Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 260 Crisis
Looking at the smiles on these people's faces, Gong Tianwu realized that it was getting late, and he felt quite relieved. He nodded and left with his people.

After walking five or six miles, Gong Tianwu looked back from the distant slope:

I noticed that at this time, the lights in Shuofangji were as bright as stars, and more than ten thousand people were trading, eating, and entertaining here, but everything was in order.

Lanterns in the fixed shops formed a belt of light, bonfires in the temporary stalls were like stars, and hurricane lanterns in the livestock area were arranged in a long line. The night patrols of the city officials held torches and patrolled back and forth along the planned routes.

Witnessing all this, Gong Tianwu suddenly said:

"What's the situation in the capital?"

Hasar said:

"According to the latest news I received, the capital finally decided to deal with the Waqir first and agreed to the Marquis' request to be crowned king."

Gong Tianwu sighed slightly and said:

"The old man still can't keep his cool. I've told him to build high walls, store up food, and slowly declare himself king, but why won't he listen?"

Yang Lun, the bodyguard beside him, said in a shrill voice:
"I think this is all caused by those idiots who instigated the situation!"

Gong Tianwu showed a sarcastic smile:

"It's actually a good thing this way. You see, those guys in the mansion are busy fighting for power, so it's not my turn to deal with these dirty things."

At this time, a rider came galloping from a distance and stopped twenty steps away from Gong Tianwu. Then Wulouwei handed over a letter.

Gong Tianwu opened the letter and glanced at it, then immediately turned to look at Ye Yuanjing on the right, and said with a smile:
"Great minds think alike, uncle. Your judgment is exactly the same as Mr. Chen's."

When Ye Yuanjing first joined Gong Tianwu's army, he was still arrogant and wanted to regard himself as the chief among the generals. Only after he arrived did he realize that this place was full of hidden talents.

He was amazed by both Yang Yun's bravery and Hasar's sophistication and loyalty.

Not to mention Chen Shengzhi, who Gong Tianwu has always called Mr. Chen, is not inferior to himself in wisdom and strategy, and the white-robed army under his command is particularly strong in mobility and attack power.

Of course, Ye Yuanjing would not underestimate himself. He was well aware that his strengths lay in defense, street fighting, and mountain warfare, which was also the disadvantage of the White Robe Army.

Ye Yuanjing smiled and said:
"Over the past year, the government has relied on the Wild Wolf Crossbow to fight in the east and west. In less than ten months, they have conquered another county."

"But the situation in the entire territory is very chaotic. After all, several young masters in the mansion are beginning to follow suit and want to be independent."

Hearing this, Yang Lun said with disdain:

"Just relying on those high-minded and low-skilled people, you think you can compete with our master? Bah, don't you even consider whether you are the right material?"

Ye Yuanjing said:

"The key is that the reserve of civil servants in the palace is insufficient. At least half of the positions can only be filled by the original people. How can these people be loyal?"

"They just want to live their lives as they please. The newly conquered counties and prefectures are in a state of chaos and the people are living in misery."

Gong Tianwu smiled and said:

"That's right, Mr. Chen said so too. So, conferring the title of Prince Yong on the old man is actually a lie. Claiming to deal with the Tatars first, ahem, is also a lie!"

"In fact, the capital has reached a compromise under the tremendous pressure of fighting on two fronts. The next target is us."

Hasar said:

"If that's the case, should we alert them?"

Gong Tianwu shook his head and said calmly:
"If you say it now, no one may listen. On the contrary, it will only make people hate you. Giving charcoal in the snow is a favor, but if others think you are giving charcoal in the dog days of summer? Haha, that would be hatred."

"However, I do have an idea that needs to be discussed by everyone. If the loss in the mansion is unavoidable, can we do something to turn this bad thing into a good thing?"

***
Ten days later,
The king's capital brazenly sent out troops.

The three powerful armies: the Killing Army, the Brave Army, and the Yulin Guard were all mobilized with great momentum and headed directly south.

The advance of these three armies was so fast that it could even be described as unstoppable.

Especially in those newly occupied cities that were attacked rashly, after the army arrived at the city gates, the old officials who remained in office opened the city gates one after another and "abandoned darkness and joined the light."

Not only that, the residents of the city had long been unable to bear the heavy burden of exorbitant taxes and levies, and they rioted and rose up in rebellion.

During this process, several young masters in the Marquis' Mansion, no, now it's the Prince Yong's Mansion, suffered bad luck. They thought that the city they conquered was their own fiefdom, so they all left Sansheng City and stayed in their own territories.

