A mighty army sweeps past, leaving no chicken or dog behind. The mountain bandits within the borders of Hubei and Hunan have suffered a calamity this time. Having caught wind of it, they had long since sealed off the mountains to avoid disaster, not daring to provoke the great army. However, what they didn't know was that someone had come specifically for them.

  In the territory of Hubei and Hunan, there are many mountains, forests, and rivers, and bandits and pirates are rampant. Our General Lan is worried that he has no one to fight, so he directly asked Fu Youde for advice and personally selected soldiers to start a large-scale campaign to collect taxes.

  Zhang Feng was lucky to be transferred out because he was a local of Huguang. Originally, the people above thought he would know the terrain of Huguang and serve as a guide or something, but who knew that Zhang Feng had never left the mountain since childhood, let alone knew what the borders of Huguang looked like? Except for Wudang Mountain and Xiangyang City, he hadn't been anywhere else.

  It's all been chosen, can't let him go again, it's wrong to be wrong, so Zhang Feng became a member of the bandit-suppressing army. When the main force advanced slowly, they set out first to sweep away the bandits on the road, and Lan Yu said that his name was beautiful, saying that he was practicing soldiers.

  Who doesn't know that this group of people, apart from the later reinforcements from Yanshan's middle camp, are all old soldiers from the Imperial Guard? There is no need to train troops at all; it's just Blue Jade himself itching for a fight.

  Those mountain bandits and water thieves were in a terrible state, no matter how they hid, they would be dug out by the Blue Jade, and then the extermination army would directly attack, the crushing force of which was impossible for those thieves to turn over. Zhang Feng even felt that this time's extermination was like touring the mountains and playing with water, they didn't even see any dead or seriously injured among the bandits, it was simply too easy, himself had been on two exterminations before, one was unsuccessful, and this one was successful but it didn't make much difference.

  Lan Yu led the charge against the mountain bandits' camp, often being the first to rush in. As a result, the surrounding bandits were all eliminated, and the leaders were executed on the spot after being accused of colliding with the army. The remaining bandits were taken away and imprisoned in the counties and prefectures.

  At one time, the entire Huguang province was overcrowded with prisoners, and many prisons were even unable to accommodate them. Countless civilians voluntarily came out to thank this bandit-suppressing army for their arrival. The governor of Huguang even personally ran into Fu Youde's military camp to thank him, thanking him for making a huge contribution to the local security of Huguang.

  While Zhang Feng was escorting Fan Ren, he once again entered Xiangyang City. This was his first return to this place in a year. Everything around him had not changed. The vendor selling sugar gourds was still loudly hawking his ice sugar gourds. The old man selling buns had added a new grandson.

  He still remembers his purse being taken away, and he also remembers the sweet little flower who called him "Wooden Brother", but he doesn't know how they are doing now in Wudang Mountain. Unfortunately, due to official business, he can't go to Zhengwu Guard Bureau to ask about their situation.

  A large army hastily passed through Xiangyang Prefecture, but unfortunately, the path was not right, and Zhang Feng couldn't return to the mountain gate to see his master. However, he estimated that he wouldn't be able to see him anyway, as Qingxuzi's face-walling period hadn't arrived yet.

  Just as Fu Youde was marching at a steady pace, Zhu's battle strategy arrived here in haste, and Lan Yu also hurried back from the front line of suppressing bandits.

  "Our Emperor has decreed that he will personally devise the battle strategy for our great army. I hope all you generals and nobles will strictly follow his orders..." The officer in charge of transmitting the order, Li Ke, stood before the crowd of generals and loudly read out the proclamation.

  All the generals knelt down to listen to the orders, and the Emperor himself arranged a battle strategy for them. What an honor it was! Only Fu Youde had a little emotion, it seemed that the Emperor still thought he was not as good as those dukes, otherwise why would he still arrange a battle plan for him? Wasn't it true that when Xu Da and Li Wen Zhong went on expedition, they made their own decisions during the war?

  Although Fu Youde was not very satisfied in his heart, he still respectfully accepted the decree. After all, this battle plan was indeed very good. Before that, he had also discussed with the generals in the army, and it was the same as the imperial edict pointed out that Qujing was also an important strategic location they considered.

  "Gentlemen, I hope you all understand that this time, the tax grain has been directly converted into your military rations. Don't disappoint His Majesty's expectations of your cooperation." Li Ke said calmly.

  "We, your ministers, humbly obey Your Majesty's decree to pacify and destroy Yunnan and Guizhou!"

  "Marquis of Yingchuan, Your Majesty has another message for you."

  "Please speak, Lord Li."

  "Your Majesty has spoken, this time the southern expedition must be successful. Your Majesty wants to see Liang Wang's head before New Year's Day, otherwise, Marquis of Yingchuan, you can forget about the title of Duke that you have been dreaming of for your whole life."

  "Your Majesty! I obey your orders! We will definitely capture the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou before New Year's Day, and present the dog head of Liang Wang to Your Imperial Majesty!" Fu Youde said excitedly. Since the Emperor has spoken, it means that if he wins this time, he can expect to be appointed as a duke soon, which is what he has been hoping for all along.

  The group of marquises around them couldn't help but look at Fu Youde with envy, this time in the southern expedition, only two dukes were promoted to the top, and now another one was almost settled, which meant their hopes were reduced by a fraction, how could they not be envious of Fu Youde who had already been settled.

  Lan Yu sneered, seemingly quite disdainful. In his eyes, the Duke of Feng from the southern barbarian lands was nothing to be reckoned with. Such a title as Duke wasn't even worth wanting. The military achievements of the Duke would have to be taken from those horsemen in the north. At that time, when he led his troops to destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty, wouldn't being made Duke Feng be even more glorious?

  It's just that his brother-in-law, Shi Wanjun and Wei Guogong, are too good at fighting, causing the Northern Yuan people to flee further north. Last time they changed guards, Mu Ying even captured a Ping Zhang of the Northern Yuan. How come he can't encounter such things? Every time he defends the border, he can't even see the shadow of the Mongols, and he wants to make achievements but has no power to exert, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to eliminate the bandits in Huguang.

  Li Ke had just finished reading the edict and then set off to return to Ying Tian, after all, he was still the Minister of War, and there were so many things to deal with in the capital that it was not convenient for him to stay in Huguang for a long time.

  "Zhaoyong! How much of the military provisions have yet to be transported here?" Fu Youde put away the imperial edict and asked about the military provisions.

  "The last batch of grain and fodder is reported to be ten days away from catching up with our great army." Zhao Yong, who was appointed as the logistics officer, replied.

  "It's time to stop! I have received the order, and our army will resume its march at full speed from today, advancing into Guizhou Province." Fu Youde turned his head and said to Lan Yu, "Marquis Yongchang, your bandit-suppressing army can also be withdrawn. We no longer have the leisure to help the Governor of Huguang govern the local area."

  Fu Youde and others were not waiting for a moment, as if they would immediately kill into Yunnan to cut off the head of King Liang, using the head of Zhāiwǎěr Mì as the capital to seal the king.

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