Counterattack begins

As for Gao Yuan, even though Huo Jun repeatedly tried to stop him, he couldn't help but lead the troops into battle himself.

Technically, he was already the supreme Commander of the Nanzhou Army with elite soldiers and capable generals under his command, but at the end of the day, he was still just a young man over nineteen, prone to letting his blood boil.

Plus, with the existence of system events, he insisted on leading an elite squad to the city walls every day for defense.

Commander never expected that attacking a small pass would be so difficult. Now that the Nanzhou Army reinforcements had arrived, he had already begun to think about retreating.

However, the several deputy generals under his command were unwilling. They had been struggling here for nearly half a month and had lost thousands of troops. With such a huge cost and absolutely no gains, how could they accept this?

Western Kang was a regime established primarily by the nine Dangxiang tribes, so internally, it was actually riddled with factions.

This army of over twenty thousand was cobbled together by everyone. Now that everyone had invested, only to face a losing result, who could accept that?

"Then what do you all mean? Should we continue the attack? Even if we take it, how many troops will we have left? Will we still be able to take Dehong?"

Commander had assessed it in his heart; even if they took the pass regardless of the cost, they would still lose over ten thousand troops, making it almost impossible for them to take Dehong next.

"West City isn't just Dehong. As long as we break in, we can loot to our hearts' content."

"That's right, as long as we grab enough food, slaves, and women, our tribespeople will be able to have a prosperous year."

Facing the persistence of the other tribes, Commander, as the main general, felt quite helpless.

"Since that's the case, let's withdraw more troops from Lijiang and Dali."

In Dali and Lijiang, Western Kang still had over ten thousand garrison troops; this was also the final main force of their southward expeditionary army.

"I agree."

"I also agree."

At this moment within Lijiang territory, Liu Rengui's army had been lurking for several days, remaining still and waiting for the right opportunity.

This morning, Liu Rengui had just woken up naturally when Xia Luqi rushed into the commanders tent.

"Grand Commander, according to reports from the Scout, the Lijiang garrison is preparing to mobilize. It looks like they are getting ready to head south for reinforcements. As for our lord..."

"How many men?"

"It looks like over five thousand men are heading south, which means the Lijiang garrison will have fewer than one thousand left."

"We've searched high and low for this, only to find it without any effort. Order the entire army to act according to the plan. We will first annihilate these five thousand troops, then take Lijiang City to block the troops coming south from Dali."

"Understood!"

Soon, over five thousand Nanzhou Army soldiers began to move, arriving at the ambush site according to the original plan.

By the afternoon, the Western Kang reinforcements entered the ambush zone. Besides the five thousand-plus troops, there were also over three thousand laborers helping to transport grain.

"It looks like many of them are captured commoners. Pass the order down to tell the soldiers to be careful and not to hurt our own people."

"Understood!"

As evening approached, the Western Kang main general decided to set up camp there. The troops suddenly became chaotic; people were crowding and pushing each other, and shouts and cries were incessant.

Liu Rengui realized this was a perfect opportunity and immediately ordered the entire army to attack.

The sound of horns rang out, and Nanzhou Army soldiers charged down from the hillsides on both sides of the valley like tigers descending a mountain.

The Western Kang troops were already chaotic, and now they were in complete disarray. The unprepared Western Kang soldiers scattered in panic.

They were not an elite force to begin with; they were jackals when bullying unarmed civilians, but when faced with this situation, they were like frightened quails.

The battle proceeded extremely smoothly. Many captured slaves also rose up to fight back, stabbing the Western Kang soldiers hard in the back.

With the Western Kang main general slain by Xia Luqi in two rounds, the remaining enemy troops lost the courage to resist.

Learning that a few had escaped, Liu Rengui immediately rode to find Xia Luqi.

"Bang Jie, it is better to act sooner rather than later; delay will only bring complications. Take the First Division and Second Division and immediately launch a surprise attack on Lijiang City!"

"Understood!"

