"My lord, the troops are all here!" Tian Heng reported calmly as he came up behind Chen Qing.
This time, the main battlefield in the southeast was controlled by the West Sea Army, while the Battle God Army had almost no chance to participate in the battle!
With news of a potential surprise attack on Jiangnan looming in the north, the northern troops could not retreat and were even required to be ready to provide support at any time. Under these circumstances, it was impossible for an Transcendent general like Xu Hu to leave the north without authorization.
This is an opportunity for the West Sea Army!!
Tian Heng appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.
In recent years, the West Sea Army has been developing better and better. In particular, with the influx of refugees from the north, the development of the West Sea Army's islands, and the gradual circulation of trade, the reputation of the West Sea Army has gradually risen among the people, and it has become the second largest military force in Jiangnan after the Battle God Army.
However, the difference in prestige between second and first place is enormous!
Jiangnan was completely saved and rebuilt by the Battle God Army. In addition, Chen Qing's various benefits for the Battle God Army at the beginning made the Battle God Army a faith in the hearts of the people of Jiangnan. Now, anyone who is a member of the Battle God Army is highly sought after on the streets. Their status is the pinnacle of martial arts. Most women in Jiangnan are proud to marry into the Battle God Army. Children who want to join the army will first consider the Battle God Army, rather than the West Sea Army.
This made it extremely difficult for the West Sea Army to recruit new soldiers!
Fortunately, he had a group of loyal followers of the Tian Household Army family army to support him. Otherwise, he would not have been able to support the formation of an army as the Sea God. Just look at Yuchi Feihong to see how embarrassing it is. People can freely join the army, and Battle God without a name is even more miserable than a mascot.
Fortunately, the Dragon Palace incident and the addition of Ao Zhen and others greatly boosted the Power of Faith, allowing him to improve the overall quality and strength. For a time, the West Sea Army, especially its core forces, became much stronger than the Battle God Army thanks to Ao Zhen and others.
But Tian Heng knew in his heart that this was only temporary.
The power of Divine Path Style lies in faith. The Battle God Army has deeply penetrated people's hearts. As the quality of life of the people in Jiangnan improves, it is only a matter of time before they catch up. As long as most people still believe in the Battle God Army, Xu Hu's position will always be the number one military figure in Jiangnan.
Over time, he was forced to take a backseat in the West Sea Army.
This is a good opportunity. As long as we can show our strength, although it is unlikely that we can change the beliefs of the people in Jiangnan, the population of Southeast Commandery is not small!
Southeast Commandery is mountainous and will undoubtedly become a future logistics and granary, leading to a significant increase in population. If we perform well in this round and gain the greater faith of the people of Southeast Commandery in the West Sea Army, then, together with the faith of the people of the West Sea Island, the West Sea Army will have a chance to compete with the Battle God Army!
Chen Qing smiled as he looked at Tian Heng, whose eyes were burning with passion. It was a good thing that Tian Heng was motivated; at least he would definitely go all out in this battle.
Choosing Tian Heng was also to balance the power. In fact, it would be more suitable to let Tian Heng's West Sea Army guard the North Sea, since they are more skilled in naval warfare and have the assistance of the Dragon Palace, making it easier for them to handle the situation.
Chen Qing knew that if this arrangement was made, Tian Heng would definitely be dissatisfied. It would be one thing if he was dissatisfied, but the future of the West Sea Army would be even less promising, which was not a good thing.
The new military forces must be developed as soon as possible. Each military force in the Divine Path Style has different capabilities, all of which are needed by the faction. Unilateral dominance is extremely detrimental to the entire faction.
Xu Hu's position in Jiangnan is deeply ingrained and unlikely to change in the short term. The only way to improve other military forces is to find a way to expand into new territories, which is also Tian Heng's current idea.
The Duke of Wei sent one billion northern people, which slightly alleviated the embarrassment of the West Sea Army. After all, in the islands of the West Sea, the northern people could only rely on the West Sea Army, so the northern people who moved there had more faith in the West Sea Army.
However, the number is not large. The islands of the West Sea are sparsely populated, with a large amount of land waiting to be cultivated. Most of the billion northern people prefer a stable life and very few are willing to join the army. In the past six months, more than 500 million northern people have immigrated, but less than 500,000 are willing to join the army. The main reason for this is that the islands are too scattered and geographically, those places need farmers and merchants to maintain their operations.
