Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Although the territory of Western Xia was not small, most of it was barren land, and its population and wealth were almost entirely concentrated in Xingqing Prefecture and Xiliang Prefecture.

Retreating westward would lead to the Gobi Desert near the Western Regions, a barren land with a harsh climate and infertile soil, making it impossible to support a large army or establish a foothold there for long.

At the same time, war was also raging in the Yan-Yun region.

In comparison, the Western Xia suffered far more than the Liao Dynasty.

Although Chen Zhan had captured seven cities in succession and the experts from the Twenty-Four Towers were harassing the Liao Dynasty everywhere, the Liao Dynasty still had a strong foundation, a vast territory, and great depth.

After the puppet emperor Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Liao Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty had been building up its strength for many years, with fortified cities and a powerful army. It would be no easy task for Chen Zhan to completely defeat the Liao Dynasty with only the troops at his disposal.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun alone contain dozens of cities. Even if Chen Zhan leads his troops as the vanguard and conquers cities and territories with great ease, it would still take several months to completely recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun by conquering them one by one.

Moreover, recently, due to Chen Zhan personally leading the vanguard and the extremely low casualties of the Song army, wherever they went, as long as they did not massacre cities or harm civilians, the people's desire to resist the Song army was not strong.

Some defending generals even surrendered voluntarily, saving a great deal of time and manpower.

In the cities that Chen Zhan recaptured, he allowed ordinary people and merchants to enter and leave freely in order to appease the people and restore order to the cities.

However, it was precisely because of this that the Liao Kingdom's Ordo secret guards were given an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Ordo Secret Guard dispatched a large number of ordinary merchants, disguised, to infiltrate the cities recovered by the Song Dynasty.

They secretly gathered intelligence on the Song army, assassinated Song soldiers and civilians in the city, and even resorted to unscrupulous means, burning down granaries, damaging city defenses, disrupting order in the city, and causing trouble for the Song Dynasty.

Within a few days, riots broke out in three cities.

Many Song soldiers and civilians in the city were killed, granaries were burned, and the city's defenses were damaged to varying degrees.

When the news reached the central camp of the Song army, Chen Zhan was sitting in his command tent, reading the battle reports from the front. Upon hearing the news, he slammed the battle report in his hand heavily onto the table.

The tent fell into a deathly silence. Everyone could feel the anger emanating from Chen Zhan. His aura was violent, and the pressure made everyone in the tent breathe heavily, not daring to even gasp for air.

The military advisors and generals inside the tent all looked terrified, and no one dared to speak.

Inside the command tent, Chen Zhan's anger had not yet subsided.

During this period, the Song army advanced with unstoppable momentum, capturing more than a dozen cities in Yanyun. He consistently ordered that no civilians be slaughtered.

Even if some Liao soldiers surrendered, they were not exterminated. At most, they were made to serve as vanguards and charge ahead. This treatment left them with enough room for maneuver.

He led from the front, personally scaling the walls of every city to break through enemy lines. Even when he sent surrendered Liao soldiers as vanguards, his side did not suffer too many casualties.

Unexpectedly, the Liao army resorted to such despicable tactics.

Disrupting the rear is an age-old tactic, but harming innocent civilians and setting fire to the city shows a complete disregard for principles.

Chen Zhan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the killing intent in his chest, and said in an icy tone: "Issue the order to immediately seal off all the gates of the recaptured cities, strictly check all personnel entering and leaving, and detain and interrogate anyone who is suspicious. There must be no mistakes!"

"Furthermore, any members of the Ordo Secret Guard who are captured will be killed without exception, leaving no one alive!"

He paused slightly, then added, “Order all troops from the Twenty-Four Towers to be mobilized and advance along the routes of Tanzhou, Shunzhou, and Jizhou. You shall repay the people of our Great Song Dynasty in the same way that the Liao army has treated them.”

He emphasized his last sentence, with an undeniable command: "Remember, this is only directed at the Liao people; do not harm a single Han Chinese civilian."

The three of them, representing the Awakening of Insects, the Pure Brightness, and the Beginning of Winter, responded in unison, "As you command!"

With a respectful expression and without uttering a single extra word, he turned and left the command tent to immediately relay the orders.

After the three men left, Wang Guangzu stepped forward, bowed, and said, "My lord, the war is progressing rapidly, but winter is just a few months away. The Yan-Yun region is known for its harsh winters, which are not conducive to our army's operations. Should we speed up our advance and capture the seven prefectures in front of the mountains before the heavy snow closes them off?"

Li Guanglu, standing nearby, quickly chimed in: "General Wang is absolutely right. The seven prefectures in front of Yanyun Mountain are all very close to each other. If the Liao army takes the opportunity to support each other, our army will be put on the defensive. If we do not take them in one fell swoop, the Liao soldiers, who are used to the cold weather since childhood, will become stronger rather than weaker after winter sets in. There will be many variables at that time, and trouble may arise."

