Chapter 311: Hidden Crisis, Limitations of Homeland Operations

“Boss, how come the Fuxing Army founded by Li Dingguo outside the pass is so large?”

“Now their army is marching out of the city and heading south. The black mass of elite cavalry is simply covering the sky and the earth, and there is no end in sight!”

Kang Asheng stood beside a tofu stall with a gloomy look and said to Kang Younian, the third shopkeeper of the Kang family, who was disguised as an old tofu vendor, “Although there were many rumors before that Li Dingguo was a powerful little thief, his methods were cruel and brutal, and he was already difficult to control.”

“Now it seems that it is not as simple as saying that the situation is too big to be controlled.”

Kang Asheng is the study companion of Kang Siding, the eldest son of the Kang family. He is not only talented and capable, but also deeply trusted by Kang Siding.

He and the three shopkeepers of the Kang family all have exceptionally strong talents in practicing magic, and now they have cultivated the breath-concealing and concealment techniques to perfection.

Not only that, the Kang family also spent a huge amount of money to obtain the invisibility technique from the Japanese pirates, and they also practiced it to perfection.

In the entire Kang family, only the eldest son Kang Siding and the two of them possess these three life-saving spells of perfect level.

Kang Asheng and the third manager Kang Younian came to Desheng Fort in person this time to find out the true situation of the Fuxing Army outside the Great Wall.

The Kang family started out by selling tofu in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, but they had miraculous fortune and began to grow rapidly.

Now that the eldest son Kang Siding is in charge, he has become the richest man among Shanxi merchants.

Kang Siding, a young master who is only in his twenties, now has the reputation of “Kang Baiwan”.

Kang Siding is the first genius to appear in the Kang family so far, and his talent is quite amazing.

If his true situation, which is unknown to outsiders, were told to others, it would probably scare many people!

Kang Siding, who is three years older than Cao Bianjiao, is already a great master who has reached the fifth level of martial arts. In an adventure during his youth, he obtained an innate divine weapon: the cornucopia!
It is said that this magical natal artifact belonged to Shen Wansan, a wealthy man in the early days of the Ming Dynasty.

Ever since the Shen family, to which Shen Wansan belonged, was slaughtered like fat pigs by the founding emperor of this dynasty, the Shen family has fallen into decline.

This ancient artifact, the cornucopia, was buried for thousands of years before it was obtained by the lucky Kang Siding.

When Kang Siding broke through to the Qi Refining Realm, he also awakened his star destiny: Lu Cun Star.

Because Kang Siding was mature beyond his years and had always hidden himself very well, outsiders thought he was just a mid-level fifth-level warrior with excellent fortune.

Until now, except for a very small number of core members of the Kang family, everyone is still kept in the dark by Kang Siding.

Kang Siding, who had his natal artifact, the Treasure Bowl, to suppress his own luck, and even his two companion students benefited greatly.

Both Kang Asheng and another book boy named Kang Youfu were little beggars he found in the Kang family’s old nest, Pingyang Prefecture City. After being adopted by Kang Siding with a discerning eye, he promoted them to be his study companions and trained them vigorously.

Even in the powerful Fusion Army today, there are few geniuses who can compare with the two companion students adopted by Kang Siding.

Kang Siding took over the Kang family when he was fifteen years old. In just ten years, with the help of the magic of his natal artifact, the Treasure Bowl, he developed the Kang family of Pingyang Prefecture into the richest family in the three northwestern provinces of the Ming Dynasty!

The title of the richest man is not discounted, but well-deserved.

Even the Daiwang Mansion and the Qinwang Mansion, which are both extremely wealthy, are now far inferior to the Kang family in terms of financial strength.

In particular, the Kang family’s salt business now occupies half of the territory north of the Yangtze River. Together with the An family, a big salt merchant in Yangzhou, they are known as: Nan’an and Beikang.

Over the years, there have been too many people with ill intentions who have come to target the Kang family, including the Prince Qin’s Palace.

But these crises were resolved one by one by Kang Siding.

The reliance, of course, was the method Kang Siding had figured out to unlock his natal artifact: collecting wealth from all over the world, and the treasure bowl that had already unlocked the five seals of his natal artifact.

