Great Wei Imperial Palace.
Inside the Hall of Wenhua.
Right now, as the messenger spoke the letter from the Marquis of Sheyang.
All the people in the hall fell silent.
A million prisoners of war, if they were to be killed, it would really be somewhat ……. terrifying.
But at this moment, the crowd has unconditionally supported Xu Qingnian, if Xu Qingnian really wants to kill and surrender, they really can’t stop anything.
After all, the chief commander was Xu Qingnian.
“All prisoners of war, seal the Qi dao, guard them closely and send them back to Great Wei, 700,000 prisoners of war, allocate them to mines and barren fields all over the world for mining, 300,000 prisoners of war send them to the border to repair the defensive walls of the border.”
Xu Qingnian barely hesitated as he gave an answer that made everyone sigh with relief.
There was no killing and surrendering.
Instead, the prisoners of war were sent back to serve as free labour.
Sensing the stares of the crowd, Xu Qingnian could not help but feel a little helpless, it was obvious that in the eyes of the crowd, he had become a murderous maniac.
With a bitter smile, Xu Qingnian looked at An Guogong.
“State Duke, these millions of prisoners of war need to be handed over under strict inspection by all the State Dukes, they must be scattered and disrupted and handed over to various places, and it is best to abolish the martial path.”
Xu Qingnian spoke.
A million prisoners of war, surely they could not be killed.
Killing the tombs was for the second step, and to promote the might of Great Wei.
But there was no point in continuing to kill, wouldn’t he smell the free labour given for nothing?
There are still many barren fields in Wei that cannot be ploughed, and now they have helpers, not that they are mistreating the prisoners of war, but just ploughing the fields every day anyway.
When they are old, they will be sent back to their countries. Humane, right?
Labour that costs nothing must be earned. After all, Great Wei now has a waterwheel, and when used well, it only makes money.
They could even promise all prisoners of war that they could be sent back to their countries after 30 years of service, and if there was a war, they could participate in the war and offset their merits and demerits.
In this way, how dare va*sal kings from all over the world act recklessly?
Of course, if they are not of our race, their hearts will be different, so they should still be targeted and used, and they should not give up these free labourers out of fear.
There is nothing better than fighting a war.
National territory is first, gold, silver and jewellery are second, food and munitions are third, and prisoner of war labour is fourth.
A prisoner of war labourer for twenty years, according to the current economic level of Great Wei, two taels of silver a month, after all, is a hard labourer, a real hard labourer, the kind of work where one out of ten does not exist, two taels of silver a month is probably not even recruitable, only those who are poor to the point of desperation would take up such hard labour.
Only those who were desperately poor would take up such a job.
One million prisoners of war, thirty years to save seventy thousand two million ten thousand taels of silver, this is the saving, the minimum cost of expenditure, and the profit brought, at least three or five times, right?
The direct economy was several hundred thousand million taels of silver, the indirect economy, for example, the rations generated, how many people were fed, and what economy did these people bring to Great Wei.
This is the indirect economy.
By some estimates, an economy of one or two million taels of silver was entirely available.
If this battle is won, Great Wei will not be ushering in prosperity, it will most likely reach its heyday in three years ah.
After all, there were still several battles to follow, especially the Battle of Chen, and after bringing down Chen, it would be no problem at all for Great Wei to set back ten years.
“Please don’t worry, Lord Xu, I will keep a close eye on it.”
Duke An understood what Xu Qingnian meant.
Xu Qingnian nodded, and then spoke, “Gentlemen, you should discuss the matter of the third battle first, and I have something to see His Majesty.”
Xu Qingnian spoke in this way.
He had been staying at the Mandarin Hall for the past few days.
To be honest, people were a bit tired.
I had to go out for a walk and also to find the empress.
The reason for looking for the empress was simple.
The Medicine King.
If it wasn’t for the Marquis of Shuyang’s harvest of a Pill King this time, Xu Qingnian had almost forgotten about himself.
He needed a Pill King if he was to refine a Sixth Grade Realm Breaking Pill.
This item was worth a fortune, and with his own abilities, he could not buy it at all, even if Zhang Ru would have poured out his family’s money, he would not be able to buy a Pill King.
Still, it was not a matter of silver or not.
Great Wei Imperial Palace.
Inside the Palace of the Nurtured Heart.
The Empress was watching the secret reports from all over the world, monitoring the va*sal kings from all over the world at all times, and whenever there was any movement, she would be the first to take action.
The only chaos at the moment is with the va*sal kings, as the Palace of Literature has been temporarily suppressed by Xu Qingnian.
The good thing is that Wei won the second battle, and it was a resounding victory, so the empress was completely relieved.
“Your Majesty, Lord Xu requests an audience.”
