A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 244 Establishing the Order of the World, One of the Three Battles

At dawn, after a short rest, the imperial army continued its march toward Jinan.

On a mountain peak ten miles to the northwest, Guan Luoyang and Lin Lingsu gazed in this direction.

On land, thousands of flags fluttered in the wind, and cavalry, chariots, and infantry left billowing dust in their wake.

The water was surging with huge waves, and the billowing sails, like white-winged water birds, led by twenty large warships, headed towards the Yellow River.

The army advanced by both water and land routes.

Lin Lingsu said in a low voice, "As expected, the troops are commanded by many great generals. Every move they make is in accordance with the rules and is extraordinary."

Guan Luoyang asked, "In just one night, did you clearly observe the number of skilled fighters in the military camp, the troop deployment, and how supplies, provisions, artillery ammunition, and other equipment were distributed and transported?"

"certainly."

Lin Lingsu said with a hint of amazement, "You carried mountains and soared through the sky, performing such a magnificent feat. I merely used my Divine Eye of Heaven to watch from the sidelines. Even if Gongsun Yiqing were to handle this matter, there wouldn't be any problems."

Upon hearing the words "carrying the mountain," Guan Luoyang subconsciously pressed down on the knuckles of his other fingers with his right thumb, making a soft cracking sound.

He used a few tricks to carry and pull mountains, employing the "Go to the ends of the earth" technique to reduce the weight on the mountains, which allowed him to move the peaks several times in one night.

Even with the weight reduction, this was still no easy task, especially maintaining the integrity of the mountain during rapid movement after breaking off its peak, which was a significant loss for Guan Luoyang.

"Unfortunately, destroying a few small hills is much easier than moving mountains. After last night's incident, they are now on their guard, and it's unlikely they'll be able to repeat the same trick."

Guan Luoyang sighed softly, "Actually, I quite like this feeling of lifting something big and smashing it down on people."

Lin Lingsu smiled and pondered, "Chen Xizhen later took action alone, shattering the mountain and scattering the debris with his sword light. This shows that he has cultivated his 'Taiqing Tianxin Lun' to the level of Golden Core Stage 3 or higher. In addition, he has the Three-Five Male and Female Demon-Slaying Swords of Longhu Mountain in his hands. His strength is not bad."

"However, he did indeed follow that unorthodox cultivation method. If he had followed the orthodox method to reach the Golden Core realm, his worldly heart would have long been unbreakable, and he would have been able to forget his emotions while still having feelings. He shouldn't be so easily angered and so prone to seeing snakes in his eyes."

As they spoke, Lin Lingsu drew a boulder over, slapped it with one hand, and it cracked into many thin stone slabs. Where the lightning passed, the scorch marks left behind meandered into patterns, forming characters in a flowing, elegant style, engraving the information he had seen.

When Guan Luoyang took a look, he saw that it not only indicated the number of experts, the proportion of cavalry, and so on, but also the number of large cannons.

"Leaving aside the small and medium-sized cannons, the highest-grade Dragon King Cannon can fire its shells to any point within a range of at least ten li and at most forty li. And they actually brought three hundred of these?"

Guan Luoyang narrowed his eyes slightly. "It seems that Ling Zhen's judgment was indeed correct. These powerful weapons left in Bianliang have basically all been seized by Chen Xizhen's troops. The officers and generals who went to quell the rebellions in other places have not been able to get any."

Lin Lingsu said, "These Dragon King Cannons are very heavy and huge, making them inconvenient to move. Since they need to transport minerals, grains, bows, arrows, and heavy armor, the number of gunpowder and cannonballs they can carry is limited."

Guan Luoyang nodded and said, "Judging from their marching speed, they should arrive in Quancheng before noon today. We should go and see how preparations are going in Quancheng."

The two used their respective skills to soar through the air.

Quancheng Prefecture was a prefecture with a large jurisdiction, but many areas were barren mountains, forests, rivers, and abandoned villages and farms.

Although the city where the prefectural government office was located concentrated nearly 90% of the wealth of Quancheng Prefecture, its actual land area was less than one-tenth of that of Quancheng Prefecture, and it was located in the heart of the prefecture.

The imperial army set off early in the morning and soon entered the territory of Quancheng Prefecture, but it was not until the sun was almost at its zenith that the city could be seen in the distance.