If you are not involved in the matter, you can never imagine how incredible the power of the innate artifact Cornucopia, which has seven seals of heaven and earth, will be after five seals are released!
Not only can it protect its master on its own and block the siege of all Qi Refining Realm masters, it also possesses a magical passive power: replication.

This passive magical power can copy any acquired item by consuming the wealth collected by the cornucopia.

For example, top-grade spiritual weapons, thousand-year-old precious medicines, etc.

Although it is impossible to replicate living things, it is enough for Kang Siding, who has a demonic appearance, to easily develop and expand the Kang family with the help of his own natal artifact, the cornucopia.

The speed of the rise of Li Dingguo’s revived army outside the Great Wall was extremely abnormal, it was really too fast.

When Kang Siding heard about this situation, he was immediately startled.

As Kang Siding had his own big secret, he immediately became interested in Li Dingguo, a young prodigy who was much younger than himself.

He was even certain that Li Dingguo also had a magical weapon of his own.

This is why Kang Siding’s attention to Li Dingguo reached an unprecedented level.

Not long ago, he even sent his two most capable assistants, Kang Asheng and Kang Younian, to find out all the information about Li Dingguo.

Kang Asheng and Kang Younian, who came from Pingyang Prefecture, came to Desheng Fort in disguise, where they happened to meet Cao Yongxiang and Hongmei. They led the Western Route Army of the Fuxing Army into the pass and occupied Desheng Fort without bloodshed.

Fortunately, the two of them had practiced three unconventional magic techniques to perfection, and were able to escape danger by escaping the city-wide search ordered by Wei Jinfan and Hongmei.

Even so, one after another, spies from all sides and a large number of people with ill intentions were taken away or killed on the spot by the soldiers of the Fuxing Army carrying the three-tailed Iron-back Demon Wolf, which made Kang Asheng and Kang Younian terrified.

Today, an army of more than 200,000 soldiers left Desheng Fort and marched toward the south by land and sea. The huge momentum frightened Kang Asheng and Kang Younian, who were disguised as father and son tofu vendors, and they were discussing in a low voice.

As the two were talking, they looked up into the sky above Victory Castle. The huge golden eagle that was constantly patrolling had a very solemn expression on its face.

Since the Renaissance Army entered Victory Castle yesterday morning, in the past day and night, I don’t know how many spiritual birds used by various parties for communication were killed by this level 5 golden eagle!

As the absolute core members of the Kang family, they were of course well aware of the tragedy that the Fan family’s nest was wiped out by a mysterious man with a level 5 golden eagle.

After seeing this level 5 golden eagle in the sky yesterday, Kang Asheng and Kang Younian already knew that the people who destroyed the Fan family’s nest in Jiexiu were Li Dingguo’s Fuxing Army.

However, from the information they heard, Li Dingguo himself was not in this army, and they were not sure whether it was Li Dingguo who took action personally.

But any major force, once they have a level five spirit bird, has a high probability of having more than one.

For example, the Fan family had several level four spirit eagles, but unfortunately they were all killed by the enemy who raided the Jiexiu nest.

Moreover, this revival army not only has this level five spiritual bird, the golden eagle, but also two level five black eagles, which fly out of the city from time to time.

To be honest, the sudden massive march of the Fuxing Army to the south, with its huge strength and background, really scared Kang Asheng and Kang Younian.

As Kang Siding’s absolute confidants, they certainly knew what their master’s intention was in sending them here: to find ways to seize Li Dingguo’s adventure for themselves.

Kang Siding, who possesses a magical innate divine artifact, knows too well the value of an innate divine artifact.

To put it bluntly, Kang Siding would definitely not agree to exchange it for the throne.

In the eyes of these top powers, the throne of the emperor is actually just that.

This is especially true for those ancient families with profound heritage.

How many dynasties have changed from ancient times to the present?
But only families like theirs with profound heritage survived.

The royal families of those dynasties had long since vanished into thin air.

For Kang Siding, who has almost everything, the natal artifact that Li Dingguo is likely to have is what attracts him.