Zhao Wan’er’s voice rang out.
“Proclaim.”
The empress slowly put down the zither in her hand, and her beautiful eyes fell on the middle of the main hall.
Not long after, Xu Qingnian’s figure walked in.
“I, Xu Qingnian, pay my respects to Your Majesty, long live my emperor.”
Xu Qingnian bowed towards the empress.
“Aiqing, please excuse yourself.”
The empress spoke, while slightly curiously saying.
“What is your business today?”
She asked.
“I am seeking an object from Your Majesty.”
Xu Qingnian was straightforward, not so much as a euphemism, and was straightforward.
“If you have it in the palace, I will give it to you.”
The empress said so.
Who is Xu Qingnian? It is not necessary to mention the great talent of the ages, it has already been said many times, the future new saint of Great Wei, the natural general of the military department.
With the end of the Second Battle, the Empress was already considering the matter of conferring a marquis on Xu Qingnian.
Yes, a marquis.
After the Northern Expedition, the Great Wei had never again conferred a marquis.
“The Marquis of Sheyang obtained a Pill King in Tang, please forgive me, Your Majesty, I need the Pill King.”
Xu Qingnian did not babble and directly stated that he needed the Medicine King.
When this was said, there was some curiosity in the empress’ eyes, but she did not hesitate to say.
“There is a Medicine King in the palace, if you want it, I will immediately order someone to fetch it for you.”
“Or perhaps, Aiqing Xu only wants the one from Tang.”
A medicine king was an extremely precious thing for everyone in the world, but for the Great Wei Dynasty, there was still some stock of it.
It was just that what Xu Qingnian had not expected was that the empress was so generous.
To be honest, Xu Qingnian knew that the Great Wei Dynasty must have a Medicine King to renew the emperor’s life, or rather to renew the life of some important and capable ministers, and at critical moments, it could save the Great Wei from being caught in the crossfire.
It was just that the Pill King was too precious and Xu Qingnian did not have the heart to ask for it.
Now, he dared to ask for it because the Marquis of Sheyang had received one, and since he had made such a contribution to the Great Wei, it would be no problem to ask for one.
But I didn’t expect His Majesty to be so generous and direct, this is really …… It was a bit unexpected.
“Naturally the sooner the better.”
Xu Qingnian gave a reply, it was that one Pill King, Xu Qingnian didn’t care.
As long as it was a Medicine King.
“Good.”
“Someone, go to the Great Wei Hidden Treasure Pavilion and fetch the Seven Star Ruyi Pill and present it to Xu Aiqing.”
The empress spoke directly and gave the order.
“Obey the order.”
Outside the main hall, an eunuch immediately moved and went to fetch the Medicine King.
While inside the hall, the Empress looked at Xu Qingnian with some concern in her eyes and said.
“Does Aiqing Xu have something difficult to say?”
Originally, the empress would not have asked Xu Qingnian about her privacy, but now Xu Qingnian was too important to the Great Wei, and she was afraid that Xu Qingnian would get into some kind of trouble, otherwise why would she need a medicine king for good reasons?
“Your Majesty, don’t worry, I’m fine, this Medicine King, I have a great use for it.”
Xu Qingnian casually found an excuse to put it off.
It was true that a Medicine King was worth a lot of money, but when compared to his own words, everyone understood which was more important.
He did not want to say more, but the empress naturally understood, so she did not ask more questions.
Instead, the topic of conversation went to another place.
“Xu Aiqing, you have used your troops like a god, you have already killed two hurdles in a row, your battle record is outstanding, you are truly a blessing to my Great Wei.”
The empress praised from the bottom of her heart, no matter who was in command of these two battles in Wei, I’m afraid they would not be as good as Xu Qingnian.
To be honest, as an emperor, the empress’s mental expectation for the two battles was within a month.
However, Xu Qingnian was able to conquer four countries in ten days, with minimal casualties and no problems at all other than the necessary sacrifices.
But the empress’ praise did not make Xu Qingnian happy.
On the contrary, it made Xu Qingnian sigh.
“Two battles in ten days, 80,000 soldiers sacrificed, please forgive me, Your Majesty, I cannot afford to bear the blessings of Great Wei.”
Xu Qingnian was not pretending to be pretentious.
In terms of the battlefield, the Great Desolate Army of 300,000 and the Qilin Army of 900,000 had pacified the four kingdoms, winning two battles in a row and losing only 80,000 men in battle, this was indeed a great achievement.
At the smallest cost, the greatest benefit was obtained.
How can this not be considered a great victory?
So the history books are bound to have something to record about the ten days of battle.
But for the dead generals, all that converged was one sentence.
‘80,000 killed in battle, four kingdoms pacified’
Eight simple words, but 80,000 young lives.
