In September 806 of the Gregorian calendar, Li Tianhao issued a general mobilization order to march to Yaji. The Dilc army, which had long been ready to stop, gathered a full 150,000 troops this time, which was the largest of the Diels army since its formation.

The right army, led by Gernas, Dara, Zaran, Zukar, and Wod, marched north along the east bank of the Nanra; The 45,000 Left Route Army, led by Wei Song, Xenas, and Eglius, advanced north along the west bank of the Nanra River; Seven thousand cavalry led by Hector, Muller, Alam, and Chikerda were the vanguard on both sides of the Middle Route Army, and Li Tianhao personally commanded 60,000 troops as the middle route, taking a boat down the Nanluo River.

In addition, Li Tianhao also sent Yilian as an envoy to ask for the assistance of the leader of the Kanno tribe, Kidd, and the 8,000 warriors of the Kanno tribe were responsible for detouring from the west to the rear of Ashtiton and cutting off the retreat of the Yaki army.

Unlike in the past, even Queen Afrit of Palchi went into battle and personally went to Abdus to take the rear. It can be said that Palci launched a general attack on Yaqui with all the strength of the whole country.

When the mighty Dils army marched from Abdus, Usub, the prime minister of Yaki, who was far away in Ehittidon, got the news - Li Tianhao did not deliberately conceal the news of sending troops this time, since he had achieved absolute superiority, it was the right choice to use the momentum to give Yaki appropriate pressure.

When Usubu heard the news, he froze in place like five thunderbolts. The sixty-seven-year-old Imperial Prime Minister had already prepared for war against Cad Monro, and in his opinion, it was already the limit of what he could do to complete these preparations in a few months, as long as he eliminated Cad Monro. King Kumuel became the rightful King of Yagi, and at that time he signed a peace agreement with Palci to find a respite. With his efforts, Yaki was able to recuperate after three to five years of recuperation. It should be possible to bounce back. But now that his wishful thinking has come to naught, he never expected that Li Tianhao would disdain his promise and launch a new round of attack.

The Yaqui regime is now in a precarious situation, with mature officials losing nearly a third of their lives in the last civil strife, making the running of government agencies already stumbling, and the pressure to restructure the army has made finances even tighter. The worst thing is that the taxes in various places cannot be collected, and since there are two kings in Yaqui who are at a loss, these magistrates simply put the taxes into their purses. Officials from all over the country recruited troops to protect themselves, and officials from smaller localities spontaneously banded together to strengthen themselves, and the only area that Usubu could control was now a few dozen miles from Ashtidon and the land south of the capital bordering Palchi. But now that the thief army is coming, the first thing to bear the brunt of is their own territory!

It's not that Usubu doesn't want to send troops to defend against the thief army, but he can't. At present, the total armed force in his hands is only about 50,000 people, of which more than 20,000 are temporary recruits, and the strength is at a disadvantage, the key is the lack of commanders to lead the troops. Since Viscount Libera and General Vulture took Cad Monro to Andrasius in Memphis. There are no more generals in the Yaji army who can take charge of themselves. Ironically, Cad Monroe had two of Yaqui's most prominent generals, but no soldiers to lead them, and Usubu had no good commanders. If you reluctantly appoint those second-rate generals, it will undoubtedly be equivalent to throwing your only remaining family wealth into the tiger's mouth of the thief army. What's more, Usubu is not at ease with the generals who lead the troops, if these people temporarily turn against the water, then all this that he has created with great difficulty will be completely finished.

After much thought, Usub made his decision to gather all his forces to defend Ashtidon. In addition to the fifty thousand troops in his hands. There were more than 100,000 inhabitants of Ashtidon, and in addition to women and the elderly, nearly 40,000 militias could be organized. Ashtidon's treasury was well stocked with weapons, gold, and food. With these and the walls of Ashtidon, even if the thieves besiege the city, it will not be able to defeat it for a while, as long as the thieves have to retreat due to lack of food, then everything will have room for relaxation.

Usub's decision wasn't the worst of all options, but it was also a decision to give up all of the subqui territories south of Ashtidon. With almost no armed forces of Yaqui in this vast land, the Dils army was able to march with great force, quickly conquering the towns and villages along the way, and in only twenty days they had all advanced to less than thirty miles from Ashtidon.

The three-way army of the Dils army gathered under the city of Echtidon and surrounded the ancient city from three directions.

"It's magnificent, Echtidon. It was the first time I had seen the city. Li Tianhao looked at this giant city from a distance, and suddenly the corners of his mouth rose: "It's a pity that it will soon be stained red with blood." ”

"Your lord, you're not going to slaughter the city, are you? The city has a very long history. Brooks, the second chief of staff, asked tentatively. As a Yaki nobleman, he still has this strong affection for the city, and if Li Tianhao really wants to slaughter the city, then how he should choose has become a difficult problem.

Li Tianhao turned his head and smiled at him, and said, "You misunderstood, Brooks, I wouldn't do such a thing to such an ancient city." If Usub is defending it with all his might, there is no need for us to storm Ashtiton in accordance with his wishes, but who can guarantee that the interior of this city will be as impregnable as it looks? Rather than attacking Ashtiton, I pay more attention to how many Yaki officials will lead soldiers to aid the capital, after all, the Yaqui people still have feelings for the capital, and they don't want their capital to be captured for fear that Yaki will feel the same hatred for the enemy. ”

Brooks let out a sigh of relief and said, "Lord Lord, you are worried about what you are worried about. According to the following speculation, officials in various places should be struggling with the question of whether to send troops or not, and we should take this opportunity to strengthen their convictions in time. ”

"Oh? What beliefs do you firmly hold? ”

"The best way to avoid getting them to gather together to rescue Ashtiton is to break through one of these points first, and let one town be the first to submit to our army, so that they will become more hesitant if they don't follow suit, so that our army will have no worries."

Li Tianhao was overjoyed when he heard this: "If this is really the case, Echtidon will be in our bag." ”

Brooks bowed deeply, "Then I will ask to act as a lobbyist to carry out this mission." (To be continued.) )