Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 1241 – Give Me a Reason
Along with the smoke bellowing on the front lines and the flames of war rising up, Great Zhou finally could suppress it anymore.
In the past winter, the hatred and anger of the people living in poverty toward the aristocratic families had slowly built up and gathered into a volcano, ready to explode and destroy everything.
War made this volcano finally explode.
5th month, 10th day, fierce general Qinqiong led the 4th legion of the Tiger legion corps and broke through the Pill Sun legion corps’ defenses from the west, entering the main area of Ludong Province.
The moment the breach was opened, no one could block it anymore.
In the next few days, the 2nd legion led by Hong Ying and the 3rd led by Zhao She broke through the Ludong defense line from the east.
With the left and right wings successfully converging, Sun Bin turned really calm. He led the 1st and 5th legions to fight on the middle front and drag the main force of the Pill Sun legion corps into a standstill.
Based on Sun Bin’s plan, they would surround Peng City from the wings then cooperate with the middle troops to surround the Pill Sun legion corps, slowly withering them down and forcing them into a corner.
Although the Pill Sun legion corps had the home ground advantage and Tian Dan was also a famous general, their strength was not enough. More crucially, they lacked grain and could not last for long.
Sun Bin was staring right at this weak point of the enemy and decided to surround and trap them. The longer the standstill, the more the grain inside Peng City would be used up. In the end, they could only surrender.
However, what happened next totally changed the direction of the war.
After the two wings broke the defensive line, they did two things. First, they expanded their rewards and increased the size of breach that they had opened up. They destroyed the defensive work of the enemy to reduce the backline worry.
Secondly, they sent a vanguard army to siege the cities around Peng City.
5th month, 13th day, the 1st division of the 4th legion of the Tiger legion corps acted as the vanguard of the left wing and was ordered to come to Xiapi City to conquer it and use it as the left wing base.
Xiapi City was located at the northwest corner of Peng City and was a place you had to go if you wanted to go toward Peng City. Although it was a county level city, it was stable and had six thousand Pill Sun troops defending it, so they would not be so easily taken down.
The results exceeded everyone’s expectation.
At 9 AM, the 1st division launched their assault on Xiapi City.
The deafening killing shouts spread from the city walls to within the city, pulling at the impatient and unhappy emotions of the people.
At close to noon, just as the two armies were fighting, a bunch of rioting civilians charged into the county office and injured the bailiffs, capturing the county magistrate and raising the flag of anti-Great Zhou.
Influenced by this, the entire Xiapi City was thrown into chaos.
The sudden rebellion with the county office as the center started to swiftly spread around. Seeing the office fall, more and more civilians joined in, opening up the granaries and robbing stores.
As the chaos spread to the regions near the city walls, the Pill sun legion corps panicked. They did not know whether they should suppress the chaos or defend the city wall.
Seeing that, the Great Xia Army launched an even more ferocious attack.
The Pill Sun Legion corps without any logistical support suffered heavy casualties. Both sides fought till 3 PM, and the remaining soldiers were forced to surrender.
Xiapi City was conquered by Great Xia in a day, and the greatest contributors were the rebels at the start. The Great Zhou Dynasty was finally paying for their cruel rule.
And this was just the beginning.
The chaos of Xiapi was like an ember that ignited the fury of all the Great Zhou civilians. They were motivated by this, and within Ludong Province, there were 10 riots within a day.
Being influenced by this, wherever the Great Xia Army passed, the cities surrendered easily.
Getting the news, Sun Bin made up his mind, ordering the left and right wings not to surround Peng City and instead go up north, using the people’s sentiment to conquer the entire Ludong Province.
One had to say that his strategy was really ingenious.
In the next week, the two wings of the Tiger legion corps were like two dragons, ferociously sweeping Ludong Province. Along with the chaos across the land, they conquered city after city.
The riots helped Great Xia’s siege while the arrival of the Great Xia Army scared the offices and local troops. One helping another, the situation quickly snowballed. With the speed of multiple cities a day, they swiftly took down Ludong.
In the end, due to the war situation being great, the two wings split up once more, with divisions as a unit to push toward the north.
On the 5th month, 20th day, apart from around Peng City, the entire Ludong Province belonged to Great Xia.
The changes happened too suddenly, and Chun Shenjun’s face turned ashen white. He gritted his teeth and ordered the Pill Sun legion corps troops to move into Peng City.
Following which, he contacted Ouyang Shuo to beg him to allow him to submit to Great Xia.
Looking at Chun Shenjun in the video, Ouyang Shuo’s expression was really complicated. That once arrogant Chun Shenjun who viewed him as his rival was left with only respect.
The character of a merchant made him put down the pride in his heart really quickly.
This conversation not only concerned the fate of Chun Shenjun but also his entire family. If Ouyang Shuo did not accept it, it would be a disaster for his whole family.
Their six years of hard work would turn into dust.
“Give me a reason to accept you,” Ouyang Shuo said expressionlessly.
Chun Shenjun’s heart shook, and he forced a smile, “Pill Sun legion corps’ main force is still alive. If we defend to the death, Great Xia will have to pay a heavy price, and both sides will suffer heavy casualties. You do not want to see that, right?”
Ouyang Shuo smiled, “That might not be the case. Who knows how long your grain can last? 10 or five days?”
“This…”
Chun Shenjun was stunned. He knew that he could not show weakness now. If he did, his only chip would be lost, so he swallowed his saliva and said calmly, “As long as we defend to the death, there would be a way.”
“That reason is not enough.” Ouyang Shuo shook his head.
Chun Shenjun was helpless and knew that he did not have the ability to bargain with Ouyang Shuo now. Ouyang Shuo saying that it was not enough meant that it was not enough. Thinking about it, he said, “As long as Peng City is not broken, the three countries might assist Handan. Accept my submission and the Battle of Great Zhou would not have any abnormalities.”
Ouyang Shuo only nodded when he heard that.
The Tiger legion corps were sweeping the Ludong Province so confidently while the Hedong legion corps were really careful in their attacks of Jingdu. Till date, they were still fighting with the Great Zhou palace guards at the border.
There were two reasons for this.
First, Jingdu Province was the foundation of Great Zhou, and they were treated better. As such, the people’s sentiment there was more stable. Even when there were riots in Ludong Province, Jingdou Province was still really calm.
Secondly, they were worried the three countries would assist Great Zhou.
In order to not fall into the traps of the enemy, the two forces could only play safe and not attack recklessly.
Just as Chun Shenjun had said, once the Pill Sun legion corps surrendered and Ludong Province submitted to Great Xia, the Tiger legion corps would be able to continue to go up north. In that case, Qin, Tang, and Song would not step in anymore.
