mtl008 Chapter 536: Dun starts a war
Chapter 536: Dun starts a war
Yu Wenhua's guess turned out to be absolutely correct. Dun Chanyu occupied the Wuyuan area in one fell swoop, and there were two very clear intentions behind it.
First of all, they naturally came for the benefits, and the core of these benefits was directly aimed at half of the land in Jiuyuan County.
In the eyes of Dun Chanyu, the prosperity of Jiuyuan County thanks to the development of the railway was like an attractive piece of fat meat. He had been coveting it for a long time and wanted to get a big piece of it.
Secondly, if the first goal is not achieved, the Wuyuan area will become an excellent place for him to gather troops.
Once winter came, he planned to use Wuyuan as a base, march south, launch a fierce attack on Jiuyuan County, and use force to seize everything he wanted.
This move by Dun Chanyu was like a blockbuster bomb, instantly causing an uproar among all forces.
At this time, the construction of the railway to Helan Mountain was at a standstill due to his behavior.
When other businessmen saw that Wuyuan had been occupied and the situation had become so turbulent, they became frightened and dared not invest in railway construction easily.
This made Yelu Qing furious. The railway development blueprint he had worked so hard to plan was messed up by Dun Chanyu.
The Di Khampa were also furious. The prosperity they had been looking forward to from the railway was about to be shattered.
At the same time, Liang State's plan was completely thwarted, and due to various complex factors, Conikoda's army was trapped in the Bayan area and unable to evacuate, and the situation became increasingly complicated.
When the first snowflake of winter slowly fell, covering the earth with a layer of white gauze, Dun Khan ignored the cold season, gathered a huge army of 150,000 people, and launched an aggressive attack on Jiuyuan County.
The scene was like a black tide rolling towards Jiuyuan County.
At this time, Xiao Ran, who was stationed in Jiuyuan County, had only 50,000 troops under his command. Together with the people who came from all over the grassland to protect the safety of their own businesses, the total number was less than 100,000.
Moreover, the people from these foreign tribes were very conflicted.
On the one hand, they really did not want to be enemies with the powerful Dun Khan. After all, Dun Khan was very famous on the grasslands, and it was very risky to fight him.
But on the other hand, he was worried about the loss of his property in Jiuyuan County.
With this contradictory mentality, they never mustered up the courage to truly participate in this fight.
Faced with the enemy troops pouring in like a tide, Xiao Ran was not afraid under the difficult conditions without the solid protection of the city walls.
He commanded calmly and made full use of the artillery in his hands to engage in fierce confrontation with the enemy.
The roar of the artillery was deafening, and the flames shot into the sky, appearing particularly dazzling in this snowy and icy landscape.
In this way, Xiao Ran relied on his tenacious will and excellent command to successfully hold on for three days and three nights, preventing Dun's army from entering Jiuyuan County.
However, Jiuyuan County was not part of the railway group and lacked a comprehensive railway protection system to cope with such a large-scale war. In this critical moment, only a few grassland tribes, out of loyalty, offered Jiuyuan County assistance. However, all they could provide was food and weapons, a mere drop in the bucket to alleviate Jiuyuan County's plight.
As the main initiator of this railway, the Yi Yu Chamber of Commerce is well aware of the importance of the railway to the entire region and will naturally not sit idly by.
They urgently purchased a large number of artillery shells locally and transported them to Jiuyuan County in a continuous stream, regardless of the danger, determined to fight against Dun's vicious behavior of attacking the railway.
After several days of fierce fighting, the news that Dun Khan had still failed to capture Jiuyuan County spread quickly across the grassland like wings.
More and more tribes gradually changed from fearing Dun Khan to despising him.
Seeing that Dun's attack was blocked, they felt that there was an opportunity, and finally sent troops directly to support Jiuyuan County, and the situation began to change quietly.
This time, the Cui family participated in the investment in the railway line from Yiyou to Jiuyuan, and invested a large amount of money in Jiuyuan County.
What they were most worried about was that if Yelu Qing finally won, would they be held accountable after the war because they, as merchants of the Great Zhou, did not provide timely support in this battle?
For this purpose, the Cui family specially sent Cui Yueming to take a train to Luancheng in a hurry to find Zhao Sheng to discuss the matter.
In a room that was simply yet elegantly decorated, Cui Yueming met Zhao Sheng.
With a smile on his face, he gently pushed an exquisite wooden box in front of Zhao Sheng.
The box rubbed against the table, making a dull sound. From the sound, it was not difficult to judge that the things inside were very heavy. Zhao Sheng guessed that they must be valuable items such as gold.
"Commander-in-Chief, what should we do about this situation?"
Cui Yueming asked anxiously, his eyes full of anticipation.
Zhao Sheng raised his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering on the box on the table for a moment, his expression calm, and his tone unhurried, he said:
"We can consider a battle. However, at this time of year, if we want to quickly resolve the situation on the grasslands and at the same time demonstrate the strength of our Great Zhou merchants, then a single battle is the only way to determine the outcome!"
When Cui Yueming heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he asked hurriedly:
"So, it seems that the commander-in-chief agrees with our railway protection team going to provide support?"
Zhao Sheng glanced at Cui Yueming, who was smiling and looking a little anxious, and said calmly:
"Support is possible, but with such a large army, supply is a huge problem. By the time you arrive prepared, the battle will probably be over."
After hearing this, Cui Yueming's smile froze on her face. She looked embarrassed and stammered, "This..."
Zhao Sheng took advantage of the moment when he was at a loss and continued:
"How about this, I'll send out a surprise force, and don't ask where they come from. After this battle, I'll pay 50,000 taels of silver for a trip. Do you think it's worth it?"
Cui Yueming's heart moved, and he quickly asked:
"Will fifty thousand taels of silver make Dun withdraw his troops?"
Zhao Sheng asked confidently:
"It's a piece of cake. Do you want your Chamber of Commerce to pay you after the matter is completed?"
Cui Yueming patted his chest and said confidently:
"We will definitely send the money within two days!"
"Since Chairman Cui has the final say, then when you return, send someone to Jiuyuan County and tell them to withdraw their troops within two days."
Zhao Sheng said in a firm tone.
After hearing this, Cui Yueming was somewhat skeptical, but since the other party said so, he couldn't say anything more and could only choose to accept it silently.
Afterwards, the two solemnly signed a contract.
After Cui Yueming left, Zhao Sheng immediately sent someone to invite Zhao Long.
Soon, Zhao Long came hurriedly. When Zhao Sheng saw him, he couldn't wait to ask:
"Do you remember the super weapon we developed?"
Zhao Long was slightly stunned, then replied:
"Of course I remember. You said this weapon was incredibly powerful, capable of destroying an entire city with one missile. It's a shame I haven't been able to find a place to test it."
A hint of excitement flashed in Zhao Sheng's eyes, and he said:
"We have a chance! Let's drop this powerful weapon into Wuyuan and test its effectiveness. To ensure safety, we'll also send out four airships for escort. Two of them will be equipped with Gatling guns, and the other two will carry eight bombs to test its effectiveness."
When Zhao Long heard that the airship was going to fly so far to carry out the mission, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. He thought to himself:
"Is this feasible?..."