Chapter 583

Chapter 583: Heading North

In the Xia calendar year three hundred and eighty, autumn arrived.

The reason the Zhou Dynasty agreed to temporarily set aside their grudges with the Datong Country and cooperate with them was because of various factors. One reason was that the Zhou Dynasty had taken over the defense line of Lingyun Mountain and had fought many battles against the Demon Humans, realizing their strength and identifying them as a major threat to humans.

Another reason was due to the ongoing conflict with the Datong Country, who discovered a weakness of the Zhou Dynasty – the high-level and wealthy members had a great demand for the luxury goods of the Datong Country.

Datong Country was known for its luxury goods and was far superior in this aspect compared to the Zhou Dynasty and the Immortal Kingdom. This was also evident when compared to the primitive tribal regions.

Therefore, Lin Jiang ordered strict control over the export of luxury goods while also instructing envoys to use various means to corrupt internal members of the Zhou Dynasty.

After several years, there was increasing cooperation within the Zhou Dynasty, leading to a temporary truce with the Datong Country. Both sides signed a cooperation agreement.

"Now that the strategy is clear, our goal is to surround and defeat all Demon Humans south of the Qing River. The battlefield is divided into four steps. The western front is handled by the Immortal Kingdom’s Great Wall Legion to increase harassment and delay a portion of the Demon Humans’ main forces.

The southern front is managed by my Datong Country, sending out two million troops along six routes to engage in a decisive battle with the main forces of the Demon Humans.

The eastern front is the responsibility of the Zhou Dynasty, sending out six hundred thousand troops from Lingyun Mountain to the west. The Zhou Dynasty employs a tactic of gradually consuming the enemy, aiming to weaken the Demon Humans’ strength.

In the north, the Zhou Dynasty is in charge. The Zhou Dynasty’s Qing River navy battles with the Demon Human navy, defeating them to prevent Demon Human reinforcements from the north bank of the Qing River. However, I have received news that the Zhou Dynasty’s navy is not very strong, so we in Datong also need to be prepared. If the Zhou Dynasty’s navy is truly defeated, then warships from Haizhou State will escort the Yun River navy north to cut off the Demon Human’s retreat and reinforcements.

Lin Jiang said that in the four battlefields to the east, south, west, and north, all will start fighting at the same time. Lin Jiang is most worried about the Zhou Dynasty navy because he has heard from various sources that the Zhou Dynasty navy is very old and weak in battle.

"The attack will begin in seven days. Now I announce the leaders of the six main armies. The first army is led by General Xia Liang of Mizhou State, and I will be the deputy leader following the operations in Mizhou State. The second army will depart from Qinzhou, led by General Qin Yong…"

Then Lin Jiang commanded the six army leaders who have fought their way through many years of wars, including some who were former enemies but surrendered. For example, General Xia Liang of Mizhou State, whom Lin Jiang appointed as his deputy because Lin Jiang himself prefers to lead the charge rather than be the main leader.

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North of Mizhou State, Lin Jiang led an elite force of 30,000 troops, starting to clear out some small Demon Human tribes. In fact, over the past few years, the Datong Army has been engaging in sporadic battles and the losses for the Demon Human tribes near the border have been heavy. They are not capable of launching attacks on the border and have been steadily eliminated.

So the advance was initially very smooth, but as they marched hundreds of miles, more Demon Human tribes started to appear, and they learned about the Datong Army’s large-scale attack. Lin Jiang noticed many Demon Human tribes were gathering.

"In this racial conflict, it’s a fight to the death. All those Demon Human tribes must be exterminated."

Lin Jiang ordered the vigorous members of many Demon Human tribes to gather elsewhere, leaving behind the elderly, sick, and children. Lin Jiang also ordered to kill these vulnerable members.

During the mission, Lin Jiang received a messenger’s report that Xia Liang had already brought the main forces to catch up. Lin Jiang was asked to stay at the central command, so he had to return to the army.

"With fifty thousand soldiers and one hundred thousand support troops, spanning hundreds of miles, if there isn’t enough experience with large troops, just marching alone would lead to major issues."

