A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

The nine military governors stepped forward one by one, each cutting their right palm, and dripping their blood into the cauldron to mix with the horse's blood.

Zhang Huai was the first to pick up the bronze goblet filled with blood wine, while holding up a bright yellow scroll with his other hand.

He stood tall at the forefront of the high platform, his voice deep and resonant, echoing throughout the surrounding army ranks:

"The current emperor intends to strip the troops of the various garrisons, disband the border armies, and confiscate local taxes and provisions. We risk our lives to guard the northern border for the empire and protect the northern gateway to the Central Plains."

"His Majesty resides deep within the palace, unaware of the hardships on the frontier. He is solely focused on seizing power from the regional military governors, treating us soldiers guarding the borders like mere weeds!"

"Now we are launching a direct attack. The imperial court has sent 60 troops to the western frontier and another 30 troops to the north."

"The current emperor is wantonly attacking loyal ministers, which is unrighteous and immoral. Furthermore, he imprisoned his father to seize the throne, which is disloyal and unfilial."

"Many of the military governors were trusted ministers of the late emperor. Before his death, the late emperor left a will for many of them, saying that they were imprisoned by the current emperor, but considering that the new emperor was also of their blood, he could not bear to harm them."

"If the new emperor is wise, we must do our best to assist him."

"If the new emperor is tyrannical, he commands us to uphold the late emperor's will and establish a wise and virtuous ruler!"

"The new emperor is unjust, disloyal, and unfilial. We, acting on the late emperor's will, are here to overthrow him and restore the Tang Dynasty!"

This is what is written on the scroll. All the military governors know that it must be fake and all nonsense.

But that's exactly the title they wanted, and the fact that the late emperor was imprisoned was true.

If the Han emperor could produce an edict hidden in a belt, the late emperor could have done the same.

Anyway, they believe it's true, and they insist it's true.

What business is it of theirs if the imperial court doesn't recognize it?

Emperor, you've imprisoned your father, so we don't believe a word you say.

The original text of the imperial edict was not this; rather, it conformed perfectly to the format of imperial edicts of the Tang Dynasty.

However, it would be difficult to explain these things to these ordinary soldiers, so it's better to use some plain language.

Zhang Huai raised his hand and pointed to the countless banners in the sky, then looked around at the other eight military governors:

"Today, we, the Nine Garrisons, slay a white horse as a pledge and swear an oath of blood. From this day forward, the Nine Garrisons will share weal and woe, and together we will carry out the late Emperor's will to march south and punish the patricide and false emperor."

"We hereby swear an oath: no infighting, no betrayal, to advance and retreat together, to live and die together. We will not fail our soldiers, nor our people! If we break this oath, may we be like the white horse before us, our heads severed, our souls scattered!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the nine men raised their wine cups together, tilted their heads back, and drank the strong liquor mixed with horse blood and their own blood in one gulp. Then they slammed the bronze cups heavily onto the bluestone ground.

The trusted generals and strategists of the surrounding towns all knelt on one knee, their voices echoing across the wilderness:

"We solemnly obey the General's oath! The nine garrisons are of one mind, united in resisting the imperial command, and will face life and death together!"

Beneath the altar, hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers drew their swords in unison, blades pointing towards the sky, their earth-shaking shouts echoing across the endless, boundless grasslands of Yunzhou.

After the oath was sworn, the troops from the nine garrisons marched south together, heading straight for the important city of Fanyang.

After An Lushan and Shi Siming were deposed, some of their resources were plundered by various military governors, but the imperial court remained in power, and the two cities still fell into the hands of the imperial court.

Now, the veteran general Geshu Han has led his troops north and is stationed in Fanyang City.

This was almost on the same straight line as several regional military governors, allowing for direct military confrontation, demonstrating Geshuhan's remarkable courage.

The troop movements of the nine northern garrisons could not be kept secret from the court's spies. Upon learning that the nine garrisons were jointly leading their troops south, they quickly relayed the news to Geshu Han and the Luoyang court.

