Jeju is located in an area close to the center of Crescent Moon, a continent that looks like a crescent moon.
Viewed from above, this irregular crescent moon suddenly increases in depth in the center of Jeju. A state in the narrow crescent-like northern region is often surrounded by the sea to the east and west, and the borders between states are also linearly distributed from north to south.
This rule was broken after arriving in Jeju.
The increase in the depth of the mainland means that except for the port area close to the Shiranui Sea in the west, the rest of Jeju's territory can be said to be surrounded by mountains on three sides, and is connected to other territorial provinces.
Jeju, which has relatively stable mountains, borders Zhangzhou to the north, Wanzhou to the east, and Yanzhou to the south. Because the terrain is far from steep, it is convenient for transportation, and it is in such a central location, it has naturally become a key area for exchanges between surrounding products and people.
If you open the annotated version of the national map of the Moon Kingdom for observation, and combine it with Taizhou, which is a frontier military town, and Zhangzhou, where a large number of descendants of the fallen samurai family are located in the middle, and think about the significance of Jeju's existence, the purpose of the current rulers will become extremely clear.
The first reserve of soldiers in Taizhou's defense line are the unlearned and incompetent martial arts disciples in Zhangzhou. If they lack the ability and there are no suitable positions for them, staying in the more important central and southern regions will seriously affect the functioning of society, so dump them to the north. Once something happens, these people will become cannon fodder to buy time.
Jeju, which is adjacent to Jangju, is well connected in all directions and borders several other surrounding provinces. It is very suitable as a place to gather troops.
If Taizhou falls, Zhangzhou, a dispensable "chicken rib", will become cannon fodder that has little value in itself but can be used to buy time due to its large number of martial arts disciples and its own characteristics of swamp miasma. They used the time they bought to mobilize troops from surrounding areas and concentrate on Jeju, and then depending on the situation, they could hold on or march to retake the lost territory in the north.
It is precisely because of the adaptability determined by this regional characteristic that this place took the meaning of "rescue" and was named "Jeju" after the ancient Japanese proverb.
It is precisely because of this traditional characteristic that Chinese and gentry children in Jeju often name their descendants a certain person to represent their origin.
——In other words, according to the traditional concept of Xinyuezhou, Jeju has never been the first line of defense, but it is an important frontline base for gathering troops and sending reinforcements after the war in the north.
This is exactly what Henry and his party witnessed before, and what is still happening right now is the most disturbing thing for knowledgeable people.
The starting point of the chaos in Jeju was Minamata Port.
A seaport.
There is no navy in Zhangzhou, because it is impossible for Xinjing to send a group of professional sailors to assist this group of unlearned martial arts disciples. Such technical personnel are very valuable to Kazuto.
Therefore, once Taizhou is lost, the only situation where the large group of Wu family disciples in Zhangzhou can be used is if the opponent honestly advances from the land route and forcibly tries to pass through the swamp filled with miasma, poisonous snakes and beasts.
Building idealism in the military without a backup plan is a common but fatal mistake.
An ironic scene occurred some time after Taizhou fell and Xinjing issued an emergency mobilization order.
The disciples of the Wu family, who were regarded as waste in Zhangzhou, received the order and trembled in arms. Some of them saw this as the end of the world, broke down crying and tried to escape. Others felt that this was an opportunity for change and should make up their minds to make a name for themselves on the battlefield and escape from being useless. Embracing regret, fear, courage, and determination, the disciples of the Wu family were mixed with various emotions and made unseemly preparations for battle. However, as time passed day by day, the army that destroyed the northern military town of Taizhou never Appear.
The feudal kings took a detour.
The poor Northland cannot raise the troops that can confront Xinjing head-on. They know this very well, so they do not hesitate to resort to darkness and try to control the opponent's unexpected forces as much as possible.
They will not fight a war of attrition, and they will never be fooled by something as simple as using cannon fodder to buy time.
Something happened in Minamata, and the movement caused chaos to spread to the surrounding areas.
The entire harbor became a mess, and even the surrounding city-states suffered heavy military losses due to fighting between civilians and warriors.
It was in late August that the mighty Black Sail Navy sailed into the port of Minamata.
