A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 262 Sending Troops

When the autumn wind rises, many slightly yellowed leaves in Bianliang City are blown off the branches.

The center of the leaf was still slightly green, but the whole thing was very dry. When Gongsun Sheng stepped on it, it made a cracking sound.

He hurried past, not having the leisure to appreciate the autumn wind, falling leaves, or stroll along the long street. He was on his way to see Guan Luoyang and report some matters to him.

This involves matters related to the army's movements and logistics. There is intelligence sent back from the front lines by Han Shizhong and his men, collected by the paper cranes of the Maoshan Taoists, sorted out by Lu Da and then forwarded. There are also estimates from Li Kaixian and overall coordination from Li Ying, but all three of them are too busy to attend to anything else.

Fortunately, according to Liangshan's rules, they didn't need to do such trivial matters, which were purely for conveying messages.

Recently, Gongsun Sheng, Dai Zong, and some of the Maoshan Shangqing sect Taoists brought back by Lin Lingsu have been taking on the role of messengers traveling to various places.

This sense of responsibility meant that Gongsun Sheng often grasped the overall situation earlier than those in charge of a particular aspect of the rebel army. As a result, the urgency and pressure he felt made it impossible for him to maintain his tranquil state of mind after years of Taoist cultivation, and it was reflected in his facial expression.

Therefore, although at first glance he appeared to be walking normally, he had actually used the techniques of shrinking the earth and passing through walls to ensure that he could pass through smoothly.

Upon arriving at the palace, he found that the palace walls had been decorated with various spells by Taoist priests, but since there was no one in charge, it was no challenge for him. In a short while, he was able to reach the depths of the palace.

Most of the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace were not mentally strong. When Liangshan sent people to investigate them, it was easy for some of them to reveal their past crimes. Those with bad records and serious crimes were killed directly. The rest were all transferred by Guan Luoyang to help the army to weave clothes and prepare for agricultural work.

However, after the eunuchs and palace maids left, the vast palace complex did not seem deserted. Many of the lower and middle-ranking generals and sorcerers in the army who had reached a critical stage in their cultivation and were expected to break through in a short period of time lived here, using the original resources of the palace to cultivate under the cover of Guan Luoyang's aura.

Following the undisguised and immense aura, Gongsun Sheng headed straight for its source, arriving at the Demon-Slaying Hall next to the Imperial Garden.

"Chief, I have something important to report."

There was no response from inside, and the palace doors opened by themselves. Gongsun Sheng walked quickly.

Guan Luoyang was filling a jade jar with wine when Gongsun Sheng entered the hall and smelled various aromas of wine, some spicy and some mellow.

This grand hall is over ten zhang high, eighteen zhang wide, and twenty-four zhang deep, with pillars like a forest and jewels for illumination throughout. But at this moment, the entire open hall is filled with the aroma of wine.

The aroma was incredibly rich, yet unlike ordinary floral wines, it didn't easily become foul. Instead, it felt as if one's entire body had been suddenly immersed in warm, nectar-like liquid, adding a lively touch to the flow of magical energy within the body.

Even though Gongsun Sheng was extremely worried, the aroma made him sigh involuntarily: "The quality and variety of the elixirs and wines accumulated by that tyrant are truly terrifying."

This place was originally where the emperor practiced asceticism and seclusion. The finest cinnabar and precious medicines, as well as the five metal magic wines, which the Taoist officials of Bianliang refined for the emperor, were piled up like mountains here. Underneath the main hall was a huge underground treasure trove.

Although the elixir was good, it took a lot of time to refine it carefully. Even though the emperor mainly cultivated demonic arts and did not need to care about the timing and ratio of the elixir like immortals, the mental risks of demonic arts were quite serious. He also had to consider whether his mind could control such a huge amount of medicinal power in a short period of time and avoid backlash.

So, over the course of ten years, the cellar treasure trove was almost completely filled.

It was simply greed that drove them, or perhaps it had become a habit of taking things lightly. Even if the mines were truly overflowing, the emperor would not order the officials or the mines in various regions to reduce their tributes.

"What is it? Speak."

After Guan Luoyang finished pouring the ritual wine, he asked, "Has Tong Guan's forces already collapsed?"

Gongsun Sheng said, "That's right. According to the intelligence from the front, Tong, Zhu, and Gao have fled in succession. General Guan Sheng and his men are calmly annihilating them with small elite troops. Our troops are ready to go from Jingxi Road to any direction to rescue the righteous army at any time."

"Li Ying said that the autumn harvest in various parts of Jingdong will be completed in about half a month, but the food reserves of the local rebel armies should have been exhausted. We must send troops as soon as possible and cannot delay any longer."

