Witch Wind

Chapter 120: Overwhelming Destruction (Part )

There is a suggestion in Dongyun today.

'The west is noble and the east is rich, the north is brave and the south is poor'!
The West is noble because it borders the East Country to the west. In order to guard against the invasion and attack from Shenzhou, many direct descendants of Dongyun's great nobles, such as the Beihe Family and the Nanshan Family, have taken up official positions in the west.

Dongfu, that's because, since the rise of the Aimee Federation, Aimee businessmen have continuously increased their investment in Dongyun for decades. The eastern islands of Dongyun are the deepest connection with the Aimee Federation.

A large number of new heavy industries such as steel mills, shipyards, and automobile factories, as well as numerous large capital consortiums, are all concentrated in the east. In addition, various advanced daily-use factories and various new businesses are basically also in the east.

Bei Yong, this is forced. The northern islands of Dongyun are adjacent to the seven Beiming Islands. That is the focus of the struggle between Dongyun and Saint Ross. The northern islands have been harassed by the Saint Ross Far East Army for many years, forcing the people of the northern islands to be tough and ready to fight all year round. Those northern nobles are almost desperate and aggressive, and their military power is at its peak.

The Dongyun royal family also stationed a large number of regular troops in the northern islands, and even the Northern Fleet was the strongest and most elite force in the Dongyun native fleet, except for the royal fleet stationed in "Yunxiang Island".

Poor South.

Just look at the nobles on Nanpipa Island, who have fallen to the point of borrowing high-interest loans from big businessmen to make a living. Agriculture is not good; industry is almost zero; and minerals, except for a few poor iron and coal mines, other valuable minerals are almost nonexistent.

There are more than 200 islands of various sizes, and people survive on the little rice grown in the fields and the little salted fish caught from the sea.

poverty!
So poor!

Even how the princes and nobles of Dongyun arranged the southern islands - the poor people in the south were reluctant to let their tears fall to the ground, but would catch them with a spoon, and then accumulate them in the future, and steam them to steam out the salt in their tears and make a dish!
Therefore, as soon as Beihecang released the killer weapon of "five-year tax exemption", the southern islands surrendered wherever Xing Tianli's fleet passed - before surrendering, they all followed suit and massacred all the merchants in their own territories.

In just over a month, the 273 islands in the southern part of Dongyun had a total of 5,366 noble families, including 78 dukes, 423 marquises, more than 1,200 earls, viscounts, and barons. Xing Tianli was too lazy to count them.

God knows whether the Holy Emperors of Dongyun throughout the ages were addicted to conferring titles?
In short, 5,366 noble families, big and small, joined Xing Tianli after looting the big merchants in their own territories. Their heads of families, with a large number of direct male descendants, private armies ranging from 2,000 to 100 or 200, and old-fashioned sailboats, joined Xing Tianli's expedition.

As a result, the total number of ships in Xing Tianli's expeditionary fleet expanded to 80,000!
As a result, the total number of soldiers in Xing Tianli's punitive army exceeded 10 million!

"Lord Li, are you here to help the disaster victims?" At the bow of the passenger ship, Zhao Qingqian, who was wearing a Western-style tuxedo, with a big ponytail, and waving a walking stick vigorously, mocked Xing Tianli in a playful manner.

Xing Tianli looked expressionlessly at the huge fleet that stretched for hundreds of miles behind him. Apart from the advanced passenger and cargo ships he brought from Black Borneo and the large sailing ships of Zhao Song and Zhu Ming, the so-called 80,000 ships were just some broken pieces that could sink in the sea at any time if the wind and waves were a little stronger.

Many of the ships were simply civilian fishing boats with a slightly larger displacement. They mounted two homemade cannons on the bows and pretended to be warships, sneaking into the fleet. The owners of these ships even shamelessly told Bei Hecang that they were willing to sacrifice their families for the sake of the "righteousness of the dynasty"!

Even with these shabby stuff, the four old hybrid ironclad ships that Qingshangang, Ku Tengyuan and others had finally put together were already the "elite choice"!
And those are nearly 10 million "elite soldiers and generals".

Xing Tianli didn’t know what they were here for!

