A small fleet of skiffs reached shore in the wee hours of the morning, bringing shocking news with them.
The huge bridge at the westernmost part of the Xiaoyao Lake was already set up and huge groups of soldiers from the Golden Roc army were crossing the lake to set up camp. Its vanguard units were only about 10 kilometers away from the Dragon army and each side could see the dust and smoke billowing from the opposing camp.
Shangguan Jianyi did not think highly of the power of the Fierce Bombs and the next day after his troops crossed the bridge, he sent messengers to officially invite the Dragon army to a battle.
Gu Shenwei had every intention of accepting the offer and before he could give an official reply, more than 30 skiffs came sailing over in the night.
Engaging in battle earlier than planned would be beneficial for both parties.
No matter how strategically important going south was, to the common soldiers and people, it was still a form of fleeing from combat and it was a little cowardly to them. Their support for the Dragon King could be counted by the days and the longer it took for the decisive battle to begin, the more their confidence in him began to waver. He could only secure their trust by achieving success on the battlefield.
The boost to the morale of his troops brought by the Fierce Bombs was temporary, and Gu Shenwei hoped that he could test out the combat power of the Dragon army before it dissipated.
The opposing commander, Shangguan Jianyi, was also under immense pressure. His 80,000-strong army had already waited for an entire winter, and if he could not completely crush the Dragon army, not only would he not be able to demonstrate the ability of the Golden Roc Fort to Norland, he would be too disgraced to face the Supreme King again.
Like Lady Meng, he was taking part in the internal struggle of his own family members but unlike her, who was only capable of pitting the family members against each other, Shangguan Jianyi hoped to establish his own position by defeating a foreign enemy.
Gu Shenwei had not slept for nearly the entire night and woke up early the next morning to discuss with Dugu Xian if he should accept the offer. The Left General opposed to starting war earlier than planned from a purely military perspective. “The new weapon developed by the Right General is very effective but there are too few of them. They wouldn’t have much of an effect.”
“The greatest use of the Fierce Bombs would be to boost the morale of our troops. That’s more important than the number of enemies killed by them.”
Just as the two of them were breaking down the pros and cons of immediately going to war for analysis, a guard hurriedly dashed in to inform them that a group of refugees had appeared at the coast and were clamoring to see the Dragon King.
There were about 40 to 50 refugees, and they were mostly elderly folk, or women and children. At the moment, they were reasoning with the soldiers of the Dragon army in an agitated fashion.
“The Dragon King arrives!”
The soldiers automatically split themselves into two rows, leaving an aisle between them. They then bowed their heads respectfully to him.
An elderly man walked forward, supported by a crutch. He stopped ten steps away from the Dragon King at the signal of a soldier. The old man had not expected that the Dragon King would actually arrive to meet him personally and was a little flustered. He felt that he was being too rude just as he was about to speak and slowly kneeled down while trying to support his body weight on the crutch. The soldiers to his side stopped him midway and one of them said softly to him, “There’s no need for such formalities in the presence of the Dragon King. You can tell him directly what’s on your mind.”
“I’m a citizen of the Kang Kingdom,” said the old man, his voice extremely loud and clear, a sharp contrast to his trouble with walking. “The people behind me are from the Kang, Sha and Hui Kingdoms. We took the risk to travel southward to plead for your protection, Dragon King. We implore you to lead the Dragon army back to the north; the Supreme King wants to kill us all, and only you can stop him.”
The soldiers got a shock upon hearing this. Out of the 10,000 troops in the frontline of the Dragon army, more than half them were from the five nations of the Xiaoyao Lake region, and even though most of their families had went south as well to escape from war, there were still a significant number of their friends and relatives who had stay in the north coast. As such, they were especially attentive toward news about the other coast.
Gu Shenwei shook his head, helping everyone to voice their suspicions. “The Golden Roc army is fighting against our Dragon army and the Supreme King would not want to kill everyone on the north coast for no good reason.”
