Chapter 588: The Seven Prefectures of Great Xia — The Xia Envoy Hasn’t Come; Did They Lose Their Nerve? |
Year 13 of Great Xia, June 10th
Southern Foothills of Mo'ao Mountain, Shuobei Commandery, Dongchuan City
With the fall of Beishuo Town City to the Xia troops at the end of last year, the Lord Leader Yang Zun personally slain by Xia Hong, and the entire Yang Clan executed and their heads displayed as a warning, the title of Beishuo Town ceased to exist from that moment on, becoming completely a thing of the past.
On March 5th of this year, after Great Xia and Caiqiu formally signed a ceasefire agreement in Guangning City, Lord Leader Xia Hong issued a notification the very next day establishing commanderies.
Ever since the beginning of the year when Chencang's hundred-thousand-strong army marched south and stationed itself in Dongchuan City, and the Xia troops fought three battles against Caiqiu after advancing north from the Bone-Erosion Path, the situation of the Four Feudatories of Mo'ao Chuan spread like wildfire across the Southern Foothills region and was no longer any secret.
As one could imagine, with the Southern Foothills region being completely unified by Great Xia at the beginning of the year, the former Beishuo people, Wuchuan people, Yangju people... had all now become Xia people. Anyone with a clean background and some capability had also gradually relocated to Xia City to live. Asking around, one could learn everything.
"Great Xia, with Xia City as its core, has established seven major commandery administrations across its entire territory: Longyou, Yingbei, Hongshui, Hedong, Shuiyang, Jinchuan, and Shuobei."
Dongchuan City, the former Great Xia Departmental Office, now the main hall of Chencang's field headquarters.
Commander-in-Chief Chu Tianhe sat at the head seat. Over forty armored generals stood in two rows below, eyes fixed straight ahead. In the middle of the hall, a middle-aged man dressed in black robes and wearing a yellow *qiguan* headdress was pointing at a rough, simplified map of Great Xia, speaking eloquently.
The markings on the map should be fairly clear. Please look:
Longyou Commandery is that large tract of territory west of the Twin Dragon Mountain cliff face, with a total area of approximately 13,000 square kilometers. The commandery seat is Longshan City, with seven additional town-level outposts and over thirty village-level outposts.
Yingbei Commandery is this east-west oriented narrow strip of land north of the Ying River, plus a large section of Redwood Ridge, with a total area of approximately 7,500 square kilometers. The commandery seat is Wuyuan City, with three town-level outposts and over thirty village-level outposts.
Hongshui Commandery, starting from Hongmen City, extends eastward to encompass parts of the former Chuishan and Jiangxia towns, with a total area of 9,200 square kilometers. The commandery seat is Hongmen City itself, with six town-level outposts and several village-level outposts.
Hedong Commandery, its main body being the former territory of Bashang Town, plus part of Jiangxia Town's territory, and this large section bordering Mo'ao Mountain, has a total area of approximately 12,000 square kilometers. The commandery seat is Bashang City. The original Jiangxia Town City is retained, under the direct jurisdiction of Xia City's Eight Departments, with twelve town-level outposts and over forty village-level outposts.
Yang Commandery, as the name suggests, is formed by merging the majority of the territories of Chuishan and Yangju towns, with a total area of over 8,500 square kilometers. The commandery seat is Chuishan City, which was the original Shuishan Town City. The original Yangju Town City is retained but has now been renamed Yangxia and is under the direct jurisdiction of Xia City.
Jinchuan Commandery is the same, formed by merging the majority of the territories of Jinshan and Wuchuan towns, with a total area of 16,000 square kilometers. It is currently the largest commandery in Great Xia by area. The commandery seat is Jinshan City. Wuchuan Town City is retained and, like the previously mentioned Jiangxia and Yangxia, is under the direct jurisdiction of Xia City.
The last one is Shuobei Commandery. Its main body is the former territory of Beishuo Town, but includes part of Wuchuan's territory, and also... this northern section. The total area is approximately 14,000 square kilometers. The commandery seat is the former Beishuo Town City, which has now been renamed Linchuan City."
As an advisor to the Heyang Commandery Administrative Headquarters, Fang Tianqing was undoubtedly competent. His lord, Chu Tianming, was currently following Fang Bo on the campaign against Caiqiu. He had been left behind to cooperate with Chu Tianhe in handling Southern Foothills affairs.
