Loan Wusheng

Chapter 227 Three Hundred Outer-Rank Cavalry Charge into the Zhao Army!
"Report! Prime Minister, General Guo Yi has persuaded Xiao Long County to surrender, and Commander Xu has also captured Weichuan County. Our army is advancing on Haodu!"

"Report! Prime Minister, General Shan's troops have broken through the blockade and are urgently joining our army to attack Haodu!"

"Report! Our troops encountered a small group of enemy scouts and have been completely routed!"

"..."

As the carriage swayed gently, Zheng Jun slowly opened his eyes. The sound of messengers' hooves grew louder as they approached, and urgent military reports came one after another. The several Qi-opening demon pills in his hand had lost all their spiritual energy, their dull surfaces indicating that the immense spiritual power they contained had been completely drained.

More than twenty days have passed since Zheng Jun ambushed the Prince of Jin.

In the past twenty days, Zheng Jun has been on a campaign, and with Xiaolong County surrendering and Weichuan County falling, he is now very close to Haodu. He only needs to march there.

Zheng Jun is now a master of the Yuan Dan Martial Saint realm, one of only thirty-nine Yuan Dan Martial Saints in the Central Plains. Naturally, he no longer needs to use any method of swallowing to absorb the spiritual energy in the demon core.

Now, all you need to do is hold the demon core and slowly absorb it.

It's just like the spiritual stone that Zheng Jun only saw in vernacular novels.

The advantage of doing this is that it avoids the need to completely refine the demon core, thus avoiding the consequence of not being able to move freely for a short period after consuming the demon core, otherwise being devoured by demonic power.

However, demon cores at the Yuan Dan realm cannot be refined in this way. The reason why Tong Qiao demon cores can be refined in this way is because Zheng Jun's strength surpasses the demonic power within the Tong Qiao demon core, so he can act recklessly.

However, the demonic power of the Yuan Dan realm is too strong. If Zheng Jun were to cultivate in this way, he might accidentally ruin the atmosphere.

"After dealing with the Prince of Jin, I can return to the capital in peace and go into seclusion to refine those four demon cores at the Yuan Dan realm as soon as possible."

Zheng Jun let out a breath. After listening to the final military order report, he reached out and manipulated his true energy to slowly lift the curtain, looking at the majestic city of Haodu that appeared in his sight not far away.

The city of Haodu stands majestically like a mountain, with its walls over a hundred feet high, like an iron wall stretching across the heavens and the earth. Arrow towers stand atop the city walls, and the moat is over ten feet wide, its bottom covered with poisoned iron caltrops. The water floating on the surface is not ordinary river water, but a viscous, mercury-like 'Mysterious Yin Heavy Water'.

Legend has it that this water comes from the deep sea of ​​the Northern Ocean, and a single drop weighs a thousand pounds; any ordinary ship that touches it will sink.

Of course, this is nothing.

This is a normal operation in a large city.

The same applies to Shenjing and Lanzhou.

What Zheng Jun found most interesting was the 'Eight Desolations Dragon Locking Formation' that covered the entire city.

This formation was a family treasure bestowed upon the Liang clan's ancestor by the Divine Martial Emperor. At this moment, the nine golden dragon pillars at the formation's core are emitting clouds and mist, and the phantom of chains wrapped around the pillars reaches the sky. Clearly, it was set up by the Liang clan's ancestor.

As for how Zheng Jun knew this news, it was naturally because of what the surrendered general Liang Xun said.

Of course, this is no secret.

This means that the city of Haodu is now protected by two layers of powerful formations, making it indeed difficult to breach.

"Something interesting."

Zheng Jun let out a breath.

The capture of Lanzhou was due to Fang Ji's own foolishness; he brought it upon himself.

The capture of Shenjing was achieved through a coordinated attack from within and without Zhou Tong, resulting in a surrender without a fight.

Zheng Jun did not launch a fierce attack on the two richest and most important cities under his command; he captured them effortlessly.

Now, the city of Haodu seems to be the target of their attack.

