Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest
Chapter 1084: 1084: Expedition to the West (Continued 1)

Chapter 1084: Chapter 1084: Expedition to the West (Continued 1)

That night, Hanhai City was adorned with lanterns and filled with joy, as many of the city’s residents carried festive lanterns to the streets to celebrate the victory.

During the siege, everyone had been plunged into panic. Now that the nightmare was over, every face was brimming with joyful smiles.

The shops in the city also seized the opportunity to open their doors wide, offering discounts and promotions to share in the collective happiness.

However, amidst the thousands of citizens celebrating, under the orders of Wang Chen, the Guard Army Commander Lu Yunfei led his troops to surround the Prefect Mansion and conducted an inventory check of the treasury.

They discovered that the treasury’s accounts were in complete disorder, a large portion of the military supplies had mysteriously disappeared, and much of the military grain was mixed with moldy and inferior rice!

Such findings incensed Lu Yunfei.

The embezzlement of the treasury’s supplies usually wouldn’t cause any apparent issues, as it was often glossed over with fanciful excuses.

But in the face of a war like the one they had just encountered, with the Prefectural City besieged and in dire need of materials to sustain itself, the situation would have been dire.

Because the enemy’s encirclement of Hanhai City did not last long, the problem did not become evident.

The thought alone made Lu Yunfei shudder with dread!

With such an incident, even without Wang Chen’s edict, as the Guard Army Commander of Hanhai City, he had no intention of letting the matter rest.

Thus, a new slaughter began.

In the following three days, from the Prefectural Governor to the lowest clerks in the Yamen, hundreds of involved corrupt officials were uncovered and investigated. The ones with egregious crimes had their families eradicated and homes confiscated, while those whose crimes did not warrant death were thrown into prison or condemned to hard labor.

This inevitably caused tremendous shock in Hanhai City.

If not for the soaring prestige of Wang Chen, where no one dared commit any offense, turmoil would have been unavoidable.

Wang Chen simply had Xi Yun, who had recovered from her injuries, come to preside over Hanhai City and take on the responsibility of the Prefectural Governor.

It didn’t matter that Xi Yun was inexperienced in governance; by promoting a few honest officials to assist her, and with the addition of the Disciples she personally trained from the Taoist Palace, they were able to maintain the dignity of the Prefectural City.

Wang Chen ordered Guard Army Commander Lu Yunfei to collaborate with Xi Yun to conscript cavalry and gather military provisions, preparing for the westward expedition.

Not only that, but he also sent envoys to West Sea and other surrounding prefectures with edicts calling for more cavalry.

As for Wang Chen himself, he rode alone through Hanhai Prefecture, checking all the sites where the Mountain River Pillars had been buried, searching for the cause of the malfunction in the Mountain River Great Array.

Eventually, Wang Chen realized that the issue was not due to someone uncovering the secrets of the Mountain River Great Array to sabotage it, but rather a recent earthquake in Hanhai Prefecture had caused most of the Mountain River Pillars to shift positions.

This was why the Array had problems!

However, since the Mountain River Pillars came with protective enchantments and were extremely durable, they had not suffered any damage.

With the Pillars intact, the solution became simple.

Wang Chen repositioned all the pillars and restored the Array to its original configuration.

Once Wang Chen returned to the Hanhai Taoist Palace and reactivated the Mountain River Great Array, the immense power of the Array was fully restored; nature’s spiritual energy flowed incessantly, prompting him to let out a long sigh of relief.

Previously, to enable the Array to function effectively, Wang Chen had invested a significant amount of Spirit Stones.

But no matter how many Spirit Stones he had, they wouldn’t sustain the continuous operation of the Mountain River Great Array year after year.

Now that it had been restored, it would save him much effort and worry.

After that, Wang Chen used the Mountain River Great Array to establish contact with Ling Zhiyuan, who was many miles away.