As a result, facing the sudden attack on the royal capital, they were like being caught in a jar, and they were always caught.

It was only at this time that these people who were obsessed with power and fighting for rights began to cry bitterly. They knew fear and understood what the dangers of war were. They understood the dangers of war!
But by this time it was too late.

At the same time, the most terrifying thing for Prince Yong's side was not the loss of the city, but the fact that a large number of Wild Wolf crossbows were completely useless and were seized by the royal capital side.

In just eight days, the army of the royal capital had already reached the city of Sansheng!

At this time, a man rode out on his horse, and the soldiers around him shouted "Long live the emperor"! This man was none other than King Wei Qu, who was said to have suffered a stroke and was paralyzed in bed!
This was an especially huge blow to Chen Yunsheng, because ever since he could remember, Wei Qu had been his biggest nightmare!

For example, this time he decisively raised the banner of rebellion only because he heard that Wei Qu was paralyzed and had a stroke.

But I didn't expect that things would suddenly turn out like this!!

At this time, Chen Yunsheng on the top of the city sighed and said painfully:

"I regret not listening to Old Seven's advice."

It turned out that before the royal capital sent out troops, Gong Tianwu sent a secret letter:
He said that there was a possibility of action from the royal capital, so he suggested a comprehensive retreat, completely abandoning the newly occupied cities, and then gathering everyone in Tielong City to defend it with all their strength.

After hearing this, Chen Yunsheng was half-believing and half-doubting, so he immediately convened a military meeting. As a result, when several young masters heard that they were going to abandon the newly occupied city, they immediately started cursing.

Because they have already regarded it as their own territory, forbidden food, and they swear that how can they spare any effort when the royal capital is held up by the Tatars?
At this time, we can see that Wei Qu waved his hand and actually brought a man out and pushed him directly to the foot of the city.

The man had disheveled hair and walked unsteadily, looking very embarrassed. When he got closer, he realized that it was the former prince Chen Feidi.

Of course, he was the one who jumped the most and was most opposed to abandoning the city.

Suddenly, Chen Feidi knelt down and cried out in tears:
"Father, surrender! The king has been so kind to us. You betrayed him for your own selfish reasons. You deserve to die!"

Chen Yunsheng's face turned pale, knowing that if he continued to let this bastard yell, the morale would collapse by half, so he suddenly shouted:

"Shoot them! Shoot!!!"

Suddenly, a shrill voice came from the side: "No, you are not allowed!!"

Chen Yunsheng looked back and saw that it was his wife, Madam Wang, who ran up to him and said with tears streaming down her face:

"Your Highness, Your Highness, Di'er had no choice but to do that. He was shouting like that because a knife was on his neck. How could you bear it?"

Suddenly, there was a flash of a knife, and Chen Yunsheng drew out his sword and stabbed it hard into Mrs. Wang's chest, then kicked her away and let the corpse roll down from the city wall!

Then Chen Yunsheng roared with red eyes and bloody blade in hand:
“Shoot, shoot!!!”

No one dared to step forward to persuade them at this time. Sima Yun and others felt that it was too radical for the prince to kill his wife and children, but it was still good for morale and defending the city.

Seeing Chen Feidi and the two guards escorting him being shot into hedgehogs on the spot, Wei Qu frowned in the distance. It was obvious that this result was not what he wanted to see, so he raised his chin to the person next to him.

Suddenly, a desolate and deep horn sounded, and the brutal siege began.

However, Sansheng City is the place where the Chen family made their fortune and has been operating as their home base for decades. Even Wei Qu did not expect to achieve success overnight.

Sure enough, the first wave of offensive was over in less than thirty minutes, and Wei Qu's side was completely defeated.

After repelling the enemy, Chen Yunsheng became obviously negative and decadent. Wei Yong, the counselor beside him, suddenly stepped forward and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, last night the Seventh Young Master sent someone to bring me a message, saying that as long as we can hold out for three days, he will be able to arrive in time."

Chen Yunsheng and the soldiers around him were immediately cheered up:
"Is this true?"

Wei Yongdao:
"Absolutely serious! How could the Seventh Young Master not care about us?"

Wei Yong spoke in a decisive tone, but he was worried in his heart because the news he had received about the Seventh Young Master before was not good news.

It seemed like three months ago, the Seventh Young Master actually started to plan for a reduction in the number of soldiers - what kind of bullshit is this!? He actually took the initiative to reduce the number of his own soldiers just because he was dissatisfied with the lack of their own soldiers!

