Chapter 613: Invasion

Latest website: "If this army is allowed to win in a localized campaign, from now on, not only Dongying, but I fear the ambitions of the various Western Lands nations will also expand extremely, sparking a frenzy to carve up Great Song from this point on." Zhao Xu pursed his lips.

He would absolutely not let this happen.

Facing Dongying's probing, he would not conceal his own strength.

Because once one shows a weak side, the pack of wolves will swarm in.

Only by making them afraid will they hesitate and act with caution.

Only in this way can more time for development be won for Yanzhou.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu sent an order to Chang Wei, telling him to ruthlessly deal with this Qi army that had snuck into Yanzhou, leaving only a few survivors to be sent back; at the same time, after this small-scale conflict, he prepared to take action against Qi.

The flank of Yanzhou was secure.

He had also used Smallpox to carry out a strategic intimidation against the powerful clans, similar to nuclear blackmail, resolving the trade issue.

Next, if he did not use poison, and the powerful clans continued to trade, then they would fight whenever they should.

After all, this was merely similar to the rules of war established in the contemporary international community, such as not allowing the use of weapons of mass destruction in war.

At the same time, another factor in his decision to take action was that Qi and Southern Liang, one bringing in Northern Di and the other bringing in Dongying, was equivalent to brothers in the same family having a falling out and dragging outsiders in to fight their own kin; he detested this behavior deeply, and it was something he could not tolerate.

Moreover, he was very clear that if this division were allowed to continue, as time entered the modern era and Western countries arrived, they would certainly be happy to see Great Song split into several countries.

And they would do everything in their power to prevent Great Song from becoming a unified country again.

After all, having such a large country in the East was simply a nightmare for Western countries.

Especially if this country shook off ignorance and gradually moved toward industrialization, that would simply be their mortal enemy.

Therefore, he could not continue to wait; the horn of war must be sounded.

A day later, his order arrived in Fanyang.

At this time,

The scouts of the Prince's Personal Army had already discovered this Qi army attempting to sneak into Yanzhou.

"General, they are sixty li southwest of Changping, and it will take only half a day's journey to reach Yanzhou territory."

Chang Wei nodded; this Changping was to the southeast of Fanyang and was also the county closest to Qi.

"How many garrison troops are in Changping?" He had just come from Guangning Commandery, and Qin Shan had adjusted the troop deployment, so he asked.

Nanshan was managed by Qin Shan, Guan Tong, and Lv Chang respectively.

Among them, Fanyang was managed by Qin Shan, and the troop deployment within Fanyang was also arranged by Qin Shan personally.

"Reporting to the General, this subordinate has deployed three thousand troops in Changping, including two thousand five hundred Infantry and five hundred Cavalry, as well as twenty-four pieces of Field Artillery."

"Immediately send fast horses to Changping and order them to dispatch eight hundred Infantry and two hundred Cavalry to annihilate this Qi army that has entered Yanzhou territory," Chang Wei said.

"Yes, General." Qin Shan turned and left.

"Remember, only leave a few survivors," Chang Wei added.

Qin Shan stopped in his tracks and nodded.

Arriving outside the General's Mansion, he called for a team of scouts and had them take three horses each, heading to Changping at the fastest speed.

Naturally, they were not worried about the safety of Changping.

With these three thousand troops there, even if tens of thousands from Qi came, they could resist for a period of time.

It was just that there were still many villages scattered outside Changping.

Now, they and Qi were enemy nations that hated each other.

If this army entered Yanzhou territory, it would inevitably burn, kill, and loot, and they did not want the common people to suffer losses.

Therefore, they had to eliminate this army before it could cause losses to Yanzhou.

In the span of an hour, the scouts arrived at Changping and conveyed Qin Shan's order.

Led by a Colonel, over a thousand of the Prince's Personal Army, guided by the scouts, headed straight for the Qi army.

Dachang Village.

The October rice fields were already slightly yellow, and the autumn wind blew in gusts, rolling up waves of mixed yellow and green.

At this time, many of the village urchins were catching grasshoppers in the fields.

Just then, a tall urchin pointed to the south, "Look, what is that?"

The urchins looked over one after another, and one child shouted, "That is the Qi army!"

This shout frightened the other children, and they ran back to the village in a flash, telling everyone the news.

The news of the Han Family establishing a state had long since spread in the nearby villages.

After all, they were only a short distance of ten-plus li from the border of Qi.

The Qi commoners on the other side of the border were also forbidden from going to Yanzhou.

At the same time, there were often Qi Cavalry patrolling the border.

Although the villagers all felt it was absurd, they could only accept the fact.

After all, the Government Office had already sent officials to the village, telling them to remain vigilant at all times and to report to the Government Office immediately upon discovering any situation.

Therefore, the urchins' shouting naturally attracted the attention of the adults in the village.

The village head immediately led the Village Soldiers to the entrance of the village.

Just as the urchins had said, there was indeed an army coming toward their village, and it was only a few hundred meters away.

"Quickly have the villagers hide in the Tunnel."

Having confirmed the enemy situation, the village head's expression was serious.

Then, they also returned to the village and ducked into the dug-out Tunnel.

Their village only had six hundred-plus people, while the other side looked to have at least one thousand, so they could only hide temporarily.

If the situation turned bad, they would only be able to run out of the village through the Tunnel and then flee toward the county seat.

At the same time, the Qi army was getting closer and closer.

At the front of the troop, two figures resembling generals rode side by side, yet they had no interaction.

This was because one was a Qi general and the other was a Dongying general, and they did not share a common language.

The troop following the Qi general was quite long, numbering over nine hundred people, while there were only over one hundred people behind the Dongying general.

"Ahahaha... ahead is a village; there might be quite a few beautiful women inside."

"This trip to Great Song must be enjoyed to the fullest."

"That is absolutely true. Compared to being in Dongying, the life we lead here is simply like that of immortals; every day there is Wine and meat, and the Qi officials even send us Beauties every day for our enjoyment."

"I heard that Great Song's Jiangnan is even more prosperous than Qi, and the women are more beautiful than the last. Once we Dongying occupy Great Song, life will be even more comfortable."

"Hahaha..."

The Dongying soldiers burst into a fit of laughter.

The Qi soldiers looked at the Dongying soldiers, who were rocking back and forth with laughter, feeling somewhat bewildered and unable to understand what they were laughing about.

The Dongying general also had the corners of his mouth turned up; it was clear that his heart was the same as the Dongying soldiers'.

They had paid such a high price for this Dongying mission, and they were not here to play.

Qi was merely a shell they were parasitizing; when the time was ripe, their Dongying army would truly set foot on the land of Great Song.