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"My lord, the troops have all assembled!" Tian Heng came up behind Chen Qing and reported with a calm face.

This time... the main battlefield in Southeast was the responsibility of the Western Sea Army; the War God Army almost had no chance to engage in the battle!

At any moment, the North might receive news of an attack on Jiangnan, and the Northern troops couldn’t withdraw. In fact, they needed to be ready to provide support at any time. Under these circumstances, it was impossible for Xuu Hu, the Transcendent general, to leave the North on a whim.

This was the Western Sea Army’s opportunity!!

On the surface, Tian Heng appeared calm, but inside, he was boiling with excitement...

Over the past few years, the Western Sea Army had developed better and better, especially since the Northern People had joined, the islands of the Western Sea Army were developed, and trade gradually flowed.

The reputation of the Western Sea Army had also been on the rise among the people, becoming, in Jiangnan, the second largest military force after the War God Army.

But the difference between the second and the first in terms of prestige was huge!

Jiangnan was completely saved and rebuilt by the War God Army.

Coupled with the various benefits Chen Qing provided to the War God Army at the start, the War God Army became a belief in the hearts of the people of Jiangnan.

Now, anyone with the identity of the War God Army was warmly received in the streets; their status was the pinnacle of martial status to this day.

Most women in Jiangnan took pride in marrying into the War God Army, and children with the will to enlist would consider the War God Army first, not the Western Sea Army.

This made recruiting new soldiers for the Western Sea Army extremely difficult!

It was also fortunate that he had the direct support of the Tian Family Army; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him, as the Western Sea God, to form an army.

This point could be seen from Weichi Feihong’s difficulty; without fame, a soldier of the War God was even more pitiful than a mascot.

It was also lucky that following the Dragon Palace incident, Ao Zhen and others joined, greatly boosting the force of belief and allowing him to at least raise the overall quality.

In terms of strength, the direct line troops of the Western Sea Army, especially thanks to Ao Zhen and others, were for a while even stronger than the War God Army.

But Tian Heng knew in his heart that this was only temporary.

The power of the "Divine Path" lied in belief. The War God Army was deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and as the quality of the people in Jiangnan continued to improve, it was only a matter of time before they caught up. As long as the majority still had more faith in the War God Army, Xuu Hu’s position would forever be the first in military stature in Jiangnan.

Over time, his Western Sea Army would only be relegated to second place.

This time was a good opportunity. Even though changing the faith of the people in Jiangnan might not be likely, Southeast County also had a sizable population!

Southeast County was mountainous, obviously future strategic grain reserves.

The population there will definitely increase significantly, so if they put on a good performance this time and make the people of Southeast County believe more in the Western Sea Army, then, with the faith of the people of West Sea Island, the Western Sea Army might have the opportunity to contend with the War God Army!

Chen Qing, seeing the fervor in Tian Heng’s eyes, smiled. It was a good thing that Tian Heng was motivated; at least he would certainly give his all in the upcoming battle.

Choosing Tian Heng was also about balancing power. In fact, it would be more suitable for the Western Sea Army under Tian Heng to defend the North Sea, as they were better at naval warfare and with the assistance of the Dragon Palace, they would be even more adept.

But Chen Qing knew that if such an arrangement was made, Tian Heng would surely be dissatisfied. If he alone was dissatisfied, it would be one thing, but the prospects of the Western Sea Army would be less promising, which was not a good sign.

The new military forces had to be developed quickly. Each force in the "Divine Path" had different abilities and was needed by the power base; one force dominating disproportionately was very unfriendly to the entire power structure.

Xuu Hu’s position in Jiangnan had already become deeply entrenched and it would not change in the short term. To improve the standing of other forces, they had to look for opportunities in new territories; this was also Tian Heng’s current idea.

The Duke of Wei had sent a billion Northern People, which slightly eased the embarrassment of the Western Sea Army.

After all, among the islands of the Western Sea, the Northern People had to rely on the Western Sea Army.

Therefore, any Northern People who migrated there believed more in the Western Sea Army.

But the numbers were not large; the islands of the Western Sea Army were vast and sparsely populated, with a great deal of land waiting to be cultivated.

Moreover, the billion Northern People mostly wanted a stable life, and very few were willing to enlist. Over the past half-year, more than five hundred million Northern People had migrated, but fewer than five hundred thousand were willing to join the military.

The overwhelming reasons for this were the islands being too dispersed and, geographically, needing more farmers and merchants to maintain operations.

