“Don't tell me, this is really quite interesting, the emperor rebelling against his own people.”

The Marquis of Zhenbei sat on his Pixiu, gnawing on dry rations as he spoke.

“The difference between an emperor and an ordinary person can be vast at times, and non-existent at others.

An emperor without real power is sometimes not even worth as much as a commoner.”

The Marquis of Zhenbei nodded in agreement.

“Is the Son of Heaven born with a special bloodline? Only the strong and mighty can take the throne.”

This was a timeless truth.

With the Jin Emperor acting as a guide, the two hundred thousand iron cavalry of Great Yan entered Jin through the Nanmen Pass and made rapid progress. Although the Yu family, the Jin imperial family, had lost power to the three major clans for several generations, they were not completely idle.

Some plans, some hidden cards, normally wouldn't change anything, but at this time, they played a miraculous role.

Passing through three passes and seven fortresses along the way, two passes and four fortresses opened their gates and surrendered directly. The rest had internal support. It could be said that the Yan army didn't pay any price, and didn't even waste much time, before advancing directly from the southwest of Jin, starting at Nanmen Pass, toward the northwest. The Yan-Jin border, which was now the battlefield, was already in sight.

Ultimately, it was because the Yan army entered at such a sensitive location, equivalent to the armies of the Wenren and Helian families fighting the Yan garrison across the door, while the Marquis of Zhenbei and the Marquis of Jingnan led the main force, bypassing the door from the rear.

The distance was truly so close, but this blind spot was often the most unexpected.

“Wu Jing, although I, this Marquis, have experienced many battles in the desert, I must admit that in terms of commanding troops, I am inferior to you.”

Usually, they used “you and I” when chatting, but when he used “this Marquis,” it meant it was a serious conversation.

“You are too modest.”

Tian Wujing said expressionlessly.

The Marquis of Zhenbei couldn't fight a war?

Saying that would make people laugh their teeth out; no one would believe it.

“Really, when I inherited the Zhenbei Marquisate, the barbarians had already been softened up by my father and grandfather. When it came time for me to take the lead, the barbarians had become pushovers.

In fact, rather than saying I know how to fight, it’s more like my Zhenbei Army has astonishing combat power and rarely loses a battle.”

Li Fusheng once told Zheng Fan that war was nothing more than four words: strong soldiers and sturdy horses.

This was a belief of the Zhenbei Army, and their confidence.

When you have absolute strength, you win steadily as long as you don't make mistakes. When your three thousand iron cavalry can charge into the enemy's tens of thousands of troops seven or eight times and still reorganize to launch the next round of attacks, how can you lose?

“Really, at first, when His Majesty appointed you as the commander-in-chief of this attack on Jin, I didn't have any resentment. I thought the Zhenbei Army was indeed too big, and supporting you, the Nan Marquis, would create a balance in the future, one in the south and one in the north, which would be good for the future of Great Yan.

But I really didn't expect that there are truly those who are born with knowledge in this world. How many years has your Jingnan Army not fought a war? Usually, you just practice.

But from going south into Qian, to borrowing the road from Qian into Jin, the mountains, rivers, waterways, marching routes, and even the climate, you know them like the back of your hand. The army advanced quickly and silently. If I were the commander-in-chief, I definitely couldn't do that.”

“Where does such a thing as innate knowledge come from? I've been pondering these things for years. Even the marching routes, I've not only sent merchant caravans to travel them many times, but I also personally infiltrated a merchant caravan and traveled them once two years ago.

In the end, it's because I don't have much confidence, so I want to prepare more so that I can feel more secure.”

“Hey, don't be modest with me. I rarely praise people; just accept it.”

“Okay, I am indeed better at fighting than you.”

“That's bullshit!”

Tian Wujing looked up at the sky and said,

“Actually, this battle was planned by His Majesty before he ascended the throne. The reason why the Jin royal family has been able to continue to maintain a certain degree of independence, what can a few merchant caravans do? It's purely because His Majesty has been secretly funding them, not just financial assistance, but also talent assistance.

They followed the Jin imperial caravans back to Jin, whitewashed their identities through the Jin Emperor’s connections, and became Jin people. In order to suppress the Jin imperial family's power, the three major clans tried their best to bring into their fold anyone who showed talent and ability in the Jin small court.

Of the three passes and seven fortresses we passed through a few days ago, it seems that the people who opened the gates were from the Jin Emperor, but half of them were actually Yan people.”

“War is war; why does it have to involve so many twists and turns? It really makes my head hurt.”

“If your Zhenbei Army wasn't three hundred thousand, but six hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand, a million, then we wouldn't have to go through this trouble.

In the final analysis, it's still that Great Yan doesn't have enough land or enough people. It can't be called a small country with few people, but compared to the three countries of Qian, Chu, and Jin, it's really too difficult.

To win big with small, you have to pay attention to technique. After all, even if it's a mutually destructive outcome, we're the ones who lose.”

“Hey, actually, I think Qian is the most prosperous country. The people of Qian consider the three border regions to be bitterly cold, but in the eyes of my Yan people, they are simply Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall.”

“Zhao Jiulang once said that the people of Qian suppress martial prowess with culture, seemingly weak, but in reality, their cultural education is internal rather than external. It's easy to defeat them, but difficult to subdue them.

Jin is different. The Jin imperial family has been weak for several generations. Although the country is called Jin, in reality, the ruler is not a ruler, the subjects are not subjects, and the country is not a country. After breaking their weapons, subduing the people of Jin is actually easier than subduing the people of Qian.”

“You all are eloquent; I feel like I'm just a roughneck, not fit for polite company.”

