Chapter 468 Dividing the Troops

The Yuezhi were once a powerful state in the Western Regions, with 200,000 cavalrymen who once crossed the Pamir Mountains and swept across the Caspian Sea. But now, only a glorious name remains.

Although the Yuezhi remained wealthy thanks to the Silk Road, the Xia Dynasty would not allow them to have too much power, and anyone who wanted to would come and kick them while they were down.

And at this very moment, someone is running rampant and trampling on this land.

"Elder Page, these are the only two remaining orc tribes within the territory of the Yuezhi. Should we wait here for their successor tribes?"

“No, we’ll head north to Kangju. There are still small tribes of orcs there. We must thoroughly provoke them this time to relieve the pressure on our temple.”

"But the temple sent a message by carrier pigeon saying that a messenger will come here to find you!"

"Just leave a few people in Lan City to wait. Who knows when the envoy will arrive?"

Elder Page's elite cultivators were skinning the orcs. He watched the corpses, which weren't quite dead yet, twitch and react, and a cruel pleasure rose in his heart.

Page and Charles, two elders of the Temple Council, traveled to the East together. Charles, as a special envoy of the Temple, went to the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty to make contact with the Great Xia court, while Elder Page stayed in the Western Regions in case of any unforeseen circumstances, awaiting orders from the Temple.

As expected, Page received the order to ignite a war between the orcs and the Great Xia. He began to provoke the orcs in the most ancient way, hoping that those green-skinned guys who were prone to feverish rage would shift their main offensive to the east.

In Qin Mo's previous life, the Silk Road had three routes: north, south, and central. However, in this world, because the orcs occupied the north, only the southern route from the Pamir Mountains to Persia to the Western Continent was accessible between Great Xia and the Western Continent. The barrenness of the high-altitude corridor from the Pamir Plateau to the Iranian Plateau made the orcs lose interest, which allowed the exchange between East and West to continue.

The Yuezhi were in the south, and Kangju were in the north. These two small kingdoms in the Western Regions were the only way for the Silk Road to turn from Bactria into the Pamir Mountains. They were also the eastern blockade line that the Russians used to cut off the east-west passage. Page wanted to make a move on this blockade line.

While Page was busy slaughtering the orcs, the Great Xia's western expeditionary force finally arrived at the Suyab-Shule line.

Before launching the western expedition, the Great Xia Dynasty had already devised a strategy of dividing its forces into two routes, one to the north and one to the south, supporting each other. Suyab was in the north and Shule was in the south, and these two cities, which were not far apart, became the forefront of the expedition.

Because Suyab was closer to the west, King Chang Le set up his headquarters in Suyab.

"Today is the last meeting of generals before the expedition. The orc army is entrenched in the Yuezhi and Kangju areas west of the Pamir Mountains. The court's established strategy is to send troops from the north and south to attack them separately. Now I will deploy you to your respective positions. No one may change the direction of the battle at will."

"The Doumu Army, Doujin Army, Xuri Army, Weiyue Army... set out from Shule City, bypassed Dayuan and entered Dayuezhi; the Pingwu Army, Shengwu Army... Dayuan Army set out from Suyab City and entered Kangju."

King Qin Jian of Changle quickly divided the western expeditionary army into two routes, north and south, and Qin Mo was unsurprisingly assigned to the northern route.

This arrangement is neither good nor bad. The Yuezhi city of Lanshi in the south is a necessary stop on the Silk Road, and most of the enemy's main force is stationed east of Lanshi city. The southern army will face tougher opponents at the beginning.

If the enemy were to reinforce from the Russian kingdom in the north, Kangju in the north would become the main battlefield, and the northern army would have to hold them off within Kangju territory, making a fierce battle inevitable.

However, the Yuezhi in the south were richer than Kangju in the north, so the southern army had an easier time in terms of military merits and rewards than the northern army.

"This time they're trying to give the Imperial Guard a taste of their power! I wonder how many new elites will seize this opportunity to rise to prominence..."

"That's right, we nobles will keep watch for them in the north, while they feast on meat to their hearts' content..."

In fact, some clues could be foreseen from the location where the army was stationed. The royal guards named after the Twenty-Eight Mansions and several renowned imperial guards all went to Shule City in the south to be stationed, which clearly indicated that they had long been preparing to strike directly at the Yuezhi.

Qin Mo's Northern Route Army consisted mostly of private troops of nobles and second-rate imperial guards. While their individual combat strength might be passable, their coordinated efforts were far inferior to those of the well-organized Imperial Guards and the Imperial Censors.

"Commander, our spies from Suyab discovered something suspicious in the Yuezhi a few days ago..."

While a group of old nobles were whispering amongst themselves, Madam Xu stepped forward and repeated the concerns that Qin Mo had told her.

"Commander, the orcs are likely to reinforce their troops soon, so the Northern Route Army needs to add more manpower..."

"Your Highness, Lord Xu is right! If a large number of troops are suddenly reinforced within the territory of Rakshasa, the Northern Route Army, with its limited strength, may find it difficult to resist...!"

"Unable to withstand them? Won't the orcs send reinforcements from the west? You have three or four hundred thousand men and you're saying you can't hold them off before you've even seen the enemy? The imperial court has truly wasted its resources on a bunch of useless fools!"

Before the King of Changle could say anything, Liang Sunze, the commander of the Japanese army, couldn't help but huff and puff, and the tent instantly erupted in chaos.

"Your nearly 200,000 Imperial Guards have spent a fortune of the imperial court over the years, don't you know how much silver you've spent? How dare you compare yourselves to us? We haven't spent a single penny of the imperial court's money."

"That's right, the Divine Machine Battalion, armored cavalry, and musketeers are all in your Southern Route Army. What do we, the Northern Route Army, have? We don't even have a full complement of armored soldiers..."

"Your Northern Route Army has His Highness Prince Heng! We don't need to tell you how strong the Da Yuan Army is!"

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!