Yu Wei asked, "Then what should we do next?"

Shi Ziling said: "There should be a lot of Western Alliance troops stationed on the side of Mijing City, which is the main passage to the south, and we are bound to recapture Mijing City."

Nangong Xia wanted his men to return to the south as soon as possible to recuperate, and said hurriedly: "Although we have won a complete victory today, many Western Alliance troops still fled in the direction of Mijing City. If they are prepared to defend, it will be more difficult for us to capture Mijing City again, so I think we should immediately send troops to pursue all the way. ”

Ma Yu said: "Despite this, our men and horses are already extremely tired after a long distance of running back and forth, coupled with repeated hard battles, and our troops are not much left, and there must be enough men and horses left here to guard Yanzhao Pass." ”

Shi Ziling thought for a while and said, "I agree with the opinion of Nangong's predecessors, the battle has reached this point, and the enemy must not be allowed to have a chance to breathe." I think it's better for me to personally lead the special attack division to pursue all the way. ”

"The Western Coalition has suffered heavy losses today, I believe that they will not have many troops left, and if they want to return to Mijing City, they must bypass Yanzhao Pass and walk a long mountain road, as long as we send people to ambush at the exit of the mountain road, it should be enough to wipe them out. ”

"The rest of the troops of the Songhu Legion will stay in Yanzhao Pass for the time being, and when I take Mijing City, you will send someone to pick it up. In addition, if we want to control the entire western region, it is definitely not enough to rely on the existing troops, so I plan to let Yin Qi recruit troops on the one hand, and let the city defenders of Zhao Xiong's capital simply come over and garrison here in half. ”

Ma Yu agreed: "This is also a way, Zhao Xiong and Songyi's 50,000 horses were originally only used to attract the attention of the outside world, and they have been staying on the official road leading from the east to the north, and it should not be far from Black Dragon City." Why don't we send someone to inform them to come and help directly. ”

"Although their combat strength is average, they are reliable after all, anyway, there are no big opponents in the west now, and it should be enough to ensure safety with our city defenders coming to take over. In addition, Yin Qi came forward to recruit troops, as long as we train the recruits well, we can not only ensure and maintain the security of the western region in the future, but also help us conquer the central part and even Kyoto. ”

Nangong Xia said to Shi Ziling: "Ziling, I still have two or three thousand people in my hands, I want to go back to Narcissus City to rest, or I will follow you together." ”

Shi Ziling said: "I will still move forward at full speed when I go, hoping to recover Mijing City as soon as possible." Senior, you and the Duanmu brothers' men and horses can rest for a few days before slowly following over, if you encounter the remnants of the Western Alliance Army who have bypassed Yanzhao Pass and returned to Mijing City on the mountain road, they will be annihilated easily. ”

Nangong Xia also knew that the intention of going to Shiziling was to fight quickly, and the speed of his own men and horses was far from keeping up with the special attack division, and if he reluctantly followed, it would only become a drag on the special attack division. It would take at least a few days for the remaining remnants of the Western Coalition Army to bypass Yanzhao Pass on the mountain road, and just as they could be annihilated by leisure, they agreed to follow with the Duanmu brothers.

Early the next morning, Shi Ziling set off with a special attack division to march to Mijing City, while the rest of the men and horses rested on the spot at Yanzhao Pass. Seven days later, the Duanmu brothers set out from Yanzhao Pass with 5,000 men and horses and Nangong Xia's Narcissus Legion, but they did not rush to Mijing City, but set up ambushes near the exits of various mountain roads, waiting for the arrival of the remnants of the Western Alliance.

Those fleeing Western Coalition troops finally bypassed Yanzhao Pass after many days of difficult mountain marching, but as soon as they came out of the mountain pass, they encountered an ambush set up by the Songhu Legion and the Narcissus Legion, which were waiting for work, and naturally they had no resistance and were soon annihilated.

After annihilating all the remnants of these Western Coalition Army, Nangong Xia and the Duanmu brothers accelerated their journey towards Mijing City.

Shi Ziling's special attack division also seized Mijing City's operation very smoothly. At this time, the news of the rout of Li Yuan's army in Black Dragon City had gradually spread back to the west, and the coalition army composed of various small and medium-sized towns in the west was wiped out at Yanzhao Pass, and the entire west had no intention of confronting Shiziling again.

Not only was there not much obstruction on the way to Mijing City, but the city lords of many small cities also personally brought people to the official road to greet them, and expressed their intention to return to obedience.

Shi Ziling appeased these small and medium-sized city lords, saying that as long as they no longer colluded with the remnants of the Tongtian Sect to cause chaos, the special attack division would never kill innocents indiscriminately.

Those little city lords had been famous for Shi Ziling for a long time, and they knew that he was already one of the strongest martial arts masters today after defeating Fang Wuming, Gongsun Damiang, and Li Yuan in a row. Coupled with the successive defeats and annihilations of Li Yuan's army and Xiahou Yuan's army, Shiziling's Songhu army is already the strongest army today.

Since the Li Yuan family has fallen, these small and medium-sized cities mainly want to gain a long-term foothold in this Mingyue Continent and continue to safeguard the interests of their respective families, and it is an inevitable choice to take refuge under Shiziling. Therefore, these small and medium-sized city lords have expressed their resolute support for Shiziling's entry into the west, and are willing to contribute money and efforts to Shiziling's smooth control of the west.

