Chapter 69

Li Xian wanted to continue his seclusion, planning to take another 20 spirit stones to carefully observe the formation process of the spirit stones in the realm of consciousness; this matter must be handled promptly, or he would regret it if he missed it.

However, it was very regrettable that Song Xing had already been waiting at Li Xian's door for a long time with a letter. Song Xing had rushed back to Anyang at dawn and, instead of delivering the letter to Li Liang first, he came directly to Li Xian and waited.

Li Xian took the letter, opened it, and his expression instantly became much more serious!

"Song Xing, you'll have to make another trip and deliver my brother's letter, and invite him to come here for a meeting!"

"Yes." Song Xing, despite not having rested for five days, hurriedly went out.

On this side, Li Xian could no longer afford to remain in seclusion. He immediately called Xu Ren, Beichen Yuqing, Fang Shijing, Liu Leigang from the security department, Yang Qianjiang from the armory, and Liu Dongbao, a total of six people, to discuss the matter. Seeing Li Xian's serious expression, no one paid much attention to his recent cultivation breakthrough.

"Sir, take a look." Li Xian handed the letter to Xu Ren. After reading it, Xu Ren's expression also became serious. Then everyone passed the letter around, and everyone's expression turned serious!

The letter was simple, with only a few sentences:

'My son: Recently, I have noticed unusual activities from the Kong family. The Kong family has dominated the region for many years and acts aggressively. After much consideration, I fear that the Kong family: internally, will entangle the court, and externally, will secretly ally with the Cai Kingdom to jointly attack Anyang. We must prepare early.'

The letter was short, but it conveyed a lot! No one doubted Li Yulong's judgment.

After Fang Shijing finished reading, he said angrily, "Kong Xiang is the Grand Tutor, yet the Kong family colludes with both internal and external forces. How can this be tolerated!"

Beichen Yuqing did not speak but looked at Xu Ren; among the three, Xu Ren was undoubtedly the leader and held the highest position, while Fang Shijing, responsible for internal affairs, held the lowest position.

Xu Ren thought for a moment, "The Cai Kingdom's army can reach us in at least one and a half days, at most three days.

This time, the Cai Kingdom will certainly divide their forces into two routes. One route will directly attack the border, drawing the attention of the 30,000 troops led by the eldest son.

The second route will certainly send the most elite Imperial Guards to rapidly assault Qingyun Valley. This group will not be too large, ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 people. All the guards will likely be at the Seventh Stage of Qi Cultivation or higher, and there will be no shortage of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the group.

The leader will certainly be a Core Formation expert, and there may be more than one.

Additionally, within three to five days, we will not be able to send troops for rescue; even if we do, it will take two days to march. Therefore, we can only rely on ourselves!

Finally, to prevent the situation where the mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole stalks the mantis, the Kong family will not trust the Cai Kingdom. They will send elite teams in disguise to lie in ambush.

Other families, such as the Wang family, might also get involved!

For military arrangements, let Beichen Yuqing speak."

As a strategist, Xu Ren knew his role—analyzing the situation was no problem, and he was also adept at political intrigue and military strategy. However, specific combat plans should be left to the responsible parties.

Beichen Yuqing took the initiative, walking to the map on the wall, "The Cai Kingdom's army will press forward, but they will not fight to the death; their main role is to provide cover. So, the eldest son doesn't need to worry, but he must be extremely cautious to prevent any unexpected situations.

The elite troops sent by the Cai Kingdom to assault Qingyun Valley will certainly come from a place that is generally overlooked, unexpected, and yet strategically advantageous. There are three such places.

One is by the sea, the endpoint of the boundary between the human and demon races, which we used last time. Another is the intersection of the boundaries between the Daxia Kingdom, the Cai Kingdom, and the human and demon races. This place is the most active, with frequent battles between the soldiers of the two countries and the demon beasts; this provides a good cover.

