Chapter 126

"Hahahaha!" Duan Wu laughed so hard he almost fell off his horse.

He quickly explained to General Zhang that the sound came from the walkie-talkie.

Although he didn't understand the principle of long-distance sound transmission, at least he let General Zhang know that this device could be used for calls, so it wasn't some ghost speaking just now.

Then Duan Wu brought General Zhang to the Fairy Temple.

On the way, he also took him past the clinic, school, granary, and water reservoir for a brief look.

And he told him that Xituan Gate and Linxian Village could be merged into a city in just three or four months, all thanks to the Fairy's grace and help.

In just one morning, General Zhang witnessed scenes he could never have imagined in his lifetime; although he had not yet met the immensely powerful Fairy Jinli, he already held her in the utmost reverence.

Upon arriving at the Fairy Temple, the flourishing incense and worship left him in awe.

Early that morning, countless commoners came to pay respects and offer incense, each face showing utmost piety.

"General Duan, the clothes and shoes worn by the people here..." General Zhang asked from outside the crowd, "Do they also differ from elsewhere?"

Duan Wu said: "These are all gifts from the Fairy; the material is sturdier and more durable, the style is novel and convenient. Besides everyday wear, there are also work clothes and shoes. When the people work in those protective garments and use the tools the Fairy gave them, safety and efficiency are over a hundred times higher than before! The Fairy helps us in every way, looking out for us!"

"Then... there really are immortals, so I must certainly pay proper respects. Is the Fairy in this temple?" General Zhang asked eagerly.

Duan Wu laughed and said: "Fairy Jinli is not like the immortals we imagine; she is approachable, never aloof, and certainly wouldn't stay in the temple all day receiving incense."

"So she isn't in the temple?" General Zhang felt a bit disappointed.

Duan Wu said: "No problem; there will be plenty of chances for you to meet the Fairy."

After thinking, General Zhang asked again: "You said the Fairy has parents, one called Lord Ning and the other Sect Leader Ye, who also helped in this construction. Are they naturally immortals as well?"

"This..." Duan Wu lowered his voice, "Actually Fairy Jinli has told us many times that she is not an immortal; we have gradually realized she is merely a mortal, just like us, needing food, drink, and rest. Her parents are also ordinary flesh and blood. Yet, given her merit of benefiting the people and saving the world, calling her an immortal is wholly appropriate."

General Zhang nodded and sighed: "For Daxuan to obtain such a person of vast supernatural powers as assistance is truly our great fortune."

"Exactly," Duan Wu patted his shoulder, "Besides what I've shown you earlier, your troops will also get good stuff later. I tell you, those items are enough to let a hundred-thousand-strong army crush Yu Guo."

General Zhang's eyes lit up: "Is that really true?!"

"Of course it's true!" Duan Wu said proudly, "You don't know how many battles we've fought here these past few months. Xituan Gate initially had only ten thousand remnants of defeated soldiers, yet they managed to defeat the enemy forces that kept arriving, totaling several tens of thousands! Moreover, they captured all the barbarian troops of Shayu State in one go!"

General Zhang immediately became excited: "Before I received the sovereign's edict to mobilize troops and rush here, I heard that almost all officials in the royal city were saying that this time the sovereign's breaking with Yu Guo and forming a blood feud is a calamity for Daxuan, and even the soldiers in the army have been somewhat affected, morale inevitably low. If what General Duan says is true... not to mention conquering Yu Guo, letting Daxuan unify all under heaven would not be difficult at all!"

"Hahaha! Exactly!" Duan Wu put his arm around General Zhang's shoulder, "Come on, you've come from afar, no need to wait in line here. I've already ordered the guards of the Fairy Temple to stand ready; we'll go straight in and I'll take you to offer a few sticks of incense."

"All right, thank you, General Duan!"

——

In the following three days, the hundred thousand Daxuan soldiers who had arrived at Linxian City had rested well and roughly understood the situation inside the city.

Xiao Qidi then issued an order, beginning preparations for annexing Yu Guo.

Based on Yu Guo's severe depletion from the previous major war, he estimated that Yu Guo would need at least two months to mobilize troops, and with logistical preparations, grain supply, troop deployment, etc., even at the earliest the first Yu Guo army would not arrive to attack until about four months later.

Thus, Linxian City here has ample time.

This time, the original ten thousand soldiers of Xituan Gate, after enduring several previous major battles, had become an elite force, which Xiao Qidi named the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army.

About half of them, under Qi Zhan's orders, were sent to destroy the Shayu State.

Xiao Qidi decided that, from the ten thousand Daxuan troops transferred here, he would select another batch of soldiers to become the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army.