The swaying phosphorus fire on the Shiranui Sea and the setting sun illuminated the outlines of these huge battleships. If Henry and his party saw it, they would definitely feel that this design process was so familiar.
Zhangzhou's defense line was bypassed.
In the end, the disciples of the useless martial arts family were of no use whatsoever. Those who thought they had escaped the disaster cried with joy, while those who thought they had lost the opportunity to prove themselves were lonely and depressed. The feudal kings relied on Emperor Tengao and secretly colluded with other forces to build an entire fleet. They advanced directly from the sea and landed in Minamata.
There was no way to hide the huge momentum, but because of the extremely Raman-style appearance of the ship, the fishermen who witnessed the fleet were extremely confused when they reported it to Yanzhou officials. They thought it was the expedition fleet of the Padrosi Empire again here. The time has come.
The information confusion caused by this may also be one of the strategies of the feudal kings. By the time Xinjing collected and integrated various intelligence to determine the truth, they had already conquered the towns around Minamata that had weakened their city defenses due to the lower-level movement.
Like blood dripping on paper gradually spreading, the domain army that landed from Minamata quickly spread after stabilizing their pace and killed Shumu and occupied the entire Jeju.
When Xinjing, who was slow to respond, received the news, everything was a foregone conclusion.
Taizhou is gone, and Jeju, an important logistics gathering place, also falls into the enemy's hands. The military forces of Wanzhou and Yanzhou cannot be combined in one place. Because they are dispersed, their respective forces are only enough to protect themselves. This is also the decision taken by the conservative state herdsmen - they stand firm and do not consider risking recapture at all. Jeju only pursues nothing but success and failure.
These people have long forgotten the truth of the long-term peace. Through the reports sent back by frontline spies, they learned that the total strength of the landed vassal army did not form a crushing advantage over the armies of Wanzhou or Yanzhou. Considering that marching from Jeju to either side would inevitably be attacked by the other side, the state pastors and nobles came to the conclusion that sticking to the border was the best decision. They believed that in this situation, the feudal army would definitely try to gain a foothold in Jeju first. What he needs to do is to defend the city and quickly ask for help from Xinjing.
What follows is a race against time. Will the feudal army recover first and recruit soldiers from Jeju to expand its strength, or will reinforcements from Xinjing arrive first?
It is easy for people to become confident and slack off when they have a response plan.
The nobles in Wanzhou and Yanzhou mobilized with all their strength to strengthen surrounding vigilance. They became at ease because the feudal army was unfamiliar with the place and they had the home field advantage.
This sense of reassurance is deadly because it can make you forget some basic facts.
For example, Taizhou, an important military town with a military strength almost equal to that of Wanzhou and Yanzhou combined and equipped with heavy city defense equipment, disappeared without even a splash.
And more importantly.
From Jeju, lit from Minamata.
A vigorous down-and-up movement.
Martial law and city lock-up resisted visible external enemies, but they could not withstand the various invisible internal high pressures exerted on civilians.
But the nobles and Chinese in Wanzhou and Yanzhou were just like their colleagues in Jeju at the beginning.
They don't care or care what civilians think.
The initial sprinkle of starlight gradually ignited into a small flame.
Once it spreads to a certain scale, it becomes increasingly difficult to extinguish.
And this is something the nobles still haven't seen.
I don't even bother to see it.
Over time, the undercurrent surging underground finally eroded the seemingly indestructible stone shell and spewed out.
In the face of this turbulent torrent of the times, no matter whether they are warriors, sages, or even lords and royal families, they are insignificant.
Henry and his party, who avoided the bustling areas and headed towards the inland mountains, approached the border of Wanzhou in the east. At this time, they still did not know the fact that Wanzhou and Yanzhou were under martial law. Although the sage saw something from the incident in Minamata, his attention was also attracted more by the cultists of Placia.
Make bricks without straw. Even if he can deduce a lot of information from extremely detailed things, he may not always be able to grasp the overall situation of the incident.
But even if you don't know that Jeju behind you has been occupied by the feudal army, and Wanzhou in front is under martial law to the extent that even birds and animals cannot pass.
They are also in a dilemma.
In order to escape the brute-force struggle between the Otolo Earth Dragon and the flesh-ball-like creature, they flew forward for a long distance along the best national road.
