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

"But that's just how it is."

Liu Xiu sighed. No matter how unbelievable the result was, after eliminating all other impossible options, this only remaining conclusion, however unbelievable, was the only truth.

Their Han Dynasty emperor actually rebelled against himself.

How could such a thing happen when the founding emperor is on the throne?

This was somewhat difficult for Liu Xiu, who had always been proud of his identity as a member of the Han clan, to accept.

Even someone as temperamental as Liu Xiu had some emotional issues.

In the end, it was Liu Yan who reacted first.

"No matter what, these people are innocent. We must eliminate them as soon as possible and let them return to their peaceful lives."

Liu Yan is a straightforward person, which means he doesn't get stuck on things. If he can't figure something out, he won't dwell on it; instead, he'll think about things he can understand.

Liu Yan's words reminded Liu Xiu that they now faced millions of people who had been displaced and suffered greatly because of the Liu family's emperor.

As members of the Han imperial family, they have the responsibility and obligation to bring these people back to peace.

"But brother, we only have a few thousand men. Even if we go to the Green Forest Mountain, our numbers won't increase much."

"We alone cannot possibly be a match for the rebel army."

"And the commander-in-chief is clearly His Majesty's man, deliberately allowing the rebel army to grow stronger in order to increase his own military power."

"If I'm not mistaken, once we reach the outlaws, we'll also face off against them."

"The commander-in-chief will definitely not be thinking about eliminating the enemy, but rather waiting for news of the results from the other three sides."

"If the imperial army is doing well in battle, the commander-in-chief will suddenly become wise and mighty, and his advance will be unstoppable."

"The extremely difficult-to-deal-with bandit army suddenly became weak and powerless, and was easily defeated by our army, which then captured a large number of prisoners."

"These prisoners who have seen blood and received basic training will become Your Majesty's new army, giving Your Majesty a large army at your disposal."

"When suppressing rebel forces in various regions, many rebels will surrender voluntarily. Your Majesty will then order them to be pacified, and Your Majesty's power will grow like a snowball."

"Until Your Majesty possesses the power to sweep across the entire world."

Although the current emperor does not value the lives of the people, it must be said that his political skills are among the best of all the emperors in the history of the Han Dynasty, as he was able to set up such a large-scale scheme under the noses of the Wei family and Wang Mang.

Only Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Wen of Han, and Emperor Wu of Han could surpass him.

Even Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan of Han were only equal.

If this were in another dynasty, it would definitely be in the top three.

"What if the war doesn't go well?"

Liu Yan asked.

"If the war doesn't go well..."

Liu Xiu lowered his eyes slightly, a complex expression flashing within them.

"Then the rebels in various places will sprout up like bamboo shoots in spring, and overnight the land will be filled with smoke and fire."

"The entire world will be engulfed in war. With His Majesty's secret support, the rebels directly controlled by him will smoothly seize the armories and granaries of the court throughout the country, gradually growing into the largest forces."

"As these rebels grow, they will eliminate all forces that threaten His Majesty's rule."

"Then it's either surrender or defeat, not for any other reason."

"These largest rebel forces were subdued by His Majesty, who became the restorer of the Han Dynasty and left his legend in the history books."

"It's a pity that no one cares about the bones scattered all over the ground."

Liu Yan was speechless. No matter how things develop, it will be beneficial to His Majesty.

Is this what an emperor is like? He seems to be getting a brain.

"So what should we do? Fight or not?"

Shaking his head, Liu Yan dismissed the unreliable idea that his brain was growing, and habitually asked his younger brother.

"Of course we should fight."

"No matter how the situation develops in the future, chaos is inevitable for some time to come."

"In this chaotic situation, military power is the foundation of our survival."

"Brother, this time it's up to you!"

Liu Xiu swallowed all his thoughts, revealed a refreshing smile, and patted his brother's shoulder.

Liu Yan laughed heartily; this was something he excelled at.

"Then leave it to me!"

As the battle progressed, more and more people sensed Ma Wu's negativity.

Under the empiricism of feudal society, no one could fathom what had actually happened, or why Ma Wu was so pessimistic.

But if the commander-in-chief is like this, the entire army naturally cannot become extremely ruthless.

Many military officers also became lazy and timid, unwilling to fight tough battles.

There were only two exceptions: Liu Xiu and his brother.

In order to achieve more military exploits and gain more military power, the two risked their lives and fought one after another, repeatedly making meritorious contributions.

Emperor Ping of Han, who had long held the two men in high regard, directly appointed them as generals and ordered them to jointly lead 1 men, which he then named the Tiger Might Army.

This reward greatly displeased Ma Wu, the commander of the army. He was originally the sole commander of the army, but now this force of 10,000 men belonged only to Liu Xiu and his brothers.

If he wanted to take command, he still had to go through Liu Xiu and his brother.

This is a great undermining of his authority.

Therefore, he began to restrict Liu Xiu and his brother from going into battle, giving the opportunity to other generals.

Under his forceful command, other generals, even those who did not want to fight, had no choice but to lead their troops to quell the rebellion.

Influenced by Ma Wu, these generals became passive and uncooperative during the suppression of the rebellion, resulting in an extremely slow pace of the operation.

This was exactly what Ma Wu wanted; his orders were to delay as much as possible.

By the time the army reached the vicinity of Green Forest Mountain, the rebels had already occupied several surrounding counties.

With the population of these several counties, Wang Kuang and Wang Feng raised an army of 50.

The imperial army, with its 10 troops, suffered losses while suppressing the rebels along the way, leaving less than 8 capable soldiers, making it impossible for them to effectively confront the rebels.

Even more cunningly, Wang Kuang led an army of 15 to defend the Green Forest Mountain, focusing solely on defense and refusing to attack.

Green Forest Mountain, their stronghold, was managed by them as securely as an iron barrel, leaving no room for leaks.

Even if Ma Wu hadn't been slacking off, it would have been impossible for him to conquer the Green Forest Mountain, which was guarded by Wang Kuang's 15-strong army.

Wang Feng, meanwhile, led the remaining army to continue conquering cities and strongholds in the surrounding area, expanding his influence.

Inside the camp, Ma Wu had already received military intelligence from the emperor regarding the other two routes.

The other army led by Wei Xian of the Wei family had arrived in Taishan County long ago. The Red Eyebrow Army's strategy was the same as that of the Green Forest Army: to defend the city with its main force.