In his previous life, Li Zicheng recruited surrenders along the way until he encountered a tough opponent at the gates of Kaifeng, where he was shot in the eye and blinded.

Zheng Jun was not Li Zicheng; he believed that his soldiers were capable of withstanding the test of hard battles.

"Prime Minister."

Just then, not far from the imperial carriage, Xu Shimao, clad in armor, approached and knelt respectfully from ten paces away, saying, "This humble general has something to report."

Upon seeing this, Zheng Jun immediately smiled and said, "Military and national affairs are of paramount importance. Shimao, please come forward and speak."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shimao immediately stood up and stepped forward to Zheng Jun, bowing to him and saying, "This humble general reports to the Prime Minister that the defenses of Haodu City are impregnable, and the Eight Desolations Dragon Locking Formation is extremely dangerous. If we forcibly attack the city, we fear that we will have to lose more than 100,000 elite troops to break through it."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun immediately nodded, fully agreeing with Xu Shimao's judgment, and then asked, "Shimao, what do you think is the best way to break through the city?"

"This humble general observes that the grain reserves in Guanzhong were already meager, and the King of Qin squandered them again. Now, their grain supplies are running low. Since our army has already cut off their supply lines, why not surround them instead of attacking?"

Xu Shimao cupped his hands and said, "Moreover, the 'Eight Desolations Dragon Locking Formation' requires a thousand catties of black iron powder to maintain every day. Now that the stock is almost depleted, it will take at least three months, and no more than a year. At that time, the city will be out of food and reinforcements, and the formation will collapse. We will surely be able to win without a fight."

Throughout history, the methods of besieging cities have been nothing more than four: forceful attack, inducement to surrender, taking advantage of natural disasters, and siege.

Many famous generals are called famous because they exploit information asymmetry.

The methods are actually quite similar and there is no difference.

In Xu Shimao's view now, this is a golden opportunity.

The King of Qin sent a batch of supplies, but the Guanzhong region is not currently rich in resources.

Although Guanzhong has always been known as the "granary," during the last century of Emperor Shenwu's reign, the grain distributed to the region was all government rations.

The official grain was the grain from Guanzhong.

Under these circumstances, the grain supply in Guanzhong remained in a delicate balance.

After all, the Guanzhong region was too easy for a separatist regime to emerge. Before his death, Emperor Shenwu was constantly plotting and naturally wanted to guard against the emergence of a second version of himself in this area.

With the passing of Emperor Shenwu, all the resources here were requisitioned by the King of Qin. Therefore, at this moment, the resources in Haodu City are not so abundant.

This is the perfect moment to launch a siege offensive!
Moreover, although the 'Eight Desolate Dragon Locking Formation' is powerful, it consumes too much energy. The amount of ironware in the city is definitely greatly depleted, in addition to the city's own protective formation.

Xu Shimao didn't think the pickaxe could last long.

"good."

Zheng Jun nodded, affirming Xu Shimao's tactics, and then said, "If that's the case, why did the Prince of Jin walk right into our trap and enter this city of Haodu, only to be caught like a turtle in a jar?"

The King of Jin didn't seem like a fool like the King of Qin. Putting himself in his shoes, Zheng Jun realized that if it were him, he definitely wouldn't stay in Haodu, but would choose some counties in northern Guanzhong as a temporary residence.

Although Gaodu is nice, it's too close to Shenjing.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, Xu Shimao's eyes flashed, and he immediately said, "Prime Minister, do you mean... the Jin rebels have accomplices?"

"In my opinion, it seems that Li Shen is trying to create a situation where the whole thing blossoms from the center."

Zheng Jun laughed and said, "Use yourself as bait, hold firm in Haodu, lure all our troops to approach me, and then cooperate with neighboring troops to launch a counter-encirclement against us. When the time is right, we can annihilate our army."

Zhang Lingfu used this tactic before, but the consequences are obvious to all.

Zheng Jun wanted to see which ally Li Shen had found that had such audacity.

"Among those nearby who could come to the aid of the Jin rebels, only the Zhao family of Longzhou, the King of Chu of Chuzhou, and the King of Zhao of Suzhou... It is also possible that the Western Di would come to their aid."

