"These good-for-nothings are truly useless! Shall we make another example of them?" Xiao Chang trembled with anger.
Two and a half million taels of silver was no small sum. The Great Gan kingdom had already cut off their financial lifelines to the noble families, preventing them from skimming profits or engaging in grain speculation. Their farmlands had also been forced to be surrendered before their flight.
Jiaozhou had severed its trade routes with Jiangnan, and consequently lost its capacity for large-scale trade with countries like the Peacock Dynasty.
In Xiao Chang's view, he had painstakingly tried to appease his soldiers, only for them to be ungrateful wretches who deserved to die.
Dugu Qun quickly intervened.
"The morale of the army is unstable. With Liang Xiao's army pressing down, if we execute more soldiers, it might truly incite a mutiny! Your Highness, do not forget how Helian Heng was defeated and killed, and how the Helian family lost Jincheng!"
Seeing that Xiao Chang still harbored resentment, Dugu Qun smiled, "If you want to settle accounts, at least wait until after the autumn harvest!"
Xiao Che chimed in, "These commoners are like ants, easily dealt with at any time. But now, we must unite against the common enemy. After the war, we can use today's events as an excuse to confiscate some men's rewards! For safety's sake, we absolutely cannot let them engage in battle at this moment; we must rely on the Peacock Dynasty!"
Xiao Chang's expression finally softened, and he cast a pleading look at Hannibal.
"Marshal Hannibal, our army has treated your nation's soldiers well, providing them with ample food and drink, and their rewards have never been shorted..."
Hannibal pondered.
"Worry not! To break this stalemate, our army must defeat the enemy, even if it's just a partial victory! Furthermore, the true scale of the engagement on the battlefield will not exceed one hundred and fifty thousand, which is well within my tribe's control! One hundred ballistae might not be enough for an assault, but they are more than sufficient for defense!"
"Regardless of what, we cannot allow the Great Gan army to break through this position! As long as we shatter the Great Gan kingdom's invincible myth, we can stabilize the army's morale, and these Jiaozhou commoners, no matter how unwilling, will not dare to express their dissatisfaction again!"
"We still do not fully understand the enemy's capabilities. We only know that the enemy has also brought heavy cavalry..." Gongyang Qiu worried.
"Before the ballistae, even heavy infantry with heavy shields will meet a bitter end, and cavalry will be shattered along with their mounts!" Hannibal smiled confidently, then added with a hint of regret, "But we must still expedite the imitation of the enemy's trebuchets. Compared to these trebuchets, the ballistae are clearly outdated!"
The Peacock Dynasty had amassed over one hundred and fifty thousand Tianri tribe soldiers, with nearly half being cavalry, and at least twenty thousand elite Tianri cavalry.
These cavalry, departing from their "holy land," had swept across the Eurasian continent, detoured to the Peacock Dynasty, and after a massacre of Jiaozhou soldiers, had finally regained their former confidence as "destroyers of humankind." With soaring morale, they charged towards the eastern mountain pass.
Upon hearing that the Peacock Dynasty soldiers would serve as vanguards, the Jiaozhou soldiers finally felt a sense of balance.
Shi Liuyun's Jiangnan Iron Cavalry also received binoculars from their headquarters and immediately put them to use, accelerating their march.
The Great Gan army gathered at the front lines for a final round of mobilization.
"In this battle, against the Tianri tribe, we must annihilate the enemy completely, leaving no soldier alive! Against the Jiaozhou soldiers, our primary objective is to accept their surrender, but if they remain stubborn, we must show no mercy!"
The soldiers gazed at Liang Xiao on the high platform with fervent admiration.
The man leading them now was their Marquis of An, the Heavenly General. If they didn't seize this opportunity to achieve greatness, when would they?
"If the enemy is defeated, they will inevitably retreat into the mountains to defend their advantageous positions, turning this into a war of attrition. Of course, a small number of Tianri cavalry will escape to Jiaozhou, so our army must lay ambushes, surrounding them from all sides!"
"All generals, receive your orders!"
The three armies stood in solemn silence as Nan Jiyun and others ascended the platform to accept the command tokens from each legion and lead their troops to war.