Seven days ago, news came that the wealth of the Yanzhi River Valley had attracted the covetousness of several major forces on the grassland.

The one who jumped the most happily among them was the Naiman tribe, which had suffered a great loss before. After Bashi Khan gritted his teeth and purchased a large number of wild wolf crossbows at a high price, he felt that he had the capital to make a comeback.

At the same time, they also gathered warriors from the Kingdom of Khotan and the same tribe as Xi and came together.

The three parties attacked Guyan, Luopu and Yanzhi respectively, so that Gong Tianwu would be unable to divide his troops and would have difficulty in taking care of both ends.

Under such tremendous pressure, Wei Yong felt that it would be better if the Seventh Young Master did not ask for help, as where could he get reinforcements?
But no matter how dumb Wei Yong was, he couldn't possibly say this at this time, and he immediately raised his arms and shouted:

"In three days, reinforcements will arrive!"

When the others heard this, they immediately raised their arms and shouted at the same time:

"In three days, there will be reinforcements!!!"

When this voice was heard, the morale of the defenders was immediately boosted.

***
Two days later,

Ma Ming Valley,
This place is 40 miles away from Sansheng City.

The entrance to the valley is very small, but the space inside is quite large, and there are three springs in it.

When Wei Qu first arrived here, he also sent people to conduct a quick search here.

But this place is forty miles away from the battlefield after all, and the scouts are not familiar with the place. They just looked at the traces at the entrance of the valley and left.

But now Ma Ming Valley is bustling with activity and houses a large number of troops.

In the big tent in the valley, Gong Tianwu, Hasar, Ye Yuanjing, Sang Lao and others were gathered together for a secret conversation. Gong Tianwu's wife Yang Qianmin was also present at this time.

The current trend is still that it is difficult for women to participate in politics, but Gong Tianwu doesn't care about this at all.

After all, according to his plan, when he was in seclusion or away, Yang Qianmin would step forward to take charge of the overall situation and take his place.

After all, husband and wife are one. Since the queen can be the mother of the country and the regent, Yang Qianmin can also play a similar role.

In this case, Gong Tianwu would ask her to participate whenever there was an important meeting, so that she and her subordinates could adapt in advance.

Of course, Yang Qianmin's own identity as a cultivator would certainly not let her subordinates underestimate her.

In front of them were four copper basins, all filled with clear water. On the surface of the water, one could clearly see what was happening in different locations in Sansheng City.

This is the "Water Mirror Technique" performed by Gong Tianwu. You only need to place different tokens in the city, and the Water Mirror Technique will instantly reflect the situation nearby.

Although Gong Tianwu is still at the first level of Qi Refining Stage at this time, he can perform these auxiliary spells with ease.

Suddenly, Ye Yuanjing said:
"It can be seen that Wei Qu is very anxious and does not want to delay any further. I suspect that the agreement they reached with the Waqir is only a temporary one, so they dare not waste too much time here."

The guard captain Ye Han said:
"Although the Langshan Army also seized a large number of Wild Wolf Crossbows, this thing is obviously more useful when defending the city."

"And the prince also adopted a rotation system. Once the enemy used elite troops to attack the city, the civilians mobilized before the battle would go forward to shoot at them with wild wolf crossbows, and the combat soldiers would follow behind to supervise the battle."

"In this case, we can use the civilians to exchange for the elite troops of the Langshan Army. This will be a great advantage."

At this time, Hasar suddenly said:

"According to the intelligence we received the day before yesterday, Wei Qu's wind disease has really improved. It is said that he paid a considerable price to obtain an elixir."

Yang Qianmin was quite talented in alchemy. After hearing this, she said straightforwardly:

“Wei Qu cannot ask for an elixir that can completely cure wind disease. It must be a substandard product, and the effect is likely to be flawed.”

At this moment, a messenger suddenly came hurriedly from outside the tent and handed over a military report.

Gong Tianwu unfolded it and immediately laughed:

"Mr. Chen is indeed very capable. The attacking army of the Xitong tribe has been defeated, and the general Qingtian Jie Guizhang was killed in battle."

"Bashi Khan was still fighting with the Heshu tribe that was attached to Luopu. After hearing the news, his army lost its morale and turned to flee, and was defeated."

"Mr. Chen said that the people from Khotan were not worth mentioning at all, so he sent General Yang back."

In fact, facing the three aggressive enemy forces, Gong Tianwu really didn't take it seriously, especially since the enemy was advancing in three directions, which actually gave his side a great opportunity to defeat them separately.

(End of this chapter)