Not to mention that Ning Ze bluffed Sima Fa, deceived the three forces, and recaptured the two counties of Xizhou with lightning speed.

On the other side, Tang Niu ordered Zhou Yuan to stay in Dongcheng County, Bian Prefecture, personally lead the troops to the battle, and bring dozens of generals such as Mei Xu, Miao Ji, and Lin Xuan to lead 80,000 troops into the wasteland.

The elder of the Di tribe, Balin, sent Su Buzhan, who was familiar with the terrain of the wasteland, to assist and lead the Zhou army to set off.

The wasteland roads are rugged and full of potholes, making it impassable for vehicles.

Mei Xu asked the soldiers to put all the supplies on their horses, abandon the vehicle and move slowly.

Although the use of war horses to carry supplies was a bit extravagant, there was no other way.

As long as you can reach Huajun, launch a surprise attack smoothly, and even conquer the imperial city of Huaguo in one fell swoop, everything is worth it!

The soldiers of the Zhou State were relatively tired, after all, most of them belonged to the infantry, and some cavalry also brought war horses to camels to transport supplies. Shuttling through the rugged wasteland roads every day is extremely tiring.

Tang Niu and the main generals in the army were okay, they rode horses all the way and didn't have to walk on their own.

Of course, the horses were very tired in such a situation, so they took a break and marched relatively slowly.

There are many poisonous snakes and beasts in the wasteland, most of which are no-man's land and inaccessible.

In other words, ordinary people crossing the wasteland can be said to be dangerous, and they will be killed by poisonous snakes and beasts at any time.

The best thing for the Ti is to deal with poisonous snakes and beasts, and they know it best.

There are all kinds of medicines prepared in advance, and the poisonous snakes and beasts will automatically avoid them along the way.

Under such difficult circumstances, the Zhou army persevered all the way and finally successfully reached the territory of Jinzhou and came to the border of Huajun.

When the scout reported that he had seen the city of Huajun, Tang Niu was overjoyed.

Originally, all counties in Hwasan were in the southerly direction, and the northern wasteland was almost connected to Hwasan County.

After all, under normal circumstances, it is basically impossible for the army to cross the wasteland and make a detour.

Who would have thought that someone from the Di tribe would discover a rough road across the wasteland and bring the Zhou army with them?

"Your Majesty, now the Huaguo army is all in Mizhou, the Huajun army is at most 10,000, and there are only the old and weak in the city, as well as a large number of female officials. Mei Xu said, "Our army is eight times larger than the enemy, and we have the advantage of a surprise attack, so we should march at full speed to conquer this city! Once we take Huajun, Your Majesty will be able to shock the Sixteen Prefectures!"

"Good!" Tang Niu laughed, "Spread my will, march at full speed, and capture Huajun!"

The soldiers and horses of the Zhou State crossed the border of Huajun and advanced rapidly.

There are no Chinese soldiers and horses guarding the way, and there is no obstruction at the pass, and the rugged road leads directly to the destination.

It's just that Tang Niu didn't know that hot air balloons flew over the sky above Huajun City every day. If you don't pay attention, you will think it is a bird from a distance, after all, there is only one black spot.

However, when you look down from the hot air balloon, you can see the entire surrounding area of Huajun City at a glance.

In particular, the advent of telescopes has made the field of vision even more distant.

At this moment, the Huaguo scout, who was on the hot air balloon, looked around with a telescope, and happened to find the Zhou army that appeared on the border of Huajun and was marching this way.

At their height, they could barely see through a telescope what looked like an ant marching.

It's still too far away to see clearly.

However, it can be judged that it belongs to the Zhou State by the flag pattern, color, military uniform style, and direction of this army.

Realizing that something was wrong, the scout immediately added weight to the balloon and threw bags of sandbags out of the frame.

Heavy sandbags pull chains and slowly descend with the hot air balloon.

After Liu Yuanxiang retired from the court, he used some leisure time to return to the harem with Chu Meiren, Mi Yan, and Fluttershy to check on the children.

