Today, what borders Nanzhao is the previously barren woodland, which is three hundred miles deep, and beyond the woodland is another country, Zhenla.

There are still many other countries, but most of them are small. Chenla is a big country with a large territory and quite strong national power. In the past, it was a powerful enemy of Pyu.

However, the Piao Kingdom was destroyed by Nanzhao and divided into two counties. Now even Zhenla is inevitable.

Zhenla was also a wise man and sent an envoy to seek annexation and become a vassal state of Nanzhao.

On the other hand, Chenla also sought to join forces with nearby small countries to resist Nanzhao's southward march.

In addition, Yue Buqun also learned that there are two families in Zhenla, one is Lu Zhenla and the other is Shui Zhenla.

Among them, Lu Zhenla borders Nanzhao, but Shui Zhenla cannot escape Nanzhao's southern expedition.

Today, Annan has de facto submitted to Nanzhao, which means it still belongs to the Tang Dynasty in name.

Therefore, Nanzhao has built three ports and three docks in Annan, and built 13 steam warships in three years.

Among these thirteen steam warships, there are two millions of jun (thirty million jin), four hundred thousand jun, and seven ten thousand jun.

Large ships like these are simply behemoths of the deep sea in this era.

With such a big ship, there is no place in the entire sea area that is not accessible.

In particular, these battleships use steam engines as their power centers and are equipped with many runic magic weapons. Once they are dispatched, even the large monsters in the deep sea will have to flee, or they will end up dead.

Therefore, Nanzhao is now completely invincible along this coastal waterway.

Of course, although Nanzhao is invincible, it does not show off. After all, its momentum is still accumulating, and it will take time to fully accumulate the momentum.

Yue Buqun also ordered his ministers not to be arrogant and complacent.

At present, Yue Buqun has ordered Gongcao to start designing a steel fortress suitable for the further south.

The idea of ​​a steel fortress was conceived many years ago, but it has never been realized.

There are three reasons for this. First, there is insufficient steel in Nanzhao. Second, the steam engine is too large. Third, it is not practical in Nanzhao, the southern land.

The main reason is that the steam engine generation is too large.

Due to the huge size of the steam engine, the size of the steel fortress also increased. The huge size brought heavier weight, which in turn led to a greater demand for steel and other materials.

Moreover, the soil in southern Xinjiang is soft, making it difficult for war weapons such as steel fortresses, which weigh more than 100,000 jun, to move.

Finally I had to give up the idea and store it away.

Why are we starting to build it again now? Because the second generation steam engine was finally built after successful material research.

The second-generation steam engine is smaller in size and lighter in weight, and has a higher conversion efficiency of vitality. It is very suitable for lightweighting steel fortresses.

In short, after possessing the second generation steam engine, everything in Nanzhao Kingdom will undergo drastic changes.

Due to the successful development of the second-generation steam engine, the first-generation steam engine has now begun to be promoted to the public. People can also rent first-generation steam engines through workers and then use them in production and life.

In particular, runes can be made through a steam engine.

Originally, this rune was exclusive to practitioners of the Moon Worship Cult and required talent. Ordinary people without talent would not be able to use it.

But now, with the advent of a generation of steam engines, ordinary people can also borrow the vitality of heaven and earth and turn it into runes.

With the help of runes, you can start practicing runes.

Of course, this is only a good thing for a small number of people.

But Yue Buqun will next promote the runes to all people in Nanzhao.

At that time, runes will become a common method for all people in Nanzhao.

In this way, Nanzhao's national power can be greatly enhanced, and the entire land can be occupied by then. The method of runes can also be quickly implemented so that all races can use runes.

Once this rune method is universally accepted in this world, Yue Buqun can also spread this method in the world of mountains and seas.

Yue Buqun's idea is so straightforward and clear.

…

The spring equinox is a good time for an outing.

Therefore, 200,000 people with lofty ideals went out for an outing in Nanzhao.

It's just that this time you go out, you have to travel three hundred miles of territory and travel through centuries-old forests.

The life of Nanzhao people is so simple and unpretentious.

Mobilizing 200,000 troops, supplemented by 100,000 grain and grass troops, this was Nanzhao's southern expedition.

This battle will capture the entire southern Xinjiang in one fell swoop, reaching the southernmost tip of the continent.

The three hundred miles of old forest were soon shoveled out into wide new roads, and brand new railway tracks were also laid into the old forest. Then, long and ferocious iron steam cars drove into this place crazily and quickly.

In a woodland.

These 200,000 soldiers are fully equipped. They are equipped with the latest weapons and equipment, from rune crossbows, to rune armors, and rune weapons. Even the most basic soldiers are equipped with such a complete set of weapons.

.

This is Nanzhao's sufficient preparations in the past three years.

