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Chapter 297: 177: Hongdao Year Five_3

Zhou Qing also mentioned this in his war report.

His caring apprentice said: Disciple is enough to protect the land, Master need not worry, and can find opportunities outside to defeat the bandits.

What could Lu Yuan say to this?

All he could do was to study martial arts external body and devote more effort to urging Li Liang to train soldiers, hoping to train the army as soon as possible and then lead them to assist in quelling the thieves.

As the situation in Shaoyang Prefecture became more stable, on the 16th day of the 10th month of the fifth year of Hongdao.

North of Baling City, the Imperial Army and the Zhou-Miao United Army, which had been confronting each other for several months, finally broke out in a fierce battle.

Approximately one hundred thousand troops from both sides faced each other in battle outside the city.

Wucheng Marquis Shangguan Ming, despite the heavy rain of arrows, led his elite troops to break through the enemy lines, defeating three formations of the Miao people’s left wing and forcing the Grand General of the Pillar State of Zhou Country to confront him personally in a duel within the army.

In the meantime, the Poison Sect’s Holy Maiden, Lan Cai’er, led the defenders out of the city to help in the battle. But she was intercepted by the holy monk Jihui and his troops at the city gate, as both Inborn Grandmasters began their duel.

Shortly after, Shangguan Ming, despite his best efforts, could not match the Pillar State Grand General as a newly promoted Grandmaster.

Therefore, after a half-hour-long fierce battle, he was inevitably seriously injured and forced to retreat and escape.

However, the opportunity was seized by the elite imperial troops to defeat the Miao people.

Those Miao soldiers consisting of Mountain People, even after several years of training, could not change their nature as militia. Facing the elite imperial troops at this time, they couldn’t hold on.

After only half an hour, tens of thousands of Miao soldiers on the enemy’s right wing were defeated.

Due to this, the elite Zhou people who had crossed the river southwards were also caught in the Miao soldiers’ retreat and followed them.

The Pillar State Grand General of Zhou Country, despite winning the duel and repelling Shangguan Ming, was powerless to reverse the tide of the retreating army.

In order to avoid being surrounded by a besieging army, he had no choice but to retreat.

At the same time, the Holy Maiden of the Five Poisons, was also defeated by the Holy Monk Jihui and retreated back into the city.

With the defeat of their army outside the city and their Holy Maiden defeated by the enemy, the morale of the Miao defenders in the city was greatly shaken. The Holy Monk Jihui seized the opportunity to break open the city gates with the miraculous methods of the Buddha’s light and led his troops into the city.

Lan Cai’er had no choice but to come out and confront them once more.

However, after a few dozen exchanges, she was defeated again, and if it were not for the desperate resistance of the sect members in the city, she would have lost her life.

From then on, Lan Cai’er no longer dared to linger in the city.

Taking advantage of the fact that the imperial army had not completely surrounded the city, she left a portion of the troops to cover their retreat and led the remaining ten thousand or so remnants to escape from the city, heading in the direction of the defeated united army.

Jihui was able to take this opportunity to recapture Baling City, and the city of Dongting was thus restored.

In this battle, the Imperial Army beheaded twenty thousand enemies and captured twenty thousand more, while suffering less than ten thousand casualties themselves – it was a great victory.

The most critical aspect was the recapture of the prefectural city, which undoubtedly boosted the morale of the imperial forces throughout the area.

For the Army of Pacifying Shu, who had their western rear route cut off, it meant that their lifeline was now unimpeded.

With Baling City, the court could now attempt to send troops and transport grain to the north of the Yangtze River, restoring the supply line for the Army of Pacifying Shu.

However, achieving this would still be somewhat difficult.

That was because after their defeat, the Zhou-Miao United Army did not completely withdraw from Yueyang Prefecture. Instead, they gathered eighty thousand remnants and still entrenched themselves in Shiyang and Anxiang, threatening the Yangtze River and the prefectural city.

Until this group of thieves was completely driven away, the rear route of the Army of Pacifying Shu could not be considered secure.

However, after this battle, the Zhou-Miao United Army completely extinguished their desire for a field battle with the imperial forces.

After retreating to Shiyang and Anxiang counties, they set up camps and defended themselves in the fortified cities, refusing to engage in a frontal battle with the imperial forces.

With their strength, the remaining ninety thousand imperial soldiers could not defeat them.

The situation within Yueyang Prefecture once again fell into a long-standing stalemate, and it was still uncertain which side would emerge victorious.

In this tormented and protracted standoff.

By the earlier part of the 11th month in the fifth year of Hongdao, the disciples sent by Lu Yuan to recruit soldiers in Jianan Prefecture and South Sea Prefecture finally returned one after another.

Upon the return of the last person, there were 30,000 new soldiers at the Barracks outside Luyang Prefecture.

That’s right.

Following Lu Yuan’s instructions, the disciples sent to recruit soldiers did not strictly adhere to the limit of 20,000, but instead recruited anyone who met the requirements.

As a result, the number of newly recruited soldiers exceeded twenty thousand, amounting to thirty-two thousand people.

At the same time, the autumn rice harvest in neighboring Yuzhang Prefecture was abundant again, causing a drop in grain prices.

Following Lu Yuan’s instructions, Sun Siwen sent people to purchase grain, spending six hundred thousand silver taels to buy seven hundred thousand stones of rice.

Adding the autumn harvest in Luyang Prefecture, the grain for the newly recruited army was barely solved.

On the 17th day of the 12th month of the fifth year of Hongdao, Lu Yuan received the news that Grandmaster Yan Wangqiu of the Nanhai Sect in South Sea Prefecture had accepted the court’s invitation to assume the position of National Master.

After the White Phoenix Temple, the Nanhai Sect became the second Grandmaster sect to form an alliance with the court.

One more person was added to the plan for the Ten Grandmasters.

By now, the imperial camp already had seven Inborn Grandmasters. If Lu Yuan and Yang Jing were also included, there would be nine.

With only one more to complete the Ten Grandmasters.

At the end of the same month, Lu Yuan received news from Jinling that the court had sent envoys to the Liang State in the north, apparently intending to negotiate peace and form an alliance.

Faced with the existential threat of extinction by Zhou Country, the mortal enemies Liang and Yue gradually moved towards cooperation.

The court was doing its utmost to protect the country’s fate.

The entire fifth year of Hongdao came to an end amidst tumult and turmoil.

As in previous years, Lu Yuan celebrated the New Year at Sun Siwen’s home, and because of the addition of a chubby baby boy to the Sun Residence, this year brought even more joy.

After the joyful celebration, the sixth year of Hongdao arrived..