Seeing that no one believed his words, the elderly man grew increasingly agitated and started to appeal to his audience. “The situation is not like that, Dragon King. Even though most of the Golden Roc army is engaged in war with the Dragon army, a large number of their soldiers are pillaging the assets of the civilians in our countries. There are made up of… men who carry machetes and love to drink and assassins dressed in black. They took everything with them: our money, provisions, metal tools, livestock and even our children. Children who’re about 10 years of age have to be conscripted. They claim that after defeating you, Dragon King, they’ll be waging war with the Central Plain. Please save us, Dragon King. We fear that the four nations on the north coast will be razed to the ground if you delay for another few days.”
The soldiers were deeply moved. They were all natives of the Xiaoyao Lake region, and no matter where they followed the Dragon King to war or how much land they could have in the Land of Fragrance, their still dreamt of returning to their homeland one day. As such, they definitely did not want their homes to turn into a wasteland.
Gu Shenwei’s voice was not loud, but his reply could be heard clearly by the old man and the other refugees behind him. “Each nation has its own king. You should be looking for them first.”
The elderly man started to cry before barely managing to control his sadness again. “The kings are in danger themselves. They’re all gathered in the capital of the Hui Kingdom and do not even dare to make requests of the most common soldiers in the Golden Roc army. They’re no longer kings but house slaves of the Golden Roc Fort. We heard that new kings of our nations were crowned on the south coast, and we only recognize them from now on.”
Out of the five new kings crowned by Gu Shenwei, only the King of the Stone Kingdom, who was still in his infancy, remained in the capital of the An Kingdom. The other four moved along with the Dragon army, and besides, the King of the Kang nation, Shang Liao, held the meaningful post of Right General.
The four of them were standing behind the Dragon King: the King of the An nation, who was about eight, the King of the Hui nation, who was a little over 10, the King of the Sha nation, who was around 20, and lastly, the King of the Kang nation, who was 30 plus.
Gu Shenwei stepped aside, revealing the four new kings.
Unexpectedly, the elderly man recognized Shang Liao. He cast his crutch away and kneeled down with a flurry; it happened so fast that the soldiers at his side did not even have time to stop him. “One of your ordinary citizens pays his respect to Your Majesty. I implore Your Majesty to return to your kingdom to save your people from disaster.”
After the soldiers of the five nations quickly made signs toward the refugees, dozens of them swarmed forward and kneeled behind the old man, kowtowing to their kings and pleading for help.
Shang Liao managed to compose himself, but the other three newly crowned kings were a little flustered; they had not expected that their titles could incur real recognition from their own people. As such, all of them looked at Shang Liao, waiting to see how he would react.
Shang Liao knew what he had to do. He had been waiting for this moment since making the deal in private with the Dragon King and earning the right to organize his own army. Now he had to demonstrate his loyalty to the Dragon King publicly.
The King of the Kang nation kneeled down on one knee, and the other three kings immediately followed suit. “The entire Kang nation is willing to serve the Dragon King, no matter how humbly, as long as we can fight the Golden Roc army sooner by even one day.”
The Kings of the An, Sha and Hui nations simultaneously said something of about the same connotation.
Gu Shenwei twisted his head to give his Left General, Dugu Xian, a glance. The latter nodded; the refugees had picked the best time to arrive. As news about the state of their homes across the lake spread across the entire military camp, the officers and soldiers of the five nations were all enraged, and the morale of the Dragon army rose to an unprecedented height since their journey south; it exceeded even the effects of the Fierce Bombs.
“The Dragon King always has a way,” Dugu Xian thought.
Gu Shenwei ordered his guards to help the four new kings up to their feet. He did not make a decision on the spot but instead promised to summon all of his high-ranking military officers immediately to discuss when the battle should begin.
The results of the discussion were soon announced.
They would go to war during the late afternoon tomorrow.
As the order was passed down the chain of command, all of the soldiers cheered. A few messengers hoisted their colors high up as they rode forth toward the opposing camp, loudly announcing the Dragon King’s decision at the gates of the Golden Roc army.
It was all Gu Shenwei could do. Dugu Xian would be responsible for the actual battle plan.
During noon time, he received an unexpected request for his audience.
