Chapter 582 Turmoil

The first year of Jingning—

The eldest princess passed away

At the end of the same year, the third prince of the Tatar royal court ascended the throne and launched a war against the border of Da Xuan with lightning speed.

They captured three cities in succession.

"Your Majesty! The Tartars have already captured three cities. Please make a swift decision: peace or war?"

"Your Majesty! Last year's harvest was poor, and the Ministry of Personnel is running out of food supplies. Now the Tartars have amassed nearly 200,000 troops, which will surely be a protracted war. The national treasury is empty and cannot support the campaign at all, Your Majesty."

"Leaving aside whether this war can be fought, we can't even find a suitable person to lead the troops. Your Majesty, I know that Your Majesty and the Empress are saddened by the passing of the Eldest Princess. However, now that the internal strife has just been quelled, external strife has arisen. The Second Princess is of marriageable age. Why not send the Second Princess to marry into the Great Xuan Kingdom to give the Great Xuan Kingdom a moment to catch its breath?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! We beg Your Majesty to send the Second Princess to the royal court for a marriage alliance, so that the Great Xuan may have a chance to breathe. Otherwise, the people will be plunged into war once again, Your Majesty!"

The emperor covered his face, making it impossible for those below to see his expression.

The eldest prince stepped forward and knelt down: "Father! Your son requests to fight!"

Before the words were finished, an imperial censor stepped forward: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed! Your Majesty only has one son, the eldest prince. If the eldest prince were to die on the battlefield, Your Majesty would have no successor!"

Qi Rong and Lao Qin stepped forward: "Your Majesty! We request permission to fight!"

Several other veterans from Taiyuan knelt down and submitted a memorial: "Your Majesty! Your subjects! We request permission to fight!"

Old Qin glared at the group of civil officials behind him and said irritably, "A bunch of cowards! Our Emperor and we have been stationed on the frontier for so many years, and we have never bowed our heads to the Tartars even once! What marriage alliance? What a load of rubbish! Sending a little girl to marry into the enemy to take your place, you bunch of spineless cowards!"

Qi Rong coughed lightly, cupped his hands to the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead my soldiers to retake the city and conquer Da Xuan, not yielding an inch of its land!"

The emperor looked at Qi Rong with some hesitation. Although the second son had been recuperating in the capital for quite some time, according to the imperial physicians, his health was still not very good.

However, there are indeed not many capable people available nowadays.

For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

Li Mingxiu also stepped forward to volunteer for battle. The emperor hesitated for a moment and then felt that what the Censorate said made sense. He only had this one son, who was also the future emperor. If something happened to him on the battlefield, the princes would probably become restless again.

Shu'er has just passed away, and Changning is still observing mourning. She hasn't attended court for many days. A few days ago at the funeral, she saw that the child had lost a lot of weight.

The emperor hesitated for a moment, then asked Qi Rong, "Where are the Duke of Qin and the Duke of Qi?"

"Your subject is here!"

"Your subject is here!"

"I order you to prepare your troops within three days and lead an army of 500,000 to the frontier to retake the city!"

"My lord, I obey the order!"

"My lord, I obey the order!"

"Ministry of Personnel, quickly coordinate the supply of provisions; Ministry of War, cooperate with the two Dukes in troop deployment; all other ministries must prioritize the war effort. Court adjourned!!!"

Lin Changning, dressed in mourning clothes, was holding Yue'er in her arms. Ever since Ashu passed away, the child had become especially attached to her, and she couldn't sleep without holding her every day.

Lin Changning, who was sitting in the room coaxing Yue'er to sleep, gently placed the child on the bed. As soon as she stepped out, she heard the guards lightly knock four times on the roof beam.

There must be an urgent matter in the court.

Lin Changning left the room and went to another room. The moon-white mourning clothes made her look even more aloof and otherworldly.

The guard knelt on the ground and handed Lin Changning a note.

After reading it, Lin Changning clutched the note tightly in his hand, sighed, and then burned it to ashes.

"Men, prepare the horses! We're going to the palace!"