At the end of last year, Great Xia's vigorous northern expedition shattered the schemes of both Chencang and Caiqiu to extend their influence into the Southern Foothills. Now that the Southern Foothills were unified, the so-called affairs ultimately boiled down to matters concerning Great Xia.
With Yang Zun killed, the Yang Clan exterminated, and Beishuo Town City changing hands, it could be said that Chencang's hand reaching into the Southern Foothills region had been severed.
However, what kind of hero was Fang Bo?
This was a paramount ruler who aimed to unify Mo'ao Chuan, elevate Chencang to the status of a state, an unprecedented ambition. How could he possibly give up on that vast stretch of fertile territory in the Southern Foothills?
Regardless of whether there was the matter of Chu Tianming accepting the test, Chencang would dispatch a large army south to confront Great Xia head-on. Of this, Fang Tianqing could be one hundred percent certain.
What troubled him most at the moment was that his lord, Chu Tianming, had clearly won this time, yet the coveted position of Little Fang Bo seemed to be growing increasingly distant!
"Tianming, since you have your heart set on the Southern Foothills region, then proceed according to your plans! All military funds and provisions will be provided by your Heyang Commandery. I will not interfere with the specifics of how you contend with Caiqiu and Great Xia. I only demand one thing: do not let Chencang suffer losses. How about that?"
These words came from Fang Bo's own mouth. Fang Tianqing had only heard them from his lord Chu Tianming at the beginning of the year. Upon first hearing Fang Bo's words, while his heart was filled with indignation, he naturally also sensed a strong undercurrent of crisis.
The overall strength displayed by Great Xia throughout the process of destroying Beishuo and battling Caiqiu was only a hair's breadth away from that of a feudal town. To expect his lord Chu Tianming, relying solely on the resources of Heyang Commandery, to compete with Great Xia for supremacy, and yet not let Chencang suffer losses—how was that even conceivable?
No wonder the position of Little Fang Bo had been dragged out for so many years, and why the suppression from the town's administrative headquarters against Chu Tianming had increased in recent years. Fang Bo indeed had the intention to change the heir!
As an advisor to the Heyang Administrative Headquarters, sharing glory and disgrace with his lord Chu Tianming, Fang Tianqing, while worried, also immediately devised a countermeasure.
Relying solely on the manpower and material resources of Heyang Commandery to deal with Great Xia was impossible. Therefore, to pass Fang Bo's test and contend for the Little Fang Bo position, one must take an alternative path, feinting in one direction while attacking in another. On the surface, dispatch a hundred-thousand-strong army south through the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor to attack Great Xia; secretly, gather Heyang's elite forces to advance west and actually attack Caiqiu. This was the response strategy he planned for Chu Tianming.
Looking back now, his stratagem could be considered extremely brilliant.
At the beginning of the year, he entered the Xia camp alone, persuaded Great Xia's Department Chancellor Xia Chuan, and took Dongchuan City without shedding a single drop of blood.
If this achievement was insignificant to Chencang, then the Heyang elite's surprise attack on Caiqiu, capturing half of Linchu's territory in a few days, subsequently breaking through Linchu County City, taking the entire Linchu County by March, and now spreading the flames of war to Caiqiu's Baishui Commandery—this record could absolutely be called stunning.
Now, who in the entire Chencang wasn't stirred up by this?
His lord Chu Tianming's position as Little Fang Bo was basically already set in stone.
Yet, the more this was the case, the more Fang Tianqing's heart harbored doubts.
The reason was simple. In March, when Chencang swallowed up a whole commandery of Caiqiu's territory, the intensity of the war between the two feudatories noticeably decreased somewhat. The reason was that Chencang shifted to a defensive posture, while Caiqiu, having formally signed a ceasefire agreement with Great Xia, began a fierce counterattack, trying to recapture Linchu.
Although there were no signs of the war subsiding, the higher-ups had also relaxed considerably. Logically, it should be time for Fang Bo to fulfill his promise.
However, three months had passed since then, and Fang Bo still hadn't mentioned it.
