Chapter 340 I Win (Long Chapter with Extra Updates)
Nanyang boss Chang Dafen is no ordinary person. He is a distant relative of Shizhou Governor Gu Xuanli.
One third of the entire Jiangkou City is his property.
He is different from those businessmen outside. He firmly believes that the house is his property and a constant source of cash cow. Those who sell the house are fools, and the right thing to do is to keep it and collect rent.
One-third of the people in Jiangkou City paid him rent. He only needed to lie on his big bed every day and wealth that a poor man could never accumulate in his entire lifetime would fall from the sky.
But this enjoyment ended today, when the wolf-like and ferocious soldiers violently broke into his territory, knocked down his guards, and dragged him out of his luxurious bed.
He was even stripped naked to the front lines without a single piece of clothing. No matter how he howled, how furious, or how he declared his power, it was all in vain.
It was not until he saw his relative's direct troops and trusted generals at the front line that he remembered that someone seemed to have sent him a telegram in the morning saying that "Canshan Town" was coming to attack Jiangkou City, and asked him to "move" for a while, and they would soon lead the army to wipe them out.
Chang Dafen's brain, which had long been soaked in alcohol, drugs, and hormones, didn't pay any attention to what they said.
Anyway, there is a large army coming to suppress the bandits, what is he worried about?
It would be better to focus on finding something fun to do today.
It was not until he was caught by the bandits and the cold night wind blew that he woke up.
These idiots must have failed to suppress the bandits, allowing them to escape and rush into the city, causing him to suffer this disaster.
Fortunately, the bandits seemed to be afraid of his identity and released him on the battlefield.
The Shizhou army took him back.
Insulted by this, Chang Dafen was furious and immediately found the military generals to denounce their incompetence.
Lu Yuerong and others who were discussing the siege were extremely helpless.
But the governor's relatives were dragged out naked, their faces red and noses blue from the cold. They really found it difficult to explain themselves and had to try their best to explain.
Chang Dafen refused to listen and shouted angrily, "Attack! Attack immediately! Kill those daring bandits! Don't let them destroy my valuables."
Lu Yuerong was extremely troubled, but this was not the end.
Soon, the Shizhou army welcomed another ancestor, Kong Guosi, the president of Guangxing.
This ancestor was even more difficult to serve. Not only was he the younger brother of the Imperial Chief of Supervision, he was also one of the Governor's financial backers.
Generals including Lu Yuerong were very depressed. They had clearly sent telegrams in advance, but these people ignored their warnings.
Changshan County's march was too fast, and Jiangkou City surrendered without even putting up a fight.
This has led to today's passive situation.
Crazy Qiao whispered, "At this point, we can only wipe out the bandits as quickly as possible. There's nothing we can do if the losses are too great."
Lu Yuerong nodded, and just as he ordered the tank troops to advance and fired the first shot, the two ancestors shouted together.
“What are you doing??”
Lu Yuerong said respectfully: "We will first use artillery to wash the ground, break up the enemy's positions, shock the enemy's momentum, and then attack the enemy formation."
Chang Dafen said angrily, "You damaged my house. Will you compensate me?"
Kong Guansi: "If my debtors are killed by your bomb, you will have to pay their debts!"
Lu Yuerong sneered, "This is not allowed, and that is not allowed. How can we fight this war?"
Chang Dafen: "I don't care how you fight. If you don't wipe out these bandits, I'll settle the score with you."
Seeing that the situation was about to get tense, Crazy Qiao hurried over to smooth things over:
"Everyone, everyone, we have no choice. Entering the city and fighting in the dark is very disadvantageous to our army."
Kong Guansi sneered, "The renowned Shizhou Iron Army can't even wipe out a gang of bandits? It seems Governor Gu's words are full of water. I'll tell my brother and ask him to reassess Shizhou's capabilities."
Chang Dafen said, "Allowing the bandits to enter the city is your greatest dereliction of duty! Instead of doing your utmost to make amends, you're still trying to negotiate terms? Do you really want to do this?"
