Tie Dan had been to Yingzhou before, and in recent years, there had been large battles, naturally filled with a murderous aura that could be seen from afar.

Moreover, now Tie Dan possesses a Thousand-Year Sword Power, with his power greatly accomplished. A single Green Rainbow whistling through the Sky Dome, like a sword piercing the sky, who would dare to intercept him? Even if they wanted to, they'd be powerless.

Thus, in less than half a day, Tie Dan flew straight from the Gen River to Yingzhou, from a distance he saw the Heavenly King Army under the Black Cloud Soaring Dragon Flag clashing with the King Zhen's Army under the Green Phoenix Banner on the plain.

The Heavenly King Army mainly consisted of Beiyuan Cavalry from the Kan and Gen Lands, who trampled the Forbidden Army of Three Constellations into pulp at Hebei. Who could defeat them head-on in a field battle?

Fortunately, Marquis Xichang was quite self-aware, and since the army had been stationed in Yingzhou for a long time, he relied on the barrier of the river and the advantage of the water network, built castles and strongholds, garrisoned soldiers and stockpiled grain, defending without venturing out.

Though the cavalry was formidable, their movements were inconvenient, and their numbers insufficient, they would naturally not rashly dismount and cross the river to attack the city. Instead, they would go out to forage, emptying the surrounding fortresses, taking men and women as soldiers and drinking companions, thus the two armies largely remained in a standoff.

After all, the Heavenly King, determined to sweep the Central Plains, could not ignore the Zhenzhou army. So, despite temporary setbacks at Hulao and Suiyang, he gathered the main force in Zhenzhou, hoping to break the enemy in one strike with no further worries.

In this continuous search for opportunities, they dispatched a thousand cavalry to cross the river in shallow areas, attempting to flank and breach the city.

On the opposite side, Marquis Xichang commanded the entire army, not strictly sticking to the defense strategy. He occasionally dispatched troops to intercept and counterattack, engaging the Northern Army crossing the river. Not seeking complete victory, nor allowed to pursue across the river, they merely blocked the enemy, preventing too many scouts and marauders from crossing, disrupting supply lines and morale.

However, observing these small-scale battles of a few thousand troops, it was evident that the power of the Zhen Army was truly lacking.

In fact, below the Nascent Soul Realm, the gap between people is not that large. Most on the battlefield are elite Foundation Establishment Golden Core soldiers, but the Nascent Soul Realm can already be considered the realm of gallant generals.

And Zhen Country, being rich and powerful, boasts fine armor and equipment, and soldiers selected from Guard Soldiers as strong soldiers, each has family-inherited Body Refinement training and ample preparation, even having no shortage of horses and animal power. On paper, they are far from weak.

But the reality showed a stark contrast, the gap was too vast. Compared to the battle-hardened Northern Soldiers, the Zhen Army indeed had not been battle-tested.

In fact, Zhen Country had indeed enjoyed a long peaceful period, not having fought battles for many years.

If you extract several dozen soldiers from each army for individual combat, they might fairly match the Northern Soldiers, small scout groups and sentries skirmishing proving that victories and defeats were mutual.

But once the scale multiplied to hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands, the quality would immediately surface.

Leaving aside the most elite Ao Bing and horse riding, even the second-tier Alien Wolf Soldiers and third-tier Gen Country Northern Border Guard vastly exceeded Southern standards in military discipline, as compliant and maneuverable as a limb, their mounts as harmonious and attuned as a Daoist companion.

These cavalry could charge in a wall-like formation, turning uniformly with a few signal arrow whistles, charging long distances without disrupting formations regardless of banners or camps. Even when failing to scatter the enemy or if the general fell, they could rapidly reorganize, autonomously reassemble, recharging at the presence of a camp flag, like waves, ceaselessly advancing.

This level of superior military discipline from bottom soldiers, middle officers, to top generals requires long-term integration and training, honed through repeated engagements on high-intensity battlefields.

Yet the quality of Zhen Army's officers could be said to exponentially decline above the Marquis Qu.

After all, during peacetime, there's no need to select officers based on tactical proficiency and personal ability. Instead, it's determined by their background, connections, and the amount of gifts sent to superiors. A colonel's son cannot become a general since the general also has a son; such is the logic of the world.

Hence, seeing someone like Marquis Xichang, a member of the Xiao Fa, leading the entire army reveals that the Zhen Country military, from top to bottom, consists of children from Gate Valve military cliques.

As officers, they are naturally shielded by ancestral fame and covert operations. If they were from Gen Kingdom's military families, generations of generals, it might have been different, but Zhenzhou had long forgotten the art of war, and these generals and military merits had been sold and bartered away.

So now, the military officers rarely share meals with soldiers, instead eating empty pay and embezzling military funds, barely appearing on the drill grounds a few times a year, unlikely to even distinguish the banners and formations, unaware of when to deploy which formations. Expecting them to lead entire armies into battle? Forget it; if they can lead a troop on a spring outing and return in one piece, without falling into a ditch, that would already be fortunate!

In winning battles with favorable conditions, they bully the fewer with the many, even pigs can fight. But once defeated, they scatter, discard armor, and are utterly routed.

Thus, Tie Dan, watching from the sky for a while, had nothing to say.

To defeat the rebel army, relying solely on the current Zhen Army is absolutely impossible.

However, not being able to win now doesn't mean victory is impossible forever.

Marquis Xichang probably understood this reality and thus continuously used this wheel strategy to train the troops.

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