Chapter 317: The worries of an old soldier
"Old general is mistaken." The Southern Summer King gave a few loud laughs, "This king will introduce them. This is Chu Tian and Meng Qingwu, Miracle Commerce"s founders and chairmen. Speaking of Miracle Commerce, is this old general unfamiliar with them?"
Dongfang Zhan"s full faced white beard shook, "You are Miracle Commerce"s founders?"
Why did the old general"s behaviour suddenly undergo an one hundred and eighty degree change? It really was strange, could it be that Miracle Commerce"s advertis.e.m.e.nts even reached the border? Chu Tian did not even know he was this famous!
Dongfang Zhan first took a step back and gave a deep bow to the two of them.
This made Meng Qingwu feel very flattered. A famous person in the Southern Summer Country was actually giving them such a deep bow?
"Our soldiers needed to bring large amounts of rations when they went into battle in the past, which was not only troublesome, eating dry grains long term became inedible. Even if it did fill the stomachs of the soldiers, it would decrease their battle strength in the long term." Dongfang Zhan said this and his face filled with grat.i.tude, "Now we only need to bring a few cans and the warriors can continue fighting for several days. Miracle Commerce"s canned food appearing on the frontlines has been a large increase to the army"s battle strength. This is an invention that is truly beneficial to the nation and the army!"
So it was like this!
No wonder his manner changed so quickly!
"But even with grat.i.tude, this old soldier cannot break the rules of the fortress." The old general"s expression quickly changed, once again becoming serious, "Civilians are not allow in the fortress, the military rules are as such!"
The Southern Summer King was angry and amused. He did not mind the general"s words and directly said, "Old uncle, do you really think this king is that kind of bored person? Since I"ve brought these two this far, naturally this king has his reasons. I"ll let the great scholar explain it to you."
Dongfang Zhan was a bit stunned.
Could there really be another reason?
Dongfang Zhan had only met Gu Qianqiu a few times, but he was filled with admiration towards the great scholar. He understood that the great scholar was a pillar of the country and had a large contribution to the Southern Summer Country"s rise.
Gu Qianqiu had no other way, who told him to meet this stubborn old general. He could only hold in his temper and explain, "I"m sure the general has heard of the Calm Martial Ruler heading to the far off Cang State, right?"
"Of course I have heard of it. The Calm Martial Ruler is a veteran in using tactics, how could the War Hounds fools resist? In less than ten days, the Calm Martial Ruler will withdraw his troops in triumph!"
"My king also thinks this way!" Gu Qianqiu said this and then he changed the topic, "The day the Calm Martial Ruler withdraws his troops in triumph, his majesty will launch a northern campaign into the War Hounds land!"
"What? Northern campaign!" Dongfang Zhan seemed like he was filled with excitement as his black and thick old face suddenly turned purple, "Is this true? Have the conditions been met already? The War Hound Plains" internal strife will still continue, but if there is an external pressure, they will group together in resistance. Isn"t it too early to launch a northern campaign?"
The Southern Summer King gave a slight nod, "With our current military strength, it is indeed too early, but there has been an abnormality in the Southern Summer Country which is Miracle Commerce!"
Dongfang Zhan"s heart stirred with emotion.
If the Southern Summer King wanted to attack the War Hound Plains thirty years ago, Dongfang Zhan would have stopped him because the nation"s strength was not enough to stir up the prairies.
But now the Southern Summer Country had already become stronger and the Calm Martial Ruler had always planned to head north.
This generation"s Southern Summer King attacking the War Hounds was a sure thing, but only the time was unclear. It could be ten years later or even twenty years later.
This was the most powerful and oldest general in the Southern Summer Country, but he had already pa.s.sed his prime, slowly becoming an old man. His greatest regret in life was that he had commanded the frontline fortress and guarded against the War Hounds for over fifty years, but he had never led an army to attack them. He truly did not have much time left.
Dongfang Zhan"s greatest hope was to lead an army up north. To an old general of the Southern Summer Country, it was better to die in the War Hound Plains than to go home.
Now that such a great chance had appeared, how could Dongfang Zhan not be pleasantly surprised?
