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

It was late spring, and most of the ice on the grassland had melted.

Most of the grasslands have begun to sprout new buds again, and the entire grassland has become lush green under the vitality.

Li Zhongwu led his troops into the inland of the grassland, and he was thinking about reuniting with Lin Zhongyun as soon as possible.

However, at the same time, Lin Zhongyun's situation was not optimistic. At this moment, he and his troops had been searching along the river for several days, but to no avail.

At this time, Lin Zhongyun still didn't know what happened in Yangzhou. He stood on a hill, looking at the endless grassland, and couldn't help feeling a little confused. This endless green seemed peaceful and tranquil, but it made people feel powerless.

The grassland stretched as far as the eye could see, with nothing but endless waves of grass. It was like an invisible maze, confusing his direction.

In this monotonous grassland, they finally found a few signs of human habitation.

However, when they arrived, they found that they were too late: there were only a few lonely tents scattered around, as if silently telling us that there was once a breath of life here.

As for the so-called cattle and sheep, they had already been moved away without a trace by the alert herders. Even some animals that were not moved in time were slaughtered on the spot by the herders, leaving no food or grass for them.

Lin Zhongyun stood on a piece of trampled and messy grass, looking down at the bloodstains and debris on the ground, his heart heavy.

He understood that their strategy of searching along the river was undoubtedly correct, as there were traces of the original tribes' lives along the way.

However, since their whereabouts had already been revealed, the Northern Barbarians hid those people before them, leaving them empty-handed.

After all, the northern barbarians have no concept of cities and have long been accustomed to migrating around.

Such migration is just a common occurrence for them and is very familiar to them.

Those northern barbarian tribes will never and have no need to return to the original camp again, which means that the strategy of sitting back and waiting for something to happen will not work at all.

His heart was filled with complex emotions, including anger at the Northern Barbarians' cunning strategies and worry about the current situation of his own troops.

If they continued searching like this, even if they reached the end of the river, there would not be a single person in sight, and no food or fodder left for them.

"Your Highness, what should we do next?" The deputy general at the side stepped forward with a hint of anxiety on his face.

Lin Zhongyun pondered for a moment, raised his head, and looked into the distance with a determined gaze. "We need to change our strategy and stop searching blindly. The tribes of the Northern Barbarians are scattered and mobile, and we must find their gathering point."

The deputy general nodded in agreement, but then asked, "Your Highness, do you mean that we find their base camp?"

"That's right," Lin Zhongyun nodded. "Although the Northern Barbarians are scattered, they must have a core gathering point, which may be a hidden valley or a place with abundant water. As long as we find this point, we can break their defense line."

"But, Your Highness, how do we find this assembly point?" asked the deputy general in confusion.

"Let's follow the previous method. No matter how mobile and flexible the Northern Barbarians are, as long as they are human, they still need water and pasture."

Lin Zhongyun thought for a moment and said, "These resources are not everywhere on the grassland. We can find possible gathering points by analyzing the terrain."

These words made the deputy general even more confused. Didn't they originally search according to this idea?
But it turned out that their whereabouts had been leaked, and the Northern Barbarians had already been prepared for this, so their direction was no longer effective.

Lin Zhongyun saw the doubts in the deputy general's heart, so he patiently explained: "No matter how the rebel army migrates, they can't escape the two points of water source and grassland."

"And after several days of searching, we can be sure that the Northern Barbarians have definitely gathered everyone together."

"I understand, Your Highness."

The deputy general suddenly realized what was going on and said excitedly, "Your Highness means that if they gather together, it will be a huge drain on both water sources and pastures."

Seeing this, Lin Suiyun nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yes, there may be many places with water sources and pastures in this grassland, but there are only a few places that can accommodate tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people to drink water together."

He continued: "We just need to concentrate our efforts and conduct reconnaissance on these key water sources and pastures one by one to find their gathering points."

