Chapter 974: In Imminent Peril

"If any Farmer Household hears of this and flees, capture them and behead them to show the public! The Wa wolves enjoy the luxury of the Li Dynasty to the fullest, yet they view the people of the Eight Provinces of our Li Dynasty as being not even equal to dogs, swine, oxen, or horses!"

"This is their cruelty and lack of Dao; there is no one with blood and breath who has heard of this and does not feel pained and resentful."

"Since the founding of the Li Dynasty by its Taizu, who took over Goryeo, sages of every generation have upheld the teachings of civilization and promoted human ethics. Sovereign and subject, father and son, superior and inferior—the order is as clear as wearing a crown or shoes, never to be inverted. The Li Dynasty is the head, the Wa wolves are the feet! The Li Dynasty is the Divine Land, the Wa are wolf-demons and human-monsters! Now the Wa wolves wish to steal the Li Dynasty, and are driving the Li Dynasty to be dogs and livestock!"

"The Wa wolves are fierce and brave, but that is precisely the behavior of beasts! The Li Dynasty has much propriety, which is education! To take advantage of the Li Dynasty's abundance of education to swallow Qing Shang is a great humiliation to the Li Dynasty!"

"Now, I proclaim this to the world, so that all may know. Above are the sun and moon, below are the ghosts and gods; clearly there is the vast water of the Yellow Sea, and in the netherworld are the souls of the loyal ministers and martyrs who sacrificed themselves before. They truly witness my heart; let all listen to my words. Upon receipt of this Declaration of War, act according to the law; do not be negligent!"

Silence.

The entire field, deathly silent.

"Yet, among the people, there are those who submit to the beasts, base and vile, greedy for petty gains, kneeling before the fox-like gangs and dog-like cliques! They do not know that the Wa wolves are but a mere few hundred thousand, while the masses of our Li Dynasty are no less than twenty million! To be controlled by a few hundred thousand with a population of twenty million is the shame of the Li Dynasty!"

"Now, Qing Shang has fallen, Bao Ning has been raided, and the Li Dynasty is in imminent peril. General Li leads hundreds of thousands of troops, advancing from both north and south to exterminate these fierce rebels; we shall not stop until we die!"

"Therefore, today, I send this Declaration of War far and near, so that all may hear and know. The hot-blooded men of the Li Dynasty should rally to this cause. Those who respond to assist the army in suppressing the bandits will be issued weapons and grain; those who respond will be granted official ranks after the war and treated as honored guests of the army! Those who respond and kill Wa wolves will be rewarded heavily as if killing livestock! Those who respond and kill their leaders will be memorialized to receive official titles and ranks! Those who respond, let us be of one heart and one force to sweep away the Wa wolves!"

Yes.

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These Wa people are too brutal, too cruel, too abominable!

General Li died precisely because of them! How many Li Dynasty soldiers died because of them, how many innocent commoners died because of them, and even here, many people's wives and children will die because of them!

Soul-stirring!

Hatred intertwined!

Everyone listened with eyes turned red, unable to help but clench their fists.

"Kill!"

"For the Li Dynasty!"

"I answer the call!"

But just a moment ago

They actually didn't want to fight anymore!

Thinking about it now, how shameful it is!

"If we do not sweep away the Wa invaders, we swear we will not be men!"

"If we do not sweep away the Wa invaders, we swear we will not be men!"

The morale of the entire camp was finally raised.

"Everyone answer the call!"

"Avenge General Li!"

"Avenge!"

The Declaration of War to Suppress the Wa had already spread throughout the entire Li Dynasty in the shortest possible time. The lethality of this declaration was immense. Originally, the anti-war sentiment throughout the Li Dynasty was already quite high. With this, Liu Zheng had completely ignited these hatreds.

Not just in the army.

Among the people, it was the same.

Only then did Liu Zheng heave a sigh of relief.

The next day.

Another day of great battle finally began.

Seemingly to express the importance he placed on Vice Minister Liu, this time, Mizuno Masashige sent out all eighty thousand elite Samurai of the Wa nation.

Liu Zheng knew from the very beginning that this would be a hard battle.

If they could not defeat the Wa army, then they would join the Resistance Force behind enemy lines to fight those Wa invaders! They could not participate in the war, but they could engage in Guerrilla Warfare!