As the demon-slaying master Wang Tianba rode on his horse, chanting incantations and casting spells, his large, golden eyeball, three zhang in diameter, reappeared from the air above his head, still dazzlingly bright in the daytime.

"go!"

The eyeballs rose higher and higher, appearing and disappearing among the clouds, flying at high speed toward the city.

After a while, the golden eyeball flew over the city and hid among the white clouds, looking down below.

The city walls were covered with soldiers in red armor, their swords and spears gleaming, exuding a murderous aura and under heavy guard.

When the wind is strong, the colorful flags stuck between the arrow crenellations on the wall flutter and swirl. Behind each flag are piles of stones, logs, and boiling oil pots filled with molten gold—all things used for defending the city.

The large, golden eye carefully circled the city in the clouds. On all four sides of the city wall, everyone was on high alert, and the soldiers kept their mouths shut, walking back and forth, busy with their tasks, but without making a sound.

Wang Tianba, who was in the army, was secretly shocked and said, "The Liangshan bandits have such strict military discipline. They know my army is coming, yet they show no sign of discouragement or fear!"

General Feng Hui, standing nearby, asked, "How many troops are there?"

"There are at least 20,000 people."

Wang Tianba closed one of his left eyes and stared wide-eyed with his right eye wide open, and said, "There are many discarded items on the streets of the city, making it a mess. There are also broken and fallen doors and windows, but there are no signs of people moving around. There might be soldiers lying in ambush in the city. Let me get closer and take a look."

The giant eye in the clouds tried to conceal its golden light, found an angle that overlapped with the sunlight, and slowly descended a little.

With a bang.

A rootless vine flew through the air, whipped the large eyeball until it burst, and then disappeared.

Wang Tianba cried out in pain, only to see a wisp of green light at the end. He quickly took out a pill, crushed it, and applied it to his right eye, shouting, "Be vigilant! There's an expert in the city who has broken my spell!"

The generals began to discuss the matter, each offering their own opinion.

"With 20,000 troops, Liangshan has probably sent most of its forces to Quancheng."

"I find this matter rather strange. Liangshan has eight hundred li of waterways, deep and confusing harbors, and steep peaks, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Why didn't they leave their troops in their stronghold, but instead sent them here to oppose us?"

"You don't know this. Most of the Liangshan bandits' families are in the Liangshan peaks. If they weren't forced to, why would they fight a bloody battle in their own stronghold and put their families at risk?"

"That's true. They've won a few battles before, and they're quite arrogant. It's not surprising that they dared to deploy troops to defend Quancheng."

"Taking Quancheng was a huge undertaking, and I don't think these short-sighted bandits would give up so easily."

"In my opinion, Quancheng is, after all, a formidable city. It is a wise move for the Liangshan bandits to hold it and wear down the imperial army. If I were in command, I would not easily give up Quancheng either. After all, the defending side is much better off, and if things go wrong, they can retreat to their stronghold and fight again."

As everyone was discussing, General Feng Hui, wielding his nine-ringed, wind-splashing broadsword, volunteered and rode up to Chen Xizhen's side.

"Daozi, please allow me to lead the vanguard with ten thousand troops, along with siege engines and other siege equipment, to crush the morale of the Liangshan bandits!"

Gou Ying shouted from the side, "In case someone comes out of the city to fight, or a master casts a spell, General Feng alone is not safe enough. We should ask General Guan Sheng and others to be the vanguard, and Mr. Hua Yang, Mr. Dong Wei, and our group of sorcerers to support them."

Chen Xizhen, who had remained silent until now, suddenly waved his hand with a smile and said, "Why bother, everyone? Last night, the Liangshan men tested us several times, simply to find out the strength of the generals in the army. But how could a bunch of bandits know the true strength of the imperial army?"

"Without the generals to lead the troops or the Taoist priests to attack the city, I can inflict heavy losses on them and force them to flee Quancheng."

These words spread far and wide, instantly invigorating the surrounding minor officials and generals.

Gou Ying cupped his hands and asked, "What brilliant plan does Daozi have?"

"It's only twenty li from here to Jinan. Our artillery can easily fire directly there."

