The World Online

Mulan Stronghold had suddenly turned into the hot spot of the southwest battlefield.

Since Hong Xiuquan insisted on fighting, Yang Xiuqing naturally needed to follow his orders to the end no matter the sacrifice. After all, at least in the current moment, Hong Xiuquan’s prestige in Taiping Country was unassailable.

Just as Taiping Country’s south army was attacking Mulan Stronghold, Han Xin led the Leopard Legion to rush his troops to assist Mulan Stronghold, as he had received instructions from the Military Affairs Department.

Since they had spent two days at the command center, even if they rushed, they could only reach Mulan Stronghold at the 28th at the earliest.

Hence, Baiqi’s troops needed to defend for at least two days.

Apart from that, they had just occupied Wuzhou Prefecture, and it was not officially under Shanhai Territory’s rule. As a result, the logistical supplies of the army came from Zhaoqing Prefecture.

One could say that Han Xin leading his troops to Mulan Stronghold was a risk in itself. However, Han Xin was a person who would grasp his chances; he knew that if this chance was lost, it would not come again.

Taiping Country attacking Mulan Stronghold meant that their attention was solely on the frontline. The moment the Leopard Legion attacked them from the back, they could lose immediately.

For victory, Han Xin was willing to take this risk.

As for the Liao Kai’s 1st division of the Dragon Legion, they were still traveling through the one hundred thousand mountains. They most probably would not make it in time for this battle.

Furthermore, due to the current situation in Wuzhou Prefecture, Ouyang Shuo did not dare to send the Guards Division.

Using just one division to control the entire Wuzhou Prefecture was something that already caused Ouyang Shuo to feel fear. After he left the courtyard, he ordered Lin Yi to lead two regiments and one mountain barbarian division to sweep all the other powers in Wuzhou Prefecture.

The number of mountain barbarian tribes in Wuzhou numbered in the hundreds. Amongst which, sixty lived in Chiyou City, while the remaining became the powers in Wuzhou Prefecture.

The day that Ouyang Shuo reached Chiyou City, he had already instructed Wang Feng to lead a one hundred man squad to post notices to announce Shanhai City’s rule.

Based on the letter that Wang Feng sent back, some places had even locked out the Divine Martial Guards.

Facing these ignorant mountain barbarians, Ouyang Shuo naturally had to show his hand. He also wanted to make use of the chance to clean out the stubborn powers in Wuzhou Prefecture. Such actions would help clean out the obstacles for Fan Zhongyan and his rule of Wuzhou Prefecture.

The Black Snake Guards, including the Military Intelligence Division, had never given up on infiltrating the various counties and cities in Wuzhou. Under the help of both intelligence organizations, Lin Yi’s lightning operation would definitely succeed.

……

In the letter from the Black Snake Guards, they reported that Tianjing City only had forty thousand troops stationed. Ouyang Shuo was actually tempted to just lead the Guards Division and the four mountain barbarian divisions to attack it and remove their main camp.

In truth, this idea was actually exceedingly tempting.

After thinking about it clearly, Ouyang Shuo decided to give up the idea for three reasons.

Firstly, Tianjing City was not easy to occupy.

After Hong Xiuquan received a second life, he would definitely run his city well. Based on what the Black Snake Guards sent, the city walls of Tianjing City, including the defences, were all top grade in the wilderness.

Based on grade, it was half a grade higher than a prefecture and laid between a prefecture and a capital city. If one gave him a little more time, he could truly achieve the scale of a capital city.

Hence, without siege weapons, taking it down was just a pipe dream. Not for other reasons, but because he was sure that there would be cannons mounted on the wall.

Cannons might not be good for sieges, but for defending purposes, they were a real killer weapon. Shooting down from the walls, if the enemy lacked protection, it would really kill anything in its path.

Its power and killing ability was even scarier than the three bow arcuballista.

With only the current independent mountain barbarian divisions, Ouyang Shuo did not have the confidence to take the city down.

Secondly, Xunzhou Prefecture was not some back garden.

Hong Xiuquan’s rule had religious teachings as its core.

Hence, in Xunzhou, be it the officials or the people, they were all the believers of the Taiping religion.

Ouyang Shuo believe that the moment he entered their territory, no matter how careful he acted, his troops would be revealed to Hong Xiuquan, and they would have nowhere to hide.

Hence, a sneak attack was completely impossible.

Hong Xiuquan’s rule was truly an iron bowl. All the people in Taiping Country were his believers, and they acted as his eyes and ears. Any movement, however slight, could not escape his attention.

In comparison, Chiyou’s rule was merely cruel and inhumane.

Thirdly, Wuzhou Prefecture was not stable yet.

This instability did not just lie in the previously stated elements, as there was a more important point—he had to defend against the Wannan City-state up north.

