Chapter 869: Gathering in Yiyang

Yiyang.

At the same time Zhao Xu led his troops out of the pass, an army composed of five thousand men was entering Yiyang City.

As soon as this army entered the city, it sparked whispers among the people of Yiyang.

Some timid people did not even dare to approach, instead hiding in corners to peek.

"What kind of world is this now? Why are there more and more foreigners coming to our Yiyang City?" one Yiyang resident said.

"It is said that Yan Wang has been stationing troops at Jiameng Pass; this means a war is coming, and these foreigners are here to help Southern Liang fight Yan Wang."

"Pah, these foreign tribes are wolves with wild ambitions. That Southern Liang Emperor and the North Territory barbarians are colluding like jackals and wolves, which is shameless enough, but to actually bring in foreigners we have never seen before—it is truly hateful."

"Exactly, when there is a family dispute, how can one bring in outsiders to fight one's own brothers?"

"Hush! Stop talking, do you not want to live?"

"..."

Several residents watched the army pass by, whispering in discussion.

This army entering Yiyang was precisely the army of Ross.

After the meeting with Yan Wang that day ended on a sour note, Qiefusi ordered the Ross army stationed at the Heilong River to head south, passing through the territory of the North Territory to reach Yiyang.

They were to guard Yizhou together with the Ashuer Tribe and Southern Liang.

Furthermore, the direct participation of Ross greatly encouraged Mule Hongzhen, who then dispatched three more Royal Tents to arrive in Yizhou.

Originally, Mule Hongzhen wanted to send more troops.

But after Qiefusi left, Yan Wang seemed to have shifted the defensive posture of his border troops to one of both offense and defense.

The cavalry of the Ningjin Army constantly invaded the areas controlled by the Copper Bull Royal Tent.

The Yan King Army at Jinzhou, Tongguan, and Xiao Pass was also restless, extending its reach into the Grassland.

There was a strong sense that they were about to raid the Grassland tribes.

Because of this, Mule Hongzhen had to remain strictly on guard and could only spare three idle Royal Tents.

But even so, Yizhou currently had a million-strong army gathered.

Southern Liang, Mule Hongzhen's forces and the Ashuer Tribe of the North Territory, and the one-hundred-thousand-strong army of Nanping.

After the seven influential clans united to resist Yan Wang under the mediation of the British, Nanping had not been very proactive.

They only undertook transport duties, which was moving a portion of the British muskets and artillery through Yunzhou to Bazhou and Yizhou.

But this situation changed after Yan Wang wiped out the million-strong armies of the Liang Family, Han Family, Wang Family, and Xie Family.

Especially since the Yan King Army had penetrated deep into Guizhou and Yuezhou, effectively controlling these two provinces and extending their sphere of influence to the border of Yunzhou.

Finally, the Fan Family could no longer sit still.

Thus, when Yan Wang stationed troops at Jiameng Pass, Fan Xinglun dispatched one hundred thousand troops to arrive in Yizhou.

Among the former Eight Great Influential Clans, the Fan Family's power had always been the weakest.

The entire military strength of Yunzhou was no more than one hundred and fifty thousand.

Being able to spare one hundred thousand troops, the Fan Family could be considered to have shown great sincerity.

"Hahaha... Liang Kai prided himself on having a million troops, but in the end, he was still a piece of trash. The battles in Jiangzhou and Xiangzhou were lost so miserably; it is simply shameful.

If you ask me, it is up to us to give Yan Wang a harsh lesson." Directly facing the central street in the south of Yiyang was the palace mansion built after Southern Liang moved its capital.

At this moment, Ashuer, Tiemuta, Dou Mu, Dou Wei, Xiao Cheng, Aersiji, and Fan Xinglun stood on the palace walls, watching the Ross army dressed in black-blue uniforms.

Suddenly, the gloom brought by Yan Wang's troops leaving the pass dissipated, and Xiao Cheng laughed loudly.

