Attila shook his head and asked, "How is the manufacturing progress of the trebuchets?"
"We can guarantee an increase in numbers to five hundred units within a month!" Mars replied.
Attila pondered for a moment and said, "Let's stick to the original plan. We shouldn't be too hasty once the trebuchets are ready. We have likely greatly underestimated the enemy cavalry's numbers. Without trebuchets that allow for both offense and defense, if our army fails in its advance and Liang Xiao happens to finish reorganizing his troops, he could pursue us relentlessly and directly attack our main camp. What would we have to drive them away then?"
"Attila, we are aiming for decisive victory. Are you planning your military formations by considering defeat right now?" John finally expressed his dissatisfaction.
Attila shot John a glare and said sternly, "As military strategy states, 'First, make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy's vulnerability.' This is a confrontation between hundreds of thousands of troops. If we cannot create conditions where we are undefeatable, we could be crushed by occasional local setbacks, and our entire camp could fall. How then can we march into Yumenguan?"
Mars nodded and said, "Attila is right. Even if we win, what then? The fact is, without sufficient trebuchets, we have no way to breach Yumenguan! John, you are responsible for logistics. Caesar will command the Britannian forces."
John immediately deflated, not daring to argue.
Under the cover of night, Attila and Mars gazed eastward, their eyes filled with worry.
"Attila, this frontline is the last hope for both our peoples. Once it is destroyed, the Western world will also face the overwhelming onslaught of the Qian tribe. Within a hundred years, we will be annihilated and our nations destroyed by the Qian! We cannot afford to lose, nor can we retreat! To this end, we must be completely open with each other before the battle and absolutely avoid any further division! The enemy we face is unprecedentedly powerful!"
Attila merely nodded solemnly.
"You are willing to let the Tianri tribe's troops go into battle first, so how can the Xiongnu Empire be a shrinking turtle? First, we will defeat the Qian, and then our two peoples can discuss the division of territory in the Western world."
The cunning and ferocious Tianri tribe, and the iron-blooded and ruthless Xiongnu Empire, forced to set aside their animosity in the face of the Eastern threat, chose a temporary alliance before seeing the dawn of victory.
Within the royal palace of the Isle of Britannia, King Richard the Lionheart often coughed up blood.
"I never imagined that I would die on a sickbed instead of on the battlefield! Now, the King of Tianri must know that my country is outwardly strong but inwardly weak, easily controlled by him..."
Grief worsened the Lionheart King's condition.
At the same time, in the southern waters of Daliang, large ships sailed from another little-known continent towards the Peacock Dynasty. On board were fair-skinned, blue-eyed faces, and row upon row of native skulls hung from the ships.
"Reinforce the Peacock Dynasty and harass the southern regions of Daqian!"
Meanwhile, hundreds more large ships sailed from the eastern "Senluo Continent" towards the Izumo Kingdom.
"Occupy the Izumo Kingdom and harass the eastern borders of Daqian!"
Daqian's patrol fleets also discovered the situation on the eastern islands in a timely manner and immediately rushed back to report.
On the Taiji Peninsula, vast quantities of iron ore were loaded onto newly-designed steamships and transported continuously to the East Sea, Yan Province, and then by land to Yan Province and the capital.
There were military equipment supervisorates and steel mills established by the imperial court in the capital, Yan Province, Jinling, Luzhou, and Nanzhong.
"So, the essence of combustion is truly a rapid exothermic and luminous oxidation reaction between a combustible material and oxygen or air!"
"But why did the Emperor name this field of study 'Chemistry'? The study of the transformation of things?"
More and more Daqian scholars seemed to have discovered a new world. Coupled with the court's support for engineering, they threw themselves into scientific research without hesitation.
Inside Yumenguan, flintlock guns and Shenwu cannons from Yan Province were also transported in an endless stream.
Apart from Liang Xiao and the marshals, the soldiers had no idea how many firearms and cannons were equipped in the western regions.
"Reporting to the Emperor! Marshal Zhengbei Lu Changhe has arrived at the Northern Camp with the rest of the White Robe Army!"
Lu Changhe rushed to Yumenguan and immediately paid his respects to Liang Xiao, taking charge of the White Robe Army.
"Reporting to the Emperor! Marshal Zhengdong Nie Yuan is rushing to the western regions by imperial decree to provide reinforcements!"