It was precisely for this reason that Xu Qingnian was so serious that he had to ponder over any detail dozens of times, because every decision, every thought, could lead to more men dying in battle.
That saying is extremely well said.
Righteousness does not rule over money, and mercy does not rule over soldiers.
To be too merciful is indeed not suitable for commanding soldiers.
But for Xu Qingnian, it was normal for him to feel such emotions as he was commanding an army for the first time, after all, 80,000 lives
After all, 80,000 lives are not the lives of eight people.
Xu Qingnian’s words caused the Empress to fall silent.
But soon, the empress continued to speak.
“Xu Aiqing should not blame herself, the glory of a soldier’s life is to protect his family and his country.
“When this battle is over, I, too, will personally write an article to announce it to the world and pay tribute to all the generals.”
The empress said so, while Xu Qingnian also bowed towards the empress.
“Your Majesty is wise.”
Afterwards, Xu Qingnian was once again silent.
In fact, when all was said and done, it was not that Great Wei was not strong enough, but that there was not enough time.
If Wei had sufficient food production and the people lived and worked in peace and happiness, then one could truly implement a plan to strengthen the country.
How to strengthen the country?
Everything within range is true.
The artillery is a heaven-defying weapon.
Xu Qingnian knew some of the principles of artillery, and could not make artillery out of thin air, but the problem was that this was the world of immortal cultivation.
Xu Qingnian had always wanted to understand the immortal dao.
Not to cultivate the Immortal Dao, but to try to fuse the Immortal Dao into the artefacts.
For the military, making artillery.
Agriculturally, making fertiliser.
Production-wise, making national weapons.
To be bold, it is agriculture turned into industry.
And relying on one’s own abilities, it was impossible to accomplish the era of transformation.
Because it is too outrageous, Xu Qingnian’s knowledge is limited, know the principle of many things, but let Xu Qingnian engage, certainly will not engage ah.
For example, electricity, the principle of power generation Xu Qingnian knows a little, but let Xu Qingnian now create a generator, can not do it.
But remember, this world is what world?
It is the world of immortal cultivation.
This thing is a plug-in, if you make good use of it, you may be able to complete the semi-industrial transformation, and leave the rest to future generations.
It’s a grand plan! Extremely grand!
Once it is successfully implemented.
Think about it.
When the Great Wei was on its northern expedition.
While the other side’s border was claimed to be solid, with millions of troops waiting for Wei to send them to their deaths, they were complacent.
Great Wei was a hundred miles away, setting up cannons.
A round of aura cannonballs blows the city gates open.
Or when a million barbarians, riding their horses and holding their swords, rushed towards the Wei army in a murderous manner.
What would be the expression of the barbarians when a single shell was fired, carrying hundreds or thousands of barbarians with it?
Not only the barbarians, but also the Chu Yuan Dynasty and the Sudden Evil Dynasty could have had a taste of the cannon.
It is no exaggeration to say that it would not take more than a few years to really come up with such a great killing weapon and unify the mountains and rivers.
After all, the difference between hot weapons and cold weapons is completely heaven and earth, there is no need to train any martial artists or not, anyone can join the army and fight.
When the time comes, it will be a matter of words.
When the cannon goes off, there will be ten thousand taels of gold.
Xu Qingnian was looking forward to this day.
But to reach this day, not only would it take time, but it would also require an increase in national power.
How can you have the heart to research such things when the people do not have enough to eat?
Only when the people have enough to eat, when the nation is living in peace and prosperity, can we concentrate on making such war weapons.
So, after this great war, Great Wei has too much to do.
There is no way out, if you work harder when you are young, then when you are 40 or 50, you can lie at home and be a salted fish in peace.
Inside the hall.
Xu Qingnian’s thoughts were not known to the empress.
If the empress knew what was going on in Xu Qingnian’s head, she was afraid that she would be completely dumbfounded.
After all, the entire nation of Wei was now thinking about whether or not they could win this battle, while Xu Qingnian was already thinking about how to unify the mountains and rivers.
It was impossible to keep up with Xu Qingnian’s thinking.
And just at that moment.
The eunuch’s voice rang out.
“Your Majesty, the Medicine King has been fetched.”
As the eunuch spoke, at that moment the empress opened her mouth and declared him to enter the hall.
Not long after, an old eunuch walked in carrying a jade tray.
In the middle of the jade tray, there was a squared-off glazed lampshade, and in the shade, a blue and purple Medicine King emerged in Xu Qingnian’s eyes.
The Pill King had the feel of a treasure Ruyi, with a purple-blue body, with dots of light on it, and within the glazed shade, suffused with starlight, extremely beautiful.
It made people unable to eat it for a while.
