In the military camp, Liang Xiao summoned all the Great Qian Town Guards and questioned them on the spot.
"Do you want to achieve great deeds and serve your country?"
"Achieve great deeds, serve the country!" The Great Qian Town Guards below responded with excitement.
Liang Xiao then asked, "Are you afraid of actions with a ninety percent chance of death?"
"I am willing to charge forward, repay the nation's grace, and not fail the Marshal's cultivation!!" The response from below was deafening.
All the Great Qian Town Guards believed that Liang Xiao intended to have them as the vanguard to capture Sword Pavilion.
As common people, they often had no choice in the face of war and disaster.
But the current Great Qian Nation gave them the opportunity to choose, granted them dignity, and had a generous compensation system to ensure that the soldiers had no worries about their families. These Great Qian Town Guards hesitated not at all.
After all, they also believed that their Marshal would not send them to their deaths in vain.
Liang Xiao immediately mustered eight thousand Great Qian Town Guards, placed them under the command of Nan Jiyun, and ordered them to remove their lamellar armor, wear only quilted armor, carry rations and weapons, and be assigned warhorses.
Nan Jiyun showed no joy, but his expression was solemn as he took the military seal of the Great Qian Town Guards.
"This subordinate will not fail the Marshal's trust!"
Liang Xiao looked at Nan Jiyun with satisfaction and ordered good food and drink to be provided for the eight thousand troops.
The endurance and willpower of the Great Qian Town Guards were already close to that of the Sky-Supporting Guards, the Great Qian Iron Guards, and the White Robed Soldiers, making them capable of undertaking important tasks.
The remaining Great Qian Town Guards would cooperate with the Sky-Supporting Guards, ready to attack Sword Pavilion at any time.
Nan Jiyun did not leave immediately but hastened to familiarize himself with the Great Qian Town Guards.
Liang Xiao was not idle either. The next day, he personally led forty thousand vanguards to advance and set up camp twenty-five li north of Sword Pavilion.
"My Lord! The enemy is about to invade!"
Upon hearing the news, Helian Heng, who was defending the city, pushed his beloved wife aside and leaped from the bed, rushing straight to the city walls.
In the command tent, the Prince in Brocade Robes said with distress, "Liang Xiao is attacking the city. Master Longyue, should we withdraw first..."
Master Longyue sighed, "This old monk understands the King's concerns, but if no one assists Helian Heng, and if Sword Pavilion falls, the Hui Chun Sect's centuries of planning in Xichuan will be destroyed!"
Xiao Feng said, "Father, go back and reorganize the troops. Your son will remain at Sword Pavilion with Master Longyue to supervise Helian Heng, lest he get hot-headed again and give Sword Pavilion away for nothing!"
The Prince in Brocade Robes chuckled, "It is better for my son to go back. Father will remain here!"
Xiao Feng did not object and left decisively.
The Prince in Brocade Robes and Master Longyue ascended the city walls to inquire about Helian Heng's situation.
"The enemy has camped twenty-five li away. They have also sent people to beat gongs and shout loudly at the front of the pass, occasionally sending archers with surrender letters tied to their arrows, attempting to sow discord among our troops!" Helian Heng said angrily.
"It seems the enemy does not intend to let us rest," Master Longyue's expression grew increasingly grim.
When two armies engage in battle, disrupting the enemy's rest is one of the standard tactics.
However, the defenders of Sword Pavilion at this moment dared not leave the pass to disturb the enemy's rest, so they could only let Liang Xiao's troops "act recklessly."
Outside Sword Pavilion, the one leading the troops in their scolding was Yue Qingtian.
"Helian Heng, you ungrateful, shameless, incompetent fool, your entire family are prostitutes and scoundrels..."
Yue Qingtian lived up to his reputation as a rough man who had studied for two years. Combining his ancestral curses with the elegant insults he learned from books, he spewed them out like a string of firecrackers, endlessly.
Furthermore, Yue Qingtian's voice was so loud that Helian Heng, on the city walls, could hear him clearly, enraging him to the point of madness.
"Where did this bald demon emerge from?"
Longyue, who was bald himself, changed his expression and looked displeased.
"Reporting to my Lord, this person should be Great Qian's General Li Feng, Yue Qingtian, Liang Xiao's personal retainer, possessing the strength of ten thousand men..." Helian Ting reminded him.
