Chapter 110: Just Tonight

On the city walls, it was very bustling.

Inside the city, it was even more bustling.

The Ministry of War, responsible for the total weaponry and equipment of the Loulan Wanggong, was in complete chaos at this moment.

People were coming and going, and horse carriages were constant.

"Hurry up, thirty thousand arrows, send them to the city walls!"

"Are there any more rolling stones?"

"Shields, shields!"

"Sign here!"

"It's too late, they're out of stock over there!"

"Battle armor, battle armor!"

Shouting and yelling; ever since the Temple Army outside launched their attack, this place had not had a moment of rest.

The Minister of War was already drenched in sweat.

That fat body of his had probably lost over ten pounds in two days, and dark circles had appeared under his eyes. Yet, he was still so anxious he was hopping mad.

Loulan had truly been at peace for too long.

It had been too long since it was far from war.

The consumption of crossbow bolts alone on this day had reached a terrifying level!

A war tests not only the quality of soldiers but also logistical supplies. The people of Loulan, along with the merchant caravans in the city, volunteered to transport weaponry and equipment. There was no one else on the streets; back and forth, there were only these transport carriages, and they also had to guard against the rockets falling from the sky. The workshops in Kucheng responsible for producing weaponry and equipment had been operating constantly, never stopping at all.

"Are they out again?"

"Hurry!"

"Quick, urge them for me!"

On the city walls, there were already wrecks everywhere and blood flowing like a river. The Loulan Guard Army came in wave after wave. The wave in front died, and the ones behind stepped directly on the corpses to defend against the Temple Army climbing up. The Temple Army had already begun a full-scale assault, which was something no one had expected!

At any moment, rockets would fly in, rolling stones would crash down, collapses would occur, and comrades would die in battle!

Reheman was killing enemies with his blade while shouting angrily.

"My lord, they are already being rushed to production, it will still take some time!"

A subordinate reported anxiously.

Reheman cursed loudly again. It was nearing dusk, and the Temple's attack was like madness, covering the sky and earth. It was clear that a Temple Army soldier was bringing along a coerced commoner, with the commoner blocking in front and the soldier following behind. This kind of human shield not only achieved quite good results but also filled the Loulan Guard Army with an indescribable rage! Those coerced commoners were actually terrified long ago; their horror, wailing, and ghastly expressions seemed to be telling of their fear of war and their hatred for this Temple Army that spoke of benevolence and morality every day.

Those rolling stones and arrows fell on these commoners first; only after they were smashed into a bloody mess did the Temple Army emerge from behind.

Cruel, cold-blooded!

"Damn the Temple Army!"

"You will not die a good death!"

The Loulan Guard Army watched with eyes splitting in anger, and some even had tears streaming down.

Because among these commoners, there was no lack of the old, the weak, the sick, the disabled, women, children, and even mothers holding infants in their arms.

At this moment, they had all become cannon fodder for the Temple Army...

At this moment, they all died at the hands of the Loulan Guard Army, this force known as the defenders of Loulan.

How could the soldiers of the Guard Army endure this kind of torment of the conscience!

Liu Zheng also watched all of this coldly.

Regarding everything about war, he had always only stayed at a theoretical level. So, the current tragic scene brought him a great shock. Fresh blood, death, innocence, tragedy... He almost vomited several times, but he didn't; he kept using a cold expression to mask the turmoil in his heart, as he wanted to try to accept all of this.

Liu Zheng suddenly remembered a set of data he had seen before.

He suddenly remembered those keyboard warriors from his past life who would bluster, "If war breaks out, I'll donate three months of my salary first."

Three months of salary?

Heh.

Is war really that simple?

During the Soviet Union's war for the nation, the Soviet army fired forty thousand cannons simultaneously, launching 1.9 million shells in one day. This money was equivalent to the living expenses of ten million farmers for a year—and this was just the expenditure for one day of war.

During World War II, the Wa had a type of large shell; the price of one shell was four thousand yen, while the monthly salary of a person at the bottom of society at that time was five yen. He would need sixty years of salary to buy one shell...

A B-2 bomber costs two billion US dollars; if this plane takes off, the hourly expenditure is 160,000 US dollars, equivalent to an apartment in a third-tier city. An Su-30 plane has a training cost of about 400,000 RMB per hour, and training a mature pilot requires at least 1,000 hours...

And so on, and so on.

This terrifying data, and your three months of salary?

Only now did Liu Zheng realize how ridiculous those people were.

War is a money-burning machine, burning money endlessly. The current Kucheng of Loulan is a living reality.

Having defended the city for only two days, all the stockpiled weaponry and equipment had been almost completely consumed.

And this was only two days...

"Hold on, hold the line for me!"

"My lord, the blades are all rolled..."

"Use your fists to smash!"

"Yes!"

"Hold on, the sun is about to set!"

In this second day of the attack, the Guard Army still suffered heavy losses and countless casualties...

The city gates were on the verge of falling several times.

And at this moment.

Loulan Wanggong.

Reguli stood before Prince Halike, holding an exquisite silver-white longsword in her hand.

Halike was trembling all over: "Mother Queen..."