At Chen Xizhen's command, the thousand sorcerers responsible for protecting the gunpowder cannons slowly moved from the central army to the front. They untied the iron chains and ropes from the vehicles, and lifted the thick tent cloths to reveal the ferocious Dragon King Cannons.

This cannon could easily fit several burly men inside its bladder, but the barrel became increasingly slender towards the front, with the muzzle only about the size of a human head.

Hundreds of gunners stepped forward, cooperating with other soldiers and sorcerers to adjust the height of the cannons, select the appropriate firing range, and raise the dark, scale-like cannon barrels high.

The surrounding military officers looked at each other in dismay. Guan Sheng, Huyan Zhuo, and others were shocked and quickly spurred their horses forward.

"General!"

Guan Sheng, his voice booming like a bell, addressed Chen Xizhen, "Jinan City contains not only Liangshan's troops but also hundreds of thousands of civilians, all subjects of our Great Song Dynasty. How can cannons be accurate when fired from twenty li away? Firing cannons like this will inevitably bring disaster to the entire city. I urge you, Commander, to reconsider!"

Huyan Zhuo also said, "Why don't we twelve be the vanguard and fight a few battles with the Liangshan army first? When the people in the city know that the government troops are coming, they will surely be restless. At that time, we can try to incite the people and perhaps we can take Quancheng faster, and also preserve the reputation of the commander-in-chief as benevolent and righteous."

From Guan Sheng and Hu Yanzhuo down, Dong Ping, Suo Chao, Zhang Qing, Hu Sanniang and others all volunteered to fight.

Even among Chen Xizhen's old subordinates, a few, such as Tang Meng, felt it was inappropriate and spoke up.

Chen Xizhen remained unfazed and said, "The Liangshan bandits slaughtered the entire family of Liu Guang, the prefect of Quancheng, killed countless local elders and gentry, and ransacked the entire treasury, leaving not a single grain of rice. How utterly depraved they are!"

"The truly virtuous and honest citizens of my Great Song Dynasty have probably all been slaughtered by them long ago. How can those who still have a shred of loyalty coexist with these bandits?"

"The remaining survivors in the city must all be servile traitors who aided and abetted the wicked. There's no need to distinguish them; killing them all is the only way to clean up the mess."

Before anyone could say anything more, Chen Xizhen, displaying the imposing authority of a military order, commanded hundreds of artillerymen to immediately load ammunition and fire to attack the city.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

A series of earth-shattering roars rang out, the thick smell of sulfur permeated the front line of the army, and booming, expanding hot smoke spewed out from the cannon barrels.

In the sky, streaks of black smoke and red light could be seen flying over long distances, bombarding the city one after another.

If even one shell lands, houses collapse instantly, and everything within a three-zhang radius turns to dust and ashes, scattered by the shockwave.

In a matter of moments, fires broke out all over the city, the flames were devastating and black smoke billowed everywhere.

The sounds of numerous houses collapsing and cracking were like an earthquake, and many bricks and stones rolled down the city wall with a rumbling sound.

Among the imperial army, some generals could already imagine the terrible scene that must be in the city: a raging inferno, corpses and horrified people everywhere, howling helplessly like puppies and chicks.

Many people looked reluctant and turned their heads away, closing their eyes.

The people in the city were not enemy soldiers, but rather, like them, descendants of Yan and Huang, and fellow people of the Song Dynasty.

"That scoundrel!!"

Guan Sheng's eyes were bloodshot with anger as he stared intently at Quancheng, not daring to turn his head to look at Chen Xizhen, for fear that he would reveal the murderous intent in his eyes.

Chen Xizhen was also watching over there. He was quite calm and composed, even expectant, anticipating the moment when the Liangshan troops in the city would collapse and flee.

They also wondered if any of the fierce generals and experts in the city would lose their minds and be unable to restrain themselves, so they would leave the city and charge into the imperial army.

When cannons hit the city wall, each shot creates a large crater. If two or three shots hit a relatively close area, a large hole can be breached on the spot.

The defenders on the city walls were even more helpless against such artillery fire. As long as the shells reached the city walls, each shell could wipe out a group of defenders.

The defensive measures they had prepared became accomplices of the cannonballs. Under the shockwave, boiling oil pots shattered and overturned, logs burned, stones flew up, and colorful flags snapped one by one.

