AEOGA CH94

The war was on the verge of breaking out, and the situation was changing rapidly.

Changli officially declared war on Yelang, severing all cooperative ties and trade. Merchants doing business in Yelang had already caught wind of the trouble and pulled back to their homeland. Industries across Yelang instantly fell into a depression; supply shortages surged, prices skyrocketed, and the common people voiced grievances everywhere.

Yelang did not take this to heart. Since they had prepared to wage war, they naturally possessed the resolve to break off diplomatic relations. Most of Yelang’s trade ties were far more intimate with Xifeng and Leyang—Changli alone could not control Yelang’s economic lifelines. As long as they won this war, Changli’s brief economic sanctions would amount to nothing, and they would secure a much longer future.

Nothing else mattered; grain and medical supplies were the absolute top priorities amidst the rising flames of war. Even if Changli refused to sell them grain, they still had Xifeng and Leyang. As for the anesthetic, Yelang had long since stockpiled massive quantities, sufficient to see them through this conflict.

Yelang clearly did not believe Changli could cause them any significant casualties.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the two nations engaged, Xifeng and Leyang immediately followed suit, declaring they would no longer maintain any cooperative relations with Yelang—clearly standing on Changli’s side.

This matter threw the Emperor of Yelang into a towering rage, causing him to slam his hand on the table and rise: “How dare they!”

The ministers below hastily consoled him: “It is merely the weak grouping together—a mantis trying to stop a chariot, hardly worth mentioning.”

In Yelang, men were revered, and they had always looked down upon nations governed by women. The beauty and prosperity of Xifeng and Leyang had largely aided Yelang’s development—Yelang possessed strong military power, forcing Xifeng and Leyang to agree to losing trades, using grain to feed Yelang’s troops and silver to forge Yelang’s weapons. Xifeng and Leyang were naturally unwilling, but with their national strength lagging behind Yelang across generations, they had no choice but to swallow their resentment. Arrogant and conceited, Yelang had long considered these two female-led nations as their vassals. Had a troublesome Changli not stood between them, Yelang would have long since claimed both territories for itself.

To think that these two “vassal states,” who had been obedient for years and never taken seriously by Yelang, actually dared to follow Changli in rebelling against them—it was utterly unpardonable.

By pulling Xifeng and Leyang into its camp, Changli effectively severed Yelang’s left and right arms. Losing most of their grain and economic sources, Yelang could not afford a war of attrition; they could only seek a quick victory.

Despite their fury, Yelang arrogantly believed that even if the three nations joined forces, they still could not defeat Yelang. Their secret weapon was not something just anyone could withstand.

On the other end, Xifeng and Leyang sent troops to provide military support to Changli.

Anyone with sharp eyes could tell that once this great war began, it was by no means merely a gamble between Changli and Yelang. Yelang harbored wild ambitions; if Changli fell, Xifeng and Leyang would inevitably suffer. They could never stand aside and watch with folded arms.

What was more, their agreement to stand on the same front as Changli was not based solely on courage and so-called friendship. Helian Yu and the new Emperor of Leyang were indeed far more bold and strategic than the previous generation; precisely because of this, they would not make a rash choice to stand in line and court death for nothing. At the very least, they would have maintained a wait-and-see stance for a few days to observe the situation before making plans.

When Changli traded with various nations previously, beyond the overt necessities of daily life, they secretly maintained weapon exchanges with Xifeng and Leyang. Lu Xuechao’s development of crossbow bolts had met with complete success, and he had further improved a series of military weapons including spears, lances, sabers, and swords. Their lethality was countless times greater than original military armaments, and this was the true backing that allowed Xifeng and Leyang to choose Changli’s side without hesitation.

Yelang knew nothing of this.

Yelang’s spies penetrated everywhere, possessing magical and unbelievable methods. Regrettably, Xie Chongjin had lived through an unknown number of lifetimes and fought against them countless times. Even though past events always ended in tragedy due to force majeure, he now knew every operational deployment of Yelang like the back of his hand and understood their methods and strength completely. All of Yelang’s thorough plans were already transparent in Xie Chongjin’s eyes.

If he still failed to defeat Yelang under these conditions, he truly ought to apologize with his life.

–

Everyone was preparing for this decisive battle.

Yujing

Inside the Imperial Palace, Fu Xinian, Liu Yansheng, and Shen Hezhou were swamped with work every day. The current situation was chaotic; His Majesty was leading the personal expedition, and His Highness was not in the capital either, leaving them to manage the overall situation with no time to spare. Fortunately, the Prime Minister, Grand Commander Liu, and Imperial Censor Shen were sitting in state at court. Under the guidance of their elders, the three juniors gradually handled matters with ease.

Hua Yan and Wang Yiming severed all trade with Yelang, stopping the sale of all essential goods to Yelang. Hua Yan was busy managing business accounts and hardly bumped into Fu Xinian, who was equally occupied. Wang Yiming also returned to the Wang family once—he had recently been taking over his family’s business, running back and forth hectically every day. After confirming the Wang family had completely halted business within Yelang’s borders, he ran to the Lin Villa in the suburbs of Yujing to catch his breath.

