Chapter 722 – The Game

“I do not know when the grain can arrive, the grain in Songshan County, at best, to last another ten days, which is still the defending troops to tighten their belts, the force compulsion of the Ministry of Warriors to gnaw on the nest ……….”

Listening to Mo Sang and Miao Youfang discussing in high spirits how to take a scholarly exam after the war, what Xu Erlang was thinking about in his heart was the issue of grain and grass.

The warriors of the Force Compulsion Division and the flying beast army of the Heart Compulsion Division directly ate up Songshan County.

Not to mention the flying beasts, the size is there, the appetite is understandable. However, the clansmen of the Liguodu Clan “amazed” the defenders of Songshan County.

The defenders ate with bowls in their hands, and the Likang Ministry warriors ate with buckets of rice around them.

The defenders ate three meals a day during the war and two during the week.

Soldiers in the Force Compulsion Department eat four meals a day, five in wartime.

Xu Er Lang was originally somewhat mentally prepared, after all, Lina and Suzaku, just two people, ate the mother’s scalp, and the Xu family is now very rich.

Not to mention the four hundred warriors of the Force Compass Ministry.

However, Xu Er Lang still underestimated the meal sizes of the Force Compass Ministry warriors, and it was inaccurate for him to use Lina and Suzaku’s usual meal sizes as a reference.

Because the stupid sister and her stupid master are only heckling and not consuming on weekdays.

How can you compare it to a warrior with a sword?

“As long as I get the grain and grass replenishment, I’ll be able to hold Songshan County all the way.” Xu New Year secretly said.

The artillery and bed crossbows of the Da Feng were responsible for fire coverage, the flying beast army of the Heart Compulsion Department threw strikes from high altitude, the corpse controllers of the Corpse Compulsion Department maneuvered the dead soldiers who were not afraid of life and death, and the Dark Compulsion Department was responsible for assassination.

The Rikugo Department was responsible for clearing the enemy troops that had climbed up to the top of the city.

Combined with his commanding ability of Jiro Xu, Pine Mountain County held a solid defense.

Now the rebels outside the city, 9,000 elites and 20,000 miscellaneous troops have changed their strategy from attacking the city to besieging it in an attempt to make Songshan County the second Wan County.

It is worth mentioning that the Miscellaneous Army is a militia formed by the people, consisting of stragglers and forcibly recruited young men, and the leaders are jianghu men recruited by the rebels in Yunzhou.

“Last time I heard Jiro say that once the spring festival is over, the state of Qingzhou will improve?”

Miao Youfang had two minds, playing chess and chatting at the same time, thinking that he was really a genius.

“It’s the whole of the Central Plains that will get better, the cold is the main reason, followed by the lack of food that has caused the chaos today. Once spring begins, firstly the cold can no longer threaten the people.”

Xu Rui old holding the book, put the half-eaten nest on the table, save the food, said:

“Secondly, farming is the people’s instinct, and it is only when they plow in the spring that they can harvest in the fall. Many of the displaced people will choose to pick up their hoes again, and as long as the court takes out and redistributes those deserted lands when the time comes, a large portion of the displaced people can be solved.

“But when the time comes, there will certainly be countless squires and nobles who will take advantage of the opportunity to annex land and not leave a living for the people, depending on whether Emperor Yongxing has enough courage or not.”

Speaking of this, he frowned his delicate and good-looking eyebrows, that new ruler was good at everything, but he was not able to keep his temper, and he had more than enough to keep things in order.

You can’t count on doing great things.

If Emperor Yongxing could follow his plan and secretly “sacrifice” the nobles of the countryside gentry and the powerful landowners, the number of those who annexed the land after the beginning of spring would be drastically reduced.

“What if we still don’t hold it after the spring festival?”

Miao Youfang habitually raised the bar, “Will you die in battle in Songshan County, or will you flee?”

Moxan puffed out his chest and looked up:

“The warriors of the Force Compass Ministry will not flee, if I die in battle in the Central Plains, remember to help me send my bones back to the Southern Border and give them to my father.”

Miao Youfang looked at Xu Erlang again, who mused and pondered:

“Do your best, if it really comes down to a situation where you have to die, Mister Xu, as a scholar, will naturally be able to give up his life for righteousness. What about you, Brother Miao?”

“How can I die in battle? I’m going to be a warrior in the future. Well, if that day really comes, remember to carve the words “Warrior” on my tombstone. Then say sorry to Xu Yinluo for me.”

Miao Youfang thought for a moment and said, “By the way, every year, you have to burn a few maidservant paper figures for me. Even if this warrior goes to the netherworld, he still has to sleep with women.”

Xu Rui Lao shook his head, not taking his eyes off the book of arms, and reached out to grab the nest, only to come up empty.

Eh? He looked sideways and the table was empty, then he looked up again and saw Mo Sang chewing twice, swallowing his nest egg, and then pretending that nothing had happened, playing chess seriously with Miao Youfang.

