I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"What happened?"

"Ursus took advantage of the snowy night to raid Yumen, killing nearly a hundred soldiers."

He handed the letter to the immortal and recounted the matter in broad daylight.

"This……"

After quickly glancing at the letter, Nian frowned slightly, then let out a sigh as fleeting as a cloud.

"It's a year of plenty, why start a war?"

She couldn't understand where Ursus got the confidence to harass the Great Yan.

Is it because the Great Yan has remained silent all these years that they have the illusion that the Great Yan is not peaceful inside and that they can take advantage of the situation?

"Gaul".

Bai Zhou scoffed, his words revealing disdain.

"As early as when the Ucár conflict was blocked by Gaul, Ursus had already allied itself with Gaul."

"Although Ursus is located in the cold north, it has abundant mineral resources of high quality, which are very suitable for building mobile cities."

"That Julius fellow probably sold the technology for building mobile cities to Ursus a long time ago in exchange for a large amount of minerals to build mobile cities to fight against Victoria."

Bai Zhou sat back on the edge of the bed, his brows furrowing slightly.

But Ursus doesn't think that having a few mobile cities will be enough to fight against the Great Yan, does it?

There must be another reason behind this.

Regardless of the reason why Ursus invaded the border of Great Yan, he has already started a war. Great Yan can only make Ursus realize his status and identity by fighting back fiercely.

Are you going to join the war?

Nian placed the letter on the bedside table, straightened up, hugged him, and asked the same question.

"nature."

"Wouldn't it be a great pity not to see how the sons of Yan defeat the enemy?"

"However, I am only here to oversee the army. Unless there is a major defeat, I will not take action."

What Bai Zhou desires is a Great Yan that is equally strong and healthy, both internally and externally. This requires Great Yan to rely on its thousands of passionate young men to fight and seize, using their momentum and strength to crush any enemy who dares to invade.

If he were to solve everything himself, and the Great Yan Dynasty simply stood behind him cheering and celebrating, all they would end up with was a paper tiger that was all show and no substance.

"Be mindful of danger even in times of peace, be mindful of ruin even in times of prosperity, and be mindful of chaos even in times of order. This is the kind of Great Yan I want to see."

"I don't understand these things."

Nian leaned on his shoulder, her fingertips brushing against his cheek.

"However, I still know that children who have not experienced hardship will not be able to stand on their own when they are away from their parents' protection."

The temperature inside her abdomen had not yet subsided; she was already familiar with this.

"Would you like to come with me to witness this, elder sister?"

He took the hand that reached out from his waist and asked softly in the daytime.

"Ugh, does Little White want me to go?"

"I do want to. But if my sister is unwilling, how can I force her?"

Her laughter came from Bai Zhou's words.

"Silly little white rabbit, of course I'm going with you."

"It is our duty to quell the fighting."

Nian raised his hand and waved it in front of Bai Zhou, then made a fierce face and threatened:

"Do you know what happened to my hand? It's covered in enemy blood!"

"puff……"

Bai Zhou thought he was professionally trained and would never laugh no matter what happened.

But Nian's appearance was just too interesting and adorable, and he couldn't resist.

"Hey! I'm serious! You can't laugh, you have to be scared at least a little!"

Dissatisfied with the daytime attitude, he opened his mouth and bit his face.

But afraid of hurting him by biting, she only lightly touched his cheek with her lips, leaving a kiss.

Returning to the Five Southern Offices and Sixteen Guards, a million fine young men

"What's wrong? What happened this time?"

Nong Yun is a soldier in the local military garrison. He joined the garrison at the age of twenty-one. When farming, he takes off his armor and carries a hoe; when training, he wears armor and carries a spear. He has been doing this for five years now.

Today, while he was at home preparing for the autumn harvest, he suddenly received a decree from the Zhechong Prefecture, requiring him to pack his belongings and report to the Zhechong Prefecture before 3 PM that day.

"I don't know, I'm also puzzled."

When asked, his contemporaries all claimed to know nothing about it.

Nong Yun tiptoed and glanced a few times at the Zhechong Duwei who was waiting solemnly on the platform.

Although that guy usually has this kind of long face, this time...

Farmers like Nong Yun are already large, and his undisguised gaze immediately drew the attention of the Commandant.