"Li Kaixian received the report that among the various rebel armies, the three in Jiangnan, Jinghu, and Liangzhe are the most urgent. If troops are to be sent to rescue them, these three must be chosen first."

The Jiangnan rebels are the second strongest naval force among all the rebel armies in the country, after Liangshan, so they should not be underestimated. Moreover, the Guangnan rebels have recently joined forces with them, which has attracted more troops from the Guangnan military governor to pursue them, making the situation precarious.

Shi Sheng and others from Liangzhe were kind-hearted. Guan Luoyang sent them Chen Liqing, who was extremely ruthless, and Lei Heng and Zhu Tong assisted them to prevent them from being too indecisive. Even so, they were still a righteous army with a very high reputation among the people. Wherever they went, thousands of families followed them, which is why they were targeted.

On the other side of Jinghu, several relatively weak rebel armies, such as Lü Shinang and others, under the coordination of Liangshan, hid in the mountainous terrain of northern Jinghu, barely managing to resist and flee by relying on the treacherous peaks and steep cliffs.

Their opponent, however, was one of the four armies recalled from the border river, which also included the troops of the local military governor. They searched the mountains and rivers, pressing forward step by step, and were almost at their wits' end.

Gongsun Sheng first spoke about the most important points, and then handed over the intelligence he had gathered.

Guan Luoyang flipped through the documents one by one, then nodded: "Then let's send troops."

"Where should we send troops first?"

Gongsun Sheng added urgently, "Our total number of troops is insufficient. Han Shizhong and Li Kaixian both believe that we should mobilize more than 100,000 troops and send them to the rescue in two routes to ensure success. Therefore, we can only choose two out of the three options."

He sighed, "They discussed many times whether they could divide the troops into three groups. In the end, they all felt that if the troops were divided into three groups, their strength would be weaker. When they went to provide support, they would likely be relentlessly pursued and entangled by the imperial troops."

"At that time, Kaifeng and Jingdong will be vulnerable, our troops will be unable to return to their aid, while the imperial court will still have surplus troops to invade, and the situation will become extremely unfavorable."

Guan Luoyang nodded again, calmly and said, "I think there are more than three places mentioned here. Lu Junyi and his men can hold on by themselves, but there are at least seven other places where the rebel army needs to provide support."

Gongsun Sheng was startled and hurriedly advised, "Chief, great things always require sacrifices. We cannot possibly provide timely support to all seven locations. If we forcibly divide our forces, we will completely destroy the righteous army's hopes of success and betray those passionate warriors."

Guan Luoyang hummed in agreement and nodded.

Seeing Guan Luoyang's expression, Gongsun Sheng felt even more anxious. He didn't know why, perhaps because Guan Luoyang's demeanor was too calm.

The situation is so critical, how could he...

Guan Luoyang looked up, and Gongsun Sheng's thoughts suddenly faltered.

"Do you think I'm not behaving like a good leader who should be concerned about the people under his command?"

Gongsun Sheng came to his senses and, upon hearing the question, hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "It was my fault for being too flustered. The chieftain's composure was not wrong."

"It's not your fault."

Guan Luoyang finally stood up. "I know you've been dealing with too much information lately, too many complicated things. News from all over the country makes you think that the rebel army is about to be defeated. Even if it's not a major defeat, it will definitely suffer a major setback."

"But in fact, from the moment we settled in Liangshan, we have been in a situation that is by no means advantageous."

Gongsun Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Indeed."

In reality, the fact that they achieved this situation in half a year is by no means bad. It is much better than when they first started their uprising at Liangshan and fought a major battle with the troops of Quancheng.

Back then, the enemy in front of them was clear, and all they had to do was fight with courage and determination, unlike now where they face choices.

Ultimately, it was the defeat of Chen Xizhen's 100,000 troops, coupled with Han Shizhong's deliberate deployment of border troops directly into the Liao Dynasty, that gave the Liangshan people overly optimistic expectations. This is why they find it even harder to accept the current predicament of being mired in difficulties on all sides.

"Don't lose your pace. We've always been in a disadvantageous situation, so just keep doing what you were doing in the past."

Guan Luoyang patted Gongsun Sheng on the shoulder and said, "You've been traveling too much lately, and your magic power is in disarray, which is why your mind is unbalanced. Rest here for a while, and I'll go see them myself."

Gongsun Sheng was about to speak when Guan Luoyang had already disappeared.

He seemed lost in thought, muttering to himself, "After all this talk, what exactly are our current steps?"

"Ugh!"

Gongsun Sheng paced back and forth a few times, having nothing to do. So he simply sat down and regulated his breathing as Guan Luoyang had suggested. After a while, his magical power warmed up, and his emotions stabilized considerably. The lingering aroma of wine and medicine became even clearer.