The deputy general nodded in agreement, his eyes gleaming with hope. "Your Highness is wise. We will immediately start the action and send out scouts to investigate these key locations."

Lin Zhongyun nodded with satisfaction. He knew that this operation was crucial and must be carried out with caution.

Otherwise, according to the food they have stored, they may not be able to hold out for a few more days. Now he can only hope that Li Zhongwu can finish dealing with things and come here to support.

However, at this moment, the sound of hurried horse hooves suddenly came from the distance.

As the sound of horse hooves got closer, Lin Zhongyun saw a scout come into his sight, and then rode his horse up to him.

"Your Highness, this is a letter from General Li. I implore Your Highness to open it personally." The scout said respectfully.

"A letter from Li Zhongwu?"

Seeing such a letter, Lin Zhongyun was stunned. Since Li Zhongwu had already written, it meant that he had already set off.

If that was the case, why didn't he come and tell him in person instead of writing a letter?

The strangeness of this made him feel confused, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Sure enough, when he opened the envelope, the frown on his face, which had originally come up with a new idea for searching for food, suddenly relaxed again.

"It seems that I am too kind to those noble families after all!" He shouted with gritted teeth while holding the letter sent by Li Zhongwu.

The letter described in detail the latest developments in Yangzhou. It turned out that because of the betrayal of those noble families, Yangzhou had long been a place of public resentment and chaos.

At this time, the chaos in Yangzhou was even worse than when the Northern Barbarian Military Advisor caused chaos in Yangzhou.

The army he had sent earlier to suppress the rebellion also encountered obstruction from the aristocratic forces on the way, resulting in the delay of the arrival of reinforcements.

This has resulted in an unclear situation in Yangzhou, and no one knows what is happening in Yangzhou now.

What worries him the most is that the storm in Yangzhou is showing signs of sweeping towards other states. If the unrest in Yangzhou cannot be suppressed as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the chaos like that at the end of the Daqian period will happen again.

Lin Zhongyun was burning with rage. If he had known that those aristocratic families were still so evil and capable of doing such a thing, he would never have kept them until now.

And according to what Li Zhongwu said in the letter, I am afraid that the shadow of the northern barbarians may be behind the unrest in Yangzhou.

But when you think about it this way, it does make sense.

If there were no backing, I'm afraid those noble families wouldn't have the sense or courage to create chaos when he is unable to extricate himself.

In this case, he now has two choices. One is to continue to be a god, which is full of risks and may not even annihilate the Northern Barbarians in the end. The second choice is to return immediately to provide assistance, just like when the turmoil occurred in Yangzhou. Although this choice will make him lose this good opportunity, it is undoubtedly the safest and least risky.

Lin Zhongyun stood outside the tent, looking at the grassland in the distance, his heart full of hesitation. He knew that no matter what choice he made, it would have a profound impact on the future.

He looked at the soldiers in the camp, who were busy preparing for the next move, with determination and resolve written all over their faces. These soldiers had followed him in battle for many years, and their trust and expectations were placed on him.

"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

At this time, the deputy general came up, noticed Lin Zhongyun's hesitation, and asked with concern.

Lin Zhongyun was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Liu Feng, I'm thinking that our choice will determine our future destiny. Although it is full of risks to continue to go deep into the grassland, this is an opportunity to completely solve the problem of the northern barbarians.

Although returning to Yangzhou to help can quickly quell the unrest, it may give the Northern Barbarians a chance to catch their breath."

The deputy general nodded, and the news made his face turn pale.

Yangzhou fell.

Such a thing happened to break out at this time.

On the one hand, there is the immortal achievement of conquering the Wolf's Lair and destroying the Northern Barbarians; on the other hand, there is the threat that the fall of Yangzhou will bring chaos to the world and all their previous efforts will be turned into nothing.

this moment,
He himself didn't know how to make a decision.

In fact, even Lin Zhongyun couldn't help but start to hesitate.

