Chapter 257: A Mere 200,000 Troops, Nothing to Fear

After hearing the soldier's answer, Emperor Xia fell silent, his facial expression constantly changing.

If the Dongfang family wanted to enter the court, cooperating with him as the emperor was undoubtedly the best choice. Following a group of rebels to rebel, not to mention that the possibility of success was very slim, if they failed, the entire Dongfang family would 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 those aristocratic families in Jiangnan would be destroyed, so how could they suddenly disappear?

If those aristocratic families in Jiangnan were looking for the Dongfang family, it would be even more strange. Logically speaking, if the Dongfang family regretted and did not want to cooperate with the court, and believed that the court army was not a match for the Jiangnan rebels, then the Dongfang family should have taken the initiative to surrender to Lu Shuyun, but now both the court and the Jiangnan rebels are looking for them.

After hearing the conversation between the soldier and Emperor Xia, Situ Ce had basically guessed what was going on. He said, "Your Majesty, haven't the Dongfang family's merchant ships been heading north frequently recently?"

Hearing this, Emperor Xia was stunned and his face became even gloomier. He said in a cold voice, "What the national teacher means is that the Dongfang family has no intention of cooperating with the court or joining the rebels, but has chosen 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. They probably don't think that you will let them go after eliminating the Jiangnan family."

"It just so happens that the Northern Kingdom now attaches importance to business, and joining the Northern Kingdom is a good choice for them."

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

It is no wonder that the Dongfang family went north to do business in the Northern Kingdom when the imperial court was fighting with the Jiangnan rebels. He thought that merchants pursued profits. Daxia was in a civil war, so prices were soaring. The Dongfang family went to the Northern Kingdom to do business in order to make money from the war. As a result, they actually fled directly to the Northern Kingdom.

Emperor Xia was in a very bad mood at this time. Originally, the Dongfang family was in the Jiangnan area and cooperated with the imperial army. They could get intelligence about the rebels more easily and attack them from behind. I didn't expect the Dongfang family to be so cunning and run away directly.

Emperor Xia snorted coldly and said, "What I hate most is betrayal. Do they think that they can live in peace after fleeing to the Northern Kingdom?"

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

But then again, it is hard to say whether the Northern Kingdom can hold on until the end of the Daxia civil war.

The Apocalypse King is not an ordinary barbarian. According to the intelligence they collected, the Apocalypse King has long been a grandmaster, and the Apocalypse King tribe was separated from the main lineage of the barbarian royal court. Their overall strength is far greater than the two northern tribes of the Heavenly Wolf King and the Northern Xian King.

This time, the Apocalypse King led 400,000 troops to the east, and

…

At the same time.

In a certain military tent of the Dawu Dynasty.

Wu Yunwan, wearing a silver-white armor, was holding a letter and reading it carefully. Seeing the content of the letter, Wu Yunwan frowned slightly.

She suspected that the heavy cavalry of the Northern Kingdom was not defeated by the Northern Xian King's army. The Northern Kingdom only announced that their heavy cavalry was destroyed in order to hide its military strength.

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

With two extreme masters as generals, plus 45,000 warriors above the rank, the combat effectiveness of this heavy cavalry is definitely stronger than the heavy cavalry of the major dynasties.

Even the heavy cavalry of the Dawu Dynasty could not make all the soldiers be fifth-grade warriors, and the fifth-grade warriors were scattered in various armies.

At this time, she looked at the person in front of her who was delivering the information and asked: "Did Zhuge Chongguang follow the Northern King to the north?"

The person in front of Wu Yunwan answered: "No, he is still in Yancheng, and now all the political affairs of the Northern Kingdom are taken over by him."

After hearing the answer of the intelligence personnel, Wu Yunwan fell into deep thought.

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

Moreover, the King of Apocalypse led 400,000 troops to the east, but the Northern Kingdom only had 200,000 troops.

Although the heavy cavalry of the Northern Kingdom were all warriors above the fifth grade and were very powerful, the strength of the King of Apocalypse's army was not weak. If there was no great master in the Northern Kingdom, it would not be so easy to destroy the King of Apocalypse with only these tens of thousands of heavy cavalry.

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

Could it be that there is more than one Grandmaster in the Northern Palace?

Thinking of this, Wu Yunwan instantly recalled the owner of Tingyu Tower whom she met when she entered Yancheng as the daughter of the Qian family. That owner was also a Grandmaster, and his strength was very strong.

Wu Yunwan thought to herself that if the owner of Tingyu Tower also followed Lu Chen to the north, it would explain why Lu Chen did not let Zhuge Chongguang go north with him.

I hope that this time the army of King Tianqi can greatly weaken the military strength of the Northern Kingdom, especially those heavy cavalry, and it would be best if those heavy cavalry can be destroyed.

