Due to the urgency of the situation, Li Guang planned to accompany Wei Jinxian into the Southern Dian Kingdom to stabilize the situation there before focusing his efforts on helping Li Xue find Li Ru.

In order to deal with emergencies, Li Guang also brought his two-hundred-man bomb-throwing team.

Wei Jin had long heard that Li Guang's grenade-throwing team was like a divine army, capable of unleashing the fighting power of tens of thousands of men in critical moments, and he hoped to witness it this time.

After arranging these matters, Wei Jin made an agreement with the envoy of the Southern Dian Kingdom that the next morning, 30,000 troops would be divided into five groups, each led by a representative from the Southern Dian Kingdom, to several locations where the situation was critical.

Of course, the Southern Dian Kingdom has more than ten salt mines, which have attracted the attention of multiple forces, including foreign forces as well as some local forces.

Some of the weaker local forces, unable to confront the local government, resorted to guerrilla tactics, like sparrows stealing food, gradually eroding the salt resources of the Southern Dian Kingdom.

With the intervention of the Northern Dynasty army, some relatively weak foreign forces withdrew automatically and dared not sneak into the border to steal salt resources.

These people knew that with their limited strength, they would be quickly wiped out if they encountered the Northern Dynasty's army.

Some local forces have also become more restrained, and now is not the time to deal with them. Wei Jin's current task is to deal with the Kingdom of Bagong, which is plundering salt mine resources, carrying out large-scale mining, and stationing its own army in the mining area.

In the southeastern part of the Southern Dian Kingdom, there was a very large salt mine that had been occupied by the Bagong Kingdom for many years and was guarded by more than 10,000 troops.

The Southern Dian Kingdom repeatedly sent troops to try to reclaim the salt mine, but they were defeated by the Bagong Kingdom's garrison each time, suffering heavy losses.

What Wei Jin needs to do this time is to reclaim the salt mine and drive away the Bagong Kingdom's garrison here.

Wei Jin is prepared to personally lead the operation to eliminate the garrison here.

Because the troops were divided into five routes and dispersed, Wei Jin brought only 10,000 troops here, which was weaker than the garrison of Bagong.

Wei Jin knew that this confrontation with Bagong was different from the campaign to quell the rebellion in the desert a few months ago. Last time, he used a scheme to dismantle the local forces, but sending troops to Nan Dian was different; what was needed was strength.

The current situation is that the enemy is strong and we are weak. Li Guang can only rely on himself to lead his army to other regions and eliminate the forces there.

The Southern Dian Kingdom sent guides to lead Wei Jin's 10,000 troops to their destination. After a two-day journey, Wei Jin's troops arrived at a region called Muliwang.

Muliwang is a flat and vast area, with a terrain resembling a basin. Millions of years ago, this place was likely a salt lake. Over the long course of time, the lake water evaporated, forming the salt mine we see today.

This salt mine is not only rich in reserves, but also produces salt of extremely high quality that can be mined in the open. No wonder the Bagong Kingdom was willing to use its army to wage war against the Southern Dian Kingdom in order to seize this salt mine for itself.

The Kingdom of Bagong has stationed a large number of troops here. The garrison commander is Tegoli, who is a frequent military leader, skilled in warfare, and also adept at business.

He led his troops to defend this place, dealing with the army of the Southern Dian Kingdom and preventing the salt mines from being seized. After many battles, the Southern Dian Kingdom was no match for him at all.

Tieguoli led a large army not only to guard the area but also to mine salt. With the addition of miners sent by their own country, a large amount of salt was lost from the area every day.

Tieguoli knew that the Southern Dian Kingdom had sought help from the Northern Dynasty, and that the Northern Dynasty's troops would soon arrive at Muliwang. They became tense and prepared for battle.

That day, Tieguoli received a report from a scout that the army of the Great Northern Dynasty had entered the Southern Dian Kingdom, and a force was heading this way, less than thirty miles from Muliwang.

"How many men did they bring, and who is their commander?" Tie Guoli asked.

"The Great Northern Dynasty sent 50,000 troops, of which 30,000 entered the Southern Dian Kingdom, and another 20,000 were stationed in Lishui City."

The army of 30,000 was divided into five routes. One of these routes, consisting of 10,000 men, was tasked with attacking the Muliwang Salt Mine. The commander was a young man in his twenties named Wei Jin.

"Ten thousand men dare to come and join the fun? I will make sure they never return. Soldiers, prepare for battle."

Soldiers who were mining salt returned from the mining area and immediately went into combat readiness.

Thirty li was covered in no time. When they were five li away from the Tieguoli camp, Wei Jin ordered his army to halt their advance.

He surveyed his surroundings, then spurred his horse to a nearby high ground, from where he could clearly see the camp of the Bagong Kingdom.

Upon seeing the enemy's camp, Wei Jin couldn't help but laugh. It didn't look like a military camp at all; it was more like a refugee camp. The soldiers' barracks looked like dog kennels.

This is actually understandable. The more than 10,000 soldiers stationed here are both soldiers and miners. How good can the living conditions of miners be?

After observing for a while, Wei Jin devised a plan. He returned from the high ground, first withdrawing his troops twenty miles away. When the sun was about to set, he led his army quickly to the north of the Bagong Kingdom's camp, setting up camp ten miles away.

Just as Wei Jin's army stopped five miles from Tie Guoli's camp, Tie Guoli saw it and was preparing to leave the camp to meet the enemy when he discovered that the troops were beginning to retreat. He couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"It seems that the army of the Great Northern Dynasty is also a bunch of rats. They ran away in fear before the battle even started when they saw the army of my Bagong Kingdom."

However, Tie Guoli remained cautious, worried that the Northern Dynasty's forces might launch a night attack, so he dared not let his guard down.

Seeing that the camp had been set up, Wei Jin immediately ordered that the small river next to the camp be blocked to prevent a single drop of water from flowing downstream.

The soldiers immediately understood Wei Jin's intention: the small river beside the military camp provided water to the Bagong Kingdom's military camp and mining area downstream. By blocking the water source here, the downstream area would soon run out of water.

In such hot weather, without water, they would not be able to survive, and the people of Bagong would fall into disarray without a fight.

Wei Jin calculated that the soldiers and miners of the Kingdom of Bagong in the mining area numbered nearly 20,000, and they needed a large amount of fresh water every day. Diverting the river would be tantamount to severing the lifeline of the people of Bagong.

There is still some water in the river, enough for them to use for two or three days. After that, they will have no water to use. Therefore, they will have to come and fight for the water source. My 10,000 troops only need to defend the water source.

After cutting off the water supply, the soldiers began to cook. The soldiers of Bagong were unaware of the situation here and could rest well at night without worrying about being attacked.

But the military camp in Tieguo was different. The army from the Great Northern Dynasty came during the day and then withdrew. Were they planning to launch a surprise attack at night?

Tieguoli ordered all his soldiers to ambush the camp, so that they could surround the enemy army should they launch a surprise attack.

If they can eliminate the 10,000 troops of the Great Northern Dynasty, the salt mine will basically belong to their Bagong Kingdom.