Xu Shimao immediately began to analyze: "Zhang Bengong is also a possibility, but his strength is insufficient, and Zhang Bengong has finally conquered a territory in Yizhou, so he may not necessarily get involved."

"The King of Chu has shown goodwill towards our army, and a few days ago he even sent someone to deliver 10 precious pearls. However, we cannot be sure that he has no ulterior motives. In this era of great strife, it is not uncommon for diplomatic relations to be torn apart in an instant... The King of Zhao was injured by the Western Di people some time ago, but the Yuan Dan Martial Saint's recovery ability is extremely abnormal. It has been more than a year, and he has probably recovered to about 70 or 80 percent."

"It's also highly likely that it's Old Ancestor Zhao from Longzhou. After all, the Prince of Jin came from the west, and it's possible that he made some kind of deal with this old ancestor on the way... However, when the Prime Minister ambushed the Prince of Jin in Jincheng County, Old Ancestor Zhao did not make a move, so it seems unlikely that he was an outsider."

Listening to Xu Shimao's analysis, Zheng Jun waved his hand and immediately said, "No matter where they come from, arrange a small army to guard all directions, and send out more spies and scouts to ensure that if the enemy attacks, our army can obtain intelligence at the first moment."

After saying that, Zheng Jun laughed again: "Perhaps, all we are doing is in vain. Perhaps the Prince of Jin has lost his mind and fled to Haodu to wait for death, without any outside help."

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, Xu Shimao smiled.

Seeing this, Zheng Jun waved his hand and said, "Alright, Shimao, you should rest as soon as possible. The siege of Gaodu is a protracted war that cannot tolerate any losses... I'll have to trouble you during this time, Shimao."

"Serving the Prime Minister is not a trouble at all."

Xu Shimao cupped his hands in agreement and then took his leave, saying, "This humble general takes his leave."

Zheng Jun nodded slightly. After Xu Shimao left, Zheng Jun closed his eyes again, and several more Qi-opening demon pills appeared in his hand.

This time, Zheng Jun didn't hesitate at all and swallowed it all, chewing it to pieces.

The Great Zhou Treasury, with its nearly thousand-year accumulation, contained about a hundred Qi-Opening Demon Pills. This was undoubtedly a great treasure for Zheng Jun. Zheng Jun himself was like a little mouse that had fallen into an oil vat, only able to drink until his mouth was full of oil.

In this way, Zheng Jun also wanted to repay the debt of "Qi Tun Shan He" as soon as possible.

The repayment condition for 'swallowing mountains and rivers' is to devour a sufficient number of Tongqiao Realm demon cores.

Since it's all beneficial, Zheng Jun will naturally complete the 'Overwhelming Power' skill while cultivating, so as not to occupy his own slot.

Upon realizing this, Zheng Jun quickly closed his eyes and began his cultivation.

After taking the medicine, Zheng Jun sat cross-legged in the carriage, and suddenly, blue and gold true essence surged out of his body like a tide, instantly forming a visible vortex of spiritual energy within a radius of ten feet.

The Qi-opening demon pills he chewed exploded with immense spiritual power in his stomach, but were suppressed by the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' and transformed into a cyan-gold jade dragon that circled around him, illuminating the entire carriage as if it were daytime.

Between heaven and earth, a faint dragon's roar could be heard, emanating from the carriage.

"This is.?!"

The closest guard suddenly widened his eyes, and the spear in his hand moved on its own without wind, with a tangible aura condensing at the tip.

Meanwhile, the soldiers patrolling further away stopped in their tracks. Some of them subconsciously activated their internal energy techniques and were surprised to find that their meridians, which were usually sluggish, were now completely unobstructed.

"boom!"

A shockwave suddenly erupted from the chariot, causing the azure-gold imperial dragon to surge to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters). The dozen or so guards closest to the chariot were caught off guard and were thrown back several steps by the shockwave, but they were surprised to feel strands of pure true energy seeping into their limbs and bones through their pores.

