Wuliang Town is not a town, but a fortress. It is an important pass that divides the two rivers in the south and north of the river source. One hundred miles south of Wuliang Town is Cai Prefecture, while outside the pass to the north are the strongholds of the bandits in various towns and villages, and to the east is the occupied area of Ganzhou. Seven hundred miles west is the border of Jingtao Province. If the bandits want to attack the southern part of Hezhou Province and plunder the rich prefectures of Cai Prefecture, Wuliang Town is a barrier that must be overcome.

  The natural geographical advantage made Wuliang Town a difficult-to-attack stronghold, with two steep cliffs on either side of the pass. The precipitous mountain wall was impossible to climb, and anyone who wanted to attack Wuliang Town could only do so from the front. The high walls and thick walls built by the Zhao family over several generations at great expense were even more impregnable. The 12-meter-high city wall was made of a mixture of blue bricks and glutinous rice paste, tightly bonded together, with a thickness of up to nine meters. The fortress could accommodate 100,000 soldiers, and the vast plain outside the pass in the rear could accommodate over 300,000 soldiers. In the face of such an impregnable stronghold, any idea of breaking through by military force was strangled at birth.

  Inside the fortress of Wuliang Town, Wei You, the elder brother of Emperor Wei Yin, the commander-in-chief of the Great Zhou Thunder Army, was looking at a large topographic map on his desk with a worried expression.

  "Now, over a million bandits are gathering outside the town of Wuliudao, eyeing the five Liang Towns covetously. But why haven't they launched an attack in several months? Are they trying to bypass the pass?" Wei furrowed his brow and lowered his head in contemplation. "It's impossible. I've already ordered Zhao Yuande to dismantle the bridge section leading to Cai Prefecture, and all ships along the coast have been requisitioned. The bandits can no longer enter the southern part of the river source by water. Besides, the bandit leader Duan Hong is not a fool, does he think he can cross the tens of miles wide Tengjiang River on bamboo rafts?"

  Wei Yan smiled to himself, his tightly furrowed brow slightly relaxing. "Since the water route is impassable, we can only take the land route, and the fastest shortcut would be to break through from Wuliang Town into the south, but...can Wuliang Town really be broken through so easily?"

  Thinking of this, Wei Yan furrowed his brow again, "The six passes on the opposite side have over a hundred million bandits, but the truly battle-worthy soldiers are at most twenty million. Among these twenty million, the truly elite do not exceed four million. Even if the entire northern region is under your control, it's absurd to think that you can arm tens of millions of people. Let's take a step back and say that even if these twenty million soldiers were fully armored, what could this mob of undisciplined troops accomplish against the Great Zhou Central Army, which has high walls and thick fortifications as cover?"

  Weiyuan paced back and forth, having fought with Duan Hong for over a decade, he was naturally extremely familiar with his temperament. He was not the kind of brainless brute that would have allowed him to remain unscathed after being besieged by government troops hundreds of times, even forcing himself to abandon Ganzhou and Liuzhou to turn the tide of the war. Such a formidable and cunning opponent, Weiyuan felt he must be brewing some plan.

  ……

  Liudao Mouth is not just a simple mountain pass, but rather a fortified town like Wuliang Town. Although it's not large, its location in the high mountains makes it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The name "Six Paths" comes from the fact that the surrounding cliffs and valleys lead to six different directions. Compared to Wuliang Town, Liudao Mouth has an additional advantage: its complex terrain allows for a safe retreat. Additionally, the valley is very large, spanning 500 miles of mountainous terrain, making it possible for millions of people to gather there.

  In the Shunyi Army's (bandit flag) large camp, Duan Hong wore a thick fur coat, standing on the high chariot platform, gazing at the majestic and magnificent pass in the distance amidst the wind and snow, exhaling a mouthful of white air.

  "Wei Wu, in a few more days, your Thunder Army will be annihilated, just like the 'Chase Swan Army' of Liangzhou, and become the dust of history... And my Shunyi Army will take down Wuliang Town, then conquer Cai State City, occupy Wuyang Prefecture, eliminate Zhao Yuanyi, disintegrate the Zhao family's power in Heyuan, and become the new master of the entire Heyuan. At that time, I will lead the army to attack JingTai Province, forcing Wei Wu to appoint me as the Governor of Heyuan..."

  This is Duan Hong's true intention, the so-called overthrow of the Great Zhou Dynasty is just a slogan, and it is only to use this slogan to coerce the people into becoming bandits for his own benefit. Duan Hong's idea of training soldiers has one thing in common with Liu Ce, both believe that the fastest way to train soldiers is in the midst of war, but the difference lies in the fact that before going out to battle, Liu Ce will give systematic training and deployment to his generals, once on the battlefield, as long as they follow the previous plan, they can minimize losses. Moreover, Liu Ce has his own standards for the equipment of soldiers, he would never let a general without armor or weapons go to their death, this is Liu Ce's respect for the lives of his soldiers, therefore, the Jingwei Camp was able to smoothly pass through the most difficult initial stage and quickly grow up.

  On the contrary, the refugees who were wrapped in armor and called "vanguard" were actually cannon fodder sent to their deaths. They were given some broken copper and iron, or even wooden clubs and hoes, and told to charge into battle. This disorganized and undisciplined way of fighting resulted in only one out of ten charging refugees surviving. Yet, it was precisely this bloody method of "training soldiers" that allowed Duan Hong to accumulate over 50,000 elite troops and tens of thousands of qualified soldiers (in his eyes) over the course of a decade or so, enough to threaten the safety of the entire He Yuan region...

