After listening to the advice, I rebelled and became an emperor of all ages

Luoye City.

"Pass the order down, everyone get ready immediately, we must keep moving forward." Li Zhongwu said in a deep voice, with unquestionable determination in his tone.

The deputy general nodded and quickly went down to convey the order.

Although the soldiers were exhausted, they knew that more battles were waiting for them ahead.

Attack the Northern Barbarians,

Fenglangjuxu,

There is only this one step left. As long as they take it, the scourge of the northern barbarians will no longer exist, and they will go down in history.

The soldiers acted quickly. Although their bodies were exhausted from days of fighting, there was a determination gleam in everyone's eyes.

The reason they joined the rebel army was not only to repay Lin Zhongyun's kindness in giving them a new life, but also to have the ambition to bring honor to their family.

Now that the opportunity is right in front of them, none of them is willing to give up this chance to make a name for themselves.

The wind continued to whistle in his ears, and Li Zhongwu's heart was filled with endless determination and courage.

He knew that the cruelty of war was inevitable, but they had to persevere for the sake of the heroic souls who had passed away, for their beliefs and their homes.

After witnessing the cruelty of war again, he finally understood the deep meaning behind Lin Zhongyun's decision to go against all odds and destroy the Northern Barbarians' lair in one fell swoop even at the risk of overthrowing Yangzhou.

A brutal war like this one, just once, is enough. Only in this way can we eliminate the threat of the northern barbarians once and for all.

"General, everyone is ready and can set off at any time." The deputy general walked up to the city wall and reported to Li Zhongwu.

"Let's go!" Li Zhongwu gave a loud order, and his warhorse raised its hooves, leading his soldiers to gallop towards the northern barbarians.

Amidst the endless sandstorm, they soon arrived at Yandang City, just one step away from the northern barbarian border.

"General, we will soon catch up with His Highness!" said the deputy general, looking at the vast grassland, his voice mixed with a hint of anticipation and nervousness.

Li Zhongwu nodded and stared at the Yandang City in front of him.

The once prosperous frontier fortress is now bleak and desolate, as if telling of the ruthlessness and destruction brought by the war. The original residents have long since retreated, leaving only empty streets and devastated buildings.

They walked into the city, and it was silent all around, with only the sound of the wind whispering in their ears. Li Zhongwu looked around, and the Northern Barbarians in the city had also disappeared, as if they had never existed. There were no supplies left to collect, and even the slightest trace of a battle was hard to find.

The entire Yandang City has long since turned into an empty city, dilapidated, devastated, with broken walls and ruins, with nothing left.

The once bustling market is now only left with collapsed stalls and scattered rubble. The houses on both sides of the street have mottled walls and broken windows, as if silently telling the story of the past prosperity and the present decline.

"Keep going." Li Zhongwu ordered in a deep voice. Although he felt heavy in his heart, he knew they couldn't stop. There were more challenges waiting for them ahead.

Now that the Northern Barbarian Army in the city has retreated, their target is obviously Lin Zhongyun who has gone deep into the grassland. If they cannot arrive in time, it means that Lin Zhongyun is very likely to face the risk of being attacked from both sides.

So now they can't stay here for any longer, they must meet up with Lin Zhongyun as soon as possible.

However, at this moment.

Suddenly, a horseman came riding in the distance, and the yellow sand was stirred up by the horse's hooves. In the dust, the knight rushed towards Li Zhongwu like an arrow.

"This is?"

Li Zhongwu couldn't help but frown as he listened to the sound of horse hooves getting closer and closer, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

The soldiers also stopped what they were doing and looked at the figure flying towards them.

As he expected, the rider came straight to him, dismounted, and had a look of fear on his face. The horse was breathing heavily, obviously having experienced a long journey.

This made Li Zhongwu feel even more uneasy. He frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

"General, I am a scout from Yangzhou."

"General, I am a scout from Yangzhou." The cavalryman looked exhausted after sleeping in the open air, and his clothes were covered with dust, but he still pulled himself together and said, "I have an urgent military report for you. I beg you to inform His Highness."