Sincerely, the mother of the non-pleasing ………. Xu New Year cursed, no emotions on the surface, and said:

“Brother Mo Sang, seeing you always reminds this lord of your sister.”

The dark-skinned Moxan turned back, bewildered, and said:

“How?”

He knew that Xu New Year was Xu Yinluo’s younger brother, and he also knew that Lina had been staying at Xu’s house for most of the year.

Xu Er Lang had a sincere face:

“Brother Mo Sang and Lina are both the purest of the pure, and have carried forward the principle of ‘food for the people’ to its fullest extent. If everyone in the world could be like you siblings, the Nine Regions would have been ruled by nothing, and there wouldn’t be so many wars.”

Mo Sang did not expect that he and his sister could get Xu Xinxin, a two-listed scholar, to be so esteemed, so he was very happy and laughed:

“Lord Xu is too kind, my brother is too stupid to afford it. On the contrary, it’s Lina, my father always praised her for being smart since she was a child.”

Does your father have any misunderstanding ………. about “being smart at an early age”? Xu New Year nodded and read quietly.

Miao Youfang, on the other hand, felt that there was something in Xu Erlang’s words, but he had no proof.

At the mention of Lina, Moxon’s talkative nature increased, saying:

“These days you’ve been so focused on the war, you’ve all been hanging out in the Central Plains, do you know my sister Lina’s gag in the Central Plains jianghu?”

Lunch bucket? …….. Xu Erlang subconsciously spat in his heart.

Miao Youfang, on the other hand, because he is not familiar with Lina, did not participate in the spitting, otherwise, with his low-level desire to survive that he can say “ugliest sister-in-law”, he might have already started a rap around Mo Sang to spit on Lina by now.

“What gag?”

Miao Youfang took advantage of Mo Sang twisting his head to look at Xu Erlang and secretly switched a piece with his ability to transform power.

Mo Sang listened to his chest, gathered his tongue in unison, and spat out like a Buddhist spitting out true words, “Flying Swallow Woman!”

“What?!”

Xu Erlang raised his head in consternation.

Miao Youfang stared at Mo Sang with a confused expression.

Satisfied with their dumbfounded expressions, Mo Sang puffed out his chest and held his head high:

“Lina has been in the jianghu for half a year, and is so beloved by you people of the Central Plains that she is known as the Flying Swallow Woman.”

Xu Rui old is worthy of being a scholar, face as usual, slowly said:

“Who told you that.”

“Lina said it herself.” Mosan replied thus.

Miao Youfang was just about to break it down when he saw that Xu Erlang had given himself a wink, so he transmitted his voice to inquire:

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Rui Lao hadn’t yet mastered the skill of transmitting sound, and only shook his head slightly.

Understand, Erlang’s meaning is to wait for Mo Sang to make a big fuss, and then look at his jokes, now is not yet the fire, the hilarity is not big enough ……….. Miao Youfang did not mix with Xu Qi’an for nothing.

All at once, he thought of the Holy Son.

Let s tell him after the battle, otherwise it will affect his fighting spirit and morale ……….. Xu Erlang thought to himself.

Just then, the hissing of the black-scaled flying beasts came, followed by the sound of the wind, and the three people inside the urn city knew that an army of flying beasts had landed at the city’s head.

Waiting a few moments more, the sound of hurried footsteps came from far and near, and a heart-compassionate master in rattan armor ran in and gibbered in the Southern Borderlands language toward Mo Sang.

Miao Youfang and Xu Erlang looked at Mo Sang, who popped up and said in a mouthful of increasingly fluent official Chinese:

“The rebels ten miles away have met up with reinforcements and are coming this way.”

………..

Kwok County.

The Qingzhou army stationed in Dongling City, after a half-month-long field battle with the Yunzhou rebels and losing 60% of its generals, finally couldn’t support itself and withdrew from the boundaries of Dongling, stationing itself in the neighboring Guo County to rest and recuperate.

Their enemies were Ji Xuan’s two elite armies, the Black Armor and the Green Python, plus 3,000 miscellaneous troops.

The Black Armor Army consisted of six hundred heavy cavalry and two thousand three hundred light cavalry.

Green Python, on the other hand, had four thousand elite foot soldiers with eighty artillery pieces, thirty bed crossbows, and two thousand pieces of cannons and bows.

Such a well-equipped primus division is naturally not something that the Qingzhou army can contend with.

Even though Sun Xuanji had brought a large amount of firearms and equipment with him before he ran to Qingzhou, the fact proved that the army of Qingzhou’s guards was far inferior to the elite forces of Yunzhou in terms of combat power.

The Qingzhou army was not the ace of the Dafeng army, but faced, however, one of the elite units of the rebel army.

And in terms of mid-level combat power, this garrison of the Eastern Tomb was still inferior to the elite force led by Ji Xuan.

