After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Chen Futu personally led the army, with Yu Qian as regent to guard Longcheng, Zhuge Liang as strategist, and Ma Chao and Huo Qubing as vanguard, and officially set out to march north into the mountains.

To expand his influence, Chen Futu issued a royal edict to the northern frontier, declaring that the Great Qian Dynasty was untrustworthy and unrighteous, had broken the alliance, and had plundered millions of bushels of grain from the northern frontier. This enmity was so great that it needed to be washed away with blood.

On the command platform, Chen Futu changed into the full set of Lu Bu armor, a reward from the system. The young king looked majestic and awe-inspiring, and the surrounding people and scholars were all moved to tears of gratitude.

"Gentlemen, today we march north with this lone army, and we swear we will not return until we defeat the enemy!"

"Wind! Wind! Wind!"

The soldiers' battle cries pierced the sky.

Half a day later, the army set off in a grand procession, and the people of the northern frontier lined the roads to see them off, with crowds stretching for miles.

"The king has finally made his move!"

"With Your Majesty's troops, you will surely crush the barbarian thieves!"

"Not only that, if Your Majesty seizes the world, we will be able to return to the Central Plains."

Anyone with a bit of knowledge could guess what this expedition from the Northern Frontier meant. If it were just about fighting Liu Bainian, there would be no need for two peerless generals as vanguards. Even the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Flying Cavalry were brought along. This was a move to wipe out the Northern Xingshan in one battle.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Bainian, far away in the Northern Mountains, was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He stared at the messenger in shock and anger, "What did you say? Chen Futu has personally led the troops?"

"Yes, General. Chen Futu has appointed Zhuge Liang as his strategist and Ma Chao and Huo Qubing as his vanguard. They have already crossed the bridgehead and the entire army stationed in the southern camp has been dispatched, totaling 150,000 troops."

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

At this moment, Liu Bainian felt his hands and feet were ice cold.

Chen Futu could even crush a saint; his actions were no different from throwing an egg against a rock. Was he going to run away?

Many generals rushed over upon hearing the news, their faces grim. Chen Futu, under the pretext of plundering the grain and fodder of the northern frontier, had brazenly torn up the alliance and launched an attack. He was using this as an excuse to plot against the Central Plains!

"General, what should we do?"

"Yeah, how do we fight this?"

The generals were filled with fear and unease. They were completely outmatched. Not to mention Chen Futu personally leading an army of 150,000, they were no match for Ma Chao and Huo Qubing alone.

"What else can we do? We can't just run away without a fight."

Liu Bainian had actually wanted to flee when the emperor moved the capital, but he never received the emperor's order, so he could only stay put. Fortunately, Beixing Mountain bordered the northern frontier, and apart from Chujiang, no one dared to come and attack him. Now, however, he couldn't even run away.

Several days later, Ma Chao and Huo Qubing led their troops to the important town where Liu Bainian was located.

The Xiliang army and the Flying Cavalry formed ranks, their killing intent sweeping across the plains.

The two generals, wielding silver spears and clad in silver armor, roared, “Listen up, you traitorous general! Surrender now, or the city will fall and not a single chicken or dog will be spared!”

"Ma Chao, Huo Qubing, you two must not be so arrogant! Do you think our Great Qian Dynasty has no one else?"

Two generals went out of the city to defend against the enemy.

Huo Qubing sneered: "Who else does the Great Qian have? The barbarian thieves from the Western Regions broke through the pass and won battle after battle. The foolish emperor was so frightened that he fled in panic and moved the capital to avoid disaster, leaving only a bunch of rabble like you. How dare you speak so arrogantly?"

"You dare to humiliate our elite troops."

"Elite troops, that's the kind of elite troops I'll take on!"

The two sides started by exchanging words, which weakened the other side's momentum considerably. They were no match for Huo Qubing in terms of verbal sparring.

Ma Chao, wielding his silver spear, spurred his horse forward, declaring, "I am Ma Chao, the Magnificent One! Who dares to fight me?"

