"It seems that a lot of you in this barracks are recruits." Gu Xu commented while observing his surroundings.

As far as he could see, many young men of his age, or even younger, were jerkily fiddling with the weapons in their hands under the reprimand of the officer.

"When my father was still the Duke of Yan, the Great Qi Imperial Court issued several orders asking us to reduce the size of the standing army in the north," Zhao Yan replied, with obvious concern between her eyebrows, "After my father raised the flag and rebelled, many more soldiers fled to the Great Qi. For this we had to recruit new recruits on a large scale to replenish the number of troops in the army. ”

"What about cultivators?" Gu Xu asked.

He knew that in this world with extraordinary strength, it was difficult for these mortal soldiers who had not cultivated to play a decisive role in battle. They play more auxiliary roles such as service, support, and defensive vigilance.

Practitioners, especially those of the higher realms, are the key to success.

"Cultivator," Zhao Yan sighed softly, "then there will be even more." As soon as my father announced his self-reliance, the number of practitioners in the army immediately decreased by 20%. After I succeeded to the throne, I ran another two percent.

"At present, on the border of Yan Qi, in addition to the space blockade set up by the Great Qi Dynasty to arrest you, there is also the 'iron wall' recently laid by the Great Yan, and neither the Qi nor the Yan people are allowed to pass through it without authorization...... We simply can't afford to lose more people. ”

Gu Xu listened silently and did not respond immediately.

He understands the choices of these practitioners.

Compared with the cold and barren Dayan, Daqi has a vast territory, rich economy, and many strong people, and Emperor Tianxing, who holds the "Tai'a Sword", as the biggest support.

In their eyes, nature is the side with a better chance of winning.

In addition, hundreds of years have passed since the first generation of Yan Guogong surrendered to Emperor Taizu of Great Qi. During this period, the concept of national borders has gradually faded, and there are countless population flows, trade exchanges, and intermarriages between the north and the south.

If it weren't for the Fire God Temple, as a spiritual bond, which has maintained the sense of belonging and cohesion of the Yan people for a long time, I am afraid that the entire Great Yan would have been naturalized long ago.

"And your supplies...... Can you keep up at the moment? Gu Xu thought for a while and asked.

"It's also very difficult," Zhao Yan frowned slightly and replied, "On the day my father declared himself king, Princess Zhaoning ordered the trade between Daqi and Dayan to be cut off. Over the years, many of our resources for refining pills, such as the Cold Hair Branch, the Ten Thousand Year Vine, the Yin God Flower, the Water Cloud Fruit, etc., have been very dependent on the supply from the south.

"Although Dayan can also start cultivating these things on its own, the cost is much more expensive in comparison, and it is difficult to meet the massive needs of the cultivators in the territory in a short period of time.

"The Department of Internal Affairs is currently in arrears with the allotment of pills for the daily practice of many monks."

When Gu Xu heard her narration, he felt more and more that Dayan's independence was an irrational decision.

But the key problem is that Zhao Changying miscalculated the strength of Emperor Tianxing at the beginning.

If Zhao Changying succeeded in killing Emperor Tianxing with the Ghost King of Bishan on the day of the "Luoshui Conference", then the entire Great Qi Dynasty would undoubtedly fall into chaos.

Among the princes and daughters of Emperor Tianxing, Xiao Shangyuan, the eldest prince who has cultivated the highest, only has the fifth realm, which is obviously not enough to suppress the forces in the country.

At that time, Zhao Changying of the Eighth Realm only needs to raise his arms and exhale, and the world, whether it is voluntary or involuntary, will definitely be full of responders.

Taking a step back, even if Emperor Tianxing didn't die, as long as Zhao Changying retained his strength and retreated with his whole body, he could also divide one side and become the pillar of Dayan - after all, Emperor Tianxing couldn't use the power of the Heavenly Tribulation without restrictions, and after leaving Luojing City, he couldn't freely invoke the power of the "Heavenly Dragon Great Array".

It is not like now, putting a country with an unstable foundation on Zhao Yan's young shoulders.

"Have you ever thought about how Dayan will go in the future?" After a short period of silence, Gu Xu looked at Zhao Yan and asked seriously, "Although I rescued your father today, it is impossible for him to immediately return to his peak cultivation, at most he can only have six or seven percent of the past, and it is a great luck to be able to exert the strength of a saint." These problems faced by Dayan must have existed for a long time. ”

Zhao Yan turned her head and looked at the solemn look in his eyes.

Unconsciously, she seemed to have returned to a thousand years ago, and became the twenty-eight girl who always looked up to the figure of her master in her previous life.

"Wouldn't it be okay to follow the master?" She smiled and said softly, "As long as Shizun overthrows the Great Qi Dynasty, won't these problems be solved?" ”

"Now under my command, there are Luo Chuan of the Eighth Realm, and Xu Man, the Sword Pavilion Master of the Seventh Realm," Gu Xu looked at the sky in the distance, calmly recounting his next plan, "There are members of the 'Qing Ming' scattered all over the Great Wilderness, thousands of cavalry from the Northwest Grassland, and three shamans on the Holy Mountain. If I use all my means, I may be able to have the strength to fight with the strong saints.

"In a few days, we will fight the first battle of our offensive on the northwest border of Great Qi, and if nothing else, we should be able to capture one or two cities as a base for some time to come.

"If you can, I hope you can send Dayan's army to do some harassment and feints in the Yanqi border area to distract the attention of the Great Qi court. In this way, we can take some of the pressure off the execution of our plan. ”

Zhao Yan listened carefully to his narration.

She couldn't help but remember that not long ago, Gu Xu fled from Luojing alone, and was cornered by the pursuers sent by the Great Qi Imperial Court such as Zhu Qiuyi, the chief soldier of Hedong, and almost died.

However, at this moment, two of the "Five Saints" of Great Qi are working for Gu Xu; Those unruly steppe people were also incorporated into his command by unknown means; Not to mention the "Qingying" organization hidden in the market, but secretly affecting the current situation of Daqi.

Gu Xu's power is now and in the past.

Faintly, he seemed to have the qualifications to sit at the table and play against the Great Qi Dynasty.

"Of course it's no problem," Zhao Yan tilted his head and leaned on his shoulder, "You go and muddy the water in the west and let the Great Qi Imperial Court be busy, and I can live a little easier."

"Have you ever figured out when our wedding will take place, though?

"Is it going to be held now, and by the way, take this opportunity to announce our alliance to the entire Great Swallow, or wait-"

"——Wait until I lay down a piece of territory first," Gu Xu said, "Luo Chuan thinks that I need a new country name as a banner to call on everyone. But I haven't thought of a suitable one-"

"Today is the summer solstice, so it's better to call it 'summer'!" Zhao Yan said in a joking tone, "I don't want to do this thankless King Yan, it's better to be an idle prince who eats and waits for death - of course, it's the Duke of Yan in Great Xia, not in Daqi." When the sky falls, the master will carry it for me. ”

"Xia ......" Gu Xu silently recited this word in his heart, and he was in a trance for a while.

(End of chapter)