“Aiqing Xu, this object is the Seven Star Ruyi Pill King, since you need it, take it.”
The empress spoke out and gifted this object directly to Xu Qingnian.
“Many thanks, Your Majesty!”
Xu Qingnian accepted the Pill King, he needed this object, so naturally there was no pretense.
“You have given so much to the Great Wei Dynasty, what is a mere Medicine King worth? If you need any more items, just have someone ask Wan’er to inform you, there is no need to come in person.”
The empress’ respect for Xu Qingnian was evident from these words.
If you want anything, you can get it yourself, no need to look for me.
But it is also normal, as long as Xu Qingnian does not covet the rivers and mountains, then the empress can give everything to Xu Qingnian, whether it is the medicine king, gold and silver, or the mansion, these things, life does not bring death, besides, Xu Qingnian also has the qualifications, worthy of the rich and beautiful clothes.
“My servant, thank you very much, Your Majesty.”
“Long live my emperor.”
With the stuff in hand, Xu Qingnian did not linger, and with the Seven Star Ruyi Pill King, Xu Qingnian simply bid farewell.
He was generous and walked towards the outside of the palace to go back to the Shouren Academy.
But secretly Xu Qingnian was still a little wary, to see if the empress had sent anyone to follow or spy on him or something.
After using his Confucian divine power, he found that there was no sign of followers or spotters.
Xu Qingnian then relaxed a little.
It seemed that he had really won the empress’s heart, oh no, the empress’s trust.
Refining the Realm-Breaking Pill.
Four kinds of herbs were needed.
Seven-leaved Merging Blood Lotus, Little Luo Fruit, Ten Thousand Year Bodhi Seed, and a Pill King.
The first three items, which Xu Qingnian had already asked Zhang Ruhui to collect, were also extremely precious, but at least they could be bought, and the price was not particularly outrageous.
The most outrageous item was the Pill King.
This time, Xu Qingnian intended to ask what was needed for the Fifth Grade Realm-Breaking Pill after he finished refining the Sixth Grade Realm-Breaking Pill.
If it was too terrifying, Xu Qingnian would not touch the Dan God Ancient Scripture for the time being.
The sixth grade of Martial Dao was similar.
At least it could suppress the demonic seeds of the supernatural arts in his body.
Now that he was in the fifth grade of Confucianism, the seventh grade of Martial Dao, and the ninth grade of Immortal Dao, and according to what Lu Ziying had said, he needed to open up nine spiritual veins, Xu Qingnian had already secured them and did not continue to cultivate towards the eighth grade for now.
What has to be said is that the Immortal Dao is still somewhat easy, which somewhat subverts the theory of phase clash as stated by Broken Evil.
But it’s just a small matter, so don’t bother with it for now.
Once he reached the sixth rank and then stabilised the battle, Xu Qingnian planned to invoke the demon seed and suppress it once more, aiming to suppress it for three to five years.
And lest he create a crisis for himself.
When he returned to the Shouren Academy, the academics were reviewing the paper.
Upon seeing Xu Qingnian, they could not help but stand up in unison and bow towards Xu Qingnian.
“Please do not bow.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, then walked into his residence and swept a glance at where his senior brother was, who was seriously studying.
The imperial examination was supposed to start, but because of the war in Great Wei, it had been temporarily delayed for some time.
But it was close at hand, and his brother was working hard to prepare for it.
As for Xu Qingnian, the imperial examinations were not very useful and he would not really take part in them this time.
He would not really take part in the examinations this time. If he took part in the examinations, no matter how well he did, he would attract controversy, so he might as well not take part and do his own thing honestly.
Inside the room.
Xu Qingnian placed the King of Pills on the table.
The remaining three ingredients had also been given to Dan Shen Gu Jing a long time ago, and now all that was missing was this one main medicine.
“Not bad, not bad, I really did not misjudge you.”
“Even the Pill King has gotten it, truly worthy of being the one that the old man had his eye on.”
“Hou Sheng, give the Pill King to old me, and come back for the Realm Breaking Pill in seven days.”
With the appearance of the Pill King, the Dan God Ancient Scripture instantly came to life and could not wait to devour the Pill King right now.
However, Xu Qingnian pressed down on the Dan God Ancient Scripture and said in a calm voice.
“Senior, the Pill King has already been obtained, but the price paid by junior is also great.”
“Before, senior promised that he would give me a Foundation Establishment Pill within the sixth grade, does it still count?”
Xu Qingnian inquired.
There was really no need for him to continue repeating his explanation of how precious the Pill King was, and simply exchanging it for a realm-breaking pellet, Xu Qingnian could not afford to part with it.
“Don’t worry, any Foundation Building Pill of the tenth to sixth grade, I can refine it out for you.”