Chen Zhan nodded slowly, his gaze sweeping over the generals in the tent: "Hmm, what you say makes sense. Starting tomorrow, the army will change to capturing two cities a day. I will trouble Lord Wang and Lord Li to each lead a force, capture one city in the morning, and after lunch, immediately set off to capture another city in the afternoon, giving the Liao army no chance to catch their breath."

"Follow the order!"

All the generals in the tent responded in unison, their voices full of admiration and respect. They bowed and accepted the order, then went to gather their troops and arrange the siege for the next day.

After Wang Guangzu, Li Guanglu and the others had all left, only Chen Zhan remained in the commander's tent.

He walked to the desk, picked up a letter that had just been delivered, and found no signature on the envelope, but it bore a familiar mark.

It was sent by Zhao Qingtan from the Western Xia border.

Chen Zhan opened the letter and quickly read it. The letter detailed the movements within the Western Xia territory.

The Tibetan army continued its advance, while 50,000 troops from Dali guarded the border. The Song army captured several key towns of Western Xia, and Li Bingchang was in dire straits. Western Xia's national strength was exhausted, and it suffered repeated defeats.

At the end of the letter, Zhao Qingtan wrote: "If nothing unexpected happens, we can recover all the lost territories in the Northwest within a month, completely drive the Western Xia out of the territory of China, and eliminate future troubles forever."

After reading the letter, Chen Zhan's expression remained unchanged. He gestured to the guard beside him to bring him pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.

He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote rapidly, leaving only six characters on the paper, written with vigorous strokes:

"Not enough, exterminate them all."

After finishing writing, he folded the letter and handed it to the messenger: "Send it to the Western Xia border as fast as you can and deliver it to Lord Zhao."

The messenger bowed and accepted the gift, then quickly withdrew.

Chen Zhan stood in the command tent, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

Simply crippling and driving the Western Xia out of the country is not enough.

These foreign tribes have occupied the northwest region of the Song Dynasty for many years and have long been accustomed to the richness of this land. If they are allowed to escape to the Western Regions to recuperate and accumulate strength, they will surely make a comeback in the future and invade the borders of the Song Dynasty again, which will only increase future troubles.

The Song Dynasty of today is not like the Han Dynasty. Its treasury is full, its food supplies are plentiful, and its resources are abundant. It has no fear of being driven to war.

The only drawback of the Song Dynasty was that its territory was not vast enough, its military strength had not yet reached its peak, and it lacked famous generals who could stand alone and sweep away thousands of troops.

Chen Zhan sighed inwardly. If he had a famous general like Yue Fei at this moment, and with the emperor's full support, he would surely lead his army north, conquer the Xiongnu, and defeat the Liao and Western Xia so that they could never raise their heads again, thus completely pacifying the border war.

They don't even need any assistance from themselves.

The Northern Song Dynasty at that time certainly did not have such a peerless general.

The last general who could stand alone and command respect on the frontier was Di Qing, but that famous general had passed away many years ago.

Although Wang Guangzu, Li Guanglu, and others under his command are capable generals with strict discipline, they ultimately lack the exceptional talent to lead independently and strategize effectively.

The Western Xia is in a better position; their national strength is weak and they lack top-notch generals, so Zhao Qingtan is capable of handling them.

On the Liao side, the foundation is strong and there are many experts. He must personally oversee the operation to ensure the smooth progress of the war and the complete recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Before dawn the next day, the Song army was already fully prepared to set off. The gates of the dozen or so cities that had been previously recaptured were all closed, and the soldiers and the personnel at the twenty-four watchtowers worked together to begin annihilating the hidden Ordo secret guards from within the cities.

Although the Ordo secret guards are cunning and secretive, and skilled in infiltration and disguise, their purpose in hiding is to disrupt the rear and assassinate soldiers and civilians. If they remain hidden, they lose their purpose.

Because Chen Zhan was about to start another war, the secret guards could no longer remain hidden.

Within a few days, the secret guards hiding in various cities were all found and killed, and order in the cities gradually returned to stability.

At the same time, Chen Zhan personally led the central army to launch another siege.

He always led from the front, being the first to scale the walls of every city. Wherever his palm strikes, no Liao soldier can stop him; city gates and walls crumble under the impact of his true energy.

For three consecutive days, the Song army advanced with unstoppable momentum, capturing six cities in one fell swoop.

At this point, of the entire Yan-Yun region, the seven prefectures south of the Taihang Mountains were reduced to only four cities and one and a half prefectures, with the rest under the control of the Song Dynasty.

The Liao army was powerless to resist the Song army's rapid offensive.

Knowing that continuing to defend would be futile, he simply abandoned the four cities and led the remaining troops to retreat to the Taihang Mountains, where they held their ground by relying on the rugged terrain.

But Chen Zhan did not give them a chance to catch their breath. He only ordered the army to rest for a day, replenish their food supplies, and adjust their condition.

Early the next morning, he personally led his troops straight to Juyong Pass.

