Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 248: A 1.2 Million Army in the Western Regions

From the capital to the Xinglingzhou in the Western Regions, it is a distance of 6,400 li. Xin Zhuo and his group are all Martial Dao experts with high cultivation levels. They are wearing lightweight leather armor and riding on high-quality horses from the Western Regions, allowing them to travel 300 li in a single day.

Even so, traveling over 6,000 li took them nearly a month.

News kept coming from the front. After suffering a disastrous defeat initially, the Western Qin army, composed of elite soldiers, finally stabilized their position. They have been engaging in battles with the various countries in the Western Regions, with victories and losses on both sides.

When they arrived at the neighboring prefecture of Xinglingzhou, the architecture and attire of the people became peculiar. Oval-shaped buildings and colorful clothes filled their sight. Even the ethnic makeup had changed, with people having big noses and thin lips, different from the people in the Central Plains.

They encountered many Practitioners on the road, with varying realms. However, they all wore rough clothing, resembling a group of ascetic Practitioners. But their ruthlessness was extraordinary. Xin Zhuo witnessed a group of small Great Masters using swarm tactics with a sea of bees to wear down and kill three Half-step Grand Great Masters for a Spiritual Herb.

Of course, no one dared to provoke a large army passing through. Firstly, it represented the imperial court, and there was still a strong reverence for the court among ordinary Practitioners. Secondly, the charging battle formations of the army were difficult for ordinary Practitioners to withstand.

After passing through the Kunmeng Mountains for 300 li, the devastation of war became evident in the neighboring prefecture. Large areas of crops were trampled by horse hooves, villages were destroyed, and the roads were filled with people rushing, carts and horses speeding by. The common people carried their belongings, dragging their families along. Women and children occasionally fell behind, crying helplessly.

When they saw a military force approaching, many people panicked and fled to the mountain gullies and forests on both sides, clearly frightened by marauding soldiers.

Xin Zhuo slowed down his horse and looked around at the terrified and hollow-eyed people, as well as the devastated villages. He felt a heavy heart. Without personally coming to the frontlines of war, one could never fully understand the horrors of war. The common people were originally living peaceful lives, but now they had to leave their homes and hide from the ravages of war. The four words "difficult to leave one's homeland" were the most difficult choice in the world.

Sheng Lingge rode closer and said, "Prince, after passing through the Kunmeng Mountains, we will enter the territory of the three provinces and eighteen prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Western Zhou in the Western Regions. Judging from the surrounding terrain, it seems that a major battle took place here a few days ago!"

"Bring me the map!"

Xin Zhuo waved his hand, and Xiong Zhang rode over from a distance, taking out a meticulously drawn topographic map from his pocket. Xin Zhuo had redrawn it based on the original map and the descriptions of the old Western Qin soldiers in the Iron Floating Guard, leaving no detail untouched.

The group gathered around, and Xin Zhuo pointed to the mountains, rivers, and roads on the map, saying, "From this location to the Western Qin General's Mansion in Xingling Prefecture, it's about 370 li. Considering that the other two provinces, Guiwei and Qiuling, have already fallen, and all the prefectures along the way are completely in enemy hands, the Southern Shen Ce Army and the Northern Dianqian Army are playing around, shrinking the frontlines and unable to provide support.

Therefore, the Western Regions' army can easily come from the southern Gouyu Mountain and the northern Fenceng, which means that in the next 300 li, we may encounter enemy troops at any time!"

Sheng Lingge said, "The Western Qin Marshal's Mansion has already sent people to pick up the Prince. They might have already arrived a hundred or two hundred li ahead. It should be fine."

"It's not fine!"

Xin Zhuo played with the small sword in his hand and said, "The court intentionally informed the Western Regions of my whereabouts. As long as the Western Regions are not fools, they will intercept me on this front line. If I am killed, the Western Qin army will be in chaos, and they will collapse at the first blow. Everyone will go their separate ways."

Sheng Lingge and Murong Xiu's faces turned pale.

Xin Zhuo said, "We still need to be prepared. How many troops did the Western Regions send this time? How many might intercept me?"

