The World Online

Chapter 1015 – Backing off and Giving Up

“What suggestion?”

Di Chen said, “To make Wandering Magic and Sha Pojun give up their territories for nothing is too much for them, so the alliance should compensate them. My suggestion is after taking down West Chu, we let them be the Provincial Governors. One will be in charge of Wannan and one in charge of Ludong Province. How about that?”

Chun Shenjun and the others looked at Di Chen with weird expressions. Based on Plan Z, the Provincial Governor positions of the two provinces was an important chip. Who knew that Di Chen would use them up so easily?

‘To buy our heart or is there another reason?’ Chun Shenjun did not understand.

Xiong Ba supported it, nodding, “I think this suggestion is great. Why not let Wandering Magic be the Wannan Provincial Governor and Sha Pojun be the Ludong Provincial Governor.”

Di Chen’s eyes froze. He saw through Xiong Ba’s thoughts but did not oppose it. The alliance was really complicated and being a good leader was not easy.

Sometimes, Di Chen needed to compromise.

Seeing that Chun Shenjun and Zhan Lang did not oppose the decision, Di Chen did not say anything more, “Then this matter is settled. Let the frontlines quicken their pace, we cannot drag things on any longer.”

“Great!”

At this point, the Yanhuang Alliance broke one of their own arms to solve a huge crisis.

…

After the meeting ended, Sha Pojun and Wandering Magic rushed back to their own territories and got busy.

Since they had decided to give up on their territory, they naturally would not let Great Xia and Fallen Phoenix City reap any cheap gains. They took everything they could and burned down everything they could not.

Money, equipment, civil servants and generals, talents, troops, and the like all were taken away through the teleportation formation. This was what they would rely on in the future in their provinces.

Grain, household registration manuals, office documents, and the like were burned down as well. They were purposely making it tough for their enemies.

In just two days, before the Eagle Legion Corps and the Flaming Legion Corps reached the main city, they had already fled from Asura City and Fallen Leaf City.

At this point, the number of Lords in the China region had been reduced to only six.

With the 160 thousand more troops that Sha Pojun and Wandering Magic brought, the Battle of West Chu could not be turned around. Even with Xiang Yu’s ability and the strength of his army, there was nothing he could do against 760 thousand troops.

The fall of West Chu was only a matter of time.

…

4th month, 18th day, the Eagle Legion Corps moved into Fallen Leaf City, and the Flaming Legion Corps moved into Asura City, announcing the change of hands of Guanxi Province. Without spending a single troop, the Shanhai Alliance had bitten off a chunk of meat from the Yanhuang Alliance.

Ouyang Shuo’s actions stunned everyone. However, the players did not understand how Great Qin and Great Tang were dragged into this battle.

Even though both dynasties were good with Great Xia, they were not close enough for them to not do anything.

“There must be something going on!”

The following events enlightened the people, and it also astonished them.

The day they took down both main cities, Great Xia handed Fallen Leaf City unconditionally over to Great Tang whilst Fallen Phoenix City handed Asura City over to Great Qin.

It was the same as saying that Ouyang Shuo and Feng Qiuhuang had given the juicy meat in their hands to others.

“Weirdo!”

Great Xia was rich and vast, but how would they not feel pained if they gave out two prefectures? However, the problem was why Fallen Phoenix City was also so generous.

The players could not understand it.

There were many different conjectures on the forums, some discussing plots, some dumb theories…

If one gathered them all up, one could probably film a huge movie.

The truth was really simple, and it was not as complicated as what the others were guessing.

There were three reasons behind why Ouyang Shuo worked together with Feng Qiuhuang to play this hand.

First, if they had not settled Great Tang and Great Qin beforehand, the Battle of Guanxi would not have happened.

Before signing the agreement, Great Qin and Great Tang had no reason to reject Asura City and Fallen Leaf City’s application for protection. Be it either of them, they would not let their feelings control their actions.

If the two dynasties interfered, with the number of troops that Great Xia could move, they might not be able to take down Guanxi Province. If they were really dragged into war, Great Xia who was fighting on both fronts might not be able to get out of it unscathed.

That would only give Fallen Leaf City and Asura City over to the two dynasties.

If that really happened, Great Xia could still hold on, but Fallen Phoenix City would be in a bad state. They would have worsened the relationship between Great Qin and her.

Along with Mongol in the north, Handan City in the east, and Great Han in the south, Fallen Phoenix City would be surrounded by enemies.

Unless Great Xia sent help, the future Fallen Phoenix City would face a dead end. With Feng Qiuhuang’s character, she would not be willing to merge into Great Xia.

There was no way to solve the problem at that point.

Secondly, the imperial city had much uncertainty.

Great Xia already had three imperial cities, becoming a thorn in Ouyang Shuo’s heart. Fortunately, be it Dali, Chengdu, or Great Sui, they were not all strong enough opponents.