Dan Shen Gu Jing gave an affirmative answer.
“Fine.”
“However, there is still one more thing I need to trouble senior.”
“Refine some poison pills for me.”
Upon receiving the reply, Xu Qingnian did not directly agree, but continued to ask for favours.
“Poison pills?”
Dan Shen Gu Jing became somewhat curious, but still did not speak nonsense.
“What type of poison? What are the specific effects?”
Refining poisons was not a big problem.
It just depended on what kind of poison was being refined.
“Colourless and tasteless, it can be dissolved in water, it won’t kill anyone, but it will make people weak and hard to move.”
Xu Qingnian stated his request.
But Dan Shen Gu Jing spoke in a somewhat pensive tone and said.
“You’re trying to refine the Hephaisan?”
Xu Qingnian: “…….”
God D*mn it, Huanhuan San, it’s poison, it’s poison, what do you take someone Xu for?
What kind of person am I?
The people who are chasing me are lined up from Great Wei to Sudden Evil.
“No.”
“Also, when this poison is dissolved in water, it can affect a water vein, preferably within six months.”
Xu Qingnian continued to add to the request.
The latter was silent for a moment.
Eventually giving a reply.
“This medicine is difficult to refine, two main places, it doesn’t kill, and it’s effective within six months.”
“It can make a martial artist feel powerless, just according to martial artists below the seventh grade, then the toxicity is extremely overbearing, ordinary people who drink it will definitely die.”
“However, there is a kind of Dan, ordinary people drink it, they will be weak for a long time, but they may also die, it can also effectively target martial artists, it lasts for half a year almost, do you want it?”
Dan Shen Gu Jing asked.
Xu Qingnian had made more requests and could not really find a very suitable one for a while.
“Yes!”
Xu Qingnian replied without hesitation.
“Fine, I will refine ten of these pills, enough to affect a water vein, if you want more, you will have to give the corresponding herbs.”
“Otherwise, the refining will not be possible.”
Dan Shen Gu Jing gave his reply.
“Fine, but dare I ask senior, how long will it take?”
Xu Qingnian continued to ask.
“If you are in a hurry, it will be ready in an hour, if not, it will be given to you together in seven days.”
Dan Shen Gu Jing stated a time.
“Good, in that case, junior will wait here for an hour.”
This Poison Pill, Xu Qingnian was really in a hurry.
At that moment, Dan Shen Gu Jing did not talk nonsense and swallowed the pill king directly, but the tray stayed behind.
Inside the study.
Xu Qingnian unfolded a huge map slowly.
It was a map of the Dust Realm made during the Martial Emperor’s years.
There were five continental lands, the Eastern Continent, the Southern Continent, the Western Continent, the Northern Continent and the Central Continent.
Great Wei is located in the Central Continent and occupies the centre of the land, with fertile land, excellent people and various immortal gates.
In the entire Central Continent, there are three great dynasties, the Great Wei, the Sudden Evil and the First Yuan.
The world was divided into three.
At its peak, the Great Wei was indeed able to unify the mountains and rivers of the Central Continent, but unfortunately, due to the need to recuperate the people’s livelihood and many other factors, it did not go any further.
It was not a bad idea, but the main point was that if there was more land and the people did not have enough to eat, sooner or later there would still be civil unrest and division.
This is why there was no single blow.
In the east of Wei, there was the Tusi Dynasty.
In the north of Wei, it was the Chu Yuan Dynasty.
The southern part of Wei was basically a*similated, and this war had little to do with them, but it was the south that was most affected by the rebellion of the va*sal kings.
The western part of Wei was the foreign states, and the northern barbarians were closest to the west.
This battle was in fact the Battle of Pingxi.
The purpose of the battle was to cleanse the west of the foreigners, to deter the states, and to encourage Wei’s economy to take off.
In fact, after all, Great Wei was in a civil war, nothing more than a war with its va*sal states.
So the longest battle line was only about 10,000 miles, and the various foreign states were close to each other, 300 miles, 500 miles, or at most 1,000 miles, without even border defences.
After all, it would be difficult to fight with each other, and if they did, Great Wei would regulate them.
It was also the wish of the Great Ancestor back then that there should be no border defences, for fear that these foreign nations would turn their backs on each other.
Now it would be easier for Xu Qingnian.
Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible to set up border defences and end two major wars within ten days.
Right now, the first pa*s and the second pa*s have already been defeated.
Forming a perfect logistical strategic deployment, the Great Desolate Army, the Qilin Army only needs to keep 200,000 troops to guard the four kingdoms, and there is no fear of anyone coming to sneak in.
Who dares to sneak in, the Great Wei Kingdom still has an army battalion that has not yet struck, and in times of emergency, can reach the battlefield within a day, the foreign countries dare to fight head-on?
