Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

(Shen Lang's home field)

On the Liaodong battlefield, the Goguryeo and Northern Yan armies were on the front lines.

"boom--"

A loud explosion rang out in front of the military trenches, instantly turning into a blaze of flames, forcing the Northern Yan army to not dare to peek out and launch an attack.

Boom boom boom——

Explosions echoed through the air as boulders coated in oil, launched from over thirty catapults and two hundred Newton cannons, turned the entire battlefield into a sea of ​​fire.

The Northern Yan soldiers inside the trenches were blackened by the smoke and fire, and many of them were suffocated by the thick smoke.

Since the Northern Yan army launched its general offensive against Goguryeo in early March, it has now been two full months in May.

However, the war did not seem to go as smoothly as Murong Ke had expected.

After the Northern Yan cavalry invaded Goguryeo territory, they were surrounded by countless fortresses.

Furthermore, Goguryeo's supply lines were all located on high ground, giving the Goguryeo army a significant advantage. From this vantage point, they launched a barrage of arrows at the Northern Yan army, preventing them from advancing even half a step further.

Therefore, after losing all of its cavalry advantage, the Northern Yan army could only rely on trenches to confront the Goguryeo army.

Unexpectedly, this battle, which should have ended within half a month, dragged on for a full two months.

These two months have placed immense logistical pressure on Northern Yan.

The 130,000-strong Northern Yan army was blocked by a cluster of fortified strongholds. To win this war, these strongholds had to be removed one by one.

During this period, Murong Chui also tried to lead his cavalry to bypass and outflank the enemy, but all of them failed.

The only way to break the deadlock now is for the Taegi Kingdom's army to launch an attack from the rear on Rangju, the capital of Goguryeo.

However, since January, a full four months have passed, and the Taiji Kingdom has yet to make any move.

The information received within Northern Yan indicated that Shen Lang had already taken control of most of Goryeo and was directing the Taegi army to advance towards Rangju.

However, the Taiji Kingdom's army was advancing at an extremely slow pace, which had already caused the Northern Yan soldiers fighting on the front lines to become full of complaints.

"Damn it, it's so frustrating to just take the hits without fighting back!"

After swallowing a mouthful of ash, the Northern Yan soldiers inside the trench began to curse loudly.

"What exactly is the Taiji Kingdom up to? It's been so long, why is there still no movement?"

"Don't worry, General Murong Wei has already sent people to negotiate with the Taiji Kingdom, and we'll have news soon."

"What a disgrace! I've never fought a war like this in my entire life. If we hadn't run out of ammunition last year fighting the Sirius Kingdom, we wouldn't be stuck here suffering in this place."

Similar grievances occurred almost daily inside the trench.

However, this did nothing to change the current stalemate in the battle.

Meanwhile, at this very moment, in the military camp of the Taiji Kingdom, a hundred miles away from Rangzhou, wisps of smoke were rising from the chimneys.

New recruit Zheng Zhiying was sitting in front of a rice bucket, stuffing large mouthfuls of coarse grain cornbread into her mouth.

While he was eating, his companion suddenly nudged his shoulder, gesturing for him to look to his left.

Following her companion's gaze, Zheng Zhiying looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a group of short-statured soldiers from the Yunshang Kingdom eating large mouthfuls of white rice balls and a large bowl of meat soup.

His companion's eyes were filled with envy and jealousy: "These prisoners from the Cloud Kingdom can actually eat white flour and meat soup. This is so unfair to us."

Jung Ji-young: "There's nothing we can do about it. It was Kim Il-sung who arranged for them to accompany the military, also to keep an eye on us."

"I will not listen to these robbers. The people of Taiji Kingdom are the most outstanding nation in the world. I am really not satisfied with letting a bunch of robbers lord it over us."

"But if we don't obey, we'll get beaten."

"Let them try hitting me if they dare, I'll beat the crap out of them."

The next second, the Taiji Kingdom soldier who had spoken was kicked hard and knocked to the ground.