Nie Yuan also arrived in the western regions by train, responsible for commanding the twenty thousand Liaodong Iron Cavalry and twenty thousand Liaodong Infantry who had arrived in the western regions in advance.
Nan Jiyun was responsible for commanding Daqian's elite cavalry, Yue Yun for the remaining cavalry, and Qin Feng for the remaining infantry.
The five marshals of the Qian tribe gathered in the western regions.
Liang Xiao himself personally commanded the artillery and firearms units, under the direct supervision of the soon-to-arrive new Shadow Guard Commander He Zizhang.
"Although our army is strong and our horses are mighty, we must absolutely not be careless. This battle will forge an undefeated foundation for the descendants of our Qian tribe! I hope all of you will unite as one, and with minimal casualties, take down the Guishuang Dynasty, with our forces pointing directly at the sacred land of the Tianri tribe, bloodying their imperial court, exterminating all barbarians, and eliminating future trouble forever. From now on, the Central Kingdom can survive eternally!"
On the high platform, the three armies stood in solemn silence, listening to Liang Xiao's impassioned speech, after which they erupted into earth-shattering cheers.
"The foundation of the Qian tribe, eternal survival!!"
"Your subjects beg to fight!"
Nan Jiyun and others kneeling beside Liang Xiao all knelt on one knee.
"All soldiers, conserve your strength and rest. Within seven days, the Qian and the Western Rong will surely engage in battle!"
Inside and outside Yumenguan, all soldiers, except for the cavalry detachments responsible for expelling Western cavalry, were conserving their strength. Liang Xiao then issued a proclamation, bestowing great rewards upon the entire army.
"In addition to normal military merits and rewards, each head of a Western cavalry soldier will receive an additional twenty taels of silver, and each head of a Western infantry soldier will receive an additional ten taels of silver! After the occupation of the Guishuang Dynasty, all those who are credited will have their descendants blessed, and their families will receive at least an additional twenty mu of fertile land!"
The unprecedentedly generous rewards made the already high-spirited soldiers ecstatic.
Qin Feng and others did not object to this.
The national treasury now held over a hundred million taels of silver, and an expenditure of twenty million taels was more than enough.
Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing ruled the empire together. Liang Xiao's own family's assets alone held over twenty million taels of silver in savings, and with Xiao Qing's personal treasury, the national treasury could be replenished at any time.
The current Daqian needed to consider how to minimize casualties while invading the West.
People only knew that Liang Xiao cared so much about the safety of his soldiers because he loved them as his own.
But only their wives understood Liang Xiao's thoughts.
He did not want a situation where bad money drove out good. Those with faith and integrity who sacrificed themselves on the battlefield, while those who were opportunistic, cowardly, and afraid of death would fish in troubled waters, laugh until the end, enjoy the spoils, and even plunder the fruits of victory.
The meritorious officials of the battlefield and their descendants must be able to see this hard-won new era and have the opportunity to enjoy future life!
"Reporting to the Emperor, the last batch of firearms and cannons from Yan Province has all arrived!"
Over several days, flintlock guns and trebuchets arrived at Yumenguan one after another, until the very last batch.
Liang Xiao knew that all the superior materials stored in the steel mills of both regions had been used up.
After the relentless efforts of the Yan Province steel mill and the capital's military equipment supervisorate, the number of flintlock guns in the western regions had reached an astonishing fifteen thousand!
The Shenwu cannons, with their range improved to two li, numbered five hundred!
He Zizhang, having accepted Xiao Qing's appointment, officially succeeded Ding Wuyi as the Commander of the Shadow Guards, personally escorting these firearms.
Ding Wuyi then took over Sima Jing's position, training the Stealth Wolf Guards.
When Liang Xiao circulated the list to the assembled generals, even the usually calm Qin Feng's eyes nearly bulged out.
"The loading speed of flintlock guns is limited. Even with so many, it will only be enough for our army to engage either the Tianri tribe or the Xiongnu Empire. Liang Xiao sighed for a moment and said, "Commander He, you and the Marquis of Zhenguo will lead troops with me to defeat the Tianri tribe. We must annihilate the enemy completely and not let a single soldier escape. The rest of the generals will lead troops to defeat the Xiongnu Empire! Then issue an order to the Xiongnu Empire captives—"
"Those who surrender will live, those who do not, will die!"