In addition, each team of 100 people is also equipped with a Lunatic Cult mage. The mage will replenish their lost runes and repair any damage they may have suffered.

In addition, the Moon Worshiping Masters will also be responsible for communicating with large armies. They master the communication talisman array, which can greatly improve the command of Nanzhao generals' troops and horses.

The main reason why mages are required to master the communication talisman array is that this area is really wild. Even the vitality of heaven and earth is full of chaos and disorder. It is impossible to build the simultaneous transmission base array required for the communication talisman array. Therefore, it has to be done by

A mage from the Moon Worship Sect came to temporarily serve as the base interpreter.

This war will also test the combat capabilities of Nanzhao's Rune New Era troops, especially in such a harsh environment. It will also test the capabilities of this army.

In order to mobilize these 200,000 soldiers and horses, Nanzhao had already consumed 30% of the national grain reserves accumulated in the past ten years.

In addition, many soldiers and horses were displayed on the borders with Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

By the way, during this southern expedition, Yue Buqun recruited Shi Gonghu, made him the commander of this army, and granted him the title of general.

This is a kind of trust, but also a test.

Test whether Shi Gonghu really surrenders to him.

If Shi Gonghu makes any move, Yue Buqun can remove him from the post of general at any time, and can easily kill him.

After all, in Yue Buqun's eyes, even if Shi Gonghu mobilized all 200,000 troops to attack him, it would be nothing more than... a small trouble.

Yue Buqun's vision is just a little longer-term. He hopes that such an army will rise until it can open up to the vast void of the universe in the future.

Moreover, he hoped to see that one day, this army would march out and, amid the flying of thousands of iron birds, fire a rune cannon and penetrate the gate of the God Realm with one shot.

The human race entered the divine world and fought against the superior gods.

The reason why Yue Buqun had this thought was because he now knew more and more about the ancient history of the human race, and the more he understood that there was a lot of hatred between the human race and the divine race.

The gods once tried to wipe out the human race on the earth. Fortunately, the great goddess Nuwa protected the human race and saved them from disaster.

Moreover, Yue Buqun had a feeling that his body might have been influenced by the gods.

The gods tried to use the so-called "fate" to make him the culprit of destroying the earth.

So don’t look at the gods as being superior. They seem to have noble character and are worshiped and worshiped by the world. However, they also hate the human race and have been trying to cleanse the stains in the world.

After putting aside his complicated emotions, Yue Buqun looked through the latest battle reports from the front line.

Chenla tried to negotiate and became a vassal state of Nanzhao, retaining the rights and interests of the Chenla royal family and nobles.

But Yue Buqun refused.

Moreover, Nanzhao's army now has not only a land force, but also a navy.

The navy has also approached Chenla and is preparing to bombard various towns along the coast of Chenla.

Destroy all the effective forces of Chenla's army.

After the bombardment, the navy will land on the narrow coast of Chenla, echo the land army, and invade the capital of Chenla.

Regarding the situation of the Chenla army, Nanzhao has already investigated. Most of the standing troops are in the hands of tribal lords. The Chenla royal family only has a small army of 8,000 people who are half hunters and half farmers. In addition, the Chenla royal family also has a small army of 8,000 people.

The wizard army, with a total of thirty people, is dedicated to the Chenla royal family to manage the people's beliefs and worship the evil spirit ancestors believed in by the Chenla royal family.

The total number of soldiers from various tribes in Chenla can reach one hundred thousand.

The reason why there are so many is mainly because all the tribes in Chenla are basically soldiers, and all the people hunt in the forest, so their physical fitness is quite good, and they also master some small means similar to magic.

In addition, they also have totem warriors, but there are not many such warriors. Generally, it is great to have one in a tribe. As for the strength of the totem warrior, it is equivalent to a Lunatic Cult mage, who can use witchcraft and also

Can summon evil spirits and demons to possess them.

But in the eyes of Nanzhao's army, these are just chickens and dogs. After all, they have seen and fought with such armies in the Queen's Kingdom and Piao Kingdom, and at that time they had not organized such a large army and did not have such powerful armaments.

.

The reason why such a large army was used was because the land of Zhenla was much larger than that of the Queen Kingdom and the Pyu Kingdom, and sweeping a forest area required a lot of manpower, so an army of 200,000 was organized.

This is to capture the entire territory of Chenla in one fell swoop without any subsequent "intensive farming."

To avoid being dragged into the quagmire.

Although the Moon Worship Sect has been cultivating this place for many years, the barbarians here are still ignorant. No matter how earnestly the Moon Worship Sect members try to persuade them, and even destroy the evil gods they worship, they still go their own way, offering blood sacrifices to evil gods and demons to resurrect the dead evil gods.
To be continued...