Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

The Xin Kingdom's army rested and recuperated in Qiangzhong for a whole month, and the soldiers' condition, weapons, and provisions were all in place.

In addition, the Xiongnu in the north were skilled in mounted combat, so Liu Xiu had his army learn tactics more suitable for the northwest from the Qiang people.

As the first rays of dawn shone upon the vast land of the Huangshui River Valley, the more than 200,000 soldiers of the New National Revolutionary Army were all full of energy.

The army waved crimson flags bearing the words "New Nation" and "Heavenly Immortal Venerable".

The red flag fluttered in the wind as the army marched north.

Facing the fork in the road starting from the Huangshui River, Liu Xiu divided his army in two—

We set off along the West Sea, crossed the Altun Mountains, and entered the western section of the Hexi Corridor.

The other route proceeds eastward along the Huangshui River, passing through Jincheng, and entering the eastern section of the Hexi Corridor.

Both routes would eventually converge near the Great Wall of Han, thus penetrating deep into Xiongnu territory.

Liu Xiu instructed Zong Tiao, who was in charge of a large army:

"You must proceed with extreme caution."

Zong Tiao accepted the order, and for the first time commanding an army of 100,000, he seemed quite excited. After bidding farewell to Liu Xiu, he set off first.

Liu Xiu also set off after Zong Tiao's group, and they advanced eastward along the Huangshui River.

Although the route is relatively gentle, it is still a long journey, requiring about a thousand miles from Qiangzhong to the Hexi Corridor.

The new Nationalist army took nearly a month to reach the Hexi Corridor; while Zong Tiao's troops took a more treacherous route, covering a longer distance, and thus arrived several days later.

"Fortunately, we captured Qiangzhong, so the army didn't have to start from the capital."

Looking at the army that had set up camp near the Great Wall, Liu Xiu felt a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both emotion and reflection) as he recalled the relatively smooth march over the past period.

Without direct supplies from the rear in Qiangzhong, this journey would likely be difficult.

He knew that his predecessors had taken many actions against the northern desert lands occupied by the Xiongnu. For example, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang led an army of more than 400,000, but ended up being trapped on Baideng Mountain for seven days and seven nights.

Faced with the long-standing threat to the Central Plains dynasties, Liu Xiu dared not underestimate him in the slightest.

Throughout the march, he carefully dealt with every obstacle he encountered, prioritizing stability above all else...

"I wonder if the Immortal Venerable will intervene again this time?"

Not long after the new Nationalist army set off, Ye Xuan stayed in the rear of the army and did not show his face again.

It is said that the Immortal Venerable's spiritual cultivation has encountered a bottleneck, and he is focusing on breaking through it, so he has no time to attend to the army.

Liu Xiu understood that regardless of whether the Immortal Venerable would intervene, he had to ensure everything was done perfectly. As Ye Xuan had taught him, "In the end, this world belongs to all living beings."

Looking out over the flat area between the mountains on both sides, Liu Xiu learned that the Hexi Corridor had entered the dry season. Even though the land here was fertile, it was just a desert without water.

The sky was dark at this moment, and the whole land looked somewhat desolate.

"..."

"General, the Xiongnu are attacking!"

Upon hearing the news, Liu Xiu immediately came to the front of the army and coldly surveyed the Xiongnu cavalry moving through the forest.

A cavalry unit of about a hundred men charged toward the New National Army camp, shouting and yelling. As the Xiongnu rode their horses at full speed, they also drew their bows and shot arrows at the scouts who were exploring the front lines.

Liu Xiu immediately realized that this small force was merely making a preliminary probe, and that the obstacles they encountered this time were incomparable to those they had faced during their previous marches.

He immediately mobilized his troops, sending Wang Feng and Wang Chang to lead 500 cavalry to fight against them.

The new Nationalist army soon encountered the attacking Xiongnu, engaging in close combat and exchanging arrows.

As Liu Xiu observed the changes on the battlefield, just as he had expected, Wang Feng and the others were far less familiar with the terrain than the Xiongnu.

Moreover, these Xiongnu people were all incredibly powerful fighters, almost all of them capable of taking on ten opponents at once.

