The Demon Lords-Chapter 632 - 111 Waves Wash All Away (Part 1) _1

On the banks of the Xuanyang River, a group of knights rode past. In the farmlands on both sides of the river, farmers were busy with their autumn harvest. They were no longer surprised to see these knights on their tall horses, clad in Black Armor.

It was said that some things were as inevitable as the falling rain or a mother remarrying. A battle raged in the east, people claimed, involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides. They were locked in fierce combat around the Wang River. Refugees fleeing the area spoke of a horrific slaughter, saying that even the waters of the Wang River had turned red.

But as long as the war didn't reach their doorstep, they still had to continue their farm work. Otherwise, if they weren't killed by marauding soldiers, starvation would surely finish them off. Death seemed inevitable either way.

Conversely, the Yan people from the west seemed to be migrating eastward with increasing frequency these days.

Jin Shuke signaled his knights to dismount and rest.

"Sir, shouldn't we continue our reconnaissance further ahead?" one of the captains asked.

They were already near the battlefield ahead. If they pushed on now, they could likely ascertain the development of the battle by tomorrow morning. This was the command that General Zheng had given them. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

From the perspective of Shengle City, it was certainly not desirable to learn the outcome of a war that so heavily impacted their future development only after such a long delay. Therefore, they had to dispatch troops to personally gather information about the battle.

Jin Shuke shook his head. "It's getting dark," he said. "Let the brothers rest. If we cross the river eastward now, we might run into scouts from the main army during the night. We could easily end up fighting our own men, and it's not worth the risk."

"Yes, Sir. I understand."

"Hmm."

Jin Shuke was not offended by his subordinate questioning his decision. He had grown accustomed to everyone sitting around a campfire to discuss strategies before each battle during their time in the desert.

He took out a salt block from his saddlebag and placed it on the ground. A few nearby horses immediately approached and began licking it. The rest of the men took out the dry rations they carried and started to eat.

There were about fifty men in their group. Because they had to handle the duty of relaying messages and also needed to venture deep into the battlefield, their numbers couldn't be too small, or things could easily go wrong.

Jin Shuke reminded them, "Everyone must remember what Mr. Bei said: our city's food supply is running low."

Jin Shuke was a loyal follower of Mr. Bei. Whenever he was in Shengle and Mr. Bei gave a lecture, he would be sure to attend early. Recently, the clerks in the army had received written notices from the General's office, instructing them to inform the soldiers about the current situation in Shengle City.

In Shengle's army, Yan people were a minority, while Jin people formed the majority, followed by the Barbarians. In Yan, Jin people and Barbarians were considered second, or even third-class citizens. Everyone knew very well that their salary, their treatment, the warhorses they rode, and the weapons they used were truly no different from those of Yan's Jingnan Army or Zhenbei Army. No other surrendered armies from Jin land could expect such honorable treatment.

It was precisely because they knew how hard-won these conditions were that they cherished them and felt grateful. Official propaganda, of course, couldn't bluntly state that General Zheng hoped the Eldest Prince would lose the war. However, the private consensus was that if they didn't fight again soon, didn't achieve another significant victory, their current good life would become unsustainable.

"Sir, don't we still have a lot of cattle and sheep outside the city?" a soldier asked. In his view, with so many cattle and sheep, they couldn't possibly starve.

Jin Shuke glanced at him and said, "I grew up in the desert. Treating cattle and sheep solely as food, as you put it, is just squandering resources. We lack more than just grain. Where does our monthly salary come from? Many of our brothers have settled families in the city; where will their food and provisions come from?

"The monthly allowance for the private school teachers, the monthly allowance for the clinic doctors, the ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones, the books, and the medicinal herbs—which of these doesn't cost money?

"We won't starve, of course. But now that we're used to a good life, where even our steamed buns have fillings, do you want to go back to how things were?

"A family toiling from dawn till dusk, just to barely survive?"

The soldier flushed red at the reproof.

Jin Shuke had clearly taken Mr. Bei's lectures to heart and was actively trying to convey his understanding to his fellow soldiers. As Mr. Bei had once said, they fought for General Zheng, and why did General Zheng fight? He fought so that they could continue to live well. Therefore, they were fighting to preserve their good lives and to achieve even better ones.

Every time Jin Shuke recalled the image of everyone at night, following Mr. Bei and shouting these slogans, he felt a surge of passion.

Life is full of hope!

"Sir, how long do you think this war will last? It seems to me the Eldest Prince's forces are almost across the Wang River."

The "New Dynasty" established by Situ Yi had its capital at Jade Plate City, on the east bank of the Wang River. Under the leadership of the Eldest Prince, the Yan Army and the forces of the Cheng State had integrated. After this period, they began to deploy troops in several columns. These forces gradually swept the area between Ying Capital City and the Wang River, a region hundreds of miles in scope, continually shrinking and squeezing the operational space for rebels and wild people.

This was destined to be a long and tedious process, but the Eldest Prince fought with solidity and steadiness.

Currently, the area west of the Wang River had been recaptured by the Yan Army and the forces of the Cheng State. Both sides were contesting several ferry crossings along the Wang River, but the strategic initiative had completely fallen into the hands of the Yan State.