At first, Fang Tianqing thought he was being a bit impatient. After all, establishing an heir was a major event, and with Chencang currently at the peak of its influence among the Four Feudatories, it naturally required serious treatment. It was normal for Fang Bo to delay a bit.
But as time dragged on longer and longer, Fang Tianqing gradually came to a realization.
The merit his lord had achieved this time seemed a bit too great. Not to mention it being Fang Bo's test, currently, Chu Tianming, the great prince of Heyang, was simply too prominent in Chencang. Fang Bo's other four sons couldn't compare at all.
The calls for Fang Bo to appoint him as Little Fang Bo grew increasingly fervent. Voices emerged from the administrative headquarters, other commanderies within the feudatory, and even the military. This was starting to touch a taboo.
It wasn't that it threatened Fang Bo's position, but such frenzied and intense clamoring clearly put Fang Bo in a bind, making it seem as if the Little Fang Bo position could only be given to his eldest son, Chu Tianming.
What kind of person was Fang Bo? How could he be coerced like this?
After coming to this realization, Fang Tianqing keenly detected that someone was stirring up trouble!
"Most likely it's Yanling Commandery behind this. Chu Tianxu is busy with reform and system changes within his commandery, yet he still managed to spare the effort to pull off such a move... I underestimated him."
Setting aside Fang Tianqing's internal speculations, clever as he considered himself, he wasn't foolish enough to think he could influence Fang Bo Chu Longteng's thoughts. Therefore, regarding matters on Fang Bo's side, he couldn't think of a countermeasure for now. He could only advise his lord Chu Tianming to wait patiently, honestly follow Fang Bo in campaigning against Caiqiu. As long as the achievements were solid, even if Fang Bo was unwilling, the Little Fang Bo position would ultimately have to be his.
As for himself, of course, he would cooperate with Chu Tianhe to handle affairs on the Southern Foothills side properly.
Although Great Xia had not formally established itself as a feudatory, it possessed the substance of one.
From Great Xia's northern expedition at the end of last year to now, this game of chess with Chencang, Caiqiu, and Great Xia as the main players was actually nearing its end.
Although Fang Tianqing was arrogant, he had to admit that, up to this point, the biggest winner was not Chencang, but Great Xia.
With one northern expedition, Great Xia not only swallowed up the five northern towns but also uprooted the covert hands planted by the two major feudatories in the Southern Foothills region. It even won all three battles against Caiqiu and, taking advantage of Caiqiu being tied up in the war with Chencang, advanced north from the Bone-Erosion Path and occupied half of Evergreen Valley.
Fame and tangible benefits—they had reaped a full and overflowing harvest.
If not for Chencang's hundred-thousand-strong army marching south and occupying Dongchuan, driving another wedge into the Southern Foothills region, the current situation would be nearly perfect for Great Xia.
Fang Tianqing could even imagine that if Chencang's hundred-thousand-strong army weren't stationed in Dongchuan City, after signing the ceasefire agreement and shaking hands with Caiqiu, Great Xia might even lend Caiqiu a hand.
This was almost unacceptable for Chencang.
Opening war on two fronts, simultaneously dealing with two feudatory-level forces—it wasn't that Chencang lacked the strength. The problem was that behind these two, there were two others.
What Chencang feared most now was an alliance between the three feudatories and Great Xia, making four.
The three feudatories each had their own ulterior motives, and Great Xia, newly ascended, temporarily lacked the strength to intervene in Mo'ao Chuan affairs. The hope of a four-party alliance wasn't great. But with many things, one feared the beginning.
Hecang and Wei Bo were also supporting Caiqiu, but the two sides shouted slogans thunderously while their armies remained motionless. At most, Li Gangfeng made an appearance at the beginning of the year, and that was because Cai Qianshan was nearly killed.
Great Xia's flexibility made Fang Tianqing somewhat apprehensive.
Who could have thought that at the beginning of the year, they were locked in fierce battle with Caiqiu, with both sides committing hundreds of thousands of troops in total? There were even rumors that Great Xia had beheaded tens of thousands and captured over a hundred thousand.
Then, in March, Great Xia signed a ceasefire agreement with Caiqiu and even returned over a hundred thousand prisoners of war to Caiqiu. Although it was compensated, could a bit of silver compare to these Warmth Realm elite soldiers?
