yangqu’s total usable force consists of only eight thousand Town Defense Troops and the Lord’s one thousand Xuanwen Troops. Even if we pull out every Hunting Team member and every remaining Yuhan-level soldier in the entire territory, we can barely muster five thousand more.”

Leaving combat effectiveness aside, Yangqu’s total forces number fourteen thousand. Dragon Valley’s situation is much the same—let’s assume they have sixteen thousand troops. Combined, the two towns total thirty thousand.”

According to reconnaissance, Great Xia has deployed thirty-five thousand troops at Chuishan’s Tie Ling and Pingkang garrisons—seven numbered elite Xia armies. At Tie Ling: Dragon Slaying, Golden Sword, and Zhao Long Armies. At Pingkang: Yingwu, Zhenwu, Steel Mane, and Golden Eagle Armies. That’s fourteen thousand elite Xia soldiers. The remaining twenty-one thousand wear Chuishan banners, but everyone here knows they’re Great Xia’s Town Defense Troops.”

I, Yan, speak plainly: those thirty-five thousand troops alone are enough to sweep away both Yangqu and Dragon Valley. And don’t forget—the northern Muyin Town still hosts Great Xia’s Tiger Leopard and Divine Martial Armies, plus at least twenty thousand more Town Defense Troops. Even if Great Xia fights on two fronts simultaneously, defeating us two towns is merely a matter of time!”

………………

Over fifty people filled the hall. Seated on the main dais was, of course, Lord Cao Ganyang. To his left sat Yan Chenzhou, the Military Commander.

Aside from these two, every other person—whether newly promoted Xianyang-level Town Chief Cao Yuankang or other Yangqu core elites holding only Yuhan-level cultivation—stood upright.

The final, lengthy speech came from a white-robed elder standing near the front on the left side of the hall, a long blade strapped at his waist.

The elder was Yan Fengping, eldest son of Military Commander Yan Chenzhou and one of Yangqu’s three Deputy Military Commanders.

When Yan Fengping finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent. All who had been shouting turned to stare at him, eyes filled with shock and suspicion. The room plunged into deathly stillness.

Not only the hall’s occupants—even Lord Cao Ganyang—fixed his gaze on Yan Fengping. But after a single glance, he immediately shifted his eyes to Yan Chenzhou on his left, as if seeking some hidden clue.

Unfortunately, Yan Chenzhou kept his eyes closed, as if unaware of the scrutiny, and showed no interest whatsoever in the heated debate.

Seeing this, Cao Ganyang’s expression darkened instantly.

“Fengping, do you have a plan?”

After a moment of stillness, he finally turned to Yan Fengping and spoke.

Yan Fengping, hearing the question, showed no sign of tension. He bowed and said: “Since the Lord asks, I shall offer my humble opinion…”

He paused, then his face cleared into open candor as he continued: “Two years ago, had the Five Northern Towns united and prevented Great Xia from forming the Alliance, things would not have reached this point.”

“Over these past two years, Great Xia, under the guise of Alliance Lord, has issued the Alliance Hunting Edicts to plunder resources from all five towns; it has used trade to drain our silver and deeply infiltrated the Five Northern Towns. No joke—right now, in this very hall, I cannot even be certain whether any of us are free of Great Xia’s spies…”

“Yan Fengping, you’re spouting nonsense!”

“I’ve been loyal to the Lord! How dare you slander me?”

“You’re the one playing the victim—I say you, Yan Fengping, are the biggest spy!”

………………

As soon as Yan Fengping finished, the hall erupted. Everyone turned red with rage; some hot-headed ones immediately began shouting insults.

“Even if none of you here are compromised, can you guarantee your family, friends, or servants haven’t taken Great Xia’s bribes?”

Yan Fengping asked calmly, and instantly, every face in the hall changed. All voices died.

“The combined wealth and resources of the Five Northern Towns are no longer on the same scale as Great Xia’s. This imbalance guarantees that every action we take is unequal.”

“Our military’s spies in Xia Cheng originally numbered over two hundred. In the past two years, over one hundred fifty have been captured, over fifty defected. Only seven remain who can reliably send messages back—and even those seven may have been turned.”

“In contrast, over the past two years, Great Xia, under the Alliance Lord’s name, has relentlessly infiltrated all five town cities. Take Yangqu: openly, there’s Wanbao Pavilion and the Alliance Hunting Teams, both free to move throughout our entire territory. As for covert operations—no need to elaborate. The number of Great Xia’s spies embedded in Yangqu Town City likely exceeds two hundred; if you count the entire territory, it’s incalculable.”

“We’ve captured fewer than twenty in total.”

“And not a single one has been turned.”

“Can such a staggering contrast not prove the point?”

Seeing the hall fall silent, Yan Fengping did not rush to speak further. He gave them time to absorb his words.

After a pause, he continued: “In recent years, the Nine Southern Towns have merged deeply. Great Xia’s true situation isn’t unknown to Yangqu alone—each of the other four Northern Towns has some inkling.”

“Great Xia alone has thirty numbered elite armies: Yunjiao and Longwu, two eighth-rank legions, totaling ten thousand soldiers. The remaining twenty-eight ninth-rank legions total fifty-six thousand. That’s sixty-six thousand soldiers—all with at least Six-Mane strength. Even combined, the Five Northern Towns cannot muster such a force.”

“Beyond these thirty numbered elite units, Great Xia also maintains Town Defense Troops stationed across its territories. Our military estimates their total number at a minimum of one hundred thousand…”

Sixty-six thousand elite numbered troops, over one hundred thousand Town Defense Troops!

Hearing these figures, every face in the hall darkened.

Since Great Xia formed the Southern Ridge Alliance two years ago at Chuishan, the standard for Town Defense Troops in the Nine Towns has changed: no longer primarily Juedi-level soldiers, they are now composed of Yuhan-level troops.

Thus, Yan Fengping’s two figures mean Great Xia’s total military strength alone is conservatively over one hundred seventy thousand.

Note: this is total troops, not Yuhan-level cultivators!

In the harsh environment of Bingyuan, every camp must retain some Yuhan-level soldiers for hunting and gathering. Thus, Great Xia’s actual Yuhan-level numbers must be at least thirty to forty percent higher.

Thirty to forty percent—even conservatively—that’s over two hundred twenty thousand.

Yan Fengping ignored the gloom around him and pressed on:

“Gentlemen, I haven’t even included the Yuhan-level forces of Muyin, Jiangxia, and Chuishan. Consider that addition—how powerful is Great Xia’s total strength? Think carefully.”

The hall’s expressions shifted from gloom to outright despair.

The fact that the three town elites had joined Great Xia was no secret among the Five Northern Towns—every core member knew it.

Including those three towns, Great Xia’s Yuhan-level total likely exceeds three hundred thousand.

“Yan Fengping, are you saying Great Xia’s unification of Southern Ridge is inevitable, and we should accept reality, surrender to Xia Hong, and hand over Yangqu’s century-old legacy to Great Xia?”