Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Like startled birds, the Falcon team members fled frantically towards Sunset City.

The soldiers of the supply convoy, all mounted on fine horses, pursued with lightning speed. Just as the Falcon Guards were cornered, a group of men suddenly appeared from the front, surrounding them and immediately engaging in fierce combat.

By the time the cavalry from the grain convoy arrived, all one hundred falconers were already trapped like turtles in a jar and captured.

At this moment, a burly and imposing man from the group strode forward and bowed to them with clasped hands.

"You've all had a hard time! My name is Ge Zhuang. I was sent by the General of Chariots and Cavalry to meet you. I never expected to run into this band of bandits so soon after leaving the city."

"Oh, it's you, Guest Minister Ge. It's a pleasure to meet you! We've just returned to Long Kingdom and we've already been harassed by these scoundrels."

If I weren't burdened with an important mission, how could I tolerate their arrogance! We were just chasing them, and it was fortunate that they were all captured by Elder Ge; it was quite a satisfying outcome.”

The commanding general spoke lightly, but in his heart he had already cursed the other party's ancestors for eighteen generations:

We fought a bloody battle and finally managed to corner them. Victory was in sight, but you just reaped the benefits!

"Hehe, General, you've worked hard. Please come with me into the city to rest. Tonight, the General of the Cavalry will host a grand banquet to welcome you back."

Ge Zhuang chuckled.

But the commanding general hesitated and declined, saying:

"The supplies being transported are still ten miles behind and haven't arrived yet. Let's wait until they've all arrived before entering the city."

"Ten miles is nothing to worry about. General, you must be tired from your journey. Let's go into the city and rest first. We can leave the task of providing support to them."

With a broad smile, Ge Zhuang enthusiastically led the general and his entourage toward the city, while waving his hand to order all the thousand soldiers he had brought to meet the grain carts.

Seeing that Ge Zhuang had already given the order, the commanding general could no longer refuse and had no choice but to lead his nearly one thousand men obediently to follow Ge Zhuang into the city.

However, to their surprise, when they filed into the city gate, the person standing in front of them was not their superior, the General of the Cavalry, but a young boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Accompanied by several elderly men with full heads of silver hair and youthful faces, the young man stood leisurely in front of the city lord's mansion, a meaningful smile on his face, watching them with great interest.

Before the commanding general could recover from this sudden turn of events, Ge Zhuang, who had been standing quietly beside him, extended a strong, powerful hand and gently placed it on the general's shoulder. With a smile, he spoke softly:

"What are you all standing there for? Quickly pay your respects to the young master!"

Upon hearing this, the commander was slightly taken aback, then as if he suddenly understood something, he turned his head sharply and looked behind him.

He was shocked to see that his more than a thousand men had been completely subdued by a group of men armed with crossbows.

Looking closer, the figures of the hundred men in black who had been captured earlier came into view. At this moment, these men in black, who had been imprisoned and bound, were now all freed and were standing arrogantly not far away, their eyes revealing undisguised malice and provocation as they coldly stared at them.

"So, you've already occupied Sunset City..."

Gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene before him, he muttered to himself, his heart filled with shock and fear. He hadn't expected that in just a few days, the heavily fortified city of Luoxia would have already fallen.

"Take them all away first!"

Mo Yuming's face was ashen as he coldly issued the order. At his command, a squad of soldiers rushed forward, bound the prisoners one by one, and took them to the prison.

Mo Yuming turned his head, his gaze falling on Young Master Su beside him, and said seriously:

"Young Master Su, these soldiers are now in your hands. How many you can win over is up to you! We need to start our counterattack now; time is of the essence!"

Young Master Su bowed slightly, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Young Master, rest assured! This humble servant will handle it immediately!"

Mo Yuming then continued to give instructions:

"Your uncle's territory is large, but his military strength is weak and his supplies are relatively scarce. Let's escort this batch of grain to Shangyuan City to replenish their supplies!"

Upon receiving the order, the generals dared not delay and immediately organized manpower to prepare to escort the grain supplies to Shangyuan City.

After several days of meticulous planning and fierce ambushes, Mo Yuming's army, like a sharp sword, pierced the enemy's vitals. They skillfully employed tactics, launching surprise attacks on enemy supply convoys and disrupting the enemy's plans time and again.

In the end, hard work paid off, and Mo Yuming successfully achieved his plan. He not only cut off the Marquis's supply lines, putting him in dire straits, but also unexpectedly captured the important border town of Shangyuan.

This strategically important city became a crucial base for their further development and expansion.

With this, Mo Yuming finally possessed enough strength and resources to make his mark in this turbulent war and write his own glorious chapter.

Now, as long as he drives the prince out, he will basically gain a foothold in this land.

As long as Mo Yuming doesn't incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, and is suppressed by all the marquises and kings of the Long Kingdom, he will have his own little territory in the Long Kingdom, and can dominate a region like a small vassal state.

As for the feud between him and Ji Wu, the other vassal states would naturally just watch the show from the sidelines, and might even be hoping to make things worse so they could gain some benefits from it.

Small forces like Mo Yuming's, which gather troops to rebel, are commonplace in the Tianxuan Continent, so it's nothing unusual.

Ji Wu suffered a defeat, his strength was weakened, and he could only bear the consequences on his own.

The Long Kingdom, to which the Great Red Kingdom belongs, would pay even less attention.

Mo Yuming's biggest problem right now is the lack of troops. After persuasion, surrender, and recruitment, Luoxia City only has 8,000 troops left.

Shangyuan City had even fewer people; with the addition of the more than 1,000 people transferred from Luoxia City, the total was only 3,500.

Therefore, Mo Yuming specifically left 50,000 gold coins for Su Yangyan to use for recruiting soldiers.

Based on the military pay standards at the time, an ordinary soldier would receive three to four gold coins per year, which could basically cover the annual pay of 10,000 soldiers.

In addition to the annual tax revenue of Shangyuan City, although the battle severely damaged Shangyuan City, it still brought in some income. As long as it is frugal, it can get through the transition period and slowly recover and grow stronger.

Both cities were entrusted to the management of Su Yangyan and his nephew by Mo Yuming. Su Yangyan was naturally grateful and his loyalty to Mo Yuming increased once again.

After arranging all the major and minor matters for the two cities, Mo Yuming also pointed out the direction for the future development of the uncle and nephew.

Before deciding to return to Jian'an City, in addition to having Leopard Lord, Da Lord, and Xing Lord who were originally stationed in Luoxia City, and Tu Lord, He Lord, and Xi Lord who were stationed in Shangyuan City, Ge Zhuang and the four Heavenly Rank experts who later swore to surrender also stay behind to enhance the combat power of the two cities.

Only Mo Yuming's place has more than five Heavenly Realm experts stationed in a small city.

It should be noted that when Lord Liao was in control of Shangyuan City, he only had one quasi-Heavenly Rank guest elder.

From the start of the effort to salvage the grain supplies of Luoxia City, Mo Yuming has been away from Jian'an City for over a month now, and Jian'an City has been besieged by the Marquis's army for seven days.

Although Mo Yuming was very confident in the defense of Jian'an City, it was, after all, the foundation upon which he depended for his survival, so it would be a lie to say that he wasn't worried.

The situation here is now basically stable, and the Houwang army's retreat route has been completely cut off.

Mo Yuming did not want to linger here any longer, so he took advantage of the night to lead six people, including Master Long, Master Hu, Master Shui, and the two hundred Falcon Team, toward Jian'an City.