In April, when Chencang shifted to a defensive posture, it was partly due to the administrative headquarters' initiative, but on the other hand, it was also related to Caiqiu's sudden increase in troops and soaring morale.
Thus, Great Xia's intentions also became basically clear.
Evidently, regarding the war between the two feudatories in Mo'ao Chuan, Great Xia also knew. They were unwilling to play the wedding dressmaker for Chencang, hence they ceased hostilities and established friendly relations with Caiqiu, returning all the prisoners of war.
And this was only Great Xia's intention in early March.
In March, less than a month after Great Xia and Caiqiu signed the ceasefire agreement, on April 9th, they actually sent an envoy to Dongchuan City.
Two words: withdraw troops.
"The entire Southern Foothills region belongs to Great Xia. Dongchuan City is a city Great Xia painstakingly built over several years and does not belong to Chencang. Chencang is ordered to withdraw north of Danxue Peak within one month."
The notification from Great Xia was domineering to the point of being somewhat shocking.
Chu Tianhe, who had remained in Dongchuan City and been promoted to Commander-in-Chief, flew into a rage on the spot and nearly beheaded the Xia envoy named Zhao Long. It was only due to Fang Tianqing's strenuous dissuasion that he didn't take action.
How could Chencang possibly withdraw its troops?
The Nine-Bend Blood Corridor was an area even more difficult to pass through than the Bone-Erosion Path. Once Chencang withdrew, if Great Xia simply stationed an army to watch the southern exit of the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor, north of Danxue Peak, it would be extremely difficult for Chencang to march south from here again in the future.
Therefore, without the slightest surprise, by the end of April, Chencang's army had not moved an inch.
And upon learning that the Xia troops also showed no unusual movements, Chu Tianhe became even more dismissive, feeling that Great Xia was merely bluffing and that Xia Hong simply didn't have the guts to engage Chencang in a direct, all-out war.
On May 9th, Great Xia's second notification arrived.
It was the same wording: withdraw troops within one month. No harsh threats. The Xia envoy who came was still that Zhao Long.
Chu Tianhe didn't even see him this time, directly having his subordinate generals send Zhao Long away.
And today was June 9th.
Fang Tianqing, currently in the great hall, appeared to be discussing Great Xia's newly implemented commandery establishment measures with Commander-in-Chief Chu Tianhe and the assembled generals. In reality, he wanted to see if Great Xia would send a third wave of envoys today.
However, it was almost dark now, and still no one had come.
Barring any surprises, they probably weren't coming.
Fang Tianqing felt slightly more at ease. He glanced slightly at the Chu Tianhe at the head and the generals on both sides. Seeing they still looked dismissive after listening, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Hmph! Imitating the Four Feudatories by establishing commanderies, parroting without understanding, overestimating their own capabilities. There's no need to even use our Chencang for comparison. Among the other three feudatories of Mo'ao Chuan, whenever a commandery is established, its area must be over 20,000 square kilometers. Great Xia's seven commanderies, the largest is only 16,000, the smallest a mere 7,500. Aren't they afraid of becoming a laughingstock when word gets out?"
"A petty feudatory, only able to throw its weight around in a small place like the Southern Foothills. What bullshit seven commanderies? Once Fang Bo sweeps away Caiqiu and turns his army south, the entire Southern Foothills region will become Chencang territory!"
"Although Great Xia is a minor feudatory, its territorial domain is quite substantial. Adding up the seven commanderies roughly totals about 80,000 square kilometers. The areas along the Southern Foothills line of Mo'ao Mountain, the entire Beining Mountain region, the entire Ying River shoreline, Redwood Ridge, Arrow Bamboo Forest, and over ten other resource zones... their value is also not insignificant..."
"Soon enough, they'll all be meat in Chencang's bowl!"
"Hahahahaha..."
The generals in the hall roared with laughter. Upon hearing the last few sentences, their gazes all turned to the Southern Foothills simplified map in front of Fang Tianqing, their expressions clearly becoming excited.
Territorial expansion, increase in resource zones—the ultimate benefits would, after all, fall to these high-ranking feudatory officials. Naturally, they were excited.