"Yangzhou?"

Upon hearing that the cavalry came from Yangzhou, Li Zhongwu's heart suddenly tightened and he hurriedly opened the military newspaper. What caught his eye was the bright red words "extremely high", indicating the seriousness of the situation.

When he saw the contents of the military newspaper, Li Zhongwu's face suddenly turned pale, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. His hands trembled slightly, as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

Then, he stared at the scout closely and asked with a trembling tone, "Is what the letter says true?"

He was trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart, but even so, the deputy general present still noticed something strange.

The deputy general was shocked by Li Zhongwu's loss of composure and asked hurriedly, "General, what happened in Yangzhou?"

Before Li Zhongwu could answer, the scout who was kneeling on the ground said sadly: "General, please check carefully. Every word in the military report is true."

"No one would have thought that those noble families would take advantage of this opportunity to gather an army of hundreds of thousands to attack Yangzhou." The scout's voice was filled with helplessness and anger. Obviously, the sudden rebellion of these noble families also caught him by surprise.

"What, this..."

The deputy general was stunned on the spot, his mouth wide open, his mind blank. He was shocked and looked at Li Zhongwu, the backbone, blankly, not knowing what to do.

As early as when he saw the scout's panicked face, he had already thought that something bad was going to happen, so he prepared himself mentally early on.

However, even so, what finally happened in Yangzhou still made him unbelievable and at a loss.

Li Zhongwu clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.

Yangzhou is their rear and their foundation, but now it has suffered such a severe blow, which is undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Now, His Highness and his men have already gone deep into the grassland. Not to mention whether they can find His Highness and reunite with him, even if they do, it may take a few days, by which time the opportunity will be gone.

But he never expected that since they had clearly sent troops to suppress it, how could such a big chaos break out in Yangzhou?

"Where are the others in Yangzhou?"

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Hasn't His Highness already sent people to suppress it?"

"It's too late. Your Highness underestimated the rebelliousness of those families."

The scout was so frightened by Li Zhongwu's cold and stern look that he trembled all over, and even his speech became intermittent. "Before the army arrived, Yangzhou had already been occupied by those rebellious families." "No one expected that those families had already arranged internal support in various counties in Yangzhou. With the cooperation between the inside and the outside..."

"Damn northern barbarians!"

Li Zhongwu immediately thought of the mastermind behind this, "Those noble families definitely don't have such a keen sense of smell. This is definitely the work of that Northern Barbarian Military Advisor."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but curse in a low voice, "I should have known that the Northern Barbarian Military Advisor's hand would definitely not be that simple."

He thought back to his past battles with the Northern Barbarian Strategist, and a chill rose in his heart.

"The real intention of the Northern Barbarian Military Advisor is to stir up civil strife in the Central Plains, so that we will have to return to defend."

He gritted his teeth and recalled all of this. The Northern Barbarians' military strategist's strategies were linked together, and every step was paving the way for today's situation.

He never imagined that even though the Northern Barbarian Military Advisor was already dead, he still caused them so much trouble.

Li Zhongwu clenched his teeth, thinking quickly of a countermeasure in his mind.

At this moment, he had to make a decision, a decision that would determine their future destiny. He knew that any hesitation or delay could lead to more serious consequences.

"Deputy General, pass the order immediately, have the entire army speed up and rush to the front line. I want to see His Highness in person." Li Zhongwu gave the order decisively, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

He knew that only by reuniting with His Highness as soon as possible could he deal with this sudden crisis.

In a situation like this, only the decision made by Lin Zhongyun is the wisest and most convincing one.

"Yes, General!" The deputy general took the order and left. The soldiers also took action and prepared to speed up their advance.

Li Zhongwu's heart was filled with anxiety and anger. He knew that this battle not only concerned the fate of the rebel army, but also the survival of Yangzhou.

He must make a decision as soon as possible to preserve Yangzhou in this storm and prevent the storm in Yangzhou from spreading to other states and counties.

If they fail to deal with it for a long time, or fail to suppress the local aristocratic families with thunder-like means, I am afraid that those who were originally extremely dissatisfied with the rebel army will jump out again.

