In the azure sky, several white clouds of various shapes floated about. An old man leaned against a comfortable recliner, and as a gentle breeze blew by, the old man under the willow tree stretched out a big yawn with satisfaction, finally waking up.

  At his side, there were always more than ten good men responsible for guarding him, and as the war approached, this quota would be further expanded.

  "Marshal, you're awake." Cheng Ming took a warm towel from the hands of an attendant and handed it to the old man, asking.

  "Hmm..."

  This man is the last remaining ancient great marshal of the Great Han Empire.

  "Xiao Ming, how is the army now?"

  "Everything is normal, our family's private army is also a seasoned veteran, perhaps in combat power it may not be comparable to the five major legions, but in terms of bravery and morale, they are absolutely not inferior." Cheng Ming said respectfully.

  "Has the letter to Jin Zhong been sent?" Gu Dao asked with a satisfied nod, and then inquired again.

  "It's already been sent out, it's just..."

  The old man turned his head and saw that his nephew's face was full of hesitation, so he smiled and asked: "What is it?"

  "Lu Ding Sheng has already led 20,000 vanguard troops to Wulong City, and Er Dong Jie is secretly hindering them. With the Fang family's influence in the army, it's likely that Zhang Da will have a hard time arriving on schedule." Cheng Ming poured out all his concerns in one breath.

  "Haha......" Gu Dao Xiao laughed loudly several times, saying: "What about that? I believe in Jin Zhong. Even if the 20,000 vanguard troops of Lu Ding's cannot arrive, Jin Zhong will definitely bring the remaining 80,000 people."

  His words were said with absolute confidence and had an extremely strong infectious power, Cheng Ming couldn't help but nod his head in agreement.

  A sudden rapid footsteps came, a soldier hastily ran over and handed a letter to the guard beside him.

  The guard did not dare to be slow and immediately presented it to Cheng Ming, who opened the letter and took out the confidential letter inside and handed it over to Gu Daoxun.

  He looked through the ancient path with a sigh, and there were countless helplessness and regrets in it.

  "You..." Cheng Ming asked cautiously.

  Gu Dao didn't answer, he just handed over the confidential letter in his hand to Cheng Ming.

  He received it and hastily read through it once, then lifted his head up, also with a pair of bewildered eyes.

  "The Northern Great Camp has finally been broken." Gu Dao said slowly.

  "Yes..." Cheng Ming replied.

  The old man looked up and gazed northward, muttering to himself: "From now on, Liu Zhengqi will have no chance of restoration."

  Cheng Ming nodded and said: "Among the five major legions of the Great Han, even the most loyal Northern Legion has become a thing of the past. Liu Zheng is indeed at a dead end."

  The old way nodded and responded with a hum of affirmation, asking: "Is Tan Hongda of the Qilin Army still unwilling to surrender?"

  "That old stubborn man." Cheng Ming said with hatred: "Although we have the Imperial Seal of the State and Prince Hui is in our hands, that old stubborn man has made up his mind to support Liu Zhengqi and refuses to listen to orders."

  "For the time being, don't bother about it. Even if Liu Zhengqi manages to escape, even if he's lucky enough to reach the Qilin Army, all he can do is temporarily protect himself. As for making a comeback... Ha! That's absolutely impossible." Gu Dao Yan said with dissatisfaction.

  "Yes, let's wait until our Cheng family unites Zhongyuan, then we'll go find him to settle the accounts." Cheng Ming said loudly.

  Gu Dao nodded silently, then suddenly sighed: "Fang Lingchen is a good man, Fang Lingde is also a good man, and Fang Lingtian even more so. The three brothers of the Fang family are all heroes, but unfortunately, the future of the Fang family will gradually decline with their downfall."

  Cheng Ming was taken aback and asked: "General Yuan, doesn't the Fang family still have Fang Xiangming?"

  Gu Dao stroked his beard and snorted, saying: "Fang Xing is indeed a genius, young and talented, with extraordinary vision and martial arts skills. However, above him, there's an even more formidable figure."

  "Xu Haifeng?" Cheng Ming was surprised this time. He asked, "Uncle, Xu Haifeng and Fang Xiangming are as close as brothers, so they shouldn't intentionally suppress him. Besides, a dead camel is bigger than a horse, with the Fang family's hundreds of years of foundation, how could it be inferior to a Black Flag Army?"

  "It's hard to predict the world... Nowadays, the situation changes three times a day. Moreover, Xu Haifeng has many talented people around him, making it even harder to anticipate." Gu Dao sighed and shook his head.

  Cheng Ming knew his thoughts, and Xu Haifeng's achievements today were indeed beyond everyone's expectations. If he had known earlier, when they first met at the Western Camp, he should have recruited him under his banner. Failing that, he would have to kill him with one sword to eliminate future troubles.

  It's just that saying these things is already too late, the current situation is confusing and unclear, no one can see through it at a glance, such a result is indeed unexpected.

  "If the scout didn't see wrongly, even at the most critical moment, the Northern Camp never used the Zhuge Divine Crossbow." Gu Dao Yan's gaze fell on that secret letter once again, as if muttering to himself.

