Chapter 8

One must understand that waging war is no trivial matter!

As the saying goes, before the army moves, provisions must go first.

The day before yesterday, the Emperor of the Xia Kingdom had only ordered the troops to march, and just preparing the provisions would take two to three days, followed by another three to four days to transport them.

Additionally, it is necessary to boost morale and prepare the troops for deployment. Once on the battlefield, another adjustment must be made to acclimate the soldiers to the local environment and ensure they are fully rested before the battle can commence.

All things considered, it would take no less than a week to be ready.

Yet we’ve just received word that they’ve already launched an attack!

How urgent was this strike?

“Is this matter truly so?” the Emperor of the Mo Kingdom asked anxiously.

“Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. How dare I deceive Your Majesty?” the messenger general replied urgently.

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and declared resoundingly, “There’s no time to delay. Summon an army of 300,000 immediately to deliver a crushing blow to our enemies!”

“But Your Majesty,” a general said as he bowed.

“Our 300,000 troops are scattered across the nation. It will take three to four days to gather them, and I fear that by then it will be too late!”

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom roared, “Then what other plan do you have now? The Xia Kingdom’s army is already on the offensive! Go immediately and mobilize the troops, as quickly as possible! If they reach the Capital City, all of your heads will roll!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The courtiers retreated in terror.

The Mo Kingdom’s army was being summoned to face the ferocious advance of the Xia Kingdom’s forces.

……

Meanwhile, An Lushan was leading an army of 200,000 from the Xia Kingdom, conquering cities and territories.

Since the Mo Kingdom’s 200,000 troops were buried in the iron mine, the defense along this border was severely weakened, lacking sufficient military strength and unable to fight back, allowing the Xia Kingdom’s army to capture territory continuously.

Thus, the grand army of the Xia Kingdom advanced triumphantly without pause.

In less than a day, they had captured four cities, pushing the Xia Kingdom’s border more than 50 miles to the north.

An Lushan was in high spirits: “Soldiers, let us continue our assault. If we can take 15 cities of the Mo Kingdom within three days, we will have pushed our nation’s border 200 miles to the north!”

“Yes, General!” the soldiers responded in unison.

But at this moment, one of the subordinate generals hesitated and said, “But General, we have been fighting day and night, the soldiers all need rest! Moreover, we are advancing too quickly, our supply of provisions can’t keep up…”

“This is indeed a problem, but we have no choice but to fight!”

An Lushan said with a wry smile: “Before we set out, I received His Majesty’s instructions that in this military campaign, we should strike as quickly and as far as possible, without stopping!”

“General, if I may speak out of turn…”

The subordinate general whispered, “Isn’t His Majesty being reckless? Who wages war like this?”

“I am well aware, but military orders are not to be defied,” An Lushan sighed.

As a veteran commander, how could he not know the consequences of waging war so recklessly?

Once the supply of provisions falters and the soldiers become weary, defeat in this battle is inevitable.

But having just been appointed Grand General and having just received command of the troops, his foundation was too weak, so he had no choice but to follow orders.

An Lushan pondered for a moment and then an idea struck him: “Let’s do this. We’ll divide our 200,000-strong army into two groups: one to rest and the other to continue fighting. We’ll alternate between them, back and forth! The resting group can assist with transporting provisions! With this approach, we’ll be able to fight with sustained strength!”

“At this point, that’s the only thing we can do!” the subordinate general nodded in agreement.

“Now that the defenses of Mo Kingdom are so weak, even with just an army of 100,000, we could crush them!”

An Lushan lightly tapped the 100,000 soldiers who still maintained their combat strength, raised his broadsword high, and bellowed, “Fellow soldiers, follow me into battle, now is the time to achieve glory and make your mark!”

“Yes, General!” the soldiers responded in unison.

Thus, the army of Xia Kingdom continued their campaign of conquering cities and seizing territories.

On the other hand, Mo Kingdom urgently redeployed troops and dispatched envoys to Xia Kingdom.

In the court of Xia Kingdom, the Mo Kingdom envoy, Qimu, loudly questioned, “Your Majesty of Xia Kingdom, we had already signed a treaty, and our nation paid a certain price in exchange for the iron mine! Now, you have forcefully taken it back and invaded our territory… You have gone back on your word, betrayed your promises, and failed in your duties as a ruler!”

Lin Beifan said with a slight smile, “Envoy of the Mo Kingdom, you’ve gone too far with your words! What betrayal and going back on my words? I have never done such things!”

“As for the Huazhou iron mine, I will always keep it aside for you, and you can come and take it whenever you want! As for other places, we haven’t signed any contracts, so what’s wrong with me taking them over? Haven’t you done the same?”

The envoy of the Mo Kingdom was furious!

How dare you say that you will keep the iron mine for us and that we can take it whenever we want?

You’ve invaded our territory and surrounded the iron mine; how could we possibly take it away now?

As an envoy, he had met countless people, but he had never encountered someone so shameless!

“It seems that your Xia Kingdom has no intention of withdrawing its troops?”

“Have you ever seen someone spit out the meat that’s already in their mouth?”

“Very well! That’s all there is to say!”

The envoy from the Mo Kingdom said indignantly, “Xia Kingdom Emperor, enjoy your moment of triumph for now! Soon, you will witness the overwhelming cavalry of my Mo Kingdom, which is not something you can provoke! I will take my leave!”

Lin Beifan smiled slightly: “As you wish.”

After seeing off the envoy from the Mo Kingdom, Lin Beifan’s mind turned to the Empire Sandbox.

At this point, the Empire Sandbox was no longer the same as before; it had expanded more than fifty miles to the north.

Moreover, it was still continuously growing.

Lin Beifan’s eyes shone with excitement: “I’m going to be rich!”

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