Origin Paradise!

The siege has continued until the last thread broke.

The very front of the Tiange army formation collapsed as a result.

Jiang He summoned his gray warhorse and joined the Dragon Cavalry in a charge. More and more people were fleeing before him, and the rout was spreading rapidly like a plague.

"General, you must retreat immediately."

The Duke of Chile forcefully shoved General Hou and said sternly, "A temporary defeat is nothing to worry about. At the very least, the Great Wei has captured Dengfeng City and opened a gateway to the south."

General Hou said in a low voice, "We have not lost completely yet. As long as I recall my personal guards, I am confident that I can stop the tide of defeat. This is no exaggeration."

He was extremely unwilling at this moment. The Prince of Yong was clearly unable to fight anymore, and victory was within reach. If it weren't for this, he would not have pressed forward with his banner to fight for the last bit of morale.

“But you can’t stop him from rushing over and killing you directly.” The Duke of Tiele said resolutely, “I will cover the rear. I only ask that the General treat the Tiele soldiers well and hold Dengfeng City. For my father’s sake, the other side probably won’t kill me. The soldiers, horses, money and food are worth something.”

The two made a decision in a moment; now was not the time to hesitate.

Whoosh!

A heavy arrow felled the great banner.

General Hou gave Lord Chile a deep look, then turned and led his troops away on horseback.

From the air, countless black dots were darting about on the ground. An elite cavalry force repeatedly charged the battle line, causing the Northern Wei army to collapse. However, thanks to the steadfast defense of the 10,000 Tiele troops, the retreat of the elite forces was barely discernible in terms of strategy.

……

In the early part of September of the twentieth year of the Yongli reign.

The Northern Wei dynasty mobilized a massive army of 100,000 to march south, claiming a total of 300,000.

Due to the surrender of the Dengfeng garrison commander, the city of Dengfeng on the front line fell.

A day later, the three counties of Wuyang were massacred, and the Northern Wei army attacked Dongyang City, the core of Qingzhou. During this time, the two forces merged and fought fiercely for several days before finally being defeated.

During the two general sieges, the Northern Wei suffered a total loss of more than 30,000 men. On the eleventh day, the Skeleton Dragon Cavalry pursued and killed 40,000 men for thirty miles, winning the Battle of Dongyang and capturing the eldest son of the Wuhuan chieftain of the Northern Wei army.

Hou Yanshan, a general of the Northern Wei Dynasty, led 30,000 remaining troops to retreat and defend Dengfeng City.

On the afternoon of the 12th, at the Yongwang Mansion in Dongyang City.

Jiang He stayed at the Altar of the God of Earth and Grain for a full two hours.

There are currently 50,000 corpses available for processing. Naturally, some materials that were trampled into mud could not be used to make up the numbers, and ultimately 10,000 ordinary evil soldiers were trained.

The good news is that the Northern Wei's Jianghu Camp, Personal Guard Camp, and Chongshan Chongyue Guard have a lot of valuable high-level materials, which has replenished the Skeleton Dragon Cavalry and increased their total number to 5,000, greatly increasing their strength.

"The Prince Yong's guards will be wiped out completely."

After resolving the internal strife, the reserve force led by Lao Hei had to go to plug the breach. General Hou's methods of cultivating talent were quite remarkable. Seeing that the defeat was inevitable, the leader of his personal guards actually prepared to lead his men into the city to hunt down Pei Yuye and others, forcing the Dragon Cavalry to return to reinforce.

Fortunately, the defenders from the other city walls arrived in time.

"Dongyang Guard has only 1,200 men left."

Jiang He pondered. Dongyang Guard was not his unit, and besides, defending the city was the duty of the guard post, so he didn't really care.

"The 3,000 men of the Vanguard Battalion will be transferred to rebuild the Yongwang Guard."

"Ten thousand vicious soldiers will form the Vanguard Army."

"Five thousand skeleton dragon cavalrymen, the royal palace can barely hold them."

By the time the military mobilization was over, night had fallen.

A victory celebration banquet is being held in the Chengyun Hall of the Prince's Mansion.

The banquet was attended by thousands of people and was extremely lively. Jiang He, who came from a fishing family, was not particularly interested in the etiquette of the imperial clan. He casually invited the remnants of the Dongyang Guard to join the banquet so that he could finalize the military pay and pension matters with the Pei family.

"Your Highness, this is a document from the imperial court."

The table at the very front of the banquet is surprisingly small.

Pei Yuye handed over several documents with a smile.

"Jiang Asan is promoted to the rank of Second Grade General of Dengfeng".

"Gui Man was promoted to Commander of the newly established Wuyang Guard, a rank of third grade."

"Jiang Ada has been promoted to Commander of Dongyang Guard, a rank of third grade."

