Chapter 148: Nangong Yu

Great Qin, year 383, sixth month, twenty-third day.

A million Barbarians launched a night raid on the gateway to Dahuang Prefecture, conquering several cities overnight. Their army advanced straight in, leaving countless soldiers dead and villagers displaced.

Finally,

the Barbarians divided into five routes, surrounding the entirety of Dahuang Prefecture in an arc formation, attempting to take it completely in one fell swoop.

The Barbarians’ lightning speed meant that Great Qin had no time to react.

It wasn’t until several days later that the news of the Barbarian invasion reached other parts of Dahuang Prefecture, allowing them to make corresponding arrangements.

In the heart of Dahuang Prefecture,

stood a magnificent city. Its tall and ancient city walls bore the marks of time, yet remained unyielding, intimidating like a natural chasm.

Xuancheng!

It was the most magnificent city in Dahuang Prefecture, and the main city of the vast prefecture.

Most of the military forces of Dahuang Prefecture were stationed in Xuancheng, defending this main city that suppressed the prefecture.

Due to Xuancheng’s special geographical location,

the city had both a prefecture office and a City Lord’s Mansion.

The City Lord’s Mansion oversaw external affairs, while the prefecture office managed internal affairs. Together, they administered Xuancheng, maintaining order and stability within the city.

Now, within the City Lord’s Mansion, the atmosphere was solemn and silent.

A middle-aged man, clad in a black cloud Kirin robe with a white jade belt around his waist and an imposing appearance, sat upright at the head of the table.

This was Nangong Yu, the City Lord of Xuancheng.

Below him sat Prefect Guang Heng of Xuancheng, and Dongyang, commander of the Black Tiger Army in Xuancheng.

Prefect Guang Heng’s complexion was gloomy.

"Mere barbarians dare to openly invade my Dahuang Prefecture! Do they not take my Great Qin seriously? I request that Lord Nangong gives the order. This humble one will definitely lead the Black Tiger Army to exterminate those Barbarians in one fell swoop!"

Dongyang roared, obvious anger blazing in his eyes.

Barbarians!

They were nothing more than Barbarians who were beaten by Great Qin and couldn’t lift their heads.

Great Qin had never taken the Barbarians seriously. If it weren’t for the restrictions of the barren region, the Barbarians would have been destroyed long ago.

Dongyang felt nothing but disdain for such Barbarians.

Now that the Barbarians had invaded Dahuang Prefecture, it was equivalent to openly slapping the face of Great Qin. If the Black Tiger Army, as the main force stationed in Dahuang Prefecture, allowed the Barbarians to run rampant, they would lose all face.

After his words,

Guang Heng also spoke, "The Barbarians should indeed be killed! Over the years, they have plundered the borders of my Dahuang Prefecture, causing us considerable losses. Now, they dare to lead a million troops to attack my Dahuang Prefecture! They simply have the courage of a bear and leopard.

If we don’t kill that million Barbarians this time, what face will my Great Qin have!"

Both of them implied a desire to lead their armies directly to annihilate the Barbarians.

At the head of the table,

Nangong Yu remained calm.

After the two finished speaking, he slowly opened his mouth, his thick voice echoing in the City Lord’s Mansion.

"We all know very well how strong the Barbarians are. Although the barren region is vast, giving the Barbarians a chance to survive, the conditions there are harsh. Over the years, many Barbarians have lost their lives for various reasons.

Therefore, the number of Barbarians has never been able to increase much.

In addition, every year near the start of winter, the Barbarians send people to plunder the border, to seize some resources so that the Barbarians can survive the harsh winter."

While speaking, Nangong Yu paused.

He looked at the two of them.

"The Barbarians plunder the borders of Dahuang Prefecture every year, causing us considerable losses. However, relatively speaking, the Barbarians are easier to lose. As a result, the power of the Barbarians is actually decreasing every year.

In the past, they were extremely fortunate that our Great Qin did not attack.

Now that the Barbarians dare to openly invade my Dahuang Prefecture, I’m afraid their purpose is not that simple."

Although the Barbarians were uncivilized, it didn’t mean they were all fools.

On the contrary,

there were many wise men among the Barbarians, and the Priest Hall could even predict the future.

These people were the support that allowed the Barbarians to survive to this day.

Nangong Yu would never believe that the Barbarians would dare to attack Dahuang Prefecture on such a large scale without any certainty.

But the problem was,

where did the Barbarians’ confidence come from?

To be honest,

he had no idea.

Guang Heng frowned.

"According to the news we’ve received, the Barbarians are cooperating with the evil beings of the Eternal Life Alliance. Their confidence in attacking Dahuang Prefecture may also come from the Eternal Life Alliance."

The power of the Eternal Life Alliance had always been strong.

They could contend with Great Qin, which showed just how formidable they were.

More importantly,

standing behind the Eternal Life Alliance were evil forces.

The power of evil was truly terrifying. Even at its peak, Great Qin could only barely contend with the evil side.

Now that the Barbarians were cooperating with the Eternal Life Alliance, it was equivalent to gaining extremely powerful assistance.

"Cooperating with evil is tantamount to seeking skin with a tiger. The Barbarians wouldn’t be so stupid."

Nangong Yu shook his head.

