The invitation from Mercy Voyage Sword Studio has come to an end.
Apart from the participants, no one knew what happened.
The only certainty was that those who left all looked extremely serious; however, upon returning to their respective places, they immediately began to gather their subordinates and start making arrangements.
For a time, the entire northern region was plunged into an unprecedented atmosphere of tension.
Almost all the forces in the North were conscripting soldiers, and the conscription was so extensive that it was beyond imagination, as if a huge war was about to break out, causing panic throughout the North.
Song Family Mountain City.
Song Lu immediately entered the Blade-Sharpening Hall with the intelligence and found Heavenly Blade and Li Su, who were dueling.
After quickly recounting the intelligence gathered from the First Tower, Song Lu said, "It's not just the Central Plains; the Western Turkic Khaganate, and even the Tuyuhun, are all taking action, vigorously recruiting troops..."
Song Que was somewhat surprised at this moment.
As a strategist and military leader, he undoubtedly had a clear understanding of the current situation in the North.
The size of an army is not simply a matter of having people; it also requires a corresponding economic foundation to support it.
With a million troops, any territory with a decent size could be mobilized, such as the Li Tang which accepted Li Mi's surrender, or the Turkic Khaganate.
In reality, the Li Tang's military strength was only around 80,000, while the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, though larger, numbered between 150,000 and 200,000. However, they were cavalry, equivalent to 400,000 infantry.
This is basically their limit.
It's not that they can't muster more troops, but rather that adding more would create a huge deficit domestically, and their territory would be destroyed before a single battle was even over.
It can be said that the place with the real ability to mass produce troops is not the North, but the First Tower in the South.
Firstly, the First Tower possesses high-yield crops, and over the years, the accumulated grain has reached an extremely alarming level.
Furthermore, with the approach of the South Ridge, the marine industry was fully developed under Li Su's instructions. By sun-drying sea salt and preserving it in cans, an unimaginable strategic reserve was accumulated.
With a large amount of land now acquired and high-yield crops planted, it is foreseeable that by October, the grain yield of the First Tower will reach five times that of before.
Therefore, even though the First Tower has already assembled an Ministry of Military of 100,000, its military expenditure so far only accounts for about 7% of the national economy.
In other words, if the First Tower is willing, it can quickly raise an army of around 500,000, and by October, that number could double.
Yes, this is a force that can be sustained, and the army is a conventional force capable of fighting for thirty to fifty years, not the kind that engages in production.
Why did Song Que barely pay attention to the development of the First Tower after Li Su declared his ambition to dominate the world? After all, unifying the north from the south was the core reason for his divergence from Fan Qinghui's policies. How could someone who always faced south and north not care?
However, after the information about the First Tower was delivered to Song Family Mountain City and Song Que thoroughly understood the situation of the First Tower, he let go.
There's no fun at all!
Leaving aside his military command skills, his strategic vision and ability to manage the nation's economic development are truly terrifying. Even without the Song Clan, the so-called Central Plains War would be utterly insignificant in the face of the power he has built.
It can be said that the only thing the First Tower lacks to unify the Central Plains is not the organization's own combat strength, but its high-end combat strength.
And it is quite obvious that after the Battle of Ba-Shu, with himself, the Evil King, the Yin Empress, and other powerful figures of equal strength to the Three Wonders taking their places in the First Tower, the First Tower has undoubtedly achieved a true and decisive victory. They could conquer the world with their eyes closed.
That's right, the intensity of the war on the First Tower has reached the point where it can fight the world on its own.
And that doesn't even mention the weapons. With the flintlock muskets and siege cannons developed by Li Su's First Tower —weapons that are practically beyond our dimensional range—the North, no, even including the countries outside, is only a matter of time before the First Tower falls.
Fan Qinghui probably only calmed things down after she understood the situation at the First Tower and realized its war capabilities. She did nothing and let the situation develop until recently.
Is the North expanding its military now?
They don't have the economic strength of the First Tower. The First Tower doesn't even need to care about this kind of military expansion. Cheng Bing is south of the Yangtze River, and the other side will probably collapse by next year at the latest.
Li Su was also taken aback. Northern forces were recruiting soldiers? Had their brains rusted?
The alliance can be understood, but what kind of behavior is military expansion?
Unable to resist, he turned and nudged Song Que, a question in his eyes, "Father-in-law, are you sure your first love isn't helping me accelerate the unification of the North, or even defeat the foreign tribes?"
In this situation, there's no need for the First Tower to fight; they can just sit back and watch the opponent self-destruct.
Song Que was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he was slightly lost in thought. Unusually, he didn't pay attention to Li Su, but instead faced north, feeling surprised and suspicious.
