Chapter 101

The Youzhou army set out

The cold wind of February has not yet faded, and the huge Youzhou war machine has begun to start up, and 300,000 elite troops who are good at fighting have begun to gather in Zhenbei Prefecture.

This expedition to Yehe is a war intended to destroy the country. More than 20 years ago, the late emperor led an army of 300,000 gathered from all directions to lead the army in person. Facing the Yehe tribe at its peak, he was still able to march straight to Heishui. Now, the generals of Youzhou with their powerful soldiers and horses are even more confident!

What's more, there is now a three-party confrontation within the empire, and one move can affect the entire body. Youzhou is also a battle for territory expansion. The possibility of someone going against the world's condemnation and sending troops to buy at the bottom is infinitely close to zero. Only a small number of new soldiers are needed to guard Tai'an Prefecture to ensure safety.

The only person who needs to be worried about is the grassland Khan Yesen, but in recent years, Youzhou has frequently conducted trade and commerce, which has enabled the grassland to obtain sufficient benefits.

Moreover, through spies disguised as merchants who went deep into the grassland many times to investigate, it was confirmed that Yesen himself was leading the grassland army to fight against another great power, the Dayuezhi, in the west, and the possibility of him turning back was very small.

Even if Cao Yuan insisted on returning, it would be impossible for the army to cross thousands of miles to expedition to Youzhou in such a short period of time!

In particular, Lushan and the Great Wall rely on each other, and they only need to hold on to ensure that the grassland army cannot break through the defense line in the short term.

If the grassland is delayed by the war, then once the Youzhou army returns to defend, it will most likely be a war of annihilation.

By then, how will Yesen, who has lost a large number of troops, suppress the nobles of the grassland Han Kingdom who are ready to make moves!

Therefore, in this expedition against Yehe, Yue Lingxi's Youzhou can be said to have gone all out, leaving only the Eighth Army with 20,000 newly recruited soldiers to guard Zhenbei Prefecture and Lushan. Although the offense is insufficient, defense should not be a big problem!

Almost all the old team members from Youzhou followed. In addition to Lu Ren who was mediating in the capital, Lu Xin was temporarily stationed in Zhenbei Prefecture to coordinate the three prefectures of Youzhou to continuously transport food and grass to the outside of the Great Wall. Even a purely civil servant like Zhu Caicai was mobilized to the army to manage logistics.

Once the war breaks out, the civil affairs of Youzhou will fully serve the war, and miscellaneous affairs will be greatly reduced. Relying on the officials in the newly established six county governments, it will be enough to maintain local stability.

After all, there are still countless retired veterans working in the escort agency. In this wartime situation, these people will be the cornerstone of stabilizing Youzhou!

Therefore, Liu Buqi only needs to stay at the center and preside over the overall situation. Relying on the newly established official system, it should be enough to stabilize Youzhou.

Over ten thousand men and horses, a huge crowd! Looking at the 300,000 elite Youzhou troops gathered here, Liu Buqi was deeply shocked.

Although he was able to see far and wide from a high place, the army that he could see before his eyes, which seemed to cover the sky and the sun, would not exceed 100,000 troops at most.

As the soldiers who rushed out of the country again to expand the territory after 20 years, their morale is now very high. Everyone knows that Yehe has suffered continuous losses due to Youzhou in recent years, and it is not an empty talk to destroy the country in one battle!

The so-called morale is high and the generals are of one mind, and the soldiers are full of confidence in victory!

Unlike the optimism of the soldiers, the Youzhou officials gathered in the central army tent. Yue Lingxi, Gao Yi, and Wang Changling were meticulously fiddling with a sand table of the mountains and terrain of the Yehe tribe!

This was also the first invention of Youzhou, and of course it was "plagiarized" from Liu Buqi. The intuitive sand table map allows the army to see their location and the surrounding terrain at a glance, which is far better than relying on word-of-mouth guidance.