Lu Changhe personally commanded the cavalry corps, including the White Robe soldiers and the Great Gan Elite Cavalry, totaling over fifty-five thousand men.
Nan Jiyun assisted Lu Changhe and commanded the fifty-thousand-strong Yizhou Legion, of which twenty thousand had previously been led by Shi Liuyun to reinforce Jiangnan.
Zhuo Ying commanded the infantry from Jiangnan and Zhongzhou, while Yue Yun was responsible for the Zhongzhou cavalry, with a combined force exceeding ninety thousand.
Liang Xiao personally oversaw the central army, commanding the Huihui cannons, Shenwu cannons, and the three-bow bed crossbow corps, totaling over fifty thousand men.
Adding the ten thousand Jiangnan Iron Cavalry led away by Shi Liuyun, the total force reached two hundred and fifty-five thousand.
The soldiers of all three armies were in high spirits, diligently sharpening their weapons and preparing for a full-scale offensive.
"Marshal, you should no longer charge into the front lines; it's too dangerous! Rather than exposing yourself to danger, you should be commanding the overall strategy!"
Seeing Liang Xiao mount his horse, Nan Jiyun and others were quite worried and advised him against it.
Since the soldiers learned that Liang Xiao was indeed the Heavenly General, while they longed to charge into battle alongside him, they also worried about his safety given the enemy's ballistae and ordinary bed crossbows.
Liang Xiao replied, "I must closely monitor the enemy's ballista positions and adjust our strategy accordingly."
The generals, knowing Liang Xiao's excellent eyesight and trusting that he would not venture into enemy lines recklessly, were finally at ease.
Before each campaign, they would remind Liang Xiao of this, and only after receiving a similar reply would they feel reassured.
The infantry corps of the Great Gan kingdom advanced along the northern and eastern stretches of the mountain range, forming an encirclement.
The allied forces of Jiaozhou were also mobilizing their defenses with great urgency, daring not to let the Jiaozhou soldiers engage in combat, fearing they would disrupt the formation of the Tianri tribe.
The Jiaozhou soldiers, already comprising veterans and weaker troops, were all reassigned to logistics, each with their own thoughts.
"The Prince has issued an order: if this battle is won, every soldier, including the Jiaozhou troops, will receive at least ten taels of silver, with no deductions! Those who deduct will face punishment for all nine generations of their clan! After conquering Jiangnan, you will have all the wealth and beauties you desire!"
Another military order spread, but the Jiaozhou soldiers only felt indifferent.
Such promises were merely routine morale-boosting tactics before a battle, and their fulfillment was uncertain.
There had been similar promises during the previous attack on Luzhou, albeit with a smaller reward.
The messenger rushed back to the military tent to report.
"The morale of the Jiaozhou soldiers has not significantly improved!"
Xiao Chang gritted his teeth, "Truly useless! After this battle, I will certainly purge these scoundrels!"
Xiao Che quickly stopped Xiao Chang and whispered a few words into his ear. Xiao Chang's old eyes lit up.
"The Prince has issued an order: after our army conquers Jiangnan, if he ascends the throne as Emperor, every soldier will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver, not a single cent less. Those who deduct will face punishment for all nine generations of their clan!!"
Another announcement spread throughout the Jiaozhou army.
"One hundred taels?"
After some Jiaozhou soldiers were tempted, they quickly regained their composure.
Initially, Xiao Chang's slogan for deploying troops was "clearing the monarch's surroundings," but now he intended to ascend the throne himself, which violated his pre-war promises.
However, what truly made the soldiers doubt was the feasibility of conquering Jiangnan.
They had been defeated on two fronts when allied with the Great Liang kingdom; now they spoke of conquering Jiangnan, wasn't that a joke?
Except for a few loyal confidants of the Southern King secretly placed within the army, the remaining soldiers, after regaining their composure, were not only uninspired but also restless.
The leaders of Jiaozhou were completely at a loss and could only place their hopes on the Tianri tribe's victory.
But if the Tianri tribe won, whether Xiao Chang and Xiao Che would still be the rulers of Jiaozhou was an unknown.
Half an hour later, as dusk settled, the earth-shattering sounds of horns and war drums echoed from the eastern and northern fronts.
"The Great Gan army is attacking!"