If they dare to fight, why defend the city? Just come out and kill each other.
Therefore, the remaining 900,000 troops can advance in peace all the way to the Kingdom of Chen.
As for the army of the Son of Heaven, they can just sweep away the tribes from the west to the inside, and when the three armies converge, they can point their swords at the State of Chen.
And the other side’s strategic thinking was clear to Xu Qingnian.
The State of Chen should start arming itself up and down, and with the previous experience, it will also try to eliminate the danger by all means.
So the State of Chen hopes to have plenty of time to prepare for a truly long-lasting battle.
And in this battle, the kingdoms will inevitably do all they can to defend themselves.
So to be favourable against the State of Chen.
The third hurdle must not be dragged out.
As Xu Qingnian pondered for an hour later.
The voice of the Dan God Ancient Scripture rang out.
“The dan is refined, put it in the glazed cover, otherwise the dan poison will spread and poison all within a hundred metres.”
Dan God’s Ancient Scripture blocked the Dan Qi before spitting out ten fist-sized pills and landing them in the hood.
“Many thanks, senior.”
Xu Qingnian covered the poisonous pills.
And then said a thank you.
“No need to thank you much, come and collect the pills after seven days.”
“Right, the fifth grade realm-breaking dan, the medicinal ingredients old man with you.”
“Only three are needed, one 100,000 year old spirit medicine, one fifth grade demon king heart, and one catty of purple jade marrow.”
The latter spoke up, naming the medicinal ingredients for the Fifth Grade Realm Breaking Pill.
These three items were still all extremely precious medicinal herbs, and if it came to the value of their medicinal effects, they were not weaker than the Pill King, but if it came to their preciousness, they were not as good as the Pill King.
After all, the Pill King could renew one’s life, which essentially meant something different.
“Good, I’ll trouble senior.”
Xu Qingnian memorised these three herbs and asked the Empress back if she had any, and brought them directly if she did.
After all, he had created so much wealth for Great Wei, it was not too much to take some medicinal herbs, right?
As for suspicion or not?
Xu Qingnian was not drifting, but there was one thing in front of the empress at the moment.
Even if the empress knew that she was practicing a different art, so what?
When a person’s value, becomes great, then it no longer matters what he has done, no matter what he has done.
If one could make Great Wei truly strong.
Then even if a half-saint said that he practised a foreign art, I am afraid that all the court officials would say one thing.
Otherworldly arts? What otherworldly arts? Ah, sage, I’m blind, I can’t see.
So.
This battle of the Great Wei is not only a battle for a strong nation, a battle for national fortune.
It is even a battle for him, Xu Qingnian, to establish himself.
After this battle, his own fame, as well as public opinion, would reach its peak and he would break through to the realm of the Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth in one fell swoop.
At that time, let’s see who would still dare to come and trouble him.
A quarter of an hour later.
Xu Qingnian arrived at the court of Great Wei, inside the Hall of Wenhua.
“Marquis Yangping, I beg you to escort this to Marquis Qu Zhou, using a dragon boat to escort it with great haste, and be careful not to open the glazed cover.”
“And this letter.”
Xu Qingnian called out to a Marquis of Li at the first opportunity and asked him to deliver the poison pellet to Marquis Qu Zhou.
For the third battle, Xu Qingnian did not want to delay.
He wanted a quick battle.
“As ordered!”
Without saying a word, Marquis Yang Ping directly took the glazed cover, and then left Wenhua Hall in a flaming hurry to escort the poison pellet.
After Marquis Yang Ping had left.
Xu Qingnian continued to give new military orders.
“Marquis of Du Ning, Marquis of Qinghe, listen to the order!”
“Both of you, gather 600,000 troops from the Great Wilderness and rush to the clan at once to rendezvous with Marquis Xinwu.”
Xu Qingnian gave the order.
The five great military camps of Great Wei.
The Heavenly Son Army’s 900,000 had already marched out.
The Qilin Army’s 900,000 had also been mobilised.
The Great Desolate Army had only sent out 300,000, and now Xu Qingnian had filled them with 600,000.
That makes 2.7 million troops.
Having pacified the Fan Kingdom, Tang Kingdom, Amuta and Tuliang, and having obtained so much food, Great Wei could send the Great Desolate Army over without having to worry about logistics.
“The last general takes orders!”
Marquis of Duning, Marquis of Qinghe looked incomparably excited, and as for the other Liege Marquises, each of them looked at Xu Qingnian with bated breath.
They also wanted to go out to conquer the war.
“Marquis Maoyang, lead the Kyoto army of two hundred thousand, rush to the middle of the four kingdoms, escort the wounded back, and fill in the new recruits.”
