Chapter 404: Chapter 213: Deploying Troops for the Northern Expedition_2
Translator: 549690339
Both sides eventually met under the city of Baling.
With a plan in place, Lu Yuan and Shangguan Ming, who could not see eye to eye, stopped spending time together and went their separate ways.
Shangguan Ming even boarded his warship and led his troops north that very day.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, continued to stay in Yiyang City and did not rush to leave.
This was not because he was saying one thing and doing another, talking about inviting battle but actually shrinking back in fear.
The reason for Lu Yuan’s stay here was that the weapon and equipment assistance promised to him by Dan Ding Path had finally arrived after more than half a year.
On the surface of Dongting Lake outside Yiyang City, dozens of ships floated in, one by one, entering the pier.
Lu Yuan and True Person Anqiu boarded the ship, came to the cabin, lifted a large box, and then pointed at the iron armor sealed inside with waxed paper, saying, “My king, I promised 10,000 sets of iron armor, 10,000 strong crossbows, 30,000 strong bows, and 50,000 knives and spears. They have all been sent here.
Your Majesty only needs to let people take the supplies from the ship and equip them for the army.”
Lu Yuan looked at the iron armor in the middle, his heart rejoicing, and couldn’t help but touch it.
It felt cold in his hand, smooth on the armor surface, and heavy in quality. It was obviously top-notch defensive equipment.
Having this batch of weapons and armor sent over before the army set off, his chances of winning this northern expedition would be even greater.
Thinking about this, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but be joyful, “With the help of your Dao, I have nothing to worry about defeating the Zhou people.”
Upon hearing this, True Person Anqiu, who was next to him, also showed a smile, but couldn’t help but remind him, “Your Majesty, all the assistance that our sect should give has been sent. A few years have passed, shouldn’t there be some progress in your cultivation of the Taiping Dao Book?”
Dan Ding Path’s help for Lu Yuan was not for charity.
Their goal from the beginning was to have Lu Yuan practice the Taiping Dao Book and then use him to verify the modified techniques.
Essentially, they were using Lu Yuan as a guinea pig.
Now that the guinea pig had been fattened, wasn’t it time to take it out and carry out experiments?
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan looked serene and said, “True Person, don’t worry. Over there in Yangshan Prefecture, the altar for worshiping the Heavenly Pillar is almost completed, and it will be done before the end of the year. When the time comes, I will make time to go, worship the Heavenly Pillar, and then begin cultivating.”
True Person Anqiu was satisfied with this specific time and did not push any further, but smiled and said, “Your Majesty, don’t blame us, it’s just that the Taiping Dao Book is truly important to our sect’s future and we had to urge you. It’s not that we don’t trust you.”
Lu Yuan shook his head, smiling and said, “I understand. Dan Ding Path has helped me a lot, there is no need for True Person to explain further.”
True Person Anqiu smiled, “In that case, Your Majesty, hurry up and let someone transport these arms down. The army is about to set out, and the situation is dangerous, so there must be no delay.”
Lu Yuan nodded, “That’s exactly right, I’ll make arrangements here.”
Afterward, the two of them left the ship together.
Then Lu Yuan arranged for people to transport the supplies from the ship. It took a few more days to distribute all the newly arrived arms and equipment.
This time, the weapons and armor provided by Dan Ding Path were enough to arm thirty or forty thousand people.
For this northern expedition, the 100,000-strong army led by Lu Yuan consisted of 40,000 soldiers and 60,000 Miao soldiers.
This batch of military aid was just enough to meet the needs of the soldiers.
So he gave all these military supplies to his own soldiers, re-equipping them completely, and then distributed the equipment replaced by the soldiers to the Miao soldiers who only had crude weapons.
As a result, the entire 100,000-strong army had changed their weapons and armor, greatly increasing their chances of survival, and morale soared.
Lu Yuan took this opportunity to announce the army’s march to the north.
Suddenly, the 100,000-strong army marched forward, with an overwhelming momentum, shaking both heaven and earth.
Hongdao the Seventh Year, Seventh Month, Twelfth Day.
Lu Yuan led his army to Dongting Prefecture, where he joined forces with Shangguan Ming and others who had arrived earlier.
After discussions between the two armies, Lu Yuan dispatched 10,000 soldiers and 30,000 Miao soldiers, led by General Chu Wei, to cross the river. Shangguan Ming also sent 40,000 soldiers led by Yang Jing to cross the river together.
The combined forces of the two armies, totaling 70,000, crossed the Yangtze River in three days and entered Tianmen Prefecture City under the protection of the court’s navy.
With this assistance, Bai Mengyang’s forces in the city instantly increased to 100,000. The precarious situation of Tianmen Prefecture City stabilized in an instant.
Subsequently, Wuan Marquis voluntarily led his troops out of the city to fight.
He fought three battles with the Zhou people outside the city, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, eventually forcing the Zhou people to retreat from Tianmen Prefecture City and lifting the siege.
The besieged Tianmen Prefecture City was finally relieved after two years.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, both Shangguan Ming and Lu Yuan each reinforced their armies from Jiangnan with 20,000 more soldiers to aid Wuan Marquis.
The joint forces took the opportunity to launch a large-scale offensive, recovering two county towns near the prefecture city and stationed heavy troops in the cities, which were mutually reinforcing with the prefecture city.
In this way, the joint forces had three strongholds in the north of the river and finally established a foothold.
After regrouping, the Zhou people also led their remaining forces of more than 200,000 to confront the joint forces.
Small and large battles between the two sides continued every day, and the smoke of war remained unabated.
They both continued to consume each other in this manner.
While the northern region of Dongting Prefecture was in the midst of fierce fighting.
In Lingnan, Nanhai Country.
Inside the royal palace of Nanhai, rebuilt from the former emperor’s palace, Yan Wangqiu was also dealing with his own messy situation.
“Your Majesty, the court over there is urging again, saying that the war with Zhou people in the north is becoming more intense, with thousands of casualties among soldiers every day, and the troops and horses are getting more and more scarce. They ask when we will send troops to reinforce the north.”
Below, a former sect greeter elder who had now become the new dynasty’s Assistant Minister of Rites, complained to Yan Wangqiu at this moment.