"Second Prince, it seems Xie Bing's wheel cannons have run out of firepower." The Xiongnu soldier said with some surprise, "Perhaps they don't have as much firepower as we thought."
Aba immediately rebuked the other party for being presumptuous: "Are you dealing with ordinary Xie soldiers? Didn't you see that Lord Xie suddenly disappeared on the battlefield, making it difficult for even me to leave now?"
However, he decided to let him try. So he sent a message to Zheng Fu, claiming that Xie Bing's firepower was insufficient and that he had switched to old-style cannons. He asked Zheng Fu to send Yue troops to break out of the main city and turn the tide of the battle.
Zheng Fu didn't believe it at all, but none of the soldiers he kept in the army were of any use, and they were even abusing their power for personal gain, robbing his property in the main city everywhere.
In order to eliminate this dissident, Zheng Fu even resorted to the trick of offering himself the title of Marquis and the position of Prime Minister.
Some members of the Yue army wanted to take the opportunity to rise to power, so a fearless general led his men out of the main city. Unexpectedly, they actually made it out and were about to attack Mingbao.
As a result, cannons rained down from the sky, and dozens of shots bombarded the entire army.
When Aba learned that his charging army had been completely wiped out, he cursed, "Damn Xie Ying, playing these tricks on me!!"
Despite his outburst of profanity, he was certain that Xie Zhu was likely near Minneapolis.
Aba planned to go see Xie Lanzhi that night.
The mercenaries were keeping an eye on Aba, but Aba's attention was entirely on Xie Lanzhi, and he didn't notice them at all.
That evening, Zhang Ju heard from Xie Bing that the marshal was near Mingbao, and she planned to launch a surprise attack that night, which might break through the main city.
Zhang Ju hurriedly rushed towards the vicinity of Mingbao, but strangely, as soon as he got close to Mingbao, some of the participating soldiers would rush out to kill him. Fortunately, Zhang Ju was skilled and dodged several times, but he missed the best opportunity to reach Mingbao.
He pushed to the back and found a military camp. Before he could catch his breath, he heard the Imperial Guard say, "We've been fighting all day. Many of our brothers have been killed by the Xiongnu's firearms."
"I heard that our people have started shipping firearms here, and the location of the firearms transaction is quite secretive."
"What's so secret? The marshal has already retreated to Mingbao. I originally wanted to go in with him, but then a group of officers from the Imperial Guard came and told them to come back."
"So, I've encountered that too. I even got slapped and told to go back to base."
Why won't you let us get closer to Minneapolis?
"There's probably going to be a war somewhere."
Based on just a few sentences, Zhang Ju deduced that the marshal was in Mingbao. Perhaps the marshal had always been in Mingbao, otherwise these soldiers would not have known so clearly. It was obvious that someone was deliberately spreading the news of the marshal's whereabouts.
And it also caused him to wander around aimlessly.
Actually, Aba was also going around in circles. And it was confirmed that Xie Lanzhi was in Mingbao.
Xie Lanzhi had actually been in Mingbao the whole time. The reason she was in Mingbao was because a firearm pierced her armor, startled the horse, and threw her off, fracturing her right arm.
The doctor has now put a splint on her arm and bandaged it.
Xie Ming paced anxiously beside him: "Marshal, the news of your injury must not get out, otherwise it will affect morale."
Xie Lanzhi glanced at him: "Have you found out who has been spreading false information about me on the battlefield?"
She heard that an official from the Censorate had been looking for him, but two days had passed and he still hadn't found Mingbao.
In fact, not only Zhang Ju, but even the mercenaries and Aba were completely fooled by the information. They knew perfectly well that she was near Mingbao, but they just couldn't get close.
Anyone who gets too close will be blown away.
Xie Ming said with shame, "This humble general did not know either."
Xie Lanzhi didn't expect him to know, but she casually asked about Shi Yang's situation: "How is Shi Yang performing in the artillery battalion?"
Speaking of Shi Yang, Xie Ming was immediately amazed: "Marshal, what you're saying is incredible. Shi Yang actually built some kind of watchtower and then set up a triangular formation in a vertical line. As long as the watchtower spotted the enemy, they would immediately make hand gestures and knock on a gong a few times to make that side fire."
"He is indeed a natural-born gunner." Xie Lanzhi nodded, paying more attention to Shi Yang. It was astonishing that the ruler of the Shi Kingdom had such skill.