Qin Zheng Hall —

The emperor frowned as he looked at Lin Changning kneeling. Lin was still wearing mourning clothes, yet he had rushed to the palace without stopping. He must have learned of the situation on the frontier.

"I have already issued an imperial decree today, ordering the second prince and Qin to go on the expedition. You are still in mourning, so you should go back. The imperial physician said recently that you have been overworked and your health is not very good. Go back and rest for a while before we talk again."

Lin Changning knelt upright, a resolute look in her phoenix eyes: "Father, my second brother's injuries in Taiyuan have not yet healed. The imperial physician said he cannot be exposed to the cold. The injury is to his internal organs, and he will need careful recuperation in the future. The border is bitterly cold. Sending my second brother to fight again at this time is no different from taking his life."

The emperor rubbed his forehead, pondered for a moment, shook his head, and sighed, "Never mind, get up first, we'll talk about it after you get up."

Lin Changning stayed in the Hall of Diligent Governance for nearly two hours. At first, she was the only one there, but later Lao Qin and a group of generals were summoned to the Hall of Diligent Governance. After Lin Changning and the others came out, the people who went on the expedition became Lao Qin and Lin Changning.

Lin Changning is relatively inexperienced. This time, Qin was the commander-in-chief and she was the deputy commander. Qi Rong was sent by the emperor to have his body examined again and stayed in the capital to recuperate.

Three days later—

The army assembled, and Lin Changning sat on his horse, wearing newly made armor. His white cloak fluttered wildly in the cold wind. After mobilizing the soldiers, he and Lao Qin left the city early in the morning.

When Qi Rong learned that Lin Changning had intercepted him halfway and replaced him, he was furious. But then again, Lin Changning was afraid that he might get into trouble on the battlefield if he wasn't fully recovered. After a sigh, he let it go.

On the very next day, when Lin Changning and his men set off, they took Li Mingxiu with them and went to the outskirts of the city very early in the morning.

I'm going to see Lin Changning off.

From a great distance, Lin Changning spotted a group of people outside the city.

After exchanging a glance with Lao Qin, he spurred his horse and galloped towards Qi Rong and Li Mingxiu. After reining in his horse, Li Mingxiu looked at the imperial sword that Lin Changning casually tossed to him: "I just got this for you last night. If anything happens, you can execute it first and report later. I'll take care of things behind you."

Qi Rong looked at Lin Changning, a hint of tenderness in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then hesitated, unsure of what to say. After a moment's hesitation, he looked at Lin Changning and said, "Peace, return to the capital soon..."

Jingning Year One

The Duke of Qin and the Marquis of Wu'an recaptured three border cities.

In the same year, Prince Sheng, Li Mingde, led troops to support the frontier. The eldest prince and the Duke of Qi uncovered a corruption case that shocked the entire country. They confiscated countless gold, silver and jewels from the Minister of Personnel's residence and exchanged them for grain to send to the frontier.

Jingning 2nd year —

The Duke of Qin suffered a relapse of his old injury and fell into a coma on the front lines. Marquis Wu'an was appointed to take over as commander-in-chief and led the frontier soldiers all the way to the Tatar royal court.

Jingning 3rd year—

Marquis Wu'an led 8,000 cavalrymen, charging and killing all the way, pursuing the Great Khan for 200 li, and finally beheading the Great Khan of the royal court, and fighting all the way to Yinshan to seal the Wolf Dwelling Mountain.

In the same year, the Tatar royal court submitted and pledged to pay tribute every year. The three young princes were sent to Da Xuan as hostages, and various small tribes on the grasslands submitted to Da Xuan.

It was early spring on the grassland, and faint green shoots were emerging from the ground. Lin Changning sat with his soldiers in front of their tent, eating the venison they had just hunted that day.

A soldier beside him rubbed his hands together and said, "My lord, the battle is over. Can we go home and be with our wives now? We've been away for three or four years. I wonder if my little one will even recognize me when we get back?"

Lin Changning laughed smugly, then, seeing the slightly embarrassed look on the faces of the soldiers beside him, he patted his behind and got up. He glanced at the tent behind him and then mounted his horse.

"Okay, let's go home!"

The End —