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

At this time, a soldier entered the military tent excitedly, "Princess, good news, the rebel leader intends to surrender! He wants to negotiate with you in person!"

Hearing this, Wu Yunwan put down the intelligence in her hand, put aside the affairs of the Northern Kingdom, and quell the unrest in Dawu first.

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

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

...

Dayue Dynasty.

The Empress's bedroom.

In the bedroom, the red curtains fluttered in the wind. In the depths of the bedroom, the figure of a woman in a red phoenix robe loomed.

At this time, a maid entered the bedroom.

"Your Majesty, the king wants to see you."

The woman said lightly: "Come in."

The woman's voice was crisp, cold, and penetrating, as if it was transmitted directly to the human brain.

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

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. 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 the intelligence sent by the spies of the North Country.

As soon as the voice fell, the intelligence in the official's hand flew directly up and flew into the curtain with a "whoosh".

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

"It seems that King Tianqi didn't get any benefits from me, and he is a little unwilling."

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

"The military strength of the Northern Kingdom is growing too fast, which is extremely disadvantageous to our Dayue."

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

Seeing that the woman's tone was a little wrong, the official stopped talking. He really thought so in his heart.

The Northern Kingdom borders Dayue. It is not a good thing for Dayue to sit back and watch the Northern Kingdom grow bigger. Moreover, the Northern Kingdom is a vassal state of the Great Xia Dynasty. The strength of the Northern Kingdom is equivalent to the strength of the Great Xia.

But listening to the tone of the empress, she obviously has other ideas, so the man stopped talking.

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

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

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

What's the point of helping the North Country?

For Dayue, isn't the North Country an enemy? If the North Country becomes stronger, what good will it do for Dayue?

The woman said at this time: "Lord Wang, the North Country is the key to splitting Daxia, don't be so short-sighted. "

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

Indeed, if the North Country is regarded as a part of Daxia, then the North Country's military strength is growing too fast, which is indeed not a good thing for the Dayue Dynasty.

But if the North Country is regarded as an independent individual, it will be different. The North Country's military strength is growing so fast, which obviously proves that the King of the North is a vassal king with extremely strong ambitions.

In the future, the North Country will most likely rebel. Even if the North Country does not rebel, Emperor Xia will never allow a powerful vassal state like the North Country to exist, so Emperor Xia will definitely reduce the vassal state.

If Emperor Xia reduces the vassal state, the North Country will not wait for Emperor Xia to reduce it, and the final result will be It's a civil war.

Now Daxia is fighting the rebels in Jiangnan. After Daxia has dealt with the civil strife, its strength will certainly be weakened. At that time, the Daxia court will go to war with the Northern Kingdom again, which will eventually lead to the people of Daxia living in misery. The vassal kings of Daxia will definitely have all kinds of thoughts.

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

The Northern Kingdom is just a vassal state and is not qualified to have a separate diplomatic relationship with a dynasty. If the Northern Kingdom does this, it means that the Northern Kingdom is seeking independence and rebelling.

Thinking of this, the man said: "Your Majesty is right. I am short-sighted. This time I am on a mission to the Northern Kingdom, I beg Your Majesty to let me lead the team."

The woman's voice then came from the curtain, "Approved."

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

After the voice fell, the man left the empress's bedroom.

At this time, the woman in the bedroom murmured: "Northern King, I hope you won't let me down. "

...

Northland.

Ningbei City.

Lu Chen stood on the city wall, feeling the breeze from the grassland. Chen Wanrong, dressed in white, stood beside him.

All along the way, Chen Wanrong followed Lu Chen northward, and had many questions in her mind, 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 haven't 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 the south of the Yangtze River, 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 raise troops to rebel.

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 that 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 any intention of rebellion. If Qi State refused to garrison troops from the imperial court, it meant 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 grassland.

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 his friends were drinking and eating meat. They didn't seem to be in a hurry.

In their opinion, the wealth and women of the North Country are already in their possessions, just waiting for them to go and get them, 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 Tianqi. After King Tianqi took the fur, he opened it and glanced at the content written on the front.

Then he laughed and said, "Just 200,000 soldiers want to resist the king's pace, it's really a fantasy!"

Lu Chen and his men were collecting intelligence on the barbarians, and the barbarians were also collecting intelligence on the North Country. The news of the North Country's military parade spread throughout the North Country, and the barbarian spies naturally heard about Lu Chen leading 200,000 troops to the north.

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

However, that was before the barbarians were divided. Later, the barbarian royal court declined and was divided into several parts. The North became the territory of the Sirius King, which prevented the tribe where King Tianqi was from moving eastward.

Although the barbarian tribes have been divided, King Tianqi still remembers that the Daxia people are weak, so he doesn't take the Northern Kingdom seriously at all.

A mere 200,000 soldiers are nothing to be afraid of.