Things had gotten to this point, and the generals were at their wit's end. They had no choice but to call the governor and let him make the decision.
The secretary answered the phone and hung up after listening.
A moment later, a handwritten order from the Governor was handed to them, telling them to "wait for the opportunity to act."
Lu Yuerong's face turned pale and he said that they were "waiting for an opportunity", but in fact he just wanted them to take the blame.
Kuangren Qiao whispered, "Yuerong, let's fight."
"Why? Going in like this would cause great casualties among the brothers."
"Even if we lose, we have an excuse. The Governor won't blame us. If we don't fight, or don't fight as they say, all the trouble afterwards will be ours."
Lu Yuerong weighed the pros and cons for a while, then gritted his teeth and ordered: "Attack!"
——
This battle was not only disadvantageous, it was a complete defeat.
The slums are densely packed with buildings and narrow alleys, so even tracer bullets can't penetrate. There are shadows and attacks from the shadows everywhere, and mines are buried on the few wide avenues.
The mines were buried so strategically and dangerously, and in layers, that it was impossible to clear them all. Anyone who passed by would be blown to pieces.
Walking through the alleys was even worse. Street fighting and attacking buildings after dark were simply suicide for them.
According to reports from the front line, there is also a super-individual combat unit inside. Whenever he appears, it is the moment when the nightmare begins.
It often only took a moment, accompanied by countless flashes of light, and the soldiers were stabbed to the ground one after another.
In each attack, about one in seven people died, and the rest had their hands and feet pierced by steel needles, losing their ability to fight.
Because of this, his reputation spread far and wide on the battlefield at an extremely fast speed. In the words of the soldiers, this man was as fast as lightning, agile in his movements, and had the foresight of a god.
He ran and jumped between the buildings, and the steel needles on his body seemed to have their own consciousness. They would automatically find the enemy and attack, and then fly back to him after the attack.
Many soldiers witnessed with their own eyes that countless steel needles floated around him and moved with him, just like the "floating cannon" in science fiction movies, only less fantastical and more scientific.
The soldiers soon gave him the nickname "the monster who manipulates the steel needles". As he became more active on the battlefield, he became the more respected "King of Steel Needles".
After many rumors and variations, the name was simply called "Needle King" by the soldiers.
But as the war progressed, the "Needle King" was no longer a symbol of death, but became the soldiers' hope of survival.
Because once the "Needle King" arrives, except for a few unlucky ones, most people can withdraw from the battlefield with legitimate reasons.
Although it is painful to have your hands and feet pierced, it is better than being beaten to death in a street fight or being killed by accidentally stepping on a landmine.
As time went on, the number of defeated soldiers increased. When the attack lasted for the sixth hour, Lu Yuerong decisively stopped the attack. No matter how Chang Dafen and Kong Guansi urged him, it was useless.
The morale of the troops was already close to zero. Forcing them to attack at this point would not only be futile, but could even lead to even more embarrassing consequences.
The battlefield inventory was completed quickly. In just six hours, they had suffered more than 30,000 casualties, while the enemy's losses were minimal.
Chang Dafen and Kong Guansi were still shouting and asking him why he stopped fighting after so few people died.
Lu Yuerong couldn't help but punch the two fat men in the face, knocking them to the ground.
This caused a big mess.
Chang Dafen cried and made a fuss, forcing the governor's parents out. Kong Guansi angrily called his brother. The Imperial Chief of Supervision was the core figure in the Cheng Lao camp, and Cheng Lao was Governor Gu's direct backer.
This caused chaos in the Shizhou Governor's Office. When all parties were entangled in a dispute, the Changshan County army rushed out of the city.
Lu Yuerong sighed and could only order the troops to retreat.
Due to low morale, the retreat turned into a rout. The Changshan County army chased for more than ten kilometers before withdrawing, and gained countless gains along the way.