Compared to them, the Wang brothers, Feng and Chang, were quickly defeated.

Fortunately, a large formation had been set up in front of the military camp, and a general stood on the command platform in the middle.

Faced with the complex situation, he kept waving the flag in his hand, and the formation changed in an instant, allowing the Xiongnu who rushed into the formation to experience the mystery of the Hanzhong formation.

Even if these Xiongnu were incredibly brave, once they entered the formation, they would only act like wild beasts, running around aimlessly until they were completely surrounded.

Just as Liu Xiu was about to select a few of the younger ones for interrogation, he heard another battle report from the front—

"Tens of thousands of Xiongnu troops are marching towards the new National Army!"

What a proactive move! Or rather, these Xiongnu, who usually made their living by plundering other places, have never had the habit of passively waiting.

Liu Xiu assembled a large army and climbed the Han Great Wall, which had been reinforced and repaired by the previous dynasty, gazing at the dense clusters of lights shining below the wall.

As they stood on the bricks and tiles of the Great Wall, Liu Xiu and many soldiers of the new army felt a surge of fighting spirit.

The Xiongnu were fierce, but how much less so was our new National Army?

He drew his general's sword from his waist and shouted:

"Follow my orders, annihilate the Xiongnu, and pacify the northern deserts!"

In an instant, an army of 100,000 poured out, following the previously established strategy, and surged toward this desolate northern wilderness.

The two armies clashed frequently, their swords clashing, and the whistling of rockets piercing the night sky echoed beneath the darkness.

The Xiongnu were nomadic and extremely skilled in mounted warfare, which even the newly trained army from the Qiang region struggled to withstand.

However, the new Nationalist army had an advantage that the Xiongnu could not match: advanced equipment.

The Zhuge Repeating Crossbow was brought up by the rear troops. Once the crossbow was loaded with an arrow, a simple pull of the trigger was enough to unleash the force of a person drawing a bow.

The arrows flew out of the crossbow, piercing through the Xiongnu's leather armor and then through their bodies!

Tens of thousands of crossbows fired at once, creating a scene of arrows raining down from the sky, forcing the Xiongnu to retreat slowly under the cover of the terrain.

Of course, the Xiongnu were extremely familiar with bows and arrows and had a very high adaptability.

After roughly understanding the strategy of the New Nationalist Army, they began to fight back and catch up with the declining trend.

Among the Hun vanguard, a burly man shouted:

"Kill! Kill!"

In an instant, at his urging, the entire Qiang tribe seemed to be injected with chicken blood, maintaining only the rationality of fighting back, and began to charge and kill recklessly.

They brandished their machetes, and with each swift stroke, several New Nationalist soldiers were beheaded. Their horses' hooves left thick trails of blood on every inch of the desert.

After a bloody battle, the Xiongnu returned to the Great Wall. The strong man who had previously rallied the troops shouted to Liu Xiu on the wall:

"I am Chengli Gutu Chanyu. You are surrounded. If you know what's good for you, then offer up grain and wealth!"

This was blatant mockery; the Xiongnu leader was clearly mocking himself for being humiliated like the Han dynasty royal family, forced to pay tribute to them.

Just as Liu Xiu was about to mobilize his army, a fire suddenly broke out on the right side of the city wall, and the sounds of fighting came from behind the army.

"What?"

He watched as countless Xiongnu soldiers, who had somehow infiltrated the Great Wall and breached its walls, rushed into the Hexi Corridor.

The situation immediately shifted to the Xiongnu encircling and outflanking the new Nationalist army from both sides...

"I'm here to support the rear."

Liu Xiu ordered all his generals to the rear, leaving only himself to command the front lines. He responded to the Xiongnu chieftain, saying:

"Hmph, do you still think this is the old dynasty?"

He looked disdainfully at the Xiongnu chieftain who was confident of victory below the city wall, and then said to him:

"Look closely, see who's surrounded."

Suddenly, a massive army, seemingly endless, emerged from the flanks and rear of tens of thousands of Xiongnu. It was Zong Tiao, who had come from the side!

"General, our troops are here to help!"