An old soldier who had been stuck in the Blood Refining Realm for many years suddenly turned red in the face, and his bones cracked like popping beans. The bottleneck that had stagnated for fifteen years loosened at this moment, and true qi was being built up in his body, stepping into the Qi Accumulation Realm!

"What's going on? Has a rare and extraordinary treasure appeared?"

"Old Liu, have you lost your mind! This is a military camp, how could there be any rare and precious treasures appearing here?"

"The source is the Prime Minister's expulsion of the emperor. Such a powerful method must be due to the Prime Minister taking some powerful elixir, which has released his spiritual energy! In the past, when the Prime Minister was in seclusion in his cultivation room, his spiritual energy could not escape. Now that he is in the military camp, his spiritual energy has naturally overflowed! Tell everyone not to absorb it, so as not to delay the Prime Minister's cultivation!"

"..."

The soldiers were buzzing with discussion. They had been desperately absorbing the overflowing spiritual energy, but upon hearing that they might have taken advantage of the Prime Minister, they all stopped practicing their techniques and lowered their heads in shame.

Wei Quan, Dugu Yuan, Zhou Tong and other generals also noticed the fluctuations in spiritual energy around Zheng Jun's carriage, and were astonished.

They never expected that the Prime Minister would so openly consume a spiritual item with such strong spiritual energy fluctuations on such a dangerous battlefield.

It's really... a waste of resources.

Zhou Tong acted decisively, immediately saying, "General Wei, quickly clear the area where the Prime Minister is staying, so as not to disturb the Prime Minister's cultivation!"

Upon hearing Zhou Tong's words, Wei Quan agreed and was just about to take action when he suddenly heard Zheng Jun's voice coming from the carriage, echoing around: "Soldiers of all units may take turns cultivating on my left and right sides in the next few days, using the true essence that overflows from my cultivation to help you improve your cultivation."

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's voice, the military camp instantly erupted in excitement, and Zhou Tong was also extremely surprised.

This……

Spiritual practice is the most important thing in this world.

For a great cultivator, having someone compete with him for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is undoubtedly an extremely offensive thing, but the prime minister doesn't care about this at all, and instead wants to share the spiritual energy with the soldiers.

This is really...

Such a wise and virtuous ruler is rare in the past five thousand years!

Who knows, this prime minister who came from a county town might actually be able to unify the country and become a new founding emperor?

The autumn night on the Wei River Plain was suddenly illuminated by countless torches. Under the command of Wei Quan and Dugu Yuan, the soldiers took turns practicing, divided into several groups. Thousands of soldiers surged toward the carriage like a tide, and spontaneously formed a circular formation thirty feet away. They were quiet and dared not disturb Zheng Jun's habits.

Some people trembled violently as soon as they sat down cross-legged, with wisps of white steam rising from their heads; others even broke through to a minor realm, causing their fellow disciples around them to gasp in surprise.

"This is no kind of cultivation..."

Wei Quan stood with his hand on his sword on the east side of the carriage. This fierce general, who had just reached the Outer Gang realm, was shocked. He saw a new recruit who had just refined his blood, and black impurities were seeping from his seven orifices. It was clear that he had undergone some kind of marrow cleansing through the Yi Jing.

The Prime Minister actually used such precious items to consider the training of ordinary soldiers.

He is truly a wise and virtuous ruler.

Wei Quan was filled with emotion, and his anticipation for a long life grew even stronger.

Inside the carriage, Zheng Jun's lips curled into a slight smile.

Zheng Ke didn't have time to absorb the residual spiritual energy of the Tongqiao Demon Core.

The spiritual energy outside is basically just the leftovers that Zheng Jun absorbed, like scraps and leftovers.

Of course, most practitioners try to save as much as possible. Even if it's just leftovers, they will finish every last drop.

But for Zheng Jun, it was too much of a waste of time to be stingy with these leftovers; he might as well hurry up and start the next big meal.

As for the leftover scraps and spiritual dregs, they are rare tonics for other martial artists of lower realms.