The news that the Shizhou Iron Army was defeated head-on by the Changshan County miscellaneous troops and was pursued for dozens of kilometers along the way soon spread.
——
Yunzhou.
Flower and bird garden.
Yunzhou Governor Zhao Chaoyang excitedly found his good friends Li Changsheng and Xu Chengfeng and told them the news that Changshan County had counterattacked into Shizhou and defeated the main force of Shizhou.
The three of them were all in high spirits. They brought out their wine and raised their glasses together.
"For the light of the empire."
Drink it all in one gulp and raise the glass for the second time.
"For the light of hope."
The third toast.
"For the light of mankind."
After three cups, everyone was already a little tipsy.
Since investing in Lin Wen and Changshan County, they have always paid special attention to the news of Changshan County and deliberately collected everything about it.
They did not believe reports from outside sources, especially those from newspapers or media controlled by the Council, in which the evil County Governor Lin seemed to want to eat a hundred people alive every day.
Changshan County has now relaxed some of its regulations due to the rapid population growth and the large number of merchants and businesses coming in and out.
As long as you don't cause damage or spy on confidential information, you can basically come and go freely.
Therefore, they obtained a lot of first-hand information about Changshan County and learned about many of Changshan County’s policies and actions.
It was not until they got close to Changshan County that they realized how wrong they had been and how far their stereotype of Lin Wen deviated from reality.
He was not at all an imperial bureaucrat with a conscience.
He is the light.
No one is like him, who spent all his money on the construction of Changshan County and the welfare of civilians. All the cash cows in Changshan County are related to him, but he has never taken a penny of the money, and he even still lives in a shabby house full of holes.
No one is like him, ignoring his future and destiny and offending people everywhere, but he does not take a penny of the benefits gained.
All the rumors about him being licentious and lustful are false.
His so-called harem of 5,000 young girls was actually a department called the "Women's Mutual Aid Association," whose responsibilities included mediating neighborhood disputes, providing support to families in need, and handling public affairs like sweeping the streets.
This was the first time they had seen such a humane department.
And in Changshan County, what is most abundant is little girls who have infinite admiration for the young, handsome, mysterious County Chief Lin.
According to their investigation, none of them had a deep relationship with County Magistrate Lin. Some of those who claimed to have a relationship gave answers full of errors and contradictions after detailed questioning.
The only person who might be related is the secretary Fang Weiwei, but she vehemently denied the incident and even went to the hospital to get a certificate to support her statement.
Overall, County Governor Lin, who was attacked for his corrupt personal ethics, was actually a self-disciplined person, just like the "Puritans" who were popular in the empire for a while.
It is not known whether County Governor Lin is a "Puritan", but there is definitely no problem with his personal morality, and he may even be too strict.
His salary was one dollar, and his food, clothing and other expenses were worse than those of an ordinary worker. There was no evidence that he had any huge sum of money.
Maybe there are hidden deposits, but they don't believe it.
The officialdom of Changshan County was cleaned up from top to bottom, and a large number of new people with no background were recruited, and they were neither excluded nor suppressed.
Young people even account for a large proportion of the senior management of Changshan County.
This is unique in the empire. The first movers always firmly occupy the high positions and deliberately suppress and oppress the newcomers.
Not only is the county chief of Changshan County young, but there are also many young people among the deputy county chiefs and heads of various departments, and many of them hold multiple positions.
This is also the most different thing about Changshan County.
They found that Lin Wen had almost completely decentralized the power of the county governor. Personnel, administrative, and financial powers were all out of his hands. He even handed over departments such as the secret guard to outsiders.
He never seemed to worry about his authority being challenged, and never had that miserly "power syndrome". He even had the illusion that power was so hot that he couldn't wait to throw it away.
This kind of mind, this kind of courage, and this kind of character are rare in the lives of these three people who have served as officials in the empire for many years.
If this cannot be called light, then there is no light in this world.
Therefore, the three of them were so excited to hear that he had won in Shizhou.