Why?
What exactly happened to you, Qinghui?
Why did it come to this?
"Father in law?"
"Big brother?"
Seeing Heavenly Blade remain silent, the two couldn't help but ask.
Song Que snapped out of his daze, glanced at the two of them, and took a deep breath. "Kid, get ready!"
"Prepare?"
"A total war, a war between the south of the Yangtze River and the north of the Yangtze River, a full-scale conflict involving millions of troops! Not just the lower-level troops, but also the high-end combat forces. Improve your strength as much as possible in the next few months. This battle will probably be ten thousand times more dangerous than the Battle of Ba-Shu."
Upon hearing this, Song Lu couldn't help but gasp. "Brother, are you saying that Mercy Voyage Sword Studio Sect has united all the forces in the north to wage war against the First Tower? How is that possible? How did she do it?" The major forces in the north clearly have ambitions. If they cooperated temporarily and there were sufficient benefits, it might be possible.
Leaving aside the internal affairs of the Central Plains, external forces like the Turkic Khaganate and Tuyuhun should not and would not fully participate in such a full-scale war.
An army of a million is not something that can be mobilized from the Central Plains and the North alone; it would require the participation of other regions.
Li Su stared blankly at Heavenly Blade, whose expression for the first time revealed seriousness, confusion, and heartache.
Unlike Song Lu, Li Su's focus was no longer on how Fan Qinghui could achieve this.
The key question is, how can she be so certain that doing this would lead to a full-scale war with them?
Given their current actions, this so-called alliance will crumble on its own if they drag this out for a while.
Food is an Eternity theme in war.
Even without conscription, the food supply in the north was insufficient to launch such a full-scale war; it would be even more impossible with conscription.
But Fan Qinghui did it anyway, and the northern authorities followed suit.
So where does the food come from?
Looking at Heavenly Blade's expression, Li Su roughly understood, though he found it somewhat unbelievable.
That nun is trying to isolate herself from the world!
If they really did that, Mercy Voyage Sword Studio would be infamous for eternity, wouldn't they?
Li Su frowned slightly, then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. Uncle Lu, please inform the First Tower to recruit soldiers and accelerate the arming of the troops. Within three months, the First Tower's regular army must reach 500,000 and the reserve army 800,000."
"Ah???"
Song Lu was stunned. 500,000 regular troops? 800,000 reserves? Let's leave the reserves aside for now. The regular troops mentioned in the First Tower refer to troops armed to the teeth, not just with food, but also with equipment.
In terms of the economy of the First Tower, it is likely that nearly half of the departments will have to go all out to cooperate and completely abandon local economic development.
Unable to hold back, Song Lu wanted to say something, but after seeing Li Su and Song Que's expressions, Song Lu took a breath, nodded, and said, "Okay, I'll go and have someone arrange it right away."
Soon, Song Lu left.
Li Su picked up the letter in his hand, looked at the shocking conscription details inside, and after a moment slowly said, "Father-in-law, do you really think Fan Qinghui would use the common people of the North as leverage to start this war?"
What to do when there's no food? Cao Cao from the Three Kingdoms period has already taught us.
"It's not just a feeling, it's a certainty."
Song Que's eyes were icy cold, devoid of any emotion. "Although I don't know exactly what happened to her, I know her very well. She will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. In fact, this so-called conscription is a signal to me that she intends to do just that! A decisive battle with her, a fight to the death, the Ying Family gets everything, otherwise..."
Li Su sighed. There was no need for Song Que to continue. He nodded and said, "I understand."
After leaving the Blade-Sharpening Hall, Li Su stood on the Song Family Mountain City and couldn't help but scratch his head.
In the story of Twin Dragons, Fan Qinghui, in order to realize her strategy of unifying the south from the north, used Ning Daoqi to mercilessly defeat Song Que had come out with great momentum.
Now that the First Tower has achieved great success, she has once again ruthlessly targeted Song Que. This time, she is even more vicious, directly using the people of the North as leverage to force the First Tower into a decisive battle with her.
She knows Song Que too well.
Song Que didn't hesitate much and immediately prepared to fight him.
Of course, if it were Li Su, he would do the same.
In fact, in this round, Fan Qinghui was not only targeting Song Que, but also Li Su.
To Li Su, this method might seem like the old woman had gone mad, but to Heavenly Blade, it was completely different.
First love is undoubtedly the most unforgettable emotion for everyone. Even after settling down and starting a family, one day when you think back on it, you still can't help but feel sad and lost in thought.
Fan Qinghui's actions were tantamount to stabbing Heavenly Blade directly into the heart with a knife, slicing him open mercilessly.
