Film and Television Daqing: Starting with the Heaven-Covering Technique and the Devouring Demon Art

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Chapter 84 News of the defeat reached both countries, and the officials of Western Mang cried out for surrender, while Zhan Doudou refused to yield even unto death.

Outside the capital of the Western Mang Kingdom, a soldier in armor rode a swift horse, approaching the city gates like a bolt of lightning. ...Please give flowers and subscribe!

As they drew closer to the city gate, the soldiers' voices, like booming bells, resounded throughout the entire gate area:

"Urgent message! Battle report! Please make way immediately!"

The shout was like a thunderclap, breaking the surrounding tranquility and drawing everyone's attention.

Upon hearing the soldiers' shouts, the people of the Western Mang Kingdom at the city gate parted to make way for the road.

Their faces showed surprise and confusion, clearly shocked by this sudden emergency.

These people had already heard about the Western Mang court sending 200,000 troops to assist the Northern Qi in its war against the Southern Qing.

The urgent battle report brought by this soldier has undoubtedly sparked great interest in the progress of the war.

However, despite their curiosity, they could only patiently wait for the court's official announcement to learn more about the details of the war.

Upon hearing the shout, the soldiers guarding the city gate from the Western Mang Kingdom all turned their gazes toward the soldier.

They immediately recognized the soldier as a messenger from the Western Mang Kingdom, responsible for delivering important information.

At this moment, their eyes revealed a strange tension and anticipation, as if they were waiting for some important news.

Their hearts pounded like war drums, tense and excited, as if they could sense the impending storm.

The atmosphere inside the Chaotian Hall of the Western Mang was solemn.

The Confucian king led an army of 300,000 to attack their strategic eastern pass, causing them great distress.

The Western Mang Emperor looked down at his court officials, feeling annoyed. These officials always talked nonsense, and not one of them could offer any useful advice.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the main hall, followed by the eunuch's shrill shout:

"Urgent intelligence from the border!"

The sound was like a thunderclap, shattering the previously heavy atmosphere.

Upon hearing this voice, the Western Mang Emperor breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that there must have been a result from Ba Tuolin's side.

He suppressed his inner excitement and pretended to be calm as he said:

"Bring them in!" His voice echoed like thunder in the hall, startling everyone present.

As soon as the Western Mang Emperor gave his order, the messenger outside the hall rushed to the main hall, prostrated himself, and wept bitterly, saying:

"My Emperor, General Ba Tuo's 20-strong army suffered a crushing defeat after a great battle against the 10-strong left-wing army of Nanqing. General Ba Tuo Lin fled with only 533 remnants of his army. Finally, he was ambushed by Chen Pingping, the Director of the Supervisory Council of Nanqing, in a canyon 5 miles outside Yulin Pass."

General Ba Tuo and his 30,000 remaining soldiers were trapped in the canyon and burned alive.

After the messenger finished speaking, he breathed heavily, as if he had used up all his strength.

He took a letter out of his pocket.

Then, he could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, his eyes closed, seemingly too exhausted to move.

Upon hearing the messenger's words, all the civil and military officials in the imperial court were filled with panic.

They had originally thought that Ba Tuolin's 200,000-strong army would be enough to contend with the left wing of the Southern Qing army, but now that they heard he had been defeated by 100,000 enemy troops, they were shocked beyond words.

Immediately afterwards, news came that Chen Pingping had burned Ba Tuolin and 30,000 remaining soldiers alive, which terrified everyone even more, and fear spread through their bodies like a plague.

"How is this possible? General Ba Tuolin was defeated so quickly, and his entire army of 200,000 was wiped out!"

What to do now!

Let's surrender!

Otherwise, if the Southern Qing destroys the Northern Qi and then attacks our Western Mang, we'll be completely finished!

For a time, the court was in chaos, with noise filling the air.

The Western Mang Emperor, seated on his dragon throne, was equally horrified upon hearing the messenger's report, muttering to himself:

"Impossible! How could we have lost so quickly? It's only been a few days!"

Even 200,000 pigs shouldn't have been lost so quickly!

He shook his head in disbelief, his eyes revealing utter astonishment.

Just then, a commotion below pulled the Western Mang Emperor back from his thoughts.

He was already in a bad mood because of the loss of 200,000 troops, and now he was even more furious, so he roared:

"What are you all arguing about! Do you even respect me?" With the Western Mang Emperor's roar, the court fell silent.