“Two hundred and seventy thousand people for the three armies, only more and no less, understood?”
Xu Qingnian continued to give the second order.
Escort the wounded back and then fill in the gaps, making sure that the three armies had two million seven hundred thousand men to a*semble and head to Chen for the fourth battle.
“The last general takes orders.”
Marquis Maoyang said in a decisive manner.
After deploying everything, Xu Qingnian began to work around the State of Chen.
“Wait for the wounded to be escorted back.”
“Great Wei’s First Army, Second Army, rest and recuperate in the city for three days, and then set out to join the Third Army in Chen.”
“On the day of the rendezvous, set up camp a hundred miles away from Chen, a basic camp will do, no need to waste time, if the camp is attacked, withdraw within the four kingdoms at any time.”
Xu Qingnian made a plan.
After three days of rest and recuperation, set out for the State of Chen.
Whether it was the Fan Kingdom, the Tang Kingdom, Amuta, or Tuliang, these four countries were only 800 miles away from the Chen Kingdom.
It was perfectly possible to make a round trip in a day.
The encampment was only for temporary rest, so there was no need to go to any great lengths.
As far as possible, it was better to go back to the city to rest, which was safer and did not need to worry about night attacks.
“Pa*s the order to the Marquis of Qu Zhou, the Third Army of Great Wei, to settle the western tribes within three days, and on the fourth day at the latest, to join up with the two armies.”
Xu Qingnian gave the last order.
He asked the Marquis of Qu Zhou to settle the Western Realm Tribe war within three days, this was the third war, the other side was clearly playing a roundabout war, consuming you and disgusting you.
And Xu Qingnian demanded that it be settled within three days, which was a bit of an imposition.
But the civil and military officials did not say anything, Xu Qingnian must have his intentions when he said such things.
As a military order was issued.
In Kyoto, a blazing horse sped off in the direction of each country to report on the military situation.
The following day.
The western border of Great Wei.
The army of the Son of Heaven, led by the Marquis of Qu Zhou, had already arrived at the western border.
Compared to the battle of the Tombs, the battle of the Tang.
The Third Army’s war of attrition was a truly depressing one.
Inside the army camp.
The Marquis of Qu Zhou listened to his men’s reports, his brow furrowed all the time.
“Our army found a foreign tribe at three hundred miles away, a total of five thousand people, chased the enemy for a hundred miles, killed fifty, and our army suffered forty casualties.”
“Our army found a foreign tribe at one hundred and seventy miles away, a total of three thousand people, chased the enemy for seventy miles, encountered an enemy trap, our army suffered three hundred casualties and killed twenty enemy soldiers.”
A stream of intelligence rang out.
The casualties were all in the hundreds, and basically, they all found foreign tribes and then went after the enemy, either they encountered traps or they were unfamiliar with the environment and suffered all the hardships.
This also gave the Marquis of Qu Zhou an unbearable headache.
The opponent’s roundabout warfare was just too disgusting.
Instead of playing head-on with you, they relied on their familiarity with the terrain to chase me, run and chase me, and set up some traps every now and then, making it impossible for the Tien Tzu army to use their strength.
At every turn, dozens or hundreds of men were killed or wounded, and with this, thousands of soldiers died before the battle even started.
It was hard for everyone to suffer, and it was hard to hold their breath.
Especially when they heard that the First and Second Armies had been defeated one after another and had been rewarded handsomely, they felt even worse.
Although the casualties were enormous, the problem was that they had at least fought head-on, had they not? Had they at least conquered the city?
But what about themselves?
They were chasing 3,000 to 4,000 men at every turn, and even if they couldn’t catch up, they were ambushed at every turn and died in a way that made them feel uncomfortable and embarra*sed.
If they died on the battlefield, they had nothing to say.
But to die in a trap of any kind, they really didn’t like it.
At that moment, a voice rang out.
“Report!”
“An order from the imperial court!”
“Please ask the Marquis of Qu Zhou to listen to the order.”
“Pa*s on the order to the Marquis of Qu Zhou, the Third Army of Great Wei, to settle the western tribes within three days, and on the fourth day at the latest, to rendezvous with the two armies.”
As the military war order came through.
Inside the camp, the Marquis of Qu Zhou, the Marquis of Yang Du and the Marquis of Chong Ping’s faces all turned a little less than stellar.
Solving the Western Horde in three days?
How?
With what?
They don’t even want to play with you, they don’t even have a minimum of a siege.
It was so hard to find a tribe, all old and weak, and they couldn’t kill unarmed people, even if they were foreigners.
What’s even worse is that these guys have hidden all the provisions, and they don’t know where they’ve hidden them, so they can’t even take advantage of them if they want to.