  Just as Duan Honghao was indulging in his fantasies of the good days to come, a scout ran up to him, knelt down on the snowy ground and saluted: "Reporting to the Grand Marshal! Zhang Zhong's troops have arrived at the main camp!"

  "Haha! Too good, Zhang Zhong's 900 elite soldiers are exceptionally brave and fierce, and compared to Jin Heng's troops, they're not much worse off either. With him here, our chances of winning have increased by a notch! Quickly invite him into the grand tent! I'll personally welcome him!" After finishing speaking, Duan Hong walked down from the chariot platform towards the grand tent, without even giving a glance to the soldiers whose lips had turned purple from the cold...

  ……

  Wu Liang Town, six miles directly in front of Liu Dao Kou...

  The government troops stationed here are Zhao Yuandi's direct local army, with more than 30,000 people in the two battalions. In the Da Ying of the Left Battalion, a heroic aristocratic general was drinking wine with his two deputy generals in the big account.

  His name is Zhao Mengxi, the youngest son of Zhao Yuandi's concubine. As a bastard, he was not well received in the clan and his treatment was much worse than that of his elder brother Zhao Mengyuan and younger brother Zhao Mengchun.

  Zhao Mengxi knew he was not valued by the elders of his clan and Zhao Yuandi, but he did not give up on himself and waste his life away. He resolutely abandoned the official career arranged for him within the clan and chose to join the army and study deeply.

  Due to his outstanding performance in the military, he was exceptionally brave during battles against bandits and cautious with few mistakes. With his aristocratic background, he quickly stood out in the military camp. In just eight years, he rose from a low-ranking officer (the lowest rank for aristocrats) to become the commander of the flag team, and was also appointed as the "Cooperating General" of the local army, with the rank of lieutenant general, which made Zhao Yuande look at him in a new light.

  Zhao Yuanyu was drinking wine with a gloomy expression at this time. It had been five years since he became the commander of this flag, and in these five years, he hadn't made any further progress. His heart felt extremely suffocated...

  The military positions of the Great Zhou army are mainly composed of Wǔzhǎng, Shízhǎng, Jiǎzhǎng, Bǎizhǎng, Qígōng, Qiānzhǎng, Yíngqí (Guǎndài), Qítuánzhǎng (Zhǐhuìmìshī), Shífēnmìshī (Zhǐhuìmìshī), Jūnzhǎng. If various departments are merged for large-scale combat, temporary titles such as Dàyuánshuài, Dàjiàngjūn, Jūntuánzhǎng, Bǎiqímìshī will appear. Of course, these are all temporary command ranks that will be abolished once the war is over.

  Now Zhao Mengxi is stuck between the flag team leader and the instructor, just one step away from the top position, but somehow he can't get past it. Last time, he finally had the opportunity to be promoted, but Wei Wu cut him off and arranged for his trusted aide Li Xiwen to take over as the instructor of the flag team, leaving Zhao Mengxi furious and secretly retaliating against Wei Wu's family.

  "Alas..." Thinking of this, Zhao Mengxi let out a sigh and threw the wine bowl in his hand onto the table.

  "General, what's wrong with you?" Seeing Zhao Mengxi's appearance, a deputy general named Fan Xian asked anxiously. He was usually very close to Zhao Mengxi.

  Zhao Mengxi looked at him and said: "I, Zhao Mengxi, have been in the army for over thirteen years since I was a Wu soldier. I dare not say that my military achievements are outstanding, but I have done my best to fulfill my duties and be loyal to my post. Now, I finally have the opportunity to be promoted to the position of Shi Qi Shi, but because of my humble origin, it has been occupied by someone who has no merit at all. My heart is really not willing to accept this!"

  General, you don't need to worry. Considering that Li Xiwen has no achievements but holds the position of Shi Qi Shi, the soldiers will definitely not obey him. Moreover, with the delayed payment of military salaries and many complaints, it will inevitably lead to chaos. At that time, General, you can step in to stabilize the emotions of the soldiers, and the position of Shi Qi Shi is yours for sure.

  Zhao Mengxi said: "Li Xiwen is useless, but don't forget who's backing him. The Central Army of the Great Zhou Imperial Family dares to stir up trouble in the military camp. Even if I had ten heads, it wouldn't be enough for me to escape being beheaded. At this time, there are even people with ulterior motives who will write a big article and push my Zhao family to the brink of disaster. I advise you to give up on this idea. If you want to die, don't drag me and my father down with you."

  Fan Yun's forehead suddenly sweated, and he almost forgot that Li Xiuren was relying on the mountain behind him. Although Lei Tingjun, the commander-in-chief of the Thunder Army, was born into a royal family and had a noble status, he didn't get to this position just because of his background, but also because of his own military achievements. This man had been fighting in battles since he was sixteen years old, and after thirty-two years, he had climbed out of countless piles of corpses and blood many times. What kind of conspiracy and trickery hadn't he seen? Playing this hand with him was really like courting death...

  After thinking for a while, Fan Yu wiped the sweat and continued: "Since this road doesn't work, then there is another way. The version of 'Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu' you are reading now only has half a chapter on the 48th and 49th floors of Liang Town and Liu Dao Kou. To read the full version, please search for it on Baidu: () and then search again: Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu