Chapter 205 A Bold Plan
As she spoke, her gaze held a hint of melancholy, yet also a hidden joy.
Yes, Little Phoenix is no ordinary emperor. She is an emperor who pacifies a chaotic world. But Xie Lanzhi is not.
Xie Lanzhi was born in a peaceful world, and her thoughts and ideas were influenced by her environment, which limited her perspective.
This is like a stable server suddenly adding many more ports. A server can't handle all the ports; it can only stabilize a certain number. This might seem like a sure thing, but it's just wishful thinking on her part.
She was ultimately out of place in this world. Even if others couldn't tell, she couldn't deceive herself. Or perhaps some noticed but didn't care.
Little Phoenix, who spends every day with her, is different.
The little phoenix is like an upgraded server; it can accommodate many ports. Perhaps the upgraded server is a bit unstable at first, and the initial experience isn't great. But the functions it supports are incredibly diverse.
The emperors at the end of the Jin Dynasty needed to create chaos, then restore order, and rise to power. The inevitable result was unification!
Little Phoenix saw everything about her without reservation. Therefore, Little Phoenix understood herself very well. Sometimes, she would intentionally bring up factors that even Little Phoenix herself overlooked.
Si Xitong simply watched her quietly.
Xie Lanzhi struggled for a moment, then put her arms behind her back and turned around with the posture of an old cadre: "Since you want to withdraw Xieji, then withdraw."
“Even if Fu Feng doesn’t want to leave the army, he still has the ability to bring Xie Ji back.”
Xie Lanzhi seemed determined to give up. Suddenly, she lay down.
Si Xitong, on the contrary, had a faint smile on her lips.
"Wait for my good news."
Xie Lanzhi remained silent. In any case, it wasn't her turn to be on the battlefield yet. But it wouldn't be long. Dealing with Aqina had unknowingly become her mission.
Little Phoenix's mission is to conquer the entire chaotic world.
Soon after, an imperial order was received from Si Xitong: of the remaining 50,000 Xie clan members, 30,000 were to be evacuated immediately, and the remaining 20,000 were to proceed to the Delta region to guard the overseas territory of the Xie clan of the new Tianjing.
Xie Ji was dumbfounded after receiving the order. He repeatedly asked if His Highness was joking.
And the Marshal, why didn't she express her opinion? Even if she dotes on the mistress, does she have to go along with her in everything? This is war, not a time for playing house.
Clearly, Xie Ji viewed everything Si Xitong did in Tianjing as child's play. It couldn't compare to the real battles fought on the front lines.
Now she's starting to boss me around.
Xie Ji was immediately dissatisfied. He couldn't withdraw, and he didn't understand what the marshal meant. If it were a letter from the marshal, he could make a decision immediately.
Even if he disagreed with many of the marshal's policies, he would only tolerate them.
Xie Ji didn't want to withdraw, but he also didn't want to offend Si Xitong. So he came up with a plan: he deliberately had someone leak the summons to Li Li.
Yelü Lili was still discussing defense strategies with his generals when he suddenly received news that Xie Ji was to be transferred, and he immediately became restless.
Yelü Lili abandoned the meeting and immediately summoned Xie Ji.
Xie Ji initially feigned ignorance, indicating that he wouldn't leave. Li Li wasn't stupid; he could easily see through Xie Ji's intentions. Xie Ji didn't want to leave, but he dared not offend His Highness.
He'll have to be the one to say it!
Yelü Lili immediately wrote to Si Xitong, asking why she had been transferred back to Xieji. There was no general who knew Xieji better than her.
Changing generals at the last minute is a major taboo in military strategy.
Then, the border officially launched its second wave of attacks, with Al-Na precisely timing the start of the battle.
Li Li and Xie Ji were simply unable to spare the time. It wasn't until the next day that Al Na, having lost over a hundred men, stormed into the third sand trench, causing the initial situation to gradually turn against them.
Xie's troops, skilled in archery, suffered 300 casualties, leaving only 700. Most of the smaller troops would be killed if they dared to show themselves. Therefore, they mostly used catapults against Arna. Only a few dozen were wounded.
The Hun soldiers had exceptionally high defenses against slingshots; everyone knew to take cover in trenches.
The trenches they dug turned into their own defensive positions, and were completely turned around and used against them.
