Chapter 317: Conquering Mengmen Pass, the Disagreement between Cao's Uncle and Nephew
"This Mengmen Pass is quite good."
"Compared to the two water forts at the Jialu River Pass, it is simply a big witch compared to a small witch. It is much stronger in every aspect."
"In the future, we can build it into a large riverside fortress city for our Fuxing Army, and a permanent large base for our army along the Yellow River."
Li Dingguo looked at the large water fortress where the battle had just ended and nodded secretly.
Mengmen Pass is located on the right side of the Yellow River bank, facing the vast Yellow River. The other three sides are surrounded by high mountains and steep cliffs, forming a large river bay.
In fact, this Mengmen Pass is under the jurisdiction of Jin Province, not Qin.
The same is true for Wubao, 3,000 miles downstream, and Shangpingguan, 8,000 miles away, both of which belong to Jin Province.
From these three places to the east, you can reach the hinterland of Shanxi Province, which is a place of strategic importance.
The large fleet composed of the southern army of the Fuxing Army marched straight in and launched a surprise attack on the large water fort along the Yellow River. The Mengmen Pass defenders were unprepared and were defeated in a moment.
Except for a very small number of stubborn elements who put up a desperate resistance and were quickly killed, most of the remaining government troops laid down their arms and surrendered.
The subsequent cleanup operation of this large water fortress lasted for nearly two hours before it was completed.
There is no other reason, there are simply too many businesses from the three northwestern provinces gathered here.
According to intelligence gathered by the Military Intelligence Bureau, the vast majority of them are businesses belonging to hostile forces and are those that must be eliminated.
Li Dingguo would naturally not be merciful. He personally led his soldiers to launch a thorough cleanup of these unscrupulous businesses.
The servants and guards of these large and small businesses added up to more than 10,000 warriors, and there were more than 100,000 waiters and other staff.
These people would naturally not wait foolishly to be killed, and they fought desperately. Although it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, they still caused considerable trouble to the soldiers of the Fusion Army.
Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they fled in all directions, causing great chaos to this large water fortress.
Many people even wanted to jump into the Yellow River to escape, but Li Dingguo, who had already prepared for this, how could he let them succeed?
Before launching his own attack, he instructed the golden eagle to use its air superiority to give priority to hunting down any enemy who wanted to escape to the river.
Moreover, during the battle, Li Dingguo did not stay with the soldiers, but stayed by the river, using the sonic group attack and killing skills of his innate Dharma form, the Xuanhuang Chaos Bell, to quickly kill the enemies who wanted to jump into the river and escape.
Because this large water fort on the bank of the Yellow River had a very mixed crowd of people, including all kinds of people, the soldiers of the Fuxing Army took two full hours to clear out all the visible enemies.
Next, we will need personnel from the Military Intelligence Department, with the three-tailed Ironback Demon Wolf, to use their keen perception to pull out those hidden criminals who have escaped the net, and kill them all after interrogation.
Before launching the attack on Mengmen Pass today, Li Dingguo received a letter from Cao Yongxiang.
He knew that after the Yansui Town was captured by their side, the soldiers of the Western Army then began to attack in large numbers.
The news of the Fusion Army's massive entry into the country could no longer be concealed, and would soon reach the ears of various forces through methods such as sending spirit pigeons.
But this will not affect our first round of blitzkrieg, and we will continue to proceed as planned.
Even if the enemies listed as targets of attack were prepared, it would take at least three months for the court to send a large number of reinforcements due to the procrastination of the government.
The local garrisons in the towns and cities in the northern part of Qin were simply unable to stop the Fuxing Army.
Wan'er of the Northern Army also sent the latest intelligence, saying that the Northern Army's large fleet had left the Yellow River, turned into the Yesan River, and was rapidly advancing towards the important town of Shenmu 20,000 miles away.
In five days at most, they will reach their destination and launch a surprise attack on the important town of Shenmu on the east bank of the Nogawa River.
Intelligence from the Military Intelligence Department indicated that the important town of Shenmu had been severely damaged after being ravaged by Ma Jinzhong and the imperial army. Three years had passed, and it still had not recovered.
