Make a Move

"Reorganization?"

Li Qingyan stared at the bewildered and helpless ten thousand soldiers in the wind and snow below, and shook his head slightly. "These border troops from various sects cannot be reorganized in a short time."

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "Because there will be conflicts Cultivation Method?"

"Hmm." Li Qingyan turned around and said softly, "The soldiers under the command of the Northern Border cultivate a Body Refining Cultivation Method called Cold Sky. Although the formations are all similar, if they cannot be used flexibly on the battlefield, it is easy to make mistakes."

Xu Yuan was somewhat speechless, then softly added:

"Moreover, even if we incorporate them, there's no guarantee that these elite sects won't harbor disloyalty."

In this era of limited information, most people are ignorant, making it incredibly easy for the Aristocratic Clan families to cultivate loyal and devoted followers.

Xu Yuan didn't know the specifics of how the sect trained its soldiers, but he was very clear about the Tian'an Martial Hall of the Prime Minister's Estate and the Black Scale Army.

The moment someone joins the Tian'an Martial Hall, their brainwashing begins subtly and gradually.

Soldiers from these two military systems have basically undergone layers of brainwashing, and they have an extremely strong personal worship of their father, or rather, of the Xu family's direct descendants.

Unable to fully incorporate and integrate these defeated troops, the soldiers now below the city walls have only one option left.

Forced to serve as vanguard cannon fodder in this war, they paved the way for the subsequent great battle between the Black Scale Army and the Beifeng Army and the Barbarian Tribe.

Thinking of this,

Xu Yuan sighed, then gave a wry, ambiguous laugh:

"How pitiful!"

Li Qingyan found it somewhat amusing:

"Isn't the sect's current predicament entirely your doing?"

"Princess, you're mistaken. The Northern Border Sects have brought this upon themselves; I merely offered a small amount of assistance."

Xu Yuan gazed into the distance, raised his hand and grasped at the Beifeng City, his voice slow and deliberate. "If they were willing to return to aid Beifeng City, if they were willing to take advantage of the clear weather created by the Cloud Qi Bomb to fight a decisive battle with the barbarian army Beifeng City, their 300,000 elite troops would not have fallen into this predicament."

Li Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"This also shows that the Barbarian Tribe Alien King knew how to seize opportunities."

Xu Yuan slowly withdrew his hand and nodded slightly.

"Indeed, the Barbarian Tribe Alien King's behavior was quite unexpected. I never thought he would go all in and bet all his chips."

"Of the remaining nine large Barbarian King, seven were deployed to hold off the sect's rear guard, while the last two tribes remained in Beifeng City as bait. With this tactic, if the Northern Border were to turn its forces around and choose to fight the Barbarian Tribe outside Beifeng City, the Barbarian Tribe would most likely be the ones to collapse."

According to intelligence from the stronghold Beifeng City, the two sides had approximately 500,000 troops to 300,000. The Barbarian Tribe had a significant numerical advantage, but the gap in military strength between the Barbarian Tribe and the Great Yan had widened considerably over the past thousand years.

Moreover, war isn't just about the number of heads.

It's a very simple principle.

Every single one of those who went up there died. Would you dare to charge in?

People tend to cluster together, so once one person flees, a second, a third will follow, eventually leading to a large-scale rout.

To deal with this, the Barbarian Tribe used a simple and brutal method: brainwashing them with their ancestral god religion.

Every Barbarian Tribe was thus instilled with the idea from childhood: don't be afraid to die, dying on the battlefield means returning to the embrace of the ancestral god.

Compared to such ethereal concepts, the Great Yan army now relies more on systematic military formations.

As a member of the army, through the resonance of their Cultivation Method, soldiers can sense their generals and their comrades fighting alongside them.

Moreover, as the Cultivation Method have developed to this point, when the Great Yan army formation is deployed, the resonance of the soldiers' Cultivation Method can even influence the soldiers' mentality to a certain extent, making them more selfless and courageous.

And this is just morale; the power of the Great Yan army formation is also much stronger than the barbarian god totem on the Barbarian Tribe side.

Therefore,

In a decisive battle involving millions of people, unless the entire Barbarian Tribe gains superhuman strength and believes in the embrace of some so-called ancestral god, the Barbarian Tribe will inevitably collapse first.

In other words,

The sect's current predicament is entirely of their own making.

They were thinking of nurturing bandits to maintain their own importance, preserving their strength, and wondering why they should be the ones to exert themselves in destroying the Barbarian Tribe while the imperial court sat on the sidelines and reaped the benefits.

Then

And that was it.

A single collapse can cause a catastrophic defeat.