Xie Ji watched as the tide of battle turned from his increasingly disadvantageous position. He then received another private message from Si Xitong. This time, it wasn't in a commanding tone, but rather in a persuasive one.
Xie Ji found it amusing; setting aside their respective statuses, he was far older than the prince. A junior offering advice to a senior. Initially, he was dismissive.
But he couldn't avoid looking. Xie Ji reluctantly decided to just glance at it.
It would have been better if he hadn't looked. Once he did, he realized what had happened. Xie Ji picked up the letter and read it over and over again as if it were a precious treasure.
Si Xitong considered issues from Xie's perspective, both internally and externally.
"General Xie, the Xie family's future lies not in the capital, nor in Tianjing, nor in the Southern Region. It lies in the Delta. Now, the Marshal has conquered the Delta but lacks well-trained troops to garrison it."
"Looking across the world, none are more capable of fighting on both land and water than the Xie family. Neither the Xie family of Tianjing nor the Xie family of the Southern Region can compare. Only Xie Ji and his 50,000 men will be invincible warriors on the coast."
"Have you heard about the Twin Islands incident the other day?"
Xie Ji learned that Twin Islands possessed a powerful cannon capable of firing a kilometer. Since the only route for transporting goods within the region was through Weidu, and Weidu was Xie Xia's territory, going around in circles would be insufficient to address the immediate problem.
However, Twin Islands are close to Lugou Canal, and the Delta is only a hundred miles away from Lugou Canal. The Delta is the shortest distance from Lugou Canal. Therefore, the best route for the cannons on Twin Islands is from Lugou Canal to the Delta.
Furthermore, after the green-painted cannons of Twin Islands were deployed, they were escorted to the Delta by a secret agent named Ce from the Western Guard.
The delta is currently guarded by Aba Na. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Aba Na is not lacking in firearms. As long as Xie Ji goes to the delta, artillery will be Xie Ji's advantage. At that time, the Xie family can restrain Aba Na from stealing the spoils of war from Yue, and also launch a surprise attack on Luerqu to disrupt the balance of power at the rear.
Xie Ji thought the analysis made some sense. They now had large treasure ships, each capable of carrying 1,200 people. It would only take a day to travel from the First Continent to the Delta.
This is why the Huns and Xiongnu people always coveted this land. Because a day's journey by boat was equivalent to half a month's travel on land.
The world now knows how important a strategic location is.
Xie Ji quickly wavered. Especially regarding the green-painted cannons His Highness had mentioned. He wondered how powerful they were.
Si Xitong seemed to have guessed what Xie Ji was thinking. Her letter had barely arrived when the cannon fire delivered by the secret agent arrived shortly after.
The spies were able to deliver the cannons thanks to the assistance of a small country: the Kingdom of Xu. This country was located in Xuzhou, and its area was only the size of a county—quite insignificant.
Xu Guo used to fawn over Yelü Wen, but Yelü Wen ignored him. Now, Yelü Wen urgently needed manpower, so he assigned Xu Guo to transport coal from Huayin Kingdom to Luerqu.
Xu Guo gained Yelü Wen's trust after making several trips back and forth. After that, whenever Xu Guo's ship came a few times, the customs at Luerqu almost never checked it and let it pass directly. After Xu Guo became addicted to being a courier, he was noticed by a secret agent, who reported him to Si Xitong.
Si Xitong found the treaty document from Xu's previous visit to Tianjing and sent the Xu king a thousand shi of grain, five hundred pigs, and one hundred bolts of silk. The Xu king readily agreed to transport the goods without even asking what they were for.
Because Si Xitong only said that it would only need to be transported once, the envoy from Xu Kingdom delivered the cannons to the capital.
Xie Ji saw the green-painted cannon, a large cannon barrel between two wheels, its entire body covered in green, with a round muzzle that seemed bottomless and contained an incredibly powerful shell. The entire cannon platform could be described as having smooth and simple lines. Unlike the Type 94 wheeled cannon in Tianjing, it was a size smaller, and could be pushed by one person.
When Xie Ji touched it, the cannon barrel felt as smooth as a jade pendant; he could tell it was a top-quality item just by touching it.
"Let's use it to practice against the Northern Xiongnu today!"
The accompanying spy reminded Xie Ji: "General, there are only five cannonballs. You must use them with caution."