"Hey, Lao Xu, how can we secretly add fuel to the fire?"
Last time, Xu Chengfeng was planning to implement the plan of "sending 8 billion worth of purified water to Changshan County", but unfortunately it was stopped after only sending 200 to 300 million. However, the procedure of this matter was reasonable.
In order to avoid giving people a chance to criticize, the headquarters decided to convert the 8 billion refugee subsidies that Changshan County was entitled to into a new water plant.
Although the water plant cost only two or three hundred million yuan, it was still a small benefit for Changshan County.
So the two decided to ask Xu Chengfeng first.
Xu Chengfeng thought for a moment and then replied, "I seem to have heard that Changshan County is buying cargo ships everywhere. We can sell them a batch of cargo ships."
Li Changsheng said, "They have captured Jiangkou City. I guess they are planning to retreat by boat and return to Changshan County by water."
Zhao Chaoyang smiled and said, "That's perfect. I can drive the cargo ship directly from Yunzhou Port to Jiangkou Port in just an hour. I can even rent a port for them."
Li Changsheng was a little worried: "Does this affect you?"
Zhao Chaoyang was surprised and asked, "What does business have to do with me? Who said Changshan County can't rent my port?"
The three of them laughed together.
They had never laughed so happily before.
——
East Qinzhou.
Governor's Office.
Sheng Huaixuan slammed the table.
"good."
A rare joy appeared on his face, and First Secretary Cheng Hexin saw it clearly.
Governor Sheng had never laughed like this since Changshan County separated.
"Immediately send someone to tell Mr. Shouren to contact Xu Jieying and have the rebels support Changshan County's attack from the flank and put pressure on Shizhou."
"Part of the drug trafficking chain in Seokju County passes through us. We must immediately launch a statewide campaign to eliminate drug trafficking activities and disrupt this smuggling chain."
"Also, we should implement quarantine on food imported from Seokju and re-publicize the issue of food safety."
——
Emperor's Tower.
Li Longxing was overjoyed after reading the briefing.
"This kid is pretty good, isn't he?"
He looked up.
"Three beloved generals, what do you think?"
The three commanders of the Royal Guards looked at each other.
A crooked mouth said: "It's okay, just barely. I only need one tank division to annihilate these country bumpkins in Shizhou."
A horse-faced man said, "Although Shizhou has a large standing army, its combat capability is extremely low. It's not surprising that this young county chief was able to win."
A man with a flat nose said, "I can turn these three hundred thousand people into ashes with just one finger."
Li Longxing snorted.
"It seems you are not ready to fight the Papal States. Come to the Royal Fencing Grounds and fight me. I will discipline you."
——
Taiming Palace.
Li Linyue looked at the briefing on the table and fell into deep thought.
——
Zhongzhou.
Wang Bo'an's hearty laughter resounded inside and outside the Governor's Mansion, dispelling the gloomy atmosphere that had shrouded the mansion for some time like strong sunshine.
"Good, that's great. You're worthy of being the boy I've chosen."
The generals were also smiling happily.
"What a beautiful fight."
“It feels so good to let out this breath!”
When Zhongzhou was in the most difficult time, Wang Bo'an sought help everywhere and begged neighboring states to take in refugees. Even the governor who had a grudge against Wang Bo'an extended a helping hand. Only the governor of Shizhou took advantage of the situation and mocked him.
They are keeping this account in mind.
Army commander Wang Guangrong shouted, "This bastard deserves it. Brother Lin is a great guy!"
Wang Boan shouted, "Everyone, work harder! This week, we must capture the last stronghold of the Papal States! Then, I will personally go to the capital to report on our achievements and strongly support Brother Lin!"
"Good!" The generals were excited. After such a long period of effort, the strongholds of the Papal States had been eliminated one after another.
This mainly depends on the war mobilization mechanism. Wang Boan's troops have now expanded four times, while the enemy cannot be replenished and its strength has dropped to 100,000.
Together with the artillery shells purchased from Changshan County, they recaptured four cities within a week.