By then, it will be another year of war, chaos and suffering.

Then all their hard work, sacrifices and efforts will be wasted and turn into nothing.

anyway,

Even Li Zhongwu could not allow such a thing to happen.

He swore in his heart that this was not only his wish, but also a promise to Lin Zhongyun.

……

At the same time,
Unlike the depressing atmosphere of life and death on Li Zhongwu's side, Chagan Uli had already led his army towards the grassland at this time.

As the overlords of the grassland, they are best at hunting prey as hunters.

Even though Lin Zhongyun and his men had tried to hide their tracks intentionally, Chagan Wuli and his men still found clues in the end.

Now, they have followed the trail and found the camp where Lin Zhongyun and his team had previously annihilated the grain escorting team.

Looking at the devastation on the ground, the burnt food and grass, and the corpses one after another, Chagan Wuli did not feel heavy in his heart. Instead, he felt a hint of joy, which ignited a spark of hope in his heart.

Chagan Uli rode on a tall warhorse, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's as he scanned the wreckage around him.

His deputy general Bayintur stepped forward and said, "Great Khan, this is indeed the masterpiece of the rebels. It seems that they are really short of food and grass."

Chagan Wuli nodded slightly, with a sneer on his face, "Lin Zhongyun, you can't escape this time."

He waved his hand to signal his men to continue searching for traces around them. "We must find them as soon as possible and strike them a fatal blow while they are running low on food and grass."

Bayintur nodded and accepted the order, quickly leading the soldiers to search around the camp.

Chagan Uli continued to observe the traces on the ground, thinking about his next move. He knew that Lin Zhongyun must be frantically looking for food and grass at this moment, which also indirectly confirmed the fact that the rebel army was short of food and grass.

This means that his original plan can be carried out.

As long as they find the rebels and do everything they can to delay them, the rebels will collapse.

Chagan Wuli's eyes were shining with brilliance, and he had already conceived an ingenious trap in his mind.

Of course, he also understood that the rebel army would definitely have reinforcements, and they would not be able to trap Lin Zhongyun for too long.

Therefore, during this period of time he had to launch continuous attacks on Lin Zhongyun and completely trap Lin Zhongyun in the encirclement.

This was also the main reason why he was so eager to go deep into the grassland. After all, they didn't have much time left.

Chagan Uli rode his horse to a high ground, from where he could overlook the entire camp. His eyes penetrated the dust and looked at the distant horizon, as if he had already seen Lin Zhongyun's figure fleeing in panic.

"Baintur, order the scout team to split into small teams and search for the rebel army in all directions. Once found, report immediately." Chagan Uli gave the order calmly. He knew that only by knowing the whereabouts of the rebel army could the most effective tactics be formulated.

"Yes, Khan!" Bayintur quickly took the order and arranged for the waiting team to disperse.

Chagan Wuli watched the soldiers move in an intense and orderly manner, and his heart was filled with expectation and confidence. He knew that these soldiers were their hope and the hope of the grassland.

Although doing so might disperse the troops, he only sent out small groups of troops, so even if they were discovered by the rebels, the losses would be minimal.

Once the rebels attacked the people he sent out, it would undoubtedly expose his whereabouts, which was exactly what he wanted.

What's more, his military strength is far more than what it is now, so he never has to worry about insufficient troops.

He knew that the only thing he had to worry about now was time.

He had to race against time and get rid of Lin Zhongyun before Lin Zhongyun asked Yangzhou for help or before Yangzhou's support arrived.

In order to achieve this goal, he was willing to pay any price, even giving up the position of Khan.

At this moment, he had already put aside his personal honor and disgrace.
All he wanted was to kill Lin Zhongyun and use his head to commemorate the soldiers who died in the battle, as well as the heroic sacrifices of Hu Yanhuan and the military advisors.

"Lin Zhongyun, this time, I will make you fail completely!" Chagan Wuli said silently in his heart.

He knew that this was a battle of life and death, but he and his soldiers were ready to race against time. (End of this chapter)