With this thought in mind, Xu Yuan looked down at the snowstorm below the city wall:

"These elite sects truly live up to their reputation. Even after their defeat, they managed to escape in an organized manner to our Houting County despite being pursued by the Barbarian Tribe."

Li Qingyan said in a low voice with a deep look in his eyes:

"My lord, it's not that the sect's elite troops are so powerful, but rather that the Barbarian Tribe are too weak. It's impossible for the Barbarian Tribe to take down 300,000 in one go."

Xu Yuan couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this, and said with a smile:

"That's true. Even if 300,000 pigs roamed around, they couldn't be slaughtered in just a few days."

"."

Li Qingyan gave Xu Yuan a slightly strange look, as if she hadn't grasped the meaning behind his words.

Xu Yuan composed himself, waved his hand to indicate that she didn't need to pay attention to his words, and instead praised her:

"Given such a disparity in military strength, even with my help, it's truly remarkable that this Barbarian Tribe Alien King could fight so well."

Li Qingyan understood the meaning behind Xu Yuan's words and asked with a smile:

"Does the prince consort think the Barbarian King will choose the safest approach?"

Xu Yuan nodded in agreement:

"After all, the Cloud Qi Bomb can only dispel this blizzard disaster for two to three days at most. Once the blizzard subsides, Beifeng City without the northern city wall will become a large prison, and one that the Barbarian Tribe can freely enter and leave. As long as we wait for them to tire themselves out and continue to harass them, the sect will definitely collapse in ten days to a month."

Li Qingyan listened carefully, then smiled and nodded:

"You're absolutely right, Prince Consort, but the Barbarian King isn't sure if we'll head south during this time."

Xu Yuan chuckled silently.

Li Qingyan let out a long breath, her voice low and somber:

"In an absolute disadvantage, only by risking life and death can one gain a glimmer of hope. The Barbarian King seized the opportunity you gave him, and thus he won that glimmer of hope."

"It's just a pity that the North Gate was blown up too early, causing the sect to collapse too quickly. Although the Barbarian Tribe suffered losses, they were not severely weakened."

Xu Yuan helplessly shrugged:

"Life is full of disappointments, and even my father couldn't guarantee that his plans were flawless, let alone mine. However, I suspect that the sect members discovered some clues when they entered the northern city wall to set up defenses. If they didn't detonate it soon, the sect might find out, so the person in charge of the operation had no choice but to detonate it ahead of schedule."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan pondered for a moment and said:

"With the northern city wall blown up, the sects in the Northern Border will likely suspect us."

"If anyone from these sects has any brains, they'll definitely be able to guess this. After all, the Barbarian Tribe don't have the blueprints for the Beifeng City, let alone the ability to plant that many Source Crystal bombs at key points in the wall."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan looked down at the sect soldiers below, his voice as indifferent as ice:

"But even if they find out, what can they do? Rebel directly? With their current strength, do they even have the right to rebel? As for settling scores later? Ha, Qingyan, Lou Ji was summoned back to the Northern Border by my father last night. You should receive the news soon."

Li Qingyan immediately turned around, her delicate brows furrowing slightly:

"Prince Consort, do you mean Father and the others are preparing to make a move?"

Xu Yuan nodded:

"That's right. The 300,000 elite troops of the Northern Border that Di'an City feared have now collapsed, so they naturally have nothing to worry about."

"."

Li Qingyan did not respond immediately, but instead quickly deduced the consequences of his actions in his mind.

After a while,

She suddenly asked in a low voice:

"Does Father and the others still have enough troops to wipe out these sects?"

Although the soldiers of the Great Yan Dynasty are spread throughout the world, including the Imperial Guard stationed in Di'an City, the Western Pacification Army defending the Great Desert, the Black Armor Army guarding the Wanxing Mountain Range, and even the Thousand Thorns Army guarding the southeast coast against Wokou, none of these can be easily mobilized.

In order to wipe out the Barbarian Tribe, almost all the elite troops that the Prime Minister's Estate and the royal family could mobilize were gathered in the Snow Plain Northern Border.

Although the 300,000 elite troops of the Northern Border Sect have been defeated, the inner disciple and elders within its mountain gates still constitute a formidable fighting force.

If there are not enough troops, once it is confirmed that the imperial court will take action, the core cultivators of these sects will definitely not sit idly by and wait for death; they will collectively rebel.

"I don't know."

Xu Yuan answered the question readily, but after a moment's pause, he smiled meaningfully and said, "However, it shouldn't require too many troops."

"."

The air above the city gate tower suddenly became quiet.

Li Qingyan pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked:

"Sun Veil?"

"."

Xu Yuan grinned and nodded with a smile.

This princess truly lives up to her reputation as a military commander; she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Great Yan's weaponry and can understand it with just a few words.