His previous decision to divide his troops into two groups, one to go deep into the grassland to wipe out the northern barbarians, and the other to retreat back to Yangzhou to suppress the rebellion, was based on the situation at the time.

At that time, he had not expected that these noble families would be so cruel and ruthless that they would collude with the Northern Barbarians at this critical juncture.

What is happening in Yangzhou now is no longer just a simple turmoil, but a rebellion that threatens to overthrow the city.

They had no idea to what extent the various counties in Yangzhou were now under the control of the aristocratic families.

Now he was not sure whether the troops he sent to Yangzhou could quell the rebellion in Yangzhou in a short period of time.

If such a thing is not handled properly, it will cause a chain reaction, leading to the same situation in other states and counties.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?" Deputy General Liu Feng said in a low voice, his eyes full of worry.

"There is no turning back when you shoot a bow!"

Lin Zhongyun put his hands behind his back, his eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, and even his voice became hoarse, "Since we have already penetrated so deep into the grassland inland, we must not fail at the last moment."

"But Your Highness, what about Yangzhou?"

The deputy general nodded. He knew that was what was said, but he felt worried when he thought about the loss of Yangzhou.

“Unrest in Yangzhou?
So what if it is taken away by those aristocratic families?"

Lin Zhongyun said firmly, with unshakable confidence in his voice, "Since I was able to take Yangzhou from Daqian the first time, I can take it the second time!"

There was a cold light in his eyes, as if he had seen the future battlefield and the flag of victory fluttering in the wind. He was very confident about this.

If those aristocratic families control Yangzhou by then, then he can just attack Yangzhou again, it's no big deal.

"Our top priority now is to completely defeat the Northern Barbarians. As long as we can achieve a decisive victory on the grassland, the threat from the Northern Barbarians will disappear forever."

Lin Zhongyun continued, his voice like a war drum, inspiring everyone present, "Yangzhou is just a temporary disturbance. As long as we can eliminate the Northern Barbarians, it will be easy to pacify Yangzhou."

The deputy general looked at Lin Zhongyun and was shocked by his determination and domineering attitude.

This scene reminded him of the time when he was in Cangzhou, hiding from place to place as a bandit, and the first time he met Lin Fan.

At that time, he decided that Lin Fan was shrouded in an invisible glow, with an indescribable feeling.

Now he was absolutely sure.
This aura is nothing but the tyranny that is unique to those in a higher position.

Only such a leader can lead them to victory and stand firm in troubled times.

"Your Highness is wise!" The deputy general responded loudly, his eyes full of admiration and determination, "We will follow Your Highness until the moment of victory!"

Lin Zhongyun nodded slightly and glanced at the soldiers present.

He knew that this battle was crucial to the rebels and to him.

Even so, he planned to be prepared for both situations. Since the existing troops were not enough to suppress the rebellion, he would just add more people.

He estimated that the existing manpower would be enough to raid the Northern Barbarian King's Court. After all, all the military forces were in Chagan Wuli's hands.

So, there are not many troops in the Northern Barbarians now, and the number of people they have is more than enough.

What's more, when there are too many people and the scale is too large, it will be easier for them to expose their whereabouts and be discovered by the northern barbarians, which would be bad.

However, he also understood that even if he did so, Yangzhou would definitely not leave him much time.

He must eliminate all threats from the Northern Barbarians within half a month. By that time, even if he has not eliminated the Northern Barbarians, he will have to go back.

After all, people only learn by doing.

Once other states and counties see the situation in Yangzhou, those aristocratic families hiding in the dark will surely appear again and add fuel to the flames.

At that time, the turmoil affected not only a few states and counties, but the entire Central Plains.

Therefore, he must make a quick decision.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a sense of urgency in his heart, and whispered to the deputy general beside him: "Order everyone to speed up, I must find out the location of the Northern Barbarian King's Court and the place where the Northern Barbarians are gathering by tomorrow."

At the same time, in the royal court.

Under Hu Yanhuan's command, all evacuation work is proceeding steadily... (End of this chapter)