"Well……"

After being swept away like that, Nongyun quickly stood up straight and dared not look around anymore.

Once Nongyun was in position, the Commandant of the Vanguard shifted his gaze again.

"quiet!"

When the Commandant of the Vanguard spoke, his deep voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, resounded throughout the entire reviewing ground.

"I am fortunate to have been comrades with you all for several years."

"But now the nation is in peril, and the northern barbarians have openly invaded our land and harmed our people!"

"Comrades from Yumen! Chen Ergou, Liu Hanquan, Ma Shizhi, Ding Shuwen, Wu happy... a hundred comrades! All have perished!"

"At that moment, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival! A time for families to gather and reunite!"

"Alas! Who could have imagined that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, parents would lose their son, wives would lose their husbands, and children would be without a father? Separated by life and death, they would never see each other again in this life."

The commander of the vanguard took a deep breath and shouted loudly:

"I ask you gentlemen, are you willing to join me in facing this national crisis! To avenge our comrades at Yumen!"

Nong Yun clenched his fist tightly, his arm trembling slightly from the force.

"certain……"

"I am willing to go!"

Before the farmers could even shout, someone had already raised their long spear and was yelling loudly.

"You lowly bear! I shall shatter your head with my spear to avenge my comrades!"

"That's why I enlisted!"

"I have an elder brother to care for our parents and a younger brother to attend school! I should donate this useless eight-foot body to the country!"

"Damn it!"

Shouts rose and fell, and the crowd was in high spirits.

Not a single one of the 1,200 soldiers of the Zhechongfu Army in Nanyun County, Rongsong Prefecture, retreated.

"...How many military commanders have come to report by today?"

Bai Yi walked through the military tent, asking his adjutant beside him a question.

"Reporting to the General, within six days since the imperial edict was issued, all 261 Zhechong Prefectures in Guannei Circuit have arrived here, with a total of over 260,000 troops. Three hundred Zhechong Prefectures in Hedong, Nan, and other places have sent messages, and they will arrive as early as today, or at most three days later. The Zhechong Prefectures further away are unable to come because they are on duty guarding the border."

"We can't wait any longer. The soldiers guarding Yumen can't wait two more days."

Bai Yi stopped, raised his head, and looked northwest.

"Immediately send out a messenger to notify the Zhechong Prefecture, which will take two days to arrive, to change course to Chang'an and march together with the Northern Army."

"We will break camp at dawn tomorrow and travel by Beiming Tianchi to Yumen."

The "Northern Underworld Heavenly Pool" that Bai Yi mentioned is a border-defense mobile city-state built by the Great Yan Dynasty over more than ten years, through two generations of skilled craftsmen, and using countless gold, silver, and wood mines.

Its shape resembles the sea, and it also has the responsibility of guarding the northern frontier, so it is named Beiming Tianchi (Northern Dark Heavenly Pool).

"Here!"

Upon receiving the order, the adjutant immediately resigned and went to carry out his duties.

"Phew... Even with the help of a mobile castle, the entire army cannot storm the city."

Bai Yi then summoned another adjutant and ordered him to immediately dispatch a hundred-man brigade, lightly armed and fast cavalry, to scout out the enemy's movements before they arrived at Beiming Tianchi.

He then gave instructions on various matters within the camp, and Bai Yi climbed a military watchtower alone.

Looking down, all one sees are Yanren; looking up, the Northern Dark Heavenly Pool stands between heaven and earth like a mountain and the moon.

"Ascend the city! The left guard will attack the mansion at the thirty-sixth turn! Everyone ascend the city!"

"You Xiaowei's 17th attack on the mansion! Climb the city!"

"Zuo Wuwei's 40th attack on the mansion! Climb the city!"

The flag bearers changed their flag signals, and the messengers shouted out the flag signals. Upon receiving the orders, the troops immediately set off for the Heavenly Lake.

"They haven't made a move yet."

Ye Wenshun, the general guarding Yumen Pass, stood by the city wall, gazing at the massive wall that was still enormous several miles away, and asked his deputy.

"No movement. Apart from sending out troops every day to test our strength, this ship has not taken any other actions."

"But... a messenger spotted that several more ships were heading this way."

Looking at the warship in the distance, the adjutant felt a slight sense of dread.