Two-year-old Liu Xiu is quite naughty, and the other younger siblings are well-behaved and obedient, and they honestly stay by the nurse's side, but he is the only one who runs around, giving the nurse who takes care of him a headache.

Fortunately, as soon as Liu Yuanxiang came, he stopped frolicking and happily threw himself into his mother's arms to hug him.

Just as he was interacting with the children, a female soldier came in outside: "Report ——! that the army of the Zhou State has been found on the northern border and is moving in the direction of Huajun! The number is about seventy or eighty thousand, and the situation is critical! The prime minister asks Your Majesty, Chu Taichang, and General Wei to hurry up to the court to discuss matters!"

"What?!" Liu Yuanxiang, Chu Meiren, and Mi Yan looked at each other, unable to believe it.

They know a lot about the wasteland, and under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to traverse this dangerous area.

The wasteland acts as a natural barrier that completely isolates the north.

Although I occasionally heard that the Di people would come to Huajun through the wasteland to exchange supplies, the possibility of the army wanting to come over is very low!

Why did the Zhou army suddenly cross the wasteland and enter the Huajun area from the north?

Since Hwasa is in the rear, there are wastelands in the north, the sea in the east, and mountains in the south, so it is very safe to enter and exit by relying on the western passage. No one expected that the Imperial army would cross such a terrible wasteland and suddenly attack from an unexpected position. This time, Ning Ze led a large army to go on an expedition, taking away almost all the main forces of the country, leaving only the most basic troops in each prefecture and county, which was enough to maintain law and order.

Huajun now had only 13,000 soldiers, and 7,000 of them were women.

The enemy army has 70,000 or 80,000 troops, several times his own, and it is indeed dangerous.

It was originally parent-child time, and I can't care about it so much now.

Leaving Fluttershy in the harem to watch the children, Liu Yuanxiang, Chu Meiren, and Mi Yan hurriedly go to court.

As soon as the minister Chu Xun received the news, he immediately ordered the Chinese military forces to gather, and sent people to inform the whole city, so that the people could return to the city immediately.

When Liu Yuanxiang and the three arrived, the civil and military officials had already arrived.

"Your Majesty!" Chu Xun stood up and arched his hand, and said respectfully, "The scout has come to report that there is an army of the Zhou State in the north that is crossing the wasteland and wants to attack Huajun by surprise. At the speed of the other party's march, it took about half a day to reach the outside of the city. The enemy has at least 70,000 troops, or even more, and it is not clear who the commander of the army is. Lao Chen estimated that the probability of Tang Niu personally going out was extremely high. The world's first military general is not a false rumor, the former military generals conference, but the power of the crowd is invincible! The only one who can win Tang Niu is the King of Danyang, but the prince is out on the expedition, and it is difficult to return to help. Our army is small, so we should immediately close the city gate, strengthen the city defense, and notify the surrounding counties and towns to send troops to help!"

"The prime minister is experienced, and the arrangements are extremely proper!" Liu Yuanxiang said, "The enemy army came suddenly, unexpectedly. Spread my will, immediately close the gates, close the city, and recall the people. If you have a plan to retreat from the enemy, come quickly!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry!" Liang Teng stood up, clenched his fists and said, "Although Tang Niu has the life of the world's number one general, it is difficult to defeat. But we will be able to hold on to the fortification of the city. The whole Liang family is defending the city for His Majesty, and teaching the enemy army not to move forward!"

"The ministers swear to defend the city to the death!!" Behind Liang Teng, Liang Kai, Liang Shun, Liang Jing, Liang Yun, Liang Dong, Liang Jing, Liang Hao, and other clansmen of the Liang family who were officials in the court came out one after another, echoing in unison.

"The ministers are willing to die for Your Majesty!!" Li Shun, Zhao Qing, Sun Yan, Zhu Yan and all the civil and military generals present, whether they were the pro-emperor faction or the Ning Ze faction, also stood up.

Liu Yuanxiang was quite moved: "With the help of all the secretaries, I don't have to worry about it!