Before, there indeed existed in the Li Dynasty, as mentioned in the text, those who guided these Wa people and acted as running dogs for them. But now, once the Declaration of War was issued, they were almost all gone.

The whole country was united as one.

He knew that at this moment, whatever he said was already pale.

Xiao Qian and Mizuno Masashige were both famous generals of their respective countries. They were also well-versed in various tactics. Heavenly timing, geographical advantages, human harmony, land warfare, cavalry warfare, offensive warfare, defensive warfare, mixed warfare—they had almost reflexive reactions; they would issue orders at the first moment, and the soldiers would execute them.

This was a duel between experts.

He had dealt with this Mizuno Masashige before; he was a typical Japanese combat talent, full of baleful energy, yet his mind was very clear. From his intention this time to resolve the internal conflicts of the Wa nation through war, one could see that this person was a talent.

Liu Zheng just stood on the watchtower, quietly watching the charges and slaughter of the soldiers of both sides on the vast plain.

He listened to Xiao Qian issuing various military orders nearby, but he expressed nothing.

They could only fight with all their might.

They could only fight to the death.

It could be seen that the Declaration of War to Suppress the Wa had indeed played a great role; the soldiers were extremely fierce when going into battle to kill the enemy. However, hard power is hard power. Now, the only Longyan Army that could be brought out was twenty thousand, but the hard power of the Li Dynasty soldiers was too far behind.

It was almost impossible to look for each other's flaws in such a near-genocidal war.

Just like the flaw of Li Zhenzhu a few days ago, once seized by the enemy, it was a major rout, which had too great an impact on the overall situation.

Fight to the death.

If things go on like this, it won't work.

Everyone knows this principle.

But the Li Dynasty at this time could only pile up the corpses of the soldiers!

There were still seventy thousand elite Samurai on the other side.

This was a true difference as great as heaven and earth.

This day was again filled with corpses, and it was a small defeat for the Li Dynasty, but they still barely managed to block the Wa nation's offensive.

If these corpses could not be disposed of in the first instance, they would easily rot and even trigger a plague; by then, the entire Li Dynasty would truly be finished.

The war on the plain continued to be fought.

The fire responsible for burning the corpses here has been burning continuously.

Pile them up!

If their own corpses could be piled into a small mountain to block this Wa army, they would be willing and duty-bound to do so!

But this will not work.

The group of civil and military officials in Hancheng were finally panicking at this moment.

Time.

Another half a month has passed.

"Prime Minister, our troops have been deployed to the point where there are none left to deploy!"

"Prime Minister."

Out of soldiers?

Since when had their Joseon fallen to the point of having no troops?

A vast country with a population of twenty million, and they actually have no troops!

The enemy's fifty-thousand-strong army has been depleted by one hundred thousand!

But what about the Li Dynasty side? Three hundred thousand, three hundred thousand! The Li Dynasty itself did not have many troops to begin with, and this army, scraped together from here and there, was already the Li Dynasty's last hope.

Li Tun and Li Xuanya looked at each other with deathly pale faces.

"It is estimated that Wa is about to launch a general offensive."

This day.

"Charge!"

"Let the civilians go up, if not, let the children go up! Do not retreat, absolutely do not retreat!"

With this order, the entire war finally reached its most tragic stage.

Gone.

Every single one of them is gone.

"Lord Liu, we can only withdraw the troops."

Xiao Qian suddenly said from the watchtower.

As of today.

The fifty thousand Longyan troops he and Liu Zheng brought have all been completely exhausted on this Li Dynasty battlefield.

They really cannot win.

Previously, with the help of the Longyan troops, they could still contend with this Wa army. But following that battle of Li Zhenzhu, the losses of the Longyan troops were truly too great. The opponent's elite Samurai formed an overwhelming offensive against the Li Dynasty side.

Liu Zheng, however, shook his head: "Wait a little longer."

Xiao Qian said helplessly.

The other generals did not speak this time either.

They cannot win.

Mufu Plain!

It covers a vast area, and because of the terrain, once Mufu Plain is occupied, it will hold a commanding position over the entire Li Dynasty. The Wa army will be able to strike from all sides and conduct their most specialized large-scale sweeping operations against this Chungcheong Province! At that time, all the common people of Chungcheong Province will be plunged into misery!

"Lord Liu."

Xiao Qian was anxious: "My Lord, we cannot wait, we really cannot wait! If we withdraw the troops now, we still have three hundred thousand troops to defend the cities of Chungcheong Province."

