Yuan Futong raised a rebellion and heard Zun Zhong lead an army to suppress it.
The one who rose first must have been preparing in secret for years; a rebellion with just three to five hundred people isn't feasible.
Yuan Futong led the seventy-two vassals of the north to raise their banners in rebellion. A portion of his forces blocked Northern Prince Chonghou Xu in Chong City and launched fierce attacks, while Yuan Futong himself led the large army to sweep across the entire northern region.
General Wen needs to gather troops from all over, Chen Tang Pass, located in the northeast direction of the Great Merchants and close to the East Sea, with convenient transportation and stockpiled with large amounts of grain and military equipment, is the assembly ground for the army.
Using the strong fortress to block the enemy's first wave of attacks and containing the damage caused by the war within the territory of the two hundred vassals in the north, while continuously gathering a large army and fighting defensive counterattacks—this is General Wen's strategy.
The Great Merchants' army camped outside the fortress, forming a checkmate with Chen Tang Pass, not to destroy the enemy but to hold them off and give time for troops from various regions to gather. At the same time, Deng Chanyu's so-called "ten thousand troops" are meant to demoralize the enemy.
Wen Zhong led a group of senior generals out of camp to watch the battle. Inside Chen Tang Pass, General Li Jing soothed his pregnant wife and took two steps for every three, rushing up to the city wall to gaze into the distance.
"Pass on our army's orders, formations!" Deng Chanyu changed into a warrior's attire and kept galloping through the crowd on horseback.
It's not realistic to expect to train the eight thousand soldiers on the road into a coordinated unit. In this era, knowledge was monopolized by the upper class, and literacy rates among ordinary people were extremely low. Not only the barbarian soldiers, but even many of the Deng family's soldiers couldn't distinguish between left and right.
She would be able to use the basic Taoist ritual of turning beans into soldiers. In order for the soldiers to know where to run, it is a prerequisite to temporarily create some "bean soldiers" that can be controlled by her spiritual awareness.
"Deng Xiu, commanding 3,000 troops, guard the three passages of life: open, rest, and birth."
"Understood!"
"Xiao Qiao! Lead your clan to defend the three deadly gates: Death, Panic, and Injury."
"Yes! General!"
"I will defend the door, the sight gate, all run up! Quickly!"
The soldiers of the Deng family and the barbarian soldiers, without understanding, followed the "bean soldiers" as they ran, circling once here and twice there, and the eight-entrance golden lock formation gradually took shape.
The array of immortals is not the "array chart" advocated by Song Taizong, and the master of these arrays needs to have some level of Taoist cultivation.
There is a lot of content about array and array in the "Heavenly Book," most of which are the insights of Emperor Yuan Huang's battles with Emperor Yan and Jiyou.
The old mother of Lishan is fond of collecting stamps and female martial artists, and she also enjoys teaching array tactics.
Deng Chanyu has decent talent in this area, and with the high-level magical items she has at hand, the eight-gate golden lock array was formed in less than a breath, with 80,000 soldiers arranged according to the eight gates of Rest, Life, Wound, Seal, Viewing World, Death, Panic, and Opening.
She took out her Cuilang Ergyi Lamp, accompanied by a faint green glow, dividing the two yin and yang, connecting soldiers inside the eight gates with each other's yin and yang energy. A thousand people guarding one gate, it seems that there are really eight golden doors in the air.
Wen Zhong stroked his beard without speaking. The array that Deng Chanyu had set up was not too neat. Considering that the Deng family had traveled thousands of miles from Nanjun to join the battle, and hadn't even rested before going out to meet the enemy, this was partly due to the high prestige of the commanding general and partly due to the disciplined training of these soldiers.
He immediately took the opportunity to boost morale.
"Look, the Deng family is loyal to the court, not resting a moment since arriving at Chen Tang Pass. How about you? This one says there's a shortage of grain and grass, that one says there are not enough weapons and ammunition. Do you have the heart for Taishang and a shred of shame as warriors?"
