Longzang

Chapter 719 Total War
The giant flying ship slowly landed in the large city behind them. The landing site was still more than 500 li away from the three towns under Wei Yuan's jurisdiction. This place was close to the core area of ​​the mountain gate, where even immortal magic would be greatly weakened, making it relatively safe.

Otherwise, if this priceless flying ship were to appear in the front-line town, the Left Wise King would likely destroy it at all costs. The giant flying ship cost hundreds of millions of taels of silver, something Wei Yuan simply couldn't afford to pay.

The airship landed, where hundreds of trucks were already waiting. The giant airship brought three hundred cannons, tens of thousands of shells, and enough armor and weaponry to equip one hundred thousand men in one go.

Hundreds of template road bases also disembarked from the airship.

Once these template foundations arrived, they were led by disciples of the Heavenly Crafts Hall to search for resources throughout the northern mountain gate. They quickly identified the necessary resources and began constructing kilns for firing cement.

The northern mountain passes are not primarily made of iron, but there are some small iron ore deposits, enough to meet demand.

After Wei Yuan took control of the three towns, his first priority was to replace the equipment of the soldiers, and then to build city defenses, digging trenches with an insane intensity.

At this moment, in the vast Dingyue Hall of the Northern Liao Dynasty, the hall was empty except for the silver-haired woman sitting in the main seat. The chairs on either side were also empty.

The imposing figure reappeared at the entrance of the main hall; he stood there, refusing to come in.

The silver-haired woman slowly raised her head and said, "It's truly surprising that you've survived until now."

"Even immortals don't always make accurate predictions, otherwise there would only be immortals in this world, and we wouldn't need to live."

Where have you been all this time?

“I went back to the depths of the grasslands, and my wife just gave birth to another daughter.”

"Then why did you come back?"

The Whip of the North said with a self-deprecating laugh, "If you don't come back, you will become my nemesis."

The silver-haired woman said calmly, "The Thunder Wolf Tribe has arrived. The wars to come will be different."

The Whip of the North pointed to the empty chairs in the hall and said, "These are all empty. Why don't you add a few more?"

The silver-haired woman said calmly, "It's none of your business. Unless you want to sit on it."

"Then I'd rather die at the hands of humans."

The silver-haired woman stood up, walked out of the main hall, and said, "It's time for the meeting. Let's go to the golden tent."

Inside the golden military tent, the silver-haired woman could only sit on one side this time, while on the other side sat a burly man who was a full head taller than the average Liao man, with a wolf head totem printed on his leather robe.

Seated in the center was a Liao man with a sinister face. He wasn't tall, but everyone seemed to shrink in his presence. He looked up at the Whip of the Northern Frontier, who immediately stood up, completely against his will.

"You neither accept my goodwill nor join the war, but instead secretly flee back to the depths of the grasslands. Very well, you completely disregard me," the sinister man said.

"According to tribal customs, parents must be present when a child is born, otherwise disaster will strike."

The sinister man sneered, "What customs does your little tribe have? Men! Send someone back to the Great Plains to behead one in ten men in his tribe. Then, send one in three of the remaining men to the front lines. They'll be the first ones sent into battle in the next fight!"

The Whip of the North's eyes seemed to spit fire, but it was utterly powerless against the avatar of a celestial being.

The Left Wise King, ignoring the Northern Whip, declared, "This time, I've brought in the most outstanding craftsmen from the Western Sea, the Thunder Wolf Tribe. They will provide armor and weapons no less powerful than those of the humans. I'm spending far more on each of these warriors than they themselves are worth! If the next battle ends the same way, what use are you all!"

In the main hall of Taichu Palace, Wei Yuan was meticulously working on the dense, spiderweb-like defensive lines on the sand table.

Using calculations based on local conditions, the vulnerabilities in this complex defensive position, covering hundreds of miles, were patched up one by one. Coupled with several times more artillery in the town, Wei Yuan was confident he could hold out.

However, looking at the hundreds of miles of empty space between the two towns, he had no good solution. The Liao cavalry could easily move south along these empty spaces, directly attacking key rear areas with ease.

The best solution would have been to use the power of the mountain sect to launch a large-scale annihilation using Taoist magic, or even for immortals to directly intervene.

However, the Liao tribe arrived with military might, and the power of the northern mountain gate was almost exhausted. The immortal power of Immortal Lord Yan Shi is the resource of the entire Tai Chu Palace, and must be used cautiously with a reserve, and one must not act impulsively.

The Liao and Wu tribes were different; the Liao were tall and strong, moving with incredible speed. A single cannonball could destroy a dozen Wu cannonballs, while a single shot from the Liao cavalry would likely only kill two or three, with those on the periphery suffering minor injuries. Against the Liao, the power of firearms was greatly diminished; their lethality was insufficient beyond fifty zhang (approximately 15 meters), forcing them to rely on flying sword spears for firefights. Fortunately, compared to traditional human bows and crossbows, flying sword spears had significant advantages; at least they didn't run out of energy after firing fifty arrows, allowing them to continue firing as long as ammunition was sufficient.

