Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

"We need to break up and retreat into the Tannen settlement before the Daqian Zhenguo Army launches an attack on us."

"We'll meet in Tanlt then."

Morse Yarlin spread the map on the table and explained his plan of action in detail to Eligu, who had just turned the tables and taken over: "The churches, schools, residential areas, and commercial districts of Tanlt City are our primary targets."

"We must keep these targets firmly under control and take enough hostages."

"Only in this way will we have enough leverage to negotiate with the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"Tanlt is the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Tanni, and it also has the largest population."

"The permanent population is nearly 100,000."

"They make up 60 percent of the population of Tanni."

(Note: The entire country of Tani has a population of less than 200,000 and consists of seven cities. Under the latest protection order, the entire country of Tani has been transformed into a municipal-level administrative unit under the jurisdiction of the Northern Sands Protection Prefecture.)

"Therefore, this is very advantageous for us to take as many hostages as possible."

"As long as we successfully complete this step, we will have the leverage to negotiate with the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"At that time, no matter how hardcore the Daqian Zhenguo Army is, it will have to make concessions."

"After all, this is fundamentally different from the past—the Tani people we kidnapped are now part of the Great Qian Empire."

"If the Daqian Zhenguo Army disregards the safety of these Tani hostages and takes strong measures against us, they will have no foothold in the public opinion!"

"They will not put the label of disregarding the personal safety of the people of Daqian on their own heads."

"Don't worry, as long as our plan is implemented smoothly."

Morse Yarlin confidently assured Eligu, "This time, we've got the Great Qian Zhenguo Army wrapped around our little finger!"

"I hope everything goes as Advisor Yarlin said."

Eligu glanced at the bloodstains on the ground and said coldly to Morse Yarlin, "Then I will give the orders according to the plan now."

"it is good!"

Morse Yarlin nodded: "We should act quickly; we need to leave tomorrow night."

"The Great Qian Zhenguo Army has always valued speed in warfare; if we are too slow, we could easily fall into annihilation."

"Our plan emphasizes speed!"

"If we can control Tanlt City before the Daqian Zhenguo Army's operation, our plan will already be more than half successful..."

After listening to Morse Yarlin's words, Eligu nodded, gave a token greeting to Morse Yarlin and Jerome Tobias, and then left the tent with his men.

"This Eligu does have a rather 'aloof' vibe."

Watching Eligu leave, Jerome Tobias couldn't help but tease, "When it comes to fighting, he's ruthless and decisive."

"I thought Eligu was still very loyal to Dizac."

"I never expected the other party to be so 'open-minded'..."

“In any case—this agent is still more useful than that Dizac.” Morse Yarlin smiled: “He’s ruthless and doesn’t talk much; he’s gotta get things done.”

"This Eligu has a ruthless streak, which will be very advantageous for our next operation."

"I believe that Eligu will do an excellent job in completing the task we have given him."

"I want to see how the Great Qian Dynasty will handle this trouble!"

"We'll see!"

"Soon—the little-known town of Tanlt will become the focus of the entire world."

"This time, we're going to make a big scene!"

"I want to see if the Great Qian Zhenguo Army dares to take tough measures against us in front of the whole world, disregarding the safety of the hostages!"

"Didn't Shen Moshen keep saying that the Great Qian Zhenguo Army is the most reliable support for the people of Great Qian?"

"Then let the whole world see whether this shield is reliable or not!"

"Does the Great Qian Zhenguo Army truly treat the people of the overseas protectorates as citizens of the Great Qian in a genuine and equal manner?"

"Do you think the Daqian Zhenguo Army wouldn't resort to desperate measures and use the same tricks they used against the foreigners on us back then?"

Jerome Tobias suddenly spoke up.

"A trick used on the barbarians?" Morse Yarlin frowned, then understood Jerome Tobias's meaning, and hesitated before asking, "Destroy the barbarians with a meteor shower?"

"No way..."

Morse Yarlin said uncertainly, "Unless the Qian Kingdom's court truly doesn't consider the people of the Protectorate as their own..."

After Jerome Tobias said that, Morse Yarlin gave a negative answer, but his tone revealed that he himself was not quite sure about the matter.

“It shouldn’t be that serious, right…” Jerome Tobias smiled when he saw Morse Yarlin’s reaction: “I was just saying it offhand.”

"Your casual remark has reminded me."

Morse Yarlin said solemnly, "We must make the most thorough preparations and the worst-case scenario plan when facing an opponent like the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"We must make sure that the hostage crisis in Tanlt City becomes common knowledge."

"The entire event was broadcast live on television, bringing the world's attention to Tantel!"

"I refuse to believe that the people of Qian would dare to so blatantly commit massacres in front of the entire world!!!"

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Ten days later.

Tanert.

More than 2,000 armed men from the Wukan tribe stormed the streets and drove away the Tani people without restraint.

Within an hour, the Tanert City Police Department, Tanni TV Station, church, radio station, and Tanert City's largest commercial street all fell into the hands of the Wukan militia.

However, the Wukan militia did not attack the municipal government of Tanert.

In just three hours, the entire eastern district of Tanert City fell into the hands of the Wukan tribe's armed forces.

Subsequently, with the support of Morse Yarlin and others, Eligu, who replaced Dizak, addressed the Daqian court through television and radio as the leader of the Wukan tribe.

They claimed to be holding more than 20,000 Tani hostages and demanded that the Daqian Dynasty recognize the Wukan people's independent status and make a promise to the world that they would never take military action against the Wukan people.