But the court’s order, whether it is good or not, you have to accept it.
So the Marquis of Qu Zhou got up and accepted the order honestly.
However, just as the Marquis of Qu Zhou was having mixed feelings, the Marquis of Yangping entered the camp.
“Greetings, Marquis Qu Zhou!”
“This is a letter from Lord Xu, and this is also something Lord Xu asked me to escort to you.”
With the appearance of Marquis Yangping, the crowd was a little surprised.
And without much thought, Marquis Qu Zhou directly opened the secret letter from Lord Xu Qingnian.
The secret letter was opened.
After about a short while, a stunned look appeared in Marquis Qu Zhou’s eyes.
But the next moment, he closed the letter and put it on a candle to burn it up, and his gaze fell on the poison pills in the glazed cover.
“Marquis, what is Lord Xu saying?”
Someone inquired curiously.
But Marquis Qu Zhou did not answer, but looked to Marquis Yangping and said.
“Marquis Yangping, I haven’t seen you for a few days, I miss you very much, brother, let’s have a few drinks today before we leave.”
Wordlessly taking the poison pills, Marquis Qu Zhou carefully placed them on the table, and then had a small banquet set up to drink together to cheer up.
The latter frowned slightly, but did not say much, and after politely declining, he excused himself and left.
He had come over to escort something, and there might be business in the court, so he could not stay long.
When the other party wanted to leave, the Marquis of Qu Zhou did not stay either, and after only saying a few words of pity, he asked the other generals to escort the Marquis of Yangping away.
Once only Marquis Yang Du and Marquis Chong Ping were left in the camp.
Marquis Qu Zhou directly lifted up the poison pellet and used his true qi to speak out.
“This is a poison pellet, colourless and tasteless, it can be dissolved in water, one poison pellet can contaminate a water vein.”
“Lord Xu told us to use poison to pollute the water of the Western Realm and poison these dogs to death.”
Marquis Qu Zhou stated Xu Qingnian’s intentions.
When this was said, the two marquises smacked their lips.
“A poison pill and a water vein? Wouldn’t that be the people of the Western Realm’s foreign clan?”
“This is indeed a ruthless move, and it is very effective.”
Marquis Yangdu and Marquis Chongping spoke up separately.
“No.”
“When ordinary people drink it, they won’t necessarily die, and martial artists won’t die if they drink it, they’ll just be weak all over.”
“Even if they die, so what?”
“These foreign people, it’s not like they are my people in Great Wei, moreover, we occupied their tribes and ambushed them, but they are slow to show themselves, does it have nothing to do with these people?”
“Remember, we are fighting for Great Wei this time, we naturally do not kill innocents if we can, but if we drag down our army because of women’s kindness, it will be the people of Great Wei who will die then.”
Marquis Qu Zhou said in a stern voice.
He did not mean to kill the innocent, but war is so cruel that there is no such thing as innocence.
Women’s kindness will only harm the army.
When the barbarians invaded, did they spare the people of Great Wei?
When this was said, the Marquis of Chongping nodded, approving what the Marquis of Qu Zhou had said, while the Marquis of Yangdu also nodded after thinking about it and said no more.
“Let’s do it at night!”
“I will act alone, and you guys will guard the camp.”
Marquis Qu Zhou continued to speak.
He intended to go alone, leaving the two of them to stay behind.
“Good!”
Both of them spoke in unison.
And so it was.
It was late into the night.
No one noticed that the Marquis of Qu Zhou had disappeared.
Nor did anyone notice that there was an additional figure in the Western Region, in the various water sources.
Ten veins of water.
The Marquis of Qu Zhou was decisive, choosing the ten largest water veins, and the most crucial ones at that.
Don’t these foreigners like to fight in a roundabout way?
Fine!
Let’s see if they can continue to fight in a roundabout way this time.
Martial artists can skip their diet for ten days.
They would be wary of poison in the water, but they would never think that all the water veins were poisonous.
The Marquis of Qu Zhou believed that.
In three days.
It would be possible to sweep across the western border.
And the initial estimate.
These ten poisonous pills could poison at least a million foreigners.
And they would last for half a year.
It was exciting to think about.
And this he did not inform the other two Marquises, after all, this matter was indeed inhumane.
But Marquis Qu Zhou understood that Xu Qingnian did not just want the Third Army to sweep away the Western Realm.
He wanted the Western Realm to become a barren land, so that the scourge could be completely eradicated.
In the future, if they dare to call out again, these small tribes will not be able to survive without water when they reach the countries from the West.
No one would dare to guarantee that the water is still poisonous or not.
“Lord Xu, he really is a born soldier.”
The Marquis of Qu Zhou couldn’t help but feel emotion in his heart!
