Chapter 411: Chapter 43: Conquering the Border Town in One Day
The strength of the Taiping Sect was widely recognized.
But aside from strength, it was acknowledged that although the Taiping Sect had formidable defenses, unparalleled in the world, their offensive capabilities were weak.
Initially, the Taiping Sect occupied the five central provinces and, despite growing in numbers over time, still only held those territories. The battles they had engaged in only further proved their lack of capability in external warfare.
Without mentioning anything else, the two dynasties, constantly wary of each other, maintained a ready army of two million men each year, including martial artists tallying up to three or four hundred thousand.
The military strength of any one dynasty was far greater than that of the Taiping Sect.
So what did the Taiping Sect do?
They directly deployed one million of their own troops to attack the dynasties, and not only that, they split their forces in two, sending five hundred thousand each way, effectively weakening their own strength.
The internal members of the Taiping Sect remained steadfast in their faith, stepping firmly onto the battlefield even though they knew they were outwardly outmatched.
“If it weren’t for the Taiping Sect, my entire family would have perished long ago. How could I have survived until now, even becoming a martial artist? In this war, even if it means death, I must go!”
Compared to life and death, he was more eager to practice his faith.
The Taiping Sect, peace under heaven!
One million soldiers, not one stepped back.
Such conviction was unimaginable to others.
The people of the two dynasties thought them arrogant, while the people of the world simply thought them foolish.
“One million, facing four million troops, several times their own number—has the upper echelon of the Taiping Sect lost their minds?”
“It’s not just the upper echelon having lost their minds; those soldiers are the same, knowing they will die yet not mutinying.”
In the world of cultivators, self-preservation is always central.
For most, being sent on a suicidal mission is unacceptable, a common human reaction. Yet, it was precisely because this was common human behavior that they couldn’t understand why the members of the Taiping Sect could do such a thing.
Some thought it foolish, while others felt it was a pity.
“It’s a pity. I quite liked the Taiping Sect and was considering joining. Now it seems I need to reconsider carefully.”
“The rules of the Taiping Sect are indeed good, but what a pity…”
The conduct of the Taiping Sect was admired by many, and there were not a few who hesitated to join.
But given the current circumstances, no one believed that the Taiping Sect could be victorious.
“The Taiping Sect has always been peculiar, sending so many to die—could it be mind control?”
Many spiritual cultivation methods flowed from the Spirit World, and though mind control was still theoretical, it had entered the vision of many martial artists.
“Very likely. I was just about to join, fortunately, I hadn’t managed to in time,” someone said, relieved. He had previously wanted to join the Taiping Sect, but a sudden incident had delayed him, and now he felt lucky.
…
As time passed, the Taiping Army’s forces split into two, reaching the border cities of the two dynasties a half month later.
Naturally, the dynastic rulers would not station all two million troops in one place—it was a tactically unwise decision in warfare, and there were people in each key border city.
Logically speaking, with more than one possible point of entry against both dynasties, the Taiping Sect would not bring all their troops to one place.
Yet this time, the Taiping Sect, as if demented, concentrated all five hundred thousand troops in one border city, as if they were children playing house.
Not only their opponents, but even some middle and lower-ranking officers within the Taiping Army found this outrageous.
To confront two million with five hundred thousand was already an issue.
But now even basic tactics were being abandoned?
However, the quality of the Taiping Army was still very high, with only a few representatives being sent to make inquiries.
The answer from the high command was simple.
“Brothers, we absolutely will not lead you all to death. There is a reason we come here, please rest assured, this time there should be no casualties,” they explained.
Although Huangtian’s prestige within the Taiping Sect was high, he always instilled the idea that the Taiping Sect was not about one person but about everyone. Therefore, this sortie required some explanations; otherwise, the high command would not have agreed to it.
The Jade Talisman was thus known among the core high command.
“There must be a reasonable explanation; otherwise, gathering our fifty thousand troops together makes us easy targets,” they voiced their concerns.
No wonder they worried—even though guards were still adequately in place, such a concentration of troops, if encircled, would see at most thirty percent able to escape.
They could sacrifice, but not without purpose.
Daring to fight two hundred thousand with fifty thousand was one thing, but accepting such a foolish deployment was another.
The high command had guessed such concerns might arise, but luckily, they had anticipated and prepared an explanation: “This time, the army is just for show. Actually, there will be an unmatched grandmaster taking the stage, and it’s very likely the troops won’t even be needed. Rest easy, I’ll tell you the truth—the Sect Hierarch’s teacher has taken action…”
Huangtian’s prestige was high, but everyone knew of his unfathomable teacher, who had once frightened off that terrifying figure witnessed by many in the Taiping Army.
It was just that the teacher seldom interfered with worldly affairs; otherwise, the Taiping Sect would have unified long ago.
And now they were taking action?
Though skeptical, the officers departed without further disorder.
“Say what you will about the Taiping Army, but their discipline is truly strong. Facing such a situation, they remained unchaotic,” a general from the Ming Dynasty remarked.
