Chapter 376: Thousands of Mountains, Facing the River
Yang Zhengshan said thoughtfully: "Is your majesty really seriously ill?"

Lu Hua looked up at him in astonishment, "Why do you say that, General Yang?"

Yang Zhengshan looked at him, and seeing that his surprise was not fake, he shook his head slightly, "No, I was just guessing!"

He always felt that there was something strange about the old emperor's illness!

If the old emperor is really seriously ill, Prince Cheng and Prince Gong should not be allowed to attend court and observe government affairs.

For this reason, he always suspected that the old emperor was pretending to be ill.

But looking at the struggle in the court, the old emperor does not seem to be pretending to be sick.

The civil and military officials in the court were closer to the old emperor than Yang Zhengshan. If the old emperor pretended to be sick, it would be impossible to hide it from everyone.

Moreover, the Wuliang army is about to attack Jizhou. Is the old emperor really not afraid that the Wuliang army will attack the capital?

Lu Hua's reaction seemed to prove that the old emperor was not pretending to be sick.

There is also a possibility that the old emperor even hid it from the Secret Guards.

"Then what do you need me to do next?" Yang Zhengshan said, changing the subject.

Lu Hua said calmly: "This is a question that General Yang should consider. I am only responsible for providing intelligence information to General Yang!"

Lu Hua was still very self-aware. He was not good at military affairs, so he would not give blind orders and was willing to leave everything to Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan nodded, not surprised, because Wei Cen had the same attitude before.

"I will go out as soon as possible!"

He did not elaborate on the other details, only saying that they should set out as soon as possible, because he had not yet thought about how to face the Wuliang army.

Fighting against the Wuliang army is completely different from fighting against Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu.

The soldiers under the command of Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu are all soldiers of Darong. Yang Zhengshan can use persuasion or psychological warfare to make these soldiers defect.

But the situation was different for the Wuliang army. The strategies that Yang Zhengshan used on Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu were completely ineffective against the Wuliang army.

He still needs to think carefully about how to face the Wuliang army!
……

July 18th.

On the fifth day after Yang Zhengshan entered Chongshan Pass, he received a transfer order from the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of War asked him to lead the Chongshan Town army into Liaoxi as soon as possible to block the Wuliang army.

This transfer order definitely did not come from the Ministry of War, but probably from the imperial court.

Yang Zhengshan didn't know why the court gave him such a transfer order, but it could be seen that the court was really anxious.

……

July 19th.

Four thousand cavalry and eight thousand infantry of Dingliao Guard arrived at Chongshan Pass.

Although Ji He had been deposed, he was still the lieutenant general of Dingliao Guard and could mobilize the soldiers of Dingliao Guard.

In addition, Yang Zhengshan had already captured Chongshan Town, so Ji He went back smoothly to recruit soldiers from Dingliao Guard.

The person who led the Dingliao Guard reinforcements this time was Qin He, the commander of the Dingliao Guard and the commander of the Southern Reinforcements Camp.
Qin He is in his thirties, tall and thin, with a regular face, and has the sixth level of acquired cultivation.

Since Ji He asked Qin He to lead the Dingliao Guard reinforcements to Chongshan Town, it shows that Qin He is a capable person and that Qin He is Ji He's confidant.

Ji He is already useless, and when this war is over, his official career will also be over.

Whom to lead the reinforcements to Chongshan Pass is his last bit of glory in the officialdom.

He gave this afterglow to Qin He, probably wanting to do Qin He a favor.

Yang Zhengshan didn't care about this. In fact, he had no ill feelings towards Ji He.

Although Ji He fell into Ji Feiyu's trap, he did not surrender to Ji Feiyu for such a long time, which shows that Ji He is a person with a bottom line.

So he was happy to give Ji He this opportunity.

After the Dingliao Wei reinforcements arrived at Chongshan Pass, Yang Zhengshan gave them a day to rest.

On the third day, which was July 21st, Yang Zhengshan led his army to the west road of Chongshan Town.

At this time, Yang Zhengshan had more than 17,000 cavalry and more than 18,000 infantry under his command, with a total force of 35,000.

And the Wuliang army in western Liaoning had as many as 80,000 troops!

Eighty thousand elite Hu cavalry!

The gap between the enemy and us is huge!
In addition, Cui Liang, the lieutenant general of Daning Guard in the west route of Chongshan Town, is Ji Feiyu's man. Ji Feiyu has already fled, and it is unknown what choice Cui Liang will make?

Cui Liang would definitely not surrender, as he was Ji Feiyu's confidant. Otherwise, Ji Feiyu would not have handed over the west road of Chongshan Town to him.

Moreover, he was the one who personally let the Wuliang army into Liaoxi. Even if he wanted to surrender, the court would not forgive him.

There were only two paths before Cui Liang. One was to escape from Daning Wei and find Ji Feiyu, and the other was to join the Wulianghu tribe.

If Cui Liang chose to escape from Daning Wei, it would undoubtedly be the most favorable outcome for Yang Zhengshan, as it would save Yang Zhengshan a lot of trouble.

But if Cui Liang chooses to join the Wulianghu tribe, it will be very disadvantageous for Yang Zhengshan.

Ji Feiyu had been running the business on the west road of Chongshan Town for more than ten years, and Cui Liang had been running the business for more than five years after taking over the foundation left by Ji Feiyu.

It can be said that the Chongshan Town West Road is completely in Cui Liang's hands. Based on the Chongshan Town West Road, Cui Liang can easily summon tens of thousands of troops.

