Chapter 46 : The Restless Great Jin
Chapter 46: The Restless Great Jin
The setting sun was like blood, and the walls of Cangbei City glowed warmly beneath its dying light.
Guan Ning stood alone atop the city wall, his rough palm brushing across the weathered bricks.
Every knife mark, every arrow hole was so familiar—yet felt so distant.
He stood upon the familiar ramparts, but the familiar faces beside him were gone forever.
He stared blankly at the mottled city gate, the scene of the rebel army breaching the city flashing vividly before his eyes.
Until a voice called out, pulling him back to the present.
“General Guan, General Guan! His Highness summons you to the City Lord’s Mansion.”
A cup of tea later.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion of Cangbei City.
“Your subordinate Guan Ning bows in gratitude to His Highness for avenging the soldiers of Cangbei!”
The sound of his heavy kowtow echoed clearly through the silent hall.
Guan Ning’s forehead pressed against the floor, his armored frame trembling faintly.
Jiang Zhaoming strode forward and helped the iron-boned general to his feet, his hands meeting the chill of cold armor.
“The loyalty and righteousness of Cangbei’s soldiers can be testified by Heaven and Earth,” Jiang Zhaoming said in a deep voice.
“When the city fell, not a single man surrendered. To this day, the people of the city still recount that every son of Cangbei was a hero forged of iron.”
Guan Ning abruptly closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple rolling as the images of those who fought and died in blood once again surfaced before him.
Jiang Zhaoming returned to his seat and said, “The name of the Cangbei Army must not be lost. This King intends to rebuild the Cangbei Army to guard this land. What does General Guan think?”
Hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared on Guan Ning’s face.
He wanted to ask why it had to be the Cangbei Army, but in the end, he swallowed the words.
Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Zhaoming explained, “The Black-Armored Army and the Queshe Army are both my personal troops. The task of guarding Cangbei must fall to you, General Guan.”
At those words, Guan Ning kowtowed heavily once more.
Jiang Zhaoming did not help him up this time but continued, “Beiting County will soon deliver a batch of third-grade warhorses—thirty thousand in total.”
Guan Ning looked astonished.
“Your Highness means to…?”
“Of these thirty thousand horses, I plan to allocate ten thousand to Beiting, and another ten thousand to you for the rebuilding of the Cangbei Army.”
As soon as Jiang Zhaoming’s words fell, the sound of Guan Ning’s kowtow rang again.
Jiang Zhaoming shook his head helplessly. “General Guan, don’t be too hasty. Hear me out first.”
Suppressing his excitement, Guan Ning slowly raised his head and waited.
“Cangbei has suffered years of chaos. The common people live in great misery. The county borders Loulan, and its situation could not be worse.”
Listening to Jiang Zhaoming’s words, Guan Ning’s expression gradually grew solemn.
Jiang Zhaoming went on, “Rebuilding the Cangbei Army will not be easy. The hearts of the people will be the key.”
Guan Ning pressed his lips together, cupped his hands, and said, “The fact that Your Highness is willing to rebuild the Cangbei Army already fills my heart with gratitude. As for the progress…”
He took a deep breath. “Your subordinate will plan carefully and never let the people bear an extra burden.”
Jiang Zhaoming nodded. “You need not worry, General Guan. Before the Blue Wolf Army is completely destroyed, the Black-Armored Army and the Queshe Army will remain stationed in Cangbei.”
After sending Guan Ning off, Jiang Zhaoming used a communication talisman to contact Fan Kang, instructing him to dispatch more officials to Cangbei.
During the two rounds of chaos, the Blue Wolf Army had entered the city and slaughtered a group of loyal officials, while Jiang Zhaoming had executed those disloyal ones upon his arrival.
As a result, nearly all the officials of Cangbei County had been purged once, leaving many areas in a state of disarray.
After arranging governmental affairs, Jiang Zhaoming found a quiet courtyard in the city to stay for the time being.
Within the courtyard.
Jiang Zhaoming stood facing Guo Huaian, panting heavily, his sweat already soaking through his undershirt.
“Your Highness, please rest for a while,” Guo Huaian said softly when he saw that even Jiang Zhaoming’s steps had begun to falter after several exchanges.
Jiang Zhaoming wiped the sweat from his forehead and refused. “No need. Continue, Elder Guo!”
Guo Huaian’s lips curved slightly. Without another word, he struck out with a heavy punch toward Jiang Zhaoming.
The two sparred for another half hour before Jiang Zhaoming finally collapsed from exhaustion, lying on the ground completely spent.
“Bring in the elixir.”
Guo Huaian called toward the courtyard gate, and it was soon pushed open.
Now the captain of the royal guard, Xu Xian entered, carrying a bowl of steaming blood tonic and fed it to Jiang Zhaoming.
