Chapter 257 A mere 200,000 troops are nothing to fear

After hearing the soldier's answer, Emperor Xia fell into silence, and the expression on his face kept changing.

If the Dongfang family wants to enter the court, cooperating with him as the emperor is undoubtedly the best choice. Following a group of rebels to rebel, not to mention that the possibility of success is very slim. If they fail, the entire Dongfang family will be gone in the future.

Emperor Xia believed that since the Dongfang family chose to cooperate with him from the beginning, it proved that they also believed that the aristocratic families in Jiangnan would be destroyed. So why did they suddenly disappear?

It would be even weirder if all the aristocratic families in Jiangnan are looking for the Dongfang Family. It stands to reason that if the Dongfang Family regrets and does not want to cooperate with the imperial court and believes that the imperial army is no match for the Jiangnan rebels, then the Dongfang Family should take the initiative to seek refuge with Lu Shuyuncai. Yes, as a result, both the imperial court and the Jiangnan rebels are looking for them now.

After hearing the conversation between the soldiers and Emperor Xia, Situ Ce basically guessed what was going on. He said at this time: "Your Majesty, haven't Dongfang's merchant ships been heading north frequently in recent times?"

Hearing this, Emperor Xia's brain froze, and his face became even more gloomy. He said coldly: "What the Imperial Preceptor means is that the Dongfang Family neither intends to cooperate with the imperial court nor join the rebels, but chose to join the Northern Kingdom." ?”

Situ Ce said: "The Dongfang family should have seen your determination to eradicate the ancient family, and the Dongfang family is also an ancient family, and it is also an ancient family that controls the economy of Daxia. I am afraid they don't think that you will let go after getting rid of the Jiangnan family. Get past them.”

"It just so happens that the North Country attaches great importance to business now, so joining the North Country is a good choice for them."

Emperor Xia pondered for a moment and thought that Situ Ce's guess made sense. So, did the Dongfang family really go to the North?

No wonder the Dongfang family went north to do business in the Northern Kingdom when the imperial court was fighting the Jiangnan rebels. He originally thought that merchants were seeking profits. There was a civil war in Daxia, so prices were soaring. The Dongfang family went to the Northern Kingdom to make war fortune. business, they actually fled directly to the North Country.

Emperor Xia was in a very bad mood at this time. Originally, the Dongfang family was cooperating with the imperial army in the Jiangnan area. They could more easily obtain information about the rebels, and they could also sneak attack the rebels from behind. Unexpectedly, the Dongfang family was such a thieves. , ran away directly.

Emperor Xia snorted coldly and said: "What I hate most is betrayal. Do they think they can live in peace after escaping to the North Kingdom?"

Emperor Xia originally planned to keep the Dongfang family and deal with them eventually. Now it seems that since these guys want to die so much, he will immediately find a way to get rid of them after the Jiangnan rebels are dealt with.

But having said that, it is hard to say whether the Northern Kingdom can survive until the end of the Great Xia Civil War.

King Apocalypse is not an ordinary barbarian. According to the intelligence they collected, King Apocalypse has already been a great master, and the tribe of King Apocalypse was the main branch of the barbarian royal court at that time. Their overall strength is far greater than that of Sirius. The two northern tribes, Wang and Beixian Wang.

This time King Tianqi led an army of 400,000 people to march eastward, and

…

at the same time.

Dawu Dynasty, in a certain military tent.

Wearing a silver-white armor, Wu Yunwan was holding a letter and reading it carefully. When she saw the content on the letter, Wu Yunwan frowned slightly.

She initially suspected that the Northern Kingdom's heavy cavalry had not been defeated by the North Xian King's army. The Northern Kingdom only wanted to hide its military strength, so they announced that their heavy cavalry had been destroyed.

Unexpectedly, her guess was answered. The heavy cavalry of the Northern Kingdom was really still there. Not only that, the heavy cavalry of the Northern Kingdom was far more powerful than they imagined.

With two extreme masters as military commanders, plus forty-five thousand or more warriors, the combat effectiveness of this heavy cavalry is definitely stronger than the heavy cavalry of the major dynasties.

Even the heavy cavalry of the Great Wu Dynasty cannot ensure that all the soldiers are fifth-grade warriors, and the fifth-grade warriors are scattered among various armies.

At this time, she looked at the person delivering the information in front of her and asked, "Didn't Zhuge Chongguang follow King Bei to the north?"

The person in front of Wu Yunwan replied: "No, he is still in Yancheng, and now he has taken over the government affairs of the Northern Kingdom."

