Song Xi smiled indifferently and reassured in a relaxed tone: "No, the cannon is prepared to deal with strong enemies. Neither the Duke of Lu nor the Zhou Family Army are considered strong enemies."

Wan Li breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and after thinking about it, he understood his master's plan.

"My lord is wise, Duke Lu will definitely be completely defeated this time!"

Now that they are in the northwest, how many powerful enemies can they encounter?

In front of him were the calculating Duke of Lu and the eyeing Tatars on the Yunchuan grassland.

Didn’t the Duke of Lu want to accuse them of helping Zhou’s evil deeds?

The conspiracy will be solved as soon as the cannon fires!

…

Spring, the fourteenth year of Yuanfeng.

Song Xi led an army of 100,000 to attack Longxi and captured seven of the prefectures in just two months. Including the territory already acquired a year ago, a total of ten prefectures and cities were brought under the control of Liuhe Villa.

Of the thirteen prefectures in Longxi, only Xiliang Prefecture and Yuming Prefecture are still under the rule of Zhou Jiajun, while the most marginal Ganzhou Prefecture is still in the hands of the Tatars.

There is only a small Yuming Mansion between the Song family army and the Duke of Lu who is stationed in Xiliang. The situation is serious and about to break out.

Duke Lu was so worried about this that he did not expect that Song Xi would invade his territory without any scruples and occupy most of Longxi with lightning speed.

The admonitions in the secret letter not only did not slow down the Song family, but made them speed up the attack. The Song family did not care about the rumors among the people, but just carried out their wishes with a strong attitude.

The Duke of Lu was so angry that he was attacked from both sides and fought with the Tatars to the death.

As a result, not only were the Tatar troops attacking Xiliang repelled, but the long-lost Ganzhou Prefecture was even recovered.

Unfortunately, Ganzhou Prefecture at this time was already dilapidated and depressed, and there were only ten Zhou people left in the city. Some were used as food for the confinement by the Tatars, and some were reduced to slaves and struggled to survive.

After Lu Guogong took over Ganzhou Prefecture, not only did he not get a chance to breathe, but he began to have a headache in dealing with it.

But the Zhou family's army was already unable to protect themselves. How could they help these miserable people when they were in short supply of food and grass?

Song Xi had no time to care about Duke Lu's plight. He was currently busy rectifying the Chief Envoys' Department and the Chief Envoys' Department in Longxi.

All the corrupt officials and domineering gentry in the ten cities were killed, and the remaining officials used the Mantra Pill to investigate and interrogate one by one.

Those who have good moral character and are willing to surrender will continue to serve, and those who have bad moral character or are unwilling to stay will be dismissed from their posts.

The three divisions in Longxi that controlled important affairs in the province had to be replaced by subordinates of the Song family, and all major border cities were garrisoned by generals of the Song family.

Yu Yalan also sent a group of outstanding talents from Qinxi to help the changed Longxi get through the difficult initial period.

With previous experience in managing Pingliang, Song Xi handled it more efficiently and effectively this time.

In half a month, Longxi was stabilized, and a total of 120,000 captive soldiers and horses in ten cities were recruited under his command.

Because the Song family has been operating in the northwest for hundreds of years, many soldiers are very convinced of Dingbei Hou's governance. Seeing that Song Xi has the mind and talent to be as good as his father and brother, many old soldiers took the initiative to join him.

The ranks of the Song family army grew again, and no one in the entire northwest could match Song Xi.

Many Longxi soldiers were very happy that they finally had a powerful benevolent master.

Song Xi is not only extraordinary in strength, but also very kind and generous in his treatment of his subordinates and people.

The generous import of large amounts of relief grains brought a glimmer of hope to the lifeless Longxi. Various tax-free and frivolous government decrees were issued one after another. The people who were in dire straits shouted long live!

As for the stigmas that Lu Guogong deliberately exaggerated and smeared?

The people who witnessed Song's benevolent government didn't believe it at all!

Everyone didn't even care whether Song Xi was a prisoner of the imperial court or a prince or general. As long as he was a hero who rescued them from hunger and cold, natural disasters and war, he was their well-deserved and sincerely supported lord!

As for the Wu royal family who sit high in the temple?

When natural disasters were raging, not a grain of relief food was distributed, when foreign enemies invaded, they were not given any strong support, the taxes collected became heavier year by year, and strong men were forced to build various Laoshizi altars.

People don't have the guts to complain, but they can choose to put it behind them.

Just as the imperial court had ignored them, they also ignored the ignorant and unscrupulous imperial court.

Duke Lu Guo, who was far away in Xiliang, was very frightened and angry. All his plans were solved one by one by Song Xi.

Years of hard work have all been in vain. These untouchables in Longxi have no memory of his hard work and meritorious service in guarding the border!

And the old members of the Song family who were scattered all over the country actually dared to betray the imperial court and join the rebel camp?!

If he had known that these stooges were disobedient, he should have eradicated them at the beginning. Now that they have returned to the embrace of their old master, he still doesn’t know how to unite to deal with Xiliang!

He had to ask the court for help as soon as possible. The 150,000 Zhou family troops alone could not defeat Song Xi's troops!

"Is there any response from the other side of Shu? Are the three Jin Dynasties willing to help? When did the Holy Spirit send troops to support? Where did the promised food and grass go?"

The Duke of Lu, who was on the verge of despair, kept asking people for news from all sides, and looked forward to good news every day.

But the subordinate who reported back just shook his head and sighed over and over again, and the expression on his face became more and more desperate and sad.

"The land of Shu is only willing to support a few carts of grain and grass, but as for soldiers and generals, it cannot be dispatched. Marquis Huayang said that he did not dare to act rashly without an imperial edict, so he could only give some grain and grass to show support, and most of Longxi has fallen into the hands of Song thieves. They

It is also very difficult to transport food here. We are currently looking for a suitable route and will send people there when the time is right."

"The commander-in-chief of the three Jin Dynasties is a loser. He is cowardly and dare not go out to fight to kill the enemy. He asked for help several times but made excuses. In the end, he simply refused to reply."

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty said that the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot mobilize too much food and grass, and you need to find a way to solve this problem yourself. The taxes in Longxi can be temporarily used by you, so that you can purchase some supplies from the neighboring Shu region as soon as possible. As for reinforcements...

...The Holy One always said that he would be sent soon. He asked you to hold on for a little longer. If you can't do it, he would... take away your title..."

At the end of the sentence, several lieutenants and generals couldn't help but their eyes turned red with anger.

"Master Guo, what should we do now? The Chief Envoy in Longxi has been controlled by Song thieves, how can we be allowed to transfer money?"

The Duke of Lu was so angry that he kicked over the table in the tent, raised his head and laughed crazily several times.

Smiling, tears flashed in his eyes, and only hatred remained in his sinister eyes!

"Hahahaha! Okay! Wu Zongmin, since you don't care about the survival of your country, why should I worry about you? From now on, I will only fight for myself and fight bloody for the future of my Zhou family! Come on!
Chapter completed!