Chapter Eleven: The Fortress of Yan Nan

  Yanzidao is a region sandwiched between two strong passes, with the Yanzidao Fortress to the north and the Yumenguan Pass to the south. The latter is known as the strongest pass of the Han Dynasty and is the southern gate of Yanzidao. These two passes have Yanzidao nestled in between them, with mountains rising and falling on both sides, leaving little room for human passage. Only old hunters may know some small paths, but to get a large army through is out of the question.

  The gate of the Yan Nan fortress was made from a massive stone transported from the nearby Stone Gorge, polished and wrapped in hundred-fold iron skin. The city wall is over 30 meters high. The pass forms a "V" shape, with an attack surface of less than 100 meters. Behind this lies the Yan Nan Road, with a population of over 6 million, eight cities that can accommodate 500,000 people, and the rest living in small towns, villages, and scattered settlements. Despite the vast space behind, there is only one passage to the north, which is only 100 meters wide. The ancients knew its convenience and built two strong passes on either side to guard this vast plain like a fish belly. Although this place is located in the northwest, it is indeed a paradise on earth.

  "This is the Yan Nan Fortress, it's truly magnificent." Xiao Ruo, who had been living in the capital with Meng Li since she was a child, was overjoyed and jumping for joy at the sight of such a large city.

  "Yes, the city wall is only a hundred meters away from the crowd, even if there are millions of troops, they can only sigh at the gate. With just 3,000 elite soldiers, it's enough to block the millions outside the pass. It's really a situation where one man guards the pass and a million men cannot be defeated!

  In his heart, Meng is still happy about his future development. This Yan Nan Pass is so majestic, what about the Jade Gate Pass? That's known as the number one heroic pass of the Han Dynasty! Haha, with these tens of thousands of soldiers, we can guard both ends, and then accumulate grain in the hinterland, train troops, and slowly become the emperor!"

  "Your Excellency, please take a look. Outside the fortress, there is a large group of soldiers waiting to welcome Your Lordship." Chen Qing saw from afar that outside the fortress, an army was standing by and he too was delighted as he spoke to Meng Li.

  What does this represent? This represents that the soldiers and horses of Yannan Fortress have already shown their attitude and decided to surrender to Meng Li. No wonder Chen Qing is so overjoyed. After all, if they were to fight, it would be difficult to attack the pass, and the losses would still be their own strength in the future.

  "It seems that our lord's previous battle was indeed worthwhile! Not only did it establish his reputation, making it easier for the people of Yan Nan to accept him, but also eliminated the large army within the borders. From now on, unless there are major changes in the capital, the internal situation will be stable. Our main target from now on will be the Xiongnu tribes outside the borders. Once we resolve the issue with the Northern Xiongnu and stabilize the internal situation of the Southern Xiongnu, we can select their elite cavalry to join our ranks. Then, when the time is right, we can conquer the world. Xu Shu was carefully planning his lord's future development at this moment. At the same time, as the emperor's biological father, he subtly hinted that before you die, let's take care of the nomadic tribes outside the borders first, and after you die, we'll directly take the capital and then conquer the world with the power of a dynasty."

  "Originally straight, you~" Xu Xiu's subtle hint made Meng Li a bit laughable and tearful. Meng Li, who understood what kind of person he was, had no affection for this cheap father, probably only leaving some gratitude. Grateful for his kindness to his previous life, so I decided not to go north during your lifetime.

  "Your Highness, they are coming forward!" Meng Li walked and chatted, unknowingly arriving at the front of the Yan Nan fortress. According to etiquette and their prepared mindset to show respect and acknowledge their elder, before Meng Li even reached them, they all dismounted their horses and ran to the front of his team, bowing their heads in unison.

  "Hu Guang, the commander of the Yannan fortress, led 16 captains to pay respects and welcome Your Excellency. I believe that under your leadership, we can bask in your glory and bring honor to our descendants."

  A few days ago, he knew that the smoke of war was billowing from a hundred miles away, but he couldn't come to join you, so he's still his old self, Hu Guang. After hearing the news of Meng Li's great victory, he had an urge to knock his head against this wall. They have high-ranking warriors, high-ranking generals, and high-ranking strategists. If he had known about this situation earlier, he would have led these 3,000 soldiers to go and rescue them, and that way, they would be meritorious ministers.

  High officials and thick rewards are mainly due to the lord's trust, which is rising rapidly. Unlike now, when he still has to guess whether Meng Li will settle accounts after autumn and demote himself to a small place as a guardian general. So, thinking of these things, Hu Guang gritted his teeth and decided to surrender to him.

  They have a large number of high-ranking personnel, but they also need small generals to guard the four sides, don't they? Therefore, his intention is that the lowly ones, leading all the soldiers in this fortress, are surrendering to you. In the future, when you ascend to the throne, we will resolutely follow you and not worry about our attitude.

  After your rebellion succeeds, by granting us a small title, we can also bring honor to our descendants."