Once he finds the right opportunity, he will definitely kill people and seize treasures without hesitation!
Kang Siding, who had already reached the peak of level five, knew that Li Dingguo had only practiced for a mere three years and it was impossible for him to reach the peak of level five.

He also has a divine weapon on him, so he has great confidence that he can kill people and seize treasures successfully.

“Asheng, let’s go.” Kang Younian bent down and picked up the tofu basket beside him, and said to Kang Asheng, “For such a big event as entering the pass and invading the south, Li Dingguo himself must have come.”

“Although he is not among this army, it means that there is another army that is heading south along the Jialu River, their base, and heading straight to Jiazhou.”

“We will leave the city immediately and go to the nearby area to call the pair of spiritual bird goshawks from our family that came with us. We will record the information we have obtained and have the level 5 spiritual bird goshawk take it back to Pingyang Prefecture City to report to the eldest young master.”

“For such an important matter, the young master will most likely come and join us in person.”

“Since Li Dingguo has already decided to lead his army into the pass, all the pressure from the court will no longer have any effect on him. We can only seize the opportunity and strike him a fatal blow!”

Kang Younian is indeed one of the most capable people in the Kang family. In a blink of an eye, he analyzed the current situation and how to deal with it.

Li Dingguo, the favored son of heaven in the eyes of his own eldest young master, must have been well-established since he dared to invade the Ming Dynasty in such a high-profile manner. It would be useless to use all conventional means to deal with him.

Would the rebels who had the courage to break through the pass and march south to invade the interior of the Ming Dynasty care about the imperial court?
That is absolutely impossible.

Moreover, Li Dingguo’s restoration army has grown to the point where even the imperial court is no longer afraid of it. One can imagine how powerful their current combat effectiveness is.

Li Dingguo, the young prodigy mentioned by Kang Siding, is certainly not a fool. Since he dared to do this, it showed his confidence and he was very sure of defeating the government troops of the Ming Dynasty that kept coming.

Faced with an opponent of this level, all the means that the big Shanxi merchants could use in the past have become almost useless and will not have any effect on Li Dingguo and the Fuxing Army he founded.

The only feasible plan was to carry out a decapitation operation against Li Dingguo.

Find a suitable opportunity, launch a surprise attack on him, kill him in one fell swoop, and seize the treasure!
There is no other way.

“Okay, Uncle Younian.”

Kang Asheng nodded, and together with Kang Younian, who was carrying a load of tofu, they pretended to be an ordinary business man with a loving father and a filial son, and walked towards the city gate.

However, because the army had just left, in order to prevent the news from leaking out, this victory castle was still blocked and no outsiders were allowed to enter or leave for three months.

With the two level five birds in the sky acting as deterrents and providing comprehensive surveillance, Kang Asheng and Kang Younian, although extremely anxious, had no way of getting out of the city. They had to temporarily settle down in the city and wait for the closure of the city to be lifted.

As both of them were monstrous geniuses, and under Kang Siding’s intensive training, although they had already reached the initial level of level five, they did not have the slightest confidence in defeating the big golden eagle and the two big black eagles patrolling over Desheng Castle.

What’s more, there is a 10,000-strong guard army stationed in this victory castle, which is simply beyond the ability of Kang Asheng and Kang Younian, who are alone and weak, to deal with.

……

Li Dingguo had no idea that he had been targeted by the Kang family, who were planning to kill him and steal his treasure.

At this time, he was riding on the back of a giant golden eagle, and together with Wan’er, who was also riding on the back of Da Meng, they were hovering in the sky, observing the Jiazhou City below.

Half an hour ago, the Fuxing Army, which had been advancing by land and water along the Jialu River, had arrived three hundred miles away from Jiazhou City.

With two level five golden eagles, Li Dingguo certainly would not give up this advantage. So he ordered the soldiers to continue advancing and prepare for the siege. Then he and Wan’er each rode a golden eagle and headed straight for the sky above Jiazhou City.

According to intelligence agencies, although Jiazhou City is an important military town, its military equipment has gradually fallen into disrepair over the past decade.

It is now under the charge of a lieutenant general, with less than 10,000 soldiers, including only 5,000 warriors.

