Chapter 943: Passing the Five Passes

"Report!"

"Report! Vice Minister Liu has boarded the ship!"

"Report! The Ganzhou naval force has set sail!"

"Report!"

"A naval force of one thousand is engaging Vice Minister Liu and his companion!"

"Report!"

Hancheng.

Li Tun was also sitting quietly in his Yangxin Hall.

One battle report after another from the front lines was delivered.

That was correct.

The second obstacle that Vice Minister Liu and his companion would encounter next was the naval force.

:

In the Li Dynasty, there was a Gan River; if Liu Zheng wanted to reach Hancheng, he had to cross this Gan River. After crossing the Gan River, one would reach Ganzhou.

The naval force.

That was the existence Liu Zheng was about to challenge.

Li Tun did not say a word.

He truly had not expected that this Vice Minister Liu—no, his attendant—could actually fight so well; Huajin Manor and Bazhou had not managed to harm him in the slightest.

Do not think about these things.

His gaze shifted to the side, where an urgent military report lay.

It had been sent from the front lines by Li Zhenzhu.

He suddenly found himself wondering.

If this Vice Minister Liu could truly arrive in Hancheng safely, what would happen?

What kind of situation would the state of affairs in Hancheng become then?

If the Wa were to bring in reinforcements again...

Listening to Li Zhenzhu relay Xiao Qian's speculation, if the Wa requested reinforcements this time, the number of reinforcements would certainly be no less than two hundred thousand! What kind of concept was that? Two hundred thousand! Added to the previous troops, the Wa would be mobilizing a grand army of five hundred thousand this time! This was the rhythm of a nation-extinguishing war!

A war of national extinction!

In the military report, Li Zhenzhu stated that the marching speed of the Wa army was suspicious; it was very likely that they were waiting for reinforcements from the Wa nation!

Seeing this analysis, Li Tun was still shocked.

More reinforcements? One had to know that the current Wa army in Gyeongsang Province had previously numbered three hundred thousand, and after half a year of attrition, plus being outmaneuvered by Xiao Qian, there were only about two hundred and fifty thousand left. But even those two hundred and fifty thousand were enough to make the Li Dynasty unable to cope; the combat power of the Wa army was truly too strong.

Soon, the current leader of the Westerner Party, Jin Wanji, walked in, bowing.

"Your Majesty!"

He performed a salute.

It seemed the Wa were determined to stake everything on one throw and fight a battle of desperation!

"Summon Jin Wanji!"

Li Tun pondered for a moment and waved his hand.

Li Tun chuckled, noncommittal, and looked at Jin Wanji earnestly.

Jin Wanji's expression turned serious as he continued, "Your Majesty, the current situation in the Wa nation is not that clear; the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate is already precarious. The Wa nation is hollow, which is why they have constantly harassed our Li Dynasty; this is common knowledge. With an army of three hundred thousand, they still need to rely on War-Nourished Warfare; if another two hundred thousand come, they would not be able to bear the burden of military provisions alone!"

Li Tun still did not speak, waiting quietly for what followed.

Li Tun handed Li Zhenzhu's letter to Jin Wanji: "Minister Jin, take a look and share your thoughts."

Jin Wanji looked at it carefully and immediately laughed out loud: "Your Majesty, this humble minister believes that Minister Li is truly exaggerating! Hahahaha, this group of people has been defeated repeatedly, so they describe things as this serious, likely just to leave themselves a way out!"

"Oh?"

Li Tun suddenly became hesitant.

That was correct.

The current Li Dynasty truly could not hold on any longer.

Jin Wanji continued: "Secondly, the population of the Wa nation is not that robust; according to proportions, the Wa army actually does not have many reserves left. The current Great General of the Tokugawa Shogunate is a selfish person; would he send out his entire army and let his own combat power suffer? At that time, I fear his control over the Wa nation would be affected. Your Majesty, do not forget that in the Kyoto of the Wa nation, there is still an Emperor."

Li Tun nodded at this: "So, Minister Jin's meaning is..."

Jin Wanji laughed heartily, his face full of disdain: "General Li Zhenzhu is old now. These few defeats have made him lose his composure. He fears another defeat this time, so he wants to force reinforcements from Your Majesty. We in the Li Dynasty are also struggling to hold on."

Once more aid was given, I fear the Li Dynasty would also fall into chaos.

"Rejected!"

Li Tun picked up his brush and wrote two characters.

