A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

To prevent the Wei family from completely siding with Wang Mang, Emperor Ping of Han readily agreed to Wei Bang's request.

Wang Mang and Wei An naturally did not object. After all three agreed, Wei Bang only took some personal guards and began to head north.

Now, rebellions are breaking out all over the Han Dynasty, and the troops in the capital must remain to quell the rebellions within the country.

He could only rely on the forces from the northern frontier.

That's enough.

Today, there are 20 troops in the northern border region. Although it has been peaceful for a long time, many of them are elite veterans who have participated in many wars.

After arriving in the northern frontier, Wei Bang planned to first dispatch 5 troops south to quell the rebellion.

First defend against the Xiongnu's attack, then seek an opportunity to counterattack.

Meanwhile, the Han Dynasty began recruiting soldiers under the orders of the imperial court, but the selection of the commander in charge of suppressing the rebellion was a point of contention.

Emperor Ping of Han, citing the reason that these rebellions were caused by Wang Mang's reforms, wanted to place his people in charge of military power.

At that time, both sides' troops will be his men, and sweeping across the world will be a piece of cake.

The Wei family has always prioritized the lives of ordinary people, so when the tide turns, the Wei family will have no choice but to submit.

Wang Mang naturally did not want Emperor Ping of Han to control the military, so he recommended his own people and people from the Wei family to be in charge of suppressing the rebellion.

The stalemate was the most important move by Emperor Ping of Han. After this, Wang Mang became wary, and he would not have such a good opportunity again.

This was his only chance to overthrow Wang Mang and regain power.

The two sides remained deadlocked, and Wei An could no longer stand by and watch, knowing that this situation would jeopardize the suppression of the rebellion.

Upon learning of the actions of the Green Forest Bandits and the Red Eyebrow Bandits, people everywhere were filled with righteous indignation.

Upon hearing the news of the imperial court's recruitment of soldiers, everyone eagerly volunteered.

In just a few days, the Northern Army recruited tens of thousands of troops.

The imperial court's plan to expand the army to 30 will be realized soon, and suitable generals must be selected immediately and sent to the army to begin training.

The longer it drags on, the greater the chance of an unexpected disaster in suppressing the rebellion, and the greater the losses suffered by the people.

But Emperor Ping of Han was, after all, the emperor, and if he persisted, there was nothing they could do.

They had no choice but to discuss with Emperor Ping of Han and divide the troops into three parts.

Each group consisted of 10 men, responsible for the rebels in the east, south, and west directions respectively.

The rebels in the north were dealt with by the Northern Frontier Army that marched south.

This was also Wei An's test. He had gathered intelligence from various places over the past few days and discovered some clues.

It is suspected that this rebellion and the southward incursion of the Northern Xiongnu are related to the newly adult emperor on the throne.

The army under Emperor Ping of Han had many spies planted by him to monitor the commander's every move.

However, he was also affected by his limited understanding; who could have imagined that the emperor would rebel against him?!

The emperor and the rebels were naturally on opposite sides.

……

During this conscription, the brothers Liu Yan and Liu Xiu, who had just graduated from school, also participated in the conscription.

When they were assigned to different units, they were assigned to Emperor Ping of Han's army because of their family background.

Thanks to Liu Yan's powerful military strength, they were granted the position of centurion as soon as they joined the army.

The commander of this force was Ma Wu, a confidant of Emperor Ping of Han.

Ma Wu was born into an ordinary family but was promoted to a high position by Emperor Ping of Han. He was extremely loyal to Emperor Ping and was his absolute confidant, knowing all of Emperor Ping's plans very well.

As he set off on his campaign, Ma Wu was filled with fervor, knowing that this journey would mark the beginning of Emperor Ping of Han's return to power.

Ma Wu's army was responsible for suppressing bandits in the Green Forest. On their way to the Green Forest Mountain, they encountered many rebel troops.

Ma Wu's performance was completely unworthy of the title of commander-in-chief; he was timid and cowardly, and his marching and fighting were extremely cautious.

Even with an army of 100,000, facing a few thousand rebels, one must first scout out the enemy's situation, then slowly gather the generals to discuss the matter, and finally launch a massive attack with 100,000 troops to defeat the few thousand rebels.

The other two armies have already made rapid advances, with victory reports coming one after another.

However, their troops advanced extremely slowly, as if deliberately giving the rebels time to develop and prepare.

Liu Yan and Liu Xiu both performed exceptionally well in several campaigns against the rebels. In addition, they were both members of the imperial family, so they were naturally on the same side as Emperor Ping of Han.

So, at Emperor Ping's suggestion, Ma Wu promoted the two men several times, and now they are generals in charge of an army of 5000.

Therefore, even though they were extremely dissatisfied with Ma Wu's cowardice, they had no choice but to obey Ma Wu's orders because of the kindness he had shown them.

Once again, Liu Yan and Liu Xiu cowered in the face of the rebels, sulking in their tent.

"What on earth is the coach doing?!"

"The enemy has only 3000 men. The main army is setting off as usual. Let us brothers lead our troops and we can easily wipe them out."

"Why is the commander being so... cautious, there's no need to investigate further!"

Liu Yan roared.

"Brother, keep your voice down."

Liu Xiu quickly stopped Liu Yan, explaining that this was Ma Wu's territory, and even the 5000 men under their command were mostly transferred from Ma Wu, so there were definitely some of Ma Wu's men among them.

"snort!"

Liu Yan knew that Liu Xiu was right, so he snorted and said nothing more.

Liu Xiu sat down next to his elder brother and said in a low voice.

"Brother, don't you feel something's not right?"

"I always felt that Marshal Ma was doing this on purpose, giving the rebels time to develop and prepare."

"How could this be? Commander Ma is His Majesty's trusted confidant, while the bandits are rebels!"

Liu Yan also lowered his voice, but Liu Xiu could still easily hear the shock in it.

Liu Xiu gave a wry smile. His elder brother was brave and daring, deeply loved by his soldiers, and was a rare and fierce general.

However, he is not very prominent in politics and has a poor political sense.

"It's nothing more than a power struggle."

"In the current court, the Wei family remains neutral, while all the major families and nobles are on the Prime Minister's side."

"Meanwhile, the minor aristocratic families and local powerful clans sided with the rebels."

"The small aristocratic families and local magnates who didn't side with the rebels are actually cheering for His Majesty."

"Isn't this because the Prime Minister's reforms have encroached upon their interests?"

Liu Yan thought this was normal; everyone should be responsible for their own interests and consider issues from the perspective of their own class.

"Brother Xiu, you don't actually think His Majesty is in cahoots with the rebels, do you?"

"Hahahaha, how is that possible!"

"Your Majesty is the master of the Han Dynasty, while the rebels seek to overthrow it. The two sides are direct enemies!"

As he laughed, he realized that Liu Xiu wasn't laughing, but was staring intently at him.

Liu Yan's laughter stopped abruptly; he could tell that Liu Xiu truly thought so.

From childhood to adulthood, his elder brother was all about fists, while his younger brother Liu Xiu was all about brains.

Liu Xiu never made a wrong judgment.

"How could that be?"

"Your Majesty, why have you gone to such lengths!"

Liu Yan dared not believe it.