Chapter 2112: Opening a New Battlefield

General Lu was in the middle of washing his face when he heard the words. He stopped abruptly, snatched the note, and read it himself.

The number of Dragon God Army soldiers was temporarily unknown, estimated to be over thirty thousand. They entered Baile from Tongzi Pass, joining forces with Lu Feiyan to attack the Ya army from both east and west.

Caught off guard, the Ya army retreated fifty li.

"Cangyan has actually sent troops?" General Lu was completely taken aback. "Its own foundation is unstable; how could it support Baile? What benefit is there for them?"

Cangyan had only recently been established. Many policies had yet to be announced, numerous relationships needed to be straightened out, and many old scores remained unsettled. Moreover, its vast territory and the uncivilized, backward nature of its people meant that governing it would be an infernal challenge.

At such a time, Emperor Jiuyou should have been so preoccupied with domestic affairs that he was utterly swamped. How could he possibly have the leisure or spare capacity to send troops to Baile?

"Pen and ink!"

This was a significant military development from the front line; he naturally had to report it to the capital immediately!

Coincidentally, General Lu's and He Zhensheng's urgent dispatches arrived in Moudu almost simultaneously.

Emperor Mou read them and simply remarked, "Their reach is truly long."

And then, there was nothing more.

Both urgent reports seemed to sink without a trace. The Mou imperial court made no public response, as if unaware of the events.

General Lu received no instructions from the capital and thus understood: Mou intended to wait and see.

Since Mou couldn't spare the resources to deal with the Ya state, which was like a mad dog, they would let Cangyan, who had volunteered, take the lead.

If Cangyan could repel the Ya army, what harm would it do to Mou? The siege of Baile would be lifted on its own.

If Cangyan also failed to repel the enemy, it would at least objectively help Mou by delaying the Ya army's advance, gaining more time.

From Mou's perspective, they didn't see themselves at a disadvantage, though it might look a little awkward for them.

As for Lu Zhensheng's report that Emperor Jiuyou wanted Baile to pay tribute and pledge allegiance to him, that was a matter for after the Ya army was defeated. It wouldn't be too late to discuss it then.

Once this war was over, the Xiao army couldn't possibly stay in Baile indefinitely, could they?

By then, the battle situation would have changed, and Mou would have its own way of dealing with it.

General Lu understood the Mou imperial court's calculations when he considered this.

However, at the initial invasion of Baile by the Ya army, Mou could have actually asked Cangyan to send troops to support Baile.

When He Xiao besieged the Yao state, the Ya army invaded the Shanjin Plain, and Mou had also sent troops to deter them. Why didn't Emperor Mou ask Cangyan to return that favor?

General Lu pondered this and could only think of two points: Firstly, Baile was too small, and Cangyan might actually be glad to send troops, making it too easy a favor to grant. Mou would waste a precious opportunity by using it here.

Secondly, Emperor Mou was actually quite wary of Cangyan and initially did not want them to get involved.

However, a few days later, an unexpected move by the Dragon God Army astonished everyone.

General Lu, who was closely monitoring the situation, was shocked and quickly reported to Moudu again.

This time, Emperor Mou's response was very prompt: Deploy troops to the Afohai border, and await orders!

Afohai was within Ya territory, adjacent to Baile, and was originally the land of the Bailong tribe. Each time Ya invaded Baile, they passed through this corridor-shaped region, truly like walking through their own hallway.

Emperor Mou ordered General Lu to station his troops along the Afohai border. As for the next step, was there any need to ask?

Only after General Lu arrived at the Baile border did he realize that Moudu had mobilized far more than just his unit!

Because, earth-shattering changes were occurring within the Ya state!

In Baile, the Ya army had often crossed the border to plunder in the past, but never with such ferocity as this time. They burned, killed, and looted, not only driving living people back to Ya as livestock but also burning over a dozen villages and towns to the ground!

The elderly and infirm who couldn't move were burned alive to cinders.

Wherever the war passed, refugees were displaced, families separated—it was a true human horror.

This was the true nature of war.

The almost one-sided war had raged for several days. Just as the people were suffering and the army was powerless, reinforcements descended from the sky!

The people of Baile cheered, believing that the Mou army had finally changed its mind.

But as the reinforcements approached, they realized the uniforms were not those of Mou.

The name of the Dragon God Army echoed throughout Baile as they advanced from one battlefield to another.

Before this, the people of Baile only knew that a vast new nation had risen in the neighboring Shanjin Plain, but they didn't feel it had any relevance to them.

This neighbor was also particularly poor.

The relatively prosperous people of Baile were deeply afraid that this was yet another aggressively poor neighbor.

But now, they no longer thought that way.

As the Ya state trampled Baile underfoot, and as the Mou army withdrew entirely, it was the Dragon God Army who, out of righteousness, extended a helping hand!

It was their unfamiliar neighbors who shed blood and sweat for them, repelling their powerful enemy!

The common people didn't understand the complex intricacies of the situation; they simply felt grateful to whoever saved their lives, defended their homes, and repelled their enemies.

Moreover, the Dragon God Army maintained strict discipline, stationing troops only on the outskirts of towns, keeping personnel out of the streets and alleys. Their supplies were transported from the Shanjin Plain, thus avoiding any disturbance to the Baile civilians from beginning to end.

This was truly rare. It was well known that while the former Mou army would help Baile repel invading Ya forces, they also caused plenty of trouble locally. Theft, abduction, and trickery were common, and harassment and even murder had occurred.

The people of Baile could only endure it, as only the Mou army could contend with the powerful enemy. Furthermore, as a vassal state of Mou, Baile was inherently a step lower in status. This was almost a consensus among all Baile people.

However, the Dragon God Army, in a very new way, broadened their perspective.

Wherever the Dragon God Army went, there was laughter and joy. Some children even ran to play in the Dragon God Army's camp, only to be dragged out by their parents and severely punished.

Could it be that they didn't need to humble themselves, didn't need to swallow their pride, to receive help from a powerful force?

The people of Baile were momentarily bewildered, unable to comprehend why the Dragon God Army was so extraordinarily good to them that it felt unreal.

The Baile army, led by Lu Qingbang and Miao An, also fought alongside the Dragon God Army.

This globally watched war soon shifted to a new battlefield.

In the Ya capital, a gyrfalcon landed on top of the palace city.

A palace attendant took a message strip from its claw and quickly reported it to their superior. In the past five days, this was the twentieth urgent report from the front line.

Half an hour later, the King of Ya once again convened an urgent imperial military council.

He slammed the message strip onto the table. The generals took turns examining it, all with expressions of shock.

Five days prior, the Ya capital had received a message from the north: Cangyan had unexpectedly sent troops to Baile and launched a surprise attack on the Ya army!

The enemy's sneak attack from behind was dishonorable. The Ya army, which had been looting Baile, was caught completely off guard. Under the relentless pincer attack of the Dragon God Army and the Baile army, they failed to organize an effective counterattack and ultimately had to withdraw disheartenedly back into Ya territory.

When the Ya royal court received this news, they were certainly enraged. Though they resented Cangyan's meddling, they knew they had a long-standing enmity with Cangyan, so it was not surprising that they would seize the opportunity for revenge.