The only one who could equalize the situation was Sun Xuanji, a Third Grade Warlock.

Admittedly, a warlock’s personal combat power was far inferior to that of a martial artist of the same rank, but in terms of destructive power, in the realm of the third rank, a warlock claimed the second place, and no one dared to claim the first.

The thickly white-haired Protector Yuan walked at the head of the city, talking to everyone:

“The Land of Ten Thousand Demons is rebuilt.”

The Dongling Army had long been familiar with this Demon ally, loving and hating him, loving him for his strong battle power of the Fourth Grade Realm and being a reliable comrade in arms.

I hate the fact that this comrade is ready to “stab” you anytime, anywhere.

Early this morning, the news of the Southern Demon’s restoration spread back to Qingzhou, and Protector Yuan was so ecstatic that he stood at the head of the city and cried to the sky to express his joy.

And then talk about it to everyone.

“Congratulations, the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom is a good ally for my Da Feng.”

A centurion looked at Protector Yuan, who had come over, with an eager smile.

However, Protector Yuan looked at him with an unhappy face and said:

“Your heart tells me: this dead monkey is finished.”

“………” The centurion’s face steeply reddened, not knowing whether to explain or to pretend he hadn’t heard, embarrassed and wanting to go AWOL.

Luckily, Protector Yuan didn’t give him a hard time, and had the good sense to walk away and announce the good news to the other guards he knew.

“Ugh!”

The centurion looked at Protector Yuan’s back and sighed.

I don’t know if Guo County can be defended and for how long. Brothers who died in the field battle, the bones were too late to collect the coffin.

Just then, a loud noise came from the sky and a red light exploded high in the sky.

This was the signal of an enemy attack, and the person who sent the signal was Sun Xuanji, who was alerting the incoming enemy with his Qiwang technique in the floating turret over Guo County.

…………

Wanxian.

To break it down, Wanxian has been under siege for a month.

During this period, the rebels attacked the city dozens of times off and on, and Qingzhou Buzhengji deployed troops and sent armies to support them many times, but they were eaten up by the Yunzhou army.

It wasn’t until the Heart Compass Ministry’s flying beast army arrived that such a decline could be reversed.

But for the defenders stationed in Wanxian County, fatigue had penetrated deep into the marrow of their bones, and even the most belligerent of them longed for an early end to this beastly struggle.

As for Zhang Shen, who has been a recluse for more than twenty years, being forced into such a predicament in his first battle is really a great shame.

Despite his isolation, he has defended Wan County to this day, living up to his reputation.

Zhang Shen climbed up to the top of the city and raised his eyes to look around, the city wall was covered with pits, scorch marks, and cracks from the artillery blasts, and in some places, an opening was even blasted open, the women’s wall was destroyed, just like a person who had his teeth knocked out.

The garrison is over half dead and wounded, and the militia, which is now also over half dead and wounded, has been forcibly recruited.

The clouds of war hang over the modest city.

In the blue sky, a giant beast flapped its membranous wings and flew towards Wan County.

The giant beast slowly landed at the top of the city by gliding, and the Heart Compass Master riding on its back said towards Zhang Shen:

“Thirty miles to the south, a large enemy force is approaching.”

After the Flying Beast Army came to their aid, Zhang Shen, who had taken the time to learn the Southern Border language for a few days, nodded his head with a grave expression and said in a fluent Southern Border accent:

“This officer knows.”

He turned sideways, peering out toward the south, and said slowly:

“I can see for thirty miles.”

As the words fell, his vision changed radically, the surrounding scenery disappeared, and his perspective was stretched infinitely, all the way to thirty miles away.

In sight, the long, unseen line of enemy troops came slowly, flags blazing.

The flag fluttered in the wind and unfurled, revealing the word “Chi”.

Zhang Shen let out a “Hey”, withdrew his gaze, and whispered to himself:

“Soldier to soldier, general to general, this tortoise is finally here.”

………..

Dongling City.

Xu Pingfeng, who was dressed in white like snow, carried a jug of wine in his hand and took a step up to the sky, arriving above the sea of clouds.

The golden light followed closely, transforming into the Garuda Tree Bodhisattva, standing on Xu Pingfeng’s side.

Opposite the two men, the white-haired, white-clothed, white-bearded supervisor has been waiting for a long time.

“Supervising teacher.”

Xu Pingfeng half flew, half floated between the two sides, sat on the ground in the sea of clouds, and with a wave of his big sleeve, there was an extra chessboard and two boxes of chess pieces in front of him.

“I remember when I was studying with you, every three days, we master and disciple would play a game against each other, and I never won.”

Xu Pingfeng spoke in a calm tone, using an emotional tone:

“Twenty years away from the capital, you and I have no time to meet each other, a whole twenty years have not played against each other, supervising teacher, can you accompany my disciple in the next game?”

………

PS: It’s the end of the month, ask for a monthly ticket. Typos are corrected after the first shift.