Since that's the case, Zheng Jun didn't want to waste it, so he simply let his soldiers take turns cultivating and absorbing it. This way, he could both avoid wasting these dregs and improve the combat effectiveness of his army, which was something Zheng Jun naturally wanted.

He still had about ten Qi-opening demon pills in his hand, which should be enough for him to cultivate for about half a month.

Let's use this to temporarily boost the combat effectiveness of our army.

Even if it doesn't improve much, at least it can help the wounded recover faster and boost the morale of the soldiers!
With this thought in mind, Zheng Jun once again channeled his energy and began refining the demon core.

At the very moment Zheng Jun channeled his energy, a cyan-gold jade dragon once more emerged from the heavens and earth, overflowing with spiritual energy. "..."

More than ten days later, in the pitch-black night, Zheng Jun suddenly opened his eyes in the imperial carriage, a flash of blue-gold light in his eyes disappearing in an instant.

Zheng Jun felt something and looked up at the northern horizon, where he saw a faint blood-red light floating at the end of the Wei River Plain, vying with the stars and moon for brilliance.

A streak of crimson light pierced the night sky and appeared before Zheng Jun in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. A general from the Outer Gang faction knelt on one knee, breathing heavily, but still bowed to Zheng Jun and said, "Prime Minister, urgent report from Jin Suo County! Prince Zhao of Suzhou has led an army of 100,000 south, and General Shan's 2,000 soldiers stationed at Baicaotan have been completely wiped out!"

"It's actually Li Bi?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun showed no surprise. Instead, he stood up and flicked his sleeves. The Azure-Gold Jade Dragon behind him suddenly lit up, illuminating the area within a ten-mile radius as if it were daytime.

"Li Bi, the King of Zhao".

Zheng Jun lightly tapped the gilded dragon-patterned halberd with his fingertips, causing the halberd to tremble like a dragon's roar: "The founding emperor once said that among his sons, the Prince of Yan was good at fighting and the Prince of Zhao was good at planning. Now the Prince of Zhao has such grand plans that he has ignored Wu Liyang and sent troops to attack me?"

However, Zheng Jun didn't seem surprised by this.

After all, after meeting with Wu Liyang last time, Zheng Jun knew that the governor of Suzhou was very wary of him. Now, letting the Prince of Zhao escape was probably because he had the idea of ​​"using one tiger to devour another".

but……

Who is the wolf and who is the tiger?
"Summon the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expedition!"

Upon realizing this, Zheng Jun immediately spoke up.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's order, his personal guards immediately went to find Xu Shimao.

The matter was urgent. Upon receiving the order, Xu Shimao did not wait for his personal guards to arrive. He immediately activated his true energy and rose into the air. In just a few dozen breaths, he had arrived in front of Zheng Jun and bowed to him, saying, "Prime Minister, this humble general..."

"There's no need to elaborate on trivial etiquette."

Zheng Jun waved his hand, stopping Xu Shimao from saying anything polite, and said directly, "Xu Shimao, I will hand over your 150,000 troops, the 20,000 remnants of the Zhenxi Army, the 100,000 troops of Shan Xiong Yi's army, and tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers from Guanzhong gathered along the way, totaling about 300,000 troops. Can you besiege Haodu and prevent Prince Jin, Li Shen, from breaking out?"

Xu Shimao was taken aback upon hearing Zheng Jun's words.

He quickly understood Zheng Jun's thoughts.

'The Prime Minister is planning to eliminate the King of Zhao first!'

Xu Shimao was taken aback, then took a deep breath and said, "Prime Minister, rest assured, there are no fewer than fifteen people in the prefecture who are all at the highest level of understanding. If everyone is of one mind and obeys orders, I am confident that I can stop the Prince of Jin from escaping!"

"Most of the famous generals in Guanzhong are veterans! Most of the great generals in Guanzhong have gone to Yunzhou, Lingzhou, and Qizhou. There are no famous generals in Guanzhong itself!" Xu Shimao said with his hands clasped. "The generals in Haodu are all mediocre and unknown. I have great confidence."

This is not the time for humility, but the time when it is most necessary to make a firm commitment.

