Because of the sheer size of the coalition forces, preparations dragged on for nearly a week before they were almost all in place.

The war has finally begun.

After nightfall, the Northern Route Army, led by Han Zhenlin, the new commander of the Qilin Kingdom Expeditionary Force, began to move. They moved in a southeasterly direction along the Samanaga River at the junction of the Northern Alliance Kingdom and the Black Cloud Kingdom Fuhua Prefecture.

The total number of troops in the Northern Route was about 450,000, including 300,000 infantry, 100,000 cavalry and 50,000 full-time crossbowmen. Since the cavalry and crossbowmen were troops equipped with Xuanyu iron, and these people were veterans of battle, the Northern Route Army was the smallest of the troops, but it was the strongest in combat. The task given to them by the coalition base camp "Zhengnanfu" is to blockade and cut off all connections between the Eastern Holy Kingdom and the Black Cloud Kingdom.

In view of the fact that the Eastern Saint Kingdom may have an army of 300,000 to 500,000 or even more, the Northern Route Army was authorized: if the army of the Eastern Saint Kingdom dared to support the Black Cloud Kingdom, the Northern Route Army would not only resolutely crush their attempts, but also wait for an opportunity to advance eastward and disarm all their armies until they took control of their entire territory.

When the threat of the Eastern Saint Kingdom is lifted, the Northern Route Army will serve as the general reserve of the coalition forces, waiting for an opportunity to give strong support to all the actions of the coalition forces.

Since the Northern Route Army was the farthest away in its movements, it needed to travel about 600 miles southeast along the Samanaga River to reach the designated area, so they were the first troops to act in the coalition forces. It didn't take long for it to get dark, and they were on their way.

It was a secret rapid march operation, so only a brief mobilization was carried out before the war. The dinner was relatively rich, and Han Zhenlin got enough chickens, pigs, and sheep for the soldiers to have a good meal. However, only one bowl of wine can be served per person, and it is not allowed to drink too much. Because the troops will be in a state of rapid march all night, it is not okay to drink too much.

As usual, they lit bonfires all over the place to avoid being detected by the outposts of the Black Cloud Kingdom on the other side. There was no warning, not even the usual sound of war drums before the march. First, more than 2,000 infantrymen dressed in black night clothes and light cloth shoes quietly set off, and they silently climbed the high stone walls, preparing to give a sneak attack to the officers and soldiers of Black Cloud City on duty above. Unexpectedly, there were empty tin cans tied to ropes everywhere on the stone walls - this was Luo Ming's idea, he had learned this trick from a veteran from the previous life.

It was a pitch dark night, the moon had not yet risen, and visibility in the field was low. But everywhere the attacking troops encountered empty tin cans, and there was a rattling sound on the stone wall. The officers and men on night duty at the checkpoint were alarmed, and they fled through the secret passage that had been dug in advance. Before escaping, the very competent officer did not forget to fire several fiery sentry arrows into the sky to notify the nearby sentry posts.

The mournful whistle pierced the silence of the night, and the flames swayed into the air with the arrows, like meteors. It didn't take long for wolf smoke to rise from the nearby checkpoints. Han Zhenlin looked at the wolf smoke rising in the distance on his horse with an expressionless face, although he couldn't see those black smoke in the dark night, but the huge flames on the stone wall of the sentry post could indeed be seen clearly from miles away. After a long time, he said to himself: "I wanted to make a sneak attack, but it didn't succeed, the Black Cloud Kingdom is really well-trained and has the right methods. Unconsciously, he had a slight foreboding of the prospect of this expedition. After all, the two wars commanded by this kid were both defeated and won in the face of absolute disadvantage. Although the coalition forces have the advantage this time, can they be said to be victorious?

It is true that in the age of cold weapons, one of the most important conditions for gaining an advantage in war is the large number of people. But there is also the problem of too many people. The number of coalition troops dispatched this time is so large that one of the most important problems is the great difficulty of logistical supply. This problem also caused the coalition forces to win the war with a thunderous force, and absolutely not to fight a protracted war. As Sun Tzu said in the Art of War: "A soldier is a good victory, but not a long time." "When an army goes out to fight, especially an expedition, it is important to achieve a quick victory, rather than to stay there for a long time and fight for a long time. The more the party with a large number of people, the more it delays, the more disadvantageous it is.

Han Zhenlin thought: As long as these three armies can progress smoothly, the war will end soon. If...... Let's hope there aren't any ifs.

There are three towns in the area around Fuhua Prefecture in the Northern Alliance. Each of the three armies had one of the towns as the center of their camp. The army of the North Road relied on Furong Town, the army of the Middle Road relied on Beiliu City, and the army of the South Road relied on Jinxiang County. When the sneak attack of the infantry of the Northern Route Army failed, the troops turned to an offensive march. They were led by cavalry units, followed by brigades of infantry. Han Zhenlin and his subordinate senior generals followed the rear of the infantry team, escorted by crossbowmen, and left Furong Town in a mighty way, and marched in a southeasterly direction. Along the way, they didn't run into much trouble.

The Middle Route Army, composed of the troops of the Ma Huaishan Kingdom, marched from Beiliu City at midnight later that day. Their target is the so-called Black Cloud Kingdom's steel defense, which has become legendary and claimed to be unbreakable, the fortifications of the castle. Their army totaled 800,000 men, and it took an hour just to assemble the troops.

This is a team of elite war elephant troops equipped with strong siege capabilities. The generals who conquered Nanfu believed that there should be no problem in sending them to seize a fortification that was only six miles long. The vanguard is expected to arrive the following morning. The boss is a young lieutenant who has recently been transferred from the Ma Huaishan Kingdom, and his name is Luo Zhen.

The route of the march of the Northern Alliance Kingdom was the closest, and their goal was the county seat of Fuhua. It wasn't until the sky was slightly brighter that the horn of the assembly began to sound inside and outside Jinxiang County. The army of more than 800,000 people of the Northern Alliance led by Wang Jinqian, after breakfast, began the routine oath meeting and sacrificed the flag with livestock. When the sun was shining on the earth, this team, under the guidance of 100,000 light cavalry, left Jinxiang County and marched towards Fuhua County, dozens of miles away.

After hearing the news that the coalition forces had begun to act, he who had been sitting in front of the sand table let out a sigh of relief. He looked around at the senior generals of Black Cloud City gathered in the conference room, and said calmly: "Here we go! Everyone, take your seat and prepare for the hardest work. ”

The earliest contact between the forces of the Three Kingdoms Alliance and the army of the Black Cloud Kingdom was started in the village of Amo in the northeast of Fuhua Prefecture.