#213 - Chapter 213 The fuse of the conflict

"Bai Li Ji invoked the wartime military regulations, planning to act unilaterally. Given the current emergency, I don't have time to argue with him, so I'm consulting with you all," Yan Zhengping explained the situation.

"Old Yan, you're overstepping your authority! You should know what we're doing here. To put it bluntly, this is circumventing the council and holding a small meeting, which violates the council's laws," said Suo Tonghua.

"Then what do you suggest? If we keep arguing, regardless of the outcome, the ants might have already crossed the Yangtze River. At that point, what's the point of arguing about who's right and wrong?" Yan Zhengping asked.

"Shen Tufu, what do you think?" Suo Tonghua looked at Shen Tuzhenghao beside him.

"Act first, report later!" Shen Tuzhenghao replied.

"Good! Let's do it that way!" Suo Tonghua slammed the table, also stating his position.

"Good! In that case, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the Lasa region should be fine. Starting from Shuchuan, along the Yangtze River eastward, our four military regions will each be responsible for a section, dispatching several patrol teams for close monitoring. In addition, we'll each draw a regiment of troops for immediate support," Yan Zhengping stated the patrol plan he had discussed with Zongzhengyue.

"Our Northeast Military Region is relatively far away. Sending people is fine, but you'll have to figure out the logistics," said Suo Tonghua.

"Okay, we'll provide the garrison and living supplies, but you'll have to prepare your own weapons and equipment," Yan Zhengping said.

Currently, all military regions are short on ammunition, and without logistical support from the Military Affairs Department, everyone's days ahead will be difficult.

"Okay!" Suo Tonghua agreed.

"Brother Shen Tu, the same goes for you. We'll provide the garrison and living supplies, and you prepare your own weapons and ammunition," Yan Zhengping confirmed with Shen Tuzhenghao.

"Okay!" Shen Tuzhenghao said concisely.

This isn't the time to be petty. Without unity, nothing can be accomplished.

The four military region commanders, without a council resolution, formulated a strategic deployment for patrolling the Yangtze River line.

Yan Zhengping initiated this matter, and he would naturally bear the inescapable responsibility if the council investigated.

This also became the fuse for the conflict between Yan Zhengping and the council.

In the following time, they divided the sections for their respective patrols.

Yan Zhengping's Southwest Military Region was responsible for the uppermost reaches, Suo Tonghua's Northeast Military Region was responsible for the first section of the middle reaches, Shen Tuzhenghao's Northwest Military Region was responsible for the second section of the middle reaches, and Zongzhengyue's Southeast Military Region was responsible for the lowermost reaches.

Originally, Shen Tuzhenghao should have been responsible for the first section of the middle reaches, but Suo Tonghua insisted on not being next to Zongzhengyue, so the two had to switch.

… …

After the four military region commanders finalized the matter, they left.

After Yan Zhengping returned to the Southwest Military Region, he arranged the patrol tasks and devoted himself to his rat-raising enterprise.

Around 4:00 PM on July 17th, the Odontomachus ant colony south of the Changjing Settlement began to migrate north. After advancing about 5 kilometers, they "stationed" again. At this point, the Changjing Settlement had completely become their habitat.

Yan Fangfang's major was biology. After learning about the appearance of Odontomachus ants in the Hanzhong area, she took several people to investigate.

They stopped the aircraft two kilometers away from the Odontomachus ant colony and climbed the nearest high-rise building.

Yan Fangfang used the reconnaissance function of her digital eye to carefully analyze the ant colony's movements. She occasionally took out binoculars for a closer look. Then, she took out a notebook and wrote and drew on the paper.

These images were also synchronized by Yan Fangfang to Dongfang Chen.

"Xiaolin, what is the current state of the miniature queen in the Changjing Settlement?" Dongfang Chen asked.

"The miniature queen in the Changjing Settlement is still in its initial state. Due to the lack of crystal cores, its development is not good," Xiaolin explained.

Dongfang Chen then contacted Qu Zhengping to inquire about how many zombies the several Holy Envoys in Jingmen City had gathered.

Qu Zhengping's reply was 40,000.

Because during the feigned attack on the Baisha Settlement last night, the 50,000 zombies brought there had 10,000 of them decomposed by the miniature queen, which were used for the construction of the Chamber of Commerce branch and the Mercenary Guild branch within the settlement.

Originally, Dongfang Chen planned to have several Holy Envoys dispatch a portion of the zombies to the vicinity of the Changjing Settlement at night to deliver some crystal cores to the miniature queen there. However, since all the bridges along the Yangtze River had been blown up, this plan could not be implemented.

If Yan Fangfang were to transfer crystal cores from the Southwest Military Region, it would inevitably cause some unnecessary trouble. Because on the surface, there were no people or any defensive weapons near the Changjing Settlement at this time. What would be the point of sending crystal cores there?

The fewer people who knew about the existence of the miniature queen, the better.

There was no other way. Dongfang Chen could only order the special operations team members from the base to take a trip.

He had Dai Zheng arrange for several people to load five large boxes, totaling 50,000 crystal cores, and fly directly to the Changjing Settlement.

The boxes for storing the crystal cores were specially reinforced and steel plates were welded on the outside to prevent them from breaking when dropped from high altitude or being destroyed by the ant colony.