With Great Xia’s ability, Ouyang Shuo could handle them.

However, who were the two owners of Guanxi? One was Qin Shihuang, while the other was Tang Taizong. Neither of them was a simple person, much less two in a single province.

During these two years, Gaia had loosened the restrictions on the imperial cities time and time again. Who knows whether Gaia would give them autonomy in the future or not?

Ouyang Shuo did not dare to take this risk, much less Feng Qiuhuang. Before they had the ability to destroy the imperial city, the best way would be to become allies with them.

Thirdly, the threat from Mongol.

As one of the biggest bosses of China region’s other races, the strength of the Mongol tribes was too shocking. Not to mention Fallen Phoenix City that was stuck alone, but even Great Xia would not find it to be an easy battle.

Since that was the case, finding someone to fight together was a natural thing.

Great Qin was directly connected to Mongol, and it also had a million troops. Naturally, they were not afraid of the Mongol tribe. Making an alliance with Great Qin was a really worth it deal.

Due to the above considerations, with the directions of Zhang Liang, Ouyang Shuo took a step back.

Great Xia and Fallen Phoenix City signed agreements with Great Qin and Great Tang respectively, stabilizing the border while gaining two new reliable allies.

As for when Great Qin fought Great Tang in the future, that was not within the considerations of Ouyang Shuo.

Using the alliance contract recognized by Gaia, Fallen Phoenix City totally removed the threat from the west. In the future, when one went against the Mongols, they could also borrow the strength of Great Qin.

Apart from that, Ouyang Shuo used this chance to cut off an arm from the Yanhuang Alliance, reducing the effects of the Yanhuang Alliance’s efforts in West Chu.

They sold a huge favor to Great Qin and Great Tang, earning both of them things in return. Ouyang Shuo obtained his dream general Li Jing, while Feng Qiuhuang obtained the brothers Meng Yi and Meng Tian.

************

4th month, 19th day, Shanhai City.

The day after Great Xia handed over Fallen Leaf City, based on the agreement, Li Jing and his family would be teleported over to Shanhai City, entering the hands of Ouyang Shuo.

When Ouyang Shuo received the report, he personally received them at the palace gate.

The Li Jing that was born in the wilderness was already close to 50, but he was still really energised and strong. Although he looked inarticulate, he was really intelligent, and no one would dare to underestimate him.

Speaking of Li Jing, the most legendary story about him, ‘The Investiture of the Gods’ made him into a legendary figure.

In truth, he was an all rounded person that could be both a general and civil servant. Legends had it that after he died, his spirit often helped civilians, so they built temples for him. In the later Tang period, Lin Jing was immortalized.

Hence, one could see how exceptional he was.

“I am Li Jing, greetings my king!” Li Jing was a person that followed the rules. Since he had followed the agreement and had come over to Great Xia, he did not hesitate to greet his new ruler.

Of course to him, to work for Ouyang Shuo was not a bad thing.

Name: Li Jing (God Rank)

Title: Army God

Dynasty: Tang Dynasty

Identity: Great Xia general

Occupation: special general

Loyalty: 75

Command: 97

Force: 85

Intelligence: 82

Politics: 78

Specialty: Army God (raises troops morale by 40%, raises troops movement speed by 30%, raises troops defense by 25%, raises troops killing strength by 20%)

Evaluation: Beginning Tang famous general, Li Jing was number one. In 630, Li Jing defeated the Göktürks that were led by Jiali Khan with just 3,000 cavalry soldiers in a surprise attack, which allowed the Tang Empire to subjugate the Göktürks and reduce them to the status of a vassal under the Tang Empire.

“General, please rise!”

Ouyang Shuo was delighted, “I have been waiting for you for a long time. Finally, I get my wish today.”

When Li Jing saw that, his heart settled down.

Since the king had such high hopes for him, his journey in the Great Xia military would not be lonely.

“This is not the place to talk. Let’s go to my reading room.” Ouyang Shuo smiled, personally leading Li Jing to the reading room.

Li Jing did not dare to take it causally and quickly followed. Although he was close to 50, he was still really swift.

The two of them talked for a full two hours. When ministers heard about it, they were really envious. To be able to speak to the king for an hour was a huge honor.

Hence, one could see how important Li Jing was to the king.

As expected, in the afternoon, Li Jing’s decree was given, “Appointing Li Jing as the Bear Legion Corps marshal, giving him the title of commander in chief. He enters the Grand Council.”

The moment the decree was given, the civil servants and generals took in a deep breath.

The crucial part was receiving the title of commander in chief. Before this, only Baiqi was given that, while the rest of the god generals were given the title of great general.

No one expected Li Jing to be on the same level as Baiqi right away, becoming a top grade presence in the Great Xia Army. The king’s love for Li Jing was one that everyone else desired.