Now, in Ning Jinli's factory, basic military equipment production has begun, sufficient to outfit the entire hundred-thousand army with modern combat uniforms and modern cold weapons.

However, the same weapons and equipment will produce different effects depending on the soldiers' abilities.

Therefore, expanding the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army remains necessary.

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli together established the selection criteria, aiming to pick out about ten thousand from these hundred thousand Daxuan soldiers—a genuine one-in-ten-thousand choice.

Only those who pass the rigorous selection will be eligible to become Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army; this is also preparation for later equipping these soldiers with thermal weapons.

After all, firearms and ammunition, even the most basic versions, are far more complex than using cold weapons, and cannot be taught casually.

In Linxian City, war preparations and city construction proceed in an orderly manner simultaneously.

Yu Guo likewise is rushing to conscript troops, but the conscription situation has left the Yu Guo king extremely dissatisfied.

"From the moment I issued the order for nationwide conscription, until today it's been nearly twenty days, and you tell me you've only conscripted a hundred thousand? Are you all good-for-nothings!" The Yu Guo king shouted angrily, smashing the bamboo slips reported by the ministers into pieces.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly dropped to freezing point.

"Your Majesty, please calm down, your health is important..." the nearby eunuch cautioned carefully.

The Yu Guo king forcibly suppressed his anger: "I will surely be angered to death by this bunch of good-for-nothings!"

"Your Majesty..." a minister stepped forward and said, "We have already done our best, but our Yu Guo is the smallest in territory and population among the seven states; with a total population of only about a million, conscripting a hundred thousand in twenty-odd days nationwide is already... quite good."

The Yu Guo king gritted his teeth: "What do you mean? Are you expecting me to praise you?"

"I dare not," the minister said with a worried face, "I merely wish to ask Your Majesty to consider conscripting fewer troops; if, as you say, we need to conscript three hundred thousand, this... would likely harm the foundation of people's livelihood."

The Yu Guo king's expression turned gloomy: "Out of a million subjects, excluding women, children, elderly, and the infirm, there should be about four hundred thousand able-bodied male laborers; why couldn't we conscript three hundred thousand?"

The minister helplessly said: "The people also need to survive... if we forcibly conscript three hundred thousand to fight, it will cause the number of farmers to plummet drastically. Now, with the autumn harvest approaching, the people still need to store grain for winter. Moreover, the hundred thousand previously retained Yu Guo troops plus the newly conscripted three hundred thousand would make four hundred thousand soldiers; just feeding them all adequately would already be difficult... At that point, not only would the treasury be emptied, but we would also have to collect grain from the people's mouths..."

"I don't want to hear this!" the Yu Guo king snapped, "Don't make excuses for me; I just want you to get things done!"

That minister still wanted to say something, but ultimately held his peace and turned his gaze toward the eldest elder among the officials.

That was the Prime Minister of Yu Guo, now seventy years old, who had continuously assisted four generations of Yu Guo kings.

Originally, due to illness he had already begun to retreat from court several years ago, and recently he had withdrawn even further, resting for over half a year away from the capital.

This time, upon learning that the Crown Prince had been killed, the king, furious, resolved to raise troops to retaliate against Xuan Guo, and disregarding the hardship of travel, he hurried back from his place of rest to the capital.

Last night he even traveled all night, and up to this morning's court audience he had not rested at all.

His aged face was full of weariness.

The minister did not want to burden the elderly Prime Minister so, but now there was really no alternative; he could only hope the old man could help.

"Your Majesty..." the elderly chancellor shuffled forward, "I, the old minister, feel that you actually shouldn't have prepared for this war."

The king of Yu turned pale, but he restrained his anger and his tone softened, "Chancellor, even you don't support me?"

The old Prime Minister said: "The Crown Prince's death is indeed a deep-seated blood feud; I have heard that the Crown Prince was beheaded, and my grief and indignation are no less than Your Majesty's. However, even if we seek revenge, we cannot be so hasty, nor can we so exhaust the people and drain the finances. As that minister just said, please, Your Majesty, for the sake of the Yu Guo people's survival, think thrice. Moreover, Xuan Guo now is strong in soldiers and horses; its total troop numbers exceed ours by not a little. Once we launch a life-and-death war between the two states, I fear we could not finish it quickly..."

The Yu Guo King clenched his fists, "Xiao Qidi that brat bullies people too much; I really can't tolerate it! Although my Da Yu's population isn't as large as Xuan Guo's, the Royal City is prosperous and also has the finest weapons and armor in the world; even troops just raised, after a little training, can match other nations' elites! I am confident that if we can muster an army of about four hundred thousand, we will surely break through Xi Tun Guan, sweep all the way, and seize Xuan Guo's capital!"

