On February 18th of the eleventh year of Jianyan, Zhu Dan led the remaining 350,000 infantrymen to Anyang City.

On the same day, Zhu Yu and Lu Xiaoyun led 100,000 cavalrymen from the former Northern Army to Anyang City, where they joined Zhu Dan's 350,000 infantrymen.

Their goal this time is very clear: to destroy the Northern Qi, Chen, and Southern Liang kingdoms and unify the world!

First, they destroyed the Northern Qi and Southern Frontier from both flanks, then they encircled the Chen state, trapping it within the encirclement.

Therefore, of the five cities that Saihada captured, apart from Bianzhou City at the beginning, the other four cities were all part of a strategy devised by Zhu Dan, Zhu Yu, and others to lure the enemy deeper into their territory.

The goal was to wait until Zhu Yu led his army straight to the capital of Southern Liang, and together with General Huang's 200,000-strong Lu family army, they would be too far away from Southern Liang to send reinforcements.

When Saihada receives the order to return to reinforce, Qi Shaocheng's 100,000 troops will cut off his route. Therefore, if the Southern Liang Emperor sends a message by flying eagle, they will not stop him.

Once the battle strategy was determined, all parties acted swiftly.

Two days later, 20,000 Lu family troops suddenly appeared in Liangzhou City. In just five hours, they captured Liangzhou and cut off the pass between Nanliang and Dazhou from the rear. 180,000 Lu family troops marched straight into Liangzhou City.

They advanced towards the inner part of Nanliang.

When the news reached the capital of Southern Liang, the emperor was shocked. Liangzhou Pass was a natural fortress. How did Great Zhou manage to swallow up the entire Liangzhou in just two days?

Could it be that there are traitors like Xiao Cheng and Li Ruorou among the garrison of Southern Liang?

To their utter bewilderment, the Great Zhou did not rush to recapture the five cities they had captured, including Bianzhou and Yueshi City, but instead chose to attack the Southern Liang first.

The new emperor of Southern Liang immediately went to the map, and upon seeing it, he realized what had happened and was furious: "We've been tricked! We've been tricked! Quickly, issue my decree to order Saihada to immediately withdraw his troops and return to reinforce!"

The Southern Liang Dynasty had just experienced internal strife, which had been quelled in just five short years.

The crown prince was killed, and the third prince was rendered a cripple.

The younger brother of the old Southern Liang emperor turned out to be the ultimate winner.

Unfortunately, in this battle for the throne between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, the Southern Liang was severely weakened. Originally so powerful that it could force the Great Zhou to kneel and send a princess to marry into the Western Zhou, it was reduced to the weakest of the four kingdoms.

So far, the country only has 400,000 troops that it can muster, while 350,000 have been committed to the great war against the Great Zhou.

The remaining army in the country is no more than 50,000.

The new emperor of Southern Liang was trembling with fear, lest the 200,000-strong Lu family army sweep all the way to the capital of Southern Liang.

He forced himself to calm down. There was no need to panic. At worst, he could just abandon the five cities he had already captured. As long as Saihada returned to reinforce, the Lu family army of the Great Zhou would have to divert troops to deal with him.

They only have 200,000 men, but Saihada has 350,000. They can definitely annihilate them.

Although the new emperor of Southern Liang tried to comfort himself in this way, his flustered steps, trembling body, pale face, and hunched back betrayed his panicked state of mind.

I heard that King An of Zhou slaughtered 50,000 Northern Qi soldiers in just two days. I wonder if he is still fighting against the Northwest and the Northern Qi army.

Lu's army advanced all the way towards the interior of Nanliang.

Fifteen days later, the Emperor of Southern Liang received news that an army of 150,000 had appeared in Yongzhou City, the southwesternmost city of Southern Liang, and the leader of the army was none other than Zhu Yu, the Prince of An of Great Zhou, who was known as the God of War.

How could he be there? Wasn't he in Northern Qi?

What's even more incredible is that King An of Zhou was accompanied by a woman whose martial arts skills were almost on par with his.

Yongzhou City is the southernmost border between Southern Liang and Great Zhou. Why are they moving so fast?

Unless they travel light and move swiftly, how could Zhu Yu dare to march his army into the heart of the enemy country without bringing enough food and supplies?

They marched all the way to the capital of Southern Liang. The few thousand troops defending the city were no match for this army. They conquered dozens of cities in Southern Liang within a month, as if splitting mountains and seas.

The Southern Liang Kingdom was small, with no more than thirty cities in total.

These cities of Southern Liang became supply depots for this large army.

The Southern Liang Emperor smiled bitterly. It turned out that Zhu Yu dared to bring insufficient provisions because he had enough confidence and strength to conquer Southern Liang's cities one after another.

Let the people of Nanliang support the soldiers of his Great Zhou!

In addition to being supported by the people of Nanliang, Zhu Yu and Lu Xiaoyun also had everyone bring a lot of compressed dried meat and dry rations.

Most importantly, gunpowder caught these cities off guard.

Saihada's 350,000-strong army suffered 30,000 casualties, leaving 320,000. However, they were firmly blocked at the strategic pass bordering the Great Zhou by the 100,000-strong Lu family army that had retreated, along with another 100,000-strong army led by Qi Shaocheng.

More than ten cities of Nanliang have been captured. There are still seventeen cities north of the capital of Nanliang, which is south of the Great Zhou.

Therefore, once another city is captured, the capital of Southern Liang will be in the hands of Zhu Yu's army.

With the capital captured, the remaining seventeen cities are no longer a threat, and the destruction of Southern Liang is just around the corner.

They have been fighting for nearly four months, and the soldiers are exhausted.

In the past few months, Lu Yuyan has also been extremely brave. He, along with Zhu Yu and Lu Xiaoyun, has taken the lead and made numerous meritorious contributions.

Although they could obtain some provisions with each city they captured, they were now running low on supplies. If they continued to order the attack despite the soldiers' exhaustion, the army would suffer heavy casualties, making it a losing proposition.

Zhu Yu ordered the army to rest for five days.

Five days later, they prepared to march north in one fell swoop, capture the capital of the Southern Liang Kingdom, and destroy the Southern Liang Kingdom in one fell swoop.

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