Although others have taken responsibility for providing for the king's army, one cannot continue to enjoy this treatment in such a shameless manner.

  Eliminating Duan Zhixiang is a superficial reason. The Dali Kingdom has already opened the door of convenience, and the royal army must take action.

  Besides, Zhao Xi is also tired of pretending to be polite with others. If this continues, he's worried that he won't even be able to speak human language anymore.

  So on the third day of entering Dali, Wang Shi set out.

  It's quite strange, the army of the Song Dynasty is marching in the territory of Dali Kingdom, accompanied by the army of Dali Kingdom.

  "Your Highness, our army is unfamiliar with the terrain, why refuse the military support from various families?"

  Di Qing wouldn't ask this kind of question, Lü Gongzheng would.

  This is the real difference between a military man and a literary man in charge of the army.

  "Unfamiliar with the terrain, we can get familiar with it. The soldiers are not pure, once the war is intense, or the army has a slight defeat, you basically can't determine who their guns will point at."

  With a million troops in the enemy's territory, if you let this family intervene with 2,000 and that family send 3,000 more, it would be a real war, and the possibility of internal strife is not impossible.

  It's one thing to talk big, but it's another thing to send brave soldiers to their deaths.

  Besides, Zhao Xi still plans to make a big deal out of Yuan Jiang. If they gang up on him and bring him down, the whole thing will be too complicated to explain in the end.

  Different concepts, different ways of dealing with problems, different experiences, and naturally different concepts.

  In Lv Gongzhu's view, those who labor with their minds govern others, while those who labor physically are governed by others.

  Since the imperial court is respected, then it has the qualifications to take the soldiers they sent as a vanguard for charging and breaking through.

  Di Qing is purely a military man and only trusts his own people.

  Zhao Xi's mind was bent on many things, not just thinking about this battle, but also considering how to get the copper mine.

  From Minning Prefecture near Guangnan to Yuanjiang in the heart of Dali, this road is almost all mountains and rivers.

  The three families of Dali State provided supplies, but it was impossible for all the tens of thousands of soldiers in the royal army to have mounts.

  To conserve energy, the entire march was very slow.

  This method is a bit despicable, but there's no other way... without war horses, they're all infantry. It's not intentional to waste money and food.

  Originally intended to surrender to the enemy, now a friendly neighboring country, and so enthusiastic. The king's teacher can only do his best.

  At last they could resist no longer, and two days later the Dali people, acting as guides, led Wang's troops to the river bank, where boats capable of holding 20,000-30,000 soldiers were already prepared.

  It seems I wrongly blamed him, he didn't give me a horse because he had prepared a boat for me.

  Even if it's against the current, with the labor of the people, it's still faster than crossing mountains and ridges.

  Originally planned for over a dozen days of travel, after five days they arrived at Yuanjiang, which belongs to the Weizhou Prefecture of the Dali Kingdom.

  On this road, Zhao Xi had never seen a larger city in Dali Kingdom before, but he saw it here.

  The Duan family was originally from the thirty-seven departments of Wuman, but from the Duan family down to the Gao, Yang and Dong families, they were all Ba Man, meaning they had a higher degree of Hanization.

  So it's no wonder to see cities like those of the national dynasty or the Central Plains region.

  In this vast expanse of mountains and rivers, there is such a large plain, and such a city, it really makes one's mouth water...

  Di Qing is a famous general, and since coming into contact with firearms for some time now, he has been pondering the use of firearms in large-scale battles.

  Zhao Xi is the crown prince, it's not proper for him to command battles in front of outsiders.

  This is a siege with onlookers, and it is very likely that under certain circumstances, it will become a situation where the four forces of Dali State surround the king's teacher.

  Intimidated by the rumors of the king's army attacking Annan, Dali Kingdom did not want to repeat the same mistake and lowered its stance. It even respectfully welcomed the king's army into its territory...

  There is a difference between being deeply rooted and coming from all directions.

  Appearing respectful, doesn't necessarily mean not harboring evil intentions. Once the king's army is at a disadvantage, so-called respect will quickly turn into ferocity, and then all sides in Dali will unite to devour the king's army.

  Even if you don't often make malicious guesses about others, anyone can think of the current situation.

  The Song army equipped with firearms, and the only great unifier of the Great Song, the famous general of the Western Army, the descendants of the famous family, etc., any one of them is crucial to the Great Song, and anyone who gets it can negotiate with the Great Song.

  Given the style of the great Song Dynasty, it is likely that they will ultimately choose to let things slide and buy peace with money.

  It all comes down to this one battle.

  Zhao Xi and they had discussed it before, from Dali's side at the border to welcome them, all kinds of possibilities have been taken into consideration.

  Fine, let these country bumpkins have a taste of it then!

  Just like a regular siege, Di Qing ordered his soldiers to set up the catapults they had built, just as they would in any other siege...

  "Boom...... Boom......"

  When stones were catapulted into the city, then came this incessant booming sound...

  It's chaotic, it's suddenly chaotic. The situation in the city is unclear, and the onlookers are in chaos first.

  Duan, Gao and Yang each brought one or two thousand soldiers, as well as a number of short-legged cavalry horses. As a result, when the thunderous sound rang out... the horses were startled.

  It's also better to keep some distance, otherwise, another horse will trample on the lotus again.

  Want to see the excitement? Have other thoughts? It depends on whether you have this ability or not.

  It's purely intentional.

  That's right, it's intentional. Once the war is unfavorable, these onlookers who follow behind are likely to become backstabbers.

  Especially cavalry, it's just a charge distance. This makes Zhao Xi feel very insecure, so he has to let them get far away and hide at a distance that makes himself feel at ease.

  This can't be explicitly stated, at least on the surface, it's still quite harmonious. Can't just tell people: We're afraid you'll stab us in the back, so keep a distance and watch from afar.

  So, with the effect of the firecracker sneak attack on Annan as a basis, it's easy to keep this group of onlookers at bay.

  The catapult is still a catapult, and the stone bullet is still a stone bullet, only after being forged and split open, with gunpowder bullets inserted in between.

  After the second round of artillery fire was launched, all the cavalry in the entire Dali Kingdom were gone... Great!

  Take another look at this city...

  The people who were originally densely packed on the city wall can no longer be seen, and the entire city wall is filled with smoke and dust, with all sorts of mournful cries constantly coming from it.

  If we attack the city at this time, it's probably equivalent to an unguarded city.

  The emergence of gunpowder shocked not only Annan, but also Dali.

  It was originally just hearsay that Song Dynasty had gunpowder bombs in the war against Annan. It was also imagined before, but never thought it would be so powerful.

  This time, the Dong family is completely finished.

  No matter what kind of conspiracy is behind, no matter how many twists and turns there are, when the firecracker of the Great Song Dynasty goes off, everything becomes a foregone conclusion.

  Zhao Xi really wanted to see the expressions on the faces of these three onlookers, but unfortunately, they all hid far away.

  A grand welcome at the border, reverent provision of supplies, even one's own sister is offered as a gift.

  Who was born inferior? Zhao Xi didn't believe that the powerful forces of Dali would be intimidated by the king's army just based on rumors.

  The king's troops are showing off their military prowess in someone else's territory, and they're being treated with respect... It's absolutely impossible that the people of Dali don't have any ideas about this.

  It's just to see what happens, so let them take a look.

  Without absolute strength, all strategies are futile.