With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

Zhang Xun was relatively calm, he thought to himself.

Liu An has been in the court for many years and has a deep foundation.

If we act rashly, we might alert the enemy.

So I offered my opinion...

Han Sheng nodded in agreement when he heard this.

"You're right, we have to proceed with caution."

"It would be best if we could find evidence of Liu An's guilt, then contact other officials in the capital who are dissatisfied with Liu An, form an alliance, and jointly deal with him."

Lu Yan glanced at Victor Han with appreciation.

This kid thinks pretty quick.

He nodded and said:

“Han Sheng’s suggestion is good.”

"Night Owl, immediately arrange for Liebao and others to collect evidence of Liu An's crimes."

"Also, tell Cheetah to contact those in the capital who have grudges against Liu An."

"Or those who are dissatisfied with him, see if we can form an alliance."

"Yes!"

Night Owl clasped his fists, accepted the order, and turned to leave.

Suddenly, with a "bang", the door was kicked open.

A soldier covered in dust and with his armor askew rushed in, crawling and rolling.

He fell to his knees and shouted with a trembling voice:

"Report! Sir, urgent news from Jianmen Pass!"

Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat. Jianmen Pass?

Could something have happened in Beixiang State?

He snatched the letter from the soldier's hand and quickly glanced through it.

His face instantly became as gloomy as the sky before a rainstorm.

"The Great General of Beixiang State, Mu Qing, leads an army of 100,000 and approaches Jianmen Pass!"

Lu Yan gritted his teeth and read out the contents of the letter, then slammed his fist on the table.

"Sure enough! Looks like that old thief Liu An's plan worked!"

"He wants to kill me by borrowing a knife!"

Lu Fei stood up suddenly, put his hand on the hilt of the knife, and said murderously:

"Sir, let me lead the troops to wipe out these bastards from Beixiang Kingdom!"

Zhang Xun also echoed:

"Sir, I am also willing to go and make sure they never return!"

Han Sheng was relatively calm. After pondering for a moment, he said:

"My lord, the Beixiang Kingdom is coming with great force this time. One hundred thousand troops is no small number. We must proceed with caution."

Lu Yan took a deep breath and tried to calm the anger in his heart. He looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice:

"Generals, there's no need to panic. Even though Beixiang State is coming with such force, our Shannan Prefecture is no pushover!"

"How many troops can we mobilize now?"

Lu Fei immediately replied:

"Your Excellency, the Shannan Prefecture's musket regiment, cavalry regiment, and infantry regiment totaling 40,000 people are on standby at all times!"

Han Sheng added:

"There are over 20,000 troops stationed at Jianmen Pass. Together with us, there are over 60,000 people in total, enough to fight against the Beixiang Kingdom!"

Lu Yan nodded, a gleam in his eyes.

"Alright! Leave 20,000 men to guard Shannan Prefecture, and the remaining 40,000 will follow me to Jianmen Pass for support!"

"In this battle, we must not only repel the invasion of Beixiang State,"

"I also need to let that old thief Liu An know that I, Lu Yan, am not so easy to bully!"

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison, their fighting spirit high.

Lu Yan stood up and walked to the huge map hanging on the wall.

The mountains, rivers, roads and cities on the map are all depicted in detail with different colors, making them clear at a glance.

He pointed at the location of Jianmen Pass with his bony fingers, speaking in a steady and firm tone:

"Jianmen Pass is strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is known as 'one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot break through.'"

"The Beixiang army has traveled a long distance and is exhausted."

"This is the perfect opportunity for us to take advantage of the terrain, set up an ambush, and catch them off guard!"

Everyone gathered around the map and listened attentively to Lu Yan's deployment.

Zhang Xun pointed to a valley on the map and suggested:

"Sir, we can send an elite force to ambush here,"

"Wait until the enemy enters the valley, and then unleash a volley of arrows. We will surely annihilate them without a single survivor!"

Han Sheng added cautiously:

"General Zhang is absolutely right, but we still need to be wary of enemy scouts to avoid alerting the enemy."

"We can send Night Owl to lead the dark guards to explore the way ahead and clear the obstacles."

Lu Yan nodded approvingly, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice:

"What the generals said is quite true. We need to consider every detail carefully to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"This battle not only aims to repel the invasion of Beixiang State, but also to make them pay a heavy price."

"Let that old thief Liu An know that I, Lu Yan, am not so easy to scheme against!"

Ye Xiao also returned to the house at this time and heard Lu Yan's plan.

He clasped his fist and asked:

"Sir, I am willing to lead the secret guards to infiltrate the Beixiang Kingdom's military camp."

"To spy on the enemy, disrupt their morale, and gain more advantages for our army."

He stood tall and straight, his tone stern, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, emitting a chilling chill.

Lu Yan looked at Ye Xiao with appreciation:

"Okay! Night Owl, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Be sure to be cautious and put your own safety first if something unexpected happens."

"Yes!"

Ye Xiao took the order and disappeared from everyone's sight in a flash.

As if blending into the night, leaving no trace.

Everything was ready, and Lu Yan led an army of 40,000 and marched towards Jianmen Pass.

Flags fluttered and war drums thundered.

The soldiers, wearing armor and holding sharp swords, marched westward with high morale.

Like a giant steel dragon, it winds forward.

Along the way, Lu Yan frowned, his eyes were deep, and he repeatedly deduced the battle plan in his mind.

Strive to make every detail perfect.

"Xiao Kui,"

Lu Yan suddenly turned around and asked Li Kui beside him.

"Do you think we can win this battle?"

Li Kui scratched his head and smiled innocently, revealing a mouthful of white teeth:

"Don't worry, sir! With you here, we're sure to win!"

"You are so smart and foresighted!"

Lu Yan smiled helplessly:

"Stop flattering me! This battle is no joke. If you're not careful, your entire army will be wiped out."

"The Beixiang Kingdom is coming with great force this time. With an army of 100,000, they should not be underestimated!"

Li Kui put away his playful smile and said seriously:

"My Lord, I know what you are worried about."

"But you have to trust us, we were all trained by you."

"Everyone follows your lead and swears to follow you to the death!"

"For the people of Shannan Prefecture, for the country of Datong,"

"We will fight to the death and never retreat!"

Lu Yan felt warm in his heart and patted Li Kui's shoulder vigorously:

"Good brothers! I feel relieved with your words!"

The army marched quickly all the way, crossing mountains and ridges and crossing turbulent rivers.

After a day, we finally arrived at Jianmen Pass.

……

Jianmen Pass is majestic and magnificent, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

It is like a natural barrier, lying between the Datong Dynasty and the Beixiang Kingdom.

At this moment, it was pitch black outside the pass.

The thunder of war drums was deafening, as if a giant beast from ancient times was roaring.

A hundred thousand strong troops, like a black tide, were stationed outside Jianmen Pass.

It stretches for miles and there is no end in sight.

The Jianmen Pass was surrounded tightly.