Although he could communicate across realms with his avatar through the Cangqing Ring, it was inconvenient and also consumed a considerable amount of energy.

Now that he had arrived in the Cangqing Domain, using the Cangqing Ring was still not as convenient as using the Mountain River Great Array.

The exchange this time lasted for two full hours.

Wang Chen first thoroughly understood the situation in the Northland, knowing that Ling Zhiyuan, hailed as the Martial Saint, had encountered a significant problem, or rather an opponent of equal prowess.

The Martial God of Great Qin, Qin Qi!

Qin Qi is a scion of the Royal Family of Great Qin, only twenty-seven years old this year, yet already has the cultivation level and strength of a peak Martial Saint.

Although Ling Zhiyuan is known as the Great Zhou’s War God, he hasn’t reached the supreme realm of Martial God, and his power is roughly on par with Qin Qi’s.

But Ling Zhiyuan cultivates both spell and martial technique; in theory, he should be able to outmaneuver the other party by a notch.

However, Qin Qi has a unique physique that renders him invulnerable to spells—put simply, he is immune to all spell damage!

This is truly miraculous.

Not only that, but Qin Qi is also an extremely capable commander. Despite the Qin Army being at a disadvantage in numbers and equipment, they’ve repeatedly bested Ling Zhiyuan.

Forced to fall back and defend the fortress relying on cannons and long firearms to resist the enemy’s blades.

But this is not a long-term solution.

Because Great Qin has also acquired similar military technologies, they too are vigorously developing these firearms. Once Great Qin produces stronger cannons, breaching the northwestern fortress will become much easier.

Under such circumstances, Ling Zhiyuan couldn’t leave the front line and could only engage Qin Qi in a protracted struggle.

Wang Chen, too, recounted the situation in the Hanhai region to Ling Zhiyuan, and had Wu Zhao, who was on a personal expedition, issue an imperial edict to the southern prefectures to follow Wang Chen’s decrees.

Wang Chen planned to call up fifty thousand Iron Cavalry to mount a western expedition into Qin, not to occupy but to wreak havoc and compel the main force of the Qin Army to return for defense.

He worried that after ten years, his prestige might not be sufficient to subdue the southern prefectures, so he needed Wu Zhao’s imperial edict to be delivered with the utmost haste.

After the exchange with Ling Zhiyuan, Wang Chen led his men to the West Sea Prefecture.

Bordering the Hanhai Army, the West Sea Prefecture boasted vast grasslands and abundant livestock like cows and sheep. With most of the nomadic people adept in mounted archery, mobilizing cavalry was notably easier and more convenient.

Additionally, beef and mutton were primary ingredients for preparing army rations.

The Prefectural Governor of West Sea Prefecture, more perceptive than the Prefectural Governor of Hanhai Prefecture, cooperated very well after confirming Wang Chen’s identity, without causing any trouble.

Almost ten days later, Wu Zhao’s imperial edict finally made its way to several major southern prefectures.

By the time Wang Chen had organized an army of fifty thousand cavalry, half a month had already passed.

Although more cavalry from various regions would continue to arrive, Wang Chen could not wait and personally led this army of cavalry to set off westward.

It’s worth mentioning that this cavalry force did not have any logistical support. Each cavalryman was equipped with two warhorses and corresponding firearms and swords, along with their own rations.

The food they carried could last at most three to five days. However, Wang Chen had already stored enough provisions in the Cangqing Ring to sustain fifty thousand troops and horses for three months, along with medicine and various logistical supplies.

An abundance of various items.

He even brought hundreds of field cannons and a hundred thousand firearms, along with the necessary ammunition!

All these resources were requisitioned and drawn from various prefectural cities.

This is the greatest trump card that gave Wang Chen the confidence to lead an army into the territory of Great Qin: the spacious storage of the Cangqing Ring, which is vastly expansive and not subject to the rules of this world.

Wang Chen alone was the entire army’s logistics!

———-

The second update is delivered.