Chapter 1128: Overwhelming Force

Chen Li finished explaining, and Chen Wuji finally understood what was going on.

He had two moments today where his mind didn't wander off track.

Only after figuring it out did he realize that these two problems actually had only one answer.

His position was higher now, so he could see more.

The jianghu forces in Nan Jun were not weak compared to Lingnan; in fact, one could say they were a mix of dragons and snakes, quite strong, and no one could predict which corner might produce a great master or a group of ruthless killers.

But compared to the entire world, Nan Jun was merely a place with many and chaotic jianghu forces.

They had no foundation.

No heritage that could stand for hundreds or thousands of years, no ability to easily raise tens of thousands of disciples on a mountain, and no position to casually gather more than a dozen great masters.

"Since we're competing for this opportunity, we might as well stop hiding!" Chen Wuji set aside the discussion about jianghu and brought the topic back to warfare: "Order Chen Baojia and Chen Ruoshui's two armies to attack Jianshui City and the areas to its west, and act as circumstances permit."

"Hu Bugui and Wu Bu Yong, cross Gu Tianzhou, head north to Jiannan Commandery, take the western route of Jiannan, act as circumstances permit; those who stubbornly resist will be slaughtered upon city fall, but do not disturb the people!"

"Qian Fugui and Xie Fengxian, take the central route of Jiannan Commandery, head north to Hezhou, meet with Chen Wuyi and Guo Jin'ge, and decide on your own where to attack next."

"Feng Linchuan and Qian Yong, stand by in Gu Tianzhou, transport grain and fodder, and prepare for subsequent warfare!"

The crowd received the orders in solemn silence.

Chen Wuji issued a series of military commands in one breath, and as these orders were delivered, the already noisy Shangfang Commandery and Jiannan Commandery suddenly seemed like a ladle of water poured into boiling oil.

As Chen Wuji's subordinate forces attacked from all directions, the two commanderies of Shangfang and Jiannan plunged into a strange frenzy—some fled, some surrendered, and some believed his chance to stand on the shoulders of giants had arrived.

In the big cities and small alleys of these two commanderies, news of Chen Wuji's battles with various warlords could be heard everywhere—so much gossip that the onlookers didn't know where to start.

"Marquis Zhenyuan really overreached this time! Launching troops in all directions—who fights like this? I admit his forces are indeed strong, but he can't possibly look down on all the heroes of the world like this!"

"When you say that, why don't you first look at Marquis Zhenyuan's military record? Half a month ago, his cavalry vanguard captured five cities in just a few days—cavalry, siege warfare, in just a few days! If it were me, I'd also want to look down on the heroes of the world, couldn't help but fight, and might even have to divide my troops to fight, just to avoid wasting manpower."

"You're only half-educated—you know one thing but not the other."

"You still know what the other thing is? Why don't you say it so we can hear?"

"Do you know who commanded the defense of those cities? Bai Shen Jiang Jun Chen Baojia, the chief cavalry commander under Marquis Zhenyuan—this old man swept through the Qiang people and beat the Huihe people like they were grandchildren. With just Puyan's little skill, how could he defend a city? Fighting him would be no different from playing a game!"

"Besides, I heard Puyan's own son is serving as a guide for Chen Baojia's army? That's not a one-on-one match—it's a sure thing. Five cities fell in just a few days, and for Chen Baojia, it really wasn't difficult at all!"

"You only know one and two, but I still have a three—anyone interested?"

"Stop beating around the bush and speak up, or else you're buying this drink!"

"Hehe, I heard that Chen Baojia's cavalry is entirely composed of martial artists. After Marquis Zhenyuan tread upon the jianghu, he selected some high-ranking martial techniques and bestowed them upon the soldiers!"

"Nonsense—full martial artist cavalry? Marquis Zhenyuan only just tread upon the jianghu; even if it were true, how could they possibly have such a cavalry so quickly?"

"Although I haven't seen it myself, this rumor seems to be true."

"Ah ah ah, I've heard this rumor too, and it's not just Chen Baojia's cavalry—apparently, all of Marquis Zhenyuan's forces are now martial artists."

"This is getting more and more ridiculous—do you think martial artists are like Chinese cabbage in your field? You just plant them and they grow easily?"

"Anyway, there really is a rumor spreading like this!"

"Fake!"

"Regardless of whether these rumors are true or false, Marquis Zhenyuan dividing his forces to attack Shangfang and Jiannan Commandery is real—would anyone like to make a small bet for fun?"

"How to bet? Bet on who wins, or on when Marquis Zhenyuan will take these two commanderies?"

"The latter! Who wins—do you think there's still room to investigate? Even if Marquis Zhenyuan suffers a setback in one place, losing is impossible. There are plenty of proud, powerful figures in Shangfang and Jiannan Commandery, but even if they joined forces, they'd probably not be enough in Marquis Zhenyuan's eyes."

"I'll bet one hand—one month!"

"I'll bet too—three months!"

……

Half a month later, the entire world trembled.

Aside from the three prefectures that surrendered, all other prefectures in Shangfang Commandery were completely pacified.

After leaving a small garrison to hold the cities, Chen Wuji's forces under Chen Baojia, Chen Ruoshui, Hu Bugui, and Wu Bu Yong swiftly marched north without even catching a breath, and launched another invasion into Jiannan Commandery.

The people of Jiannan Commandery were more particular than those in Shangfang Commandery, and they even knew to form an alliance when facing Chen Wuji as a major enemy, present a united front, and then discuss other matters.

But before they could work out a plan, they suddenly found themselves surrounded on all sides.

In the east of Jiannan Commandery were Hu Bugui and Wu Bu Yong's forty-thousand-strong army.

In the west were the over thirty-thousand-strong army of Chen Baojia and Chen Ruoshui, who had just come from Shangfang Commandery.

The center was the most lively.

After Chen Wuyi charged straight north all the way, he and Guo Jin'ge had already torn open a huge gap in the central part of Jiannan Commandery, occupying as much as one and a half prefectures.

Thereafter, Xie Fengxian and Qian Fugui joined them, and the four armies totaling 120,000 troops gathered in one place before quickly splitting east and west, capturing eleven cities in just half a month.

Before the anti-Chen alliance in Jiannan Commandery could even be formally organized, Chen Wuji's blade had already reached their doorstep. The moment the news spread, the diversity of human hearts became evident.

To obtain a credible pledge token, the remaining forces in Jiannan Commandery could be said to have exhausted every possible means—some sent troops to attack neighbors, some set up Hongmen banquets, and some sent masters to behead allies.

After all, they were still able to sit at the same table not long ago to discuss forming an alliance. Faced with an irreversible situation, no one thought of hard resistance, nor did anyone flee; instead, they remarkably unanimously arrived at the idea of killing teammates to offer to heaven, in exchange for a chance to surrender.

Their thinking was so uniform it was frightening!

These few people, with just one set of operations, caused all forces on the five and a half prefectures of land in eastern and western Jiannan Commandery to surrender completely, leaving only two warlords alive among the survivors.