  "It's true, it seems that Jiang Gongming is indeed a trustworthy person." Cheng Ming said.

  "A trustworthy person? I think he has ulterior motives..." Gu Dao Yan said with a cold smile.

  Cheng Ming remained silent and unspoken, he was 100% in agreement with this sentence.

  At first, Cheng Yinghao went to Wulong City and bought tens of thousands of Zhuge divine crossbows. For this secret weapon that was unknown to the world, Jiang Kongming had promised not to leak it out within a year. And he apparently kept his promise, even the Northern Army Corps, the direct lineage troops of the Fang family, were not equipped with such deadly weapons.

  So was Jiang Kongming a man of his word, a true gentleman, or did he have ulterior motives? This is not without its interesting implications.

  "Pass on my order, all troops converge on Taiyuan, let's have a showdown with the Xiongnu there." Gu Dao Yan stood up straight, a surge of heroic passion bursting forth.

  In the West, within the walls of Mingzhu City, the news that the two princes Absolun had returned without success spread throughout the city.

  He took 50,000 troops out for a stroll and returned without accomplishing anything, yet this in no way affected the dashing young king's image in the hearts of all his subjects.

  The people in the city were discussing and debating, but their faces wore a tolerant smile.

  However, there was one person who held a grudge about this. Artuso's angry eyes seemed to be spitting fire at any moment.

  "General Artuso, what's wrong with you? Although the weather is hot, it doesn't seem to be that hot yet. Of course, if you're not satisfied with something, I won't mind introducing you to a few noblewomen who can certainly provide you with the most comfortable enjoyment." Absolem said exaggeratedly.

  Artuso's anger grew more intense, and he almost shouted: "Your Highness, I've said it before - no matter what, we have to fight the Han people at least once before we can return. Look at how they're talking about you in the city now."

  "A fight?" Absolem's eyes were filled with surprise: "Oh... my general, forgive me and I understand, originally you had such a strong desire for battle."

  "Not...," Atuso took a deep breath and said, "For your reputation, you can't return empty-handed."

  "What reputation?" Abu Solen's mouth slowly overflowed with a hint of ridicule: "You think that just because we have 50,000 people, we can conquer Wolong City?"

  "Of course not, but we can't retreat without a fight either." Atuso said without hesitation.

  He stretched out a slender finger, and Absolem shook slowly: "Unless I can take down Wodong City at once, other military achievements cannot bring me to the same level as my two respected brothers. Rather than sacrificing the precious lives of soldiers loyal to me for this meaningless reputation, it's absolutely not worth it."

  Artuso was taken aback, his hatred suddenly vanished without a trace. He gazed at the beautiful face filled with serious expressions, wanting to see if these words were spoken from the heart, or just casual perfunctory remarks.

  But just for a moment, he had to give up this idea.

  That breathtakingly beautiful face, those two eyes that shone like stars in the black night, were filled with innocence, making him feel ashamed and humiliated.

  "Alright, have it your way." Attuso sighed helplessly, perhaps he was right.

  Having calmed down the young legion commander who was furious, Absolem let out a sigh and asked: "I wonder how our charming Miss Catherine is doing now?"

  Artuso's face turned serious: "Your Highness, although I have no evidence, but I am sure that Miss Catherine must have had a private transaction with the Han people."

  "Hmm, with your cleverness, you can't find any evidence?" Absolem exclaimed in disbelief.

  Artuso's face turned red, and he said: "The Rhein family is after all the second largest household of Caesar, their strength is not something that a small military commander like me can compare to. Even in this Mingdeng City, I don't know how many people the Rhein family has arranged, and I won't be able to monitor them one by one."

  "Good heavens!" Absolem exclaimed in sudden alarm.

  Artuso was startled and asked: "What's wrong with you?"

  Absolem said sheepishly, "I think I may have told her about General Bankcroft's visit."

  Arthur was taken aback, then let out a sigh and said: "With Catherine's abilities, she must have gotten wind of this big news."

  "Is it?" Abusoren let out a long sigh and suddenly laughed, saying: "Then I can rest assured."

  Looking at him smiling strangely, Artuso asked curiously: "What are you laughing at?"

  "Oh, I just thought of someone."

  "Who?"

  Jiang Gongming.

  "Huh?" Artuso furrowed his brow for a moment, then suddenly enlightened, said: "The military strategist of the Han people."

  Yes.

  "That group of Han people's name is hard to pronounce." Atuso suddenly raised his head and asked: "What do you want him to do?"

  I remembered one sentence he said, which made a lot of sense.

  Artuso asked with interest: "Tell me."

  "Hmm, he once said that one thing overcomes another, I think it makes sense, Commander Legion, don't you?" Absolem intentionally used Chinese when saying "one thing overcomes another".

  "Maybe so." Artuso, who only slightly understood Chinese, said habitually with a confused expression.

  Absolem laughed even more happily and turned back, saying softly: "Actually, I find that this person is a bit like me."

  "Huh?" A puzzled expression appeared on Artuso's face.

  There were two portraits of Jiang Gongming in his home, what made this ordinary young man similar to the handsome Second Prince?