Chapter 554: Cai Qiu’s Crushing Defeat—What Kind of Rebel Army Is This? |
The 554th Chapter: Caiqiu's Defeat, What Kind of Rebel Army Is This?
Caiqiu Calendar Year 300, Third Day of the First Month, First Half of the Night
"Hurry, faster, even faster, don't drag your feet!"
"Speed up the march, those at the back, catch up quickly, hurry hurry hurry!"
"You can discard all the equipment and supplies in your hands, just speed up!"
………………
North side of the Bone-Erosion Path, roughly twenty kilometers from the exit, over a hundred Caiqiu Sun Manifestation Level experts were hovering in mid-air, constantly shouting stern commands, urging the soldiers below to accelerate their marching speed.
A closer look would reveal that the marching speed of the army below was already quite fast, yet the commanding generals in the sky were still dissatisfied, relentlessly urging them with sharp voices, their faces clearly showing anxiety.
"The Xia troops are already chasing us, a hundred thousand strong. Judging by their armor, they are the most elite soldiers from the previous major battle. They are only twenty kilometers behind us. We must speed up. Once caught, our army of one hundred and fifty thousand is in danger!"
"Defeated... actually defeated. A mere two hundred and thirty thousand Xia troops could actually block the advance of our Caiqiu army... how is this possible..."
Recalling the battle that lasted nearly three hours, Cai Qiuhu's heart still couldn't settle, his mind even remaining somewhat dazed.
A mere town-level camp could engage a feudal town's army?
The strength of Great Xia was somewhat shattering his understanding!
The entire Mo'ao Chuan only had four feudal towns, not a single town-level camp. Why?
Because a town-level camp, without geographical barriers, simply had no room for survival once it appeared before a feudal town.
The minimum population requirement for a town-level camp was one hundred thousand, while a feudal town directly reached ten million; a town-level camp only needed a Sun Manifestation Level expert to hold the fort, while a feudal town required a Tribulation Body Realm expert, and top-tier feudal towns even had Zunxiang Level powerhouses!
"Where's the problem? The fourteen Beast Emperor-Level Puppets? No, those fourteen puppets didn't have much impact on the battle between the two armies; trickery was forbidden, neither army could use it, so not that either; ultimately, it's the strength of Great Xia's army, which can match our Caiqiu army. Their weapons, crossbows, armor, and pills are in no way inferior to ours, their military morale and spirit even surpass ours, and their army formations and battle tactics almost overwhelm us..."
Cai Qiuhu quickly sorted out the reasons for the defeat, his pupils filled with gloom.
He was established as the Little Fang Bo by his father Cai Qianshan early on, so he naturally had his merits. Caiqiu's southward expedition failure certainly threw his mind into disarray, but what's done is done. Thinking about it further is useless. Summarizing the reasons for the defeat and preparing for the next confrontation with Great Xia is the most crucial matter.
"Your subordinate pays respects to Little Fang Bo. Over eighty thousand rebels have already gathered at the northern exit. According to messages from various scouts, rebels from within Evergreen Valley are continuously gathering here. The situation is not looking good!"
Just as Cai Qiuhu was reflecting internally, a figure suddenly sped over from the northern sky. That person looked very anxious. Seeing him, without any pleasantries, they finished their salute and immediately clasped their hands to report the matter.
Hearing the news, a flush of crimson instantly rushed up Cai Qiuhu's cheeks. His mood, which had just calmed down, immediately began to fluctuate violently again.
"What is Cai Yunzhou doing? Useless, useless, useless! How is he governing Evergreen Valley? The Frost Ash Society is rebelling, rebelling! I will definitely strip him of his city lord position! Useless, this useless..."
Cai Yunzhou, the City Lord of Qinghua City, was a third-generation member of the Cai clan. In terms of seniority, he was Cai Qiuhu's nephew. Such harsh cursing was enough to show how much fury Cai Qiuhu currently held in his heart for this nephew.
"Little Fang Bo, a few rebels shouldn't be a big issue..."
"Not a big issue?"
Hearing the consolation from a subordinate at his flank, Cai Qiuhu immediately sneered and retorted, then continued angrily: "Evergreen Valley is a place that can't even maintain a stable supply of beast meat. How many Warmth Realm experts can it have? On their own, where would they get the ability to rebel?"
The several people around him all slightly froze upon hearing this. After bowing their heads in thought for a moment, their expressions all changed.
"Does Little Fang Bo mean the Frost Ash Society headquarters in Chencang is secretly behind this?"
