#138 - Chapter 138: Horse

Moreover, and more importantly, there's Xuanyang City. Located in Youzhou, it faces south from the north, its terrain situated in a strategic and dangerous position. The three large cities south of Xuanyang City—Nantian, Nanshui, and Nanbei—are strategically completely controlled by Xuanyang City. In other words, as long as you occupy Xuanyang City, taking down these three large cities will be easy. These three cities also have a population of 300,000 each.

If you take down these three large cities, you will control a population of 1.2 million, equivalent to possessing one-third of Youzhou. You would completely become a regional power.

Of course, before that, the most crucial thing is that you must resist the attacks of the Youzhou government. After the Youzhou government eliminates the Northern King, they will definitely send elite troops to attack you. However, you are not afraid at all. With a fortified city like Xuanyang City, you are confident in resisting them, and you also have other methods to defend the city.

Xuanyang City, as a major city in Youzhou, has many artisans. You can completely have these artisans manufacture gunpowder for you.

With gunpowder combined with the fortifications of Xuanyang City, you believe you can definitely defend it.

Just like that, you began your plan. Three days later, following the same approach you used in those villages, you first confiscate the wealth of some of the powerful nobles in Xuanyang City, seizing their homes and distributing their fields to ordinary people. This wins you the hearts of the people. Next, you conscript 10,000 soldiers in Xuanyang.

Finally, you also mobilize the artisans of Xuanyang City and ask them to develop gunpowder.

After doing all this, you turn your gaze to the north of Youzhou. You learn that the Northern King has once again been badly defeated by the government forces. You know that the Youzhou government will attack you soon, and you estimate that you have about a month left. But a month is enough time for you to manufacture a large quantity of gunpowder and train those newly recruited soldiers.

A month passes quickly. After the Youzhou government eliminates the Northern King, they are furious upon learning that you ambushed Xuanyang City. They immediately dispatch 10,000 elite troops to besiege you. But you are naturally unafraid. At this moment, you possess 10,000 elite soldiers and also have gunpowder.

You and the Youzhou government begin a decisive battle. This can be said to be a decisive battle determining the fate of Youzhou. If you win, no one in the entire Youzhou will be able to completely stop you. You can directly take Nantian, Nanbei, and Nanshui to the south, controlling a population of 1.2 million. Afterwards, you can even plot for the entire territory of Youzhou, and it may not be impossible to break the soil and become a king. But if you lose, you will have nothing.

“My fellow soldiers, the emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty is incompetent! If we defeat the Youzhou government today, it is not impossible for you to be enfeoffed as lords in the future!”

“Follow me and kill!”

Before the battle, you made a mobilization speech, and the soldiers' morale was very high. After all, in the past month, you distributed the fields of those nobles to the common people, so these soldiers naturally followed you wholeheartedly. Soon, on March 24th, you launched a decisive battle with the Youzhou government.

Initially, your army and the Youzhou government forces were evenly matched. But soon the situation on the battlefield reversed. You deployed gunpowder on the battlefield. When the roaring thunder sounded on the battlefield, the Youzhou government troops were terrified. They thought you had cast thunder magic, and they fled in panic. The Youzhou government army was completely defeated by you.

Looking at the Youzhou government troops fleeing in the distance, you laugh loudly, because you know your era has arrived. From now on, who in Youzhou can stop you?

Three days later, the news of the Youzhou government's defeat spread throughout Youzhou, and even the entire world. The whole world was shocked, and everyone knew about you, a rebel leader.

At the same time, you are not idle. You mobilize your troops to pursue the victory, heading south to directly take Nantian, Nanshui, and Nanbei. Perhaps your reputation is too great. Soon, the three large cities are directly captured by you. You now have a territory with a population of 1.2 million, and you can conscript another 30,000 soldiers. Roughly calculated, you can now support 40,000 soldiers.

Now, you already control one-third of Youzhou and have 40,000 elite soldiers!

At this time, some subordinates advise you to declare yourself emperor. You immediately refuse, believing that Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy of "building high walls, storing plenty of grain, and postponing becoming king" is correct. You must remain calm. Now you only control one-third of Youzhou, which is far from possessing the entire world. Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang drove 200,000 brave soldiers to launch a northern expedition against the Mongol Yuan, defeating those barbarian nomads and driving them back before he began to declare himself emperor. You must wait for the opportunity.

Your current strategy is to properly digest Xuanyang City, Nanshui... these four cities, and the population of 1.2 million. Digest them for a year or two to cultivate your own base. You must not learn from Li Zicheng.

Just like that, you begin to implement your plan. In the next two years, you train 40,000 elite soldiers every day in your territory, accumulate a large amount of gunpowder, and at the same time distribute fields to the common people to win their hearts. More importantly, you also hold imperial examinations to cultivate talents and select civil officials. After these two years, you feel that your base is stable and begin to prepare troops to unify Youzhou.

In the seventh month of the twentieth year of the Xuan Emperor era, you lead 40,000 elite soldiers in Xuanyang City to swear an oath for the northern expedition, sweeping away the Youzhou government. In the following month, you advance triumphantly, and five large cities—Beitian, Beixuan...—are successively captured by you. After another half a year, you launch a decisive battle with the Youzhou government, wiping out the Youzhou government's elite troops in one fell swoop!

Finally, you unify Youzhou and control a population of five million! You can conscript 100,000 soldiers, and you initially have the ambition to dominate the world.

Your subordinates once again advise you to declare yourself emperor. You refuse once again, and you turn your gaze to the world.

At this time, the Great Jing Dynasty is already fragmented, and various rebel kings have begun to revolt. Your Youzhou is located in the northern frontier of the Great Jing Dynasty. You can directly take Yunzhou to the south, which is connected to Youzhou. Yunzhou has a large population, more than twice that of Youzhou, with 10 million people. This is a prosperous land.

Yunzhou is easy to conquer. The Great Jing Dynasty has only stationed 30,000 soldiers here. You are confident in swallowing it. But your goal is not here for the time being. Taking Yunzhou is certainly good. With it, you will have a springboard to advance into the Central Plains and gain 10 million more people. But at the same time, you must also be aware that if you take Yunzhou, you will definitely become a thorn in the side of the Great Jing Dynasty.

Although the Great Jing Dynasty is in its final years, it still has the strength to fight, with 200,000 soldiers. If you swallow Yunzhou, the Great Jing Dynasty will definitely fight you to the death. After all, the capital of the Great Jing Dynasty is close to Yunzhou. You do not yet have the strength to destroy the Great Jing Dynasty in one battle.

More importantly, you don't want to have a civil war with the Great Jing Dynasty, allowing outsiders to take advantage.

Thinking of this, you turn your gaze to the north of Youzhou, the grasslands.

As mentioned earlier, you will never learn from Li Zicheng. The current Great Jing Dynasty is similar to the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the northern grasslands, a grassland force has also risen, called the Great Jin.

The current grasslands are still very fierce, with five grassland tribes, but the Great Jin is the strongest tribe, and perhaps in three to five years it will be able to unify the entire grassland.

You will never make the mistake of Li Zicheng and the Ming Dynasty. Back then, the Ming Dynasty and Li Zicheng allowed the Manchus to grow in strength outside the pass. At the crucial juncture in the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor, they allowed Huang Taiji to wipe out the Mongolian forces and eventually unify the entire grassland, becoming the master of the horse herds.