Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 962 – Unifying Southwest
After Zhang Liang left, Caiyun Zinan wrote two letters.
The first one was to Ouyang Shuo regarding surrender; the second one was to Chun Shenjun to inform him that he was about to surrender. Caiyun Zinan wanted to play both sides. He wanted to put bets on both sides; this fellow was simply too cunning.
…
Shanhai City, Xia Palace.
When he received Caiyun Zinan’s surrender letter, Ouyang Shuo smiled, “At least he knows when to give up.”
Just as Zhang Liang had predicted, since Caiyun Zinan was willing to take the initiative to surrender, Ouyang Shuo would not treat him badly. A lot of problems were saved.
Along with Caiyun City surrendering, the situation in Xiangnan Province was basically nailed. Under the attacks of the 2nd legion of the Guards Legion Corps and the 5th legion of the Leopard Legion Corps, it was only a matter of time before they took it all down.
Along with the Shu Lands that were now under Great Xia, the entire southwest belonged to Great Xia.
If he considered Jiangchuan Province, which would be his sooner or later, the Great Xia land area had doubled.
Of course, it would take a period of time to digest all these new provinces.
Since the regional situation in the southwest was settled, Ouyang Shuo’s other plans could be used.
“Men!”
“Present!”
“Send my orders; order the 3rd legion of the Guards Legion Corps to teleport to Stone City, work with the Stone City legion and 4th legion of the Leopard Legion Corps to take down the entire Zhangwu Prefecture.”
“Yes my king!”
Before going out to sea, the factor that worried Ouyang Shuo the most was still Stone City.
Since Stone City was now under him, he needed to ensure its safety all the more. Apart from establishing the Binhai Squadron, it was more important to deepen its strategic depth.
The current Zhangwu Prefecture was split between Stone City and Handan City. Hence, the Handan City Army could threaten the safety of Stone City at any moment, and this was something that Ouyang Shuo could not bear.
The moment they took down the entire prefecture, not only would Stone City have two prefectures of land, which would allow them to earn some precious development time, its border with Handan City would shrink to a fifth of its current size.
With such a narrow border, as long as they built proper defenses and housed one or two War Fighting Legions, they would have enough to ensure its safety.
During the Battle of Swordsman City, 50 thousand of Handan City’s elite troops were wiped out.
The current Handan City needed to defend against Fallen Phoenix City in the west and also West Chu in the south. No matter what, it would not be able to defend against Great Xia’s attack.
If Di Chen was smart enough, he would give up on Zhangwu Prefecture and separate himself from Stone City.
…
10th month, 17th day, Stone City.
At 10 AM, Lu Bu led his troops over to Stone City. He did not stop at all and headed right for Zhangwu Prefecture.
Every action from the Great Xia Guards Legion Corps was in the eyes of the Yanhuang Alliance. The moment Lu Bu’s legion appeared here, Difeng found out and swiftly reported the matter to Di Chen.
When Di Chen got the report, his face was extremely solemn, “The old fox wants to act on us in the end.”
The moment Lianpo fled back to Handan City, Di Chen had a bad premonition. The more he discussed with Juedai Fenghua, the deeper the uneasiness got.
However, at that point, Di Chen was unsure which side the Shanhai Alliance attack would start from. Would it be Stone City, Fallen Phoenix City, or West Chu? Each direction seemed possible.
Only when the Guards Legion Corps teleported over to Stone City did the situation become clear.
“Do you think the old fox just wants half of Zhangwu Prefecture, or does he want to destroy us?”
Thinking about this, Di Chen froze up as fear grew in his heart. The destruction of Swordsman City was like ripping a hole in the Yanhuang Alliance, exposing the others to this cold and bloody fact.
“In this battle of the wilderness, even a member of Yanhuang Alliance might be dragged in.”
Before this, the Yanhuang Alliance did not need to fight a head on battle against the Great Xia Dynasty. As the other remaining Lords in the wilderness were wiped out, the Yanhuang Alliance was not as protected.
As such, their shield of invincibility was broken.
This was the reason for Di Chen’s fear, and this sudden source of pressure made him panic.
Juedai Fenghua was uncertain, “From our sources, neither Fallen Phoenix City nor West Chu show signs of invading. Great Xia often comes up with surprises, so it’s better for us to make preparations.”
“In your opinion, what should we do?”
“The two legions there are the pillars of our territory. If they are lost in the battle against Great Xia, we would becoming really weak. If that happens, even if Fallen Phoenix City and West Chu do not intend to invade us, they would not want to miss the chance to strike us when we are down.”
