Chapter 466: Chapter 235: Starting Well but Ending Poorly
Translator: 549690339
Inside Wushan Pass.
After Lu Yuan led the troops into the city, he immediately ordered people to receive the captives in the city.
It is unknown whether the defenders of the pass intentionally surrendered or truly feared his reputation. This time, when they surrendered, they chose Lu Yuan among the more than 30,000 defenders of the Pass.
As a result, he was able to lead his troops into the city without Shangguan Ming’s knowledge on the other side of the Pass.
Of course, Lu Yuan would not be polite about such a great opportunity.
There were more than 30,000 elite Zhou soldiers in the city, a powerful force. If you add in the 20,000 captives he had previously recruited outside Fu City in Yuzhong Prefecture.
Since the surprise attack, he had recruited a total of 50,000 elite soldiers, greatly enriching his own strength.
Of course, one should not forget the nearly 10,000-strong righteous army and the remaining more than 30,000-strong militia after the successive battles. These two forces combined are a formidable force.
In a trip to Xichuan, Lu Yuan not only did not lose any of his 30,000 troops despite dozens of battles, but in fact gained nearly 100,000 more men.
This brilliant achievement is enough to be considered a great victory.
After sending people to integrate the defenders in the city and take control of the various vaults, Lu Yuan ordered the east city gate to be opened, sent people out to spread the news, and informed Shangguan Ming and others that Wushan Pass had been recovered.
So after waiting for more than an hour, Shangguan Ming, accompanied by Jihui and Qiao Kangquan, led the vanguard of the united army and hurriedly entered the official city.
After meeting, Shangguan Ming looked at Lu Yuan with an unpleasant expression: “During this surprise attack on Xichuan, the King of Changsha has made great achievements.”
In leading the troops to attack Wushan Pass this time, he ended up garrisoned outside the Pass, wasting time without any merit.
By now, the enemy he had been entangled with for several months suddenly surrendered to Lu Yuan.
The tens of thousands of Zhou soldiers in the city merely fell into the hands of the
opposing side for nothing, Which made Shangguan Ming unwilling to accept it.
As for those Zhou captives, not only was Lu Yuan eager for them, but the court was also greedy for them.
After all, the court has been fighting wars every year and has lost hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers. By now, only over 200,000 elite soldiers are left in the court.
Frankly speaking, this number is far from enough to meet the court’s normal needs.
If they rely solely on their own training, it will take at least five to six years for the young generation to grow up, given the large consumption of high-quality soldiers in the four Jiangdong districts currently controlled by the court, before they can fill the gap.
So at this time, it would be very good for the court to recruit a batch of elites from the Zhou people and directly add them to their own army.
‘It’s a pity that Lu Yuan has once again taken a step ahead and snatched the captives away.’
Shangguan Ming glanced at Lu Yuan worriedly.
As he already has a heavy military force with more than 100,000 strong soldiers, adding more elites from the Zhou people now will make him even more difficult to control in the future.
Alas, why is the court’s heart so hard to achieve its great cause?
The Wucheng Marquis could not help but sigh in his heart.
However, compared to Shangguan Ming’s worries, Jihui and Qiao Kangquan were simply delighted.
With the recovery of Wushan Pass, Xichuan Prefecture is now fully in their hands, and the court’s promised fief is finally in their possession.
By this time, all they had to do was wait for the court’s decree to arrive, and after officially handing over their territories with Lu Yuan., they would be able to formally establish their country in Xichuan.
How could they not be happy about such a great thing?
Therefore, in admiring Lu Yuan for his great contribution in recovering Xichuan, the two Grandmasters genuinely congratulated him unlike Shangguan Ming’s sarcastic praise.
“The King of Changsha has traveled thousands of miles in a surprise attack, defeating both the Zhou and Shu thieves. His great military prowess is truly admirable. I believe that when the news spreads, everyone in the world will respect and fear him.”
“Indeed, a lone army infiltrating deep behind enemy lines and a single man overcoming an entire Prefecture. Such courage is truly worthy of being called a Military God.”
Both of them did not hesitate to praise Lu Yuan.
Hearing these compliments, Lu Yuan naturally smiled and humbly accepted their praise, eager to establish a good relationship with Jihui and Qiao Kangquan.
In the future, the two would be his neighbors, and with a good relationship, it would ensure his rear would be peaceful.
As for Shangguan Ming, seeing this scene only made his worried heart heavier.
He had to change the subject so as not to choke himself with blood: “This time the King of Changsha has recovered Xichuan, and it is indeed a great achievement for the United Army. But I wonder where Li Xiong and Yuwen Chong, the thieves, have gone now?”
Hearing the question, Lu Yuan had to put aside the conversation with his two neighbors and shook his head: “I don’t know that. Previously, Li Xiong led the army to fight against me, but he never showed up during the entire process.
Later, after I defeated the troops he led, his subordinates said that he had already abandoned the army and fled before meeting with me.
When we arrived at the foot of Wushan Pass, Yuwen Chong was also like that.
I guess the two thieves might have escaped back to Zhou Country and ran to Xiangyang.”
Lu Yuan said somewhat uncertainly.
Hearing his words, Shangguan Ming, Jihui, and Qiao Kangquan looked at each other, their expressions varied.
As Lu Yuan had thought before, after he achieved the feat of making Inborn Grandmasters flee without a fight, the weight of his position had increased compared to before.
At this time, the three of them were like that.
While astonished in their hearts, they couldn’t help but pay more attention and be wary of the King of Changsha before them.
Shangguan Ming laughed sardonically, forcibly suppressing his astonishment and lamenting, “It’s a pity that the two thieves have escaped. If they return to Zhou Country, we will have to face two Inborn Grandmasters again in the future, and Xiangyang will be even harder to capture.”