The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 323 This is Militarism

Li Cunxiao was a little stunned and soon understood Li Keyong’s meaning. He immediately knelt and said, “I’m willing to sacrifice my life for you and Hedong and fight against Li Ye until I die!”

When Qinzhou was defeated and Hedong was in despair, Li Cunxiao’s promotion to the senior general of Militarism had a great effect on the morale of the armed forces and the stability of people’s hearts.

In order to reduce the impact of the defeat of Qinzhou as far as possible, Li Keyong would definitely publicize this matter widely and let all the people know that there was a senior general of Militarism under his command so as to stabilize the overall situation of Hedong and to prepare for the subsequent battle.

Li Cunxiao’s cultivation was already higher than Li Keyong’s. It was a taboo that a minister was stronger than the master. So Li Cunxiao immediately declared his loyalty so that Li Keyong would not suspect him.

“Good! I always know your loyalty! Now that you’re promoted to the senior general, heaven is helping our Hedong. Li Ye is bound to lose in this battle!” Li Keyong said excitedly.

What he said would soon spread throughout Hedong and raise the morale of the army and people.

...

Under the leadership of the Qinzhou Inspector General’s hard work, the Qinzhou officials and squires soon raised several thousand tons of food for the troops. Li Ye also began to admire the Inspector General. Although he was timid and good at flattery, he had real abilities.

It seemed that many people were good at flattery not because they had no abilities, but because they needed to survive.

In fact, Li Ye didn’t need that food. The food offered by the Tianping Army, the Henghai Army, the Weibo Army, and the Zhaoyi Army were enough for the troops to eat several months. Of course, in the long run, the more food, the better, because no one knew how long the battle would last.

But what Li Ye really needed was to use Qinzhou to set an example. If the officials and squires of other counties in Hedong were loyal to the imperial court and surrendered to Li Ye as soon as possible, they would still have the chance to keep their position.

While the Qinzhou officials and squires were busy raising food, Shangguan Qingcheng’s and Liu Dazheng’s states gradually stabilized. The latter’s broken arm regrew within two days.

The Holy-child King really lived up to his name. Even if all of Liu Dazheng’s limbs were broken, it would be no problem, to say nothing of a broken arm. Shangguan Qingcheng was less injured than Liu Dazheng, so her injuries soon recovered.

But she had been cultivating in seclusion ever since she woke up. In the battle with Li Cunxiao, Shangguan Qingcheng was inspired and comprehended a lot after she saw Li Cunxiao become the senior general of Militarism personally.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the cultivator of Militarism to cultivate in seclusion. A few days later, Shangguan Qingcheng came out.

She hadn’t cultivated in seclusion for a long time, but she looked “totally different”. She had a sharper temperament and a more powerful breath. When she stood in front of others, she looked lofty and dignified and gave others great pressure.

Liu Dazheng couldn’t help but sigh. “I’m jealous of her talent. I always think that I’m very talented, and I work hard every day so that I can become a military warrior of Militarism in my thirties. I also become the famous First Knife in the Central Plains in Jianghu. I’m high-spirited and vigorous. I used to think that I had no match in the world, but now...”

He shook his head with a bitter smile. “After I meet Shangguan Qingcheng and Li Cunxiao, I know that their talent is given by heaven. It’s really unfair!”

Song Jiao patted his shoulder and comforted him like an elder, “Take it easy. You’re good, too. You’re a hero. Although you are inferior to me, it is not a disgrace.”

Liu Dazheng glanced at her helplessly and said with folded hands, “Thank you.”

Song Jiao smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”

Of course, Shangguan Qingcheng had not yet achieved the senior general of Militarism. It wouldn’t happen overnight. But her realm of the general of Militarism was more solid and more radiant, like a sharp weapon.

Li Ye thought for a while and asked Song Jiao, “What was the realm of Overlord of Western Chu?”

“Of course, it was the Famous General Realm,” Song Jiao answered without thinking, “And it was not an ordinary Famous General Realm!”

Li Ye smiled at her overreaction. “How was that?”

Song Jiao said with admiration, “He was expected to achieve the top realm of Militarism. Of course, he was unusual. Although there are not many famous generals throughout the ages, there are still some in the history of thousands of years. But few of them can compare with Overlord of Western Chu.”

Li Ye was deep in thought. “Li Cunxiao is as famous as Xiang Yu in the military, so he will certainly achieve the Famous General Realm in the future. At present, he is just a senior general, but he is already difficult to deal with. Then, when he achieves the Famous General Realm, can he turn against the sky? Who can block him on the battlefield at that time?”

“If this guy doesn’t die early, I’m afraid I can’t sleep well,” said Li Ye, stroking his chin.

Song Jiao asked curiously, “What are you going to do?”

Li Ye pondered for a moment. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

The troops didn’t stay too long in Qinzhou, and then they moved on to the next battlefield. After all, their destination was Taiyuan.

After the capture of Qinzhou, the first line of defense composed of Yizhou in the northeast, Fenzhou in the northwest, and Qinzhou was broken.

But for Taiyuan in the north, Yizhou was in the southeast and Fenzhou was in the southwest. These three places could still echo each other and form the second line of defense.

Taiyuan was the capital of Hedong and the base of Li Keyong. Whether it was to support Yizhou or Fenzhou, it could provide a lot of forces.