She then said, "Xie Ming, could you do something for me? I think it's about time."
However, with Shi Yang constantly on the battlefield, who would take care of the Shi State Mansion?
Doesn't he need to go back to preside over the Shi Kingdom's government?
The current situation within the Shi Kingdom, due to the dire circumstances of the Yue Kingdom, serves as a deterrent, maintaining a delicate balance of power and ensuring peace among all parties.
Even if Shi Yang isn't around, none of his brothers and sisters would dare to mess with him.
In addition, Shi Yang's performance in the artillery battalion was so outstanding that he had caught the attention of Qiankun and Shi Yang. While observing the battlefield situation, the two of them would occasionally look for some capable people.
Shi Yang was the first to be affected.
Even if Shi Yang is a bit mentally unstable, he seems to be an extreme devotee of Xie Zhu. At the same time, because of his cannon fire, he's suppressing Aba's opportunity to find Xie Zhu.
Seeing this, Gan said, "If we continue to drag this out, although it will be advantageous to our side, the Xie family's elite troops will be wiped out in this war."
Kun said, "The Imperial Guard is the Imperial Guard, and the Xie soldiers on the border are still dissidents. Are you sure you want to feel pity for them?"
"The master instructed that Xie Bing is an excellent soldier who can influence new recruits," Gan said. "He can help those in distress. Now that Lord Xie is injured, it is a good opportunity."
The next day, the Imperial Guards led the attack and broke through the main city. Zheng Fu led his troops to flee to Southeast Asia, but was captured by Aba Na when he passed through Zhuqing Island.
Aba took Zheng Fu hostage; he could no longer tolerate being passively beaten.
The Mohist disciples he brought had already built him a cannon, and Aba planned to attack Jiguang Island first.
Just as he decided to attack Jiguang Island, Xie Zhu was seriously injured by a stray bullet and is currently in a coma. He is not expected to survive the night.
Those who spread the news seemed to be hoping Xie Lanzhi would die immediately.
Just then, the Imperial Guard and Xie's troops suddenly retreated three miles to take a day's rest.
Aba immediately postponed the plan to massacre the island and sent people to inquire whether the news was true.
The Xiongnu report was indeed true, and Xie Bing's side was spreading rumors that Xie Zhu was staying in Mingbao. Now Mingbao was heavily guarded everywhere, so it was highly likely that Xie Zhu was there.
Aba felt that his opportunity had come.
He was just wondering who had leaked such bad news that was affecting morale?
It was actually done by mercenaries. The soldiers infiltrated Mingbao and saw the doctor come out of a room with their own eyes. Xie Ming, the general guarding Xie Zhu, was also present. So the news that Xie Zhu was injured should be true.
So the mercenaries deliberately spread the news.
Minneapolis.
Xie Lanzhi heard that news of her serious injuries had spread throughout the border region.
She fell into deep thought, never expecting that sending Xie Ming to deliberately talk to the doctor, just to put on a show for others, would actually have caught a big fish.
The news that she was seriously ill and about to die was probably caused by these mercenaries.
On the battlefield in Yue, neither side dared to make any rash moves, regardless of victory or defeat. The King of Yue still believed that Xie Lanzhi was truly going to die and hoped that Aba would launch a counterattack.
Aba slapped him across the face, reminding him, "Master Xie is cunning and deceitful; who knows if it's true?"
He also felt that Xie Zhu was injured, but not in a way that would kill him immediately. Moreover, the news of Xie Zhu's injury had spread throughout the battlefield, causing the morale of most of the soldiers to drop, which clearly indicated that the person who spread the news was deliberately trying to demoralize Xie Zhu's troops.
Upon hearing that the marshal was wounded and would soon pass away, Xie Bing had no time to think. Furthermore, orders to retreat were issued from the rear, forcing them to return to their posts while simultaneously avoiding a counterattack from the Aba cannons. This also prevented the massacre of Jiguang Island.
From this perspective, the people spreading the message were not entirely friendly.
In fact, the mercenaries had just spread the news that Xie Lanzhi was seriously injured in an attempt to demoralize the troops, and then Qiankun and the other man spread the news at the bottom level, specifically to Aba's ears, so that he would stop the attack.
Thus, the battlefield in Yue, which had been a fierce and bloody struggle, suddenly became strange. The two sides were locked in a stalemate, and the side with the upper hand stopped attacking.
