knife

Chapter 212 Fierce Battle
Standing on high ground, Zhang Quanyi watched as the ant-like crowds surged relentlessly towards Taiyuan City. Inside Taiyuan City, flames raged and thick smoke blotted out the sky, resembling a scene from the apocalypse.

In reality, Taiyuan City is now almost like hell.

Having witnessed the devastation in Jinyang City, the situation in Taiyuan City, now in enemy hands, is likely to be even worse.

Because those who occupied Jinyang City were, in any case, regular troops.

Although he committed many misdeeds, there were still some bottom lines he did not cross.

However, when attacking Taiyuan, He Zudao used the vast wealth he had acquired in Jinyang to arm tens of thousands of outlaws, mountain bandits, and hooligans. Once these people were freed from the control of the law, their evil deeds were absolutely astonishing.

There's nothing they can't do, only things you can't imagine.

Zhang Quanyi felt a pang of regret.

But then he thought about the current state of the Qin Dynasty, and his heart hardened again.

There's nothing we can do about it.

If you want to accomplish something, bloodshed and sacrifice are inevitable.

When the world is at peace in the future, we can petition the court to exempt the Hedong region from taxes for a few more years as a way to appease them.

Now, it is imperative to carry out the intentions of the Grand Chancellor and the Minister of Defense to the end.

Thinking back to when I saw Wu De ten days ago, the guy looked like he wanted to come up and bite me, which was quite funny.

Over the past few years, I have borne the stigma of betrayal and endured countless taunts and ridicule. Even among the wealthy and powerful families, who outwardly showed me great warmth but inwardly looked down on me just as much.

But today, the final reckoning has finally arrived.

The Liu family of Jinyang is finished.

The Wang family of Taiyuan is finished.

Now, looking at the flags surging towards Taiyuan City in the distance, a cold smile appeared on his face: the Shi family of Fenzhou, the Feng family of Shangdang, the Gou family of Xinzhou, and the Han family of Yizhou.
They all must be completed.

Even if it doesn't end, it will strip you of several layers, leaving you with only one breath. From then on, you will have to live at your own mercy, letting it decide whether you live or die.

Cool!
Zhang Quanyi exhaled a breath of stale air.

Only in this way can I make my hard work and grievances over the past few years worthwhile.

Turning back to look in the direction of the Taihang Mountains, his smile grew even brighter.

There, a newly formed elite army of 20,000 men is poised to strike, waiting for the battle in Taiyuan to reach its climax.

It doesn't matter who wins.
Because in the end, they are all just dishes on the table.

Please enter the old man's house.

In one fell swoop, all forces in Hedong that were detrimental to the court were eliminated, and all the wealth of this rich land was seized for the court's use. Then, by uniting with Guanzhong, the court's stronghold, the court could then bring order to the entire country.

Years of planning, countless people paying the price, and countless people dying unjustly, all for the sake of finally bringing peace to the world and ensuring the safety of the nation.

The massive catapults hurled hundreds of kilograms of stones into the air, raining them down on the city wall. The huge siege engines, pulled by oxen, horses, and men, rumbled closer to the wall. Under the cowhide-covered base, armored soldiers were climbing upwards. Once this behemoth, as tall as the wall, reached the top, they could emerge from under the cowhide and charge up the wall to fight the enemy.

A few burly martial arts practitioners could lift a battering ram weighing a thousand pounds and rush toward the city gate with incredible speed. As they approached the gate, they would throw it with all their might. After a series of loud bangs, the city gate, covered with thick iron plates, would begin to deform.

This all-out attack by the Hedong aristocratic family also made Zhang Quanyi see their strength; they indeed had the power and resources to wreak havoc on the world.

The sheer number of martial arts practitioners was secondary; what shocked Zhang Quanyi even more was their formidable logistical support, their vast number of artisans, their more sophisticated and refined technology than that of the imperial Ministry of Works, and their exceptional mobilization capabilities.

The manufacturing processes and technologies of siege engines and siege ladders far surpassed those of the Ministry of Works. At a single command, countless men responded, and from the moment they decided to send troops to the formation and deployment of their army, only a little over a month elapsed.

If this were to take place in the imperial court, a mobilization of this scale, from the initial proposal to its final form, would likely take at least a year and a half.

These artisans must be brought back to the imperial court after the war. Zhang Quanyi is already planning to relocate all of them to Chang'an after the war.

After a major war, the imperial court needs to gain not only tangible things like land, population, and wealth, but also intangible things such as technology and popular support.

A tall figure, like a demon god, stood atop the city wall, wielding a large sword that traversed several meters across the wall. The sword flashed coldly, and in an instant, countless blades were unleashed. Directly in front of him, the massive siege engine shattered into pieces of broken wood, which fell to the ground. Along with these pieces, the severed limbs of the soldiers also fell.

Blood rained down, soaking the soldiers below. "Yang Lixin!"