Xu Shimao knew that this was a test.

If I can stop Prince Li Shen of Jin, then I will be a hero!
If you can't stop them, you're a sinner!

Fortunately, there were no famous generals in Guanzhong.

All the famous generals who came from Guanzhong were generals who guarded the border.

The reason is quite simple.

Which emperor would dare to harbor a general who is invincible and capable of winning every battle in the heartland so close to the capital?
The generals in Guanzhong who could command troops were all taken away by the King of Qin, and most of them are now serving in Zheng Jun's army, especially the Xuan Niao Guard, one of the Three Guards. There are even more than 5,000 veterans of the Xuan Niao Guard who are now assisting Zheng Jun.

Therefore, Xu Shimao was very confident.

If you don’t succeed, you will succeed!
Upon hearing Xu Shimao's words, Zheng Jun immediately said, "Alright, I'll leave this to you... But I need to transfer three hundred elite cavalry, at least one hundred of whom are Outer Gang warriors. Can you handle that?"

Hearing Zheng Jun's words, Xu Shimao was even more surprised, but he gritted his teeth and said, "The entire army currently has about 420 Outer Gang generals. The Prime Minister can mobilize 300 Outer Gang cavalry to go on the expedition!"

Wai Gang is already considered a mid-level officer.

If three-quarters of the mid-level officers are removed at once, the combat effectiveness and command ability of the army will naturally decline significantly, which is also a test for the commander-in-chief.

Xu Shimao gritted his teeth, feeling that he could handle it.

"it is good."

Zheng Jun nodded and said, "I won't bring any of the Qi Opening martial artists; you can command them all!"

Just then, Dugu Yuan asked, "Is the Prime Minister going to launch a surprise attack on the King of Zhao?"

"good."

Zheng Jun nodded frankly and said, "Now that the King of Zhao is coming with great force, Shan Xiong Yi cannot stop him. I have observed the map and found that Shan Xiong Yi still has three thousand troops here. I will send my cavalry to roam freely and order these three thousand troops to guard Jin Suo Guan to prevent him from advancing and to try to defeat him."

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, Dugu Yuan also gasped.

King Zhao led an army of 100,000 south!

The Grand Commander only has three hundred cavalrymen, plus General Xu Hou's three thousand miscellaneous soldiers. How are we supposed to fight them?
Zheng Jun smiled and said, "No need to worry. Xu Hou is nearby, and he also has 100,000 troops under his command. They might be useful at a critical moment."

"Alright, no mistakes allowed, let's set off immediately!"

Without hesitation, Zheng Jun summoned three hundred outer generals, rode off on horseback, circled the capital of Haodu, and sped toward Jinshuo County.

Upon seeing this, several soldiers guarding the city of Haodu rushed off to report it.

……

On the official road of Jinshuo County, 100,000 troops from Suzhou pressed in like dark clouds.

King Zhao, Li Bi, sat high on his dragon steed, wearing a black python robe over a red-gold chainmail, with a gilded and silver-inlaid sword hanging at his waist.

His face was handsome, but there was a hint of gloom between his brows. At this moment, he was looking at the rolling hills in the distance, with a smug smile on his lips.

"Your Highness, Baicaotan is thirty miles ahead."

Deputy General Jin Xiaoge rode forward and said, "Shan Xiongyi's remaining troops have retreated to Jin Suo Pass, numbering about three thousand men."

Li Bi gently stroked the hilt of his sword and couldn't help but laugh, "Zheng Jun is truly arrogant, leaving only this small force to obstruct me?"

A scholar in a blue robe on the left laughed and said, "Zheng Jun is currently being held back by the Prince of Jin at the gates of Haodu, and is probably too busy to deal with the situation. In my opinion, we should take advantage of the situation and seize the capital, cutting off its foundation!"

This scholar was named Murong Lang. He was a native of the Northern Rong and also the chief strategist of the Prince of Zhao's court.

As Murong Lang spoke, he glanced at the bearded general on his right out of the corner of his eye. The latter immediately understood and said in a gruff voice, "This humble general is willing to be the vanguard. I will definitely break through Jin Suo Guan within three days!"