Di Chen’s eyes trembled, “So you think we should give up Zhangwu Prefecture?”
Juedai Fenghua nodded, “We can only gain some if we give up some. Backing out can ensure that both legions survive, and we can stabilize the eastern situation so that the Stone City Army would not dare to proceed much further. With that, we can also threaten Fallen Phoenix City and West Chu so that they would not dare to have any thoughts about attacking us.”
Di Chen was obviously unwilling.
The moment he gave up the west portion of Zhangwu Prefecture, Handan City would be only left with three prefectures of land. On the contrary, the unassuming Stone City would own two prefectures.
This made Di Chen feel really annoyed. When did that useless Wufu gain the ability to sit on the same level as him? This was a humiliation that was hard for Di Chen to take.
Juedai Fenghua consoled him, “To retreat now is to advance in the future. We take a step back now to gather strength, and then we give them an even more powerful strike.”
“The most important thing right now is Plan Z. If it succeeds, we will be unable to lose. It’s best to not be stubborn now. Do not act on impulse.”
Di Chen sighed, “Let’s follow your plan!”
…
10th month, 18th day, morning, before Lu Bu’s legion reached the frontlines, news that Handan City had backed out of Zhangwu Prefecture spread, stunning everyone.
When the news spread out, many people in the outside world mocked Di Chen; they would say, “Great Xia just sent some light armored cavalry, and Di Chen was so afraid that he peed in his pants and fled.”
When such words spread to his ears, Di Chen was naturally furious.
“‘Men, kill those people.”
There was nothing Di Chen could do about Great Xia but that did not mean he could not deal with these few normal players. However, such actions were a little describable. Normally, he would not be willing to do that.
However, the current embarrassed and infuriated Di Chen did not care.
That day, those few people who mocked him the most were assassinated by Difeng. They died on the spot and caused uproar.
Who would have known that Di Chen would actually resort to such acts?
In the following period of time, normal players did not dare to openly insult Handan City. No one wanted to be targeted for just a few words.
Di Chen’s actions were truly terrifying.
When Ouyang Shuo got the news, he laughed coldly, “He’s digging his own grave.”
However, Di Chen’s retreat still surprised Ouyang Shuo. Just like that, the other things he had planned could not be used.
The battle in the north could only end just like that.
“Who knows who advised Di Chen? What a genius.” Ouyang Shuo felt regretful but impressed at the same time.
The current Ouyang Shuo could only meet the Cabinet and the Privy Court to discuss the arrangements of Stone City.
Cabinet Grand Secretary Jiang Shang said, “My king, after taking down Zhangwu Prefecture, Stone City will welcome a long period of stable development. Since they are now under us, their structure seems inappropriate. I suggest we use this chance to remodel their organization system to correct their ruling system and calm down the people.”
The so-called inappropriate part was that even though Wufu was under Great Xia, he still had the rights of a Lord to decide all the decisions in Stone City.
When Stone City first went under them, to prevent the people’s sentiment from being unstable, Ouyang Shuo did not interfere in their internal politics, and he only took charge of their diplomacy matters.
However, as Jiang Shang said, it was different now, and the situation in the wilderness had changed. Stone City had finally gained a foothold in the north, and it was time to actually merge them into the Great Xia system.
“How do you think we should do it? Wufu has helped us a lot, so we must treat him well.”
Wufu’s actions were mainly because Stone City was alone in the north and needed a backer. He was pretty much forced into it by the attitude of Handan City.
Although that was the case, Ouyang Shuo did not want to rip him off.
Jiang Shang smiled, “I understand the king’s stance. I suggest we set up a province in the north with Fengtian Prefecture and Zhangwu Prefecture and put him as the Provincial Governor.”
“That’s a new idea.”
To set up a province in a land with only two prefectures was unheard of.
Jiang Shang explained, “Although the north only had two prefectures, it has an outstanding strategic position. Not to mention internally, where it has Handan City, but the outside situation is really complicated too. There’s the Nuzhen tribe and the Mongol tribe, who will be strong enemies of the dynasty in the future. Outside, it also neighbors Korea.”
“With these few strategic considerations, it is not too far-fetched to make it a special province.”
Ouyang Shuo was enlightened.
The north would be a place where the dynasty focused on expanding and developing in the future. To plan ahead by giving Stone City more focus would be giving them a much higher starting point in the north in the future.
Thinking about that, Ouyang Shuo decided, “Let’s do exactly that. Establish the Beijiang Province and appoint Wufu as the Beijiang Provincial Governor.”
“The king is wise!”
Jiang Shang smiled and bowed; he was really satisfied with all that happened.