knife

Chapter 520 Reinforcements
The so-called master bridge builder was naturally not from the Giant Wood Flag.

Instead, they came all the way from Tai'an City outside the Great Wall. Over the years, they have accumulated rich experience in building roads and bridges outside the Great Wall. Moreover, because of the existence of an oddball like Li Dachui, their technical level can be said to be several levels ahead of this era.

It was indeed necessary to build a bridge in Xiangcheng to connect Xiangcheng and Fancheng in order to better defend against the Chu state's attacks, but more importantly, Li Dachui wanted to further infiltrate Xiangcheng and Fancheng.

As such a large-scale project unfolds, the manpower and financial resources required will increase, making it easier to infiltrate and compromise. Moreover, this project can enhance the influence of Ke Wuji and others within He Zudao's group, thereby reducing He Zudao's suspicion of them.

Li Dachui hoped that He Zudao could remain relatively strong for a long time, at least remaining undefeated against Linghu Ye or the State of Chu. This would be more beneficial to his future process of unifying the world after entering Guanzhong.

Therefore, it is now necessary to make the necessary investment in He Zudao.

Sending talent, funds, and technology to Xiangfan and other cities, and even having Ke Wuji and others contribute their strength to help Feng Kuan attack Yong'an County, all had this purpose.

Ke Wuji and Feng Kuan reined in their horses and stopped by the roadside.

They came to welcome the army that came from Ning County.

A total of five thousand people, who brought their own food and weapons.

Now, if anyone says that Ke Wuji has ulterior motives towards He Zudao, Feng Kuan will be the first to disagree.

Although Ke Wuji always boasted that he could raise 20,000 elite troops at any time, and that he could organize an army of 50,000 with full mobilization, that was only in the local area of ​​Xingning and Ningning counties.

If you can actually pull an army out to fight, having 10,000 men is already considered quite impressive.

This time, Ke Wuji mobilized five thousand men, which is half the strength of his core subordinates.

It should be noted that Ke Wuji also had to guard against attacks from Linghu Ye's group in the north.

“If you make this move, Li Guohua from Luoyang will probably come running like a cat that has smelled blood!” Feng Kuan said.

"Don't worry! We're prepared!" Ke Wuji laughed. "Brother Feng, ever since we took Xingxian, we've been preparing to face an invasion from the north. Xingxian's strategic location is very important, and Li Guohua will definitely see us as a thorn in his side. So, Xingxian has been preparing for a major and fierce battle. Hehe, we've stockpiled a million arrows alone."

"So many?" Feng Kuan looked on with envy.

"It's not that we're belittling ourselves by fighting in the field, but we definitely can't beat them, so everything we do is for defense!" Ke Wuji laughed. "When Brother Feng goes to Xing County to see the city defenses we've built, he'll truly understand what it means to be as solid as a rock and as stable as Mount Tai."

Feng Kuan shook his head: "There is no city in the world that cannot be conquered. Back then, we also thought Xiangcheng was invincible, but what happened to it?"

"If there are no troops to come to our aid from outside, then there are no cities to defend from within!" Ke Wuji said, "But if Li Guohua really attacks us, can Yang Lixin just stand by and do nothing? As soon as he makes a move, the pressure on our side will be greatly reduced. Moreover, our strength on both sides of the canal is not bad."

"Yes, you also have the Canal Gang!"

"That's why I was able to come here with peace of mind this time. He Yiming is in charge of the overall situation in Xing County and Ning County," Ke Wuji said. "Besides, the officers that Zhang Quanyi sold to me back then were quite good."

"Are you really sure you trust them?"

"Treat others as you would like to be treated!" Ke Wuji laughed. "These people have nowhere else to go, and we treat them with utmost sincerity, so of course they've followed us. Our army's combat effectiveness has increased rapidly in the past two years, all thanks to these people who trained us hand in hand. You'll see it soon enough." As he spoke, scouts were already galloping back in the distance, and further away, billowing dust rose into the sky, indicating the approach of a large army.

"They're here!" Ke Wuji said with a smile.

Although they were allies, Feng Kuan could not allow them to enter Xiangcheng or Fancheng; they could only camp outside the city.

However, to express his gratitude for the support from Ke Wuji's troops, Feng Kuan sent people to build the camp in advance, which was located less than a mile away from where the two were standing at this moment.

A moment later, what first caught their eyes were the cavalry.

Compared to the forces in the north, such as the Beiting Protectorate or Linghu Ye's troops, cavalry was the main force in combat, with thousands or even tens of thousands of cavalrymen under their command. In the eight southern towns, due to the crisscrossing waterways and countless rivers that fragmented the vast land, large-scale cavalry operations were greatly affected. Moreover, compared to the north, the south was relatively wealthy and had a large population, so there were many cities and towns in various places. These cities and towns also had a significant impact on cavalry operations.

In the south, infantry was clearly more effective than cavalry.

However, small-scale cavalry raids can sometimes have a decisive impact on a war.

Therefore, in the South, those who could become cavalrymen were all brave and valiant soldiers, and were basically all core forces personally commanded by a general.

The man who led 5,000 troops to support Feng Kuan's battle was also a very famous figure in the south.

His name is Zhan Zhao, the leader of the Thick Earth Banner of the Demonic Sect.

After being captured by Lin Hong, he almost lost his life, but fortunately, after being rescued, he was treated by Li Dachui.

After taking a pill jointly refined by Fu Qingzhu and Daoist Yiming, and with Li Dachui's Qiankun Yiqi helping him heal his internal injuries, he recovered to about 70-80% in a few months. What surprised him even more was that after this ordeal, his cultivation, which was stuck at the peak of the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, actually showed signs of a breakthrough.

This, of course, stemmed from the elixir that Li Dachui possessed.

Li Dachui had six of the same medicines. He gave one to Zhan Zhao, and the other five were later given to the old master of the Five Tigers of Danyang. Although this medicine wasn't as miraculous as the Rejuvenating Pill, it was still a rare and precious medicine in the world.

From this point on, Zhan Zhao became completely devoted to Li Dachui.

He was even more convinced of this after hearing Su Qi say that Li Dachui had actually planned a major battle in Yong'an County in order to save him, and ultimately killed Lin Hong.

Of course, that's not the case. For Li Dachui, saving Zhan Zhao was just a side effect. But since he thought that way, Li Dachui certainly wouldn't say it out loud. It's a good thing that such a person is so grateful to him, isn't it?
Upon seeing Feng Kuan and Ke Wuji in the distance, Zhan Zhao spurred his horse and sped up to approach.

Upon seeing Zhan Zhao and the three hundred riders behind him, Feng Kuan narrowed his eyes.

The Demonic Sect is indeed a great sect with hundreds of years of history. It is full of talented people. Look at these hundreds of cavalrymen. Every one of them is a skilled warrior. They are much stronger than the cavalry under my command.

"Zhan Zhao greets Elder Ke and General Feng!" Zhan Zhao dismounted, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed.

Feng Kuan leaped off his horse, laughing heartily as he went to greet him, "Commander Zhan, I've long admired your name, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

(End of this chapter)