After drinking the tonic, Jiang Zhaoming propped himself up and sat cross-legged in the courtyard.
The sweat on his body quickly evaporated, and his entire form seemed to be shrouded in mist.
Xu Xian brought in several more bowls of water afterward to prevent dehydration.
After half an hour, Jiang Zhaoming opened his eyes, having absorbed the last trace of the elixir’s blood energy.
“Half a bowl more!”
Xu Xian soon brought another half bowl, and Jiang Zhaoming drank it down.
Such a precious tonic—something of immense value in the outside world—was consumed by Jiang Zhaoming as if it were nothing.
Perhaps this was the greatest advantage of royal cultivation—never having to worry about a lack of resources.
A stick of incense later, Jiang Zhaoming opened his eyes once more.
This time, there was still a considerable amount of medicinal energy unabsorbed in his body, indicating that his blood energy had reached saturation.
Guo Huaian praised from the side, “Your Highness’s progress is astonishing. In just a few days, you’ve already reached the Seventh Layer of the Blood Refining Realm. The Divine Power Realm should not be far.”
Jiang Zhaoming smiled slightly. “Many thanks for your sparring, Elder Guo.”
Guo Huaian replied, “To spar with Your Highness is this old servant’s honor.”
Jiang Zhaoming cupped his hands. “Then please, Elder Guo, take your rest. I too should retire for the night.”
Guo Huaian bowed and withdrew from the courtyard.
After cleaning himself and returning to his chamber, Jiang Zhaoming sat cross-legged and picked up the dragon-patterned jade pendant he hadn’t looked at in a long while.
The last time he had viewed the Dragon Ranking was back in early April.
At that time, he had just pacified Beiting County and gained nearly two hundred points of Imperial Destiny Value, bringing his total by the end of March to 643 points—placing him at 56th on the Dragon Ranking, surpassing over ten of his royal brothers.
“I wonder how much Imperial Destiny Value I’ll gain this time for pacifying Cangbei and defeating over a hundred thousand rebels?”
As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Zhaoming channeled his blood energy into the jade pendant, and the Dragon Ranking appeared before him.
【1. Jiang Zhaoqian, Age: 298, Title: Prince of Dayan Prefecture, Imperial Destiny Value: 8547 points (Last month: 8241 points, +306 points for annihilating 300,000 Jin soldiers)】
【2. Jiang Zhaoding, Age: 369, Title: Prince of Huaijiang Prefecture, Imperial Destiny Value: 8126 points (Last month: 8104 points, +22 points for eliminating 14 water bandit camps)】
……
【56. Jiang Zhaoming, Age: 21, Title: Prince of Anxi Prefecture, Imperial Destiny Value: 643 points (Last month: 459 points, +184 points for reclaiming one county)】
……
After reviewing the ranking as of last month, Jiang Zhaoming then checked his current month’s Imperial Destiny Value gains.
【Defeated 107,000 rebels, total combined military strength +83 points Imperial Destiny Value (to be recorded next month)】
【Reclaimed Cangbei County +67 points Imperial Destiny Value (to be recorded next month)】
……
【Jiang Zhaoming, Age: 21, Title: Prince of Anxi Prefecture, Imperial Destiny Value: 643 (+321) points — gained a total of 321 points this month】
Jiang Zhaoming was quite satisfied with this number.
But when he saw the figures following Jiang Zhaoqian’s name, he still couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
Great Jin seemed to have gone mad lately—desperately pushing southward.
The constant wars had caused Jiang Zhaoqian’s Imperial Destiny Value to skyrocket at an alarming rate.
However, Jiang Zhaoming was not envious.
Back in the first month of the year, Jiang Zhaoqian’s value had already reached 8600 points due to a great victory.
Yet in the following month, after suffering a major defeat, it had plummeted to 8104.
Such drastic fluctuations showed just how intense the battles against Great Jin were.
Jiang Zhaoming couldn’t help but worry. If Great Jin failed to break through Dayan Prefecture’s southern defenses, would they instead set their sights on Anxi?
After pondering for a while, he found no answer.
Whatever Great Jin decided, it was not something he could change.
The only thing he could do was continue strengthening the forces of Anxi Prefecture.
Jiang Zhaoming put down the dragon-patterned jade pendant.
More than the growth of his Imperial Destiny Value, what excited him most was his gain in fortune.
How much fortune had he earned from this great war?
As his consciousness sank, Jiang Zhaoming appeared within the River of Fortune, his gaze quickly falling upon his remaining fortune.
【Remaining Fortune: Blue ×17, Green ×24, White ×37】
【Your renown within the Great Zhou has reached Level 1 — gained Blue Fortune ×5】
【For slaughtering 100,000 enemies in the Battle of Cangbei River — gained Blue Fortune ×1】
【Your recognition within Cangbei County has reached Level 3 — gained Blue Fortune ×1】
……