Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace

The hundreds of thousands of troops lined up neatly and orderly.

At the forefront were the heavy shield soldiers, their speed not fast, advancing slowly forward.

Due to the dense array of soldiers and armor ahead, Zhao Jiang couldn’t see what was behind the heavy shield soldiers. However, observing the marching speed of the opponent, he couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. It was too slow.

When they were about a thousand paces away from the enemy army, Chen Mo commanded the army to halt and then beckoned with his hand. Instantly, the drums in the army resounded in unison.

”What are they up to?” Zhao Jiang frowned slightly, unsure of what Chen Mo was planning.

At this moment, they saw Chen Mo riding to the front of the formation and shouting loudly, ”Where is King Yan?”

Zhao Jiang naturally heard this. Although he didn’t know what Chen Mo intended to do, he wasn’t afraid of him. He also stepped to the front of his own army, cupping his hands in salute, ”I am he.”

Chen Mo cupped his hands and said, ”I have long heard of King Yan’s great name, and today I am fortunate to meet you.”

Hearing Chen Mo suddenly praise Zhao Jiang, the soldiers of both armies were bewildered.

Zhao Jiang also thought it was a compliment to himself and responded with a smile, ”I too have long heard of General Chen Mo’s reputation. Now that I see you in person, you are indeed an outstanding talent.”

However, Chen Mo’s next words turned his face dark: ”King Yan, you are a minister of the Great Song, why do you raise an unnamed army to invade our borders?”

Zhao Jiang shouted angrily, ”I have been ordered to eliminate traitors. How could it be unnamed?”

Chen Mo laughed heartily, ”The Emperor is in the Capital, peaceful and prosperous, with filial piety abounding. King Yan, under whose order do you act? Such a grandiose excuse, wouldn’t it bring you shame before all the people?”

”Nonsense, who in the world does not know that the national traitor Xiao Yunqi has the ambition of a wolf, committed acts of deposing the Emperor, deserving death at everyone’s hands? If not for the Governor of Yangzhou bringing the Emperor’s decree when leaving the Capital, this matter would have been achieved by you bandits,” Zhao Jiang said, taking out a forged decree from his bosom and loudly proclaiming:

”Here is the decree of the Emperor Xuanhe, commanding us to enter the Capital to protect the throne and slay the traitors.”

The Emperor Xuanhe is Zhao Ji.

After saying this, Zhao Jiang pointed directly at Chen Mo: ”As the ancients say, those who follow the heavens will prosper, and those who oppose it will perish. Today, my righteous army wears armor, numbering in the millions, and thousands of capable generals. How could your trivial glow compare to the bright moon in the sky? If you turn your weapon against us and surrender with courtesy, you will not lose your title of marquis. Wouldn’t peace and happiness for the people be beautiful?”

Chen Mo laughed again, ”I didn’t expect the dignified King Yan to utter such vulgar words.”

Zhao Jiang raised his eyebrows.

Chen Mo continued, ”I have something to say, please listen quietly. Now, the country is plagued by frequent disasters, rebellions are arising everywhere, and even the Desolate Kingdom is invading our borders. The state has become a ruin, and the people suffer greatly.

At such a time of national crisis, King Yan, what have you done? I have always known your life, King Yan. As a Vassal Prince of Youzhou, brother to Emperor Xuanhe, and uncle to the current Emperor, you should assist the Emperor in ruling the country, stabilizing the Song, and flourishing Zhao. Yet, you neither quell the rebels nor stop the foreign invaders, but instead, commit the crime of treason, attempting usurpation! Such grave sins are intolerable by heaven and earth.”

”You... you, this brat, how dare you...” Zhao Jiang, furious and ashamed, pointed at Chen Mo, burning with rage.

But Chen Mo directly interrupted him: ”Shut up, shameless old traitor...”

Hearing Chen Mo speak so freely in the front, Gao Zheng couldn’t help but be dumbfounded, whispering in his heart, ”When did the lord become so eloquent?”

Even Jiang Ruoqing was somewhat surprised.

By this time, the scorching sun hung high, and the blinding sunlight shone directly on the allied soldiers, making it hard for them to keep their eyes open.

And Zhao Jiang, already furious, seeing he couldn’t win the argument with Chen Mo, said, ”Are you just going to rely on your tongue?”

”Not at all. Although our army’s strength isn’t as great as yours, today, we will surely win.”

Chen Mo finished speaking, and the drawbridge behind him rose, and the city gates were closed, displaying a stance of burning bridges. He then said, ”Old traitor King Yan, your forces outnumber mine several times. Dare you attack?”

As soon as Chen Mo finished speaking, someone from the army behind started making a fuss, with someone shouting, ”They’ve already lost to us twice; do they even have the courage? I bet seeing us leave the city would scare them to wet themselves.”

”Exactly, exactly.”

”In front of our army, their so-called coalition of the Eighteen Lords is just as fragile as clay chicks and dogs.”

The mocking voices spread continuously to the ears of the allied soldiers, filling them with immense anger.

The many lords were also furious, even forgetting the fear of being bombed during the previous day’s siege, determined to show the arrogant Chen Mo some colors.

The subordinate generals also eagerly requested to fight.

By this point, Zhao Jiang was already at the brink of explosion from Chen Mo’s insults and the other side’s mockery.

Seeing now that the city gates of Qinyang County were closed and the opposing army had all come out, it wasn’t easy to retreat.

With his forces several times greater than the other side, Zhao Jiang wasn’t backing down, confident in his victory.

He waved his hand, and one of his trusted generals, who was also a First Grade Martial Artist, Han Yong, led troops to launch an attack.

Eighty thousand cavalry surged out from the allied forces, charging towards the opposite side as fast as thunder.

Upon reaching a certain distance, the archers in the cavalry drew their bows and set their arrows, raining down a hail of arrows toward Cheng Mo’s army.

However, what they did not see was the slight curve at the corner of Chen Mo’s lips, as this was exactly what he wanted.

He retreated to the back, and with a mighty gesture of his hand,

the personal soldiers concealed behind the heavy shield soldiers, who had secretly dug cylindrical pits aimed towards the target, placed the iron barrels they carried into the pits, placed gunpowder at the bottom to propel explosive packs, and separated the gunpowder from the explosive packs with partitions.

Then they lit the fuse.

A few moments later, a boom echoed, and a flame burst out from the iron barrel, exploding right among the charging enemy cavalry.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Those close by were blown away along with their horses, while those a bit farther still bled from their seven orifices, dying from the shock.

Yet this wasn’t the most crucial part.

The most crucial part was the huge explosion, which startled the horses, causing the charge formation to immediately fall into disarray.

Some were thrown off their horses, while others were trampled to death...

And all the arrows they shot were blocked by the shields of the heavy shield soldiers.

That’s right, this was Chen Mo’s trump card, the unreliable cannon.

Such unreliable cannons couldn’t be used repeatedly.

First, the hassle of loading the bottom flame, and the excessive recoil required deep pits to reduce it, making it prone to malfunction.

Nonetheless, Chen Mo’s purpose was achieved.

With dozens of unreliable cannon blasts, Chen Mo ordered the throwing of dozens of fire bottle bombs.

The charging enemy cavalry was thoroughly disrupted.

And it wasn’t over yet, as Chen Mo ordered a round of arrow rain.

At this point, the heavy shield soldiers at the front withdrew.

The front ranks opened up a path.

The ground shook as the cavalry, hidden behind the army, charged forward under Chen Mo’s lead, against the opposing side.