After the Battle of Zhaoqing, any neighbor of Shanhai City had realized an important point—if they did not want Shanhai City to swallow them, just defending was not enough. They needed to maintain vigilance at every moment. Moreover, when the moment arrived, they should even attack, attacking as a form of defense.

If not, at any moment, they could be like frogs in warm water, getting killed off one by one.

Furthermore, the leader of Wannan City-State, Caiyun Zinan, was not a simple figure. Before this, he was so quiet. However, during the Battle of Julu, he had finally revealed his strength.

Moreover, the moment he showed himself, he had actually achieved ‘it is fine if I stay silent, but I will shock the world if I act.’

For the Wannan City-State to be built up in such a short time, apart from the threat of Shanhai City, Caiyun Zinan’s prestige in the alliance was another reason.

In comparison, both Xunlong Dianxue and Gong Chengshi were inferior.

Ouyang Shuo did not think that after the Wannan City-state was established, they would act like a well-behaved baby. At the crucial moment, Caiyun Zinan would still have the courage to cross swords with Shanhai City.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo did not dare to relax his control on Wuzhou Prefecture.

Based on the intel from the Black Snake Guards, Caiyun Zinan and Yuan Ping had been talking. Between the two, they had probably come to an agreement to form an alliance and attack Shanhai City at the same time.

As such, the situation at both the north and east sides of Shanhai City was a case of if one acts, both would. Further expanding the territory would be really difficult.

At such a time, why would Ouyang Shuo take the risk and attack Jingdou?

With his character, he preferred to stay safe than sorry.

As long as Han Xin’s legion reached Mulan Stronghold in time and destroyed Taiping Country’s south troops, with the two legions, they could easily destroy Xunzhou Prefecture.

Stability was the goal that Ouyang Shuo had set. As long as he was stable, Shanhai City would not fall. However, if he was rash and took unnecessary risks, the enemy might have a chance to come back.

The difference between Ouyang Shuo and Di Chen was that his foundation was not thick enough.

Be it Di Chen, Chun Shenjun, Zhan Lang, Xiong Ba, or even Sha Pojun, who was near to destruction, they could still stand back up and even improve no matter how many times they lost to Ouyang Shuo.

What did they depend on? They depended on the deep pockets and foundations of their aristocratic families.

But Ouyang Shuo was different. Although he used his advantages to help the territory increase their foundation, he had reached a crucial stage. If he suffered a massive setback, there was a chance that he could never crawl back up.

Why?

Because Ouyang Shuo’s personal foundation was not strong enough. If he tried to play solo, he definitely was not the opponent of the aristocratic families.

However, he could make use of the advantages of a second life, and the specialty of the territory to acquire more historical talents. He would also develop the locals so that he could fight against the aristocratic families.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo could not commit a mistake. The moment he did, a bottomless pit awaited him.

The China region had a weird phenomenon, and it was one that Ouyang Shuo only noticed recently. That would be that compared to his last life, at the same stage, the territories of Di Chen and the others were stronger.

Why?

That was because Ouyang Shuo had forced them to grow quickly.

The role that Ouyang Shuo played in the China region was pretty much a ‘sh*t stirrer’. However, he did plated his role too well, so he had totally woke up this bunch of kids from the aristocratic families.

This kind of situation was similar to the catfish effect.

Ouyang Shuo was the catfish in the pond.

When Ouyang Shuo realized this problem, he truly did not know whether he should laugh or cry.

10th month, 26th day, the third day of the battle.

The south troops of Taiping Country were ready to go all out. Close to two hundred thousand troops charged out.

The most eye catching aspect was none other than the remaining four cannons.

After learning their lesson from yesterday, Yang Xiuqing ordered the men to rush some protection for the cannons overnight to prevent them from being destroyed by the trebuchets.

The cannon was strong, but it was also incredibly expensive.

Apart from cannons, the south army also had a second killing move—hundreds of moving arrow turrets. To prevent the arcubalistas from suppressing these turrets, the south army needed to create some height.

This time, it was a battle of the archers of both sides.

Apart from that, the frontline of the south army contained only sword-shield soldiers.

Yang Xiuqing’s goal was very simple, and he did not expect to break through within a day, nor did he expect to rush up the city walls and engage in hand to hand combat yet.

He wished to maintain the fire power of the cannons and try to destroy a portion of the wall. He wanted to create a chance for tomorrow.

Apart from that, he aimed to destroy the arcubalistas and trebuchets on the walls.

If he did not destroy them, the south army could not attack up the city wall.

Yang Xiuquan was born poor, and his family had survived on agriculture and burning coal. However, he was an extremely talented and smart person. Be it in terms of politics or military, he had performed exceptionally.