Then I met the survivors in the original town.
It should be a good thing to meet people, and people who you want to meet and trade with.
And there are thousands of survivors, which is something to be relieved about.
But before they were in complete contact, they just noticed each other within visual distance. Henry, who was at the front of the team, immediately raised his hand and asked everyone to stop.
People clearly dressed in white church religious clothes stood in front of a large crowd of people.
A simple white church holy emblem carved from wood was hung at the entrance of the temporary camp located next to the national highway, pieced together from various scraps.
Several people were kneeling and muttering something.
Words like "...Lord save me are in danger." were vaguely heard, and the Luoan girl frowned: "Have they collectively become believers?"
The priests did not hide like rats on the street, but walked on the road openly, and the respect of these people and the people under their command for them and the teachings of the White Church was beyond words.
Everyone could tell that this was a camp composed of thousands of fanatical believers, and based on this knowledge, when they, a group of outsiders, suddenly arrived as uninvited guests.
These people reacted immediately.
"Hiss - hoo hoo hoo" suddenly appeared from both sides of the grass with pitchforks. The common people with the holy emblem engraved on their foreheads stared at the warriors in the front row with death-like eyes. Their actions scared the horses so much The horses became panicked. And just when Narumi was about to command the team to retreat, more Kazuto civilians dressed in the same style appeared behind him, blocking the retreat of the baggage carriage behind them.
Mira quietly tried to reach for her long sword with her hand. The movement was very subtle but was still noticed by a farmer.
"Hey!" He threatened with his pitchfork stretched out.
"Tsk." The Luoan girl had no choice but to stop for now.
"Sir!" "Sir!" After more and more farmers surrounded them, the old white church bishop finally walked over slowly with the help of others.
People consciously parted ways for him, just like the ancient saints parted the sea in church legends.
The old bishop put on airs but said nothing, and the atmosphere between these survivors and Henry and his party was tense.
Fortunately, the accompanying missionaries who had been unable to be used finally showed up.
They got off the carriage one after another and came to the bishop.
"Sir Pedro!" The old missionary led by the leader was almost crying with excitement.
"Thank you Lord, you were not harmed."
"Oh -" the bishop saw them and nodded, but his attitude seemed quite calm.
"Are they from the 17th missionary team? Why, there are fewer people than I know." He glanced at the several missionaries who appeared one after another and said.
"The lost brother has returned to the Lord. May his soul rest in peace. This journey has been really difficult." The old missionary made a prayer gesture, and the bishop nodded, seeming to be less interested in them than others - he He immediately turned his head and looked at the warriors on the horse and Henry and his party on the carriage - his eyes especially stayed on the Luoan girl and the unicorn Mitia next to her for a long time.
"So these people are your guards on this journey?" he asked.
"Yes." The old missionary said respectfully, and when the sage saw the opportunity coming, he also spoke in a steady tone.
"The mission has been completed and the reward has been received, so let's say goodbye." He gestured to Narumi, who immediately wanted to direct the team to leave this strange atmosphere.
"Wait a minute." But the old bishop raised his hand, and the farmers once again blocked the horses' path with their pitchforks.
"How can we treat such a meritorious person badly despite his troubled life?" At the beginning of these two sentences, he used the language of Japanese people. He is also very particular about grammar and vocabulary. He has obviously lived in the local area for a long time.
"I appreciate your kindness." The person who responded was Narumi. As a sergeant, he used honorifics when replying. It was also because this journey gave him a little understanding of the status of religious personnel in the White Church.
But this politeness as much as possible still did not make the bishop relent, and the farmers still raised their pitchforks.
"Sir, let them go, they seem to have other things-" At this time, the young missionary Aggie stood up and tried to speak for the group, but before he could finish speaking, the old bishop reached out and slapped him. The beating made his whole body crooked.
"How dare you, juniors are not allowed to speak here. The selection of the 17th missionary team is really bad, don't they even understand the etiquette?" The bishop looked at Aiji indifferently and said this, while Aiji was stunned by a slap. No more sound could be made.
Even the old missionary and others were speechless.
"So, please come in." The bishop turned his head again and smiled broadly at Henry and his party.
"Although it is a simple camp, I can still help you take care of yourself."
