Chapter 887: Battle Situation
Although Spirit Guard Jia Shen held certain prejudices against the younger Daoists, he dared not be careless when it came to war. He gave Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu a detailed account of the current situation in Hisai Castle.
Ichishi District was the gathering place of the Sonno-joi ronin, with over 100,000 men. The Daoist army was at a disadvantage in numbers but held an absolute advantage in weaponry, resulting in them surrounding an enemy force several times their own size.
Under the orders of Ise-jingu, the Sonno-joi ronin of Ichishi District withdrew toward Anno District in an alternating retreat. Although Suzuka District lay behind Anno District, it had not completely blocked the route from Anno to Mie District. Thus, the ronin could still withdraw into Mie District, where Ise-jingu was located.
In this situation, the field camp issued orders to split into two forces, attacking from Ichishi District and Suzuka District simultaneously to form a pincer move, with the aim of annihilating the ronin. This was precisely why Qi Xuansu’s successful persuasion of Suzuka Gozen to surrender was crucial.
Logically speaking, given the immense strategic value of Mount Suzuka, Spirit Guard Jia Shen should not have harbored prejudice against Qi Xuansu, who had rendered such great service. However, the matter was top secret and fell under two different chains of command, so in the war council, Sage Qingwei only mentioned it in passing.
From Sage Qingwei’s perspective, the Spirit Guards only needed to be aware that Mount Suzuka was under Daoist control and did not need to know the details. In contrast, Daoists like Li Tiangang knew the full story. Just as Daoist priests did not casually meddle in the Spirit Guards’ military command, Spirit Guards did not overly interfere in the Daoist priests’ affairs. Thus, at this point, Spirit Guard Jia Shen was still unaware that it was the young Daoist before him who had helped the Daoist Order secure this strategic location.
Still, Spirit Guard Jia Shen had grounds for his pride. He had commanded the Western Region campaign and decisively defeated the Golden Horde and the Rus Kingdom’s allied forces. Both sides signed a truce agreement, with the Shamanistic Sect promising to relinquish its claim to the Daxue Mountain Palace, thus securing a de facto victory for the Daoist Order.
At the time Spirit Guard Jia Shen was galloping across the battlefield, Qi Xuansu had only just arrived in Jade Capital to become a deacon of the Tiangang Hall. While Spirit Guard Jia Shen was leading troops across grasslands and deserts in pursuit of the Shamanistic Sect’s routed soldiers, Qi Xuansu was following Zhang Yuelu in hunting down Desmond the Vampire.
Comparing a gravely wounded and dying vampire to the Shamanistic Sect, it was evident which among them held a greater weight.
At that time, the gulf between Qi Xuansu and Spirit Guard Jia Shen was as big as the difference between heaven and earth.