Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Yuanzhao led his generals to begin preparing for war.

Fang Zheng Yi naturally took charge of managing interpersonal relationships and, incidentally, selling arms.

The arms sales, of course, went extremely smoothly. Although they were the first generation of weapons from Da Jing, they still had generals from various countries exclaiming in admiration.

The good name of Jing-style equipment penetrated deep into people's hearts in just a few days!

Immediately, some people made the decisive decision to sign large orders.

This stuff was definitely a sharp weapon that could influence the trend of war. If you didn't buy it, someone else would, and you'd fall behind.

And so, Da Jing's scrap metal, after a long period of serious discussion and fierce argument by several generals, was snapped up.

With this, the army set out.

Departing from the Holy City, the first stop was Marodan City, the closest of the six major dioceses to the Holy City.

The Church's forces had been in a cold war with the Holy City for so many years that they had constantly fortified and rebuilt this city, making it like an iron bucket.

Inside Marodan City, Li Pan was stationed.

Originally, all of the Church personnel in the city had been replaced.

Sitting at his desk, Li Pan felt a slight palpitation in his heart as he read the news that had just returned from the Holy City.

The Da Jing army had moved... not only had they moved, but they were also doing so with great fanfare, heading straight this way.

The troop strength was about 200,000, which was not much different from the information received from the Brotherhood.

Our side had almost five times the strength of the enemy....

After enduring for so many years, today we can finally see a result!

Li Pan raised his head and looked at the map.

A military officer beside him couldn't help but remind him: "Your Highness, His Majesty instructed long ago that we must not act rashly in this battle, and we must lure the enemy deep."

Li Pan frowned: "This prince knows, there's no need for you to say more! But even if we lose, we must lose beautifully. If we lose too obviously, wouldn't the enemy become suspicious?"

"How is the God's Punishment weapon deployment on the city walls?"

The military officer clasped his fist: "Everything has been arranged according to Your Highness's requirements."

"Good! Send more people out to investigate, the more detailed the better! It would be best to confirm Fang Zheng Yi's location for this prince. If we can capture Fang Zheng Yi alive, the enemy army will surely pursue frantically, and Father Emperor will surely be pleased."

"Yes! This subordinate will go and do it." The military officer clasped his fist and left.

.....

In the marching formation.

Fang Zheng Yi and Li Yuanzhao walked side by side. Li Yuanzhao held a map and looked ahead, saying: "Calculating the distance, we should be arriving soon."

Fang Zheng Yi leaned over and asked: "Nervous?"

Li Yuanzhao shook his head and chuckled: "What's there to be nervous about? I just regret that I have a divine weapon but can't have a good fight, and I have to hide it first and seek a decisive battle. It's really a pity."

Fang Zheng Yi remained noncommittal.

It was indeed a bit of a pity. Relying on Da Jing's current strength to push forward step by step wouldn't be a problem.

But in reality, people are the most flexible animals in the world, and they can always find ways to overcome crises.

If firearms were revealed at the very beginning, then the other side might come up with countermeasures at the very first moment.

The army marched for another half a day, and a city began to appear before Fang Zheng Yi and the others.

Li Yuanzhao picked up a telescope and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "We've arrived. We'll set up camp ahead today and go call for battle tomorrow!"

...

"Report! The Da Jing army has set up camp two miles outside the city! They are currently cooking."

The scout knelt before Li Pan and reported loudly.

Li Pan stood up abruptly: "Has there been any change in the number of enemy troops?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, it is still around 250,000."

"Retreat." Li Pan waved his hand and dismissed the scout.

Joy surged wildly in his heart.

250,000... only 250,000. After investigating for so long, it should be confirmed.

The city now has abundant supplies and sufficient personnel. If he defends the city properly, he can consume a large amount of the enemy's forces.

If he's lucky, he might even be able to counterattack the enemy!

There's no need to do any more luring the enemy deep...

Using only 50,000 troops to defend the city against the enemy's 250,000 troops is completely feasible!

Why not send a group of people now to launch a night raid on the enemy's camp and lure them to fight.

Thinking about it, the corners of Li Pan's mouth turned up wildly.

The military officer beside him saw this and reminded him: "Your Highness, don't forget His Majesty's order, lure the enemy deep and don't underestimate the enemy."

Hearing the words "His Majesty", Li Pan's body trembled and a trace of shame and annoyance flashed in his eyes: "How could this prince not know? Just defend the city according to the original plan. Wait for the enemy to take the initiative to attack tomorrow. You go and prepare the army!"

The military officer clasped his fist and took his leave.

Li Pan sighed.

Father Emperor's style is too strict. If he acts arbitrarily, he may be severely punished or even lose his trust. It's better to take it one step at a time.

The generals below don't completely obey him either. It's not too late to go out of the city to meet the enemy when there is a perfect opportunity. Thinking about those things now is too early.

...

Early the next morning, Li Pan led the generals to the city wall.

Standing on the city wall, he could see the dark mass of troops opposite him at a glance.

Like dark clouds pressing down on the city, they slowly moved towards this city.

After twenty minutes, the army came to the city!

Li Pan waited in full battle array, not daring to relax in the slightest.

"God's Punishment weapon, get ready!"

...

On the Da Jing side, everything was silent. Li Yuanzhao was deciding whether or not to send someone out to declare war and do some etiquette.

He saw the city gate opposite him seemed to move slightly, and then a figure rode out of the crack in the door.

He galloped until he reached the front of the Da Jing formation.

Li Yuanzhao took a closer look and saw that the person was wearing the clothes of a civil official, which looked very similar to the official uniforms of Da Jing, and couldn't help but laugh.

He looked at Fang Zheng Yi and said: "Look, before We even sent someone to declare war, they came first."

Fang Zheng Yi nodded and said: "That's right, it seems that the defending general is still a decent person. It is impolite not to reciprocate. We should send one over later. With so many international friends watching, our Da Jing civil war should be fought with some grace."

Mord and the other generals stood not far to the side, and their brows relaxed when they saw the envoy appear from the city.

It seemed that Da Jing really didn't lie at all. The person who came out of the city was actually an Oriental, and he was wearing clothes that didn't belong to the Church.

It can be seen... that their traitors really controlled the diocese. The Da Jing people have great intelligence... .

The envoy opposite said: "Which one is Fang Zheng Yi, Lord Fang?"

Fang Zheng Yi looked puzzled, shook the reins and walked to the front.

Looking at the envoy, he asked doubtfully: "I am."

The envoy flicked his sleeves and said calmly: "Lord Fang, I think we don't need to say more about the reasons for the war between the two sides. The Jing Emperor has no virtue, harms our Emperor, and steals the throne. Now our army has a million soldiers and thousands of good generals. How can the fireflies of decaying grass compare to the bright moon in the sky."

"Even so, His Majesty is still willing to treat Lord Fang alone with courtesy. If you defect and disarm and surrender with courtesy, you will still not lose the position of Marquis."

Why does this sound a little familiar?

Fang Zheng Yi scratched his chin and smiled: "I've already been conferred a Marquis, it's not his turn to confer it. I wonder if your so-called Emperor is in the city?"

"Of course not." The envoy said.

Li Yuanzhao rode out, his face full of displeasure: "We are still here, and you dare to talk nonsense, aren't you afraid We will kill you?"

"When two countries are at war, envoys are not killed." The envoy said calmly, "When I came, I heard that the Da Jing army was advancing, and I specially invited generals from other countries to come and watch the battle. I think His Majesty should not kill the envoy in front of so many people, right?"

Li Yuanzhao was about to explode, but Fang Zheng Yi stopped him and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry."

.........