After hearing the intelligence officer's answer, Wu Yunwan fell into deep thought.

As far as she knew, King Apocalypse was a great master. To deal with King Apocalypse, there must be at least one great master in the Northern Kingdom.

Moreover, King Apocalypse led an army of 400,000 to the east, but there were only 200,000 troops in the Northern Kingdom.

Although the heavy cavalry in the Northern Kingdom are all warriors above the fifth level and are very powerful, the strength of King Tianqi's army is not weak. If there is no grand master in the Northern Kingdom, these tens of thousands of heavy cavalry alone can be used to destroy Tianqi. I'm afraid it's not that easy for Wang.

What on earth was that little man thinking? Why didn't he let Zhuge Chongguang follow him northward, but instead led his troops northward?

Is it possible that there is not only one great master in Beiwang Mansion?

Thinking of this, Wu Yunwan instantly recalled the landlord of Tingyu Tower whom she met when she entered Yancheng as the daughter of the Qian family. That landlord was also a great master and very powerful.

Wu Yunwan thought in her mind that if the owner of Tingyu Tower followed Lu Chen northward, it would explain why Lu Chen didn't let Zhuge Chongguang follow him northward.

I hope that this time King Apocalypse's army can greatly weaken the military strength of the North Kingdom, especially the heavy cavalry. It is best to destroy those heavy cavalry.

Nowadays, the civil strife in the Dawu Dynasty continues. After such a turmoil, the people of Dawu are unstable. In the future, Dawu's military strength will be greatly weakened. If a monster with such powerful military strength appears next to Dawu, it will be difficult for Wu Yunwan to feel at ease. .

At this moment, a soldier entered the military tent excitedly, "Princess, good news, the rebel leader plans to surrender! He wants to negotiate with you personally!"

After hearing this, Wu Yunwan put down the information in her hand, put aside the matters in the North Country, and calmed down the turmoil within Dawu first.

She led the troops out this time to completely quell the rebellion in the southwest. After her various methods, there are not many rebels left, and most of the rebels have chosen to submit to the Dawu court.

Of course, in name they submitted to the Dawu court, in fact, these surrendered troops basically became the private soldiers of the eldest princess Wu Yunwan. Their surrender was not to the court directly, but to Wu Yunwan.

…

Dayue Dynasty.

The Empress's chamber.

In the palace, red curtains were fluttering in the wind. Deep in the palace, the figure of a woman wearing a red phoenix robe was looming.

At this time, a maid entered the bedroom.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please see me."

The woman said calmly: "Come in."

The woman's voice was clear, cold, and extremely penetrating, as if it was transmitted directly into the person's brain.

After the woman finished speaking, a man wearing an official hat entered the bedroom.

"I pay my respects to your Majesty. Long live your Majesty! Long live your Majesty!"

The woman asked at this time: "What's the matter?"

The official immediately took out an envelope and said:

"Your Majesty, this is information sent by spies from the Northern Kingdom.

As soon as the words fell, the information in the official's hand flew up and flew into the curtain with a "whoosh" sound.

Inside the curtain, the woman glanced at the contents recorded in the intelligence, and then said with a smile: "It's a bit interesting."

"It seems that King Tianqi did not get any benefits from me, and he is a bit unwilling."

The official kneeling on the ground asked: "Your Majesty, do we need to do anything?"

"The military strength of the North has grown too fast, which is extremely detrimental to our Dayue."

Hearing this, the woman chuckled, and then said: "Why, Sir Wang is planning to let our soldiers go north to attack the Northern Kingdom at this time?"

Seeing that there was something wrong with the woman's tone, the official stopped talking. This was indeed what he was thinking.

The Northern Kingdom borders Dayue. It would not be a good thing for Dayue to sit back and watch the Northern Kingdom grow bigger. Moreover, the Northern Kingdom is a feudal state of the Great Xia Dynasty. When the Northern Kingdom becomes stronger, it means that Great Xia becomes stronger.

But from the empress's tone, she obviously had other ideas, so the man stopped speaking.

The woman said at this time: "Master Wang is right. We should indeed do something. Send an envoy to the North Kingdom immediately and tell the North Country that if the North Country needs anything, you can tell Dayue."

"If the Northern Kingdom cannot resist the barbarians, they can also ask Dayue for help. I will definitely send troops to help them immediately."

Hearing the empress' words, the men kneeling on the ground were stunned.

What can you do to help Northland?