"Pei Yuye, Provincial Administration Commissioner of Qingzhou, second rank."

"Jiangdang Road, bestowed the title of Earl of Weining".

"Jiang A'er, the title of Marquis of Renyuan."

A series of job transfers were possible because, as Minister of War, Pei was a key figure in military achievements. The specifics of his promotion were within the realm of manipulation.

"Congratulations, Your Highness." Pei Yuye bowed slightly and said, "With fame and power combined, and with the support of the imperial canal for military expenses, Your Highness can influence 50,000 troops as long as you are sure that your subordinates are reliable."

A force of fifty thousand, a powerful regional king.

"The prerequisite is that Dengfeng City must be reclaimed." Jiang He put down the document.

If the General of the Southern Liang Dynasty fails to deliver the imperial edict, exceeding the required three-month travel time, he shall be executed.

Pei Yu nodded and said, "In the court, there isn't much criticism of the prince's greed for military power. The eldest prince and Lady Xie even pushed for it during the bestowal of titles and rewards. They hoped that the prince would die under the walls of Dengfeng."

"The 30,000 people of the newly established Dengfeng Town will be filled by the Five Guards of Qingzhou. These Five Guards will recruit reserve soldiers and able-bodied men locally to complete the reconstruction."

"Your Highness has only three months to take Dengfeng City."

Jiang He remained noncommittal. Now that A-Da was the commander of Dongyang Guard, he could lead the Cui Feng Army to guard Dongyang City and the Prince's Mansion together with Lao Hei. As for the 10,000 evil demon soldiers being a bit excessive, it didn't matter, since the evil demon soldiers didn't need to eat.

The original Dongyang Guard officers and soldiers were naturally promoted to other guard posts in Qingzhou, which also expanded the influence of the Prince's Mansion.

The most urgent task now is to resolve the issue of the Indian garrison in Dengfeng.

"After taking Dengfeng, I want the position of General of Gaomi," Jiang He said.

Pei Yu narrowed his eyes. Gaomi City was the gateway from Qingzhou to the heart of Nanliang. In theory, whoever controlled Dengfeng, Dongyang and Gaomi would be the master of Qingzhou.

“If we can win, we can proceed.” Pei Yuye pondered for a while before agreeing, “But Your Highness, please don’t neglect my daughter Xuanran.”

Jiang He frankly admitted, "I can't get pregnant."

"Your Highness, please try a hundred times. Whether it succeeds or not, we'll see. I will never go back on my word." Pei Yuye snorted twice, left a government report, and took his leave. He had faith in the physique and endurance of the second-best candidate in the land.

Second in line to be appointed as a candidate for the imperial examination.

King Yong of the Southern Liang Dynasty.

Martial Arts Assessment: Realm unknown, lineage unknown, secret techniques unknown. Outside Dongyang City, he successively killed 11,800 armored soldiers and also killed the seventh sword master, a candidate for the world. His appearance is elegant and handsome, with a dignified and aloof demeanor, and his beauty is like jade. He is unique in the world.

Overall assessment: Because she is not a woman, she cannot be ranked first in rouge.

Chapter 564 Snake Shedding, Sub-Hero

September 12th, night.

The mobilization order from Jiang Asan, the general of Dengfeng, was transmitted to the commander of the five guards of Qingzhou through the Pei family's falconry.

To everyone's surprise, the five commanders did not outwardly comply with the appointment of the newly appointed commander-in-chief from another region.

It wasn't just the Prince of Yong standing behind Jiang Asan; in fact, the local garrison system in Qingzhou had long been controlled by the Pei family. Officers above the rank of a thousand were either family branches, relatives by marriage, or former students and friends. That's why they chose to defend the Donglai defense line to the death during the critical moment of the war.

After the victory in the Battle of Dongyang, Pei Yuye's prestige as the head of the family was greatly enhanced. After all, a family head who proved with his actions that he was willing to die for the family was undoubtedly trustworthy.

Therefore, the five guards of Qingzhou were quickly assembled, and the commanders were transferred to the rank of third-grade guerrilla generals. The Pei family began to establish the new five guards.

Three days later, on September 15th...

After the Five Guards of Qingzhou arrived, they received a reward.

The Prince's Palace contributed 200,000 shi of grain, equivalent to the same amount of silver. Three-quarters of this was given to those responsible for defending the city, while the remaining quarter was used as a reward for the Five Guards of Qingzhou.

Before the soldiers of the Five Guards could rejoice, the Yong Prince's guards stormed into the main camp outside the city, capturing twenty-four officers, including a deputy commander, and executing them all. However, the eldest son of the Northern Wei army commander confessed, revealing most of the names of the spies. During the execution, he was also beaten for making baseless accusations and had half his leg broken.

