With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Liu Yun, Lin Hu, and the others bid farewell to Lin Ye. The ten of them, traveling light, headed straight for Yun County along the predetermined route to join up with the Chen family's army.

They drove without stopping and arrived in Yun County, then went straight into the military camp. They saw that the Chen family's troops had basically assembled and were ready to go, just waiting for the order to set off.

The Chen family has deployed a total of 1,500 troops, including 500 cavalry and 1,000 infantry, led by Chen Hai, a second-rate martial artist.

Chen Hai's eyes lit up when he saw Liu Yun and the others, especially when he saw the ten Cracked Claw Wolves riding under them, he could not hide his joy.

Ten third-rate martial artists each contracted with a third-rate Taoist soldier mount, and together with the ten third-rate martial artist captains originally in the Chen family's cavalry, they could form an elite vanguard.

Facing a small group of Northern Xiongnu cavalry, this unit could easily break through their formation and defeat them in one fell swoop after engaging in battle.

However, the Chen family's situation also had limitations. Only three of the third-rate captains were equipped with mounted soldiers, while the rest still used ordinary warhorses.

Ordinary warhorses are significantly inferior to Taoist soldiers in terms of explosive power, endurance, and defense. Once they are engaged in long-distance raids or fierce battles, their disadvantages will become apparent.

Without much rest, the army set off immediately for Beiyuan County due to the urgent situation at the front.

To save time, the expedition adopted a forced march method, carrying limited provisions. Along the way, Liu Yun and others seized the opportunity to practice coordination with the cavalry, familiarizing themselves with the rhythm of charges and formation changes, so as to avoid poor coordination when the battle began.

As they traveled, they encountered armies from various territories, ranging from tens of thousands to thousands, like tributaries flowing into a river, all converging towards Beiyuan County.

This was also the first time Liu Yun and his group had ever witnessed such a large-scale Daoist army formation.

There are many kinds of Taoist soldiers, including flying Taoist soldiers soaring in the air, riding Taoist soldiers running on the ground, animal-shaped Taoist soldiers of various shapes, and human-shaped Taoist soldiers. Their shapes are bizarre and varied.

Even more remarkably, some lords' armies have already formed complete Daoist soldier combat sequences, with well-organized formations, clearly honed over a long period specifically to deal with the Northern Xiongnu war.

Of course, there are also many teams like the Chen family that have not formed a unified Daoist soldier organization, with only a few scattered Daoist soldiers accompanying them.

The reasons for this situation vary. In some cases, the Dao soldiers bred in the nests are aquatic and are limited in their ability to fight on land.

Some are production-type soldiers, skilled in labor but with low combat ability, making them a poor choice for the battlefield.

Liu Yun and his group's destination was Yulin Prefecture, located in the northwest of Beiyuan County.

This is actually the second line of defense in Kitahara County. If things get tough at the front, we need to step up and hold the line.

The first line of defense of Beiyuan Commandery consisted of three prefectural cities: Shuofang Prefecture, Beiyuan Prefecture, and Lulong Prefecture. Their main task was to directly confront the attacks from the Northern Xiongnu. Among them, Beiyuan Prefecture was the prefectural capital of Beiyuan Commandery.

The troops of Yulin Prefecture do not usually stand directly on the front line. Instead, they quickly provide support when the situation on the first line of defense becomes critical. If the first line of defense is unfortunately breached, they must immediately take over the blocking of the enemy and buy precious time for the rear to regroup.

When the group arrived at Yulin Prefecture, they found that the armies of seven lords, totaling more than 20,000 men, had already gathered there.

In addition, there were more than 30,000 regular troops of the imperial court stationed in Yulin, bringing the total strength to more than 50,000.

Because Beiyuan County is located on the border, with a harsh environment and frequent wars, almost no families are willing to settle down there. Therefore, Beiyuan County is different from other counties and is directly controlled by the imperial court.

Each prefectural city was garrisoned by imperial troops, with strict military control and a unified military and political system, in order to prepare for any possible outbreak of war.

The defense of Yulin Prefecture was now under the unified command of General Luo Jian.

This is a general with a miscellaneous title, but in border areas, a general with a miscellaneous title often means a powerful general who can command independently.

As soon as Chen Jiagang arrived in Yulin, his infantry was quickly deployed to the city walls and assigned to defensive zones. They were tasked with both defending the city and training with infantry from other armies to refine their battle formations and ensure seamless coordination in actual combat.