A renowned figure on the Green Forest Road in Hedong, with a cultivation level of the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, he is skilled in wielding the Nine-Ringed Saber, which weighs twelve jin. During battle, the nine rings on the back of the saber vibrate and ring, like a soul-capturing sound.

The fact that they've started using Xuan Yuan level experts in this kind of combat indicates that the city is nearing its end.

Zhang Quanyi sneered. Now that they're here, they probably won't be able to go back.

Yang Lixin landed and stood firm, fierce as a god of death. His nine-ringed sword whistled as he instantly carved a large gap in the city below, destroying two siege engines and four siege ladders.

But that's all there is to it.

Among the attacking forces, a young general stepped forward, clad in blue mountain-patterned armor, holding a long spear, and with a long whistle, rode straight towards Yang Lixin.

This person should be Feng Congwen from the Feng family of Shangdang. He has a cultivation level of the seventh grade of Xuan Yuan and can be considered a young talent among a prestigious family.

Yang Lixin leaped into the air and slashed down with his sword.

Yang Quanyi admired the man's courage in daring to leap into the air to fight against a galloping horse.

The spear twisted like a snake in the air. When the sword and spear clashed, there was a loud bang. The warhorse knelt on all fours. Yang Lixin did a backflip and was airborne again. He took a breath in the air, changed his move, and slashed down with his sword again.

With the help of his galloping horse, Feng Congwen managed to fight Yang Lixin to a draw.

This made Zhang Quanyi frown from a distance. Feng Congwen still had few opportunities to fight to the death like this and couldn't seize such good opportunities. On the other hand, Yang Lixin had been walking on the line between life and death for many years and his grasp of opportunities was so precise that it could be described as instantaneous.

With one strike, Feng Congwen went from having the upper hand to being at a disadvantage, and the second strike would make it much more difficult for him to cope.

An arrow shot from afar. Yang Lixin, who was in the air, let out a strange cry and held his sword to his chest. The arrow came extremely fast. It sounded like only one shot, but it was actually three arrows coming in quick succession. The last one followed the tail of the first one. From a distance, it looked like there was only one arrow. But when it got closer, the last two arrows rose and fell, forming a three-pronged attack from above, middle and below.

Yang Lixin raised his nine-ringed saber, and with a clang, three arrows struck the blade almost simultaneously, sending him flying backward before he fell to the ground.

Feng Congwen, who had jumped off his horse, was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. He strode forward, brandishing his spear with a flourish the size of a bowl, and charged at Yang Lixin once more.

Another officer from the attacking force rushed over and joined Feng Congwen in attacking Yang Lixin from both sides.

"I can do it!" Feng Congwen shouted.

"Xiao Wu, this is war, not a contest!" The older officer ignored Feng Congwen's demands and intensified his attack. With his shouts, two more officers rushed over.

Although none of these four individuals were as skilled as Yang Lixin, they were clearly from the same family and worked together seamlessly. With their four spears rising and falling in quick succession, Yang Lixin was injured one after another and forced to retreat step by step, roaring repeatedly.

Aristocratic families do indeed have an extraordinary way of cultivating the younger generation. Looking at the scene before them, an old man led three children, two of whom were at the seventh rank and the other two were probably at the fifth rank. They had already beaten Yang Lixin, who was at the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, into a sorry state.

More importantly, such combat experience was of unparalleled help to the growth of the two youngest.

And while there may be many more talented individuals like Yang Lixin, these self-made heroes often perish during their formative years. Only one in a hundred can reach Yang Lixin's level; that's considered a very high success rate.

This is true in the martial arts world, and the literary world is even more monopolized by these people.

As time went on, the arrogance of powerful families grew, while the imperial power declined. Eventually, one dynasty after another, knowing the reasons, still involuntarily stepped into this vicious cycle.

The powerful families don't care; they only care about gaining more benefits and acquiring more resources in the process.

With a roar, Yang Lixin leaped into the air. He could no longer be surrounded and beaten like this; he had to escape immediately, or he would surely die.

The price of that risky leap was another bullet to the leg. To make matters worse, another arrow was coming from afar like a shadow. He managed to deflect two, but the third still pierced his chest, piercing his armor with a thud. The external wound was bearable, but what was infuriating was the force attached to the arrow, which would gnaw at his bones like maggots. If he didn't remove it in time, he would suffer greatly, even if he didn't die.

A long rope, like a serpent, stretched down from the city wall, circled around Yang Lixin, and lifted him into the air before Feng Congwen and his men could thrust their spears at him.

Arrows flew in from afar, but the long, serpentine rope billowed up, easily deflecting the arrows and then carrying Yang Lixin back into the city.

"Ninth Rank of Profound Origin!"

Zhang Quanyi's smile deepened; the big boss of the Hedong Green Forest Road was indeed here!

that's nice!

(End of this chapter)