"The minister is here!" Liang Teng stepped forward.

"I will hand over all the soldiers and horses in the city to you, and the city defense will be tireless!"

"Your Majesty rest assured! The ministers will defend to the death and not let the enemy army step into the imperial city!" Liang Teng received the order, directly mobilized the generals, and took them all out of the palace to the city gate, and Mi Yan also asked his henchmen to gather female soldiers and go over to defend the city together.

The rest are all civil officials, Liu Yuanxiang looked around at everyone, and finally turned to Li Shun: "Li Yilang!"

"Here!" Li Shun stood up and saluted respectfully.

"You can go to the Ministry of Communications and quickly send a message to the surrounding counties and towns, including nearby counties, to send troops to support!"

"Whew!" Li Shun quickly turned around and ran out of the palace.

"Prime Minister!" Liu Yuanxiang turned to Chu Xun, "You will take over all the affairs in the city for the time being, and make overall arrangements!"

"The old minister must do his best!" Chu Xun nodded and turned to Chu Meiren, "Chu Taichang, with the existing strength of the imperial city, it is quite dangerous to block the enemy's army. If you want to retreat from the enemy, you should overcome it with wisdom. Is there a plan?"

In fact, Chu Xun had a few ideas in his heart, but he didn't think it was appropriate, and it was not a foolproof solution. His daughter is blue, especially in the art of war, of course, the first time to ask her what she thinks.

Seeing Liu Yuanxiang and all the civil officials in the court looking at him, Chu Meiren lowered her head and thought for a moment, and replied unhurriedly: "Although Tang Niu is brave, there are no wise people around him. Mei Xu is good at military formation, not good strategy. The minister heard that the land of Bian Zhou believed in ghosts. If an army is sent to the upper reaches of the Mijiang River, dozens of coffins are set up on the main road, mourning flags are scattered all over the road, and paper money is splashed along the way, it will make a detour, which can contain at least one hour and gain time for our army to consolidate the city defense. The prince had previously taken in two Assassins and ordered them to train a team of Assassins, so that they could go out of the city and fly dragon-shaped kites along the way. The soldiers of the Zhou State must be surprised, and they can also delay a little. ”

"Why is it all a procrastination strategy?" asked Chu Xun.

"Delay time first, then there is a good way to retreat from the enemy!" Chu Mei said, "If the soldiers of the Zhou State cross the border and obstruct it, they will use all the hot air balloons in the city, all with phosphorus fire canisters, and fly over the enemy army to throw them." Then take out all the explosive crossbow arrows in the armory, and let the defenders equip all of them. ”

"Those explosive crossbow arrows are the treasure of the prince!" Zhu Yan said worriedly.

"I can't care so much now," Chu Mei said, "In such a situation, even if the prince is here, he will agree to use these treasures!"

"That's right!" Liu Yuanxiang nodded, "At the moment, retreating from the enemy is the first priority, and all resources can be used." ”

Chu Xun thought about it carefully: "The use of hot air balloons, phosphorus fire canisters, and explosive crossbow arrows can indeed cause a large number of casualties among the enemy, weaken morale, and inspire our army. Chu Taichang's plan is quite appropriate. It's just that we have to retreat from the enemy's troops, and it's not enough!"

"The enemy is coming too quickly, let me think about it again!"

"In this case, arrange it first!" Chu Xun got up and looked at the civil officials, "Everyone, this battle is very important, and you can't neglect it!"

"In!" When he heard his name called, he immediately went out of the ranks.

"Ordered you to coordinate the defense of the city, first move all the arsenal out, if it is not enough, you can urgently raise funds from the people!"

"Whoa!"

The so-called emergency fundraising from the people means that when it is absolutely necessary, it is necessary to requisition heavy furniture such as stone mills, as well as any materials that can replace rolling stones to attack the enemy. At the same time, it is possible to demolish certain houses and use the pillars and beams as sassals.

As for compensation, after the war, the losses were liquidated and then paid to the people.

It is not necessary to have enough equipment to defend the city, but it is also necessary to take precautions.