Wei Yuan's current strategy for dealing with the Liao tribe is simple: if the quality is insufficient, make up for it with quantity. During brief lulls in the battle, he has been desperately transporting cannons and shells to the northern mountain gate. Now, there are more than a thousand cannons of various sizes around the town, like a hedgehog.

Qingming's current manufacturing capacity is also terrifying, producing more than 10 million kilograms of various types of molten iron and steel every day, which can barely keep up with the consumption of the northern mountain gate.

To evaluate the work efficiency of template cultivators, the Human World has designed an indicator called 'Daily Steel Production per Person'. Each template Dao Foundation cultivator must produce 10,000 catties of molten steel daily to be considered qualified. Otherwise, their Dao Foundation may not be perfect and will require extra time for refinement.

Meanwhile, to facilitate horizontal comparison, Human Fireworks sets a standard pseudo-Sun Dao Foundation cultivator as one, and then assigns different weights to other template Dao Foundation cultivators according to their supernatural power strength and Dao power.

For example, the Great Bright Demon-Suppressing Sword only has 80% of the weight, most autonomous human-level Dao foundations are one, and powerful human-level Dao foundations are 1.3. In comparison, the Beast Taming Heavenly Heart only has 40% of the weight of the pseudo-sun.

In the Azure Netherworld, a weak Dao foundation isn't necessarily a bad thing. The weaker the template Dao foundation, the lower the threshold, and the number of people who can cultivate it increases exponentially. This increase isn't linear, but exponential. The fact that Old Daoist Chuhe could make his Beast Taming Heavenly Heart so weak is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

With different weights assigned to each Dao Foundation, horizontal comparisons become possible. The final product produced by a standard unit of Dao Foundation after exhausting all its Dao Power serves as the evaluation standard. Products exceeding the standard are rewarded, while those falling below are considered dishonest and will be fined and require additional time to strengthen their Dao Foundation.

Regarding punishment, some of the experts suggested posting notices and publicly criticizing the offenders. However, Wei Yuan felt that lazy people didn't care much about saving face, so a fine would be more effective.

After the implementation of this evaluation standard, the output of various products in Qingming increased significantly. In addition, with the support of the Cui family's flying boats, a massive amount of resources were continuously sent to the northern mountain gate.

Wei Yuan then began producing cement on-site at the northern mountain gate, and the town underwent small changes every few days and major changes every month, gradually transforming into a giant artificial hedgehog, with each quill being a cannon barrel.

In late summer and early autumn, the Liao people launched another full-scale attack, with three million Liao cavalrymen storming into the northern mountain gates from all directions, igniting the flames of war.

At this very moment, the King of Zhao issued a proclamation to the world, listing the seven major crimes of the King of Jin.

The King of Zhao demanded that the Western Jin cede two northern commanderies, in exchange for Zhao troops stationed there to defend against the Northern Liao. The King of Jin refused on the spot, and war broke out immediately.

The royal court sent envoys to mediate, but they were unable to enter either country's palace.

At this moment, Wei Yuan was in the town, looking up at the sky. The sky above him had turned completely yellowish-brown; the power of the mountain gate had been exhausted, and the human race no longer had any support for this land.

Several Liao cavalry units had already penetrated deep into the northern mountain gates, circling around to the rear of the town, preparing to encircle it. Wei Yuan remained unmoved, focusing solely on defending his town. The Northern Liao seemed powerful, but the key to the war lay not here, but beyond the heavens.

As long as Immortal Lord Yanshi can hold off Left Wise King and Little National Preceptor, and the battle will come to an end once the True Lords of Imperial Scenery have determined their victor. Before the powerful beings from beyond the heavens have decided their fate, that will be Wei Yuan's window of opportunity to shine.

However, this time the Liao tribe's equipment seemed to be much better, and the number of magic arrows had also increased significantly. I wonder which tribe's elite troops have arrived again.

Just then, news spread through the streets: 200,000 troops of Zhao had marched out of the pass and were heading straight for Hanyang Pass. Wei Yuan immediately understood that the King of Zhao was testing his strength.

Wei Yuan did not return to Qingming, but instead entered Youhan Realm, walked into a newly built quiet courtyard, and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened, and Zhang Sheng came out, asking, "What has disturbed my peaceful meditation?"

Wei Yuan said, "The Zhao state is attacking, so I urge you, Master, to come out of seclusion and take charge of the overall situation."

Zhang Sheng nodded and said, "That's for sure."

Wei Yuan bowed and was about to leave when Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "The North is dangerous. The alien immortal lords are all bad birds. You must be careful. Use your luck as much as you can, don't be stingy! With our current development, we will have as much human fortune as we need in the future."

Wei Yuan said, "Don't worry, I won't die. I will accompany you on your immortal journey for the next ten thousand years."

"You smooth talker, go ahead!"

Wei Yuan nodded, withdrawing from the mundane world. He stood on the main tower of the town, lost in thought, then waved his hand, and countless azure starlight instantly appeared on the town, scattering across the Dao soldiers. In the blink of an eye, every one of the 150,000 guarding Dao soldiers was blessed with good fortune.

Above the sky, someone let out a heavy groan. A giant hand, which was about to take shape in the clouds, withdrew at that moment.

(End of this chapter)