Chapter 473 - 428: Disorderly Army

Chapter 473: Chapter 428: Disorderly Army

A month passed.

The situation in Xuan Yang grew increasingly chaotic.

Bai Yuan frowned, his brows tightly knitted as he looked at the battle report from the Southern Border.

’Has Li Chengyuan gone mad?’

He could understand the Emperor leading the army in person before. Since the founding of Xuan Yang by the Grand Ancestor Emperor, there had been a few martial emperors who enjoyed leading troops personally. But at most, they only commanded from the rear. An emperor like Li Chengyuan, who personally charged into battle to kill enemies, was likely the only case in history.

After all, the karmic fortune protecting Li Chengyuan now was no different from that of an ordinary Mingxin Martial Artist.

And the Southern Border had Divine Communication Powerhouses. Even with Grand Tutor Liang Yuan Kang accompanying him, it was far too dangerous no matter how you looked at it.

Of course, the effect of him leading from the front was also obvious. The Southern Border Witch Race was completely suppressed on the southern front by the Southern Garrison Army, with no opportunity to advance north. When this news reached the Central Plains, it also made many of the wavering factions settle down.

Bai Yuan put down the battle report.

Xuan Yang was now leaking from all sides, so to speak.

The rebellion of the Southern Border Witch Race was only the beginning. On top of that, Li Chengyuan’s sons were all stirring with ambition.

Take Li Dai, for instance. They were both Mingxin Martial Artists and both carried the blood of the Royal Family. If Li Chengyuan could do it, he naturally believed he could too.

Besides, given Li Chengyuan’s current madness, he might just fall on the battlefield one day.

At that moment, Li Huan walked in quickly.

"Ah Yuan, something big has happened."

Seeing Li Huan’s solemn expression, Bai Yuan pressed, "What is it?"

Li Huan took a deep breath. "The nations of Ximo have united, launching an invasion eastward into Xuan Yang."

"..."

Bai Yuan’s brows knitted tightly together.

Xuan Yang was already in enough chaos. The pressure from the Demon Sect had just vanished, and now came the nations of Ximo. This was truly a crisis of internal strife and foreign aggression.

Although the small nations of Ximo were not strong individually, their combined strength was nothing to scoff at.

Bai Yuan could already smell the stench of a dying dynasty.

Facing enemies on multiple fronts, even Xuan Yang’s deep reserves wouldn’t last more than a few years.

Li Huan’s face was etched with worry. "I hear the East Sea Race is also growing restless. If that’s the case, won’t we be beset by enemies on three fronts?"

The Xuan Yang of today was like a wounded wolf, surrounded by powerful enemies all waiting to rush in and take a bite.

Bai Yuan said, "Have our people keep a close watch on the situation in the East Sea."

"Alright."

Li Huan nodded.

Using the connections he had made at the Qingzhou Royal Mansion, he gathered intelligence from all over the realm, providing Bai Yuan with a great deal of help.

...

「Half a year passed.」

The war in the Southern Border still showed no signs of stopping.

One wave had yet to settle before another rose. The East Sea Imperial Race had indeed come ashore. As a result, of the four main armies, all but the Northern Garrison Army were engaged. Xuan Yang was besieged on three fronts, and the fighting was exceptionally brutal.

The once-plentiful national treasury was instantly depleted.

To continue funding the war, the Court had no choice but to raise taxes. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

In many places, nine out of ten households were empty. Though commoners could not serve as combat soldiers, they were conscripted to transport grain, repair city walls, and perform other duties. Coupled with the ever-increasing summer and autumn taxes, people finally snapped under the pressure.

A force calling themselves the Red Turban Army quietly rose in the West River region.

At first, it was just some farmers who could no longer endure the oppression. But as their power grew, they eventually absorbed several thousand Jianghu Martial Masters, becoming a force that could not be underestimated.

What was even more unexpected was that the Commander of the Red Turban Army had a breakthrough during a series of major battles, becoming a Divinity Grandmaster!

With this development, even the Court had to handle the situation with caution.

Grand Protector Yan Shao’an was even dispatched to personally lead troops to suppress them.

The conflicts with the Southern Border, Ximo, and the East Sea could still be resolved through exchanges of benefits, but the rebel army could truly be the death of Xuan Yang. And now, the best time to strike had already passed.

With the appearance of the first rebel army, group after group of powerful "rebel armies" began emerging from the mountains all across Xuan Yang.

Ling Province was naturally no exception.

「In a forest beside an official road.」

Several figures darted about.

"Big Brother, there’s only one Martial Artist who has developed Jin stationed in this city. Should we make our move tonight?"

A wiry man’s eyes glinted.

"Wait a little longer."

The man called Big Brother stared intently at the city wall in the distance.

They were one of the rebel factions in Ling Province. Although they looked like a ragged band of mountain bandits, the weakest among them was a Strong Internal Martial Master. The man called Big Brother was an even greater expert who had developed Jin power.

No one would believe they were rebelling simply because they couldn’t afford to eat.

Since it was a rebellion, of course they had to attack a city.

After scouting multiple times, they had chosen the city before them.

So far, no rebel army in Ling Province had successfully captured a city. If they could actually occupy this one, they would surely receive an extremely handsome reward...

The sky grew darker and darker.

More and more people gathered in the forest until, gradually, several hundred had assembled.

Sixty percent of them were Martial Artists; only forty percent were true refugees who had lost their homes and turned to banditry.

The hundreds of men stared at the city wall like a pack of vicious wolves, waiting only for the command to charge.

The middle-aged man in the lead had a calm expression, his gaze like a torch.

If an expert from the Northern Territory were present, they would have recognized this middle-aged man at a glance as the infamous Zhao Tieying. His name was still on the Court’s bounty list, and he had once committed the atrocity of massacring an entire village.

Just as everyone was lying in wait for the right moment, a person suddenly stood up slowly from within the crowd.

It was a somewhat slender man.

"You think you can take a city with just this?"

Zhao Tieying, who was lurking at the very front, whipped his head around, his face full of surprise.

He had pulled this team together with brute force in just over ten days. There were many people he didn’t even recognize, including, of course, the young man now standing in the middle of the group.