From the current situation, the Barbarians were indeed cooperating with evil forces, but they definitely wouldn’t cooperate completely.

In the end,

the strength of the Barbarians was too weak compared to the evil forces. If they rashly cooperated with evil, they would be putting a knife to their own necks, and it was the kind that could fall at any time.

Unless absolutely necessary,

the Barbarians would never do this.

Therefore,

Nangong Yu believed that the Barbarians must have other backhands, but Great Qin had no way of knowing too much for the time being.

"Lord Nangong, there’s no need to think so much now. The Barbarians have invaded Dahuang Prefecture. What we need to do is drive them back. Otherwise, delaying even one more day will be a great loss to Dahuang Prefecture."

Dongyang interrupted Nangong Yu’s thoughts.

In his opinion,

there was no need for the other party to think so much.

What they needed to do now was to send troops to suppress the Barbarians. Everything else was just empty talk.

Hearing this,

Nangong Yu nodded slightly.

"You’re right. What we need to do now is drive back all million Barbarians. But the problem is, the Barbarians are coming fiercely, and the current army left in Dahuang Prefecture won’t be enough to contend with a million Barbarians.

I have already reported this to the imperial court. It won’t be long before the imperial court sends troops to help.

How many troops are still left in the Black Tiger Army?"

After speaking,

he looked at Dongyang.

"There are still 200,000 Black Tiger Army troops stationed in Xuancheng. Adding the troops from other cities in Dahuang Prefecture, gathering 500,000 troops isn’t a big problem. Adding the others, Dahuang Prefecture may not be able to gather a million troops, but 700,000 to 800,000 is possible."

Dongyang replied without thinking.

He was both the commander of the Black Tiger Army in Xuancheng and the supreme commander of the Black Tiger Army in Dahuang Prefecture.

In terms of position,

he was only one level lower than Nangong Yu.

Compared to the Prefect of Xuancheng, he was not inferior in the slightest.

Therefore, Dongyang had a clear understanding of the military strength of Dahuang Prefecture.

"800,000 troops, the number is indeed not small."

Nangong Yu nodded, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

"The barren region is difficult, and the Barbarians who come out of there are also brave. Ordinary Qin people have no way to contend with the Barbarians. The 500,000 Black Tiger Army troops are the main force to deal with the million Barbarians. The remaining 200,000 to 300,000 troops won’t be able to do much.

This time, the Barbarians have the cooperation of the Eternal Life Alliance. The Demon Suppression Divisions in various parts of Dahuang Prefecture have all taken action, but they may not be able to suppress them all.

If the Barbarians really come out with all their strength, the Black Tiger Army alone will not be able to resist them."

The Black Tiger Army was strong,

but it was only one of the many strong armies of Great Qin.

It would be a joke to try to contend with the entire Barbarian race with just the Black Tiger Army.

Dongyang’s expression was somewhat indignant, but he did not refute.

He understood.

What Nangong Yu said was the truth.

Although Dongyang said he wanted to exterminate the Barbarians, the Black Tiger Army’s current strength simply could not achieve that.

Nangong Yu said, "What the Black Tiger Army needs to do now is set up a defense line to contain the momentum of the Barbarian attack, and then wait for the imperial court’s reinforcements. Coordinate with each other and wipe out the million Barbarians in one fell swoop.

A rash attack will cause unnecessary losses."

"This humble one understands!"

Dongyang clasped his fist and accepted the order.

Then,

Nangong Yu looked at Guang Heng.

"The Barbarians have broken through many cities in front, so the refugee disaster in Dahuang Prefecture must be quite serious. I hope the prefecture office can also take action to cooperate with various places to accept refugees, and not let people have too many fluctuations in their hearts.

I wonder if Master Guang can do this?"

"This official will do my best."

Guang Heng nodded solemnly.

The refugee situation was indeed very serious.

There were many villagers in each city, but from the current information, the number of cities broken by the Barbarians was no less than ten. Even if only half of them were refugees, that would still be over a million people.

If these people were not dealt with and were allowed to wander around Dahuang Prefecture, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After all,

refugees were also people.

The human heart was the most difficult to fathom.

If they were not appeased, it wouldn’t be long before Dahuang Prefecture was plagued by bandits, or even used by people with ulterior motives to turn into a rebellious force.

At that time,

with internal rebellion and external Barbarian threats, the situation in Dahuang Prefecture would be truly difficult.

If it really came to that point, Guang Heng could be sure that his position as Prefect of Xuancheng would be truly over.

Just as the group was discussing,

a general hurried in from outside and immediately knelt on one knee after seeing Nangong Yu.

"This humble servant has seen Lord Nangong!"

"Speak, what happened?"

Nangong Yu’s expression was calm. When his eyes fell on the general, it made the other party feel great pressure.

At the same time,

Guang Heng and Dongyang also looked at the other party.

At this juncture, someone had suddenly come to report, and they both had a bad feeling.

Could it be that—

the situation in Dahuang Prefecture had changed?

Just as the two were thinking, the general reported truthfully.

"Two days ago, 120,000 Barbarians led by Mierba attacked Jincheng. Jincheng only supported for less than a day before collapsing completely, and then broke through the encirclement—"

End of Chapter