The spy also explained to him that the person accompanying him was of a different race, with the appearance of an Anro. The spy introduced him to Xie Ji: "This is Smith, the gunner from Twin Island, a confidant of Marilyn Left, the Left Secretary."
Smith bowed deeply to Xie Ji: "Greetings, Your Excellency General."
Although Xie Ji disliked outsiders, he could create things that were clearly masterpieces, which was truly admirable. Xie Ji was inherently drawn to strength, so he naturally wouldn't underestimate Smith because he was an outsider.
Soon the green-painted cannons were deployed to the Red River border.
As the Huns charged the fourth trench again, a green-painted cannonball landed precisely behind them. A deafening boom followed. Then another shot struck the Huns who were charging too fast and clustered together.
The blast sent sand and gravel flying half a foot high, and the smoke condensed but quickly dissipated.
When the smoke cleared, the ground was covered with the remains of the Hungarian soldiers who had been killed in the explosion.
The Hun soldiers in front stopped. The captain in charge looked back and saw hundreds of corpses lying across the road. Some people had been blown up even though they were hiding behind rocks.
The top of the stone was flattened. The tank shield was blasted bent, and the floorboards became wedged between the wheels.
The Hungarian captain's pupils constricted immediately: "Retreat! Retreat now!!"
Arnaud was still watching the sun from the rear, eagerly anticipating nightfall. Suddenly, his soldiers hastily retreated to the rear.
He immediately stood up: "What happened!?"
The captain reported the situation in detail, including the power of the unidentified cannon. Arnaud immediately became uneasy. They currently held the upper hand, but now the sudden appearance of this unidentified cannon had shattered that advantage. And their weapon was in enemy hands. He was very worried.
“Send another wave of men to attack and test their artillery range,” Al-Na said. “Also, report to the King and have him send someone to investigate.”
When the Xiongnu attacked again, they followed the same route. However, this time they didn't encounter the bombardment of the green-painted cannons, but instead ran into a light cavalry unit of the Xiongnu. Seeing that this group was unarmed, the Xiongnu soldiers immediately rushed forward and slaughtered them.
Originally intended as a test, it was slaughtered before it could even discover the mysterious cannon.
Arnaud was furious. He was certain the enemy was short of ammunition. Otherwise, the intelligence would have included the existence of the green-painted cannons, and their informants in the first division might not have known about them.
The only possibility is that even Li Li didn't know about this cannon!
Arna sent men to attack again, but this attack was very unsuccessful and they could not capture the Fourth Sand Fortress. The Fourth Sand Fortress was like it was auto-aimed; whenever any Hunnic soldier tried to cross it, the cannons would accurately bombard it.
The bombs blew the Xiongnu soldiers so badly they dared not cross the road again. This road also became a path to the underworld.
Chapter 206 Si Qi Tong gives up
When Yelü Lili heard the battle report, he went to Xie Ji's main camp to find him. Xie Ji was still squatting in his tent, carefully wiping the cannon barrels with a clean white cloth.
He looked at it as if it were his own wife.
Xie Feng and Xie Fengling looked at him with strange expressions.
When Li Li entered the tent and saw this scene, he was also a little stunned. Xie Ji even hugged the cannon barrel and kissed it. After kissing it, he opened his mouth in surprise and exclaimed, "This cannon barrel dissipates heat really quickly!"
It was very hot to the touch before, but it cooled down in less than half an hour.
Li Li stood inside the tent, suddenly fixing his gaze on the cannon: "General Xie."
Xie Ji then noticed that the Crown Prince had arrived. He quickly introduced the cannon to him, explaining that it could fire at a distance of one thousand meters and that its shells were extremely powerful.
Li Li heard that the recent advantage was due to the use of green-painted cannons. He wanted to ask more questions, but Xie Ji didn't answer. Instead, he took the initiative to discuss with him sending 30,000 of Xie's 50,000 troops down to the Delta to keep an eye on Luerqu.
Li Li initially wanted to persuade Xie Ji that it would be best to keep the man in Yi. But when he heard that it was Si Xitong who gave the order, he immediately fell silent.
The more attention this situation receives, the better. His Highness not only needs to withdraw his troops, but also send them to the Delta.
If he remembered correctly, the delta is now guarded by the surrendered Aba Na.
Is the withdrawal of troops to the delta a sign that something bad is about to happen at Luerqu?