Lin Chanzhi poured a cup of fruit juice for Wang Yiming, revealing a yearning smile: “Now that the improved variety of rice has been successfully researched, the granaries everywhere are full this year, so the soldiers in the army shouldn’t go hungry. When His Majesty and the others return in triumph, they can enjoy the autumn harvest fruit; when the grapes ripen, the Empress even said he would teach me how to brew grape wine…”

Yunzhou

Hearing news of war at the border, Yun Yao’s eyes filled with concern: “Yelang previously placed a massive order for anesthetic with Jiangyan Pharmacy. The news from Yujing was not to tamper with the medicine at all—is this really… alright?”

Jiang Yue said calmly: “Believe that those two have their own strategies.”

Mount Wolong

The continuous mountain range lay like a sleeping dragon sprawled across the border between the two nations.

The first battlefield was located right here, known historically as the Battle of Wolong. Whoever could cross to the other side of the mountain and set foot in the enemy’s territory would be the winner of this war.

Dugu Ye was the most familiar with the terrain of this mountain and was invited to serve as an advisor. He brought a group of brothers willing to follow him to join the army, guarding their country as regular soldiers.

The Grand General of Weiyuan donned his armor once more to command the hundred-thousand-strong border army. Traveling with him was his proud only son, Qin Yulong, along with an elite troop personally trained by Qin Yulong.

Under the fluttering battle banners, Qin Yulong wore silver armor, riding a tall white horse. A Jade Dragon Spear reflected a sharp, brilliant light under the scorching sun.

This set of silver armor was given to him by Helian Xi prior to departure. Helian Xi had said that when he made clothes for all his brothers and friends in the palace, he had crafted this silver armor for him; he had never found a chance to gift it and wanted to wait for the right moment.

Now was the right moment.

Qin Yulong was meant to fight on the battlefield, defend his country, and repay his sovereign’s favor by offering his life on the golden altar.

Though nowadays, he cherished his life just a bit more.

Helian Xi had explicitly told him that he must stay alive and return to get married.

When Helian Xi previously led troops back to Xifeng to assist Helian Yu in ascending the throne, he was kept in Xifeng by Helian Yu to stay for over a month and was conferred the title of Prince, seemingly with no intention of letting him return.

Had Qin Yulong not been busy stepping up training for the battle, he would have long since gone to Xifeng to fetch him personally.

Thinking of Helian Xi being detained in Xifeng, Qin Yulong gazed at the distant mountains, his eyes tinged with a subtle longing.

After a considerable period of secret research, under Xie Chongjin’s permission, he had witnessed Changli’s true ultimate killing weapon—gunpowder.

That power had shocked even Grand General Qin, a veteran of countless battlefields. If Yelang possessed no weapon of equal power, it would be difficult for Changli to lose this war.

Yet no matter how certain a war was, for an individual, it remained a perilous path of nine deaths to one life.

In moments of life-and-death danger, the person one missed was surely the one held dearest in their heart.

The first time Qin Yulong went to the battlefield, he missed his father far away in Yujing.

The second time he went to the battlefield, his father was right beside him, and the person he missed most became Helian Xi.

“What are you daydreaming about? Are you thinking of me?”

A clear, bright voice drifted into his ears. Taken aback, Qin Yulong reined his horse around and saw a youth riding a jujube-red steed, his expression vibrant, heroic, and spirited.

Dressed in armor, Helian Xi was no longer cross-dressing as a woman like last time; his long hair was tied into a high ponytail, a long sword resting at his waist, revealing a sharp, high-spirited young general.

Qin Yulong blinked, unable to believe that the person he was just missing had appeared alive right before his eyes.

“Why are you here?”

“My sister sent troops to reinforce Changli, and I am here representing Xifeng,” Helian Xi said.

Qin Yulong smiled: “Could she bear to let you come?”

Changli had long received news of Xifeng’s reinforcements, but they hadn’t expected the commander to be Helian Xi.

“She couldn’t bear it, but Xifeng has an old saying: a grown man cannot be kept at home. She couldn’t keep me.” Helian Xi rode his horse alongside Qin Yulong, saying happily, “Now we can fight side by side.”

Worldly affairs were unpredictable; when they first met on the battlefield, their positions were opposing.

After many twists and turns, they had actually ended up on the same front line, becoming comrades fighting together.

“Where are His Majesty and His Highness?” Helian Xi asked.

They both knew Xie Chongjin was personally leading the expedition this time, and Lu Xuechao had come along as well; both were currently in the military camp.

Helian Yu had just ascended the throne and needed to stabilize the regime in the capital; otherwise, she would have taken the field herself instead of reluctantly sending Helian Xi over to reunite him with his beloved.

“Discussing affairs in the command tent,” Qin Yulong said.

“Is it confidential?” Helian Xi maintained good boundaries. “Then I won’t go in to pay my respects just yet.”

Before his voice completely faded, a soldier reported: “General Helian, His Majesty invites you inside.”