Among the nearly ten million people, there were only about 100,000 slightly more advanced single-shot rifles with fixed ammunition; the number of old-style muskets, that is, black powder and lead bullet guns, was less than 500,000; and there were only about 2,000 homemade cannons that also used black powder and iron bullets.

The vast majority of soldiers carried iron-like swords, held long spears made of bamboo poles, wore "armor" made of bamboo and wood pieces, or rattan tied to wooden boards, wore military uniforms made of their own homespun cloth, and wore straw sandals made of hemp ropes.

According to information gathered by the Jinyiwei sent by Wei Zhongxian, among these nearly 10 million "elite soldiers and generals", 60% were "armed peasants". They paid a "military fee" of three taels of silver per person and "bought" the "opportunity to join the army and make a fortune" from their own lords!
These guys know nothing about "clearing the court", "correcting the government", "changing the world", etc. They just know that their lord said that there are mountains of gold and silver in front of them, and as long as they take up their weapons and dare to fight and kill, they can take home a lot of money, get enough money to marry a wife, and have a warm bed with a wife and children!

Let’s not talk about the fighting ability of these guys for now.

But Xing Tianli had seen how big their appetites were.

Along the way, the elite soldiers and generals brought by the nobles were like a group of starving ghosts, and they were stuffed to death with three meals a day. In Xing Tianli's fleet, the cargo warehouses were filled with the top-quality long-grain fragrant rice from Black Borneo, which was much more fragrant, sweeter, and tastier than the native rice varieties of the southern islands!

Xing Tianli did not skimp on food for these guys. There was enough rice, and there was the sea next to them. They could cast nets freely along the way, and each net could catch thousands or tens of thousands of kilograms of big fish.

Then, let’s build it?

Xing Tianli, Zhao Qingqian and others were horrified to find that these guys, who were only four feet and twelve inches tall, could consume five kilograms of rice and an equivalent amount of sea fish per person for three meals a day!

Take those sea fish for example, they are free and are caught from the sea by these 'elite soldiers' every day.

The salt and various seasonings used to cook sea fish were all brought by Xing Tianli from Black Borneo.

Especially those spices that can remove fishy smells. In Black Borneo, these things are not very valuable. If they are sold to hundreds of countries in the Far West, the same weight of spices can be exchanged for the same weight of silver!

These "elite soldiers" who seemed to have never had enough food in their lives, had a rare opportunity to be taken advantage of. When they added spices into the pot of stewed sea fish, they were so cruel and ruthless that they would put one or two ounces of spices into every pound of fish.

In just half a month, the spices wasted by these guys emptied the cargo hold of an entire cargo ship!

Just as Zhao Qingqi said, Xing Tianli came to Dongyun not to help the victims!
Ahead, two high-speed frigates belonging to the Black Borneo Fleet that were exploring the way blew their whistles at the same time. A cloud of water swelled under Xing Tianli's feet, and he soared into the air and looked ahead.

There is a huge shadow ahead, and a big island is in sight!
The most impressive thing is a solitary peak standing on the south-facing beach of the big island.

The solitary peak is pure white, like a jade disk, towering more than 300 feet high. On the top of the solitary peak, there is an ancient pine tree that looks like a welcoming sign, stretching out 70 to 80 feet toward the sea.

This solitary peak is called "Baiyunzhang" and the ancient pine is called "Qingjingseng". It is one of the "36 Sea and Sky Scenes" in Dongyun. It is far away and you can only see the solitary white peak. If you are closer, you can see fine silver lines on the smooth mountain. Some people say that it is a scripture left by a great monk on Baiyunzhang to subdue demons and protect the safety of the area.

Xing Tianli didn't know whether the silver lines on Baiyunzhang were scriptures for subduing demons.

He only knew that Baiyunzhang and Qingjing Seng both belonged to "Xileu Island".

Xilu Island no longer belongs to the southern Dongyun Islands, but is classified as part of the western Dongyun Islands.

It is strange to say that Xilu Island is only separated from the nearest southern archipelago 'Dalu Island' by a strait no more than 50 miles wide, but the conditions of the two islands are very different.

The two islands are of similar size, with a length and width of about 1,500 miles each, and the arable land area is also similar.