Dou Wei nodded.

The uniform attire, the neat and uniform marching pace, and the excellent muskets and field artillery of the Ross army left a deep impression on him.

It made him feel inferior.

He very much wanted to train the Southern Liang army to look like the Ross army.

To equip the Southern Liang army with the excellent muskets and artillery provided by the British.

But unfortunately, Yan Wang would not give them the time or opportunity to train.

However, if they could severely damage the Yan King Army in this battle.

He believed that this opportunity would arrive.

Therefore, no matter what, they had to fight this battle well, regardless of the cost.

"The Ross army is indeed mighty. Instructor Aersiji, we must rely heavily on you for this battle," Dou Wei said, cupping his hands.

Fan Xinglun also accompanied him with a smile and cupped his hands.

For this battle, he was leading the imperial expedition himself, which was a last resort.

Yizhou was the northern barrier of Nanping; if Yan Wang took this place, Nanping would basically be finished.

It could be said that this battle was a matter of life and death, and he could not afford to take it lightly.

After all, compared to the empty title of an Emperor, the foundation of the Fan Family was more important.

He would not bother with the pomp of an Emperor.

Thinking of something, he nudged Dou Wei's arm and cupped his hands toward Ashuer and Tiemuta, "Of course, there are also the two Great Kings. To cut off the supply lines of Yan Wang's troops, we must rely on you."

Ashuer and Tiemuta then nodded, revealing satisfied expressions.

"It is good that you all have confidence, but this war will not be easy. Yan Wang's army is more difficult to deal with than we imagined." Unlike Dou Wei and the others, Aersiji looked worried.

After learning that five thousand Ross troops had arrived in Yiyang along with the North Territory army led by Tiemuta.

He first cursed out loud.

But upon learning that this order was issued by the Diplomatic Minister under the command of Emperor Nikolai, he shut his mouth.

Clearly, this operation was a strategic deployment of their Ross nation.

As a soldier, he could only execute it.

Yet what he could not figure out was that during the Battle of Zhongling Pass, he had written the intelligence regarding Yan Wang's new-style muskets into a letter and sent it back; why did Qiefusi still make this decision?

Regarding this, he could only conclude that the Ross nation's understanding of this Yan Wang was not yet profound enough.

Or perhaps they firmly believed they could bridge the gap in firearms with Yan Wang.

Therefore, in order to achieve a certain goal, the risk was worth taking, even if failure meant showing the Ross nation's stance.

Ashuer nodded.

He and Aersiji had personally experienced the Battle of Zhongling Pass, and were likewise more cautious than Tiemuta.

Flicking his horse whip, he said, "There is simply no other way; this battle in Yizhou must be fought, otherwise once Yan Wang unifies Great Song, the next target will very likely be Northern Di."

He stated the purpose of their Northern Di participation directly in front of Dou Wei and the others.

Although each of them had their own interests, their goal of dealing with Yan Wang was consistent.

He was also not afraid of saying it out loud for Dou Wei, Xiao Cheng, and the others to hear.

"Exactly, exactly." Upon hearing this, Dou Wei and Xiao Cheng were instead even more pleased.

What they feared most was Northern Di abandoning Yizhou.

Being able to demonstrate their own utility would make them feel more at ease.

"If you ask me, there's no need to overthink it; one battle will show who is stronger. I simply don't believe that with our Northern Di Iron Cavalry, the Ross nation's army, and nearly twenty thousand soldiers equipped with Front-loading Rifled Muskets, we cannot defeat Yan Wang." Tiemuta snorted coldly at this moment.

During this period, another batch of Artillery and muskets from Britain arrived.

Northern Di, Southern Liang, and Nanping had also equipped a portion of them.

The three parties combined had around twenty-three thousand men.

They had combined the soldiers equipped with Front-loading Rifled Muskets together.

They prepared to use them like a sharp blade in this military campaign.

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