General Wen has trained his subordinates as if they were Sun Tzu's soldiers. The general from Jiameng Pass, with a height of eight meters, sitting on the ground like a meat mountain named Mo Liding, looked very aggrieved. These southerners cause trouble as soon as they arrive!
He may not have heard the term "involution," but he can understand the meaning.
He immediately clapped his hands and spoke in a deep voice, "I am willing to fight and die for the court. Please command, Sir."
In addition to the Mo brothers, the other several senior generals also expressed similar opinions.
Wen Zhong was very satisfied, the army's morale was good, and it was now up to the Deng family.
He opened his third eye on his forehead and looked in the direction of the array center. disciples of Jiao school are very skilled in array tactics, and he could tell that the treasure used by Deng Chanyu to suppress the array was extremely remarkable, but what it was exactly remained unclear.
Even Wen Zhong was a bit envious... There are so many treasures over at the side of Empress Nuwa...
He was envious, but Li Jing on the Chen Tang Pass was jealous.
He bowed to Xikun Degree Eternal True Man, a poor fellow who said that Li Jing's Daoist cultivation was difficult to achieve and could only enjoy worldly wealth. As he was about to part, he gave two blessings and then let him go down the mountain with nothing in his hands. Master and disciple, nothing at all......
Now, seeing Deng Chanyu, such a young person, effortlessly produce a treasure that he's never seen in his life, made him feel extremely resentful and sour.
Deng Chanyu was arrayed in readiness, and soon, the vanguards of Yuan Futong's army appeared before the array.
She looked at it from afar, and after fifteen years of hard work, Wen Zhong was not wrong. Apart from giants like the Mo brothers, most generals of Taishang rode horses, even King Wu rode Xiaoyao horse. The subordinates of Yuan Futong were different. These guys rode all kinds of wolves and tigers, wearing animal skins, their muscles twisted and knotted, wielding a variety of weapons.
Are these the seventy-two vassals of the northern regions of the Great Merchants?
If the Lord of the South were all these kinds of subordinates, Deng's family would not be able to conquer the southern prefecture with a million soldiers.
Deng Chanyu felt as though she wasn't fighting in a civil war between humans, but rather against a pack of Orcs led by Grommash Hellscream.
Is that an exaggeration, or what?
Knowing she couldn't let the morale drop, she immediately passed the message to all the troops through the haze of the Cuilang Ergyi Lamp.
"Steady the ranks! Anyone who retreats will be executed! Anyone who talks loudly will be executed! Hold tight to your swords and spears, and show these northerners our strength!"
The vanguards of the rebel army stopped, and several generals with Northern Prefecture-like demeanor began to discuss.
"The merchants" formed a formation. As the rebels, they must fight, but how to fight needs to be studied."
Before they could come up with a strategy, a series of loud and clear songs echoed from within the array of the eight golden lock gates.
"Ji ri xie chen liang, Mu jiang yu xie shang huang. Fu chang jian xie yu e, qiu qiang ming xie lin lang. Yao xishi xie yu zhen, he jiang ba xie qiongfang. Hui yao zeng xie lan ji, dian gui jiu xie chou jiang......"
The illiterates among the rebels looked at each other, their copper bell-sized eyes filled with confusion. What exactly is Nan Hao singing?
Some of the literate ones were speechless. This song praising Dong Huang Taiyi is our Yao tribe's song! It's not right that we sing it as rebels!
They didn't know why the enemy on the other side sang this song, but they could see very clearly that the pale green light surrounding the formation was becoming stronger and stronger, and the power of the array was also increasing under the influence of the song.
"They mustn't keep singing! This formation is ordinary and unremarkable, listen to my orders." Yuan Futong's vanguard general was one of the seventy-two vassals, named Bi Fang, who was a direct descendant of the immortal Bi Fang. His true form was a large fire-red bird similar to a crane, with only one foot.
The bloodline of the immortal in this vanguard general was still relatively pure. However, facing the enemy's big formation, war song, suppressing array object, and the array master, he felt like an arrow in his back. This formation is difficult to break through. It's best to let someone else try first.