Chen Xizhen watched these scenes, and her expression changed slightly.

Under the fire of the Dragon King Cannon, the soldiers were instantly reduced to dust, their bodies never seen. They were swept away by the toxic fumes from the shells and fell inside and outside the city. These scenes were not surprising.

However, some places are strange.

"The Demon-Slaying Immortal!"

Chen Xizhen looked on with surprise and uncertainty, and ordered, "Go and check the situation in the city again."

Wang Tianba accepted the order, endured the pain, opened his other uninjured eye, and used magic to reconstruct a large golden eyeball. He carefully rose to a height where the cannonballs would not hit him before flying towards Quancheng.

After the golden eyeball flew over the city, Wang Tianba's expression changed drastically.

He shouted in a mixture of shock and rage, "There's no one in the city! Those on the city walls, those on the city walls, they're not alive! There are no corpses there, only burnt paper scraps!"

"What?!"

The generals all whispered in unison.

Chen Xizhen's face twitched, and he immediately ordered the cannons to stop firing. He then ordered the gunners to move aside, and the cavalry to go first. General Feng Hui, the Immortal of Binding Evil, Gou Ying, and others immediately led their troops toward Quancheng.

His commands came one after another, his voice was fairly steady, but each sentence was louder than the last.

At this moment, Chen Xizhen did not want the soldiers and officers around him to have a chance to stop and talk or discuss.

If someone continues to bring up the decision to set off firecrackers, Chen Xizhen doesn't know how to react!

As a cavalry unit, like a long dragon, broke out of the army formation and charged towards Quancheng, all the generals who might speak recklessly were sent away.

Only then did Chen Xizhen have the capacity to accept her anger.

He tightened his grip on the reins, clenching them tightly in his fist, as he recalled everything that had happened since receiving news of Liu Guang's death.

Especially when recalling the triumphant moment when he used the imperial edict to mobilize twelve fierce border generals who had always been defiant against him, and also to coerce Liu Hunkang and Wang Laozhi, leading an army of 100,000, and then comparing his state of mind from last night to today, and to this moment.

Chen Xizhen's hands were trembling slightly. He quickly activated the Taiqing Heavenly Heart Theory to suppress his myriad thoughts and the entanglements of worldly desires, and replaced them with the Daoist heart determined to leave a name for himself as an immortal in history, thus suppressing his state of mind.

Just then, he saw the cavalry's advance suddenly halted.

The cavalryman at the forefront of the charge lost his horse and fell to the ground.

Beneath that thin layer of earth and stone lay countless sharp wooden spikes, which easily pierced through the horses and riders that fell from above.

Before the soldiers behind could react, more than a thousand men fell into the narrow trap zone, crying out in pain.

Although the troops behind did not fall, the hasty stop caused a lot of chaos, with the closer cavalrymen colliding with each other.

The people on horseback were all elite soldiers who practiced demonic arts. Their reactions were relatively quick, and as long as they did not fall into the trap, they would at most suffer minor injuries. However, when the horses galloped at full speed and collided with each other, thousands more horses were injured or killed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xizhen was a veteran of countless battles, and many of his entourage were well-versed in military strategy; such an absurd injury should not have occurred to him.

But whether it was Guan Luoyang carrying the mountain last night or the scene of paper figures all over the city, it was a combination of superb martial arts, magic, and simple strategy.

It's so simple yet so brilliant that it's impossible to defend against.

Chen Xizhen was busy switching between his two hearts when he suddenly saw the scene of the cavalry being slaughtered, and he felt a jolt in his chest.

Feng Hui had finally managed to stabilize the cavalry line when, in a casual glance, he noticed a small commotion behind them.

Chen Daozi, who led 100,000 elite troops into the eastern part of Jingdong, had not yet engaged in direct combat with any powerful enemy when he coughed up blood on horseback and fell off.

On the other side of Jinan.

Zhang Wanxian gracefully left and returned to the shore of Liangshan Marsh to report the news to Guan Luoyang.

"Thanks a lot."

Guan Luoyang responded and turned to Lu Da and the others with a smile, saying, "You all heard that, right? This is the result of the first match."

He has already mentioned it to many of the leaders of Liangshan.

Within three major battles, the imperial army must be defeated.

(End of this chapter)