Although the Fourth Sister's initial intention in tinkering with things was to benefit the people, it seems that the effect was even better after it was modified for military use.

This at least made his father's plan to wipe out the sects in the Northern Border much, much simpler.

Thinking of this,

After silently mourning for his Fourth Sister for a second, Xu Yuan said softly:

"The Sun Veil bullet's ability to conceal the Will Soul and disrupt the Source Qi can directly block all Communication Crystal within the sect's mountain gate."

Li Qingyan narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly, and gently licked her moist red lips with her small, pink tongue:

"In that case, it seems that we don't really need too many troops. As long as we act carefully and leave no survivors when we massacre a sect, even 50,000 elite troops would be enough to wipe out all the sects in the Northern Border without anyone noticing."

Xu Yuan looked up at the boundless expanse of falling snow on the horizon and said softly:

"This once-in-a-century snowfall provided the Barbarian Tribe with an opportunity to turn the tide, but it also blocked most of the roads in the Northern Border, obscuring the movements of the imperial court in troop deployments and the transport of supplies and weapons."

Li Qingyan took a deep breath and smiled:

"In that case, we need to hurry."

"Hmm?" Xu Yuan asked with slight doubt.

Li Qingyan looked back:

"If we waste too much time dealing with these barbarians, I won't be able to personally kill these sect scum."

Xu Yuan, seeing the murderous intent in her eyes, hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking:

"Your Highness, do you hate the people of the sect?"

"."

After speaking, there was silence.

After a long pause, Li Qingyan smiled through his crimson eyes and asked in return:

"My lord, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Xu Yuan grinned without hesitation:

"Her Highness is not only resourceful and wise, but also cares deeply for the world."

"What a smooth tongue."

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at Xu Yuan, interrupting him, and looked towards Beifeng, saying quietly:

"I do hate the sect, but not for any reason of national righteousness or for the sake of the country and its people."

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered, and he began to play the straight man:

"It's not these things, it's because..."

Li Qingyan interrupted Xu Yuan again and asked:

"My lord, I have a question for you."

"You ask."

"Lou Ji is very good to you?"

"Uh, yes."

"What would you do if Chief Lou died tomorrow on the way back to the Northern Border because of a trap set by the sect?"

"." Xu Yuan.

"It seems you, my lord, cannot accept this happening, and neither can I, but it has happened."

Li Qingyan shook his head at Xu Yuan's expression, clenching his fist slightly, but his tone remained calm. "Because of these scumbags from the sect, this has happened more than once."

Xu Yuan suddenly understood what she meant.

At this time,

Li Qingyan at Xu Yuan and spoke softly:

"My lord, I've known about what Father Emperor and Lord Xu want to do since I was a child, thanks to Uncle Mu. But I'm a very easygoing person, and at first I really didn't care about these things. The so-called reforms are supposed to benefit the country and the people, but in the end, they're just internal strife between my royal family and the sects for power and profit. Even if the sects are successfully weakened, another 'sect Aristocratic Clan ' will soon appear in another form. Not to mention, if the internal strife goes too far and the national strength is depleted too much, the surrounding alien races may launch a large-scale invasion of the fourteen continents of my Great Yan."

Xu Yuan remained silent.

Li Qingyan exhaled a long breath of white mist that dissipated into the wind and snow, and smiled slightly.

"But now my thinking has changed. It's become very simple: whoever can slaughter all the sects in the world, I will support to ascend to the throne."

Speaking of this,

She suddenly winked at Xu Yuan in a suggestive way.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and echoed in a low voice.

"My father's thoughts are probably similar to yours, Qingyan; he just doesn't know whose side to support."

"Oh"

Li Qingyan chuckled softly and said nothing more.

Xu Yuan stood quietly to the side, pondering his next move.

Time passed second by second in the wind and snow.

Half an hour later,

Xu Yuan suddenly pointed to the remnants of the sect's army below the city:

"Qingyan, a quarter of an hour has passed. What should we do with these people? Should we just do what Yuan Hao did?"

Yuan Hao, that psychopath, is using a trivial matter as a weapon.

As soon as the defeated troops arrived at his side and requested to enter the city for supplies, he secretly sent troops out of the city to surround the defeated troops who had sought refuge with him. He killed many of them, disarmed them, and imprisoned them in the city, preparing to use them as convicts when he faced the barbarian army the next day.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Li Qingyan pondered for a moment and replied in a low voice:

"Given the current situation, this might be the best option."

As the two were talking,

A clear, cool female voice drifted from below the city walls:

"Your Highness Wu Yuan, we are willing to surrender all our weapons and supplies. We hope you will allow us to enter the city."