Immediately following was a thunderous voice: "Baka, what did you just say? You're going to beat the shit out of me, aren't you?"

Today I'll show you who beats whom to a pulp. Watch this!

The next moment, the camp was filled with the muffled thuds of fists hitting flesh, and the cries of Taiji Kingdom soldiers begging for mercy.

Upon seeing this, the Taiji Kingdom soldiers around them all turned their heads away, not daring to utter a sound.

Meanwhile, the members of the Cloud Kingdom's supervisory team were all laughing and joking.

"Ida-kun, you're really ruthless. Beat them, beat these arrogant but incompetent Korean pigs to death."

"A bunch of cowards who would wet their pants if they went into battle; all they're good for is talking tough."

"Alright, Mr. Jingtian, that's enough. If we really kill someone and the Duke of Zhenguo finds out, it's a small matter if we disembowel them, but it would be terrible if we were sent back to Yunshang Kingdom. I don't want to go back to living a life where I only get one meal a day and I can't even get enough to eat."

Upon hearing this, Jing Tian stopped and pointed at the Korean soldier curled up on the ground with his head in his hands, cursing, "I'll teach you a lesson today. If I hear you talking nonsense behind my back again, I'll tear your mouth apart. Do you hear me?"

Then he pointed to the Taiji Kingdom soldiers around him: "And you too, know your place and your status."

We were all invited by the Duke of Zhenguo from the Kingdom of Yunshang to look after you. If you dare to disrespect us, then you are disrespecting the Duke of Zhenguo.

"The Duke of Zhenguo is a nobleman of the Celestial Empire; who among you dares to offend his retainers and servants? It's utterly lawless!"

Faced with Jingtian's arrogant attitude, the Taiji Kingdom soldiers didn't dare to utter a single word.

After all, they understand perfectly well that words can never beat fists.

Seeing that no one reacted, Jingda immediately returned to the supervisory team with an arrogant air.

These Japanese soldiers were naturally recruited by Shen Lang from the Kingdom of Clouds, numbering over two thousand in batches.

Of course, Shen Lang was well aware that with the current technology and tactics of the Yunshang Kingdom, participating in the Liaodong battlefield would be tantamount to suicide.

But they have one characteristic that Shen Lang needs most right now.

That is to absolutely obey oneself and worship oneself as a god.

Even if you ordered them to die immediately, these Japanese soldiers would draw their swords and commit suicide without batting an eye.

This is also a cultural characteristic that has formed in the Cloud Kingdom over the years: a solidified and distinct class system, and absolute and unconditional obedience to the strong.

It would be perfect to let these Japanese devils manage the loosely organized Tai Chi people.

Therefore, as soon as these Japanese soldiers arrived on Korean soil, Shen Lang immediately elevated their status above that of the Taegi soldiers.

At first, the Taiji soldiers were very dissatisfied, but after being beaten up by the Japanese, they became completely obedient.

At the same time, the resentment in his heart was completely transferred from Shen Lang to the soldiers of Yunshang Kingdom.

Shen Lang could then easily distance himself from the matter, and even the thousand-plus government troops of the Great Chu in Goryeo could be completely wiped clean.

Despite their anger, after being beaten several times, the Taiji soldiers really didn't dare to disobey the orders of these Japanese devils.

Because they discovered that these Japanese soldiers were indeed extremely vicious, and that they were truly willing to go into battle, even risking their lives.

In just these few months, more than two hundred Japanese soldiers have died on the battlefield in small-scale conflicts with Goguryeo.

Moreover, everyone died from a frontal attack; no one was stabbed in the back.

Such cruelty truly shocked the Taiji Kingdom soldiers.

Not far from the military camp, Shen Lang witnessed the entire process of the Japanese soldiers bullying the Koreans, but he did not go to stop them.

His intention was to condone the Japanese soldiers' violence against the Taiji Kingdom's soldiers, thereby forcing them to completely submit to him and become the henchmen of the Chu Kingdom in its future rule over the Taiji Kingdom.