However, seeing the generals' reactions, Fang Tianqing's brows immediately knitted tightly together. After pondering for a moment, he said gravely, "It seems all of you regard Great Xia as meat on the chopping block. I, Fang, have only mentioned the territory so far, not yet touched upon Great Xia's overall strength. Gentlemen, perhaps you should continue listening..."
Heyang was the only one among Chencang's five commanderies that had established an Administrative Headquarters. So-called 'establishing an Administrative Headquarters' meant all organizational structures followed the specifications of the main administrative headquarters. Not only did it have advisors leading governance, commanding six departments, but also had a Military Commander leading troops. The money, grain, and materials produced by the commandery, aside from the portion that had to be submitted to the main administrative headquarters, Commandery Governor Chu Tianming had the right to allocate autonomously, essentially equivalent to an independent town-level camp.
Fang Tianqing held immense power. As early as when Chencang's army stationed in Dongchuan City, he had dispatched a large number of clandestine operatives to infiltrate various places in Great Xia to gather intelligence. Now, after half a year, what he knew naturally exceeded what everyone present was aware of.
"I just introduced Great Xia's three-tier system of city, town, and village, plus the newly established seven-commandery structure. According to confirmed intelligence, Great Xia's entire territory, excluding the capital, governs a total of 372 outposts. These are: 7 major commandery seats, 17 large cities, 95 towns, and 253 villages.
After incorporating the five northern towns into its domain, Great Xia dispersed the original populations of the five towns to fill various outposts within its territory. Those with clean backgrounds and cultivation to rely on were approved to relocate to Xia City. Currently, the total population within its territory, according to conservative intelligence estimates, is no less than 16 million.
16 million!
Hearing this number, not to mention the generals in the hall, even Chu Tianhe at the head of the hall found it hard to remain seated. But he managed to maintain his composure, only a flicker of astonishment passing through his pupils before he spoke gravely, "16 million is already nearly half of Chencang's registered population. It seems this time, Great Xia really did profit greatly!"
Fang Tianqing nodded and continued, "Although Great Xia's population is large, its rise was after all too recent. The cultivation levels of its population are uneven. Although I lack precise data, based on the situation reports from various cities sent back by those operatives, I can roughly estimate that Great Xia's current total Warmth Realm population should not exceed 600,000. Moreover, within these 600,000, over forty percent are newly taken in from the five northern towns, and among those, eighty percent are surrendered soldiers."
Newly taken in, and eighty percent surrendered soldiers—then Great Xia's true core base was only about 360,000. Further subtracting the essential forces needed to maintain normal operation of the territory, the military strength that could be committed to war was at most a little over 200,000, stretching it would not exceed 300,000.
"Thanks to Advisor Fang, we took this Dongchuan City without shedding blood. If we hadn't garrisoned here and had to engage the Xia troops normally, relying on a hundred-thousand-strong army to be inserted into the Southern Foothills region probably wouldn't have been so easy!"
"Hahahahaha..."
As soon as Chu Tianhe spoke, the generals in the hall burst into loud laughter.
"The Commandery Governor flatters me. This subordinate merely borrowed authority from the tiger's might! Ultimately, it relied on Fang Bo's and our Chencang's immense prestige. Otherwise, how could Xia Chuan have obediently handed over such a fortified city to us?"
Although Fang Tianqing's words were self-deprecating, the corner of his eye clearly revealed a trace of a smug smile. Evidently, he was quite proud of his achievement last year of taking Dongchuan City without bloodshed.
This achievement was indeed significant!
Especially after garrisoning Dongchuan City and discovering the incredibly terrifying resources and effort Great Xia had invested in building this city, Fang Tianqing was even more excited.
Dongchuan City measured fifteen kilometers in both length and width. Its four walls were twenty meters high and eight meters thick, all constructed from pentagonal iron piles forged from Ten-fold Forged Iron. Such a mighty fortress, plus their hundred-thousand-strong army—never mind that Great Xia's available troops numbered less than 300,000—even if Great Xia pulled all 600,000 Warmth Realm individuals from within its territory, they were confident they could hold out for several months.
Moreover, if the Xia troops attacked the city without proper tactics, allowing them to find some openings, they might even be able to counterattack.
Besides these, the most crucial point was that capturing this city cost Chencang nothing. This was what Fang Tianqing was truly most proud of.
