Chapter 353: The Situation in Shu

Several days in a row.

This Mang Mountain has been covered in thick fog!

Agutuo was about to be driven mad with rage.

These vast, sprawling mountains had actually trapped them for seven days! Mobilizing an army of 150,000 was no small matter; the consumption of grain, fodder, and supplies was immense.

The Southern Barbarians were accustomed to War-Nourished Warfare, plundering wherever they went. It was laughable to say, but their calculations regarding provisions were at the level of elementary school students.

"Lord Chieftain! Our provisions are running a bit low..."

Upon hearing this, Agutuo's eyes widened, and he scolded angrily, "What have you all been doing? It's only been a few days, and they're already running low?"

"Th-th-this..."

The grain officer was drenched in cold sweat.

"Get out, get out of my sight!"

Agutuo was extremely irritable and waved his hand, "Tell them, there are plenty of wild fruits and mountain vegetables in these mountains. Mobilize everyone to go and gather them!"

"Yes!"

The grain officer ran off, sweating profusely.

An army of 150,000 trapped in the mountains—this was something no one had expected.

"Lord Chieftain, please calm your temper."

Just then, a man who looked like a scholar walked over with a chuckle.

Agutuo was about to flare up, but upon seeing who it was, he let out a deep sigh, "Mr. Huang, it's not that I'm angry, but this Chuan Shu terrain is impossibly complex. I truly don't know what you people of Zhongyuan are thinking. Is this really a precious land that everyone wants to fight over? Bah! I wouldn't take it even if it were given for free; it's not as pleasant as my Dianzhou!"

Mr. Huang laughed, "Lord Chieftain, if that is the case, since Dianzhou is so rich, why do you come to Shuzhou to plunder grain every year?"

"This..."

Agutuo looked depressed; this question truly struck a nerve.

A flash of deep disdain crossed Mr. Huang's eyes. Barbarians are just barbarians. No matter how rich the land, if they govern it, they will still go hungry. This is the backwardness of their social structure and social system.

If it weren't for the Third Prince asking him to come and help this Agutuo, given his reputation as the Ghost Talent of Shu, he would never have deigned to mingle with these Southern Barbarians; it was simply beneath his status.

Agutuo spat, "Mr. Huang, no need for more words. How do we deal with today's predicament? Retreat, or continue? Shuzhou is already lost, Xie Yang has been locked up, what is the point of fighting?"

Mr. Huang chuckled, "Lord Chieftain, that is where you are wrong."

"I, on the contrary, believe that being trapped in Mang Mountain is not a misfortune. Now that Shuzhou is lost and Jiangzhou still stands, the various Prefects of Shu are sending troops to crusade against our army. Why don't we turn the situation to our advantage and set an ambush here!"

He looked around and smiled proudly, "Although I do not know who set up this Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation in the mountains, if it can trap me, it can also trap others!"

Agutuo listened, dumbfounded.

What Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation?

What predicament?

A moment later, his expression changed, and he roared in anger, "Good! So it turns out this Mang Mountain being impossible to exit is a trick played by you Zhongyuan people! A bunch of cunning foxes! Break it for me, break the formation!"

Mr. Huang was speechless again.

Is this Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation something that can be broken just because one wants to? Back in the day, the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation of Zhuge Kongming left even great talents like Lu Xun and Gan Ning with no solution.

Fortunately.

According to his observations, the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation set up in this Mang Mountain was a dead formation, not a living one!

That is to say, this was already a fixed formation. In this way, no matter how supernatural the person behind it might be, they could not change the formation at will.

Under these circumstances.

If they held their ground here, they would be safe!

Therefore, he suggested, "Lord Chieftain, in my humble opinion, since things have reached this point, we should familiarize ourselves with the terrain as quickly as possible, rather than thinking about how to get out."

He smiled sinisterly, "In this way, with the advantage of Mang Mountain, even that Liangzhou Army that can fly in the sky will be unable to escape once they enter our ambush..."

"Now, the intention of Chuan Shu to intercept our army is growing stronger by the day."

He bowed his head and smiled, "This is the best opportunity for us to deal them a painful blow!"

Agutuo's eyes lit up as he listened.

Isn't that exactly right?

Good!

When it comes to fighting in the mountains, who among these Southern Barbarians had anything to fear? Having grown up eating raw meat and drinking blood, they had long since mastered the superior skills of moving and fighting in the mountains.

And so.

After listening to Mr. Huang's suggestion, Agutuo immediately issued several orders.

First, the entire army is to stand by in place, with several small squads sent out to forage. If they can seize grain from the Farmer Households in these mountains, that would be best; if not, they are to start gathering wild fruits and mountain vegetables to fill their stomachs.

Second, the entire army is to begin splitting up to set ambushes within the limited terrain, utilizing the mountainous landscape to set up various obstacles.

Third, sleep with weapons in hand and prepare for battle.

At this time.

Yongan City.

The newly enthroned King of Shu, Xie Zhen, immediately announced martial law in Yongan.

Martial law, this concept, was also quite simple and easy to understand.

In wartime, the military manages all government affairs, and the entire city enters a wartime state, with everyone preparing for battle, stopping work and production, to prepare for any contingency.

After all, this Yongan was previously the territory of Xie Chen and the Prince of Xiang, so martial law was quite necessary.

Those officials who harbored ulterior motives suddenly lost their personal freedom and power; they no longer had the opportunity to stir up any trouble.

With Yongan stabilized, they could prepare to attack Jiangzhou.

But what gave Liu Zheng a headache was.

With Yongan back in the hands of Chuan Shu, the situation in Chuan Shu had indeed undergone a significant change.

First, within Jiangzhou City, people were in a state of panic; the one hundred thousand Southern Barbarian troops left to guard Jiangzhou City, upon hearing that Yongan had fallen, immediately fell into chaos. They even resorted to killing the chicken to warn the monkey at the very first opportunity, dragging three thousand craftsmen who were digging the Grand Canal out to the city gate that same day and beheading them!

Liu Zheng, upon receiving this news, was absolutely furious.

Jiang Xuan even volunteered to go and conquer Jiangzhou.

But he was stopped by Liu Zheng, who had calmed down.

The intent of these Southern Barbarians in Jiangzhou was very clear, and they conveyed this message that very day.

You want to attack us?

Then you had better be prepared for a fight to the death! There are still three hundred thousand commoners in this Jiangzhou City. As long as your Liangzhou Army dares to advance ten miles, we will kill ten thousand!

Yongan City is only three hundred miles away from Jiangzhou City.

That makes exactly three hundred thousand people!

When your troops arrive at the city walls, that will be the moment when all three hundred thousand commoners of Jiangzhou are slaughtered, and blood flows like a river!

Such bloodthirstiness from the Southern Barbarians immediately incited the fury and condemnation of the entire Longyan Dynasty.

Barbarians!

A bunch of savages!

Uncivilized, cruel fellows!

Three hundred thousand commoners had now become hostages of these Southern Barbarians.

This suddenly.

Also made Liu Zheng's Liangzhou Army find themselves in an awkward position.

To attack, or not to attack?

If they attack, the commoners will die!

If they do not attack, Jiangzhou cannot be reclaimed, and the great chaos in Chuan Shu cannot be quelled.

What to do?

How to handle this?

Liu Zheng and Xie Zhen both began to suffer from a headache at the same time.

The people of the entire world were watching at this moment.

Are you not the Contemporary Sage?

Are you not the benevolent Prefect Liu?

Facing this situation.

How will you choose?