Menjuguan is the gateway to the south for Biancheng County, and its strategic position is very important and cannot be lost.
Similarly, for Lu Ding, who was determined to unify the West and leave no legacy behind, Menguguan must be in his hands.
With the strategic center of gravity shifting southward and insufficient food resources prepared, Lu Ding could not send troops northward at will, so Lu Ding chose to use a more covert method to control Menjuguan.
For example, they promised to grant officials to the magnates in Menju County and secretly provide food supplies; they also paid large sums of money to bribe officers at all levels in Menjuguan County, and planted secret agents, etc.
On the surface, Menguguan is controlled by the Ning family and the Wang family, but in fact it has been infiltrated by the Lu family's influence.
Jiao Tu's thunderous methods in Menju County did not make Zhou Bai feel that he was too cruel and bloody. Instead, he sent an order to reward him and ordered him to have an overview of the affairs in the southern part of Biancheng County.
Because Zhou Bai gave these generals who led the army privately the right to act expediently, Jiao Tu just followed the military orders and completed the mission objectives.
According to the battle report, if the Anbei Army's combat power had not exceeded the expectations of the Menju defenders and the raid was successful, they might have had to defend Guancheng and delay it for some time.
The infiltration was too serious, and if several families were not killed, they would really think that An Beijun was a benevolent savior.
Rather than waiting for the dust to settle before a major purge, it would be better to start during wartime.
On the first day after arriving in Longbei City, the Anbei Army launched a military attack, but the first battle was not against Longbei City, but at the warship base.
The location of the base is very suitable. It is located on a broad highland ten miles away from the west city. It is the most suitable area for camping. It is also easy to build base fortifications.
For this reason, Zhou Bai saw that the first military-class warship that could completely establish a development base looked like a condescending circular fortress from a distance.
The outer wall uses a special solidifying substance carried on the warship to harden the clay city wall, so that the city wall built in a short period of time is actually stronger than the city wall of an ordinary county town.
The part of this solidified substance that Zhou Bai had seized was nothing more than cement, not a high-tech product.
After finding limestone containing clay, the cement technology has now been completely mastered by Tiangongyuan. Cement will be used in many farming cities to be built on the Baishazhou Plain.
The military camp, residential area, material area, production area, and the core area is the warship hull. A small development base is planned in an orderly manner.
If it weren't for the fact that many of the city walls and internal buildings showed signs of being demolished and rebuilt several times, Zhou Baidu would have doubted whether Longbei City was just sitting back and watching the rise of the base.
"Captain, the soldiers and horses in this city are really useless. A military-level warship actually stood firm."
"If a general-class battleship landed in Border City County, wouldn't it be completely occupied by now?"
When several generals saw such a complete extraterritorial base, they were inevitably a little angry and kept taunting Longbei City.
"Longbeicheng does not have the aura of Yin Shen's power." Li Yuan appeared on the side at some point and explained in a low voice.
Zhou Bai glanced at Li Yuan and expressed his agreement with the information: "When I first entered the Yin Shen Realm, I am indeed more sensitive to the same level of power. There are really no real people from the Third Realm in Longbei City."
The followers were shocked when they heard what Zhou Bai said, and they still didn't understand what happened.
They all greeted him with gifts and congratulated him: "I have met Master Li, and congratulations on his breakthrough!"
The value of a real person, even in today's era of spiritual energy recovery, is still very high, not to mention that Li Yuan is the first real person trained by Zhou Bai.
"All my colleagues are happy together, all thanks to the training of the Governor and the Governor's Office." Li Yuan had a sharp mind and was not overjoyed.
"You just made a breakthrough and came here?" Zhou Bai casually popped out a bottle of Yuan-Guating Spirit Pill as a congratulatory gift.
But that's all. A real person from a public family would not hold a real person ceremony with great fanfare.
Under Zhou Bai's command, the monks also had corresponding privileges and status, but they were also subject to many restrictions.
If Li Yuan and Chen Zhongbang were to compete for their status in Zhou Bai's heart, Chen Zhongbang would definitely be higher.
Of course, Li Yuan would not be so ignorant. He vaguely understood what kind of country Zhou Bai wanted to build, that is, ruthlessness in the French Open.
It may be a bit paranoid, but the trend of bringing all extraordinary people under the jurisdiction of the king's law is obvious in the Dudu Mansion.
"Thank you, Governor, for the reward. Madam is currently in charge of the Governor's Mansion. She and Chen Changshi were afraid that you might not have enough people with you, so they sent me to serve in front of the army." Li Yuan took the elixir, his eyes flashed with joy, and he replied respectfully.
The spiritual objects rewarded by the governor are all treasures, either from the secret treasure in the cave or from the heaven.
Li Yuan called Mrs. Yu Yueyun, and Zhou Bai did not refute it. He, a Qingmei Taoist monk, had been sitting in the rear for a long time and maintained internal stability, and had been unanimously recognized by the entire system.