Although every blood cell in this old general"s body was filled with a hope for a battle, this old general had been through the vicissitudes of life and fame was never something he chased after. Perhaps he was not as strong as the Calm Martial Ruler and was not as skilled in strategy, but after facing the War Hounds Tribe for over fifty years, there was no one in the Southern Summer Country that understood these mysterious prairies better than him.
The War Hound Plains was covered in a layer of dense fog and no one could see its true strength. Although the Southern Summer Country became stronger, it was still only a small kingdom.
Even the previous Great Summer Country was destroyed.
Was the Southern Summer Country truly prepared to counterattack?
Gu Qianqiu was also an insightful old man. When he saw Dongfang Zhan not saying a word, he naturally knew of the contradictions he had deep down. With a faint smile, he said, "Concerning Miracle Commerce, there are too many secrets and some things cannot be revealed right now. I think when the time comes, my king will naturally tell you of them. I will simply tell you the goal of our trip this time!"
The secret was naturally the Source Energy Weapons.
This was the greatest hope for the Southern Summer Country in this battle, but because it was an ultimate trump card, it was not convenient to reveal it to the public. Without the Southern Summer King"s permission, he couldn"t speak of it.
Gu Qianqiu cleared his throat and said, "Miracle Commerce is bringing a new technology to the frontlines, one that can instantly send messages….."
When Gu Qianqiu finished explaining.
Dongfang Zhan"s entire person was stunned.
Is this true? Was there really such a wonderful piece of technology in this world?!
If Miracle Commerce could achieve this, this information transferring technology would bring an enormous boost to the frontline battle strength. Not only would it decrease each battle"s failure rate, it would also ensure that more soldiers survive each fight!
Dongfang Zhan clearly knew in his heart that there was no so called military tactics in this world. Military tactics just meant using time differences, difference in amount of information, and guessing at each other"s intentions.
If a fast speed information system could be established, each reconnaissance point and scout could report back to the fortress at any moment and the frontline fortress could instantly send information back to Imperial City. This would create a high speed reaction information system.
This would reduce the probability of failure to a minimum!
Even the most incompetent military officer would be able to control the situation!
Miracle Commerce had brought canned foods and now even this precious information transfer system to the frontlines.
These two different items could save countless soldiers" lives. To the soldier valuing Dongfang Zhan, Chu Tian could simply be described with the word great!
Chu Tian said with a faint smile, "Old general, can we go in now? You have to know, a single second stalled means the equipment will be finished a single second later!"
Dongfang Zhan was already filled with admiration for Chu Tian, "Forgive this old soldier"s offense. Please come in, please come in!"
The iron city was not very big and the walls were tightly enclosed, only having two doors. There were battle lanes on the right and left of the iron fortress because there were two layers to the wall, with a single long channel in between the two layers. This channel would allow soldiers to pa.s.s through, connecting the five fortresses, allowing for quick movement, resisting the War Hounds cavalry from different positions.
Five fortresses.
A thousand mile long wall.
Six hundred thousand elite soldiers forming a single platoon.
The Southern Summer Country used several dozen years to complete this large projects, using the entire nation"s power in the past. Chu Tian gave a few glances when he entered the wall, but he immediately gave orders to Gu Qianqiu and the others. They immediately began to build the Magnetic Sound Tower, the Magnetic Image Tower, and the Ultra Wave Transmission Tower.
Chu Tian planned on making special broadcast stations and speakers, so they would not need to use a primitive bonfire system at critical moments. Dongfang Zhan would create a special communication department which could broadcast detailed orders to different armies in different locations. There could even be an external broadcast outpost that specifies in sending out orders and all the armies on the outside would need to bring a portable Magnetic Sound Device, allowing them to receive information from base.
When Dongfang Zhan learned this series of usages, his beard almost fell down from trembling.
He immediately patted his chest in rea.s.surance, saying that anything that he would require during this period, this old soldier would provide. He would use his all to support Chu Tian. Other than this, Dongfang Zhan also gave Chu Tian a token. With this token in hand, no one would dare stop Chu Tian over any matters he wanted to do.
The curtain of night gradually fell.
Miracle Commerce began working.
The Southern Summer King stood on a watch tower alone, looking into the northern distance with bright glowing eyes.
With the stars filling the sky and the ground covered in deep darkness, it was like a limitless ocean. Gales of wind raged like it had not stopped for a thousand years, singing of legends one after the other.
The Southern Summer King was filled with hope.
He admitted that he was not an outstanding king.
But that did not mean that he couldn"t become a great king.
Whether it was the outstanding first generation Southern Summer King, or the skilled kings that came after him, there was not a single one that could come this close to this land like him.
The dreams of countless generations of kings were about to be achieved by this king"s hands!
Even if this king was mediocre, he would still be remembered in history!
The Southern Summer King was feeling more and more excited. If he could turn the Southern Summer Country back into the Great Summer Country, what kind of achievement would that be? The Dongfang Family would be sung of by poets for many generations. At least in this corner of the continent, he would become a legend!
A series of gentle coughs sounded at this moment.
The Southern Summer King"s fantasy was disrupted and he felt a bit dissatisfied. When he turned around, his dissatisfaction instantly disappeared as he said with a smile, "Old uncle, do you have business with this king this late at night?"
Dongfang Zhan"s tall, strong, and old body slowly came over, "This old soldier wanted to give my king a bit of advice."
The Southern Summer King was a bit stunned, "What matter needs to be discussed in secret like this?"
Dongfang Zhan was silent for a few seconds, "w.a.n.g Tianlong, I"m afraid he can"t be used!"
"Ah?" The Southern Summer King was very surprised, "General w.a.n.g has many merits and even the Calm Martial Ruler has praised him. This king has already t.i.tled him the Heroic Martial Marquis, so why does old uncle say he can"t be used?"
Dongfang Zhan gave a sigh, "The Calm Martial Ruler is skilled in battle, but he doesn"t understand people. Moreover, the Calm Martial Ruler is the commander in chief, he rarely contacts a young general like w.a.n.g Tianlong. This old soldier is not the same, although my eyes have faded, being with a person for ten years is enough to see through that person."
The Southern Summer King knit his brows, "w.a.n.g Tianlong is the most outstanding general of the younger generation. He is calm and humble, never taking undeserved credit. Is this not enough to be called a good person?"
Dongfang Zhan said, "Not caring about small merit, one either has to be like this old soldier, not having any interests or they would have a large ambition and aspirations. This old soldier feels w.a.n.g Tianlong is the latter. If we let this person become the frontlines marshal, I"m afraid….."
The Calm Martial Ruler cut him off, "Does old uncle have evidence for these words?"
"I don"t."
"Then who is suited to take over as the frontlines marshal after old uncle?"
"This is the point I"m the most worried about, there is no one amongst the Southern Summer younger generation that has the talent for this, but now it isn"t the same. With Chu Tian and Miracle Commerce"s technology, the frontline marshal does not need to be very talented."
The Southern Summer King was a bit dissatisfied with this.
What kind of words were these?!
Should they find a mediocre person and let him command the wall"s regiment? Could this old general be confused with age!
Dongfang Zhan felt the Southern Summer King"s discontentment and quickly emphasized, "This old soldier is someone that is never jealous of the talented. If w.a.n.g Tianlong could really be used, this old soldier would immediately abdicate to give him the position, but this person….."
The Southern Summer King gave a laugh, "Alright, alright, old uncle is too worried. General w.a.n.g is calm, does not claim undeserved credit, and humble. Although he has some scruples with old uncle, he is still considered a good general. With how the Southern Summer Country chooses people, how could this king not use him? As for the position of frontline marshal, old uncle is still strong, so you can remain for another ten years. There is nothing to worry about!"
Dongfang Zhan started to speak, but then hesitated.
The Southern Summer King cut him off, "This king is feeling tired and old uncle should rest soon too. Tomorrow you will inspect the fortress with this king, thanking the soldiers and inspiring morale. We"ll speak of this matter again after the war."
After saying this, the Southern Summer King left.