Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"That's right."

Upon hearing this, Deng Yunluo, Xiao Ke, and others echoed and expressed their agreement.

Lu Xiao didn't feign politeness in declining; instead, he accepted without hesitation.

"Since everyone has no objections, then I, the Marquis, will personally lead the 41,000 troops."

"Zhao Xun, Qin Sheng."

Upon hearing his name called, the two immediately stepped forward, clasped their hands in obeisance, and accepted his command.

Lu Xiao then gave the order:

"Your Zhenbei and Pingxi camps have dealt with the Hu people for many years and are quite familiar with their tactics. Therefore, I hereby order you two to each lead your own troops to serve as the left and right wings of the army, and to act as you see fit when necessary."

He has never liked fighting in a conventional way.

After all, the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing, and following a rigid approach could lead to serious problems.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xun and Qin Sheng both nodded in agreement.

Lu Xiao then looked at the rest of the group:

"The remaining troops will be led by you personally, divided into front and rear armies. The cavalry will be led by General Long, the infantry by Commandant Deng and Commandant Xiao, and I will be stationed in the central army to oversee the entire operation."

"Now let's talk about our marching plans..."

In Lu Xiao's original plan, he intended to lead his cavalry straight to the heart of the enemy's stronghold, but after thinking about it, he realized that doing so would still carry certain risks.

With several county commandants and garrison commanders bringing enough infantry, he decided to slightly change his strategy, sending cavalry as the vanguard to attack first, with the infantry following behind to clean up the rear.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Huang Shan rushed in and said urgently:

"My lord, our scouts have discovered signs of mobilization among the various tribes of the Northern Hu. People from dozens of Hu tribes are all converging on their royal court."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Northern Hu army will set off south in half a month."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Lu Xiao in surprise.

After all, they gathered here because Lu Xiao speculated that the Northern Hu were very likely to move south, and now that has come true.

Coming to his senses, Lu Xiao asked in a deep voice:

"Can we deduce the strength of the Hu people's troops?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, according to the intelligence brought back by scouts from all sides, it is roughly estimated that if the Northern Hu army marches south this time, its strength will be about 50,000 to 60,000. Any more than that and the Northern Hu themselves will be in great chaos."

"Fortunately, they didn't exceed our forces by too much."

Lu Xiao breathed a slight sigh of relief, and after thinking for a moment, gestured for everyone to look at the sand table in front of them:

"Gentlemen, since the Northern Hu intends to take the initiative to move south and has mobilized more than 50,000 troops, it is highly likely that the Hu king will personally lead the troops south."

"Since we have already made preparations for a major battle, we don't need to wait for the enemy to come to us; instead, we should continue to take the initiative."

"Please look at the map north of the White Wolf Camp."

He pointed to a spot ten miles due north of the main camp:

"This place is called Ghost Cry Valley, which is a perfect location for an ambush."

"While the Northern Hu are unaware of you all, let's set up an ambush here and catch them off guard. Then, regardless of the outcome, we'll retreat immediately and lure the Hu army to the nearby Eagle Strike Plain."

As he spoke, Lu Xiao's finger moved, landing on another spot:

"Although Eagle Strike Plain is vast and unobstructed, it is crisscrossed with ravines. Larger areas can accommodate two thousand infantrymen in formation, while smaller areas can accommodate three to five hundred infantrymen in formation, making it the best place for infantry warfare."

"Our main force will be deployed on Eagle Strike Plain..."

……

At the end of February, King Hu, Mi Luohan, led his younger brother Mi Luowuyuan, his close minister Xi Luoluo, and several loyal chieftains, gathering 60,000 warriors and marching straight towards the White Wolf camp.

The majority of them were skilled cavalrymen, with a small number of infantrymen.

After departing from the royal court, Mi Luohan was in high spirits. While enjoying the scenery along the way with several chieftains, he imagined the results that could be achieved after capturing the White Wolf Camp and advancing directly into Changyang County.

"Your Majesty, the intelligence is accurate."

At this moment, Siloro, as the vanguard reconnaissance force, returned from the front with several cavalrymen to report the information he had gathered:

"After defeating the Gule tribe, the White Wolf Camp did indeed stop expanding its army, and currently only three thousand infantrymen are stationed at the camp."

"The other surrounding defense battalions also did not notice our army's movements and continued to guard their respective territories as usual, not daring to venture deep into the grasslands."

"Hahaha, I told you long ago that Lu Xiao is only capable of what he has now."

Upon hearing this news, Maitreya burst into laughter:

"It is extremely difficult to maintain an army. Just the food and supplies alone would bankrupt a large city of the Zhou people. The fact that he has been able to expand his outpost of a hundred men to its current size is already the limit. It is impossible for him to continue to expand indefinitely. Otherwise, without my intervention, their Great Zhou emperor would have punished him directly."

"Since none of the Zhou people have noticed our movements, let's make a quick decision, take the White Wolf Camp and Changyang County, and then take a trip into the heart of their Great Zhou territory."

Upon hearing this, the generals were overjoyed, and some chieftains even began to fantasize about how much gold, silver, and women they could plunder from the Zhou people this time.

"Your Majesty, we should still be cautious."

Seeing that the king and his generals were getting a little cocky, Siloro quickly reminded them of a few things:

"Further ahead lies Ghost Cry Valley, an excellent place to set up an ambush. Be careful, the Zhou people may have laid an ambush there to catch us off guard."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Maitreya's face faded slightly, but he didn't seem to mind.

"It's alright."

"The White Wolf camp, including its cavalry, has a total of over four thousand men, while I have brought a full sixty thousand warriors south this time, making our forces more than ten times theirs."

"Sixty thousand to four thousand, the advantage is on my side!"

After saying this, he ordered Xiluoluo to continue leading troops forward to scout the military situation, and at the same time ordered the army to speed up its march.

With the Zhou people's treasures and beauties right in front of them, the Hu soldiers briefly forgot the hardships of their long journey and began to run forward with all their might.

In their view, since the Great Zhou had not noticed their southward march, they were certain to win this battle!

About four hours later, the Hu army arrived outside Ghost Cry Valley.

Despite Silora's repeated dissuasion, Mirohan still ordered the army to rest there for a while, and then sent a small force in to investigate. Once he confirmed that everything was alright, he allowed the main army to pass through quickly.

While waiting, he turned to look at Mirokugan:

"Brother Wang, are there any other passages near Ghost Cry Valley that lead directly to the Great Zhou?"

"We can either detour through Eagle Strike Plain or head south along the Yan River, but this would greatly slow down our march."

A map of the surrounding area immediately appeared in Maitreya's mind, and after a moment's thought, he shook his head:

"Then let's march directly from Ghost Cry Valley. The other two places will waste too much of our time, and I don't want to wait that long."

"This time, I will definitely cut off that bastard Lu Xiao's head and use it as a football!"