For a century, under the guidance of the aristocratic families of the Great Qian Kingdom, the Tianri tribe had also mastered the art of pigeon post cultivation.
The pigeon messages sent from the Guishuang Dynasty's military camps were swiftly delivered to the Guishuang Dynasty's royal city.
The Tianri King, who was receiving the homage of his eldest son, the Guishuang King, fell silent as he looked at the urgent dispatch in his hand, but his trembling hands betrayed his current emotions.
Liang Xiao!
A man with the same name as the Great Zhou's Martial Saint, had once again slain Achilles, and this time in a fair fight, with no one assisting!
"Father!" the Guishuang King said nervously.
The Tianri King gritted his teeth, sighed, and shook his head.
"We cannot possibly send reinforcements to the Jiangnan battlefield thousands of miles away now. Continue to build more ballistas, and imitate the enemy's trebuchets. We must take Yumenguan as soon as possible and cannot delay any longer! Once Liang Xiao returns to reinforce, our army may very well fail here..."
The Guishuang King was stunned.
His father had swept across the Eurasian continent, invincible, personally leading his troops to annihilate the rebel armies of both the Guishuang Dynasty and the Peacock Dynasty in those years.
Now, even he believed that his forces in the western regions were still no match for Liang Xiao?
The Tianri King suddenly looked to the east, his gaze sharp.
"That land is a treasure trove that our ancestors dreamed of for generations. Our ancestors said that the women there are the most beautiful and enjoyable to be with, and the children are the most tender and delicious to eat. Therefore, we absolutely cannot give it up! After we take Great Qian, I will bestow the hand of Liang Xiao's wife, Klist, to you."
"After all, she is your uncle's good daughter!"
"But Father, the western powers are still tying down our troops. With our current strength, if we cannot replicate the Huihui Cannon, I fear we will not be able to breach Yumenguan! We cannot place our hopes on successful imitation, can we?" the Guishuang King worried.
"Don't worry, someone will lead troops to support us. His hatred for Liang Xiao and his desire for a decisive battle with Liang Xiao are unmatched in this era. His cavalry can already pose a great threat to the Tianri cavalry and he has rapidly mastered heavy cavalry."
On the homeland of the Izumo Kingdom, Emperor Bushoku also learned of the front-line situation and wore a grim expression.
"The enemy used a special oily substance to turn our fleet into ashes, resulting in heavy losses, unprecedented and unparalleled. If we cannot capture Liaodong, defeat is only a matter of time."
"But, Your Majesty, almost all of our domestic soldiers have been used to build ships. We cannot provide many warships or troops to support the front line now!"
Emperor Bushoku smiled, "Support is not just about troops; spiritual support can also be provided."
The ministers exchanged glances.
Emperor Bushoku sneered, "Mobilize the women of our country. Any who are somewhat attractive will be sent to the front lines to comfort the soldiers and boost their morale, and incidentally deliver some food to them."
"Isn't that just military prostitutes?" the ministers exclaimed in shock.
"It's not like your own relatives are being made into military prostitutes, why are you so nervous? This is a war for our nation's destiny. All sacrifices are for the future of the Izumo Kingdom and are sacred," Emperor Bushoku said calmly.
The ministers looked at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Emperor Bushoku and lowered their heads in thought.
Indeed, it had nothing to do with their own families, so the lives of others were of no consequence.
"What about those opposition factions?" Emperor Bushoku asked again.
"As per Your Majesty's decree, they will all be taken to the marketplace and beheaded!" the minister replied.
"Then what are you waiting for? Send their wives and daughters to comfort the soldiers along with them! Make sure they are cleaned up before sending them off, as the soldiers escorting them also need comforting and won't be tired while working."
After a century of education in the Izumo Kingdom, those who opposed the war or had favorable feelings towards the Great Qian Kingdom had been thoroughly purged.
More and more people believed that the Great Qian Kingdom had occupied their land and trapped them on this barren island.
"May our Emperor reign for ten thousand generations, until the tiny stones become giant rocks, until the giant rocks grow green moss."
Countless young people took pride in joining the army, and countless women, with sacred faith, boarded ships bound for the original site of the Taiji Kingdom, all shouting slogans and crossing the ocean, all for the glory of Emperor Bushoku.
At this time, the East Sea military camp temporarily abandoned its expedition, and instead maintained its defenses, patrolling the sea to ensure the safety of the fishermen.
Currently, the Great Qian Kingdom's strategic focus was in the south. In the north, it was sufficient to prevent the loss of territory.
"Marshal, enemy cavalry are defecting, and there are our people among them!"
A messenger rushed to report. Liang Xiao immediately went out of the camp to greet them and saw three Silent Wolves.
"Marquis Anguo, we are here to surrender..." The other seven cavalrymen looked fearful, and with lowered heads, presented two official documents from Xiao Chang and Xiao Che.
Liang Xiao directly had the loud-voiced messenger read them aloud.
"Conscripting respectable women as military prostitutes to serve the Tianri cavalry?!"
The surrounding soldiers immediately became enraged.
"Marshal! This subordinate requests to lead an army to block the enemy's southern retreat route!" Zhuo Ying, uncharacteristically furious, stepped forward to request battle.
The generals all requested to fight.
Liang Xiao sent people to entertain the seven cavalrymen and brought the three Silent Wolves into the tent.
"Yefeng, you have worked hard."
Hearing Liang Xiao's thanks, the three of them were overwhelmed with emotion.
"For His Majesty, for the Marquis, for the people, for our comrades, we have no excuses!"
Liang Xiao then explained the mission of Yefeng and the other two to everyone.
The Silent Wolves were all "respectable sons" selected from the Yan Province and the capital area. Their families were well-treated, and Sima Jing, cooperating with the ironclad rules of the Shadow Guard, used the training methods provided by Liang Xiao to cultivate a force loyal to the nation. Their numbers had expanded to five thousand.
Among them, the Silent Wolves with lower numbers had achieved greater success earlier. For example, Ye Xiao going to Xichuan and Yefeng going to Jiaozhou were plans set in motion years ago.
These Shadow Guards risked danger and acted as infiltrators.
And one percent of their members died at the hands of the enemy due to various uncontrollable accidents.
Yefeng's mission was to gather intelligence, notify "informants," send the intelligence back to Great Qian, and to carry out sabotage and incitement at critical moments.
"We guided this group of cavalry to return and falsely report a defeat on the front line, loss of grain, tight military supplies, and insufficient manpower, in order to make Jiaozhou send reinforcements to the front. We also secretly informed their families and the common people to hide in the mountains or remote villages to avoid being captured by the officials. This action carried some risk for them, but because they could no longer bear the cruelty of the Tianri tribe and were worried about their families being violated, they decided to try."
"Tianri tribe soldiers brutally murdered five thousand Jiaozhou soldiers, their deaths were horrific, and they were even used as tools for carnal desire by the Tianri cavalry..."
Everyone listened with growing anger and shock.
"Such cannibals can roam freely in the West?" Zhuo Ying exclaimed in horror.
"I can see it now, they act like decent people on a daily basis, at most they are arrogant. But once they encounter extreme situations, or face absolute weaker beings, their true nature of brutality and cannibalism is fully revealed! Fortunately, we three were quick-witted. We felt that the atmosphere was wrong at the time and remained silent, not rushing to instigate a mutiny, otherwise we would have also become one of those five thousand wronged souls!"
Liang Xiao's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Immediately dispatch scouts to the front lines and recall all cavalry, leaving only scouts. Our army may need to fight on three fronts!"