Gu County is located on a plain. Once the Xingguan Pass, which stretches across the Taihang Mountains, is breached, the heartland of the Zhongshan State lies beyond.

Dugu Yan's cavalry can now fully utilize their advantages!

Previously, Jiang Ming believed that Xingguan would be difficult to capture, and that it would require at least a 7:1 cost!

As a result, with just a light touch from Dugu Yan, the defending general fled in disarray, leaving the pass wide open and allowing her to advance unimpeded!

It seems that the most important thing in this world is to "try". Only by daring to try can you know if you can do it or not.

If you always stick to the old ways, you'll never even get to eat hot shit!

After Dugu Yan and Murong Lie led 80,000 men into Xingguan, they were extremely excited!

It's as if I can already see that tomorrow, we can march on Shouchun City...

It seems that the Zhongshan Kingdom has exhausted all its strength in resisting the combined forces of Zhao and Wei, and is simply unable to resist the military pressure from the north!

The so-called "perilous pass" is nothing but a paper tiger!

However, what they did not know was that these 80,000 elite Xianbei troops were about to face annihilation, and also caused Jiang Ming's first crushing defeat since his rise to power!

......

Previously, the Zhao and Wei allied forces launched a fierce attack on the southern part of Zhongshan, and Zhongshan undoubtedly shifted its military forces to the south!

Despite this, the ruler of Zhongshan, who had already mastered the art of defense, still dared not relax his control over the northern passes.

Because he knew... Jiang Ming was definitely a tough nut to crack, a deadly devil.

In earlier years, whether the Jin army numbered 100,000 or 200,000, they had all been successfully repelled by them...

They have successful experience and a certain amount of courage to win.

But facing Jiang Ming, the King of Zhongshan, who had been swindled out of almost all his wealth, had no confidence at all!

Despite the intense fighting at the front, he still left 30,000 troops at Xingguan Pass to guard against Jiang Ming's surprise attack.

This number is exactly the same as the strength of Dugu Yan's troops...

With the natural advantage of the Xingguan Pass, they should be able to hold them off for a while!

Back then, the governor of the former Gu County of Zhongshan State was an incompetent fool, just as bad as Ji Bochang, but the general guarding Xing Pass was no useless fool!

He and Yue Yi studied under the same master, who was also a general skilled in military strategy, named Hu Yan.

Hu Yan knew that the prime minister of Yan was skilled in military strategy, cunning, and also adept at using sorcery, capable of blinding thousands of people instantly... Therefore, even with the natural defenses of Xing Pass as a natural barrier, conventional methods could not guarantee that the pass could be defended.

Therefore, he adopted a bold defensive strategy, namely, "closing the door to beat the dog"!

The danger of the Taihang Mountains lies not in the impregnability of the passes, but in the narrow and winding mountain roads...

Instead of heavily fortifying the pass, it would be better to ambush the main force on both sides of the mountain road, letting the Yan army in, then sealing off the pass and annihilating them in the mountain valley...

In fact, this tactic is somewhat similar to Jiang Ming's Yanshan annihilation campaign.

Moreover, the terrain within the Taihang Mountains is even more treacherous than that within the Yanshan Mountains...

Hu Yan had made ample preparations, but Jiang Ming seemed to have seen through his scheme and hesitated to attack, making Hu Yan somewhat "guilty" and thinking to himself... Could this Yan Kingdom sorcerer really be as magical as the rumors say, possessing the ability to see a thousand miles and hear the wind?

The allied forces of Zhao and Wei in the south are launching a fierce offensive and have already besieged Shouchun, the capital of Zhongshan.

Hu Yan was somewhat desperate, feeling that this time the country was doomed to perish!

Unexpectedly, the Zhao and Wei armies suddenly withdrew, giving the Zhongshan state a chance to regroup...

On the surface, it seems that the Jin state's backyard is on fire, and the Zhao-Wei allied forces are going home to "put out the fire." However, Hu Yan, being a meticulous person, wondered if there might be another possibility... that this was creating an opportunity for the Yan state's army in the north.

Regardless of Jiang Ming's cunning "political maneuvering," the result seems obvious: the people of Jin did the dirty work, while Jiang Ming of Yan reaped the rewards...

Therefore, Hu Yan keenly realized that, from any perspective, the Gu County Yan Army, which had been holding back, might be about to take action!

And it turned out just like that. An army of 80,000 to 90,000 marched towards Xingguan. Jiang Ming... he really was well-prepared! He was just waiting for the Zhao-Wei allied forces to bleed the Zhongshan Kingdom dry before making his move...

By opening the gates of the Fox Weir, the enemy was allowed to enter, creating the illusion that the Zhongshan state was "attempting to disregard its own interests" and had transferred all its troops to the southern front, thus lowering the guard of the Yan army.

As it turns out... Dugu Yan did indeed lower her guard!

This heroine was completely blinded by the victory that was about to be won, and even fantasized about replacing the Bai Di people and letting the Tuoba tribe rule the Zhongshan area.

Having conquered the Zhongshan Kingdom myself, I believe my husband won't refuse this request! After all, my achievements speak for themselves...

It's important to understand that at this time, Dugu Yan was no longer the heroine who could casually mount a horse, whip it, and shoot an arrow... She was already six months pregnant.

With her belly bulging high, she was riding a horse, ready to conquer the world for Jiang Ming.

Dugu Yan stroked her belly with one hand and held the horse's reins with the other, muttering to herself, "My darling, I'll conquer the Zhongshan Kingdom for you soon, and then you'll be the future ruler of Zhongshan!"

Dugu Yan also has a ruthless side...

The Bai Di people were originally a nomadic people from the grasslands who occupied the Zhongshan area for nearly 100 years. It was impossible to make them as obedient as the Xiongnu who belonged to them!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!