"There's a high probability. As soon as we started fighting with Great Xia, Chen Tianyang immediately dispatched troops from Heyang to attack Linchu County. The people of Evergreen Valley didn't rebel earlier or later, but chose this critical moment. Think with your toes, how could it be possible without support from another feudal town?"
Everyone immediately fell into silence, and their expressions gradually turned ugly.
The Frost Ash Society was essentially the product of all the lower-class resistance within the four feudal towns of Mo'ao Chuan, but the direct cause of its formation was the internal strife within Chencang. This was also the core reason why this organization rose from Chencang.
The biggest backer of the Frost Ash Society was Chencang's Commander-in-Chief Chen Liwu. Over the years, it could develop and grow within Chencang and never be eradicated by Chu Longteng precisely because of the existence of this major patron, Chen Liwu.
And the banner raised by this rebellion in Evergreen Valley was precisely the Frost Ash Society, so it was normal for Cai Qiuhu to attribute this rebellion to Chencang's secret scheming.
After the major defeat at the southern entrance of the Bone-Erosion Path, Fang Bo Cai Qianshan originally followed the army back. But not long after they headed north, an urgent plea for reinforcements from Linchu County arrived.
It turned out that while they were fiercely engaged with the Xia army, Chen Tianyang, the City Lord of Pingyang City from Chencang, personally led one hundred and fifty thousand troops, advancing east from Heyang. In less than three hours, they captured seven major camps of Yanling Commandery, their military might directly threatening the commandery city.
It was at that moment that they saw Fang Bo Cai Qianshan's face show panic for the first time in their lives. He only ordered Cai Qiuhu to lead the army back north quickly, then left with Linchu County's Commandery Governor Cai Qiuyang and five other Tribulation Body Realm experts, flying directly towards Linchu County City.
The panic on Fang Bo's face at that time was something everyone could understand.
After all, it was an expedition into foreign territory. For Caiqiu, the recent defeat in the battle with Great Xia was more about losing face; apart from losing some soldiers, the actual damage to interests wasn't much.
But with the arrival of Chencang's army, the situation was completely different.
Not to mention that Chencang had already captured seven major camps in Linchu County and was now besieging the commandery city, just the two words "Chencang" brought pressure on Caiqiu that Great Xia simply couldn't compare to.
Chencang's ambitions, who among the three feudal towns didn't know, who wasn't aware?
If it were just ambition, it wouldn't matter much, but the key was that Chencang also had the strength!
Especially in recent decades, Chencang's military power had grown increasingly strong. Chu Longteng made fewer and fewer appearances, and his strength became harder and harder to gauge. This made the three feudal towns increasingly wary of Chencang.
No matter how strong Great Xia was, there was still Mo'ao Mountain between them. Moreover, with Great Xia's current strength, it didn't even have the qualification to make Chencang feel threatened.
Therefore, hearing that Chencang's army had arrived, Fang Bo Cai Qianshan's face only showed a moment of panic, but Cai Qiuhu and the others from Caiqiu felt genuine, intense tremors in their hearts.
The key was they couldn't figure out: Was Chencang here to raid and plunder, or to launch a full-scale war against Caiqiu?
If they intended a full-scale war, then Caiqiu would immediately have to seek aid from the two feudal towns of Wei Bo and Hecang. This was the real reason why Fang Bo Cai Qianshan had just rushed to Linchu County in such a hurry.
"There's another speculation..."
Just as everyone's minds were racing with thoughts, Cai Qiuhu spoke again.
He turned his head to look back, his expression somber: "If the rebellion in Evergreen Valley isn't Chencang's doing, but was orchestrated by Great Xia, then we're in real trouble!"
"How is that possible?"
"Great Xia, they could stir up something this big?"
"Impossible!"
………………
As soon as his words fell, several people around him immediately exclaimed it was impossible.
"I said, it's just a speculation! If this speculation holds true, and Great Xia could fight us while simultaneously creating such a big disturbance in our rear, then it proves Great Xia's infiltration into Caiqiu started very early, and we were completely unaware the entire time!"
Hearing this, the people still wore expressions full of disbelief.
To be honest, although they had initially experienced the combat power of the Xia army, most of the people present still didn't place Great Xia in a very important position. At the very least, compared to Chencang, Great Xia wasn't much.
"Little Fang Bo is overthinking it. Xia Hong was severely injured in the battle with Fang Bo and likely doesn't have the ability to fight now. If not for our army's low morale, turning around and wiping out those hundred thousand Xia troops would be no trouble at all. What's there to worry about with this bunch of rebels in Evergreen Valley?"