One sentence was enough to frighten the two generals. They exchanged a glance and, without saying another word, led their troops to charge.

They are no match for each other in a one-on-one fight, but the Xiliang Army and the Flying Cavalry Army are not numerous and are not incapable of fighting.

Seeing the enemy charging towards him, Ma Chao said to Huo Qubing, "Why don't we have a duel and see who can cut down the bandit leader first?"

"Alright, I, Huo Qubing, have never been inferior to anyone in my life. Meng Qi, be careful."

The two exchanged a smile and each led their troops in a charge.

This was an unequal battle. Even though they were outnumbered, the fighting power of the Xiliang Army and the Flying Cavalry Army was far beyond what Liu Bainian's army could handle. In almost a single exchange, more than 20,000 enemy soldiers were scattered. Ma Chao fought his way through the chaos and killed a general in a single encounter. Huo Qubing was also seen carrying a general's head and winking at him.

Ma Chao snorted, threw down the corpse, and continued his charge.

"Damn, damn!"

Liu Bainian was so angry on the city wall that he trembled all over.

Twenty thousand men couldn't even hold out in a single encounter. Isn't the fighting strength of the Northern Frontier a bit too exaggerated? And these two young generals are simply inhuman. One shot from them wipes out a large number of enemies, like two war machines.

"General, you'd better leave quickly!"

"You can keep the green hills without worrying about having no firewood."

"Chen Futu's army is coming soon, we can't hold them off."

Ma Chao's Huo Qubing-like fighting prowess had terrified Liu Bainian's generals.

Liu Bainian said viciously, "Let them go, but we can't leave them any grain. Send the order to burn the granary!"

The order had just been issued when a sudden change occurred.

"This is bad! They have an inside agent in the city! The city gates have been opened, and Ma Chao has already stormed into the barbican!"

"Quick, get out!"

The city was in complete chaos. Ma Chao led the Xiliang army into the city gate that had been opened by the Shadow Guards. Huo Qubing was not as reckless as Ma Chao. Instead, he stopped the chaotic army and promised not to kill those who surrendered. In a short time, countless people surrendered.

Inside the city, there were shadow guards led by Ake, whose purpose was to prevent Liu Bainian from burning the grain in desperation. Now that the Northern Frontier had sent troops and the alliance had been broken, there was no longer any need for Liu Bainian as an excuse to send troops. Therefore, Ake's eyes were fixed on the fleeing commander-in-chief, and she muttered, "Your value has been squeezed dry, you can die now."

The chaotic battle lasted less than half an hour before it came to an end. The supplies were safe and sound, more than 20,000 soldiers surrendered, and the rest abandoned the pass and fled for their lives. Unfortunately, they could not get far, as Chu Jiang and Cui Zhengyu were already waiting for them.

A day later, Chen Futu's army arrived, and by then the Northern Frontier Dragon Flag had already been planted on the city wall.

Chen Futu jokingly said to Zhuge Liang, "Am I going too far with this?"

"Liu Bainian is not worth mentioning. It would be unbelievable if the two generals couldn't defeat him."

Zhuge Liang never took Liu Bainian seriously. Any general from Longcheng could easily crush him. This trip was just an excuse to break the alliance.

After the army set up camp, Chen Futu saw the severed head that Ake had brought, and then he personally went to inspect the granary.

We've got all five million shi of grain, but we still need to go all the way with the act. This little town can be burned down.

After the supplies were confiscated, Ma Chao set fire to the town, reducing it to ashes. Immediately afterward, Chen Futu sent someone back to the capital to deliver a message that the grain supplies had been burned and to tell the three major grain merchants to take heart.

Even though it was the same thing—grabbing grain—Chen Futu, the transmigrator, still had some pride.

Half a day later, the army split up to attack major towns, and the generals of several important towns surrendered without a fight.

With this, Chen Futu's strategic objective was achieved. His army set up camp, awaiting the rendezvous of Guan Yu and Yue Fei, before advancing into the Central Plains.