19: Chapter 19 Four-Nation Alliance

The leaders or kings of the other three kingdoms expressed their agreement one after another; these three passes, combined with the defensive technology of the Artisans, were the final bargaining chip to block the "Whip of the Xingyang God."

At present, the Four Kingdoms must huddle together for warmth and unite their efforts to preserve what remained of their territory.

Mo looked at the determined eyes of the three men, and a fighting spirit of never compromising ignited in his heart: "The Four Kingdoms will share the costs of materials for reinforcing the passes, and my country will provide the technical personnel. Additionally, each kingdom will conscript five thousand able-bodied laborers for an expected duration of six months. During this period, each kingdom will be responsible for the food and lodging of its own laborers."

The two men nodded repeatedly without hesitation.

Only the king of the Tree People showed a troubled expression: "Many of our citizens have been abducted, and many others did not manage to escape in time; I fear it will be difficult to gather five thousand able-bodied laborers at this moment."

Mo narrowed his eyes, his tone filled with mockery: "But as far as I know, many of your citizens ran to the Star Fire Nation in the north on their own! It is all because the taxes you collect are as high as seventy percent. Those Tree People who could not bear the exorbitant taxes had no choice but to flee to the Star Fire Nation and pay that fifty percent tax instead!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He slammed the wooden board he was using for the demonstration onto the sand table, shouting hoarsely: "The mountains and rivers are shattered, and the people are suffering! Yet you spend your days indulging in pleasure and debauchery in the palace! If the day comes when your kingdom is destroyed and your home is lost, how will you have the face to meet your ancestors!"

The king of the Tree People was so scolded that he dared not even breathe loudly. He could only lower his head and say with a shameful expression: "I know I was wrong. I will immediately begin to reduce palace expenditures upon my return, and the construction of the palace courtyards already underway will be halted immediately."

The monarchs of the other two kingdoms also chimed in: "We will also definitely practice frugality, strive for prosperity, and let the people rest and recover. We will not compete with the people for profit, nor will we indulge in luxury."

In reality, everyone was a leader of one of the four races, and their statuses were equivalent. Under normal circumstances, naturally, no one would speak so subserviently to the leader of the Artisans.

But at present, the Star Fire Nation had already occupied two-thirds of the territory of the Northern Continent, and Emperor Tang Fei had even vowed to annex the Four Kingdoms within his lifetime, spreading the faith of the Xingyang God and the sparks of fire across the entire continent.

Therefore, at this critical juncture of life and death, the other three kingdoms had no choice but to listen to the proposals and suggestions of the Alliance Leader on major issues.

After all, Mo was the most virtuous monarch since the founding of the Artisans' nation; he was hardworking and frugal, treated his subordinates with respect, and deeply understood the hardships of the common people. He had even once lowered the domestic tax rate to thirty percent, making him deeply loved by the people.

If it were not for the "Whip of the Xingyang God," no one would doubt that he would have surely led the Artisans to an unprecedented height.

But with the Star Fire Nation now at their doorstep, he could only knit his brows tightly and solemnly warn the leaders of the three kingdoms: "To prevent the phenomenon of citizens fleeing north from happening again, I urge you all to lower your domestic taxes. The fat of the people will only blind your hearts; even without the Star Fire Nation, and without the Xingyang God, you will eventually perish sooner or later!"

Soon, under the strategic planning of Alliance Leader Mo, this temporarily assembled, massive political entity actually began to operate in an orderly manner.

Countless defensive fortifications such as anti-Cavalry obstacles, caltrops, trenches, traps, arrow towers, and fortresses were set up, relying on the two great natural barriers of the An Shen River and the Sulian Mountains, arranged in layer upon layer to be airtight.

The generals at the three passes would inspect the positions daily with the technical personnel of the Artisans, discussing areas that needed improvement and checking for leaks or deficiencies.

Stationed at the passes were not only the Four Kingdoms Allied Forces, who drilled daily, but also nearly ten thousand laborers who were constantly building and reinforcing various fortifications.

This impregnable wall of bronze and iron finally dealt the first true, heavy blow to the five major legions of the Star Fire Nation, which had been advancing like a hot knife through butter.

The first natural defensive line, the An Shen River, stumped them. The snow wolves they rode were naturally afraid of water; once they touched the water, they became manic and restless, pacing back and forth without advancing.

The imperial Cavalry that had swept across the continent had no choice but to abandon their war wolves and swim across the river.

Doing so only made them live targets for the arrow towers on the opposite bank, and for a time, arrows and stones, denser than raindrops, rained down upon them.

But for the sake of spreading the blessings of the Xingyang God, and for the sake of their faith in the god within their hearts, even if the river water turned into blood, and even if the corpses of their comrades blocked the river, there were still many who, shielding themselves with shields or even holding up the corpses of their comrades, finally stepped onto the land on the other side of the river.

However, even after crossing the river, what awaited them were even more brutal infantry phalanxes.

Without their war wolves, the Cavalry were simply lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of these well-trained infantry.

The Cavalry of the Star Fire Nation finally experienced the pain of being at the mercy of others and being unable to turn the tide in the face of a massive disparity in military power.

After leaving behind a large number of corpses, the exhausted and heavily wounded five major legions could only gradually retreat.

The border line remained stabilized along the An Shen River.

The people of the Four Kingdoms finally gained a rare moment of respite.

This ceasefire lasted for over a decade of peaceful times.

For the people at the bottom, without the flames of war, without natural or man-made disasters, and with the whole family not needing to go hungry or cold, it was a beautiful life with no other desires.

On the border of the Tree People's kingdom south of the An Shen River.

Beside a vast stretch of farmland, several Farmers who had just finished their work were sitting on the edge of the field chatting.

One of the young men asked curiously: "I heard that our monarch is training troops and is about to launch a northern expedition to recover our lost territory."

The thin old man looked around, and after discovering there were no outsiders, immediately threw out a look of utter disdain: "Listen to them brag; what are they going to use to launch a northern expedition?"

As he spoke, he gestured exaggeratedly: "You youngsters haven't seen it; back then, I truly and genuinely saw the Cavalry of the Star Fire Nation. Just as you see their war wolves and blades, the next step is your head flying off while your body lies on the ground."

A middle-aged man nodded repeatedly in agreement: "That's for sure; I crawled out from a pile of dead bodies. That bunch of Cavalry, their blades are faster than the wind. Just think about it, can a horse compare to a wolf? And they want a northern expedition?"

The young man clicked his tongue, his face full of fear: "So it was that terrifying? I was even thinking that if there really was a northern expedition, I would have a chance to join the army, recover our lost territory, and make a name for myself!"

The old man mocked: "Forget about it; if they had that ability, would they need Four Kingdoms to unite to defend against one? If you ask me, the way it is now, being able to defend is already not bad."

He suddenly lowered his voice: "Besides, this Xingyang God, I don't think it's such a bad thing."

The middle-aged man quickly pressed his arm, looking around in fear: "Old man, you can't just say things like that. How can you say this Evil God is good?"

The old man rolled his eyes at him: "Before this Xingyang God, our monarch collected seventy percent in taxes, and my whole family went hungry every day. Now it's fifty percent, just like in the north, and we've finally managed to get half-full; isn't that good?"

The young man nodded: "Let's just keep those words to ourselves. Right now, the scholars in our country are making up bad things about the Evil God every day; if you don't believe me, go to the city and see. There are notices posted everywhere."