This was the Liao army's last line of defense and a natural barrier in the Yan-Yun region. The Liao army heavily guarded this area, firmly controlling the northern entrance to the Yanshan Mountains.

Both sides were well aware of the implications of this battle.

Chen Zhan knew that the Liao army would definitely ambush them at Juyong Pass and fight to the death to stop them.

The Liao army also knew that Juyong Pass was a place that had to be defended. Once it was lost, beyond Juyong Pass lay Ruzhou, a flat plain with no natural defenses. The entire Yan-Yun region would then be left without any barriers and would be at the mercy of the Song army.

This is an open conspiracy, and neither side has any other choice.

When the Song army reached a point ten miles outside Juyong Pass, Chen Zhan ordered the army to set up camp on the spot and halt their advance.

Then, he mounted his horse alone and galloped off toward Juyong Pass.

He ventured alone into the perilous terrain and single-handedly broke through the Liao army's ambush.

This had become his habit; he would personally inspect every strategic pass and important town, leading by example. This was one of the reasons why the Song army was so high-spirited and invincible.

The Liao army had long since figured out his personality, and this ambush was aimed at him alone.

Once Chen Zhan dies, the Song army will be leaderless, and the other generals will be no threat. The Yan-Yun region will still be saved.

This time, the Liao army went all in, deploying all of its elite guards, numbering in the hundreds.

Lurking among the cliffs and treacherous canyons of Juyong Pass, each of them was fearless and determined to perish together with Chen Zhan, preparing for a final gamble.

If this time they still cannot kill, injure, or even repel Chen Zhan
There was no longer any need to defend the Yan-Yun region; it could only be handed over to the Song Dynasty.

Chen Zhan's strategy of attacking a city alone is an unsolvable tactic; he can turn everyone into an enemy state.

As Chen Zhan stepped into the perilous Juyong Pass, countless arrows rained down upon him as soon as he entered the canyon.
Immediately afterwards, hundreds of Ordo secret guards rushed out from all directions, wielding weapons, and attacked him fiercely, their moves ruthless and deadly.

Chen Zhan dismounted, his true energy erupting with a roar, and the pressure of the Profound Realm swept across the entire area.

His palm strikes were as powerful as thunder, each blow carrying the force to destroy the world.

Although the Ordo secret guards were elite and numerous, they were no match for him at all. Screams rose and fell as people fell one after another under his palm.

But these secret guards were fearless and charged forward one after another, even knowing they would die, they still fought desperately.

The fierce battle lasted for two full hours.

The natural barrier of Juyong Pass was completely destroyed. Cliffs collapsed, stone chips flew everywhere, and the mountain roads were all destroyed. The canyon was littered with the corpses of the secret guards, and their blood stained the rocks and streams. The scene was extremely tragic, dark and gloomy, with no light of day or night.

Ten miles away, the soldiers of the Song army camp could clearly hear the sounds of fierce fighting in the canyon, a mixture of clashing swords, screams, and the sound of rocks collapsing.

However, no one dared to go forward to check, because Chen Zhan had already given a death order.

Therefore, no one in the Song Dynasty witnessed this battle firsthand, but countless people in the Liao Dynasty did.

After this battle.

Countless Liao soldiers and generals were disheartened and submitted their resignations, retiring to their hometowns.

Many people even laid down their weapons and surrendered without a fight.

In the future, whenever someone mentioned the fierce battle at Juyong Pass that day, the Liao soldiers would shake their heads and avoid the topic, their eyes filled with fear, unwilling to say another word.

On that day, Chen Zhan was like a demon god descending to earth, invincible.

Indescribable!
As dusk fell, Chen Zhan walked out of Juyong Pass alone, his clothes stained with blood and his figure slightly weary.

Upon returning to his camp, he did not order an immediate attack, but instead relayed the order.

A seven-day truce was declared.

Seven days later, the Song army was in high spirits and ready to go.

At Chen Zhan's command, the army once again marched north, sweeping through cities and territories with unstoppable momentum, and no one could stand in its way.

In just half a month, they took over all the territory of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and completely recovered this land that had been occupied by foreign tribes for a hundred years.

After 148 years, the Han dynasty finally brought the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun back into its territory.

The people cheered and rushed out of the city to welcome the Song army. Cries and laughter mingled together, filled with the joy of something lost and then regained.

Meanwhile, good news also came from the Western Xia.

Following Chen Zhan's orders, Zhao Qingtan led his army in pursuit, completely crushing the remaining forces of Western Xia and recovering all lost territories in the northwest. The Western Xia ruler, Li Bingchang, fled in panic to the Western Regions with a small number of remaining troops.

When the news reached the Song Dynasty, the whole country was in an uproar.

From the royal family to ordinary people, everyone was overjoyed.

Previously, all objections from the court and the public regarding the young emperor's assumption of power and Zhao Qingtan's appointment as regent minister had completely vanished.

There were no further objections to the reinstatement of Wang Guangzu and the others.

The power struggle between the old and new parties was no longer mentioned. (End of Chapter)