As the main elite forces, the First Division and Second Division included weighted running in their daily training, so their physical stamina was far superior to the average person.

Therefore, although Xia Luqi started a bit later, he actually managed to arrive at Lijiang City before the fleeing Western Kang troops.

Using the captured token, they tricked the gatekeepers into opening the gates and charged straight in.

Within a single day, the five thousand reinforcements sent by Lijiang, along with the few hundred garrison troops in Lijiang City, were completely wiped out.

Over one thousand people, including the Western Kang main general, were killed, and over four thousand were captured. Together with those accompanying the army and those in the city, nearly four thousand slaves were rescued.

Liu Rengui was not carried away by the victory and continued to issue orders.

"Quickly clean up the traces, pacify the commoners, and wait for the enemy troops from Dali to arrive."

He still remembered that there were four thousand garrison troops in Dali, and this time they would certainly head south for reinforcements, which would give him the perfect opportunity to catch them in a trap.

As he expected, three days later, three thousand reinforcements from the direction of Dali headed south, passing through Lijiang City.

They originally just wanted to enter the city to rest and have a good time, who would have thought it would turn into a guillotine?

Over a dozen generals and their Personal Guards were killed, and their heads were used to persuade the soldiers outside the city to surrender.

Everything was thanks to the system of Western Kang.

Western Kang was a feudal lord system, where the commoners all belonged to these lords as personal property; their treatment was only slightly better than that of slaves during the Tubo period.

Therefore, upon hearing that they could surrender and become citizens of the Great Qian, gaining personal freedom and becoming self-sufficient farmers with guaranteed lives, these soldiers all chose to surrender.

The few officers who were unwilling to surrender were quickly overwhelmed by their own soldiers, their heads cut off to serve as tokens of allegiance.

Liu Rengui detached two brigades to head north and, with the cooperation of the surrendered troops, captured Dali.

The main force chose to head south, preparing to join Gao Yuan in annihilating Commander's army.

Commander, who was still at the border, had no idea that his rear had already been captured and was busy commanding his army to continue the attack.

The defensive supplies brought by Huo Jun were also nearing exhaustion, and the generals of the various Western Kang tribes could already see the scene of imminent victory.

The situation on the defending side was not good either. Facing the crazy attacks of the Western Kang people, the garrison had suffered heavy casualties, and now there were fewer than nine hundred soldiers left who could fight.

Huo Jun was also wounded; at this moment, one of his arms was bandaged and suspended from his neck.

Most crucially, after being repeatedly assaulted and burned, one section of the pass's wooden city wall was already tottering.

"My Lord, this place is already in imminent danger. This humble general suggests that you take your Personal Guards and leave immediately."

Mu Qing also cast her gaze toward Gao Yuan, wanting to see how this man would choose.

Gao Yuan shook his head decisively.

"The battle is currently deadlocked. How could I leave the soldiers and flee alone? What would the soldiers think of me?"

As he spoke, Gao Yuan pointed to the damaged section in the distance.

"Starting tomorrow, leave that place to me for defense, and I will leave the other areas to you, Zhongmiao."

Huo Jun still wanted to insist, but in the end, he was refused by Gao Yuan.

After Huo Jun left, Gao Yuan looked at Mu Qing beside him, staring at her slightly pale little face, and asked softly.

"How is it? Is the battlefield different from your usual martial arts practice? Do you want me to send someone to take you back?"

"I won't!"

Little Chili Pepper lifted her little head, showing off her long, wheat-colored neck, her face full of haughtiness and stubbornness.

"I promised Xiyao that I would bring you back in one piece, so if you don't leave, I won't leave either."

"Are you not afraid of death?"

The young girl hesitated obviously, but in the end, she shook her head firmly.

"Not afraid!"

Gao Yuan smiled, stood up, and rubbed the girl's head.

"Rest assured, no matter what, I will not let you get hurt."

At this moment, by the moonlight and the firelight, Mu Qing felt that the man in front of her was exceptionally tall and shining with light.