Therefore, there were more people engaged in commerce and farming, but very few enlisted in the army.....

Now, Southeast County is different. There are many mountains here, and the geographical conditions are not suitable for the development of trade routes.

It can only serve as a granary and a logistic city.

This inherent nature of the city means that young people either choose to farm in their hometown or seek their fortunes elsewhere.

As the commercial atmosphere is not strong, the willingness to join the army is relatively strong, and this can better evoke their passion.

The spirit of enlisting in the army in Southeast County has always been strong since ancient times. If this battle can be fought beautifully, rescuing the people of Southeast from danger, coupled with the brand of Duke Qi, we could certainly build considerable prestige in the Southeast.

"What about Ao Zhen?" Chen Qing turned his head to look at the other party.

"He’s taking his men to scout the terrain around Baiyun City..." Tian Heng quickly responded.

Chen Qing nodded slightly. Tian Heng’s attitude towards Ao Zhen had improved a lot these days. He knew the reason: the previous friction with Dragon Palace was mainly due to the inequality in strength!

Ao Zhen and his men were too powerful, and the Western Sea Army was in a weaker position.

To reassure the core troops who were feeling insecure, Tian Heng had to unfairly allocate a large amount of faith to strengthen his own people.

This unfair attitude naturally caused dissatisfaction among Ao Zhen’s direct troops from Dragon Palace.

This knot was impossible to untie; it was based on an instinctive self-preservation mentality.

With Xu Hu above him trying to catch up, and Ao Zhen and his men below to be wary of, the fact that Tian Heng was able to maintain the current situation without falling apart already showed his leadership capabilities.

But once Southeast is conquered, the situation will be different.

The base in the Southeast is large enough to give Tian Heng the capital to catch up with Xu Hu.

Besides, once faith rises among the people, Tian Heng won’t have to favor his core kin completely.

With new sources of troops flowing in, for the growth of the Western Sea Army, fairness will naturally be required.

Since fairness will be extended to the new recruits, there’s no reason to continue suppressing the forces from Dragon Palace.

And with a sufficient base of faith, he wouldn’t need to worry about Dragon Palace being too strong, because as long as he has a large enough base, just like Xu Hu, catching up with the strength of Dragon Palace’s troops was only a matter of time, so there was no need for excessive anxiety.

This was why Chen Qing decided to let Tian Heng lead the attack on Southeast County.

Xu Hu was extremely loyal to him, doing whatever Chen Qing asked without any objections. Tian Heng, on the other hand, was a newcomer to the fold, and naturally needed some reassurance, some sweeteners, otherwise his hold on power would be unstable.

"Your Majesty..." At this moment, Tian Heng’s calling of ’Your Majesty’ was much smoother, clearly feeling grateful that Chen Qing had entrusted the Southeast campaign to him, an earnest concession.

After all, the things that Chen Qing had promised him back then had already been fulfilled—the Western Sea God, Western Sea City, the rivers of the Western Sea, and various authorities, none were missing.

If he did not develop and grow, it was his own fault.

But now, he was receiving aid for the Northern refugees on top of being given the opportunity to establish his prestige first in Southeast County.

All these solid benefits could prove that Chen Qing was truly sincere towards him.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I’ve roughly grasped the situation.

This time, six nations of the Southern Barbarians have crossed the border, with their forces in Southeast County amounting to over seven hundred thousand.

Around a hundred thousand men from the Southern Barbarian Army are in Baiyun City.

With the forces we have prepared, taking it won’t be difficult. "

"The Southern Barbarian Army excels in mountain warfare. Are you really confident?" Chen Qing looked at him.

He was not skilled in military affairs. Although some abilities from the divine path could be shared—attributes, martial strength, techniques, etc.

—others could not be, such as political and military capabilities.

These were soft strengths and unfortunately, these soft strengths were very important.

"Have no worries, Your Majesty!" Tian Heng assured him.

"I used to serve under Lumings and have fought many battles against these Southern Barbarian troops.

I am very familiar with their tactics. Even if they now have support from other powers and their overall quality has improved, their specific tactics will not change. I am confident in dealing with them!"

"Good!" Chen Qing nodded. "Since you are confident, you will be in full charge of this Southeast campaign. Ao Zhen and I will handle the hidden high-level combatants. Remember, once the campaign in the Southeast begins, the underworld will open, and our time... is limited!"