This lieutenant general came from the Datong Jiang family, a military family in Jin Province. Although he had reached the peak of the fourth level in martial arts, as a scion of the side branch, he was not taken seriously by the main family.

Almost all of the Jiang family’s focus and industries are in Datong Town. The lieutenant general named Jiang Li is a dispensable marginal figure who has never been valued by the master family.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to be sent to such a remote area as Jiazhou.

Compared with Datong, an important city in the north of the Ming Dynasty, Jiazhou City is like a small county town in the mountains.

If the Yellow River had not flowed through here, it would probably have been ignored.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty in this great world, the boundary between Jin Province and Qin was mostly drawn according to the geographical direction of the Yellow River.

The mighty Yellow River rushes down from the Mongolian steppes, gathering a large number of large and small rivers along the way, rushing straight to Tongguan in the Central Plains, then turning eastward and merging into the sea.

The Yellow River, flowing southwards, has also created prosperous towns along its banks.

If there were not enough treasure ships, the two provinces of Qin and Jin would be like two worlds separated by the Yellow River, and it would be difficult to communicate.

There is no way. The Yellow River, rushing down from the northern prairie, is simply too huge in this big world.

Even the narrowest place is a thousand miles away. Even if you are a top level five human master, you can’t fly across by personal ability.

In the vast Yellow River, there is no shortage of water-dominant species such as dragons.

Not only is there no shortage of them, but there are also quite a few of them.

Even if you want to dive across the river, even if you are a level six expert who has not appeared in the past thousand years, there is a great possibility of death. If you accidentally encounter a level six dragon, you will basically be doomed.

If you fight a dragon of the same level in the water, you should just run as far as you can.

When fighting in water, the combat power of the dragon is not just doubled. Nine out of ten human practitioners of the same level will be crushed.

Even a large fleet of mid-quality treasure ships has to be cautious when sailing in the Yellow River.

Once you provoke a dragon, a causal relationship is formed with it. The aquatic dragon, which has always been hostile to humans, will most likely attack you.

If you don’t escape from a medium-quality treasure ship in time, it can sink you in an instant.

Although the Jiaolong clan is a top-level spiritual beast, they are not as easily enraged as the demon beast clan and usually will not actively attack humans. However, they are arrogant by nature and it is normal for them to regard the waters where they live as their territory.

Therefore, in this big world, any human fleet, when crossing huge rivers such as the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, will seize the time and dare not stay in the river for too long.

The large fleets of those big merchants did not dare to use big rivers like the Yellow River and the Yangtze River as regular trade routes.

“Brother, if it were you, I would say that after the defense formation of Jiazhou City is closed and the city gate is opened, the two of us would rush in and destroy those soldiers.”

Wan’er looked at the Jiazhou City below, which had just been shrouded in the morning light and revealed its true appearance, and said to Li Dingguo.

“Wan’er, how can a real local war be so simple?”

Li Dingguo shook his head and said to Wan’er, “After daybreak, the city of Jiazhou will close its defense formation. The two of us can indeed capture this city with poor defense.”

“But can the two of us control such a big city?”

“Not to mention that if we do this, many enemies will be able to escape successfully. More importantly, the news of our army’s arrival will spread quickly, which will completely disrupt our plan and make this Jiazhou city a mess!”

“We only have two people and two golden eagles now. It is impossible for us to control the chaos that suddenly broke out. We will definitely be unable to cope with it.”

“We will wait for our army to arrive first, and then we will rush in as planned. When the soldiers see the golden eagle’s attack, they will also launch an attack in time to capture and control this important town as quickly as possible.”

“Only in this way can we avoid chaos and quickly blockade Jiazhou City, allowing our army’s blitzkrieg attack plan to continue quickly.”

Li Dingguo knew that Wan’er had never experienced a formal large-scale town attack and defense battle, so she did not understand many of the principles involved.

When fighting inside the Great Wall today, all aspects have to be taken into consideration. It is impossible to just kill all the enemy soldiers and civilians without thinking, as we do when fighting against foreign races outside the Great Wall.

This is what local warfare is like, the situation is extremely complicated.

For the Restoration Army, which intends to use Qin as its base in the future, there are more things to consider and they cannot act rashly.

(End of this chapter)