  The soldiers in front parted to either side, revealing a path for the five of them to walk abreast. Meng Li, pleased with this attitude, led his three senior brothers down from their horses and walked up. Want to put on airs? I'm even better at it!

  "Haha, General Hu is too polite! Not to mention that our Han Dynasty doesn't have this kind of kneeling etiquette, let alone you being a general, with armor on your body, why bother with formalities? Quickly get up!" With excitement, he helped Hu Guang up, and the latter's beaming face was so endearing and respectable in his eyes. It's truly a great example of comforting the people and relieving their hardships! The implication is very clear: following the Ninth Prince's party will definitely lead to a bright future, with beautiful women surrounding you, delicious food and drink, and all the pleasures in life. In short, following the Ninth Prince's party and keeping pace with the party's leadership is absolutely the right way to go! They're already calling you General, what do you say?"

  "Ah, thank you, Your Highness~" As soon as he heard the title of "General", Hu Guang's heart felt a thrill. Indeed, His Highness still needed a small general like him to guard the four directions. He didn't have high demands, not seeking anything like "four conquests, four pacifications, and four securities". Being able to become a non-miscellaneous General was his lifelong pursuit. When others, those high-ranking officials, ate meat, he, this small General, could at least drink some soup, right?

  "Thanks, Your Excellency!" The small generals under his command were also secretly excited in their hearts. Looking at him, it's no wonder that he has gained the support of a mysterious and extraordinary power. This bold and uninhibited attitude is pleasant to hear, no wonder he has won people over. Our boss gets to drink the hot stuff, and we can also get a taste of it, not bad.

  "Your Highness, please!" In an instant, Hu Guang transformed into a dog leg and stood behind Chen Qing's place, inviting Meng Li to enter the city.

  He took a glance at the position of Hu Guang Station, and Meng Li didn't have any unexpected thoughts because since ancient times, there has been a saying that scholars and martial artists don't get along. There's also a saying that martial artists are self-important, anyway, no matter how you put it, when martial artists gather together, and scholars gather together, that's for sure. So Meng Li didn't have any unexpected thoughts, but this matter suddenly made him feel a sense of crisis. That is the struggle between factions. When the lord was weak, they all served the lord with one heart and one mind, but after the lord became powerful, they began to form cliques and oppose each other, destroying their own foundation. Haven't you seen how many historical heroes fell because of this? So Meng Li secretly reminded himself to be careful about their factionalism, but people produced by the system shouldn't have these problems, right? What he should pay attention to is those people below.

  ……

  All the way, Meng Li observed the people of Sai Nei and found that their lives were still good, unlike the ancient times when the neighboring places were all suffering from war and poison, and the people were not talking about it. It seems that these two fortresses are extremely important, and the people inside are simply a paradise on earth. Let them defend their homes and cities, I estimate it will be easy, because they want to protect their beautiful hometown well. However, if you want to go out of the fortress to conquer, it's not necessarily, alas, let's talk about it later.

  "The people's hearts can be used, and there are many young people but not much land. This is a good source of soldiers for us." Xu Shu whispered to Meng Li. In his view, if the people here live like this, even with five out of ten conscription, 300,000 troops can be obtained instantly. There is no need to use the destructive three-out-of-ten conscription method.

  ……

  "Your Highness, this is a courtyard vacated by a wealthy family in the city upon hearing of your arrival. It's too simple and not suitable for Your Highness to reside in." As soon as they heard that the Ninth Prince Meng Li, who had won a great victory a few days ago, was about to arrive, all the local wealthy families rushed to offer their ancestral homes to accommodate him, hoping to gain good fortune by association, even if it meant that His Highness would not remember them afterwards.

  "Ah, thank you." Meng Li's face still looked a bit awkward after seeing the courtyard with four entrances and exits. The scale of this small fortress was almost comparable to his own residence, truly extravagant. Not to mention those rich people in the city. Having made up his mind to plunder the wealthy for military expenses later on, Meng Li brought a disaster upon these wealthy families at this moment. From then on, every time he went on an expedition, Meng Li would find some wealthy families to 'donate' military expenses. If only they had known earlier, who knows if those wealthy families would have given him a single large tile-roofed house to live in today.

  Xiao Ruo saw the house and walked into the courtyard to find the bedroom for rest. She commanded the maids in the house to start cleaning up. In her opinion, this house seemed too luxurious but a bit rustic, with no taste at all, not even as good as her own small home.

  "Everyone, the rooms next to your highness are all provided by the wealthy Sen family for accommodation, please follow me." After sending them to the door, Hu Guang, who knew he wasn't an "inner person" and should retreat, gave a tour guide to the three younger brothers.

  "My lord, I bid you farewell." The two younger brothers looked at the sky and saw that it was already late, and with Dian Wei's powerful protection, they took their leave.

  "Your Highness, I bid farewell." Similarly, Hu Guang, who also paid his respects to Meng Li and bid farewell, transformed into Chen Qing's lackey and followed him to "open the room".

  "Adults, click on the collection recommendation, it's not a place with beautiful women." Hu Guang said sinisterly after seeing Meng Li turn around and go in.