This war, which had already lasted for more than half a year, had almost emptied all of the Li Dynasty's combat power and military reserves.

Requesting reinforcements?

How could they reinforce?

At this moment.

At the front lines of Qinghe Town, Li Zhenzhu, who was leading his soldiers to build defensive fortifications, had his expression change upon hearing this.

"Why was it rejected?"

"What?"

"What are you saying?"

Wasn't this costing him his life?

Right now, the entire Qinghe Town, including Xiao Qian's fifty thousand troops, only totaled one hundred and fifty thousand at most! And that included all sorts of other miscellaneous personnel!

One hundred and fifty thousand.

"Why!"

"That is an army of 500,000, an army of 500,000!"

He was so anxious that his beard stood on end.

Isn't this sending them to their deaths? Isn't this handing over Chungcheong Province to these Wa people?

However.

He also knew Li Tun's concerns. The current Li Dynasty was truly too hollow. That was one thing. Secondly, it was mainly because he lacked evidence and intelligence regarding the Wa army's reinforcements.

Yes, five hundred thousand!

How is this to be fought?

How are we to fight?

Now.

He was completely in the dark regarding intelligence for all parts of Gyeongsang Province.

"Was it rejected?"

Thinking of this, a sense of desolation filled Li Zhenzhu's heart.

It was useless! He was just too useless!

The intelligence network he had painstakingly built up in Gyeongsang Province had been completely crushed by the Wa army.

"General Xiao, you absolutely must not!"

"General Xiao."

A group of Li Dynasty generals knelt down one after another, trying their best to persuade him, especially Li Zhenzhu, whose tears were streaming down his face: "General Xiao, no matter what, you cannot retreat any further, you cannot retreat any further! If you retreat again, the entire Li Dynasty will be finished!"

Li Zhenzhu quickly conveyed this news to Xiao Qian.

Xiao Qian nodded and suddenly stood up: "Abandon Qinghe Town!"

"What?"

They absolutely could not lose Chungcheong Province! They absolutely could not let the Wa army enter Chungcheong Province; otherwise, not only would the entire Chungcheong Province be plunged into misery, but it would also directly threaten Gyeonggi Province! Gyeonggi Province was where the capital city was located!

Xiao Qian gave a cold laugh: "Your country is unwilling to send reinforcements, so what can I do? General Li, even if the Wa army were to withdraw 100,000 troops at this moment to occupy the various cities and strategic passes of Gyeongsang Province, we would still be no match for them! 150,000—even facing 150,000 of the Wa army is tough enough, given the combat effectiveness of your army..."

These words left Li Zhenzhu and the others looking ashamed.

The others were also wiping away tears.

As soldiers, who among them did not have a sense of patriotism? Who did not want to protect their home and country?

Gyeongsang Province was already gone.

He now knew that the Li Dynasty's attitude toward Vice Minister Liu was not very good at the moment.

"General Xiao."

"You absolutely must not."

"If we don't abandon it, what else can we do?"

Xiao Qian was a qualified general; he would not let his brothers die in vain.

Moreover.

"If the Wa army really comes, it won't be too late to abandon it then!"

"That's right."

These people of the Li Dynasty knew that once the Longyan Army left, they would truly be at the mercy of the Wa army.

"General Xiao, I will send another letter to request reinforcements, I will try again! You absolutely must not abandon Qinghe Town!"

Li Zhenzhu was already so anxious that he was kowtowing on the ground repeatedly.

"General Xiao, let us hold it for now..."

He glanced at the tearful Li Zhenzhu and finally sighed: "But General Li's patriotic heart makes me, Xiao, admire you endlessly."

He looked at the Li Dynasty soldiers busy outside and couldn't help but say: "It is not that the Li Dynasty lacks combat effectiveness, but that it lacks unity."

"So be it then."

No.

Absolutely not!

Xiao Qian gave a cold laugh: "Your country's schemes and deceptions truly chill my heart."

Li Zhenzhu was overjoyed.

This old general of the Li Dynasty had aged a dozen years in these past few days; when he stood up, his whole body was tottering.

Xiao Qian wanted to say something but stopped.

"General Li, urge them again; if the Wa reinforcements strike and no reinforcements arrive..."

"Then, we will have no choice but to withdraw our troops!"

Xiao Qian said indifferently.

In the end, he said nothing more.

Outside.

At this moment, dark clouds were already pressing down on the city.