“No grain, no firearms, no ammunition! How can we fight the imperial army? Lu Fei has already surrounded Fuzhou, and Luo Xin has reached Nanchang. The council army is retreating steadily. It won’t be long before they reach Guangzhou!”
Guangzhou City, at the temporary council headquarters, Cao Kun was surrounded by core councilors. Impatience was etched on everyone’s face.
“Precisely. The problem now is that even with silver, we can’t buy weapons or ammunition. Just relying on the hundreds of thousands of common people the Azure Dragon King gathered, this battle cannot be fought. Everyone understands that fighting them is not just a matter of courage. Soldiers armed with wooden sticks on the front lines are simply committing suicide; they are too easily routed.” Another person said.
Cao Kun and his son exchanged glances, their brows tightly furrowed. Their initial enthusiasm had now been gradually shattered by the cold reality. They finally realized the disparity in strength between the two sides in this war.
The north now possessed an excellent industrial foundation, education system, and tax system. They could produce tens of thousands of weapons and ammunition at any time. The military academy could continuously produce mid-level generals to lead newly recruited soldiers into the army.
And taxes from agriculture and industry ensured the logistical support for the war.
In contrast, they had nothing. After losing the State of Chu, they discovered that the vast south had a weak foundation. Even if the British and French taught them flintlock gun technology, they couldn’t produce enough firearms, let alone Conqueror Muskets or the currently used Falcon Rifles.
After all, besides lacking skilled artisans, they also lacked the two most important things: coal and iron ore.
As things developed to this point, he finally realized a problem. In his opinion, Xiao Ming had actually been planning the southern expedition for a long time, because he had, imperceptibly, controlled the Great Yu Empire’s richest coal and iron regions.
The area north of the Yangtze River, south of the Great Wall, Bashu, Guandong—these places were successively controlled by Xiao Ming. Before the war began, these places no longer sold even a tiny bit of coal or iron ore to the south.
And this was precisely the reason why the longer the war dragged on, the more desperate they became, because even with silver, they couldn’t buy anything.
Coupled with the coast being blockaded by the Qingzhou fleet, French and British supplies could only come by land, which severely limited the quantity and speed of aid.
At the same time, by now, French and British support had already appeared somewhat weak. They could not continuously transport supplies to him from thousands of li away. The only support they could offer came from their colonies.
“I know the war has been losing, but we should trust France, trust Britain. They will dispatch troops to help us.”
Cao Kun swore solemnly, “Believe me, if we continue to persevere, we will surely win.”
Cao Zhengtong echoed, “That’s right, we will receive more support.”
The councilors fell silent. They looked at each other, and the anger on their faces ultimately turned into a sigh.
Cao Kun continued, “You all may leave. Our Cao family will not retreat any further. Here in Guangzhou, we will fight Xiao Ming to the death. Then you will see them defeated by our united army.”
“I hope so,” a councilor said.
Cao Zhengtong seized the opportunity and said, “However, to persevere, we still need to purchase more from the French and British. This requires a large sum of silver, and I hope you will all contribute generously.”
The councilors frowned and sighed again. They all sent their servants back to fetch silver to submit to the council.
After seeing everyone off, Cao Kun and his son breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, the Azure Dragon King entered from outside.
He said, “Let these fools stay and die. We should leave.”
“Don’t be impatient. Be careful not to expose our tracks,” Cao Kun said, his expression serious. He asked, “How is the transport of gold and silver treasures going? This is our capital for living in Britain.”
“No problem at all. Once we pass Dali, these items will directly enter the British sphere of influence,” the Azure Dragon King said calmly.
Cao Zhengtong heard this and felt somewhat unwilling. “Father, are we just going to fail like this?”
“It’s better than dying here,” the Azure Dragon King waved his hand. “If Xiao Ming captures us, none of us will survive.”
Cao Kun nodded. He consoled, “Earl Carey promised they would recognize us as the legitimate rulers of the Great Yu Empire. This means that even if we go to Britain, we will nominally still be the de facto rulers of the Great Yu Empire. They will not recognize the Great Yu Empire ruled by Xiao Ming. Perhaps one day, we will return with the help of European powers, after all, we have given them enough.”
“I hope so.” Cao Zhengtong’s eyes looked westward. They had indeed given enough.
On the way, escorting the six students, they sacrificed five hundred men. The secret guards planned twenty-one assassination attempts along their route. Of the three students who followed the French, only one seriously wounded student whose fate was unknown remained. And the British, whom they had focused on protecting, also lost one student, and two suffered gunshot wounds.
But no matter what, they still managed to reach British India by the skin of their teeth. After that, they transferred a large amount of wealth to prepare for their escape.
After all, the shadow of assassination had always loomed over them, and Guangzhou City was no longer peaceful.
…
Fuzhou.
After a night of ammunition resupply, Lu Fei launched an attack on Fuzhou City early the next morning.
Three hundred field cannons fiercely pounded the Fuzhou city wall. Amidst the violent explosions, the Fuzhou city wall collapsed with a roar.
At the same time, a soldier, carrying five hand grenades, crawled out of the trench and launched a charge. The abundance of ammunition allowed them to lavishly use hand grenades.
“Kill!”
With earth-shattering roars, veteran soldiers led new recruits across the trenches. The imperial army, having doubled in number, quickly gained the upper hand. The already exhausted and ammunition-depleted council army collapsed at this moment.
Large numbers of council army soldiers fled into the city, while Huben Army soldiers pursued them relentlessly. In a blink of an eye, the situation outside Fuzhou City became a one-sided rout.
The situation on the battlefield was observed by Lu Fei. A smile appeared on his lips. Just as he had guessed, the council army had now lost its edge from the previous months and was terrified by them.
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair
Check another translation project: Title: The Golden Family Rises, Starting from the Western Regions. The webnovel tell a youth named Li Xiao rises from the Western Regions, forges an unprecedented iron-cavalry empire through steel, cannons, and conquest, defeats Mongols, Jurchens, Rus, South Asians, and Crusaders alike, and establishes the largest territorial empire in human history in the name of Yan and Huang.