The 200,000 troops that Yang Guozhong had previously ordered to recruit from all over the country have been assembled.

The expedition banquet originally scheduled for Huaqing Palace was also canceled because the emperor summoned the Taoist priest Luo Gongyuan. The emperor ordered someone to inform Yang Guozhong that the expedition banquet was changed to a celebration banquet when he returned.

Perhaps the emperor believed that Yang Guozhong could make a triumphant return, or perhaps in his mind, the Tang army was invincible, and Nanzhao was nothing to fear.

Of course, for Li Longji, the Xiaoyao Emperor, the world is at peace and his own immortality is a big deal.

Luo Gongyuan was ordered to go back to seclusion to practice alchemy for twenty-seven years. Now that the elixir has been completed, the emperor held a grand celebration for three days in Huaqing Palace. He had already forgotten about the invasion of Nanzhao.

Since the emperor did not hold a grand banquet, Yang Guozhong naturally had to put on a show and held a banquet in his own house to entertain the soldiers who went out on the expedition. They sang and danced all night long and filled the house with laughter.

The next day, 200,000 troops gathered together, and Yang Guozhong opened an altar to worship heaven. When the auspicious time came for the expedition, Yang Guozhong glanced at the soldiers and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in his heart.

"We will definitely come home victorious from this battle."

Yang Guozhong shouted these morale-boosting words at the top of his lungs, but the audience did not respond as expected.

"Let's go!" Yang Guozhong was too lazy to say any more. He waved his hand, the flag fluttered, and the army slowly started to move towards the south.

It is not a simple matter to send out a large army, and 200,000 soldiers marched in batches.

Because Li Jiuzhou was a descendant of Li Yaoshi, Yang Guozhong said that he could not ruin the reputation of his ancestors, so he ordered him to lead 5,000 troops to open the way.

They took the Ziwu Road.

As the fastest passage from Shu to Qin, Ziwu Road can lead directly to Chang'an. Compared with other roads, it is the best road from Chang'an to Shu.

When Liu Bang entered Hanzhong, he took the Ziwu Road and sent Zhang Liang to burn down the Ziwu Plank Road to confuse Xiang Yu.

The famous monk Xuanzang entered Shu via Hanzhong via Ziwu Dao.

Riding on the red dust concubine Xiao, it took only a few days to transport lychees from Lingnan to Chang'an, also taking the Ziwu Road.

Li Jiuzhou is wearing Mingguang armor, riding a white horse in the lead, with a majestic tiger swallowing on his chest.

Now that I have walked the Ziwu Road, could it be a sign of something?

Thinking of this, Li Jiuzhou looked back at the soldiers, all of them with their heads drooped and expressions of despair on their faces.

Wan Nanshan caught up with him, "General, have you ever fought in a war before?"

Li Jiuzhou was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that he was no longer the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Mansion, but General Dingyuan.

"No." The clatter of horse hooves covered up his words.

"I heard that Nanzhao is constantly sending more troops to the border. Looking at our group, many of them are new recruits. I'm afraid this battle will not be easy to fight."

After Wan Nanshan finished speaking, he boosted his own morale, "But I have already prepared. When those barbarians come to the battlefield, I will kill one if they come, and I will kill a pair of two if they come."

Li Jiuzhou spat: "Let's see what you can do. Do you think you can fight with brute force alone?"

"That's true. When we get to the border, let's take a look at the situation first."

Li Jiuzhou stopped paying attention to him, shouted and galloped away on his horse.

Wan Nanshan also shouted to the soldiers behind him: "Go quickly, go quickly, march faster."

The scenery along the way was very beautiful, and Li Jiuzhou did not forget to enjoy the scenery along the way. He had crossed the Qinling Mountains in a few days, but even so, Yang Guozhong and his party were still far behind him.

Chang'an is thousands of miles away from Nanzhao. Like Yang Guozhong, it takes time to get there.

Simply go to Jiannan first and wait for Yang Guozhong's army.

Li Jiuzhou then issued an order to advance at full speed.

It was the hot summer season, and the soldiers were fully armed and the heat was unbearable. The daily march was physically exhausting, so Li Jiuzhou changed his order to move slower during the day and faster at night.

The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the blue sky. Li Bai has said it in his poem.

In a few days, we have arrived at the sword pavilion where one man is at the pass and no one can open it. The mountains are majestic and winding. The old trees are desolate on the way, and the birds are singing sadly, which makes people pale when they hear them.

In the distance, there is a mountain ahead, which looks like a long snake, with waterfalls falling like rain, but the bottom of the mountain is relatively open.

Li Jiuzhou wiped his sweat, turned around and said loudly: "I have been walking non-stop for several days, so I went to the front to camp and rest."

The soldiers were also tired from walking, so they immediately camped at the foot of the mountain.

It was getting late, and insects and birds were chirping on the mountain. Li Jiuzhou thought that it would take several days before Yang Guozhong could catch up with him, so he called Wannan Mountain.

"Wan...what should I call you, Wan Lingshi? Wan Attendant?"

Wan Nanshan smiled and said: "You can call the general whatever you like."

Li Jiuzhou waved his hand in disgust, "Oh, there are so many etiquettes that I can't even distinguish them, so I'll just call you Brother Wan."

Wan Nanshan raised his hands and asked, "What are your orders, general?"

"I've been rushing all the way and it's hard to take a good rest. I think there should be a lot of game on this mountain. You can bring a few people with me to hunt some wild birds and rabbits, and everyone can have a taste."

Wan Nanshan said happily: "Okay, I'm really good at hunting."

So Wannan Mountain found a few people who were good at hunting and some tools for hunting birds and animals, and five or six people went up the mountain.

The jungle was dense and the road was difficult to walk. Everyone lit torches but found a smooth path.

Seeing that the trail was long and quiet, the group of people walked along the trail. They were almost reaching the mountainside when Wannanshan suddenly warned: "There is movement!"

Several people hurriedly leaned down and saw figures scattered in the surrounding jungle, and the grass and trees rustled.

"Is there a tiger in the mountain?" A timid soldier whispered softly.

Wan Nanshan spat heavily on the ground, "Even if there is a tiger, so many of us are not afraid of it. If it dares to come out, I will just peel off the tiger skin and make a tiger robe for the general."

"You're still talkative now." Li Jiuzhou muttered in anger.

The movement was getting louder and louder, but there were more than one place, and it seemed that everyone was surrounded.

With a shout, dozens of people carrying sticks and hoes rushed out from all directions.

Wan Nanshan shouted loudly, drew his sword, and after a while of banging, several people were knocked down.

Seeing how powerful he was, the group of people didn't dare to get close, but they just surrounded a few people.

Could it be that he encountered a bandit? Li Jiuzhou secretly screamed, but he was already on the mountainside. Even if he shouted loudly, he wouldn't be able to hear it at the bottom of the mountain.

A closer look revealed that this group of people were dressed simply, and the weapons in their hands were common sickles, axes, and the like in rural areas. Li Jiuzhou then stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

"You don't care who we are, you damned officers and soldiers, even if I risk my life today, I can't let you destroy the Gall Tomb."

Wan Nanshan held a steel knife in his hand, stood ready, and shouted sternly: "Do you know the consequences of going against the officers and soldiers?"

"You are the ones who will be killed." A group of people said this, but they did not dare to step forward.

The two groups then confronted each other.

Li Jiuzhou also held the knife in his hand tightly. From the looks of it, these people did not look like bandits. Who were they and why did they dare to openly go against the imperial officers and soldiers?
Chapter completed!