For Dayue, isn't the Northern Kingdom an enemy? If the Northern Kingdom becomes more powerful, what good will it do to Dayue?

The woman said at this time: "Master Wang, the Northern Kingdom is the key to dividing Daxia, don't be so short-sighted."

Hearing this, the man was startled and instantly understood what the empress was planning.

Indeed, if the Northern Kingdom is regarded as a part of Daxia, then the military strength of the Northern Kingdom has grown too fast, which is indeed not a good thing for the Dayue Dynasty.

But if the Northern Kingdom is regarded as an independent individual, it will be different. The military strength of the Northern Kingdom has grown so fast, which obviously proves that the Northern King is a vassal king with extremely strong ambitions.

There is a high probability that the Northern Kingdom will rebel in the future. Even if the Northern Kingdom does not rebel, Emperor Xia will never allow a powerful feudal state like the Northern Kingdom to exist, so Emperor Xia will definitely cut down the vassal.

If Emperor Xia wanted to cut down the vassal vassal, the Northern Kingdom would not wait for Emperor Xia to cut down the feudal vassal. The end result would be civil war.

Daxia is currently fighting the rebels in the south of the Yangtze River. After Daxia handles the civil strife, its strength will definitely be weakened. At that time, the Daxia court will start a war with the Northern Kingdom, which will eventually lead to the people of Daxia being in dire straits and the vassal king of Daxia There must be various thoughts.

That's why the empress planned to establish friendly relations with the Northern Kingdom, and then further stimulate Emperor Xia.

The Northern Kingdom is just a feudal state and is not qualified to have independent diplomatic relations with a dynasty. If the Northern Kingdom does this, it means that the Northern Kingdom is seeking independence and rebellion.

Thinking of this, the man said: "What your Majesty said is that I am short-sighted. This time I am going to the Northern Kingdom as an envoy, I sincerely ask your Majesty to let me lead the team."

A woman's voice then came from the curtain, "Yes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave!"

After the words fell, the man left the empress's palace.

At this time, the woman in the palace murmured: "King Bei, I hope you won't disappoint me."

…

Northland.

Ningbeicheng.

Lu Chen stood on the tower, feeling the breeze blowing from the grassland. At this time, Chen Wanrong, wearing a white dress, stood beside him.

Along the way, Chen Wanrong followed Lu Chen northward, and she had many questions in her heart, especially about the strange things in Lu Chen's army.

She had never seen those things before, didn't know what they were used for, and didn't understand why Lu Chen and the others had to spend so much effort moving those things to the North.

At this time, soldiers were setting up cannons on the city wall. Seeing the huge metal pipe next to it, Chen Wanrong couldn't hold back after all, and asked directly: "What is this?"

Lu Chen smiled and replied: "You will know when the war starts."

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't answer directly and looked mysterious, Chen Wanrong felt a little emotional. She was already his woman, but she was still so defensive about herself.

She will be by his side for a while. When these things are used, she will be there and will be seen by her. If there is anything to hide, telling her directly now is not the same.

At this time, Mu Changtian and other generals came to the tower. Mu Changtian was holding a map in his hand. At this time, a soldier immediately brought a table, and Mu Changtian immediately placed the map on the table.

"Your Majesty, the spies from the front are here to report that King Apocalypse and the others did not divide their forces. The army behind them followed the cavalry in the front."

"And their cavalry is heading straight for Ningbei City. It is estimated that they will only be able to reach Ningbei City in a few days at most. As for the army at the rear, there is a high probability that they will be able to reach Ningbei City in less than half a month."

After hearing this, Lu Chen came to the map and took a look at it. At this time, the location of King Apocalypse's army was roughly marked on the map.

Lu Chen said with a smile: "I thought King Tianqi's army would arrive at Ningbei City before us. It seems that I overestimated their marching speed."

Hearing this, Mu Changtian said: "Your Majesty, the barbarians are not marching very slowly. It's just that they are looking for water sources on the grassland, so they have not arrived yet."

Lu Chen said: "That's true, water source is indeed a problem."

At this point, Lu Chen fell into deep thought. He was initially thinking about whether they would catch up if King Apocalypse's army retreated after they defeated it.

Mu Changtian's words immediately calmed down Lu Chen. On the grassland, the situation was more complicated and supplies were more difficult, so it was better not to rush out hastily.

At this moment, a Jinyi Guard soldier came to Lu Chen and said, "Your Majesty, the information about Yancheng."

