Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2636 Zhuque Escapes, Zhu Ming's Northern Expedition

Chapter 2636 Zhuque Escapes, Zhu Ming's Northern Expedition

"Two cowards, they're courting death!" Zhu Quan sneered.

However, he had no choice but to change his actions at this moment. The slash he was originally going to deliver to Hou Qing had to be changed at the last minute.

The broadsword in his hand was retracted and wrapped around, no longer as powerful and heavy as when he had slashed at Hou Qing, but instead had a touch of yin and soft power.

Zhu Quan's entangling action not only neutralized the Lu brothers' offensive but also involuntarily pulled them towards him using the force he had applied.

Immediately, the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Blade swiftly slashed horizontally in the nick of time, instantly sending two fine heads flying into the sky.

After doing all this, Zhu Quan completely ignored Hou Qing and retreated to the rear without hesitation.

Although the two of them only stopped him for a moment, they had already deprived him of the opportunity to kill Hou Qing. That one moment was enough for the other party to get up.

If that's the case, then he can't continue wasting time here. If he continues to waste time, even he might not be able to leave.

Just then, during the brief moment that the two had been fighting, the soldiers who had been following him had already slowly slid down the iron chain.

Jia Runfu, who was standing nearby, actually tried to stop Zhu Quan from leaving. However, with his strength, he was no match for the Lu brothers from before. He had just rushed up when Zhu Quan casually slapped him on the back with a knife, sending him crashing down the ridge.

Then, Zhu Quan grabbed the rope at the edge of the cliff and swung down without hesitation.

What are you still standing there for?

"Cut all these ropes!" Seeing Zhu Quan leave so arrogantly, Hou Qing, enraged, immediately gave the order in a cold voice.

However, it was too late at that point.

Zhu Quan and his team had already considered this when they set off, so they had prepared two ropes beforehand when they started climbing.

After climbing down the first rope for more than ten meters, they reached the second rope that Zhu Quan and his team had prepared beforehand for their ascent.

Hou Qing had the first rope cut, but he was powerless to do anything about the second rope, which was more than ten meters below.

By the time someone realized what was happening and tried to pour kerosene on it or burn it with kerosene, it was already too late.

By the time the kerosene was brought over, Zhu Quan had no idea how long he had been lying down there.

Although Zhu Quan's gains were limited after the night-long battle, the arrival of the army on the first day caused unrest throughout Bailang Ridge and directly suppressed the arrogance of the Qian army on Bailang Ridge.

On White Wolf Ridge, Hou Qing and his group of generals wanted to retaliate, but Jiang Ziya suppressed them all. He knew very well that Wu Qi was waiting for him at the foot of the mountain.

This first night raid was just the beginning. For the next two weeks before Bai Qi's main army arrived, Wu Qi was restless almost every day, always trying to come up with some tricks.

Even though he couldn't have any real impact on Jiang Ziya on White Wolf Ridge, and sometimes Wu Qi even suffered greater losses, he did manage to keep White Wolf Ridge from having any peace for nearly half a month.

Meanwhile, to the south of the Great Qian, the Ming Dynasty, almost as soon as the Great Han Dynasty formally declared war on the Great Qian, also formally declared war on the Great Qian and swore an oath to launch a northern expedition. It wasn't that news from the north had reached Zhu Yuanzhang; it was simply that both sides had already exchanged envoys and agreed to launch a joint military campaign in May of that year.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang also announced the Northern Expedition to the world during this period.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not afraid that the Han Dynasty would not send troops after he announced the Northern Expedition, since the Ming Dynasty also controlled fourteen provinces and was not afraid of Jiang Qian.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was even better than Jiang Qian in many ways.

After all, internal problems still exist in Jiang Gan, especially the issue of winning over the hearts and minds of the people in the south.

Even though Jiang Qian had been as lenient as possible in dealing with Xiao Ping'an because of this issue, the problem could only be alleviated, not eradicated, and the hidden danger in the south remained.

Neither the Han Dynasty nor the Ming Dynasty gave Jiang Ziya time to solve this problem.

The Southern issue is just one of the major problems within Jiang Qian's internal affairs, but it is not the only one.

Furthermore, the agreement between the Ming Dynasty and the Han Dynasty was not merely a verbal agreement, but a formal agreement involving the submission of official credentials and the affixing of imperial seals.

Both involve breaking agreements and alliances, but the forms, costs, and consequences differ.

Of course, the fundamental reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was not afraid of the Han Dynasty reneging on their promise when he announced the Northern Expedition was based on the interests of both sides.

If there are no other forces involved, given the current strength of the Han Dynasty, there is a possibility that they might abandon the Ming Dynasty.

However, with the Great Wu and the Tuoba Shuo holding them back, the Great Han Dynasty would have virtually no chance of taking over the Great Qian Dynasty on its own without the help of its ally, the Great Ming Dynasty.

This was true for the Han Dynasty, and even more so for the Ming Dynasty, which lagged behind the Han in terms of national strength.

The Han Dynasty will be hampered by the Wu and Shuo dynasties, and the Ming Dynasty is no different. Neither the Yu nor the Li dynasties will stand idly by and watch them continue to grow stronger.

The Han and Ming dynasties might break their alliance, but they would not abandon their own interests. Therefore, neither of them is afraid of sending troops while the other does not.

Now that things have developed to this point, any power in the world, regardless of which one, will miss many opportunities for development and growth if it doesn't handle diplomatic issues well.

In contrast to the Han Dynasty, which mobilized nearly 1.4 million troops, the relatively weaker Ming Dynasty mobilized 900,000 troops by land and sea, claiming to be a million-strong army, and divided them into three routes to march north from different directions.

In this battle, Zhu Yuanzhang, who usually personally led the troops during major battles, unusually did not lead the army himself. Instead, he sent three generals, Zhu Di, Xu Da, and Qiu Taiping, to lead the troops north.

Zhu Yuanzhang was well aware that the key to whether the Han and Ming armies could successfully destroy the Qian dynasty did not lie in the size of their armies marching south or north. If the two armies joined forces and performed normally, they would definitely be able to defeat the weakened Qian dynasty.

The real key lies in whether the Han and Ming sides can, on the basis of their southward and northward expeditions, block the surrounding forces that want to hinder them.

Therefore, Wang Yu chose to stay in Henan Province and travel to Hedong and Shenglan Province at any time. Zhu Yuanzhang also chose to stay in his homeland, always ready to defend against the Dali in the south and resist the Da Yu in the west.