Sheng Lingge looked somewhat embarrassed and rubbed his stubbly chin. "The main belligerent countries in the Western Regions this time are the Gui Fang, Gu Mo, and An Xi. The three countries have sent a total of 810,000 troops. The remaining ten countries, such as Lou Che, Shi Wei, and Yi Nai, have sent a total of 420,000 troops. In total, there are over 1.2 million troops. It's hard to say which ones will come."

"Damn it!"

Bai Jianxi, who had learned the local dialect very well, widened his eyes and said, "Isn't this nonsense? Over a million troops?"

"Their combat power is average!" Sheng Lingge laughed. "In fact, one of our old Western Qin soldiers can take on four, five, six, or seven of them. They're just a bunch of shorties!"

"How did these shorties wipe out 180,000 Western Qin soldiers?"

Huang Dagui rubbed his one eye and said, "Lao Sheng, you can't lie about military intelligence!"

"What military intelligence did I lie about?" Lao Sheng himself didn't think much of Huang Dagui and his group. He found them too noisy and they were former bandits. He turned to Xin Zhuo and asked, "What are your thoughts, Prince Jun?"

Xin Zhuo pointed to the map and said, "Send someone to negotiate with the incoming soldiers from the Western Qin. Let them wait at Baiwu Mountain. We will change our route and take a smaller path, cutting through this shortcut and rushing for 200 li!"

"Yes!"

The thousand troops set off again, veering onto the small path towards Baiwu Mountain.

Just half an hour after the troops had left, dust rose in the distance, accompanied by the thunderous sound of horse hooves. Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Western Regions, wearing white hats, leather armor, and wielding long spears, charged towards them.

"Ah..."

"Ah..."

Along the way, the common people were mercilessly slaughtered. Not a single woman, child, or elderly was spared. In no time, the ground was covered in corpses. More people in the distance hurriedly fled into the mountains.

At this moment, the tens of thousands of soldiers in leather armor split apart, and a young man with a cold expression emerged from their midst. He wore golden armor and had golden hair. In his hand, he held a heavy and sharp Fangtian painting halberd. He glanced indifferently in the direction of the Iron Floating Guard's horse hooves and smiled, "This Prince of the Western Qin from the Great Zhou Dynasty is quite clever. The situation where the princes would hunt has been disrupted!"

A beautiful and sharp-nosed female general behind him cupped her fist and asked, "Prince Jing Lvji, should we inform the princes and princesses ahead about the hunt?"

Prince Jing Lvji of the Ghost Fang Kingdom pondered for a moment and looked towards the distant blue sky. "When an eagle hunts a small white rabbit, it ultimately depends on the sharpness of its eyes. They naturally know about the movements of the Prince of the Western Qin. Why do we need to inform them?"

After speaking, he raised his halberd and pointed towards the small path that Xin Zhuo had taken. "Attack!"

Boom!

Tens of thousands of soldiers in leather armor mounted their demonic horses and howled like ghosts and wolves as they chased after the small path, raising a cloud of dust along the way.

...

Xin Zhuo and his group had been rushing for about two hundred li. Every village and city they passed by had collapsed houses, smoke and corpses everywhere. Poultry, cattle, and sheep had been brutally chopped into pieces and scattered all over. The fields along the roadside were in complete disarray.

There were still some surviving commoners, with disheveled hair and bloodstained faces. They sat numbly by the roadside, not even attempting to dodge when they saw the army passing by. They had already lost hope.

"These... are all the people of the Great Zhou and my Jiang family!"

Sheng Lingge sighed deeply, his eyes turning red. This rough and tough man couldn't hold back his emotions.

Cui Ying'er, Han Qiniang, Sai Qingzhu, Xiong Zhang, and the other women choked up several times along the way.

When there is prosperity, the people suffer; when there is decline, the people suffer...

Being on the front lines of war, Xin Zhuo suddenly understood the meaning of this phrase. Perhaps, when he had come, he had prepared to cause trouble and play around everywhere. But at this moment, he suddenly felt that he could fight a few battles.

"Prince, Baiwu Mountain is just twenty li ahead. Once we pass Baiwu Mountain, we will be in the territory of Xingling Prefecture. There are over ten thousand troops from the Western Qin there, and the enemy soldiers dare not approach. We have been on the road for a day, so let's eat something." Hongshu took out a large bag of jerky from her backpack.

(End of this chapter)