On Xilu Island, one acre of land can be harvested twice a year, and each harvest and each acre of land can produce more than 800 kilograms of rice; while on Dali Island, which is only 50 miles away, one acre of land can be harvested only once a year, and each harvest and each acre of land can only produce more than 200 kilograms of rice.

What is even more infuriating is that on Xilu Island, there are twelve proven gold mines, twenty-nine silver mines with large reserves, and more than a hundred copper and iron mines with astonishing reserves. In addition, near several mines, high-value minerals such as natural crystal mines and gem mines with astonishing reserves have been discovered.

In general, the number of nobles on the two islands is similar, and usually remains at around 20.

The nobles on Xilu Island spent their days in debauchery and wine, yet they could maintain tens of thousands of elite soldiers; while the nobles on Dalu Island had to eat simple meals, live on debts, and barely maintain a private army, but could only support eighteen hundred peasant soldiers!

If they were not unable to win the battle, the Dongyun nobles on the Dalu Island would have already gone to the Xilu Island with their knives to "equalize the rich and the poor".

Xing Tianli pressed down the cloud and waved his hand vigorously. "Inform the whole army, all the lords of the southern islands can march in at will. All the looted gains will belong to them without tribute." Xing Tianli pointed to Xilu Island: "It's the same for Xilu Island, and the same for other islands. First come, first served. Those who are late will have to eat dust."

Xing Tianli issued an extremely irresponsible order.

It is extremely irresponsible towards Xilu Island.

To the many Dongyun nobles who had defected to Beihe Cangyi, this order was extremely irresponsible.

But as his order was issued, in the huge fleet, within a hundred miles, on the eighty thousand shabby little wooden boats, countless Dongyun soldiers all made noises and clamored, bowing down to Xing Tianli and worshipping him, and frantically cheering in the Dongyun dialect "Long Live Li" - meaning, His Highness Li is such a good man, he must live a long life!
The dialect is crude, but you just need to understand its meaning a little bit.

Just then a gust of sea breeze blew by, and the large and small hard and soft sails on the numerous shabby wooden boats were all filled with wind. The bows of the large and small boats bumped against each other, and the sides of the boats pressed against each other. Countless Dongyun's "elite soldiers" jumped back and forth on the boats that were almost connected into one piece like irritable monkeys, waving their weapons wildly.

Xing Tianli, Zhao Qingqian, Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wei Zhongxian, Yang Nianzu and others all changed color.

In this situation, if someone on Xilu Island released dozens of fireboats loaded with tung oil or something and crashed into the black sea of ​​ships busy landing, wouldn't the "Red Cliff Fire" be repeated?
Fortunately, amid the deafening shouts, the thing that everyone was worried about did not happen.

The coalition army of thousands of South Island nobles successfully reached the beach. Many noble sons wearing large armor swarmed down and rushed to the beach with roars. Behind them, countless Dongyun soldiers jumped into the sea like crazy and rushed to the beach with all their might.

Xing Tianli waved his hand, and the Tongtian Yuling Banner soared into the sky with a gust of cold wind and headed straight for the beach.

On top of Baiyunzhang, someone was screaming.

Xing Tianli had sharp eyes. On the top of Baiyunzhang, on the flat ground of the mountaintop which was several hundred feet in radius, there was a windshield made of brocade by wealthy nobles. Men and women in gorgeous clothes were standing on the edge of the cliff, looking at the large group of people landing on the beach with horrified looks on their faces.

With his spiritual power released, Xing Tianli saw that on the back of Baiyunzhang there was a wooden herringbone staircase that led directly from the ground to the top of the mountain.

When the coalition forces launched the charge, the nobles on the top of the mountain had already discovered that something was wrong. Many men and women were trembling as they moved step by step towards the ground along the extremely narrow and steep stairs.

However, although Baiyunzhang has beautiful scenery, the terrain is also extremely dangerous.

There are almost vertical cliffs on all sides. It is relatively easy to climb up the three-hundred-foot-high herringbone stairs, but when you come down, all you can see when you look down is bottomless emptiness.

Many men and women could not move their feet at all and could only rely on the support of the guards around them. They took three or five deep breaths each time before they could barely move one step down. At their speed, it would take at least three or five hours to get down from the mountain.