Under Li Ye’s command, the Imperial Army divided into two groups and launched an attack on Yizhou and Fenzhou at the same time.

The Fenzhou Inspector General, Li Cunxin was seriously injured by Shangguan Qingcheng, and the valiant general, Li Cunjin was killed on the battlefield, so their military power reduced sharply. The Imperial Army was determined to win, and Li Ye ordered them to capture it at top speed.

Li Cunxiao was in charge of Yizhou, so it was a tough issue. Any carelessness could lead to a counterattack, so Li Ye’s strategy was based on stability. The attack on Yizhou was not to capture the city, but to hold Li Cunxiao off. If Li Ye ignored him and only sent troops to the northwest, then Li Cunxiao would take the initiative to attack Qinzhou, threatening the rear of the Imperial Army.

A few days later, Liu Dazheng succeeded in capturing Fenzhou with the west army.

And at the same time, Li Ye and Shangguan Qingcheng laid siege to Yizhou, leading the east army. Li Ye didn’t order the army to attack but to dig ditches and block Yizhou in all directions. Yizhou would be isolated from the outside world, and eventually, they would be trapped to death.

Li Cunxiao led his troops out of the city several times and took the initiative to attack the Imperial Army. Li Ye ordered the cultivators of the demon clan, who were in the Immortal Realm, to fight. Without hesitation, the monks in the Land Buddhism followed and protected Li Cunxiao closely. In the finally fierce battles, the Imperial Army didn’t lose because Li Ye fought personally.

On today’s military meeting, everyone sat in silence with a gloomy face.

“Li Cunxiao is really powerful. If he goes on like this, we won’t be able to capture the city. In turn, we will have to prevent him from attacking our troops and barracks!”

Seeing the crowd speechless, the Holy Child began to walk back and forth angrily. When he was angry, the fire would come out from his nose with his breath. “The territory of the senior general of Militarism covers a lot of places, and the entire Yizhou is almost under his control! If we can’t solve Li Cunxiao, we won’t be able to capture Yizhou. Then, how can we attack Taiyuan?”

You Daniao’s expression changed a lot, and he was surrounded by black gases. When he was thinking seriously, his breath was always unfathomable, out of keeping with his usual improper behavior.

He sighed. “How do we solve him? With the protection of the immortals in the Land Buddhism, he can’t be killed by cultivators, and he is invincible on the battlefield.”

Speaking of this, he thought and asked, “Can we give up attacking Yizhou? General Liu has already captured Fenzhou, so we can advance to Taiyuan from Fenzhou.”

Li Zhen shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not! First, if we can’t capture Yizhou, Qinzhou and the rear of our troops will always be threatened. Second, to take care of Qinzhou and the rear of our troops, we have to dispatch enough forces to besiege Yizhou and hold Li Cunxiao off. But after that, we won’t have enough forces to attack Taiyuan so that we can’t capture it at all!”

“Third, if we can’t capture Yizhou, Li Keyong and Li Cunxiao will take up their own places and form the double-pronged situation. They can cover with each other and coordinate to fight at any time. And our troops go to battle from far away and are forced to be separated into two places. If the battle is in a stalemate, it will cause trouble and things will change!”

When Li Zhen finished his analysis, the people in the hall fell silent again.

The Pinglu Army’s attack on Hedong went smoothly all the way. It didn’t take much time to get the help of Tianping and Henghai, solve Weibo by a quick and decisive means, and even capture Qinzhou. But now, the originally good situation of the troops suddenly turned down and got into trouble because Li Cunxiao broke through the senior general of Militarism in the battle, out of people’s expectation.

“If we can’t solve Li Cunxiao, most of our troops will be held in Yizhou, while the west army is unable to attack Taiyuan. What should we do next? Is it possible to let the west army come to Yizhou to help?” the Holy Child said, grasping his hair.

“If the west army comes to Yizhou to help, does it mean that we are giving Fenzhou back to Li Keyong? And even if they come, it’s not necessarily useful. Li Keyong can also send people to support Yizhou at any time.” Li Zhen shook his head.

“What should we do? Can we still fight this battle?” The Holy Child suddenly jumped up and opened his eyes wide, bending over. “Are we going to lose?”

Nangong Diyi sighed suddenly. “This is Militarism! This is the reason why there is always Militarism in the competitive world!”

The Son of God glanced at him, but he didn’t refute it. He stroked his chin and made a wise judgment. “Li Cunxiao must be dealt with first!”

While saying this, he looked at Li Ye who didn’t speak.

Li Ye sat on the main seat calmly. When the Son of God looked at him, he also glanced at the Son of God.

He knew what the Son of God meant, as the Son of God expected. Then, he smiled and said, “I will deal with Li Cunxiao.”

The Son of God also smiled. “I knew you’d figure something out.”

Li Ye smiled. “Do you know what I came up with?”

The Son of God smiled unfathomably. “I think you know it.”

Li Ye smiled more brightly. “I don’t know.”

The Son of God said, “You really don’t know?”

Li Ye smiled and said, “You shut up!”

Li Ye’s plan was soon put into effect, and the people of various troops started off one after another. Throughout Hedong, the plan to kill Li Cunxiao was completed quietly.

Li Ye’s plan was simple—alienation.

To alienate Li Cunxiao from Li Keyong.

Under this big plan, there were countless supporting small plans.