Chapter 900 Xiao Yan's Order

"military adviser."

"Mr. Shi."

When everyone in the room saw Shi Chang'an, with his white hair and broken arm, come in, they all quickly stepped aside and admired this disabled middle-aged man from the bottom of their hearts.

Shi Chang'an was wearing a dark blue cloak. Although his face looked sick and pale, he was in very good spirits.

After he entered the inner room, Marquis Wenxin couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Shi, what did you mean by that? What do you mean by Beiling having learned something we didn't know about, forcing them to fight us?"

Shi Changan didn't say anything, but just turned sideways to look at Zhang Bin beside him.

Zhang Bing stepped forward and said, "We just received a secret letter from His Majesty stating that the war with Southern Qi has ended, and the court has sent representatives to Southern Qi to discuss peace talks."

"real?!"

Everyone in the room was overjoyed, even Di Shuangcheng couldn't help but look surprised.

Tu Bai nodded: "It is absolutely true. We have also brought the messenger here."

He gave an order outside, and someone came in a moment. The man was thin and had an unfamiliar face. His ordinary appearance could not be found in the crowd. When he saw the person in the house, he hurriedly saluted.

Di Shuangcheng frowned and looked at him: "You are..."

"I am Zhan Meng, a subordinate of General Yin."

Di Shuangcheng subconsciously raised his eyebrows. The court was tense at the moment. If Xiao Yan wanted to send a letter, he should have found a trusted aide. Why would he let Yin Bao's men come? But before he could open his mouth to ask, Zhan Meng had already said:

"I followed General Yin and Your Majesty on the southern expedition. The situation was initially favorable, but Western Xinjiang suddenly intervened. Furthermore, Ming Ke from the imperial court instigated the Bai family of Yuanzhou to assassinate His Majesty. Trapped in Southern Qi, Your Majesty nearly suffered a fatal blow. Later, with the support of General Xiao and his men, he managed to break through the siege, but was still injured."

"Although Southern Qi was defeated, the situation at Munan Pass remains tense. Beiling has spies everywhere, and any movement by those around Your Majesty would be noticed. Furthermore, since Your Majesty is seriously injured, they must remain by his side and not dare to leave. Your Majesty has sent me to Beiling to deliver the message..."

"etc."

Marquis Wenxin hurriedly spoke up, "You said His Majesty was seriously injured? Is it serious?"

Zhan Meng lowered his head and said, "My internal organs were injured and I couldn't move. Fortunately, I received timely treatment and my life was not in jeopardy."

"What about Mingke? And what about the Bai family in Yuanzhou? What's going on?" Di Shuangcheng asked in a deep voice.

This time it was Zhang Bin who responded, "Ming Ke is a Beiling spy, hidden in the capital for many years. When Your Majesty was clearing out Beiling's hidden agents, she was the only one he hadn't found. Later, several attempts to expose her were unsuccessful. It wasn't until a few months ago, while I was in Beiling, that I accidentally learned her code name and realized she might be connected to those aristocratic families."

"This person has been hiding extremely well, repeatedly passing news from the imperial court to Beiling. This time, Your Majesty led the troops to the south. Seeing that the war was going well, she was afraid that Your Majesty would return to the northwest to provide support. So she colluded with others to murder Your Majesty, and only then did she reveal her tracks."

Hang Li was curious: "Who is Ming Ke?"

Zhang Bin said, "The Cui family's young lady is Bai."

The other people in the room were fine, as most of them were border commanders who didn't know much about what was happening in the capital. However, people like Wen Xinhou and Hang Li all looked shocked.

They had all met the young lady Cui's wife. The woman had a very good temper and knew that she had been treated harshly by Cui Lin and his son after the Cui family fell into decline. Although Cui Lin and his son died later and she took charge of the Cui family, the Cui family's status among the aristocratic families also plummeted.

Marquis Wenxin was shocked, and Hang Li was even more stunned. He knew more than Marquis Wenxin. He knew that Madam Cui had pledged allegiance to His Majesty a long time ago, and was the only one among the noble families besides the Feng family who secretly supported His Majesty's ascension to the throne.

Who could have imagined that Madam Cui was actually Beiling's most hidden spy in the Wei Dynasty?

Everyone in the room digested this series of news, and Zhan Meng continued:

"The war with Southern Qi has ended, but follow-up matters still need to be managed, and the Western Frontier also needs to be pacified. Your Majesty will lead General Xiao and his men to stay at Munan Pass to negotiate peace and surrender with Southern Qi. My general will lead his troops north to provide reinforcements."

After Zhan Meng finished speaking, he handed a letter to Di Shuangcheng with both hands.

"General Di, this is a letter dictated by His Majesty, written by my general. His Majesty asked me to personally deliver it to General Di. It discusses the subsequent arrangements for the Northwest War."

Di Shuangcheng quickly took the letter and unfolded it, and saw the handwriting inside. The strokes were flowing and majestic, but the handwriting was extremely unfamiliar to him. He frowned and looked down with some suspicion. After reading it quickly, his brows were already tightly furrowed.

"General Di, what does the letter say?" Wen Xinhou and others were curious.

Di Shuangcheng said nothing, but handed the letter to them. After Wen Xinhou and others took turns reading it, their faces showed either surprise, suspicion, or even astonishment and suspicion. What was written in the letter really made people suspicious. His Majesty knew the situation in the northwest, but ordered them to fight Beiling at all costs.

Marquis Wenxin held the letter with a sullen expression, "You said this letter contains the emperor's wishes?"

Zhan Meng said: "Exactly."

Marquis Wenxin and the others exchanged glances, each seeing the strange look in the other's eyes. However, Zhan Meng seemed completely oblivious and continued, "After the Bai family was captured, Your Majesty learned from them that news of Southern Qi's defeat had already reached Beiling."

"Beiling's food and fodder are almost exhausted. After hearing the news from Southern Qi, some people even considered retreating. However, Xiahou Ling, as the commander, refused to retreat and bear the blame for incompetence. This is what stopped the others from retreating. But now that Beiling is in civil strife, this is the best opportunity to capture Beiling."

"My general has already led his troops north to reinforce, and they will arrive in half a month at the latest. But if the Beiling army retreats prematurely, the grasslands to the north are vast, and the troops will be scattered. It will be extremely difficult to capture them in one fell swoop."

After Zhan Meng finished speaking, he reached into his arms and presented something to Di Shuangcheng.

"His Majesty said that Beiling has been a scourge to Wei for many years, constantly disturbing the northwest. Now that the war in the south has ended, we cannot miss the opportunity to capture Beiling as well. He ordered General Di to lead his troops to retain the Beiling army at all costs and not let them leave Luoyan Pass."

He held something in his hands and knelt on one knee.

"Dragon Jade Order?"

Several voices sounded in the room at the same time.

Di Shuangcheng reached out and took the token from Zhan Meng's hand. Hang Li had already moved closer. After taking a closer look, he took out half of the token from his body and put it together with the half in Di Shuangcheng's hand.

"General Di, it really is the Dragon Jade Order."

The half token in his hand was given to him personally by His Majesty when he came to the northwest with the Dragon Court Guards. He has always kept it close to him and has never given it to anyone, and even few people have seen it.

Apart from the half Dragon Jade Token in Your Majesty's hand, there is absolutely no other one in the world that fits the same perfectly.