Below Baiyunzhang, in the dense forest, hundreds of warriors in armor rushed out.

A warrior who looked quite prestigious and was wearing a large armor and carrying a flag on his back pointed at the large group of soldiers who had landed and shouted loudly.

Dozens of allied soldiers who were at the front instinctively knelt down on the ground with a thud.

It was obvious that the group of warriors were all nobles. When these poor peasant soldiers saw these important figures, their first reaction was to kneel down and beg for mercy.

But suddenly, dozens of South Island nobles who rushed off the boat drew their pistols and pulled the triggers at the hundreds of warriors.

Amid the gunfire, the warrior in heavy armor was blown flying, hit by at least a hundred bullets, and blood spurted all over the ground.

On the beach, many soldiers who were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, as well as many soldiers who were standing aside, shuddered together.

Xing Tianli could clearly feel that the aura of these South Island soldiers had changed all of a sudden. They went from being timid little lambs to lambs with sharp teeth.

'Boom'!
More than five hundred old-style muskets fired at the same time. Dense lead bullets swept out, and hundreds of armored warriors were hit and bleeding. They fell to the ground wailing.

More soldiers rushed up.

They shouted, raised various simple weapons, and surrounded the helpless noble warriors.

Swords flashed and spears stabbed.

Hundreds of warriors tried their best to kill the peasant soldiers who outnumbered them several times. But then they were exhausted and were easily surrounded and annihilated by the peasant soldiers who outnumbered them a hundred times. They were chopped into pieces in just a few moves.

A soldier laughed shrilly: "Gold, this is gold! Ah, it's gold, right? This is the first time I've seen gold in my life!"

One of the peasant soldiers even raised a severed arm and said, "Look, this ring is a gem, right? It's red, so it's a gem, right? Is it more valuable than gold? Can it buy a woman?"

The sound of "puff" was endless, and hundreds of warriors were chopped into pieces almost in an instant. Their armor, weapons, and accessories were divided up by countless peasant soldiers in a very short time.

When they saw blood, these Dongyun soldiers from the South Island turned into beasts.

When they saw blood and the "huge wealth" that they would never be able to earn from the fields in their entire lives, these Dongyun soldiers completely lost the last bit of their sanity.

Even their 'animal instincts' were completely confused.

The Nandao Dongyun soldiers marched in groups, without any strategy or tactics, nor any battle formation coordination, nor any agreed battle plans. They cheered, and under the leadership of their superiors and their lords, they marched in all directions.

"Boom, boom, boom!"
A port city less than ten miles away from Baiyunzhang was soon besieged from both land and sea.

After a brief exchange of fire, the South Island coalition forces, which had an absolute advantage in numbers, rushed into the city in a mighty force. Cries and screams rose to the sky, and soon, fires broke out everywhere in the port. Many merchants and wealthy people who were dressed in gorgeous clothes and running around were chased and intercepted by the coalition soldiers on the street, and hacked to the ground with swords.

About half an hour later, the port's executive, a local minor noble, was dragged in front of Xing Tianli and others like a dead dog.

According to the account of this minor noble, the elite private armies of the major noble families on Xilu Island had already left the island by boat more than half a month ago and headed north to join the coalition forces from Feiyun Port to attack the 'Dayun Gate' which was heavily guarded by the Dongyun royal family.

It was a strategic pass. If one wanted to quickly reach Yunxiang Island where the imperial capital was located from the western islands of Dongyun, the strait where Dayunmen was located was the only traffic route for large fleets to pass through.

According to the military intelligence reported back two days ago, the coalition forces had already begun brutal beach landing battles on several islands near Dayunmen. As the main attacking party, the coalition forces suffered extremely heavy losses in just a few days.

On Xilu Island, the senior leaders of various families who stayed behind have received orders from their own heads, asking them to draw on garrisons from various places to provide reinforcements as quickly as possible.

Therefore, it is not just Xilu Island. Now all the private armies in the western archipelago and islands of all sizes have been taken away by their respective owners.

After hearing this, Qingshangang, Kutengyuan and others' eyes turned green.

(End of this chapter)