Chapter 356: - The Great Han Crisis (3)

The Divine Sword Sect was one of the four major sects. They had eyes and ears in every part of the empire, so they were quick in getting news and information. This was a feat that was hard for other organizations to emulate. As one of the highly-ranked elders who had the clearance to attend classified meetings in the sect, Liu Guiyuan must have known about all this secret information that had been collected.

This was exactly why Yan Liqiang was determined to overcome all sorts of obstacles and return to the Divine Sword Sect. Only by returning to the sect would he have a better grasp on the situation in the empire. He needed accurate information on everything that had happened. Otherwise, he would be as good as blind. This was, after all, a time when the newspaper did not even exist. The whole governing system of the empire had been paralyzed. To a normal civilian, it would be like living in darkness. This was critical to Yan Liqiang. Whatever had happened in the Heavenly Realm had yet to take place in reality, and this would give him time and the opportunity to prepare and change the future.

As the duo walked out of the rocky cave, Yan Liqiang could not hold his patience any longer, “Master, what is the situation in the Great Han Empire now? I heard that the Storm Army was crushed. Millions of Chaman soldiers have entered the Great Han Empire now. They have invaded many of the provinces in the northeast and are massacring civilians. Everyone is living in fear now. Is this true?”

Liu Guiyuan frowned as he spoke with a heavy heart, “It is true. The Storm Army has been defeated. The Chaman troops are now burning, killing, and pillaging the northeast as we speak. It is bad. The Divine Sword Sect just got news three days ago that the Chaman troops breach the Jin Province gate and painted the whole city with blood. There were fifty thousand civilians in the city. Blood flowed like a river there. It was like hell on earth. It didn’t matter if the civilians were children or old people, nobody was spared…”

It started snowing outside the cave. The icy, cold wind dropped snowflakes onto Yan Liqiang’s face. He had never felt cold for a long time, but upon hearing the confirmation of the bad news, he felt chills in his spine and trembled involuntarily.

For almost a century, the Storm Army had rooted themselves in the northeast as they closely watched the rise of the Chaman Empire. The army had always been the Great Han Empire’s best defense weapon. For such a long time, they had engaged in countless wars with the Chaman Empire, and never had the Chaman Troops ever tasted anything close to glory. The Storm Army guarded the northeastern border of the empire like an invincible wall. This was why nobody expected for the Storm Army to be crushed just like that, and for Chaman Troops to break past the border.

“How could this happen? The Storm Army had been defending against the Chamans for almost a hundred years, how could they be crushed just like that? Even if a disaster struck the Imperial Capital, this would not make the Storm Army lose their ability just like that!” Yan Liqiang was getting emotional now.

“There were two critical factors that led to the Storm Army’s defeat. First, the Commander of the Storm Army, Long Feicheng, and a few key persons among the troops were absent from the camp when the Chamans attacked. The Storm Army as a whole was like a headless chicken, with nobody to lead them. Nobody among them was strong enough to face Commander Geli from the Chaman Troops. The Storm Army panicked and lost the will to fight!”

“How could Long Feicheng be absent?”

“According to our sources in the Divine Sword Sect, Long Feicheng and some of the key persons were at the Imperial Capital during the catastrophe. They were all lost in the tragedy. This news dealt a huge blow to the Storm Army, and every soldier was affected upon hearing the news!”

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“Oh!” Yan Liqiang was shocked, “Long Feicheng and his key persons were all in the Imperial Capital on that day! What are the odds!”

“Sources from the Storm Army reported that Long Feicheng was in the Imperial Capital due to the Storm Army’s wage issue. Apparently, the Ministry of War and the Anbei Military Governor’s Office had been withholding the troop’s wages for half a year now. Their budget for weaponry was also lacking. The Anbei Military Governor’s Office and Anbei General Shi Tao even lodged an official complaint against Long Feicheng to the Emperor, listing a total of seventeen offenses. They alleged that Long Feicheng had been conspiring against our empire and accepted bribery from the Chaman people. The Grand Chancellor, Lin Qingtian, was furious, and demanded Long Feicheng’s presence at the Imperial Capital to pledge his loyalty. Long Feicheng had no choice but to go to the Imperial Capital, and unfortunately, he perished along with his key persons altogether in the catastrophe…” Liu Guiyuan sighed.

Yan Liqiang was stunned by this news. He could only stare into space as he could not even speak. After a long pause, he finally gathered his composure and asked, “What is the second reason for the defeat?”

“Anbei General Shi Tao was a traitor. He bowed to the Chamans long before we found out. Upon the Chaman invasion, Shi Tao ordered for the Storm Army’s resources at the Haicheng, Ningyuan, and Changtu Prefectures to be burnt to the ground, in the name of preventing a riot. They denied the Storm Army of any resources, and occupied Liaoyuan Pass to cut off their retreat. The Storm Army was facing vicious attacks from all directions, and without anyone in command, they stood no chance against the Chamans. They were totally crushed, and the Chamans easily crossed the border…”

Never in his life did Yan Liqiang imagine that something like this could happen. He was so furious that his eyes almost popped out in anger.

“And what makes you claim that Anbei General Shi Tao sided with the Chamans?”

“General Shi Tao was commanding the Ji Province in the northeast. As soon as he ordered the Storm Army’s’ resource camps to be burnt, he called for a meeting with some important Ji Province officers. It was a setup. He poisoned and killed those officers. This gave him full control of Ji Province. He simply waited for the Chaman Troops to arrive and opened the gate for them. He surrendered to the Chamans without even putting up a fight, and was appointed as the Northeastern Governor by the Chamans…”

Yan Liqiang bit his lips and gripped his fists in anger, “That bastard is a traitor! He should be killed! Killed with no mercy! Why did the Emperor even appoint a bastard like him as a general?”

“Lin Qingtian initially appointed Shi Tao as Anbei General to suppress the Storm Army’s influence in the northeast since he did not want their influence to grow any larger. Lin Qingtian is certainly the person to blame for this!”

“Oh! It’s him again…” Yan Liqiang was almost lost for words, “This Lin Qingtian is really a pain in the ass! It’s good that he was burnt to ashes in the Imperial Capital together with Long Feicheng. Now we are even…” As soon as Yan Liqiang finished his sentence, he noticed Liu Guiyuan looking at him weirdly, so he asked, “What? Am I wrong about that?”

“Lin Qingtian is alive…” Liu Guiyuan replied as calmly as he could.

“What!” Yan Liqiang was again flabbergasted by this news…