Even a general like Gao Hu would privately address Yu Yueyun as his mistress to show respect.
Then Li Yuan presented another file, which was sorted out by Yu Yueyun based on the records of the Wudingmen file and the situation of the cultivation world in Border City County.
It turns out that Border City County has been an extraordinary desert from beginning to end, with extremely low spiritual energy content. Not only has there been no practicing sect, but there are also very few records of real people.
The Daxu court usually requires that every administrative county have a real person in charge, but due to the spiritual energy situation in Border City County, no real person is willing to come.
When the imperial court was strong, it could forcibly appoint real people, but in recent decades, the highest-ranking Taoist official in the Taoist priest corps in the county and city was the pinnacle of the second realm.
"No wonder even a military-level general ship has to rely on hard work. It turns out that it is not only due to famine, but also to the lack of high-level combat power." Zhou Bai said thoughtfully.
However, he also understood that a Yin Shen's combat power could not save the overall situation. If the base was not wiped out, Longbei City must have failed to exert its full strength.
Under the detection of spiritual consciousness, the aura of the third-level great telepathic master inside the warship was like a candle that was about to burn out at any time, reaching its final limit.
"Destroy these outsiders first. This city will serve as our main camp." Zhou Bai waved his hand, indicating to Lou Jinpeng to command the attack on the city.
Even if no siege equipment is assembled and the attack is rushed, the ensuing battle will still be one-sided.
The warship base, which had been almost wiped out by Longbei City, naturally could not resist the suppression of the Anbei Army. The captain of the Great Thought Master had only achieved the reputation of the newly promoted real person Li Yuan.
A little aside, this battleship is actually a well-known military-class battleship. The main gun has been repaired in advance to a state where it can fire, and it has the ability to self-destruct.
However, Zhou Bai, who paid close attention to the entire battle, eliminated the risk of self-destruction in advance. Even the main gun beam was forcibly deflected by him, pouring power into the air.
Unlike other attacks, this time Zhou Bai's power in the three realms could no longer be hidden.
At the head of the Longbei City, the Ningwang and other factions were silent for a long time.
"When did this person reach the third realm, and he can actually resist the main gun of a warship? The heavenly being is so powerful?"
"Even the three armored ones who ascended to heaven didn't enter the country in such an exaggerated way."
Even the scheming head of the Jun Wang family was so horrified that he could not speak.
Zhu Weng, the county magistrate, suddenly said: "Two deities and three realms, please think about it. The county Taoist priest group plus your offerings are not enough to fight them."
He is a staunch advocate of surrender and believes that people in the border towns should not continue to die.
"There are no three realms in the Qingxu warship? The spiritual energy is revived, and the military energy suppresses the extraordinary power even more strongly." Soon, a general retorted.
"Apart from the border troops, how much military spirit can the county soldiers gather? Three exercises a month are no longer at the level of a well-organized army." Another civil servant took up the conversation.
"It's better to send troops while its foothold is not stable..."
Even though the Anbei Army was right in front of them, they were still arguing.
Half an hour later, Gao Hu had already led two thousand demon-subduing troops in a provocative formation below Longbei City, but the city still had not made a decision to surrender.
"There are no reinforcements in Longbei City, and the remaining five counties have become the territory of the Anbei Governor's Office."
"The Governor of Anbei has an order to surrender within three days and receive preferential treatment. Anyone who wants to join Lu Ding's defenders will end up with the Wu and Gu families!"
The demon-suppressing army's loudspeakers rode to within range of the city's head, blaring their words, and kept shouting.
Not only that, but then hundreds of well-fed and drunk villagers shouted: "You men from the border towns, stop resisting. There is no famine under the governor of Anbei. Look how well the people of Bei'an are doing. We have grains distributed at home." , I need your help at home..."
Various propaganda campaigns directly shocked the hearts of the whole city, and rumors spread among the army.
"The other three counties don't know the situation, but Menju County is indeed lost." Wang Yi, the head of the Wang family, turned pale and sent away a Taoist official who had just left.
It turned out that it was the Anbei Taoist official from Menjuguan who used the array set up by the Wang family to contact them.
"How are the border troops taking a rest?" Ning Cheng frowned and asked his generals.
The general immediately bowed and responded: "In the past few days since I came back, I have been waiting for you with big fish and meat, and my sons are very energetic."
At the mention of the border troops, the eyes of several wealthy county family heads lit up and their spirits were obviously lifted.
"The Longwei Army newly formed by the imperial court has suppressed several groups of rebels against the king, and its core core is the border army."
"The warlords are fighting in a melee and have forgotten the reputation of the frontier army. They are not miscellaneous soldiers who are negligent in combat preparation."
Ning Cheng and Wang Yi listened to the discussion, looked at each other, and nodded in agreement.
After all, Border City County belongs to Dingxi. It has long been intimidated by the Lu family's reputation. Now it feels a little unwilling to join forces that are also rising in the border area.
"No matter what, we have to weigh the strength of the Anbei Army... Longbei Jiancheng has just collected the grain from the summer harvest, and we don't just give it to you."