Even the number of warriors in the defending army was less than a thousand. Once the northern army of the Restoration Army arrived, they could easily defeat it in one battle and capture it.
The location of the important town of Shenmu is extremely unique. It can be said to be the most special military town in the three northwestern provinces.
It is located at the intersection of the Inner and Outer Great Walls, and at the same time guards the pass between the Inner and Outer Great Walls. It is also a hub fortress city that Li Dingguo intends to focus on renovating.
As long as this important military town is expanded and renovated reasonably, in the future, the vast amount of supplies from the prairie will be continuously transported to the interior through the Yechuan River Basin outside the Great Wall by its own large fleet.
"The Commander-in-Chief."
"This time we obtained a large amount of various supplies, from daily necessities to food and cultivation resources. Our fleet cannot load them all at once."
After several secretaries made a preliminary estimate of the large amount of spoils obtained this time, they came to report to Li Dingguo.
As for the formal registration, it is still in progress.
"The main reason is that there are too many businesses from all walks of life in this Mengmenguan Water Fortress. There are more than 300 businesses in total."
"Among them, there are very few honest merchants, less than ten, and our soldiers did not go to seal them up."
Before entering the Pass, the Fuxing Army had already promulgated corresponding rules and regulations. Not only would they not confiscate the businesses of all honest merchants, but they would also be given normal business qualifications.
As for whether they will withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Renaissance Army, it is up to them to decide and we will not force them.
The future commercial trade of the Restoration Army will still have to rely on the large number of people belonging to its own forces, and the commercial trade circle that has been naturally formed over the years, thus forming an autonomous commercial development model.
"Well, you must follow the procedures and classify and register these large quantities of materials you have harvested. Then, store them properly so that the logistics department can use them at any time."
"This Mengmen Pass will also be home to three thousand warrior recruits, thousands of craftsmen, and thousands of logistics soldiers. While they are stationed there, they will undergo a large-scale transformation."
"As for the planning and construction, it will be in charge of several master craftsmen who came with the army. They can design and plan it themselves with reference to the two riverside fortress cities at the Jialu River Pass."
Li Dingguo gave them some instructions and ordered the soldiers to rest for half a day before continuing the attack towards Wubao, 3,000 miles downstream.
……
"The Fuxing Army outside the Great Wall has entered the Great Wall in large numbers?"
"Aren't they just a bunch of petty thieves led by a few little beggars? How come they have such a large force and dare to march into the pass?"
Cao Wenzhao, who had just completed a round of bandit suppression mission and led his troops back to Chengyangqu, Taiyuan Prefecture, was shocked when he heard the news.
More than 99% of people in later generations believed that the capital of Taiyuan Prefecture in the late Ming Dynasty was Taiyuan. In fact, this is not the case at all.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the capital of Taiyuan Prefecture was Yangqu City.
Taiyuan City is located on the banks of the Jinshui River south of Yangqu City.
The Yangqu City at that time was not located at the location of Yangqu in later generations, but on the east bank of the river bay where the Fen River turns south.
Today's Yangqu City is several times larger and more prosperous than Taiyuan City.
It is undoubtedly the largest city in Taiyuan Prefecture, and can even be ranked among the top 50 towns in the entire Ming Dynasty.
Cao Wenzhao was transferred from Yansui Town to Jin Province to serve as the general commander, and his station was in Yangqu City.
This Yangqu City is also the place where Hong Chengchou's fate first experienced a major turning point.
It was in this city that he defeated Wang Jiayin, the chief leader of the rebel armies of the two provinces, and almost all of his thirty-six battalions of rebels were wiped out.
In this big world, Yangqu City at this time is a huge city with a radius of 300 miles.
There are now more than three million soldiers and civilians living in this big city, which is extremely prosperous.
"Uncle, this news can't be wrong, right?"
"I heard that the little thief Li Dingguo outside the pass is now just a 13-year-old young genius."
Cao Bianjiao was a little confused when he heard this. After a moment of silence, he said to Cao Wenzhao, "The intelligence we just received shows that Li Dingguo is leading an army of at least 500,000 troops to invade the pass in two directions."