Otherwise, they would kill all 20,000-plus hostages in their hands.

Finally, Eligu gave the Great Qian government an ultimatum—demanding a final reply within forty-eight hours.

If, after forty-eight hours, they still have not received a reply from the Great Qian or if the Great Qian directly rejects their conditions.

Then they will begin slaughtering the civilian hostages they hold!

In addition, in order to give the outside world a sufficient deterrent, the Wukan armed forces also executed dozens of prominent hostages from Tanert City in an extremely cruel manner in front of the cameras.

In his public televised address, Eligu was extremely arrogant and tough, and repeatedly warned the Daqian side not to attempt to rescue the hostages by means of a military raid.

That would only enrage the warriors of the Wukan tribe.

Enraging the warriors of Wukan will directly lead to the deaths and injuries of more civilian hostages!

"Hereby I urge the Great Qian Dynasty and the Great Qian Zhenguo Army!"

"Do not make any rash moves. We have more than 20,000 hostages in our hands."

“If you dare to take military action, we cannot guarantee the safety of the hostages.”

“If you truly consider the people of the Protectorate as citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty, then I think you would consider the safety of these citizens.”

"If you don't care about these people's lives at all, then you can simply ignore what I'm saying..."

Eligu's remarks immediately caused a huge uproar around the world.

Suddenly, all eyes were focused on Tanert, this little-known sandbar town.

The names of Ailigu and the Wukan tribal forces became renowned throughout the world.

At this point, everything was proceeding as Morse Yarlin had planned.

And this is exactly the situation Morse Yarlin wanted to see.......................

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"Tanert City has been taken over by the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"This Wukan ethnic armed group has a size of approximately 1000 to 2000 people."

"Intelligence indicates that a Cyroman named Morse Yarlin is behind all of this."

“The Wukan chieftain, Eligu, who openly challenged the imperial court on television, replaced Dizak with the support of Morse Yarlin.”

"A conservative estimate is that the number of hostages taken by this Wukan armed group is over 20,000."

"This group of Wukan militia deliberately did not attack the municipal government of Tanert City, in order to make the municipal government report the situation in Tanert City as soon as possible."

"Combined with the details of the Wukan militia's extremely high-profile public actions, everything they did was to focus the world's attention on Tanert City."

"The military has now carried out an emergency evacuation of the remaining civilians in Tanlt."

"Now, the entire eastern district of Tanlt City is surrounded by the military."

After listening to the urgent report from Chen Guyan, the head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau, Shen Moshen immediately asked, "Who is the military commander currently in charge of on-site command in Tanert City?"

"The 16th Rapid Reaction Division of the Rapid Reaction Force has been airdropped and taken over the defense of Tanlt City. Division Commander Li Weijian is temporarily in charge of on-site command."

Xu Feizhi, commander of the airborne forces and the rapid reaction force, immediately reported to Shen Moshen: "In addition, the 109th Independent Rapid Reaction Brigade of the rapid reaction force will complete its airborne landing in the suburbs of Tanert City in two hours."

"Just who is this guy named Morse Yarlin?"

Shen Moshen turned his gaze to Chen Guyan, the head of the secret intelligence bureau: "Have you found out?"

"Investigating..."

"They really are persistent." Shen Moshen frowned as he watched the news on TV. "I knew those local militias in Shazhou wouldn't have the brains to use public opinion to put pressure on the court."

"Tell Li Weijian not to act rashly."

"If we disregard the safety of the hostages and rashly take military action, we will be playing right into the hands of these remnants of the Western Roman Empire!"

"If we compromise with this Wukan militia in order to protect the safety of the hostages, the dignity of the imperial court will be completely destroyed."

"But if the safety of the hostages is disregarded and forceful measures are taken, the court will be plunged into an even greater vortex of negative public opinion."

"That's exactly what these remnants of the Western Luo regime want—no matter how the court deals with them, it won't be a loss!" Chen Guyan said solemnly. "Moreover, based on the information we have..."

“This Wukan militia is very cunning—they have taken more than 20,000 hostages.”

"Moreover, there are many armed members of the Wukan ethnic group disguised as civilians mixed in with the hostages."

"In that case, once we use special forces to launch a military rescue, those accomplices hidden among the hostages will take the opportunity to act."

"This situation undoubtedly adds considerable difficulty to our armed rescue operation."

"More than 20,000 hostages..." Shen Moshen looked at the situation on the news footage and couldn't help but feel a headache: "If we take military action to rescue them, how many of these 20,000 hostages can we save?"

"Have you done the simulation?"

"Preliminary simulation—if a military rescue is employed..."

Airborne Commander and Rapid Reaction Force Commander Xu Feizhi shook his head helplessly: "We simply cannot effectively guarantee the safety of the hostages."

"The worst-case scenario is that while we successfully wiped out this Wukan militia, all 20,000-plus hostages also perished..."

"Phew..............." Although I had expected this answer.

But when Shen Moshen heard the answer with his own ears, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

This is the first time since the formation of the Great Qian Zhenguo Army that they have encountered a situation that even the Great Qian Zhenguo Army is helpless to resolve.

Given the strength of the Daqian Zhenguo Army, there are at least a hundred ways to eliminate this Wukan ethnic armed group.

However, now we need to add the premise of "ensuring the safety of the hostages" to minimize the negative impact.

That's a different story.

This crisis is unlike any other in the past.

After all, these 20,000-plus Tanni people were now officially citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty under its rule.

Clearly, resolving the current crisis in Tanlt City has become the most pressing issue for Shen Moshen since his rebirth...