The remaining Yue army dared not retaliate and began to return to their respective regions to defend, once again forming a single force.
In such a battlefield, all sides suffered huge losses, and in the end, they were pushed back to their original garrisons to preserve their fighting strength.
Gan Yukun kept a close watch on the battlefield day and night. In addition to the mercenaries, Aqina also sent another group of people to observe the battlefield, trying to find a good opportunity to wipe out Xie Ying and Aba Na!
But the battlefield now is completely beyond everyone's imagination.
When Aqina heard that the battle in Yue Kingdom had suddenly stopped because Xie Ying was seriously injured, he couldn't help but wonder, "Yue Kingdom was bound to be defeated in fifteen days. It was clearly close to the start of history, so why did it suddenly stop?"
The shaman said, "Your Majesty, there is probably someone who is more adept at controlling the overall situation than you are."
"You mean Si Xitong?" Aqina frowned. In modern times, a nineteen-year-old girl would be at most a college student. Could she have such strategic planning skills?
Aside from the fact that she's a chosen one, everything else is probably half luck.
At least in his view, Si Xitong's good luck was the key to his success. At the very least, Si Xitong was too young to possess such cunning.
The shaman said, "Perhaps you have overlooked something?"
Chapter 173 Xie Lanzhi is seriously injured
Aqina thought it wasn't impossible. If the Yue Kingdom wasn't fighting and there was no internal strife, then he wouldn't send troops to clean up the mess and take over Yue Kingdom in one fell swoop.
Because the cost of conquering Yue is too high, a small Yue is not worth worrying about. What we should really pay attention to is the upcoming historical event at sea.
This will be the most controversial battle in history. The corrupt forces of Yue and Shi colluded and raised an army of 200,000. They used the sea routes that had been secretly built over the past decade to purchase the most advanced weapons from the Kingdom of Anluo in the other hemisphere, resulting in a tragedy that killed millions of people along the coast.
Afterwards, these people let the wolf into the house. Anluo Daguo came to the Central Plains and began to occupy the mineral resources all over the Central Plains under the guise of doing business, making a profit of 3 billion taels. Then, he used his national power to forcibly purchase the seaports in various parts of the Central Plains and control most of the seaport economy for a hundred years.
Half of the profits earned by the people of the Central Plains through hard work in trade ended up in their pockets.
Anro is the strongest maritime nation in the other hemisphere. Half land and half sea, it is a superpower possessing both land and sea power. Even if Anro were renamed in modern times, it would still be a top-tier power, perhaps even holding a dominant position.
It established a historic position as the world's number one for three hundred years.
Aqina harbored a natural fear of Anro because he himself had died at the hands of the People's Army supported by Anro.
At the time, Anro supported these warlords, but later, due to an imbalance of interests, he switched his support to the People's Army, allowing the People's Army to immediately invade his territory. Other warlords likely met the same fate.
As for whether the People's Army would truly be the victor, he doubted it. The descendants of the Anro people still wanted to repeat their old tricks on their ancestors' land, and still wanted to take away the benefits they had fought for without any investment, and accumulate their living space.
The Anluo people, claiming to be the strongest superpower, are in reality nothing more than vampires. This wasn't just true of the Western Jin Dynasty; the Anluo people treated other nations the same way.
When facing Xie Lanzhi, Aqina always had a strange feeling, as if Xie Ying was from a different place than himself.
But they're all from time travel, that's for sure.
"It seems that Yue Kingdom's involvement in this mess is doomed," Aqina said. "Send men to keep a close eye on Mingbao and prevent Aba Na from contacting Xie Ying!"
The national sorcerer advised, "Perhaps we should keep an eye on that guy in New Tianjing."
"Your Majesty, Xie Ying is a thing of the past, and there is no possibility for her to survive in the future. She is beyond saving, but you still have hope." Therefore, you shouldn't focus solely on Xie Ying.
Aqina said, "As long as I find the right opportunity, I can deal with the Empress of Western Jin. You don't need to worry. Besides, I know more than her and have already gained the upper hand."
It turns out that the reason why Aba couldn't find Xie Lanzhi and even had difficulty leaving was partly due to the mercenaries.
Every time Aba was about to go out, mercenaries would secretly inform the Imperial Guard.
Meanwhile, in the new Tianjing, the people of the city were worried about Xie Lanzhi, because news of her serious injuries had already reached the capital.