"We'll be out of the valley in at most half an hour. The rebels currently only have a little over eighty thousand people, the vast majority of them at the Digging Realm. Half an hour later, even if their numbers double to one hundred and sixty thousand, for our army of one hundred and fifty thousand, they'd be nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs, easily broken in an instant."
"The scouts already reported that the Xia army brought equipment and supplies. By the time we exit the Bone-Erosion Path, it will take them at least another half hour to catch up. That bunch of rebels absolutely cannot hold us for half an hour!"
……………………
That's right!
Probably the best news right now was what his father Cai Qianshan said when he left: Xia Hong was severely injured during their confrontation and wouldn't have the ability to act again for a while.
Cai Qiuhu let out a slight sigh and nodded: "Then urge the army to continue accelerating. Our army has just been defeated and shouldn't engage the Xia troops again in a short time. Quickly march to the northern exit of the Bone-Erosion Path, first clear out the rebels, then turn back to block the Xia army."
A major reason for Caiqiu's devastating defeat in the previous battle at the southern exit was that they were the attacking side. Great Xia started with 230,000 defenders, and by the time Caiqiu broke through the valley entrance for the sixth time, they had added another 150,000 Digging Realm cultivators. Regardless of cultivation levels, as the defending side, Great Xia's total troop strength had already reached 380,000.
Among the many reasons Cai Qiuhu analyzed earlier, he deliberately didn't mention the disparity in troop numbers because he disdained it. In his view, it was normal for Great Xia, with its town-level camp strength, to have a numerical advantage when fighting Caiqiu.
If Caiqiu were willing to commit 380,000 troops to fight, even if Great Xia had heaven-defying abilities, they would definitely lose!
"Accelerate the march. Reach the northern exit within a quarter of an hour..."
Cai Qiuhu slightly boosted his morale and sternly gave the order to his generals.
Upon hearing the order, the generals immediately descended closer to the army and continued urging the soldiers to march.
……………………
Just as the Caiqiu army accelerated its march.
The northern exit of the Bone-Erosion Path was already packed with people.
The valley mouth, barely a hundred meters wide, was now packed with tens of thousands of laborers, layered inside and out. Most of them wore no armor, and even what they held in their hands were only iron picks and iron shovels. A closer look would reveal that almost ninety percent of them still had a trace of confusion on their faces, clearly not understanding why they had gathered here.
Behind the laborers' ranks, inside a simple tent, Su Jing walked in quickly from outside, his expression somber. Seeing his younger sister Su Xing'er at the head, he immediately spoke in a heavy tone: "Currently, only a total of one hundred and twenty thousand people have arrived, with less than three thousand at the Warmth Realm. Those coming later are sporadic. It's estimated that at most another thirty thousand will arrive within half an hour."
Upon hearing this, Su Xing'er's expression immediately darkened.
She wasn't alone in the tent; there were over a dozen others. Those people generally looked young, the oldest appearing not yet thirty, the youngest probably just over twenty.
"The strength of this Evergreen Valley is truly a bit weak. One hundred and fifty thousand people, although the number matches Caiqiu's remnant army, there are at most just over three thousand at the Warmth Realm, and we don't have a single Sun Manifestation Level expert. How do we fight?"
Among the dozen or so people standing at the flank, a young man with sharp features directly stepped forward to speak. Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he didn't conceal the gloom between his brows at all and continued: "Don't look at me. It really can't be fought. You've all seen the strength of the rebel forces gathering from various places. Let's not talk about external means like weapons, crossbows, armor, spirit pills, etc. Army formations, tactics, battlefield discipline are out of the question. Even the commanders of each army were temporarily selected. Expecting them to follow orders promptly and absolutely is completely impossible. With these one hundred and fifty thousand people, forget blocking the exit, I'm afraid they can't even withstand a single charge from Caiqiu's remnant army..."
The young man speaking was none other than Chen Ping, the eldest son of Iron Eagle Army's Commander-in-Chief Chen Ying. And the dozen or so young people around him were all clearly Xia people, including Xiang Liang, Chen Shang, Qin Zhan, Qin Feng, Liu Ming, Hou Ning, Qin Wuxin, Liu Yu, Murong Qian, He Qiufeng, Jiang Yifan, and others.
Chen Ping was currently feeling a bit of regret.
He was originally the battalion commander of the Ninth Battalion of the Iron Eagle Army. For this northern expedition, his father Chen Ying's Iron Eagle Army was assigned to Yuwen Tao's Right Route Army. He should have been following the army on the campaign.