Shi Ziling is not a murderer, and he is very pleased to be able to win without a fight, and immediately said that no matter how close the relationship between the various city lords and the Li Yuan family was in the past, he will not be responsible for the past after entering the west, as long as everyone is at ease with the local people's livelihood and does not plot to cause chaos.

After Shi Ziling came to Mijing City, he did not encounter much resistance. Most of the men and horses in Mijing City have joined the Western Coalition Army to recover Yanzhao Pass, and there are only more than 10,000 old and weak soldiers left in the city. After learning that the two major armies of the Western Coalition Army and Li Yuan had already been wiped out, these men and horses had no fighting spirit, and only held for a symbolic day, and then surrendered in the fierce attack of the special attack division.

After Shiziling captured Mijing City, he immediately issued a notice to reassure the people throughout the western region, on the one hand, informing all the people that Li Yuan's army had been completely wiped out, and Li Yuan himself was seriously injured and on the run, and on the other hand, it was also to appease all small and medium-sized forces, indicating that the Songhu Army would definitely treat the people well. As long as the small and medium-sized forces in various places do not try in vain to restore Li Yuan's Tongtian Sect, the Songhu Army will never be wiped out.

All the small and medium-sized forces also understood that the Li Yuan family was gone, and the huge Li Yuan army had certainly been wiped out, and even the invincible Tongtian Sect Master Li Yuan was seriously injured and fled under Shi Ziling's hands. Moreover, Li Zhun, Li Xiaoyao, Li Yan and other key members of the Tongtian Sect either died, fled or were captured, and there was no possibility of a comeback at all.

In addition, Shi Ziling has a good reputation since his debut, especially compared to Li Yuan, the impression to the world is much kinder, and all small and medium-sized places believe that Shi Ziling's control of the west will not be as ruthless as Li Yuan, so they have sent people to Mijing City to express their submission.

When Nangong Xia and the others came to Mijing City, they saw an endless stream of people from all walks of life who came to express their allegiance in Shiziling's temporary marshal's mansion, and they couldn't help but sigh: "Ziling, you really responded to the call this time! I am afraid that there is only one person who can have such an appeal as you today, and so smoothly it will make the small and medium-sized forces in the west sincerely surrender, and probably only you can do it." ”

Shi Ziling said: "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly this time, it seems that the high-pressure methods that Li Yuan has always used in the west are not popular. Now that Li Yuan's army and the Western Coalition Army have been wiped out one after another, almost all the small and medium-sized forces in various places have expressed their willingness to obey my command and dispatch in the future, and they are also vying to contribute money and efforts to help us expand our armaments. As long as we properly govern it in the future, it is expected that the western region will become a paradise where the people can live with peace of mind......"

Nangong Xia said: "Now that the overall situation in the northwest has been decided, what are your plans next?"

Shi Ziling said: "Although our expedition was a complete victory, it also lost a lot of troops. The northwest land is extremely vast, and the various small and medium-sized forces are widely distributed, and if you want to maintain peace and stability here for a long time, you must have enough troops to station, if not, it is inevitable that you will have worries about the future for a long time. ”

"So I'm going to rest my team first, replenish the food, grass and armament, and then try to recruit some more men. Wait until we're firmly established here, and then think about what to do next. ”

"Then it seems that you are in a hurry to go to the central part of the country to further expand your power?" asked Nangong Xia.

Shi Ziling said: "Our Songhu Legion currently has only thirty or forty thousand horses left, whether it is Mijing City, Yanzhao Pass or Black Dragon City, they all need to be defended, and we really can't divide enough troops to wave the army in the middle." At least they will not be able to free up some of their troops until Zhao Xiong's city defenders come to take over, so no matter what the situation of the battle in the central part is, I will not rush to action for the time being. ”

Nangong Xia understood that what Shi Ziling said was the truth, although the expedition was smooth, the Songhu Legion was also physically and mentally exhausted, and the Narcissus Legion was almost wiped out. In this case, if you are in a hurry to further expand your power, even if you can win, I am afraid that it will be very costly to make a comeback. Nangong Xia himself was even more anxious to return to Narcissus City to reorganize his Narcissus Legion, hoping to improve the combat power of the Narcissus Legion as soon as possible.

The two immediately discussed the method of contacting in the future, and agreed to wait for their respective adjustments to be in place before sending troops to the central part of the country. Then Nangong Xia took his Narcissus Legion and returned to the south.

Soon after, Zhao Xiong and Su Songyi, who had been grinding on the official road under the guise of Shi Ziling, soon met with the envoys sent by Shi Ziling and Ma Yu, informed them of the details of the expedition, and asked them to divide half of their troops to the west to help garrison.

Zhao Xiong and Su Songyi were both overjoyed, and after discussing the two, it was decided that Zhao Xiong would lead 30,000 horses to garrison in the west, and Su Songyi would return to Songhu City with 20,000 horses to report the good news.

After Zhao Xiong's men arrived in the west, Shi Ziling redeployed the troop arrangements for the entire northwest. He asked Zhao Xiong to first divide 10,000 city defenders to stay in Yanzhao Pass, and the remaining 20,000 city defenders to stay in Mijing City with Zhao Xiong.

For Yanzhao Pass, the most important pass in the northwest, Shi Ziling decided to hand it over to Wei Song to guard. He divided more than 10,000 men and horses of the Songhu Legion plus 10,000 city defenders to hand over to Wei Song, expecting that there were more than 20,000 people and horses, plus the Black Dragon City and Mijing City echoed before and after, the entire northwest should not be in chaos.