Lu Chen took the envelope from Jin Yiwei's hand, opened it and glanced at it. After reading the information in his hand, Lu Chen said: "It seems that after the Great Xia Civil War ends, the Northern Kingdom will face a real test."

Mu Changtian asked curiously from the side: "Your Majesty, is there any action by the imperial court?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "Well, the imperial court sent troops north to garrison Qi State."

Hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then Mu Changtian said: "Prince Qi will not allow it, right?"

When they went north, the envoys of the Jiangnan family were still in the fiefdom of King Qi, hoping that the Qi State would send troops southward to flank the imperial army with the Jiangnan rebels.

As a result, just a short time later, the imperial court actually wanted to send troops northward and station troops in Qi State. If troops were stationed in Qi State, then King Qi would not be able to rebel.

And now that the imperial court has to deal with the rebels in Jiangnan, how can it allocate troops to garrison Qi State?

Lu Chen continued: "This matter has not been settled yet, but the imperial court has issued an imperial edict, requiring Qi State to cooperate with the imperial court in garrisoning troops."

At this time, Xiao Pengtian said from the side: "My lord, in your opinion, will King Qi rebel this time?"

Now that the Northern Kingdom has sent troops north to resist the barbarians, the Qi State does not have to worry about the Northern Kingdom going south to Qin Wang. They can completely go south to attack the capital at this time, and as long as one of the vassal kings raises troops to rebel, there is a high probability that it will cause a chain reaction. Those who are ready to move There is a high probability that the feudal king will also start a rebellion.

Lu Chen said: "It's hard to say. King Qi is silent now. It's not certain whether he will rebel. If he doesn't rebel, he will definitely agree to the imperial court's request and allow the imperial court to station troops in Qi State."

"We can't control so much now. We'll wait until King Tianqi is driven out of the North."

Lu Chen was a little curious. Is the imperial court stationing troops in the Qi State at this time to defend the Northern Kingdom, or to test the Qi State?

If it is to defend the Northern Kingdom, he is now bringing an army of 200,000 to the Northern Territory to fight against the barbarians. There is no threat to the court for the time being, and the court is now at a critical moment to wipe out the Jiangnan rebels. At this time, there is no need at all. He sent a large army to station in Qi State.

Therefore, Lu Chen vaguely felt that Emperor Xia was testing Qi State to see if King Qi had the intention to rebel. If Qi State refused to garrison troops from the imperial court, it would mean that King Qi had agreed to the rebels in the south of the Yangtze River and wanted to raise troops. Rebellion, if Qi State agrees to the imperial garrison, it proves that Qi State has no intention of rebellion yet.

Of course, these have nothing to do with him for the time being. After all, their most important task is to resist the barbarians from advancing eastward.

at the same time.

Northland prairie.

A huge eagle hovered in the sky. Under the blue sky, there were countless military tents. After a while, the eagle in the sky fell down and landed on the shoulders of a strong man. The strong man tied the eagle's feet. He took off his fur and walked towards the coach's tent.

In the coach's camp, King Apocalypse and the others were drinking and eating meat. They didn't seem to be in a hurry.

In their opinion, the wealth and women of the Northern Kingdom are already in their pockets, just waiting for them to go and get it, so they are also so anxious.

"Your Majesty, there is a letter from the spies ahead!"

The strong man handed the fur that had just been tied to the eagle's feet to King Apocalypse. After taking the fur, King Apocalypse opened the fur and glanced at the content written on the front.

Then he laughed and said: "A mere two hundred thousand soldiers want to resist the pace of this king. It is really fantastic!"

Lu Chen and the others were collecting intelligence from the barbarians, and the barbarians were also collecting intelligence from the Northern Kingdom. News of the Northern Kingdom's military parade spread throughout the northern kingdom, and the barbarian tribe's agents naturally found out about Lu Chen leading an army of 200,000 people to the north.

This was nothing in the eyes of King Tianqi. In his eyes, Daxia had always been relatively cowardly. Before the Yue Dynasty was established, their barbarians had directly attacked Daxia and even occupied many cities in Daxia. In order to redeem the land, the Xia people gave them many good things.

But that was before the Barbarians were divided. Later, the Barbarian Royal Court declined and was divided into several parts. The Northland became the territory of the Sirius King, which prevented the tribe of the Apocalypse King from moving eastward.

Although the barbarian tribes had been divided, King Tianqi still kept in mind the weakness of the Daxia people, so he did not take the Northern Kingdom into his eyes at all.

A mere 200,000 soldiers are nothing to fear.