Liu Zheng said coldly: "But that would mean we have to abandon the entire Mufu Plain. General Xiao, do you know what this means? Hmm?"

The group of people was silent.

The entire army wiped out!

Of course, they had no objections to all of them dying for their country.

However, dying like this is truly too stifling!

Xiao Qian gave a bitter smile: "But if we do not retreat, we will only face total annihilation! The Wa pirates from Baoning Port are also rushing over at high speed. If they successfully join forces with this Wa army, then we..."

"Then we shall"

Everyone's heart sank.

"If we return to Luocheng and reorganize the troops to fight again, there will still be a breath of life left!"

Who would have thought.

Liu Zheng continued to shake his head and said indifferently: "No, wait, wait again."

It is too stifling!

At this time, even these generals of the Li Dynasty could not help but say: "Vice Minister Liu, let us withdraw the troops!"

"There is only the path of withdrawing the troops."

Is this Vice Minister Liu really one of their own? Is he really trying to find a way to get all of the Li Dynasty's last three hundred thousand troops killed?

"Hahahaha, Vice Minister Liu, Vice Minister Liu, what kind of Vice Minister Liu! Isn't he still beaten by me, Mizuno Masashige, until he has no temper left!"

"If we cannot wait any longer, then we will really use the corpses of the soldiers to pile up a mountain! Let's see if that Wa cavalry can still kill their way over!"

There was a rare coldness in his voice.

Everyone's expression changed drastically.

"Dance, dance!"

Mizuno Masashige was very happy because he had just received commendations from both the Emperor and the Great General—a large group of Wa and Li Dynasty beauties had been sent from the country, and they were beauties trained in singing and dancing. For a time, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments rose, beauties danced, and these Wa generals were all intoxicated.

This Wa camp was also enjoying the beauties sent from the country. For a time, drinking, singing, and all kinds of indescribable sounds rose one after another.

At this moment.

In the camp on the Wa army's side, Mizuno Masashige raised his wine cup and laughed loudly.

A group of subordinates and generals offered their fawning congratulations one after another.

The greatest!

He would take back the humiliation that Vice Minister Liu had brought upon him in the Dragon Flame Dynasty a hundredfold!

Suddenly.

Vice Minister Liu.

Was nothing more than a stepping stone beneath his feet!

He, Mizuno Masashige, must become the greatest person in the Wa nation!

This night.

On a small hill, over a dozen men in black lay prone.

Holding two voluptuous beauties in his arms, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "Tomorrow, the entire army will launch a full-scale attack!"

The generals also grew excited one by one.

"Hai!"

The Martial Arts Task Force was established by her own hand.

She was here today to ambush a small group of Wa pirates; this group, numbering just over a hundred, had just slaughtered a small village.

At this moment, Lu Yao felt that her swordsmanship had achieved a rapid, qualitative sublimation.

Even though the moon was like a silver plate tonight, their presence could not be seen; only those pairs of eyes were searching for something in the darkness.

Among them was one person with a graceful figure, her usual white clothes replaced by black ones that looked heroic and spirited.

She was Lu Yao.

The Sword Dao is like the Human Way, the Sword Dao is like the Heavenly Way.

Only now did Lu Yao realize how childish and ridiculous her previous blind slaughter, blind hatred, and blind practice of killing techniques had been.

She used to despise men.

She naturally knows why.

To use the words of that Vice Minister Liu of Dragon Flame, her perspective had opened up.

Hmm, it's open.

If you despise, first go and understand, then decide whether or not to continue despising.

This was what Vice Minister Liu had told her.

Thus, she began to try to make her state of mind become a man's state of mind, began to consider the problems men consider, and began to do the things men ought to do.

Because of that damned father of hers, she despised men.

However.

She suddenly wanted to try and see, if she were a man, how should she act?

So she came.

She felt that only by doing these things better than men could she have the qualifications to despise, to continue slaughtering that bunch of men.

In the night, no one would move.

For example.

Kill the Wa pirates.

She was somewhat dissatisfied with Vice Minister Liu's Declaration of War against the Wa; what did he mean by "men with blood"? Who said women couldn't do it?

Those qualified to be led by her, Lu Yao, were naturally experts among martial artists, possessing a profound understanding of the Art of Tortoise Breathing.

Just at this moment.

"They're here."