Tumu Fort, part of Wuzhou.
Li Jingyu, the Flying General of Youzhou and descendant of a famous general of the Great Xin Dynasty, is currently leading 120,000 elite Tiger Warriors in a temporary rest at Tumu Fort, awaiting the arrival of 30,000 Tiger Warriors from Wuzhou to join forces.
Along the way, Li Jingyu ordered his personal guards to repeatedly scout the route that Emperor Zhao Gan would inevitably take on his expedition, and to leave small groups of scouts to keep watch, in order to ensure the safety of the current emperor.
In response, the generals of his Tiger Legion all said that the Flying General was being overly cautious.
Of the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, except for Yunzhou which was captured by Chen Huai'an's Longcheng rebel army, the remaining fifteen prefectures were all under the control of the imperial Tiger Army.
Now, with General Li Jingyu leading 200,000 elite troops ahead, unless Chen Huai'an and the Longcheng rebels are winged birds—able to fly.
Otherwise, the marching route personally chosen by General Fei for the Emperor, located in the heart of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, would be as safe as the capital city.
After all, the area of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun not only has the natural barrier of the Great Wall, but each prefecture also has high city walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, there are 500,000 Tiger Warriors stationed here. No one can even think of disturbing the Emperor's presence in the heart of Youyun.
Moreover, the Emperor is surrounded by 200,000 Japanese pirate guards and 20,000 elite Imperial Guards protecting him.
Therefore, the actions of General Li Jingyu, who sent his personal guards to repeatedly scout along the way and left small groups of scouts to keep watch, were seen by the Tiger Army generals as excessive caution and likely to delay the army's march, which was both troublesome and laborious.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, Ni Baoguo, the Deputy General of the Wuzhou Tiger Warriors, requests an audience!"
At this moment, in the temporary camp of the Tiger Legion at Tumu Fort, the sound of a messenger reporting an order rang out outside the central command tent.
General Li Jingyu, seated firmly in the central command tent, said without even raising his head, "Let him in!"
Soon, a tall, burly man hurried over.
Upon entering the main tent, he first knelt and bowed to Li Jingyu, who was holding the tent, and said with his hands clasped, "This humble general Ni Baoguo greets the Great General."
"General, I have been ordered to lead 30,000 elite troops from Wuzhou to join forces with you. The army is currently resting in the wilderness ten miles away. Please give your instructions!"
Only then did Li Jingyu, who had been writing at his desk, throw down his brush, abruptly raise his head, stare intently at Ni Baoguo, and demand with displeasure, "Where is Liu Ziyu?"
Ni Baoguo replied without changing his expression: "Reporting to the general, before the army set off, a small group of Turkic remnants suddenly appeared in the northern desert and harassed our Wuzhou city. General Liu personally led two thousand personal guards to intercept and kill the northern barbarians!"
"In order not to delay the departure of the pacification army, General Liu has specially ordered me to lead my troops ahead to Tumu Fort to join the pacification army. General Liu will arrive later!"
Bang!
Upon hearing this, Li Jingyu slammed his hand on the table and roared angrily, "What does Liu Ziyu want to do? He dares to disregard my orders!"
"He'd better arrive in Yingzhou and meet up with me before the Emperor's main army arrives!"
"Otherwise, if he incurs the Emperor's wrath, no one can save him, hmph—"
Then, Li Jingyu waved his hand and roared, "Send down the order: the army shall set off immediately for Yingzhou without delay!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
......
Wuzhou City, General's Mansion.
It was evening.
Liu Ziyu, the military commander of the Wuzhou Tiger Army, rode back with more than a hundred personal guards from the bandit suppression campaign outside the city and went straight back to the general's mansion.
All of this could not escape the surveillance of the Red-Clad Guards, an intelligence agency personally trained by the emperor and hidden within Wuzhou City.
However, the Red-Clad Guards, who were in charge of monitoring Liu Ziyu's troops leaving the city to wipe out the remnants of the Turks, simply recorded the matter normally for future investigation and did not discover any clues.