If Cui Liang led these tens of thousands of troops to join the Wulianghu tribe, they would definitely become a great help to the Wulianghu tribe.

The facts were the same as Yang Zhengshan had guessed. Cui Liang finally chose to join the Wulianghu tribe.

Because at this time Cui Liang could not find Ji Feiyu or King Qing, and he was unwilling to give up the power in his hands.

Since Ji Feiyu was promoted to general, Cui Liang became the local emperor of Chongshan Town West Road. With the support of Ji Feiyu, Chongshan Town West Road almost became his one-man show.

It is simply impossible for him to give up the power of Chongshan Town West Road now. Even if Ji Feiyu goes to persuade him personally, he probably won't listen.

Da Ning Wei, Lieutenant General's Office.

Cui Liang was sitting in the study reading the letter sent by Prince Uto.

In fact, the moment he learned that Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu had fled, he chose to join Prince Uto, and now he has received a reply from Prince Uto.

Prince Uto is the youngest son of King Wuliang. He just turned twenty years old this year, but he has already demonstrated remarkable abilities.

The fact that King Wuliang entrusted the invasion of Dayong Liaoxi to Prince Uto also showed how much King Wuliang valued him.

Prince Uto naturally would not refuse Cui Liang's surrender, and he even promised to give Cui Liang the title of vassal king.

The Wulianghu tribe is the Wuliang Dynasty, which has a different system from the Dayong Dynasty.

Since the Uriank Dynasty was composed of many nomadic tribes, it implemented a vassal system. Each tribe had a king, and the Uriank king was the king who ruled over all the kings.

The so-called vassal system is actually similar to the feudal system. The vassal kings are in charge of the military and civil affairs of their respective tribes and have their own small courts and armies.

This is actually similar to the previous Donghai Hu tribe. However, Mengtemu of the Donghai Hu tribe has only been king for a short time and cannot control all the tribes, so the Daling Dynasty is a bit like a makeshift team.

The Uriank Dynasty has been passed down for more than ten generations. The rule of King Uriank has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the Uriank Dynasty has always been moving towards centralization.

The Wuliang royal court had strong control over the various tribes, so the Wuliang Dynasty was a complete dynasty.

If Cui Liang became a vassal king of the Wuliang Dynasty, it would not be a bad thing for Cui Liang, but a good thing.

However, Cui Liang also understood that whether he could become a vassal king of the Wuliang Dynasty depended on his future performance.

If you perform well, Prince Uto's promise will be valid.

If he doesn't perform well, even if Prince Uto gives him a vassal title, he will not be able to enjoy it.

Because he wanted to become a vassal king of the Wuliang Dynasty, he had to stop Yang Zhengshan's attack.

If you can't stop it, everything is illusory. Only if you stop it, there will be a future.

After reading the letter from Prince Uto, Cui Liang paced back and forth in the study with a serious expression.

Stop Yang Zhengshan?
This seems like an impossible task!
Even Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu were defeated by Yang Zhengshan, so how could he defeat Yang Zhengshan?
Fortunately, Prince Uto did not want him to defeat Yang Zhengshan, but only asked him to block Yang Zhengshan and prevent him from entering the west road of Chongshan Town.

"Defense? There is no Chongshan Pass on the west road of Chongshan Town! Moreover, Yang Zhengshan has even breached Chongshan Pass. The several cities on the west road of Chongshan Town can't stop him at all!"

"Attack instead of defend? Yang Zhengshan has more soldiers under his command than I do. I have no chance of winning at all!"

“It’s so difficult!”

Cui Liang's brows were twisted into a knot.

He had never seen Yang Zhengshan, but he had heard many rumors about Yang Zhengshan. Moreover, during this period, Yang Zhengshan first broke through Qinghua City, then Songzhou City, and finally broke through Chongshan Pass. This was enough to prove how powerful Yang Zhengshan was.

Facing such an enemy, Cui Liang saw no hope of winning.

"And even if I can defeat Yang Zhengshan, I will suffer heavy losses myself. It's not worth it!"

Cui Liang thought carefully.

If he wants to have power and status in the Wuliang Dynasty, he must have his own strength.

Military power is of paramount importance.

If he has no soldiers under his command, he can only be a general under Prince Uto, and the position of vassal king is just empty talk.

So he not only had to stop Yang Zhengshan, but also had to preserve his own strength.

This is simply as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Cui Liang came to the map and looked at it carefully, hoping to find a way to resist Yang Zhengshan.

Just as he was thinking hard, his eyes suddenly fell on Ying River.

Ying River is a large river that runs across Chongshan Town. It originates from the mountains at the westernmost end of Chongshan Town, merges into many small rivers in the middle, flows through Yinghe Fort, the north of Chongshan Pass, the north of Anyuan City, and finally flows into the sea from the east road of Chongshan Town.

Chongshan Town is named after the Qianchong Mountains. The Qianchong Mountains run from east to west, with the terrain being higher in the west and lower in the east. The further west you go, the more mountains there are and the higher the mountains are.

The Ying River and the Qianchong Mountains intersect many times, as if the Ying River was embedded in the Qianchong Mountains.

This kind of terrain presents many unexpected opportunities.

Cui Liang seemed to have discovered a very clever opportunity.

Guining City is surrounded by mountains to the west and Ying River to the south.

Cui Liang remembered that there was a large canyon to the west of Guining City, and the Ying River flowed through this canyon.

Entering Chongshan Town West Road and passing through Guining City is undoubtedly the best route.

(End of this chapter)