After the incident, the soldiers of the Five Guards, who had just received their money and some of whom had already spent a considerable amount, were too embarrassed to go directly to the Prince's Mansion. Instead, they went to Pei Yuye, the current top official in Qingzhou.

In reality, whether it was privately rewarding the troops or executing officers, both directly offended the emperor's authority and were punishable by death.

However, given that Emperor Wu of Liang was currently a monk, Pei Yuye only replied with two words in response to the urging.

—Endure it.

Based on his understanding of Prince Yong, the fact that he was willing to use diplomacy before resorting to force this time already indicated a compromise.

As expected, the military order was issued that very night—the five guards of Qingzhou were integrated into the Qingzhou Army, and two Yongwang Guard thousand-household teams were added, totaling 30,000 men, who, together with the Skeleton Dragon Cavalry, would set off northward at noon the day after tomorrow.

The news caused an uproar throughout the city.

Even now, Dongyang City has not even finished repairing the breaches, and the risk of starting another war is simply too great.

……

The moon was full and round like a plate at night in the Prince Yong's mansion.

[Hint: Mythical-level Fallen Curse has awakened]

"Two thousand of the Prince Yong's guards will be your personal soldiers. You will achieve great success in sieges. At that time, a new army will be formed and placed under your command to guard Dengfeng."

In the garden, Ah San followed behind someone and obeyed orders. At present, Qingzhou was undoubtedly the main base. Its geographical location was acceptable, and its coastal fishing and salt industry was developed. At least it was better than a place that was surrounded by enemies.

"Master, when we occupy Dengfeng, can I decide to launch a war to the north?" Ah San asked lazily. "Sometimes it's very difficult to hold out by only defending and not attacking."

Offense is also a form of defense.

"You can decide for yourself then. If you can't hold it, then come back with your tail between your legs. It's just a city; it's not worth risking your life to fight and defend it."

"clear."

Jiang He waved his hand, and Ah San took his leave.

The remaining thousand fierce guards of Prince Yong spread out in the garden, each with their backs to the garden pavilion, forming a circle around each other. Together they pulled up a silk curtain, and a faint mist lingered in the air, preventing outsiders from peeping.

"One hundred times."

"As the body is strengthened, the cost of losing kidney essence also increases."

"Normally, four times is not enough to feel tired. If you use the time loop around midnight, that's seventy-two times. To be specific, if you want to maintain peak speed each time, you'd have to maintain it for about half an hour, unless you push yourself too hard."

Jiang He stroked his chin, meaning that if he wanted to, he could easily continue breeding activities for several years.

An unfurled scroll revealed the original text of the Tibetan Military Manual.

Under the moonlight, her beautiful figure appeared.

Pei Xuanran remained as cold as ice as ever. The white dress she wore was gone, replaced by a shirt and a knee-length skirt. Her exquisitely beautiful face had eyes like cold pools, but the beauty mark at the corner of her eye hinted at a charming allure. Her nose was high and straight, and her lips were light in color, like cherry blossom petals.

The moonlight, like a veil, outlined her breathtaking silhouette. The two full moons stretched her clothes into a suffocating curve, and the night breeze lifted her hair, which then wrapped around her slender waist.

For Pei Xuanran, the time from the moment she fell into the other party's hands to now has been nothing more than the blink of an eye.

"Mortal, what's the point of you humiliating me?" Pei Xuanran said coldly, his eyes sweeping around, but his pupils contracted slightly.

The open environment of the garden pavilion made her tense up, and a hint of nervousness appeared in her eyes.

Jiang He said calmly, "Emotions that have never been expressed will never disappear; they are merely buried and will one day erupt in an even uglier way."

Pei Xuanran's face turned deathly pale, and he murmured, "One day?"

"Right now."

……

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

At dawn, autumn dew clung to the leaves in the garden.

The Yongwang Guard, composed of vicious soldiers, is undoubtedly the most loyal warrior, having been on guard since the previous night.

During this period, countless powerful and influential figures from Dongyang City visited the Prince Yong's residence, but none of them were able to meet the prince. Fortunately, there was the head steward.

"A centurion receives a thousand taels of silver, but receives no military pay for ten years after taking office."

"But sir, in the late dynasty, it only cost three hundred taels..."

"You want to use the sword of the past dynasty to kill me now?"

"Don't dare, don't dare."

In front of the Prince's Palace, a young man in black robes with a sinister expression sat behind a desk and wrote the name of the new centurion with a stroke of his brush.

The wealthy merchant, dressed in fine silks and satins, wiped the fine sweat from his brow. Seeing that his eldest son's name was registered, he tried to suppress his excitement and had his servants bring up the silver chest.