It was from the King of the Hui nation. He looked down on the young King of the An nation, while he was not used to the ways of the King of the Sha nation, who was much older than him. In his eyes, the latter two were destined to be puppets and there was no visible way out for them. His role model was Shang Liao, the King of the Kang nation.
Gu Shenwei was a little wary of the King of the Hui nation, who was a little more than 10. He was extremely scheming and possessed smarts that were far beyond his age. When he was still the young prince of his kingdom, he had made a sneak attack on the Dragon King; he paid for it with a palm.
The Dragon King was the person he feared and hated the most, but also the only person who could help him right now.
“You’ve made a very shrewd move,” said the King of the Hui nation. His voice was a little immature, but already as slick as an adult.
“Right,” replied Gu Shenwei. He was a little curious as to what the sneaky child was actually thinking.
“Give me a unit to command, Dragon King. Let me join the battle.” The King of the Hui nation was still a little incapable of restraining himself. He had pleaded for three times before finally getting a chance to meet the Dragon King privately and he did not wish to waste his breath.
“You’re too young.”
“A king is not measured by his age. Besides, I’m smarter than those adults,” boasted the King of the Hui nation without even blushing. “Take those refugees, for example. I know that their arrival was arranged by you, Dragon King.”
“You’re wrong. They were truly refugees who had come here to seek for help,” said Gu Shenwei indifferently. The King of the Hui nation may be smart, but his way of thinking was still too naive.
“Are you telling me that it wasn’t staged?” the King of the Hui nation replied, blushing a little. He had lost a little traction and wanted to get to the bottom of the matter. “Their arrival was extremely coincidental, and our navy didn’t bar them from docking. The old man from the Kang nation seemed to be an ordinary civilian but could speak eloquently in your presence, Dragon King. If it were up to me, I would’ve let him show a little fear.”
“You’re still wrong,” replied Gu Shenwei, sounding like an extremely patient teacher who was tirelessly guiding his student. “Facades will always be exposed some day, and when that time comes, the entire plot will backfire on the mastermind. Your role is to guide. They were truly refugees and the old man spoke from his heart. They’re staying outside our camp, and no one can squeeze out any ‘conspiracy’ from them.”
The King of the Hui nation grew even redder, but he did not give up his ambition. “I was too naive. But, I can accomplish great things. Please believe, Dragon King. I’ll let the Hui Kingdom become your most loyal supporter.”
“Do you feel that the Dragon army will win?”
Rulers were always good at going with the flow, and without true confidence in the Dragon army, the King of the Hui nation would never have openly expressed his stand.
“I believe that the Dragon army will win, and I also know that I can return to the Hui Kingdom as a king only if it wins.”
“Right, it’s good that you have such thoughts. But, you’re still too young and I don’t have any unit to assign to you. Wait for news of our victory patiently.”
“To await patiently for the results is to become a puppet under the control of others,”thought the young king, so he said, “Everyone thinks I’m a child and therefore looks down on me. They don’t even look me in the eye when talking to me. Sometimes, this can be an advantage.”
There was a hidden meaning in the King of the Hui nation’s words, but Gu Shenwei did not want to engage in a war of words with him. As such, he replied coldly, “Firstly, you have to demonstrate your loyalty in order to win my trust. You cannot keep being secretive around me.”
“I’ll trade a secret for your soldiers. Since you’ve a Right and Left General in your army, you can have a Front and Rear one too.”
The King of the Hui nation was finally getting to the point. He was prepared for this meeting.
Gu Shenwei’s tone turned even more chilly, as if he had no interest whatsoever in the ‘secret’. “I don’t have additional general posts for you. Tell me your secret and pledge your loyalty to me. Otherwise, get out of here and you can wait for me to deal with you once I realize what the secret is.”
The King of the Hui nation’s confidence was momentarily shattered and his fear of the Dragon King took center stage again. “I, I want to pledge my loyalty to the Dragon King.”
“I see.”
The king was extremely unsatisfied at having to divulge his secret without securing any promise or benefit from the Dragon King. That said, he gave up his struggle after exchanging stares with the latter. “It’s about Shangguan Yun.”
“What about him?”
“I know that Shangguan Yun has made someone in the Dragon army his mole using bribery and that that person is someone close to you.”