Reguli said coldly: "Take it!"

Halike looked terrified: "Mother Queen, what is this for? I..."

Reguli chuckled: "Child, if you want to become King, you must pick up this sword! Go out there!"

Halike tremblingly took the sword, looking at his mother in a daze.

Reguli gave a cold smile: "Your teachers, your guards, they are all on the city walls, protecting your kingdom. What else do you have to fear? Child, be brave! Hold it steady and walk over there!"

She pointed to a corner of the palace.

In that corner, over a dozen officials were huddled on their knees, their faces full of panic, wailing loudly: "Your Majesty the Queen, spare our lives!"

"Your Majesty the Queen, we are all loyal subjects offering Admonishment and Bitter Remonstrance, why are you killing us?"

"Why would you rather trust a Longyan outsider than us?"

"Queen, the Temple Army is unstoppable, we must negotiate peace as soon as possible! You will ruin the country, you traitor who ruins the country!"

Reguli shouted angrily: "Shut your mouths!"

Dozens of soldiers from the Guard Army held gleaming blades and swords against the necks of these officials. A few who spoke too excessively were killed on the spot.

Halike was so scared his face turned pale.

Reguli said coldly: "Go over and kill these double-dealing wretches!"

Huang Yantai, who was following behind Halike at this moment, also took a deep breath. Everyone had thought this Queen was quiet and easy to bully, but they never expected that when this war began, she had already arranged thunderous measures. For anyone who had any objections to this war, or to "Young Master Xiang," she had already prepared an intelligence agency specifically to probe for those in the city who spoke recklessly, played both sides, lacked firm stances, or were not proactive in war preparations, and then dispatched elite squads to take all these dissenters down!

Swift and decisive!

Ruthless methods!

Not only did she stabilize the hearts of the people in the city, but she also cleared the path for Halike, who was about to ascend to the throne.

Who said this Queen was a naive fool?

She was shrewder than anyone!

Liu Zheng was merely a touchstone for her at this moment!

The war was also just a touchstone for this succession!

She no longer had any other choice. Since this war had to be endured, then let it come! And as for that "Young Master Xiang," regardless of victory or defeat, she felt he would not pose any threat to her or Halike. This Queen of Loulan was the smartest person of all.

"Kill!"

Reguli looked coldly at Halike.

"You wanton demon queen!"

"You will meet a bad end!"

"You have brought disaster to the harem with your lewdness and hooked up with a Longyan man; you will be drowned in a pig cage!"

Seeing that they would not survive, these men hurled all sorts of abuse, their expressions agitated.

Hearing his mother being insulted, Halike let out a cry, his face twisted. Even if his personality was cowardly, he was provoked into a fit of bloodlust. He swung the sword down with force, and a fat head fell in response, rolling onto the ground...

The others looked on in panic.

"Kill!"

"Crack!"

"Crack, crack!"

A few drops of blood even splattered onto Reguli's stunningly beautiful face.

She then turned to look at the group of onlookers, the civil and military officials whose legs had already gone soft.

"Does anyone else have an opinion?"

"Does anyone still doubt Young Master Xiang?"

"Is anyone still afraid of defeat?"

"Get out of here and push the carts for me to deliver weapons!"

"Yes, Queen!"

……

The next day.

Kucheng ultimately held off the Temple Army's general offensive.

However...

Out of forty thousand soldiers, ten thousand had been lost within two days!

On one side, people were dying, and on the other, corpses were being transported for cremation, because there were too many dead to bury them in time. In Loulan's sweltering weather, if left for too long, it would easily trigger a plague... After the soldiers' families wailed in grief for a while, they angrily went up to the city walls to join the battle in place of the dead...

War.

It is just this cruel, and likewise, just this blood-stirring.

When the sun finally set and the Temple Army retreated, the entire Kucheng erupted in cheers.

No one thought about what to do tomorrow.

What to do on the third day...

This second day's attack had already been so fierce, what about the third day?

They only knew that being able to hold them off today was already a great victory.

"Well done!"

"You all did well!"

Reheman sat on the ground, panting, took a jar of wine handed over by his adjutant, and laughed heartily: "Tell those bastards in logistics to bring me the best wine tonight to reward the brothers!"

"They're here, they're here!"

As soon as these words fell, the merchant firms from various countries had already pushed carts over to deliver the wine; there was not only wine, but also all kinds of big fish and meat!

A group of exhausted soldiers cheered and jumped for joy.

Reheman thanked them, saying: "Thank you for your hard work!"

The shopkeepers of the merchant firms laughed one by one, saying that they all prospered together and suffered together.

Just at this moment, Qin Zhangfeng excitedly rode back on his horse, arrived at Liu Zheng's side, and whispered: "Viscount, the water level is just about right!"

"Is that so?"

Liu Zheng's spirits lifted.

Reheman took one look at Qin Zhangfeng's expression and knew what was going on, so he walked over excitedly: "Is it tonight?"

Liu Zheng nodded with a smile: "It is tonight!"

"Good!"

Reheman looked up to the sky and laughed loudly.

As he laughed, he began to cry.