Chapter 907: Beacons of War

Andong City.

Just as Zhao Xu had anticipated, at this moment, Dong An was consulting on the war with the four northern domain lords: Beitiao, Ono, Oda, and Maoli.

After arriving at Andong City, he had ordered Beitiao Chuanqing to send men to invite the three domain lords, Ono, Oda, and Maoli, over.

Ever since Beitiao Chuanqing had received the front-loading rifled muskets and experienced the power of the new-style firearms, he had been full of confidence and had been advocating for moving south to attack Watanabe An.

But during this period, because of conflicts of interest while annexing other small domains, the relationship between the four families had deteriorated again.

None of the four was willing to take orders from another.

Just as Beitiao Chuanqing was feeling helpless, Dong An arrived.

To him, this was simply a timely rain.

At the same time, they had all met Dong An while in Yancheng.

Naturally, they did not doubt Dong An's identity.

"Lord Dong An, with the four northern domains gathered in Andong today, we will obey your orders." Beitiao Chuanqing glanced at Ono Zhen, Zhitian Shanze, and Maoli Yousheng.

The three looked at each other, bowed their bodies simultaneously, and said in unison, "Please give your orders, Lord Dong An."

At present, although the four families did not see eye to eye, they held immense awe and reverence for Yan Wang.

Yan Wang's orders were orders they would execute even if it meant ten thousand deaths.

Their family fortunes, lives, and honor were all tied to Yan Wang.

After all, the Yan King Army stationed in their domain lands would protect their families.

The prerequisite, naturally, was their loyal service.

Dong An sat upright.

Looking at the four, including Beitiao and Ono, a sense of pride rose in his heart.

Thinking back to those years, how distressed the Yan Prince Mansion had been.

But even so, Yan Wang had found a way to survive, continuously defeating the Zhang Family, and later defeating the Yuan Family as well.

Now, he had even defeated the powerful clans, unified the Great Song, and even the northern domain lords of Gaoli and Dongying had submitted to Yan Wang.

Therefore, he was crystal clear that the humility the four, including Beitiao, showed him was, in essence, humility toward Yan Wang.

"You have pretty much finished off the small northern domains; now, the borders you control basically overlap with the borders of the southern domain lords, right?" Dong An asked.

"That is correct. It is precisely because of the generosity of His Highness Yan Wang in bestowing upon us the front-loading rifled muskets that the war has gone so smoothly," Zhitian Shanze interjected.

Dong An nodded. "Since that is the case, you must work together even more to take the southern lands, rather than shrinking back in the north to fight amongst yourselves."

He was not shooting without a target; he was doing this to knock the four northern domains into shape before the war.

He wanted to prevent them from continuing to undermine each other while fighting.

Pausing, he continued, "Besides, it is useless for you to scramble. After defeating Watanabe An, who gets that piece of land will ultimately be decided by His Highness Yan Wang. So, you understand—if anyone does not put in the effort, hmph hmph..."

Upon hearing this, the four looked at each other, and cold sweat broke out on all their foreheads.

They said in unison, "We would not dare. We will certainly follow the guidance of Lord Dong An, set aside our grudges, and kill the enemy with one heart."

Only then did Dong An nod with satisfaction. "Since that is the case, return to your respective domains to prepare. This time, the Marine soldiers stationed in your domains will act alongside you, and the Wufeng Island fleet will also carry Great Song soldiers to support you."

Upon hearing this, the four, including Beitiao, were even more shocked, and they were instantly filled with confidence.

At this moment, they temporarily forgot their grudges.

With the help of Yan Wang's troops,

they were certain to win this war.

That afternoon, Ono Zhen, Zhitian Shanze, and Maoli Yousheng returned to their respective domain lands.

After three days of preparation, the four families gathered an army of 200,000.

Among them, the Beitiao and Ono families formed the eastern route, while the Oda and Maoli families formed the western route.

Both routes moved south simultaneously, advancing along the coastline.

Each of their forces was no less than 50,000.

But the 50,000 soldiers sent out were all equipped with front-loading rifled muskets.

The remaining soldiers were still equipped with old matchlocks and flintlocks.

To them, these soldiers would not be of much use on the battlefield, so they were left in the domain lands to be responsible for defense.

At the same time, twenty-four steamships also arrived at Wufeng Island.

Upon receiving the order, Gong Ying immediately sent word to establish contact with Dong An.

At the same time, he had the Marines prepare to launch a fatal blow against Dongying, coordinating from inside and outside to annihilate Watanabe An.

Such a large movement by the four northern domains naturally could not be hidden from Watanabe An and the southern domain lords.

Because the Sam Country warships had arrived, the southern domain lords, who were in a state of fanaticism, simultaneously gathered a large number of troops, preparing to join the 200,000-strong army commanded by Watanabe An to fight a decisive battle against the four northern domains.

"In two more days, they will enter the Heyano Domain. We will fight them at Baihe," Watanabe An said, facing the domain lords and his subordinate generals in a valley east of Edo.

The Heyano Domain was on the north side of Edo and could be called the northern gateway to Edo.

Moreover, from Edo to the Heyano Domain and then to the Oda Domain, the entire route was surrounded by mountains on both the east and west sides.

Within the vast valleys among the mountains, however, were large plains.

This type of terrain was everywhere in Dongying.

Therefore, if the Oda Clan and the Mori Clan wanted to attack Edo, they had to break through the Heyano Domain.

And the narrowest point of the Heyano Domain was called Baihe City, which was the only way to move south.