However, Li Bi shook his head at this moment: "No rush. Zheng Jun was able to kill both the Deer Demon King and Li Xun. He is by no means an ordinary person. Pass down the order for the entire army to set up camp at Baicaotan. First, send out scouts to investigate the surrounding area and make sure there are no ambushes before advancing."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the strategist immediately bowed, and before long, the army arrived at Baicaotan and set up camp.

As dusk settled on the horizon, the central command tent remained brightly lit.

Li Bi sat cross-legged before his desk, with more than ten generals standing on either side, engaged in a heated debate over the distribution of spoils after the war.

"The capital city has been the imperial capital for eight hundred years, and it rightfully belongs to Your Highness!"

Jin Xiaoke opened his mouth and said, "As for Lan and Bo prefectures..."

Murong Lang interrupted with a light wave of his folding fan, saying, "General Jin, you are mistaken. The Prince of Jin is still in Guanzhong. In my humble opinion, it would be better to grant the capital to Zheng Jun's former subordinates who surrendered in this battle, so that they can check and balance each other with the Prince of Jin."

"Our army only needs to firmly control the seven passes out of the eight, excluding Langu Pass, to drive away the enemy and injure them. This will make Zheng Jun's former troops willingly block the western lands for us. At that time, when King Zhao orders his entry into Lanzhou, then..."

Before the words were finished, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent.

The chaotic footsteps immediately stopped all the martial artists in the tent from arguing. Then, a scout covered in blood rushed in and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty! After crossing the Yinma River, the vanguard was ambushed about a hundred miles ahead, losing four thousand elite soldiers. General Du Jianmai was killed in battle!"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, King Zhao Li Bi paused in his wine cup and asked, "Whose troops are these?"

Upon hearing this, the scout immediately reported, "Your Majesty, according to General Lu Shanxing's report, after Zheng Jun arrived at Jin Suo Pass the day before yesterday, he personally led three hundred cavalrymen out of the pass to scout. He shouted in front of our vanguard, 'I am Zheng Jun, the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty,' which led General Du Jianmai to lead the vanguard in pursuit, intending to capture and kill Zheng Jun with an army of twenty thousand..."

The scout stopped there.

The tent fell into a deathly silence.

Sima Lang snapped his folding fan shut, and Jin Xiaoke's hand, which was resting on the hilt of his sword, bulged with veins.

Li Bi slowly put down his wine cup, a hint of surprise flashing across his jade-like face: "Zheng Jun should be under the walls of Haodu City right now, how could he be here? Could it be that he has a second Yuan Dan Martial Saint in his tent?"

Li Bi said he could understand Du Jianmai's defeat.

After all, given the opportunity presented by Zheng Jun leading three hundred cavalry out of the city, as a Tongqiao general, and one who commanded twenty thousand men, he naturally wanted to form a battle formation and achieve merit!

Twenty thousand elite troops, all at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

Such strength is enough to pose a threat to a lone Core Formation cultivator.

Of course, killing him is unlikely.

If we can defeat them or render them helpless, it will be a great achievement, enough to greatly demoralize the enemy.

But the problem is that you didn't win against Du Jianmai!

"Du Jianmai deserves to die for the loss of four thousand men."

Murong Lang, standing to the side, took a deep breath and said, "With the vanguard battalion in such a state, they are bound to collapse. These routed soldiers are now..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden gust of wind arose outside the tent, causing the leather tent flap to flutter loudly.

Just then, a clear and melodious voice rang out: "King Zhao has come from afar, and I, Zheng, have come to welcome him!"

The voice was initially heard from a hundred feet away, but by the time it uttered the word "welcome," it was already very close.

Li Bi's pupils suddenly contracted, and the sword at his waist was drawn from its sheath on its own, causing the candlelight in the tent to blaze brightly.

"Protect the prince!"

Kim Hyo-gak roared and drew his sword, ready to fight, but Lee Pil immediately said, "He's not here."