On the afternoon of August 26, most of the damaged warship base had not yet been repaired, and the Anbei Army camp was unstable.
However, two thousand demon-subduing troops came out of Longbei City and took the initiative to provoke.
Five thousand frontier troops were sent out from Longbei City, with a strength advantage of more than two to one, to face the Demon-Suppressing Army.
Another 10,000 county soldiers lined up behind him to provide support and prevent Zhou Bai from sending reinforcements again.
On the high ground a few miles away, the generals accompanied Zhou Bai to watch the battle from a distance. They saw only two thousand Xuanjia army formations, which seemed very weak in front of the five thousand frontier troops and rear county troops.
In this situation, even General Anbei, who had been victorious in every battle, could not help but feel uneasy at this time.
"Captain, are two thousand men too few? If half of the ten thousand county soldiers join in, something may happen." A guard general said anxiously.
Zhou Bai shook his head and said nothing. After the Demon-Subduing Army was separated from the Governor's Mansion and directly under the control of the General's Mansion, many generals of the government army had little contact with the Demon-Subduing Army.
Lou Jinpeng explained aloud at the right time: "The governor's intention is to defeat more with less, to show absolute strength and let the wallflowers in the city recognize the gap."
But then, he respectfully said to Zhou Bai: "You must be prepared for any battle. No matter how confident the governor is in the demon-suppressing army, he must be prepared for failure."
"The camp has its own militia for repairs. Please give the governor's order to assemble the remaining cavalry and send another 5,000 government troops to raid the formation."
Zhou Bai looked to the other side of Longbei City. There were nearly two thousand enemy cavalry lurking there, and it would not take a quarter of an hour to join the battlefield.
If the demon-suppressing army is slightly weakened, you can imagine what will happen to these two thousand cavalry.
This is the border county that is only separated from the grassland by the Great Wall. There has never been a shortage of war horses, and there has never been a shortage of people who are good at riding in the county.
Although the Anbei Army has never stopped building cavalry, there has never been a substantial expansion in scale.
Chu Kai took two thousand soldiers to patrol three counties. Now the entire army's sentries and cavalry combined, there are only 500 cavalry left.
"General Lou's words make sense. Then you will personally lead the 5,000 government troops and 500 cavalry to raid the formation. You can decide whether to fight or retreat."
…
This fight really showed the tyranny of the border troops. They cooperated tacitly and everyone was a veteran on the battlefield.
Words such as strict military discipline, well-trained, brave and fearless can be used to describe these five thousand frontier troops.
Even in terms of battlefield experience, the two thousand Fu Demon Army was still slightly inferior. In autumn and winter, these frontier troops even had to deal with harassment from the north every day.
In the previous Jin Kingdom's southern invasion war, they focused on breaking through Border City County, but failed.
The wind and clouds converged, and the scalding blood heat wave made the ground look like a frying pan. All the soldiers who appeared on the battlefield were sweating.
But they had no complaints, only excitement and bloodthirsty fanaticism. They could feel the silent oppression coming from the Xuanjia Army on the opposite side.
Excitement, in addition to excitement, is to win and defeat a strong army. This is what the frontier army likes to do most.
A trace of black military aura emerged from the top of each soldier's head, and then gathered in the sky, faintly forming a sharp long knife, full of power.
Exclamations rang out from the top of Longbei City. This was the first time they saw the frontier troops gathering their strength.
Some Longbei City generals have even begun to celebrate in advance. How can a frontier army with a strong desire to win lose if it has a strength advantage?
Sure enough, the frontier troops, thinking of their own advantages, took the initiative to advance, and the sound of neat steps shook the earth.
The phantom of the soldier's long sword was placed on the neck of almost everyone in the Demon-Suppressing Army.
However, when the first wave collided, the top of Longbei City suddenly became silent.
The fiery red wave, with an armor coverage rate of 70%, holding a long knife, rushed into the "thin" black human wall, but did not open any gap.
In the first wave of active attacks, the formation of the Xuanjia Army showed no turbulence, but the frontier army was hit with head injuries and bloodshed.
The frontier soldiers who have been on the battlefield for a long time are confused. All of them have magical powers and all of them are martial arts?
Hundreds of border troops were immediately beaten away. They were really beaten away. The first row of the demon-subduing army were all in the Houtian realm, holding hammers and bursting with energy.
Then Gao Hu crossed his spear and rushed out on a white horse. The unparalleled spear light shattered the blood of the frontier's vanguard.
"Every team obeys the order, and the front line is out of position!"
The counterattack begins.
The phantom of Pixiu appeared suddenly and pierced the fragile military spirit sword unreasonably.
Two thousand demons rose up from silence, moving like thunder, following behind Gao Hu, killing through the entire frontier formation.
"Stop thinking about choosing the one in the south..."
"Vote."
"When autumn is high and horses are fat, the captives will come again. If the attack continues, no one will be able to defend the Great Wall."