That really hurts!
Feeling the ever-increasing sword intent emanating from Song Que in the Blade-Sharpening Hall since Song Lu left, Li Su witnessed for the first time the wrath of Song Que, the number one swordsman in the world, the head of the Song Clan, Heavenly Blade Song Que.
"Fine, old lady, you're ruthless! I'll play one more game with you."
Li Su took a breath and descended along the Song Family Mountain City, preparing to further enhance his strength, ideally reaching the Shattered Realm, in order to deal with any possible tactics that Mercy Voyage Sword Studio might employ.
********
Li Clan.
Li Jiancheng, Li Xiuning, Li Yuanji were in the main hall, looking at their father and younger brother, who seemed somewhat mad after returning, with bewilderment.
What exactly happened?
Why are they recruiting soldiers like crazy at a time like this?
Originally, the Li Tang had an army of 100,000, which was already at its limit. However, less than a day after the two returned, they issued orders to their respective subordinates to recruit soldiers with all their might.
But the most terrifying thing is undoubtedly the sheer number of people.
Five hundred thousand!
Within three months, he assembled an army of 500,000 and launched the First Tower southern expedition.
Not only them, but all the ministers of the Li Tang dynasty also wore expressions of confusion, wanting an answer from Li Tang ruler, Li Yuan.
There was no response.
Li Yuan sat coldly on the throne, ignoring the questions in the hearts of his sons and subordinates. Instead, he looked at his son Li Shimin, who had returned and was equally silent, with madness in his eyes.
"Shimin, how's the organization doing?"
"Reporting to Father, the order has been issued that conscription is being carried out across all territories under the Li Tang dynasty."
"Very good!"
The Li Clan is like this, and so are others.
Turkic Khaganate.
Upon his return, Jieli Khan did not hesitate. He immediately issued an order to summon the cavalry of the entire nation and prepare for a southward march three months later.
Meanwhile, the rare Martial Venerable Bi Xuan directly stood up for Jieli, saying that he would personally visit anyone who disagreed.
The tribal leaders were taken aback. Heading south was already a common practice for the Turkic Khaganate.
But why is Wu Zun so supportive of Jieli this time?
*******
Meanwhile, in the heart of the Central Plains, where the Mercy Voyage Sword Studio was located...
An unusual look of apology appeared on the face of the frail and elderly Di Ni as she said, "I'm sorry, Qinghui. You've taken on all of this."
Fan Qinghui shook her head, her eyes filled with despair and sorrow, and said, "If what Grandmaster said is true, then this world itself is worthless, and we are nothing more than puppets on strings."
"A marionette..."
Di Ni slowly closed her eyes, a look of extreme pain on her face. "Yes, they're all puppets on strings."
She turned her head and looked at Ning Daoqi, who was still sitting to the side, and said, "Fellow Daoist Ning, I'm sorry to have troubled you all this time, making you constantly travel and even do many things that are contrary to your own conscience."
Ning Daoqi shook his head and said calmly, "As Senior Di Ni said, this world is illusory, everything is false. Daoism seeks non-action, but it is also capable of anything. Breaking free from this illusion is not only Senior Di Ni's desire, but also my goal. My heart Carefree Sect, how can I be imprisoned in a cage?"
"Master, is it really possible? Is there any hope?" A glimmer of light flashed in Fan Qinghui's despairing and empty eyes, but recalling the story Di Ni, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of despair again.
"I don't know. I've tried so many times, tried everything, but I still can't change the outcome." Di Ni shook her head, but then her eyes lit up. "But this time is different, very different. I can feel it."
"Huh?" Fan Qinghui was taken aback.
" Evil Emperor, Xiang Yutian!"
"Ah?"
"In the past, he existed, yet he didn't truly exist. This time is different. He truly existed, leaving his mark. Moreover, this time he took on a disciple who fully inherited his mantle and true teachings. Furthermore, this disciple established a system of unifying the north from the south, something that has never happened before. The river of fate has been thrown into chaos, and this world is being stirred up by tremendous waves."
Di Ni said slowly, "Therefore, his disciple is our chance, our only chance."
"I can feel that the barrier of this world has cracked. It no longer has that indestructible feeling it once did. Fellow Daoist Ning should also feel it. The upper limit of this world is far greater than before, and our cultivation levels are much more solid."
"Therefore, in this conflict between North and South, in this great war across the land, and in this all-out clash between the world's grandmasters, with lives, with blood, with everything we have, perhaps we can break free of this cage that shackles us, escape from here, and gain true freedom, no longer being prisoners in that cage..."
Sorry for the delay.