“What does that matter? They’ll still lose. I’ve already called for troops from other cities to come. Once surrounded, the Taiping Army will be wiped out!”
“If it weren’t for the fear of accidents, our hundreds of thousands of troops might not necessarily lose.”
“Still, we should be careful. The Taiping Sect might have some tricks up their sleeve. Besides, the Taiping Army might have a Great Grandmaster within, and our Great Grandmasters haven’t arrived yet. We can’t act recklessly.”
If there’s no restraint on the Great Grandmaster, he might be able to change the course of the battle.
Therefore, they couldn’t act recklessly, lest they give away an opportunity.
“Then, let’s rely on the city walls and wait for reinforcements.”
The Qin Dynasty had the same idea; both empires were waiting for the Taiping Army to attack the city.
But after one day had passed, there were still no changes in the Taiping Army—it seemed as if they were waiting for something.
“What on earth is going on with the Taiping Army, coming but not attacking?”
“No matter, it’s better they don’t attack; the Great Grandmasters from the court are arriving!”
At this time, within the ranks of the Taiping Army.
Huangtian and Wang Lingwei were the two most powerful Spirit Cultivators, each entering one of the armies.
“Here they come!” Huangtian was facing the Ming Dynasty because the possibility of stubborn resistance was higher there. He sensed the aura of a top Great Grandmaster, “The first one is a top Great Grandmaster; the expected result should not be bad.”
Thus, when this elite Great Grandmaster arrived at the city wall, Huangtian also took the opportunity to appear.
The top Great Grandmaster coming from the Ming Dynasty was called Jiang Siyuan, a newly promoted elite Great Grandmaster, who was here to demonstrate his strength.
Just as Jiang Siyuan climbed onto the city wall to assess the situation, he saw Huangtian standing out. He was shocked internally, wondering how a “king” had appeared right at the beginning.
However, he didn’t show any fear outwardly and said, “Huangtian, hasn’t the Taiping Sect learned its lesson yet? How dare you take action against our Ming Dynasty? Don’t you claim to care for the people? What about the soldiers—are they not human?”
Huangtian was not angry and responded, “We let the facts speak for how we act. But I agree on one point, we won’t let our brothers sacrifice in vain. To be honest with you, you can’t handle our trump card, so why not surrender yourselves?”
Jiang Siyuan was stunned at these words.
“Are you serious?”
Such words seemed naive for a leader of a major force.
“Of course, the Taiping Sect never lies!”
All the generals of the Ming Dynasty were also stunned, then burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, so this is a major force’s leader? I could do it too!”
“Persuading us to surrender in a few words, does he think this is children playing house?”
“And a powerful trump card, you might as well claim your divine power has reached Great Success and you’re unrivaled!”
“Look at what you’re saying, even if divine power reached Great Success, it wouldn’t explain how the Taiping Army splits into two groups, right?” This was referring to the affair concerning the Taiping Army splitting forces.
All the generals laughed, mocking the statement. They had been fighting for so long, yet this was the first time hearing such “naive” words.
“Hahaha!”
Laughter echoed, and they felt this joke was enough to keep them laughing for an entire year.
Even Jiang Siyuan couldn’t help but crack a smile, failing to maintain the image of a superior.
But that smile soon froze!
Even the entire city wall instantly fell silent, cold sweat appearing on the foreheads of the generals out of sheer terror.
They all felt an extremely terrifying aura targeting them, seeming to suggest that the slightest movement from them could result in instant death.
As veterans, they naturally recognized this—the breath of death!
Not only that, but they also realized that not just one of them was experiencing it; all their comrades, including the top Great Grandmaster Jiang Siyuan who came to take control of the situation, felt the same.
Clearly, everyone sensed the breath of death.
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out, “I told you I have a powerful trump card, why didn’t you believe me?”
As Wang Sheng’s orders were to achieve the objective as fast as possible while ensuring its success, Huangtian didn’t waste time talking. As soon as the elite Great Grandmaster who could prove the power of the Jade Talisman arrived, he immediately used the Jade Talisman to intimidate.
Only in this way could he quickly draw out the high-ranking officers.
“Now that we can talk properly, can you tell me your decision?”
Saying this, he retracted the ready-to-strike Jade Talisman. As long as the Jade Talisman was with him, the generals from the Ming Dynasty didn’t even have a chance to speak.
Jiang Siyu looked fearful.
Originally coming here having broken through to become an elite Great Grandmaster, he intended to show off his prowess. Before he could even act, he faced such a formidable opponent.
His heart was shattered, and he couldn’t recover his senses for a long time; the other generals felt much the same.
The aura that just swept through had stifled any thoughts of resistance they might have had.
“Surrendering, huh…” As a member of the Jiang Family, Jiang Siyuan was naturally reluctant. After all, this was their Jiang Family’s territory, but—
“Surrendering is not a bad option.”
That aura, godlike in its insistence, left a mark in his heart that couldn’t be erased before his resistance could revive.
The Ming Dynasty’s border city fell in a day!
And on the side of the Qin Dynasty, the situation was much the same…