"Now they have captured Yansui Town and Jiazhou at lightning speed, and have occupied two prefectures in the north of Qin!" "Is there such an outrageous thing?"
Not only him, even Cao Wenzhao would not believe it if he had not just received the intelligence, which was sent back by his own intelligence department which had just been established.
"Yes, that's it."
Cao Wenzhao's face was very ugly. "The truth is so outrageous! The Fuxing Army that used to be entrenched in the section of Jialu River outside the pass has marched into the pass so openly."
"Since their eastern and western armies entered the pass, they have been unstoppable and easily captured Yansui Town and Jiazhou."
"Now they are frantically attacking cities and territories everywhere. It seems that they want to capture the entire northern part of Qin before the imperial army launches a counterattack."
"The focus of their attacks was on the various water strongholds along the Yellow River. They seemed to want to capture all the towns along the Yellow River in the occupied area, thus forming a natural defense line and blocking the imperial court's marching route in the near future."
"Hey……"
Cao Wenzhao's face turned green and red, looking very ugly, and he couldn't help but sigh, "I never thought that Li Dingguo, this little thief, would be so capable."
"After he left the border with a group of little beggars and a large group of refugees, he grew rapidly and successfully as if assisted by God. Until today, he has become a major threat to the Ming Dynasty!"
"According to intelligence, he and the two core generals of the Renaissance Army are already level five warriors, and they have several level five spirit birds and spirit beasts under their command!"
"The intelligence has confirmed that there are three large golden eagles and two large black eagles, all of which are level five spiritual birds, and one of them has even reached the peak level of level five!"
"As for whether there are more level five spirit birds and spirit beasts in the Renaissance Army, it is not clear yet, but I believe there must be."
"Jiao'er, even if you want to defeat that peak level 5 golden eagle, it will be difficult to do so. After all, it has too great an advantage in the air."
As a die-hard supporter of the Ming Dynasty, he boasted that the Cao family army was unparalleled in combat power, but facing such a large and powerful Fuxing Army, he felt powerless.
Since Li Dingguo was able to create such a huge family business, he is certainly not a fool.
Since he dared to lead his army into the pass, he must be fully grown.
The most crucial thing is that the other side also has at least 400,000 elite cavalry with combat effectiveness similar to that of Cao’s army. This is the most fatal thing.
The 400,000-strong main combat corps of the Renaissance Army, like the Cao Family Army, each member was equipped with two spirit beast war horses.
Among these spiritual beast war horses, the lowest grade is the mid-grade dragon-scale horse.
With such a large number of spiritual beasts and war horses, as long as they are led by a few top-quality dragon-scale horses, they are themselves a powerful mobile force.
It is no exaggeration to say that if most of the imperial officers and soldiers fought against these spiritual beasts and war horses, they would most likely be unable to defeat such a large herd of horses.
If you can’t even defeat the enemy’s mounts and war horses, how are you going to destroy the more powerful 500,000 soldiers of the Restoration Army?
This is a bad joke and not funny at all.
Not only is it not funny, but it also sends chills down one's spine.
Now, including Cao Wenzhao, all the major forces in the three northwestern provinces of the Ming Dynasty have clearly realized the strength of Li Dingguo's restoration army. Most of the dignitaries are probably trembling in fear.
There is no way not to be afraid.
Li Dingguo's Restoration Army has only one way to deal with all corrupt officials and unkind rich people: kill them all!
Once Li Dingguo leads his Fuxing Army to gain full momentum, firmly occupies the vast area in the north of Qin, and gains a foothold within the Great Wall, who knows how powerful it will become in the future?
This was absolutely unacceptable to the dignitaries of the Ming Dynasty.
It was because of this that Cao Wenzhao was not overly anxious.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were outstanding officials like Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng who were both civil and military. As long as the elite officers and troops from the three northwestern provinces were gathered, Li Dingguo and his Fuxing Army could be defeated.
As for whether it can be completely wiped out, it is hard to say.
Li Dingguo's subordinates have several level five spirit birds. If they want to escape, it will be difficult to intercept them.