In reality, Liu Ziyu's decision to lead his personal guards out of the city to suppress bandits was not actually to wipe out the so-called remnants of the Turks, but rather to make contact with the Longcheng Jingnan Army and General Huo Qubing on the northern grasslands outside Wuzhou City.
Upon returning to the general's mansion, Liu Ziyu immediately ordered martial law to be imposed, with soldiers stationed every three steps and guards every five steps.
Inside the study, an old soldier dressed in his personal guard armor sat upright in the main seat.
General Liu Ziyu, on the contrary, diligently served the elderly soldier tea and water, and took good care of him.
It wasn't until the veteran removed his helmet that his wise face was revealed; he was none other than Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Wuning, one of the eight kings of different surnames in the Great Xin Dynasty!
That's right, after they had learned the time, route, and troop deployment of Emperor Zhao Gan's personal expedition.
Having already decided to stake the future of the Wu Ning Prince's Mansion, and even the lives of the father and daughter, on the Jin Prince's Mansion and on Chen Huai'an, Liu Xinwu immediately took action.
Upon learning that Chen Huai'an had decided to launch a surprise attack on Emperor Zhao Gan at Tumu Fortress in Wuzhou, Liu Xinwu was shocked and immediately disguised himself and left the mansion, rushing to Wuzhou City without stopping.
This led to the scene where Wuzhou Deputy General Ni Baoguo was ordered to lead troops on an expedition, and Lieutenant General Liu Ziyu went out of the city to suppress bandits.
After pouring Liu Xinwu a full cup of hot tea, Liu Ziyu finally asked, "Father, are you really sure you want to risk the lives of your entire clan and rebel with Chen Huai'an?"
After a pause, Liu Ziyu continued, "Father, you saw it with your own eyes today. Huo Qubing, the General of the Cavalry under Chen Huai'an, looked at his youthful arrogance and ignorance of the immensity of the world. I always feel uneasy about it!"
"Furthermore, Chen Huai'an only brought over 30,000 troops when he ambushed the current emperor in Wuzhou. Emperor Zhao Gan, along with the Imperial Guards of the capital and the coastal defense troops, has a total of 220,000 troops!"
At this point, Liu Ziyu paused before tentatively asking, "Father, is it still not too late to stop?"
"Now that the Turkic Khaganate has been destroyed, the greatest threat to the northern grasslands is gone. If Father does not want Sister Shujun to marry into the Uyghur Khaganate for a political marriage, as long as you can find a way to bring Shujun to Wuzhou, I will find a way to send you to the grasslands to live out the rest of your lives in peace."
"Father, should we reconsider?"
Ha ha!
Upon hearing these words from his adopted son Liu Ziyu, Prince Wuning Liu Xinwu suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
He just smiled and didn't say anything.
Liu Ziyu felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but ask, "Dad, what are you laughing at?"
Liu Xinwu then stopped laughing, looked at Liu Ziyu with a serious expression, and said, "Ziyu, do you know the achievements of General Huo Qubing?"
Liu Ziyu shook his head.
Liu Xinwu said: "On the night of September 17th of the first year of Jian'an, General Huo Qubing led 10,000 elite cavalry to sweep through the northern desert, destroying the Turkic royal court in one fell swoop, killing the Turkic Khan Temur and 32 other generals, killing more than 20,000 enemies, and capturing countless prisoners!"
"This General Huo Qubing is only in his early twenties!"
As he spoke, Liu Xinwu grinned and said, "Ziyu, think about what you were doing when you were 20 years old?"
"If you were to annihilate the Turkic Khaganate by the age of 20, I think you would be even more arrogant and ignorant than the General of the Flying Cavalry!"
"ah!"
"this--"
For a moment, Liu Ziyu was dumbfounded and speechless.
Liu Xinwu continued, "I have fought in the north and south for most of my life. Now that I have finally settled down, I have no heart or strength left to wander around."
"On the contrary, it's you I want to ask you a question—"
Liu Xinwu abruptly changed the subject, asking sharply, "You're approaching forty; do you intend to rely on your past achievements and continue serving as a third-rank general in the previous dynasty?"
"Or do you still have the courage and determination to take a gamble and become the emperor's brother-in-law in the new dynasty?"
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