Chapter 608

However, these matters did not affect Lü Bu and the others in the slightest.

After capturing Yongjia Commandery, Dongyang Commandery, and the other four, they quickly took over the Sui troops in these six commanderies, leaving one Martial Ancestor Realm centurion in each city to lead the surrendered Sui soldiers in guarding them.

As for Lü Bu and the others, they did not delay for even a moment, continuing to lead their grand army to attack other commanderies south of the Yangtze River.

To guard against the Sui Kingdom, Guo Jia even arranged for Taishi Ci to lead fifty thousand naval troops to patrol the Yangtze River.

……

During this period, the one having the hardest time was Yuwen Huaji.

He had yet to uncover the background of the Han Kingdom when Lü Bu and the others began their massive conquest of the region south of the Yangtze River.

During this time, news of cities falling everywhere arrived daily; now, he didn't even dare to enter the palace to see Yang Guang.

If it weren't for the fact that things were going relatively smoothly on Wu Jianzhang's side, Yang Guang might have already started a massacre.

Even so, the entire Sui Kingdom had been caught off guard by the Han Kingdom.

No one expected the Han Kingdom's actions to be so swift; they didn't even have time to react.

"Lai Huer, Gao Jiong, He Ruobi, and Shi Wansui, you four are to lead your respective armies of two hundred thousand each, for a total of eight hundred thousand troops, and immediately wipe out the Han Kingdom for me!"

Inside the Qianyang Palace of the Sui Kingdom's imperial palace, Yang Guang's roar sounded once again.

At this moment, Yang Guang's hatred for the Great Han had reached its peak.

In just half a month, the Sui Kingdom had lost nearly a quarter of its territory because of the Great Han.

If one were to count the other rebel armies, the Sui Kingdom had already lost nearly one-third of its territory, which was something Yang Guang could not accept under any circumstances.

Therefore, he was now willing to pay any price to destroy the Han Kingdom first.

"This humble general obeys the decree!"

Upon receiving Yang Guang's decree, Lai Huer and the other three immediately led their armies and marched toward the Han Kingdom.

For a time, the eyes of the entire Sui Kingdom were focused on this great battle.

"It seems the Han Kingdom has truly angered Yang Guang this time, for him to have dispatched the four Martial King generals Lai Huer and the others, and even sent an army of eight hundred thousand to conquer them!"

"It must be said that the Han Kingdom's strength is also very powerful to have captured so many cities of the Sui Kingdom in such a short time!"

"We shall see if Yang Guang succeeds in wiping out the Han Kingdom this time, or if the Han Kingdom will withstand the Sui Kingdom's military might!"

"Does anyone know just how strong the Han Kingdom's power is?"

"There is no specific news yet, but looking at what the Han Kingdom has done in these past few days, their strength must be incredibly powerful!"

"Sigh! This Han Kingdom is truly too mysterious, and their control over the cities they occupy is too strong."

"The spies sent by major forces have all lost contact ever since entering the cities occupied by the Han Kingdom; to this day, no one knows their specific strength!"

Just as everyone was discussing this, in a restaurant in Luoyang City, a woman in white was quietly listening to the crowd's discussion.

"Great Han! Distributing land to the people and providing free high-yield crop seeds—could you be the wise ruler who saves the world that my master spoke of?"

Beneath the maiden's pure white veil was a beautiful and moving face; this maiden was none other than the successor of Cihang Jingzhai, Shi Feixuan, who had descended the mountain under her master's orders to find the wise ruler to save the world.

Suddenly, before anyone noticed, the maiden's figure had disappeared; only the silver coins left on the table and the lingering fragrance in the air proved that she had been there.

And in another restaurant, Wanwan, as the Saint Maiden of the Yin Kuai Pai, was also shocked by the news of the Great Han.

For those of their three great sects, they were already clearly aware of the news regarding the other rebel armies of the Sui Kingdom.

Given the strength of those people, they didn't believe those people could pose any threat to the Sui Kingdom.

However, the situation with the Han Kingdom was different; they were actually able to bring most of the cities south of the Yangtze River under their command in such a short time, which had to demonstrate the power of the Han Kingdom.

"However, if this Han Kingdom wants to take the entire land south of the Yangtze River, they will have to ask the Song family that occupies Lingnan!"

"Exactly, I wonder if this Han Kingdom can pass the hurdle of the Song family!"

Thinking of this, Wanwan couldn't help but feel a bit expectant.

The Lingnan Song family is recognized by the world as one of the four great aristocratic clans, a family even more powerful than the Five Surnames and Seven Wangs.

In the world today, the Lingnan Song Valve, the Guanzhong Li Valve, the Yuwen Valve, and the Dugu Valve are collectively known as the four great aristocratic clans.

And the Lingnan Song Valve refers to the Song family of Lingnan, whose family head is the peerless expert known in the Jianghu as the Heavenly Blade, Song Que.

The Guanzhong Li Valve refers to Li Yuan of Taiyuan, and the Yuwen Valve is the Yuwen family where Yuwen Huaji resides.

As for the Dugu Valve, it is the maternal clan of Yang Guang's mother, Dugu Qieluo; the current valve head, Dugu Feng, is a trusted general guarding Luoyang for Yang Guang.

"Why don't I go to this Han Kingdom and see; perhaps this Han Kingdom can give this young lady some surprises!"

Thinking of this, Wanwan no longer hesitated and immediately set off toward the south.

……

Meanwhile, the news that the Sui Kingdom had dispatched the four Martial King generals Lai Huer, Shi Wansui, Gao Jiong, and He Ruobi to lead an army of eight hundred thousand to conquer the Han Kingdom was also sent by Huang Yaoshi and Guo Jing to Guo Jia and the others.

In Jiujiang Commandery, after capturing the city, Gan Ning received the message sent by Guo Jia, telling him to first station himself in Jiujiang Commandery and wait for further news.

As for Lü Bu and Guo Jia in Xuancheng Commandery, after receiving the news, they stopped their plans to head south.

"This time, the Sui army is heading south with eight hundred thousand troops; they can only launch an attack on us from three directions!"

Inside the City Lord's Residence in Xuancheng Commandery, Guo Jia pointed at the map hanging on the wall and analyzed it for Lü Bu and the others with a solemn expression.

"Generals, please look: if the Sui army wants to attack the cities occupied by our army, they must cross the Yangtze River."

"And to cross the Yangtze River, they can only cross from Jiangdu Commandery, Liyang Commandery, or Jiujiang Commandery!"

"As for Jiujiang Commandery, since it has already been captured by General Gan Ning, and the Sui army's naval forces and warships were all destroyed by General Gan Ning, it is impossible for the Sui army to choose to cross the river from Jiujiang Commandery after receiving the news."

"As for Liyang Commandery and Jiangdu Commandery, neither has been occupied by our army, and the Sui army has naval forces and warships, so the possibility of the Sui army crossing the river from these two places is very high!"

"And the Sui army has eight hundred thousand troops this time; if I were the commander on the other side, I would definitely not gather all the troops together to cross the river."

"Therefore, I conclude that this time, the Sui army will cross the river from both Liyang Commandery and Jiangdu Commandery!"

"Currently, Jiangdu Commandery is guarded by Xun Yu and the fifty thousand naval troops led by General Taishi Ci; this force is a bit small to face the opponent's forty thousand troops."

"In that case, let's transfer another fifty thousand troops from here to Wenruo and the others. That way, they will have an army composed of one hundred thousand Innate Realm warriors, plus fifty thousand new recruits, which should be enough!"