The Marquis of Jingnan shook his head and said,

“Sitting on the best elite troops in the world, yet still not claiming kingship and willingly serving Great Yan, there are really few people in the world smarter than you, Li Liangting.

Look at this situation of the three families dividing Jin.

To say something harsh,

If Great Yan didn't have you and me, what difference would there be between us and the current Jin?”

“That sounds like bragging, but since you're including me in the praise, I'll accept it, hahaha.”

Tian Wujing reined in his horse, and the Pixiu under him stopped.

Li Liangting also signaled his Pixiu to stop.

The two marquises of Great Yan looked at each other.

Tian Wujing said,

“When it comes to cavalry, my Great Yan iron cavalry is recognized as the best in the world, but the Jin people have always been unconvinced. The Jin people are not lacking in warhorses, nor are they lacking in cavalry; they just haven't had a real chance to compete with my Great Yan iron cavalry.”

Li Liangting reached out and gently patted the head of the Pixiu under him,

Said:

“Saying to defeat them until they submit is too crude.

Since they are unconvinced, let them suppress it.

Suppressed and uncomfortable?

Easy to solve,

Die!”

………

On the banks of the Bian River, Li Fusheng ordered a retreat.

However, the day before the retreat, Li Fusheng specifically led his iron cavalry to trample the Qian army camp, which was composed of tens of thousands of conscripted troops from various places.

In the eyes of outsiders, it was purely to vent the frustration in his heart.

But only Zheng Fan knew that Li Fusheng was beaming that day; he wasn't venting anger at all, but more like a lively child running wild in the fields.

When the Yan army retreated across the river, the Qian army that had detoured from the upper reaches of the Bian River simply camped silently outside the capital, holding their ground. They had spent many days marching to get here, seemingly just to see off their friends from afar.

When they retreated to Beihe Prefecture, Li Fusheng's troops joined up with Li Bao's troops. Both armies had experienced fierce battles, but Li Bao's troops had suffered more obvious casualties, and Li Bao himself had lost an arm.

When Zheng Fan followed behind Li Fusheng to see Li Bao, he was eating garlic with his remaining right arm.

Seeing Li Fusheng, Li Bao grinned and smiled.

Li Fusheng walked over, hugged Li Bao, and was then kicked over by Li Bao and rolled several times on the ground.

“Damn you, you bastard!”

Li Fusheng sat on the ground silently, not angry, and replied:

“Did you vent your anger? Want another kick or two?”

“Enough.”

Li Bao nodded,

Then,

Li Bao came up and kicked him twice more, and Li Fusheng rolled on the ground twice more.

Li Fusheng cursed loudly:

“Why are you kicking me again after you've had enough? Are you taking advantage of my kindness?”

“Because I don't dare to kick those two people, I can only vent my anger on you!”

Li Fusheng was silent when he heard this.

Originally, they thought they were two troops penetrating deep to lure the enemy, but who would have thought that they were actually an isolated force!

After a battle, how many soldiers died, but it was just a feint.

Especially Li Bao, in order to help Li Fusheng raid the capital, took the initiative to lead his troops to attack the Qian’s solid camp.

He could understand, but he was really angry.

But there was nowhere to vent this anger.

Li Fusheng, sitting on the ground, was a little dejected.

Li Bao stepped forward, grabbed a handful of garlic, handed it to Li Fusheng,

Said:

“Eat garlic, let it go.”

………

The Yan people retreated, and in the capital, the people decorated with lanterns and colored banners, celebrating their victory.

In the court, civil and military officials shouted, “Long live the Emperor!”

Sitting on the dragon throne, Zhao, the official, modestly took his wine and drank it in small sips, silently calculating in his heart how many people he could sweep away from the court after this wave, how many of his own people could go up, how much money the national treasury could save, and how many troops could be trained.

The commoners celebrated the joy of surviving a disaster,

But looking at his officials so happy, Zhao, the official, only had four words in his eyes: "superficial peace."

Fortunately, they hadn't fallen for the Yan people's tricks this time. The three border regions were still in his hands, and the elite troops of Qian were still there. With the framework in place, and then training a few elite troops, he must not allow the Yan people to invade the south as if they were entering an uninhabited land again!

The outcome of the game, let's see what happens in the future.

A few days later, a message came from the northeast of Qian.

It shocked the court of Qian,

The Marquis of Zhenbei and the Marquis of Jingnan of Yan led two hundred thousand iron cavalry into Nanmen Pass, launching an attack from behind the Jin army. The head of the Helian family was killed in battle, and the head of the Wenren family was captured. Of the six hundred thousand Jin army, most were dead or wounded, and tens of thousands abandoned their weapons and surrendered.

The contemporary Jin Emperor, Yu Ciming, personally beheaded the head of the Wenren family, and wrote to Yanjing, kneeling and begging for annexation.

The entire western half of Jin entered the territory of Yan!

The Situ family sent envoys to the Chu kingdom for help, but it happened that the Chu Emperor died, and the princes began to fight for the throne!

That night,

The furious Zhao, the official, smashed all the porcelain in the Mi Chun Pavilion with his sword,

The calculations he thought he had made, the countermeasures he thought were clever and decisive,

In the end,

The Yan people who truly went south this time numbered less than sixty thousand cavalry!

And he had ordered the elite troops of the three border regions of Qian not to return for defense, and strictly ordered the garrison troops everywhere to hold their ground, allowing the Yan people to kill their way to the capital!

The anger was not vented,

But Zhao, the official, who was already exhausted, slumped in his chair,

The words that the Yan envoy surnamed Zheng had said to his face that day suddenly appeared in his mind:

“Your Majesty, you have never fought a war.”