Helian Heng trembled with anger and could only find a loud-voiced soldier to curse back at Yue Qingtian, lest Yue Qingtian disrupt the morale of the troops.
The Sword Pavilion troops had already been in a state of panic after hearing about the disastrous defeat on the front lines.
If Sword Pavilion were not easily defensible, and if there were not ten thousand elite troops under Helian Heng, an army mutiny might have already occurred here!
Therefore, Helian Heng had no choice but to face Yue Qingtian's provocation.
"General Yue is quite skilled at cursing, I couldn't even imagine..."
The officers and soldiers who returned to the camp praised, "General Yue is quite skilled at cursing, I couldn't even imagine..."
"This is the benefit of reading more books; even cursing can be done in various ways!" Yue Qingtian said proudly.
Liang Xiao smiled knowingly and said, "Then continue. Since you have nothing else to do, might as well curse them a few times."
From morning till night, Liang Xiao's troops advanced to within one li of Sword Pavilion daily, beating gongs and drums, shouting old surrender slogans, and even singing military songs, doing whatever was comfortable.
The forty thousand troops were divided into three groups, creating disturbances outside Sword Pavilion day and night, throwing Sword Pavilion into chaos.
Helian Heng could only lead a portion of his personal guards away from the city walls, arranging for the troops to take turns on guard duty and rest.
Master Longyue repeatedly warned him not to be careless.
Helian Heng also knew that Sword Pavilion could not afford to be lost and dared not be negligent.
In the command tent, Xiao Feng, wearing a mask, sighed, "Is it possible for the enemy to bypass us from another direction, perhaps Yinping?"
Helian Heng frowned, "To bypass Yinping and take the small paths is absolutely impossible to get through!"
Xiao Feng shook his head, "Liang Xiao is a man who dares to do anything. We should still send people to patrol and defend, cutting off any possible routes for the enemy to infiltrate."
"Young Master, if we divide our forces at this moment, Sword Pavilion will have fewer troops, and it will be even harder to defend!" a Sun Moon Army general reminded him.
Xiao Feng fell silent.
Master Longyue sighed, "The priority now is to hold Sword Pavilion. This is also the only passage Liang Xiao can choose to enter Sichuan."
Helian Heng scoffed, "Liang Xiao wishes for us to divide our forces. His daily harassment and provocation clearly indicate that he is planning a surprise attack one day!"
Everyone agreed, and even Xiao Feng had to abandon this "absurd" idea.
Liang Xiao gradually increased the vanguard forces stationed at the front line to sixty thousand, still divided into six teams, with three teams rotating daily for harassment.
The defenders of Sword Pavilion were incessantly annoyed and could only change their defensive strategy to rotation.
On the seventh day, Liang Xiao finally received an urgent report from Hanzhong.
"The Conqueror of the South's army has captured Badong and is advancing towards Jiangzhou and Ba County!"
Liang Xiao was overjoyed and immediately dispatched Liu Fan to rush back to the rear military camp.
Nan Jiyun as the main general, Liu Fan as the deputy general, led eight thousand Great Qian Town Guards and left the military camp under the cover of night, heading for Yinping.
At the same time, Zhuo Ying, seven days after capturing Badong, had already taken Jiang Pass and, dividing forces with Shi Liuyun, advanced into various parts of Xichuan.
Shi Liuyun led his troops, preparing to march north along the West Han River to Dianjiang, then turn to Fushui River, capture Deyang, head towards central Sichuan, and pacify Baxi.
Zhuo Ying led his troops, preparing to ascend along the Jiang River waterway, successively capturing Jiangyang, Baodao, and Qianwei, conquering southern Sichuan, and encircling Chengdu.
This was the best offensive route chosen by Liang Xiao after confirming the terrain of Xichuan, imitating Zhuge Liang's invasion of Sichuan in the past, aiming to prevent the rebels of Xichuan from being able to deal with threats from all sides.
At that time, even if Liang Xiao could not take Sword Pavilion for a long time, the defenders of Sword Pavilion would have to detach troops to support Chengdu.
Helian Heng had already lost more than a hundred thousand men to Liang Xiao, and now it was even more difficult for him to support various regions.
Helian Heng, who was at Sword Pavilion, soon received news from Eastern Sichuan.
"Great Qian's army has advanced along the river, capturing Badong and Jiang Pass. Xichuan is in emergency!!"