Liu Yun and his cavalry had more freedom; they didn't have to defend the city, but only needed to train with other cavalry units on positioning and tactics for collective charges.

General Luo Jian, a cavalryman himself, placed great importance on the training of cavalry.

The eight lords had a total of about two thousand cavalry, and there were also two thousand cavalry from Yulin, for a total of about four thousand cavalry, which was a formidable striking force.

Through continuous training, Liu Yun, Lin Hu, and others gradually mastered the common tactics of cavalry and gained a deeper understanding of the application and transformation of cavalry formations.

The nests owned by these seven lords are all third-rate, similar to the Chen family, and they do not have any mount-type Taoist soldiers.

Two of them mainly produce Taoist soldiers, three produce humanoid Taoist soldiers similar to shield and halberd warriors, and the last one, like the Chen family, produces Taoist soldiers who are good at naval warfare but have limited use on land battlefields.

The only exception is the Cao family, whose nest breeds flying archers and dark crow scouts.

This flying soldier resembles a crow and is naturally gifted with excellent stealth capabilities, making it highly effective in reconnaissance. In combat, it can pounce on the enemy's head, but its individual combat strength is relatively weak, and it cannot carry passengers.

Even so, this already made other lords extremely envious. In the military formation, the Cao family seemed to naturally stand out from the other families.

According to Chen Hai, the vast majority of the Dark Raven scouts born in the Cao family were replaced in advance by the imperial court or other powerful forces and used as full-time scouts in the army. Therefore, the Cao family's own army only retained two Dark Raven scouts.

However, it is precisely because of this exchange that the Cao family has the largest number of Dao soldiers among the eight families. Almost every third-rate martial artist has a Dao soldier under contract, but the types are different, making it difficult to form a unified fighting force.

Among all the lords, the Chen family is the second most outstanding.

With the addition of Liu Yun and others, the proportion of third-rate martial artists in the Chen family army is the highest among the eight families.

Especially the ten Cracked Claw Wolf Warriors, each with a third-rate martial artist on their backs, exuded an imposing aura on the training ground.

This attracted the attention of General Luo Jian, who highly praised the Lin family's selfless spirit of helping the country and fully supporting the border defense.

Days passed quietly in the training, but the battle reports from the front never stopped coming in.

This time, the Northern Xiongnu's offensive was similar to that of previous years, with their forces divided into two routes to invade the Northern Han: one route aimed directly at Beiyuan Commandery, and the other towards Yanmen Commandery.

The Northern Xiongnu army that attacked Beiyuan Commandery was massive, numbering as many as 300,000, and was personally led by the Eastern Tuqi King of the Northern Xiongnu.

The Northern Xiongnu practiced a tribal system, with supreme power belonging to the Northern Xiongnu Imperial Court. Below the Imperial Court were the Left and Right Wise Kings, and below them were the four Tuqi Kings. The most powerful Tuqi King was the Chief Tuqi King.

The Eastern Tuqi King ranks second among all the Tuqi Kings, second only to the chief, and his strength and prestige are not to be underestimated.

The Northern Xiongnu had a distinct tribal system with the imperial court governing all the major tribes, the left and right wise kings in charge of different directions, and the four Tuqi kings each leading troops to guard one of their own territories.

Besides the Eastern Tuqi King, there are also the Western Tuqi King, the Southern Tuqi King, and so on.

Among them, the Southern Tuqi King was in a state of constant readiness because his territory was closest to that of the Northern Han, and the two sides had frequent border frictions. The Northern Han army would sometimes even penetrate deep into the territory of the Northern Xiongnu to harass them. Therefore, the Southern Tuqi King was under great pressure.

This time, the army of 300,000 men led by King Tuqi of the East set its sights on the first line of defense in Beiyuan County.

For more than half a month, the fighting has never stopped, and the Shuofang Prefecture, Beiyuan Prefecture, and Lulong Prefecture have been under constant and fierce attacks.

The casualties and losses were enormous, and wounded soldiers were constantly being evacuated from the front lines and transferred to the rear via Yulin Prefecture.

The city and its surroundings in Yulin Prefecture were filled with evacuated wounded soldiers, and the air was thick with the mingled smells of herbs and blood.

Although Liu Yun and Lin Hu were in the rear, the battle reports they heard every day and the wounded soldiers they saw with their own eyes were deepening their understanding of the Northern Xiongnu's strength.

With 300,000 troops pressing in, it cannot be resolved by a few charges alone. Only with strict defenses and flexible responses can we hold our ground in a long defensive battle.