This simple sand table brings together the results of Youzhou's several attacks on Yehe over the past hundred years. Even in the past few years, in order to figure out the specific terrain, countless scouts and merchants have been killed or injured.

With the help of the sand table, the Youzhou army began its final deployment. In a nutshell:

The troops are divided into three groups, relying on each other, advancing steadily and gathering the black water!

Every time a place is captured, the Yehe forces must be completely eliminated, and all the surrendered and captured Yehe people must be escorted back to Youzhou, and the attacking side's policy of scorching the city and clearing the countryside must be carried out to the end!

Liu Buqi and Zhu Caicai estimated that the current population of the entire Yehe tribe would not exceed 500,000, and Youzhou, with its vast territory and sparse population, was fully capable of settling these people.

The longer the two forces of Taiyue confront each other on the river, the more Taiyue people will flee to the pure land of Youzhou. They can organize an official "Chuang Guandong" and use a large number of Hua people to occupy the Baishan Black Water. If this continues for decades, the Yehe tribe will be completely integrated into the Hua people!

Of course, Liu Buqi's geographical knowledge that was ahead of her time was enough for her to tell Yue Lingxi in advance that they had to build a defense line in a place called Yalu River to prevent the indigenous people on the peninsula from sneaking in to pick peaches!

…

The army gathered at Lushan for half a month before swearing to march out! The Yehe people were scattered across the high mountains and steep ridges. If they were not informed of the Youzhou expedition in advance and gathered together, it would take an unknown amount of time to clear them out one by one!

Liu Buqi watched the army slowly go away. Yue Lingxi's guilty gaze always surrounded her, and she could only pretend to be strong and keep smiling.

Since they have chosen this thorny road, the little woman's love for her and Yue Lingxi can only be a wait and perseverance in their hearts, but it cannot be the only thing to follow!

Liu Buqi could tolerate Yue Hanxin being like this, and so could Yue Lingxi give up accompanying her while she was expecting her baby and go on an expedition outside the territory!

That’s enough, you know me and I know each other!

Even though Yue Lingxi, who was now far away, had already lost sight of the tears running down his cheeks, condensing into tiny specks of frost in the biting spring chill, the figure on high above, watching him go, was reluctant to leave for a long time!

This was a love story between a man and a woman that Gongsun Wuhui, who was obsessed with martial arts, could hardly understand. However, the discomfort of being suddenly invaded by a barely perceptible murderous aura made her suddenly draw her sword and block Liu Buqi!

In the distance, a tall and majestic figure gradually approached. It turned out to be the great hero Zhan Zhige from Guanzhong!

The Taiyue Army, which has not left the country for 20 years, will set out on a journey again today, and the Chinese people's invincible reputation will once again resound throughout the world.

This was an immense temptation to him. It was the temptation for the martial arts spirit he pursued, and it was the great chivalrous man's perseverance in serving his country and his people!

Therefore, even though Zhan Zhige had realized that his philosophy of "Zhi Ge Tian Xia" was bound to run counter to Yue Lingxi's future goals, he had already made up his mind to go his separate ways and no longer have anything to do with each other.

But when he heard the news of the uprising in Youzhou, he still came resolutely!

Liu Buqi dragged his heavy body and bowed solemnly. Zhan Zhige accepted it calmly, returned the greeting with a bow, and then walked straight towards the vast snowfield facing the rising sun!

…

After waiting in Lushan for another half a month, news from the front line came back one after another. As expected, the Youzhou army was unstoppable. The first batch of several thousand women and children had been sent back. They watched with satisfaction as Lu Xin easily and skillfully settled these panicked Yehe people.

Only then, escorted by Gongsun Wuhui, did Liu Buqi return to Prince Yan's Mansion, where she had left nearly a month ago.

Counting the days, the fetus in her belly had been there for a full eight months, and it was "jumping around" several times almost every day. Sometimes Liu Buqi felt like the baby would jump out of her belly on its own!

At this moment, a person who filled Liu Buqi with surprise was waiting for her in Prince Yan's Mansion!