Seeing this, the Western Mang Emperor felt slightly better, and then said to the eunuch beside him:

"Go and get the intelligence. I need to see what happened. In just a few days, our Western Mang Kingdom's 200,000-strong army has been wiped out."

The eunuch immediately rushed down to retrieve the intelligence and respectfully handed it to the Western Mang Emperor.

The Western Mang Emperor quickly took the intelligence report and began to read it carefully.

However, the further he read, the uglier his face became, filled with shock and fear.

He never expected that Nanqing would possess such a terrifying weapon of war—a monster ten zhang tall, covered in refined iron, and moving with incredible speed.

(cbaa) The Western Mang Emperor imagined this scene and couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He sat blankly on the dragon throne, knowing in his heart that their Western Mang Kingdom was truly doomed this time.

Upon seeing the appearance of the Western Mang Emperor, the civil and military officials below the stage immediately understood that what the messenger had said was true.

The court was immediately thrown into an uproar, with noise rising and falling, as if one were in a noisy market.

The Western Mang Emperor was once again awakened by the clamor of his ministers, and his anger instantly surged to its peak. He roared again:

"What's all the arguing about? What time is it? Stop arguing and start thinking about how to solve the problem!"

Upon hearing the Western Mang Emperor's rebuke, all the civil and military officials fell silent.

At this moment, the Prime Minister stepped forward and respectfully reported:

"Your Majesty, we now have only one way out—surrender."

After hearing the Prime Minister's suggestion, the courtiers all nodded in agreement, and some echoed:

"Yes! Your Majesty, we are now struggling to even hold onto the eastern border. If we do not surrender now, the main force of the Southern Qing will turn around and deal with us after they have destroyed the Northern Qi. The consequences will be unimaginable!"

The Western Mang Emperor sat on the dragon throne and listened to the words of the ministers below the stage. He understood that what they said made sense.

However, it was absolutely impossible for him to surrender!

He gritted his teeth and said directly:

"Alright, I will give this matter a good consideration."

Now, court is adjourned.

After saying that, he turned and left.

Time flies, and five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Since the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) of Northern Qi were destroyed, Chen Pingping has planted countless spies and informants in Northern Qi.

Now, under Li Chengtian's orders, these spies and informants have begun to take action.

Uesugi Tora was originally dead, but the Northern Qi side did not find his body, so no one in the Northern Qi knew that he was dead.

However, thanks to the propaganda spread by the Overwatch Council, Shuofang City, which was guarded by Uesugi Tiger and 200,000 elite troops, was breached by Nanqing. Uesugi Tiger was killed in battle, and 200,000 elite troops were wiped out.

Even the 20-strong Western Mang army that came to their aid was completely annihilated by the Southern Qing army.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire Northern Qi Kingdom in just a few days.

A citizen of the Northern Qi state in Mo City said to the person next to him:

"Hey, have you heard? Shuofang City has fallen. (Please give flowers and subscribe)"

Upon hearing this, the man immediately said:

"How could I not know! I also heard that even General Shangshanhu was killed in battle this time, and 20 elite troops were wiped out."

After hearing this, a passerby chimed in:

"That's not all! I also heard that Nanqing wiped out the 20 Western Mang troops that came to reinforce our Northern Qi."

"Hiss! Is it that terrifying? Nanqing has become so terrifying. I think our Northern Qi will definitely not be able to stop Nanqing this time." The first commoner to speak exclaimed.

This news caused a huge uproar in Northern Qi, and the people were shocked.

Some worried that Northern Qi would be unable to withstand the attack from Southern Qing and were filled with anxiety about the future; others believed that this was a manifestation of Southern Qing's strength and that Northern Qi might not be able to contend with it.

Fear and unease gripped Northern Qi, and people began to discuss how to deal with the crisis.

This news quickly spread throughout the Northern Qi Dynasty and became a hot topic of discussion.

There were also some quite skilled martial artists in the capital discussing it.

"I heard that this time it was the Heavenly Saint Emperor of Nanqing who personally led the expedition. Not only did he break through our first formidable pass, but he also managed to divide his forces and wipe out 20 Western Barbarians. Nanqing's strength is terrifying!" a martial artist exclaimed.

"Hey, what do you guys think? This can't be a lie, can it? After all, Shuofang City has strong walls, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is guarded by 200,000 elite troops. How could it be so easily breached, not to mention the assistance of 200,000 Western Mang troops?" another warrior questioned.

"Could this be a fake news story from Nanqing, just to cause panic?" someone chimed in.

"Yes, that's an army of 40! Even 40 pigs probably wouldn't have been slaughtered this quickly!" another person said.