Since taking Dongchuan City at the beginning of the year, his, Fang Tianqing's, reputation of 'one word can make ten thousand troops retreat' had resounded throughout Chencang. Now, not only the higher-ups, but even ordinary Chencang commoners knew of it.
How could Fang Tianqing not be proud?
However, one still shouldn't be too...
Fang Tianqing shook his head, suppressing the restlessness in his heart, calming himself first. Then, looking at the dismissive expressions on the faces of the generals in the hall, his brows furrowed slightly again. He continued addressing Chu Tianhe at the head, "Great Xia's overall strength, currently seen, indeed has a not insignificant gap compared to our Chencang. But Commandery Governor and all you generals, do not forget that the ruler of Great Xia, Xia Hong, possesses the ability to manipulate Beast Emperor Puppets..."
Hearing this, Chu Tianhe and the generals in the hall immediately wiped the smiles from their faces, replacing them with looks of gravity.
This was probably their most concerning problem at present!
With Xia Hong's capability, if he spared no cost and was determined to reclaim Dongchuan City, then unless Fang Bo personally came, they truly couldn't hold them off with their current forces.
And Fang Bo currently had no means to come personally. Caiqiu's fierce counterattack was still ongoing, and Wei Bo and Hecang were watching covetously from the shadows. Fang Bo was in Linchu County and simply couldn't move.
However...
Chu Tianhe looked towards the hall entrance, his tightly locked brows relaxing slightly.
Today was June 9th, night was about to fall, and the Xia envoy still hadn't arrived. That meant Great Xia hadn't sent anyone.
In that case, the previous two so-called notifications were clearly just Great Xia's bluff. They had only ceased hostilities with Caiqiu for three months; where did they get the nerve to open war with Chencang?
The war between the two feudatories in Mo'ao Chuan was no secret. Xia Hong and Great Xia's higher-ups most likely knew about it. Even Caiqiu had lost a commandery of territory; what made Great Xia dare to snatch a prize from the tiger's mouth from Chencang?
Moreover, it was just one Dongchuan City. Great Xia simply didn't...
"Commandery Governor, urgent military report!"
Urgent military report?
"Come in quickly! What urgent military report?"
Chu Tianhe was directly stunned. Fang Tianqing below reacted a bit faster than him, directly overstepping his authority to speak first, telling the person outside to enter.
The one who entered was a middle-aged man dressed in plain grayish-white clothes—the attire of Chencang army forward scouts. Everyone in the hall understood immediately upon seeing him.
The middle-aged man's expression was unusually anxious. Entering, he knelt and saluted while rapidly reporting, "Reporting, Commandery Governor! The 150,000 Xia troops from the Dongchuan Camp are rapidly advancing towards our position! Additionally, two Xia armies have appeared from who knows where from the southeast and southwest directions, each numbering over 100,000.
They are pulling a large amount of supplies with them, including numerous giant siege engines like Divine Machine Crossbows, battering rams, and scaling ladders. They are rapidly charging towards us. Estimated to arrive in at most two hours."
*Thud!*
Chu Tianhe, upon hearing this, thudded as he directly stood up from the main seat, his pupils filled with shock.
Fang Tianqing wasn't much better. After listening, his face changed colors repeatedly, clearly rapidly pondering countermeasures in his mind.
The generals in the hall were the same. After exchanging glances for a while, their faces all showed some degree of panic.
No wonder they hadn't waited for the third wave of Xia envoys today.
Great Xia had actually launched an attack without declaration, mobilizing its entire army to attack!
"350,000... 350,000... Great Xia has mobilized all the troops it can use. How did they mobilize them? I dispatched over a thousand scouts scattered throughout Beishuo Town's entire territory. Clearly, there were only the 150,000 troops from Dongchuan. Where did the other two armies come from? He Tianyuan, where did they come from?"
Great Xia's sudden attack had clearly caught Chu Tianhe completely off guard. His last two furious interrogations were directed rapidly towards a middle-aged general standing at the front left side of the hall.
He Tianyuan, one of his three major commanders-in-chief, specifically responsible for battlefield reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. Great Xia suddenly had an extra 200,000 troops, and He Tianyuan, as a commander-in-chief, had not given the slightest warning beforehand.
He, naturally, had to demand an explanation from this person!