Now there is only one place left. As long as we destroy this place, the advance troops of the Papal States will be completely wiped out.
At that time, he could report his military achievements. At this time, the empire would not be stingy in rewarding the victor.
Wang Boan had already made a plan. He wanted to give Brother Lin the first credit.
——
Empire Gaming Company.
The general office was filled with wailing and screams.
All the predictions for Changshan County have exploded.
But those ordinary odds did not lose much, and even made a little profit.
However, there is a fatal handicap that hangs like a sword around everyone's neck.
Jangsan-Seokju, odds: 1 to 16,500.
On the Shizhou side, the number of bettors was zero, and the betting amount was zero.
Changshan County, number of bettors: one, bet amount...
One hundred million!
In other words, if Changshan County wins, the dealer will have to pay 1.65 trillion.
Even if we dismantle the entire company and sell everything, we still can't afford the compensation.
what to do?
The chief trader wailed, "Is this the odds adjusted by that idiotic bastard? That idiot came up with such stupid data?"
The secretary whispered, "You were drunk at the time..."
The chief trader slammed the table and shouted, "It's a system malfunction! These odds are due to a system malfunction!"
The helmsman's eyes lit up: "What is the process for handling system failures?"
"The plate is void! The funds will be returned by the same route."
"But..." The chief trader hesitated and said, "We have already used Changshan County's money..."
The helmsman touched his shiny bald head.
"Well... Changshan County bought their own tickets, which is suspected of cheating. The cheating funds will be confiscated!"
The secretary whispered, "Is this okay?"
The helmsman laughed heartily, feeling proud of his own cleverness:
"It's just a county, what's the big deal? How dare he go against the will of heaven?"
Everyone laughed, and the main office was filled with a sea of joy.
——
To the Winter Palace.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was depressing.
The Supreme Council Chairman Yu Zhongxian had a gloomy face and no one dared to speak.
The Council is having a very hard time right now. They are being targeted by the Emperor in the Imperial Capital, and the Princess Faction has quickly broken away from them.
What's worse is that their struggle with the Qin Group in Luozhou has fallen into an absolutely unfavorable situation.
The Qin Group used a large number of drone swarms for reconnaissance and launched precision-guided missiles into the barren mountains in the name of experimental technology, but in fact, those were all secret bases or biochemical research institutes of the Council.
Using powerful air-land integrated firepower and automated fire control systems to fight against the Titan combat squad, the Council suffered heavy losses in just half a month. Its headquarters in Luozhou was almost uprooted, and one of the Titan production bases was destroyed.
The situation was extremely dire. If the Council's influence in Luozhou was eradicated, their grand plan to move south would be aborted.
While everyone was discussing, a brief report on Changshan County's victory came in.
After reading it, Yu Zhongxian circulated it to everyone.
"What do you think?"
Chairman Liu Aimin bowed and said, "Changshan County achieved a surprising victory, defeating the main force of Shizhou, the First Iron Army, and occupying Jiangkou City. This proves that they are indeed quite powerful."
Wang Xinwei, the new "right hand," said, "Our giant squad was wiped out in Changshan County after killing less than a thousand people. It caused almost no impact, proving that they are internally stable and well-organized."
"Then..." Yu Zhongxian glanced at them, and Liu Aimin immediately said, "There's value in cooperation."
Wang Xinwei asked softly, "But we've been hostile to Changshan County for so long, and have tried to kill them numerous times. Is there still room for cooperation?"
Yu Zhongxian gave a smile as cold as ice.
"There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. He will agree."
"He had to agree."
——
Elders' Courtyard.
Under the paulownia tree.
The two great elders sat opposite each other playing chess, while the other two elders watched from the side.
The battle on the chessboard was fierce, with each chess piece jostling against each other in a mess.
In the complicated situation, a great elder moved the pawn one step forward.
"Will!"
Wrinkles appeared on his old face.
"I won."
(End of this chapter)
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