Therefore, there were more people engaged in business and farming, while only a very small number joined the army.
The Southeast Commandery is different now. It is mountainous and the terrain is not suitable for trade routes. It can only serve as a granary and logistics city. This urban characteristic means that young people either choose to farm in their hometown or venture out into the world. In a situation where the business atmosphere is not strong, the desire to join the army is stronger and can better ignite their passion.
The custom of joining the army has been strong in the southeast since ancient times. If this battle can be fought well and the people of the southeast can be saved from suffering, coupled with the reputation of the Duke of Qi, it will surely establish considerable prestige in the southeast.
"Where's Ao Zhen?" Chen Qing turned to look at the other person.
"I'm surveying the terrain of White Cloud City with my men," Tian Heng quickly replied.
Chen Qing nodded slightly. Tian Heng's attitude towards Ao Zhen had softened considerably these past few days. He knew the reason: the previous conflict with the Dragon Palace was mainly due to the imbalance of power!
Ao Zhen and his group were too strong, putting the West Sea Army at a disadvantage. In order to fill the unease in the hearts of his loyal troops, Tian Heng had to use a large amount of faith to strengthen his own people, which was unfair and naturally aroused dissatisfaction among Ao Zhen's loyal troops in the Dragon Palace.
This knot is unsolvable; it's an instinctive self-preservation mentality.
With Xu Hu chasing after him from above and Ao Zhen and others to be wary of from below, Tian Heng's ability to maintain the status quo and not cause trouble already demonstrates considerable leadership skills.
But now, once we conquer the southeast, the situation will be different.
The Southeast has a large base, enough for Tian Heng to catch up with Xu Hu. Moreover, with the people having faith, Tian Heng no longer needs to completely favor his direct descendants. With new recruits pouring in, in order to strengthen the West Sea Army, they naturally have to be treated fairly. Since the new recruits are treated fairly, there is no reason to continue to suppress the Dragon Palace.
Moreover, with a sufficient base of support based on faith, he doesn't need to worry about the Dragon Palace being too strong. As long as he has a large enough base of support like Xu Hu, it's only a matter of time before the overall strength of the West Sea Army catches up with the Dragon Palace forces, so there's no need to be too anxious.
This is why Chen Qing chose to send Tian Heng to attack the southeast.
Xu Hu was extremely loyal to Chen Qing said without any objection. Tian Heng, on the other hand, was a newly joined elite who had joined temporarily, so it was natural to appease him and give him some benefits, otherwise the power would be unstable.
"My lord." Tian Heng addressed him more naturally this time, clearly because Chen Qing was genuinely offering him the Southeast campaign as a concession, which made him very grateful.
After all, Chen Qing had already fulfilled what he had promised him back then: the authority over the God of the West Sea, the City of the West Sea, the rivers of the West Sea, and so on. It was his own problem that he had failed to develop and grow stronger. But now, he was being subsidized by refugees from the north, and he was being asked to establish his authority in the Southeast Commandery.
All the tangible benefits prove that they are sincere towards me.
"Rest assured, my lord, I have a pretty good grasp of the situation. This time, six Southern Barbarians kingdoms have entered the pass. The Southern Barbarians troops distributed in the Southeast Commandery exceed 700,000, and the Southern Barbarians army in White Cloud City is about 100,000. With the troops we have prepared, it should not be difficult to take them down."
" The Southern Barbarians army excels in mountain warfare. Are you really confident?" Chen Qing asked, looking at the other party.
He wasn't good at military affairs. Some abilities of the Divine Path Style could be shared, such as attributes, martial prowess, techniques, and so on, but some couldn't be shared, such as political and military abilities. These were soft power, and these soft power were extremely important.
"Rest assured, my lord!" Tian Heng assured him, "I previously served under Lu Ming and fought many battles against these Southern Barbarians armies. I am very familiar with their tactics. Even if they have been strengthened by other forces, improving their overall strength, their specific tactics will not change. I am confident in my ability to handle them!"
"Alright!" Chen Qing nodded. "Since you're confident, you'll be fully in charge of this Southeast Campaign. Ao Zhen and I will take care of the hidden high-level forces. Remember, once the Southeast Campaign begins, the Underworld will open. We don't have much time!"