The Demon Lords-Chapter 660 - 123: Lord Jingnan Marches to War_1

Inside the military camp, soldiers of Shengle City were training under Liang Cheng's command. General Zheng, on the other hand, was sitting on the watchtower, basking in the sunlight and dozing off.

Despite being on a battlefield, General Zheng projected the peaceful aura of a lazy old farmer amidst rice paddies.

The three other soldiers on the watchtower were extremely excited for this opportunity to be so close to General Zheng. Their bodies were taut, backs ramrod straight, and their eyes wide as they scanned their surroundings. They were a hundredfold more vigilant than usual, determined to monitor the area and protect their beloved General Zheng.

In fact, General Zheng had long regretted leaving two demons to guard his home. What a waste, wasn't it? If he had known, he would have brought Siniang along on the campaign.

Across the Wang River, both the Chu army and the wild people had begun a series of troop movements. The freezing of the Wang River forced them to make preparations.

Apparently, the king of the wild people and Chu's Zhuguai, Qu TianNan, had not let down their guard against Yan State's iron cavalry despite their previous great victory. This was especially true now that they had lost the natural barrier of the Wang River and the support of their navy.

In Ying Capital City, the Eldest Prince, since his defeat, had begun reorganizing and redeploying troops, re-establishing defense lines, taking in auxiliary troops from Cheng State, reorganizing the minor court of Cheng State, and stockpiling provisions from various sources.

If nothing else, one thing was certain: the people of Cheng State, even if this war ended, would likely struggle to recover their vitality for at least two years.

In fact, many groups of refugees had already appeared. Under these circumstances, many commoners were already choosing to vote with their feet, beginning to migrate westward. And because the Situ Family had submitted, local officials dared not obstruct them.

Shengle, which had always been short on labor, recently took in many of these refugees and benefited considerably.

Of course, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It could be seen as drawing on Cheng State's potential prematurely, which would also facilitate Yan State's rule over Cheng State post-war.

However, the prerequisite was that it had to be post-war. If they couldn't win this war, or if the stalemate continued, then all previous assumptions would come to naught.

The winter sun felt warm on his body. Zheng Fan slightly opened his eyes, then slowly closed them again. At this moment, there really was nothing else for him to do but sleep.

Just then, a signal arrow whistled. Simultaneously, a soldier beside Zheng Fan knelt and reported, "General, unknown cavalry is approaching!"

"Hmm."

Zheng Fan nodded, not thinking much of it. Although his camp was relatively independent, it wasn't completely cut off from Ying Capital City. The two sides still exchanged messengers and information from time to time.

Of course, their interactions were limited to this. When the Eldest Prince had first led the eastern expedition, military leaders like Zheng Fan and Chen Yang, who were part of the "Jingnan Army faction," could completely disregard him. This was even more true now that the Eldest Prince had been defeated and his prestige had plummeted.

However, soon, the three arriving riders reached the base of the stockade and shouted, "General Zheng Fan of Shengle, receive the military order from Lord Jingnan!"

...

The Shengle Army, which had been stationed northwest of Ying Capital City for a long time, finally broke camp and set out. Zheng Fan, accompanied by A Ming and a dozen or so armored soldiers, headed for Ying Capital City in accordance with Lord Jingnan's military order.

Coincidentally, halfway there, they encountered Chen Yang, who was also leading a group of guards.

Zheng Fan's rank as general was a step below Chen Yang's, but his relationship with Lord Jingnan was fundamentally different. So, while Chen Yang wouldn't put on airs in front of Zheng Fan, he also wouldn't go out of his way to curry favor with him. Nevertheless, both found this kind of relationship comfortable.

Their two retinues merged. The two leaders didn't speak, merely exchanging a smile before continuing toward Ying Capital City.

「Lord Jingnan had arrived.」

In truth, his arrival had been slow; how many armies had been waiting for him outside Ying Capital City? Yet, he had also arrived quickly. "Quickly," in this sense, meant without any prior warning.

But regardless, he was here, and so the war could continue.

In all these years, this was the first time the Yan people had suffered such a major setback in a foreign war. It was time to settle the score.

About ten-odd *li* from Ying Capital City, Zheng Fan and Chen Yang spotted a Jingnan Army unit ahead. It was small, only about a hundred men, but one rider and his mount stood out with striking clarity.

The Pixiu was far taller than an ordinary warhorse, and combined with its suit of gilded armor, it was impossible not to notice.

This unit had to be the vanguard personally led by the Lord. In addition, 30,000 Jingnan Army troops were en route and expected to arrive in about a day.

Zheng Fan had learned this from a messenger. Given Zheng Fan's status, it was nothing for him to ask about these things, and the messenger didn't conceal anything, directly telling him the army's numbers. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Yes, Lord Jingnan had only brought a 30,000-strong Jingnan Army as reinforcements.

In reality, there were far more Jingnan Army soldiers in Jin land. Before the War of the Three Kingdoms, the Jingnan Army had 50,000 regular troops and another 50,000 in the rear camp, essentially reserves.

During the War of the Three Kingdoms, the Jingnan Army, like the Zhenbei Army, suffered considerable losses. However, after the war, the Jingnan Army's replenishment rate was extremely fast. In Liang Cheng's words, because the Jingnan Army initially had fewer regular troops, Lord Jingnan had always focused on meticulous refinement, resulting in very high individual soldier quality. It was somewhat analogous to Germany between World War I and World War II, where soldiers were trained as if they were reserve officers, allowing for rapid expansion of forces before World War II.