"Um?"

Gongsun Sheng wrinkled his nose, got up and walked around to look at the place. This was not his first time visiting the Demon-Slaying Hall. The previous times he came, the hall was filled with wine jars and pill bottles.

Although there are still many bottles and jars left here, they are all empty.

"How long has it been? The chief has already used up all those pills and magical wines in the hall?!"

He roughly calculated the number of these pills and magical wines, and his heart pounded. According to the palace's expenditure records, even with the Heavenly Emperor's demonic cultivation, it would take him at least two years to consume so many pills and magical wines.

As Gongsun Sheng walked, he came across a door leading to the cellar among a pile of wine jars. The door was wide open, with animal-head handles hanging down. The relief carvings were even covered with some dust, indicating that it hadn't been closed for a long time.

As if guided by some strange force, Gongsun Sheng walked through the doorway and descended the steps into the cellar.

"this!!"

When he saw the scene in the cellar, he was immediately horrified.

The entire cellar, which contained several times more pill boxes and wine jars than the main hall above, was now completely empty.

Gongsun Sheng rushed into the pile of wine jars, grabbed a few jars and looked at them, but couldn't pour out a single drop of wine. In the end, he only found two small jars that had never been opened in the low cabinet in the corner.

These things were enough for the emperor to cultivate and consume for a full ten years, but in Guan Luoyang's hands, they were used in just over two months.

Amidst the shock, Gongsun Sheng felt not joy, but worry.

Regardless of whether it's the path of immortality, the path of demons, or any unorthodox method, refining so many different kinds of high-quality cinnabar wine in one go is definitely not a good thing.

If someone was originally a pure immortal cultivator, such a frenzied consumption would surely lead them to fall into the demonic path. If someone was originally a demonic cultivator, they would probably have already gone mad.

After all, all these cinnabar-infused wines are extracted from various minerals. They are not so easy to completely refine. If too much of their medicinal properties are used, they will immediately become a deadly poison that will disturb one's mind.

Gongsun Sheng had no idea where Guan Luoyang had gone. He waited for half an hour in the Demon-Slaying Hall, and just when he was about to lose his patience and want to find someone to share the burden, Guan Luoyang returned.

"I……"

"Chief, you just said you wanted me to regulate my mind, but why did you have to take such a risk and act so recklessly?"

Gongsun Sheng spoke first, his face full of anxiety, "You've consumed so many pills in such a short time; how much has it damaged your mind and spirit?"

Guan Luoyang glanced at the empty bottles filling the hall, shook his head and smiled, "Calmness and hard work aren't contradictory, are they? I'm not the kind of person who seeks death; I'm just testing my limits."

Gongsun Sheng looked incredulous, grabbed his wrist, and examined it carefully for a while. There was no sign of poisoning. He then used his magic eye to observe it and indeed could not see anything abnormal. His worries gradually subsided, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I have already met with Han Shizhong and Li Kaixian, and we have reached an agreement on sending troops."

Guan Luoyang said, "If Han Shizhong only needs 40,000 troops, he can march south along the Zhejiang and Liangzhe Rivers to disrupt the enemy's formation and relieve the siege of the three rebel armies. I approve."

"The remaining 60,000 troops were divided into four routes to go to the rescue."

Gongsun Sheng said, "Sixty thousand troops, divided into four?! I'm afraid even coordinating supplies would be impossible!"

Guan Luoyang said, "As I just said, we should just follow Liangshan's usual practices."

Throughout Li Kaixian and his team's strategic deductions, they subconsciously avoided one particular problem.

They hadn't calculated the limits of their leader, how many soldiers he could command, nor had they considered the extraordinary abilities of the other leaders. They simply used common sense to assume that their leader was equal to the enemy's fiercest generals or was stationed in the rear. However, from the very first clash with the government troops, Liangshan had never had any strategic planning or any rear-guard presence.

Rather, it is the leaders and the strong who take the lead, make the best use of everyone's talents and resources, and fight to the death for peace.

In such chaotic times, instead of demanding too much of the soldiers and making them sacrifice themselves, it would be better to demand that the powerful choose and create suitable battlefields for them.

"The righteous army, the righteous army..."

Guan Luoyang said, "Our Liangshan is the leader of the righteous army, and we must ensure that the world does not abandon righteous men."

On the first day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the Tianming era, Zhu Mian and his troops were completely wiped out, and the treacherous party was beheaded.

The imperial palace in Bianliang was deserted. The Liangshan army mobilized all its forces, sparing no effort, to rush to the aid of the people.

(End of this chapter)