The old Prime Minister continued to advise, "War can be waged, but there's no need to be so hasty, nor to mobilize so many troops; if Your Majesty trusts this old minister, I am willing to personally go on an embassy to the various states to persuade them and seek aid."

Upon hearing these words, the Yu Guo King frowned deeply and fell into silence.

"No way, old Prime Minister!" another minister immediately objected, "If we send envoys to the remaining countries, we'd have to detour around Xuan Guo; the journey is far too long, you old man couldn't endure it—let us young and strong ones go instead."

The old Prime Minister waved his hand and spoke softly:

"These years, due to my frail health, I have often been unable to participate in state affairs; I could only watch as Your Majesty, complacent from the nation's wealth and military strength, gradually ruined the relationships I had built over decades with envoys of other countries… I said from the start that the Sha Yue Tribe are barbarous and untrustworthy, they must not be heavily relied upon, and moreover, one must not think that having subdued them removes the need to maintain relations with other feudal states—but… Your Majesty would not listen."

"If Da Yu remained on good terms with several other states, when Your Majesty launches a campaign against Xuan Guo, we could immediately send word asking those states to send troops to coordinate a pincer attack with Da Yu, leaving Xuan Guo unable to resist with two fists against four hands; even if we cannot destroy Xuan Guo, we could still inflict heavy damage."

"Nowadays… not to mention you going on an embassy to the various states; even if Your Majesty personally went there, you'd likely be turned away at the door—only I, by going myself, could retain a bit of influence, making it possible for other states to dispatch troops to check Xuan Guo."

After these words, the surrounding ministers' eyes reddened, their throats choked, and they didn't know what to say.

After the old Prime Minister finished speaking, he stepped forward a few paces, looked up at the king seated high on the throne, and said solemnly, "Please, Your Majesty, endure a little longer; wait until I return from my embassy, then we will discuss further based on the outcome of the persuasion."

"You going like this…" the Yu Guo King said in a low voice, "Even at the earliest, you won't be back until after winter ends; at the very least, it will take half a year."

The old Prime Minister replied, "I will do my utmost to shorten the time; I will certainly return to report before winter ends."

The Yu Guo King narrowed his eyes slightly, "I have already fallen out with the various states; even if you intervene, it would be hard to persuade them—could it be that you heard someone just say the people need to gather autumn harvests to store for winter, and so you're deliberately using this ploy to delay me?"

The old Prime Minister said with eyes full of bitterness, "Your Majesty, I do indeed want to buy some time, but this is absolutely not a bad thing; first, it would let the people make adequate preparations; second, there really is a chance to win the aid of the various states. Although Your Majesty is at odds with the various states, I could still curry favor with them, and besides, by offering them the weapons forged in Da Yu and even teaching them iron‑making techniques, they would—"

"Teach them Da Yu's finest iron‑making techniques?" the Yu Guo King flushed with anger and cut him off directly, "Are you also thinking of giving them Da Yu's iron ore as well!"

The old Prime Minister gritted his teeth and said, "This is a trade, not a giveaway; if necessary, we would indeed have to provide them with ore."

"No way!" the Yu Guo King, having lost his patience, declared, "Yu Guo's strength today rests on its unrivaled iron‑making techniques and iron‑stone deposits among the various states; that is my proudest possession, and I will never give it away!"

Disappointment welled up in the old Prime Minister's cloudy eyes, "Your Majesty, now that we are seeking the various states' aid, we must make some concessions, give them some benefits, or they won't help us—you… don't you even understand this simple principle?"

The Yu Guo King suddenly slapped the arm of the throne, "Prime Minister! I'm already nearly forty—do you still have to lecture me? I was taught by you from childhood until I assumed personal rule! Even after I began ruling, you'd every now and then tell me this or that is wrong, and I've truly had enough! Don't you realize I've grown to dislike your nagging, which is why I later stopped letting you tutor the Crown Prince?"

"Your Majesty…" the old Prime Minister's eyes glistened with tears, "I am doing this all for your own good. The Crown Prince… sigh, if you had let me tutor him, how could he have ended up like this?"

"Old bastard! Shut up!" the Yu Guo King flew into a rage, snatched the inkstone nearby, and hurled it down the steps.

Bang!

A muffled thud.

The inkstone struck squarely on the old Prime Minister's forehead.

The old Prime Minister let out a groan, clutched his head, and collapsed.

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister!"

The ministers hurriedly gathered around.

All that could be seen was blood streaming from the old Prime Minister's temple, his complexion rapidly paling, his breath already extremely faint.

"Your Majesty!" a minister knelt and said, "Please summon a physician at once—the old Prime Minister is about to die!"