Lin Jiang arrived by the main forces and saw the endless marching troops, realizing the challenges of command. Managing such a huge number of people, a commander must address their needs like food and restrooms, which is not something easy to do casually.

"General Xia."

"Your Majesty, internal information from the Demon Human reveals that the Ape Tribe of Demon Human is gathering demon warriors in Peizhou State. Currently, there are no less than eighty thousand vigorous Demon Human members and over a hundred thousand human servants in the army, ready to march south very soon."

"News from the Huan Family?"

"Yes, similar messages have come from other noble families as well. Demon Humans from Qianzhou State, Yingzhou State, Yuanzhou, and other areas have all been mobilized. It seems like Demon Humans have sensed the danger."

"That’s reasonable. Just within our Datong Country, we have two million troops and cavalry. If they don’t mobilize, they would surely be defeated. What are the opinions of the members of the noble families now? Are they willing to switch sides and how many people can they take with them?"

Lin Jiang mentioned, the basic foundations of the five major noble families are in the north, each influencing a whole province. Although Xie Yunfeng and others are heading south, there are still many people left behind. They can’t take all these people with them.

So after the Demon Human attacked, many people from each family became traitors, like spies, who were able to become leaders. They were not ordinary people, but had some status. Many members of the five big families were high-ranking officials in the Demon Human army and were deeply trusted.

In these past few years, Lin Jiang ordered Xie Yunfeng and others to make contact with these people. They received satisfactory responses and became their insiders.

"Huan Jian reported that their family can take away thirty to forty thousand people."

"Thirty to forty thousand is not much. Let him betray during the decisive battle. For now, don’t take any action."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Speed up the march! I can’t wait to face off with the Demon Human’s regular army."

Lin Jiang said that the Demon Human civilization was advanced, unlike the tribes they had faced before. The Demon Human had a regular army, and he wanted to test his strength against them.

Half a month later, the Datong Army swept through and entered the territory of Shuzhou State. Meanwhile, the Ape Tribe of the Demon Human set off from Peizhou State and arrived at Shuzhou State. They quickly assembled, and the Demon Human army reached over a hundred thousand soldiers with their auxiliaries, totaling no less than three hundred thousand.

With sixty thousand against thirty thousand, the Datong Army seemed to have more people, but their overall strength was not superior because the individual strength of the Demon Human was much greater. The Datong Army’s advantage lay in their superior equipment.

The Datong Army arranged their troops, with their camps stretching for miles. The Demon Human army camped about five or six miles away. Both sides started facing off, with scouts and riders starting to fight to block each other’s view.

"So this is the Demon Human regular army, a part of the Ape Tribe."

Lin Jiang stood on the camp wall, looking at the Demon Human troops. There were about a dozen Demon Human soldiers, but only around ten thousand regular soldiers, all from the same race, the Ape Tribe.

The Ape Tribe was one of the five major tribes coming down from the north of Qing River. They were a mix of ape demons and humans, similar to humans in many ways. They were tall, hairy, and incredibly strong. Almost all adult male Ape Tribe members were over two meters tall, a sea of black that was quite intimidating.

"Your Majesty, according to insider information, this Demon Human Martial Saint group should have about ten members, while we only have four. We should be careful of a sudden attack by Demon Human Martial Saint."

Xia Liang said that in the past two years, the number of Martial Arts Masters in Datong Country had increased significantly, leading to about twenty Martial Saints in Datong Country. They were divided into four groups, including Lin Jiang.

"Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the Martial Saint. Send someone to provoke the Demon Human and prepare for a defensive counterattack."

Lin Jiang explained that he wasn’t afraid of the Martial Saint. They needed to use Datong Army’s strength in weapons to lure Demon Human into attacking their camp.

Elite riders quickly left the camp, first clearing out the enemy scouts on the battlefield and then making a show of preparing to charge. This was a feint attack, but Demon Human couldn’t afford to be careless either.

This kept happening several times, the Demon Human got very angry and sent out a lot of soldiers to fight. Both sides had over ten thousand soldiers altogether. After a fierce battle, the Datong Army, under Lin Jiang’s command, started to retreat. The Demon Human didn’t hesitate and went straight to attack the Datong Army’s camp.