"Uncle, judging from Li Dingguo's three Level 5 golden eagles, the Fan family's nest in Jiexiu, Shanxi Province was destroyed overnight on the eve of the Lantern Festival last year. The murderer must be Li Dingguo."
Cao Bianjiao's face was solemn, and he said with some worry, "According to rumors, there are always three level five masters in the Jiexiu Fan family's lair, namely Fan Ming, Fan Li, and Fan Maocai."
"There were even several pairs of Level 4 Spirit Birds, Black Hawks, in their old house. However, they were unable to escape from the hands of Li Dingguo and a Golden Eagle."
"This is the fighting power of Li Dingguo and the peak level 5 golden eagle from a year ago."
"Now that more than a year has passed, Li Dingguo's strength must have increased a lot."
"After all, his growth rate exceeds that of all the geniuses and evildoers known so far!"
There was another sentence that Cao Bianjiao did not say.
He could already conclude that Li Dingguo, the leader of the Renaissance Army, possessed an innate divine weapon.
Moreover, the innate artifact that Li Dingguo holds should not be worse than his own natal artifact, the Wuliang Tower.
To this day, Cao Bianjiao, who has already removed the four seals of the Wuliang Tower, is all too aware of the power of this innate divine weapon.
His own innate artifact, the Wuliang Tower, is mainly used to increase his own combat effectiveness and potential, while Li Dingguo's innate artifact is most likely related to the rapid rise of the Renaissance Army.
It is very likely that Li Dingguo obtained an ancient heritage and possessed unknown magical abilities, which allowed him to develop the Fuxing Army to its current terrifying level at an incredible speed in just three years.
According to Cao Bianjiao's knowledge, since the Xian Qin Dynasty, no force has been able to grow and develop at such a rapid speed.
The Fuxing Army founded by Li Dingguo was the first of its kind.
"I don't know what the divine weapon that Li Dingguo obtained through his adventure is?"
Cao Bianjiao thought to himself, "Could it be the same as my Wuliang Pagoda, with nine layers of seals?"
"Then Li Dingguo should have found a way to unlock his natal divine weapon just like me, and has already lifted several seals, allowing him to unleash a power beyond the imagination of ordinary practitioners."
Cao Bianjiao has absolute confidence in his own combat capability. Recently, he has shown signs of breaking through to the sixth level of cultivation.
As the changes in today's destiny become more and more drastic, Cao Bianjiao feels that the connection between himself and his natal star is becoming clearer and clearer, and the bottleneck at the peak of level five is loosening more and more obviously.
Conservatively estimated, within three years, he would be able to break through to the sixth level of cultivation and become the first sixth-level powerhouse among the human race in the world today!
As for the matter of eliminating Li Dingguo, Cao Bianjiao didn't care at all.
How could a peerless genius like Li Dingguo, who had great luck, fall so easily?
Cao Bianjiao's personality is completely different from Cao Wenzhao's, and he has long been resentful of the court.
If he wasn't worried about his uncle, he would even want to leave Cao's army and go away.
Cao Bianjiao had neither good nor bad feelings towards the rebel army led by Li Dingguo.
Having said that, the rebels like Li Dingguo were nothing more than some refugees who could not make a living and were trying to struggle to survive in this chaotic world.
Even so, the powerful strength displayed by Li Dingguo and his Fuxing Army as they brazenly marched into the pass also frightened Cao Bianjiao.
He could already conclude that Li Dingguo's talent and adventures were most likely greater than his own.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to do these incredible things.
"Uncle, if things go as expected, as the Fuxing Army continues to attack cities and territories in the interior of the country, our Cao Army will soon be deployed to Qin to fight against the Fuxing Army."
Cao Bianjiao thought about it for a while and came to a conclusion, "And in all likelihood, they will return to Hong Chengchou's command."
"This time should not exceed half a year."
After saying this, he took his leave to his uncle Cao Wenzhao with a heavy heart, left the large parade ground where Cao's army was stationed, and returned to his own residence.
As he is about to have a formal meeting with Li Dingguo, Cao Bianjiao also wants to see whether this young prodigy who has recently caused a sensation in the Ming Dynasty is really as outstanding as the rumors say.
I believe I won’t let myself down.
(End of this chapter)