But before the battle, Commander-in-Chief Yuwen Tao began planning to stir up trouble in Caiqiu's rear. So, a group of personnel was selected from the army early on, sent ahead through the Bone-Erosion Path to Evergreen Valley to cooperate with the Frost Ash Society, namely the four Su siblings before them, in planning the uprising.
Thirty people were sent at the time, and Chen Ping was among them.
Since leaving Jinyang, the Right Route Army hadn't fought any major battles, taking half of Jinshan's territory without shedding blood. Precisely because of this, Chen Ping worried that after this campaign, he wouldn't gain any military merits, so he volunteered to come to Evergreen Valley.
At the beginning of the night, a Xia army scout came and told them the latest news from the south. Yuwen Tao's Right Route Army fought two beautiful battles at the Pass and Jinyang cities. Combined with Caiqiu's major defeat at the southern exit at dawn, the situation in the Southern Foothills was already completely clear.
As soon as he heard this news yesterday, Chen Ping began to regret it.
If he hadn't come here, he could have participated in all three major battles: the Pass, Jinyang, and the southern entrance.
He heard the Lord Leader was present at all three battles. To miss such a rare opportunity to show himself, how could he not regret it?
That was just one reason. The major problem before them now was even more unsolvable.
With the cooperation of these people, the laborers of Evergreen Valley successfully rose up. Su Xing'er genuinely pulled together a rebel army of two hundred thousand people.
Chen Ping was responsible for the uprising in one of the southern sections of Evergreen Valley. He pulled together a rebel force of over ten thousand people. At the time, seeing only over three hundred Warmth Realm experts among the laborers' ranks, he had already sensed something was off. But he thought it was just because the area he was responsible for was too weak, and the rebel forces in other places should be stronger.
But when he brought his force to the northern exit after nightfall and merged with the rebel forces gathered by others, he was instantly dumbfounded.
Two hundred thousand rebels, one hundred and twenty thousand currently present, with less than three thousand Warmth Realm experts combined. The rest were mainly Lumberjack Realm, with Digging Realm probably making up twenty to thirty percent.
What kind of rebel army was this?
According to the scout earlier, the strength of the Caiqiu army was extremely high. In a head-on battle, they were likely stronger than the Xia army.
Even though they just suffered a defeat, they still had a full one hundred and fifty thousand remnant troops. Relying on these one hundred and fifty thousand laborers holding iron shovels and picks to block the Caiqiu army inside the Bone-Erosion Path was simply wishful thinking.
How was that possible?
"What are you panicking about? No matter how strong Caiqiu is, what we're facing now is just a remnant army that just suffered defeat. Didn't Xiao Heng say earlier? Department Head Yuwen's army is following right behind. We don't need to block for long, just hold out for a little while until the Xia army from the rear arrives!"
Chen Ping was reprimanded. He instinctively wanted to retort, but upon looking up and seeing who reprimanded him, he immediately shut his mouth.
It was Xiang Liang!
Among the thirty-plus people Yuwen Tao sent to Evergreen Valley, Xiang Liang was the team leader. Everyone else had to follow his orders.
The Xia army scout who came to report last night was Xiao Heng.
According to him, Department Head Yuwen had already brought a hundred thousand troops to pursue Caiqiu's remnant army. If the Xia army could arrive in time, defeating Caiqiu's one hundred and fifty thousand remnant troops wouldn't be difficult.
The problem was, when would the Xia army arrive?
Could their one hundred and fifty thousand laborers hold out until the Xia army came?
Not just Chen Ping, the expressions of everyone else in the tent, whether from Great Xia or the four Su siblings, were clearly not optimistic.
"Miss Su, no need to worry. The Caiqiu army has just been defeated; their one hundred and fifty thousand are already like startled birds. We don't need to engage them head-on; we just need to find a way to delay them."
Only Xiang Liang, who had just reprimanded Chen Ping, still had a face full of fighting spirit.
Upon hearing this, the others immediately regarded him as their pillar, all turning to look at him, a slight surge of fighting spirit rising in their hearts.
"Half an hour is enough for us to plan. First, arrange the rebel army, gather all the armor and issue it to the stronger individuals. Don't the laborers have iron picks and shovels? Have them start digging several deep trenches at the valley mouth now. Find a way to divert water from the surrounding areas. If there's no water, pile coal stones and dry branches in the trenches. In short, spare no effort to block this remnant army..."