461: Bigger plans

"A military pledge?" Long Yuan was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected this old rascal Prefect Duan Jian to have such guts to dare to offer a military pledge; this was a business that could cost him his head.

His expression softened slightly as he nodded and said, "Very well! Since that is the case, I will fulfill your wish and sign this military pledge with you here. There are no jokes in the army; if you cannot achieve it, do not blame me for being heartless when the time comes!"

Prefect Duan Jian's face turned slightly pale. He had not expected Long Yuan to actually take his habitual bragging as a serious commitment. His heart ached as if it were bleeding, but since things had reached this point, he had no way out. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Please rest assured, Young Lord! This Old Minister will naturally do everything in my power to complete the mission!"

The other city lords trembled when they saw this scene. Some were so scared that their faces turned ashen, unable to speak, while they cursed Prefect Duan Jian incessantly in their hearts. This bastard had never been this brave or reckless before; now, at such a critical moment, he had jumped out to harm everyone. It was truly unbelievable.

Just as they were wondering whether they should follow suit, another person stood up—it was Geng Yun. He said loudly, "Young Lord! This humble minister is also willing to make a military pledge! I will ensure that all assigned tasks are completed!"

Long Yuan smiled and said, "City Lord Geng is truly a pillar of our Great Ming. Our Nanyue Base needs more promising figures like City Lord Geng and City Lord Prefect Duan Jian. If everyone works together, we will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties and create miracles!"

Everyone gasped. Seeing this situation, they knew they had to follow suit. To follow suit meant being a promising figure and a pillar of the nation; if they didn't follow suit, wouldn't they become useless and incompetent people?

If they couldn't perform well in this war against the exotic beast sea clans, they feared their positions as city lords would be in jeopardy!

"Young Lord! This Old Minister is also willing to make a military pledge!"

"This humble minister boldly requests to make a military pledge!"

"I have nothing more to say, just a military pledge! I have an irreconcilable hatred for the sea clans!"

"That's right, I will not rest until the sea clans are completely exterminated!"

"..."

The city lords all wore ferocious expressions, roaring through gritted teeth...

The smile on Long Yuan's face grew wider. He turned his head to Zhu Nan and said, "Steward Zhu, please record the military pledges of all the city lords!"

"Yes! Young Lord!" Zhu Nan replied hurriedly.

Long Yuan had originally intended to discuss war preparation precautions with the various city lords, but Prefect Duan Jian and Geng Yun had ended up starting a military pledge first, which actually gave him a pleasant surprise!

With the military pledges in hand, he could manipulate these people more easily, and he wouldn't have to worry about anyone daring to disobey his orders; after all, this had now become a matter that could cost them their heads.

He quickly issued more instructions to these city lords according to his plan, while also asking them to speed up the reporting of data so he could check for gaps and make improvements.

Then, he shifted his focus to the Zhoushan fishing grounds and said, "City lords, look over here. Where is this?"

"Zhoushan Delta!" everyone shouted in unison.

"Correct! Zhoushan is an important outlet to the sea for our Nanyue Base. There are four level-three base cities to the north and south. To the north is Shanyang City, and to the south is Shanyin City. There is a large open area between the two cities, so this place is very likely to become a Breakthrough point for the sea clans!" Long Yuan said.

Hearing this, the faces of Shanyang City Lord Ma Ming and Shanyin City Lord Lin Yan both darkened. Especially Lin Yan; she was the only female city lord present. Having already made a military pledge, she was already under immense psychological pressure, and now hearing that Shanyin City would become one of the Breakthrough points for the sea clans, her state of mind was about to collapse. With a mournful face, she asked, "Young Lord, Shanyin City won't become a key attack target for the sea clans, will it?"

Ma Ming also looked intently at Long Yuan, while the others looked at the two of them with a bit of schadenfreude...

Long Yuan pondered and said, "This is just my prediction. As for exactly where the sea clans will attack from—whether they will attack directly from the sea or move south along the northern coastline—both directions are possible!"

"What? Could the sea clans actually attack from land?" Everyone was stunned.

Long Yuan nodded and said, "Correct! Did you think the sea clans could only come from the sea?"

"Isn't that the case?" Lin Yan asked curiously.

"Under normal circumstances, they would come from the sea. But based on the information this time, the sea clans are colluding with Fusang, and their main targets are Shanhai Pass and Linhai City. We in Great Ming have already obtained this intelligence in advance, so we have strengthened our defenses. In the ensuing great battle, the sea clans might manage to break through those two cities in one fell swoop, or they might be blocked. If that happens, the endless stream of sea clans behind them might move south along the northern coastline. Therefore, we must be vigilant and deploy defenses in advance!" Long Yuan analyzed carefully while pointing at the map.

"So that's how it is!" Now all the city lords were no longer calm, because if the sea clans could move south, they could potentially conquer cities along the way and join forces with the sea clans emerging from the sea, forming a terrifying siege force!

Everyone's faces turned livid. Previously they had been gloating, but now they felt the same way as Ma Ming and Lin Yan did earlier, and they were even more worried about the fate of themselves and their cities!

Prefect Duan Jian said anxiously, "Young Lord, with the strength of our level-two and level-three bases, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to withstand the attacks of the sea clans from both directions, right?"

"Yes, Young Lord, many of our soldiers have never even seen the sea clans, let alone fought against them. It would be good if they weren't scared to death!"

"No one knows what kind of monsters will emerge from the sea. Just thinking about it is terrifying..."

"And what about the ones on land? By the way, if the sea clans join forces with the land exotic beasts, wouldn't there be an even more terrifying beast tide?" Ma Ming suddenly exclaimed.

"That's right!!!" Everyone suddenly realized upon hearing Ma Ming's words. They had almost forgotten about the exotic beasts on land. If these two forces were to combine, they didn't know what kind of scene would unfold...

Long Yuan listened to them argue for a while, then finally said, "Correct, this is a point we need to be especially wary of! But you don't need to worry too much!"

"Oh? I wonder what high opinion the Young Lord has?!" Prefect Duan Jian asked.

"The experts of the sea clans are mainly concentrated on the northern coast of Great Ming; that is their main battlefield. The ones that can reach our south should only be some of their branches. The strength of these sea clans cannot be too high. If we are well prepared, we don't need to fear them!" Long Yuan said.

"This... what if?" Lin Yan stammered.

"What if? I'm not ruling out that possibility, but you can rest assured. Experts at the level of Martial Commander and above will be handled by the convoy I send over. You only need to prepare to deal with the exotic beasts below the level of Martial Commander!" Long Yuan said.

"What?!!!" Everyone shuddered and exclaimed!

Prefect Duan Jian said with pleasant surprise, "Does the Young Lord mean that your convoy can deal with those Martial Commander exotic beasts?"

"Correct! No matter how many come, whether it's one, many, or even dozens, you don't need to worry. Moreover, I have an even bigger plan!"

"What plan?!" everyone asked in unison.