The third place is 'Kaiping County' to the west of Anyang County. The Prefect of Kaiping County, Yao Jianye, is short-sighted and lacks deep strategic thinking. If the Cai Kingdom offers him substantial benefits, Yao Jianye will certainly let them pass.

These three places all have the potential..."

Clearly, Beichen Yuqing was slightly hesitant at this point.

Xu Ren immediately said, "Entering through Kaiping County, assaulting Qingyun Valley, and then breaking out from the second position; this way, we can trick Yao Jianye, and he won't dare to complain."

"Right, exactly!" Beichen Yuqing was delighted, "This way, they can bypass Anyang City."

Xu Ren looked at Li Xian again, "Young Master, this is a good opportunity. If Yao Jianye really lets the Cai Kingdom's army in, we can take the chance to remove Yao Jianye. We can have the eldest son appointed as the Prefect of Kaiping County, and the Young Master can take over Anyang. If this succeeds, there will be no more conflicts of interest between the Young Master and the eldest son. The Young Master can then develop Anyang County with peace of mind.

However, we should wait for the eldest son to arrive and discuss this openly."

"Um." Li Xian nodded and looked at Beichen Yuqing, signaling him to continue.

Beichen Yuqing's finger traced down the map, finally stopping in the southwest, "To the south of Anyang is Luliang County, to the west is Kaiping County, and to the southwest is Zhongshan County.

Among these, Zhongshan County is mountainous and forested. If we retreat, we will certainly retreat here. Therefore, the Kong family's team should be hiding nearby.

Considering the terrain, military value, and water sources, they should be near Qingquan Valley."

Li Xian looked at Qingquan Valley, which was a good valley about thirty miles away. If it weren't for its proximity to Zhongshan County and its distance from the sea, Li Xian would have chosen Qingquan Valley to establish his base.

Beichen Yuqing continued, "Qingquan Valley can hide at most a thousand people. Considering the long journey of the Kong family, their numbers should be around 300, but they will all be experts. They are here to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, and they might even be prepared to eliminate the root cause.

I think the Kong family's people have already arrived!"

Listening to their analysis, Li Xian felt a surge of anger, "Send people to eliminate the Kong family's people first! Have the bombs been developed? Let them taste them!"

Xu Ren quickly advised, "We can't alert them. Just send three excellent reconnaissance soldiers to monitor them. We can deal with them after we finish with the Cai Kingdom.

Young Master, rest assured, the Kong family will not make a move before we resolve the situation with the Cai Kingdom."

Li Xian reluctantly suppressed his anger and turned to Liu Leigang, Yang Qianjiang, and Liu Dongbao, "How are the gunpowder, firearms, and marksmen?"

Liu Dongbao stood up first, "We produced 300 kilograms yesterday, and over the past few days, we have produced more than 2,800 kilograms."

Yang Qianjiang then said, "Due to limited quantities, we are currently focusing on developing sniper rifles. We have produced a total of 160 firearms, including 100 single-shot rifles, with 30,000 bullets remaining; 40 ordinary sniper rifles, with 20,000 bullets; and 20 top-tier sniper rifles, with 8,000 bullets.

The single-shot rifles use 7mm bullets, which can threaten early Foundation Establishment cultivators, with an effective range of 300 meters for early Foundation Establishment.

The ordinary sniper rifles use 9mm bullets, which can threaten late Foundation Establishment cultivators, with an effective range of 400 meters for late Foundation Establishment.

The top-tier sniper rifles use 25mm bullets, which can threaten Core Formation cultivators, with an effective range of 500 meters for Core Formation.

All bullets and calibers have been standardized. We have established basic ballistics, completed the production of rifling, telescopes, and sights, and completed the basic geometry and calculation methods."

Li Xian then asked, "What about the speed? I mean, how does the speed of the top-tier sniper rifle bullets compare to the speed of a Core Formation expert's flying sword?"

"The bullet's exit speed is approximately 1,300 meters per second, while the speed of a Core Formation expert's flying sword ranges from 100 to 800 meters per second, depending on their cultivation, techniques, and the quality of the flying sword."

...

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