Having said that, Li Bi took the initiative to walk out of the military tent, looked south towards the direction of the Yinma River, and said, "Zheng traitor, since you've come, why not meet me?"

After saying that, Li Bi took a step forward. In an instant, a gust of wind rose up, and Li Bi rode the wind and sped towards the Yinma River.

Seeing Li Bi going alone, the surrounding generals were immediately alarmed and quickly transformed into streaks of light to follow Li Bi's footsteps.

Murong Lang did not take off. Instead, he immediately mobilized the Suzhou cavalry and shouted, "Quickly, follow the prince! Follow the prince!"

In an instant, a thousand horsemen swept up.

Li Bi, however, didn't seem to have much of an opinion about the soldiers around him.

He's always been an adventurer.

His willingness to leave the city without permission, follow the High Priest of the Western Di, and ultimately engage in a fierce battle with him demonstrates his rather radical and adventurous nature.

The same applies to this trip to see Zheng Jun.

He was certain that Zheng Jun could neither harm nor kill him.

So there's nothing wrong with going to see Zheng Jun.

Li Bi moved very quickly, appearing in front of the Yinma River in the blink of an eye.

The surface of the Yinma River was covered with the corpses of Zhao soldiers. It seemed that they had been forced to jump into the river in an attempt to escape, but because their iron armor was too heavy, they drowned.

Li Bi looked up and saw that he was separated from Zheng Jun by the Yinma River.

Upon seeing Zheng Jun, Li Bi couldn't help but sigh.

Several years ago, he had a strategist named Cai from the Cai clan of Bozhou who advised him that a cultivation genius named Zheng Jun had emerged in Bozhou. At that time, the King of Zhao did not care, after all, he was just a minor official. What good was a genius? It would take hundreds of years for him to grow up.

Now, who could have imagined that this cultivation genius, who came from a humble background, would be able to stand on equal footing with him, establish himself as prime minister and king of Han, control all affairs of state, and even become emperor?
Zheng Jun, on the other side of the Yinma River, also looked indifferent.

He led three hundred outer-strength cavalrymen all the way from Haodu, traveling day and night, and arrived at Jinshuo Pass in just two days. Upon arriving at Jinshuo Pass, he realized that the situation was critical. The vanguard of King Zhao was almost at the Prime Minister's doorstep. Therefore, Zheng Jun took the initiative to leave the city and had the three hundred outer-strength cavalrymen suppress their cultivation to lure the vanguard of King Zhao into attacking.

As expected, Zhao Wang's vanguard fell into the trap. He immediately led three hundred outer-strength cavalrymen to charge forward, breaking through the army formation with a single blow and killing the general at the fourth level of the Tongqiao realm. The vanguard camp was left in a bloodbath.

Now that he had hunted down these vanguard battalions, he had come here on his own initiative, ready to provoke them.

To win, you have to resort to underhanded tactics.

"Zheng Jun, let's take another route."

At that moment, Li Bi suddenly spoke, saying to Zheng Jun with great sincerity, "There are many paths to enlightenment in the world, why did you choose this one? Before, when the King of Qin was alive, we were concerned about our reputation and dared not make a move. Now that the King of Qin is dead, what can you do? Once my brothers have recovered, the first thing they will do is to wipe you out here."

"Your decision to install my ridiculous nephew as emperor is nothing but self-deception. Who would believe you truly want to restore the Great Zhou dynasty after doing this?"

“Abandon the title of ‘Lord of the World,’ and choose another path. I guarantee that I will not pursue the matter further. On the contrary, I am willing to share the information I know with you so that you can choose another path.”

"..."

The King of Zhao's voice was extremely sincere.

It seems they really are thinking of Zheng Jun's best interests.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun smiled.

"You're right, installing a Li family emperor is indeed a bit like burying your head in the sand... How about this, Your Highness Prince Zhao and Your Highness Prince Jin, you two hand over your heads to me, and I'll wipe you both out in this battle, seize Guanzhong, Lanzhou, and Suzhou, and then ascend the throne as emperor in the capital, how about that?"

(End of this chapter)