Geshuhan took the intelligence, sighed, and realized that the situation he least wanted to see had finally come to pass.

With the nine northern vassal states rebelling, he had to hold out in Fanyang until the imperial reinforcements arrived.

What worried him more was the southern war zone. If the eight feudal lords in the south also rebelled, the court would have to fight on three fronts, which would put immense pressure on the court.

Although the imperial court is powerful, these military governors are not to be underestimated if they are divided into three fronts!

It would be difficult for the imperial court to break the deadlock, and if things dragged on, no one knew how the situation would change.

Even if the imperial court wins, it will suffer heavy losses. The various regional military governors are all important areas of the Tang Dynasty, the most valuable regions. The troops of the regional military governors are also elite forces that have consumed a lot of resources.

If it were destroyed, the Tang Dynasty's vitality would be greatly damaged, and it would probably take at least 10 years to recover.

In the next 10 years, who knows what other changes might occur? Will foreign powers invade? Will natural disasters strike?

The fate of the entire Tang Dynasty will likely suffer a significant loss.

As a veteran general, Geshuhan quickly assigned defensive tasks, ordered the construction of defensive equipment, the cutting off of the railway, and wrote to the court requesting reinforcements.

After receiving intelligence from the northern frontier, the Luoyang court immediately summoned all its officials to a meeting in the Zichen Hall.

After passing on the intelligence reports, Li Heng looked at his trusted advisors and said, "My esteemed ministers, the worst has happened. What are the chances that the towns in the southern borderlands will also rebel?"

"Your Majesty, the southern lords have always been indecisive, hesitant to undertake important tasks, and willing to abandon righteousness for petty gains. We can simply bribe some people and deploy a feint to prevent them from gathering a crowd to rebel. They are not worth worrying about."

Du Fu stroked his mustache and slowly began to speak.

What plan do you have?

Li Heng asked.

Du Fu smiled slightly; he could tell that the anxiety in Li Heng's tone had dissipated considerably.

"Your Majesty, there are a total of eight regional military governors in the south: Jiannan Xichuan Jiedushi: Xiao Chongyue; Jiannan Dongchuan Jiedushi: Wei Chengqian; Shannan Xidao Jiedushi: Lu Qing; Shannan Dongdao Jiedushi: Wen Jingyuan; Jingnan Jiedushi: Chu Zhaolie; Huainan Jiedushi: Shen Wenhan; Jiangxi Jiedushi: Gu Yuanshuo; and Lingnan Dongdao Jiedushi: Tuoba Cong."

"Among them, Chu Zhaolie, the military governor of Jingnan, and Lu Qing, the military governor of Shannan West Circuit, were both from the northern border counties. They were brave and good at fighting, and were the most likely to collude with others to rebel."

"The other six military governors were all from the south, and they advocated peace and following the trend of the times."

"Xiao Chongyue, the military governor of Jiannan Xichuan, and Shen Wenhan, the military governor of Huainan, were extremely short-sighted. They were greedy and only cared about profit."

"With just a bribe from the imperial court and a large sum of money, one can buy them off and even make them work for the court."

"Tuoba Cong, the military governor of Lingnan, is too far from Luoyang to be of any concern."

"The remaining military governors Wei Chengqian of Jiannan East Circuit, Wei Jingyuan of Shannan East Circuit, and Gu Yuanshuo of Jiangxi are all opportunists."

"All we need to do is send an eloquent person to persuade them. Before the outcome of the other two battles on the court is decided, and before the situation becomes clear, they will absolutely not openly rebel."

"Without the support of the other six military governors, Xiao Chulie, the military governor of Jingnan, and Lu Qing, the military governor of Shannan West Circuit, would absolutely not dare to rebel against the court."

"If they really rebel, the 30 troops under Minister Cen's command are more than enough to suppress them."