Chapter 99 Dangerous Situation

Facing the general's wrath, Zhao Tinglei, despite the five finger marks on his face, did not flinch and said word by word, "Father, my third brother is a Di tribe member. What's wrong with him wanting to reclaim his territory and restore the glory of the Wuda tribe?

The son is his elder brother, so what's wrong with brothers helping him?"

"When my third brother didn't return to the grassland, the border was peaceful?

Didn't those Dilu people plunder border villages and towns?"

In Zhao Tinglei's opinion, there are countless tribes of all sizes in the Dilu grassland, and there is never peace.

The third brother just returned to his homeland. Even if there was chaos on the grassland, it was an internal problem of the Di tribe.

Preventing harassment from the Di Lu people is the responsibility of the Wu Dynasty army and the Zhenbei Army, and has nothing to do with my third brother.

As long as the garrisons do their duty and guard the borders well, the impact on people's lives will not be significant.

Seeing his son still trying to argue, Zhao Yanjiao couldn't help but shout, "You asked Xiao San to deliberately break up the Di tribe, leaving them as lone wolves. You are using the lives of people on the border to protect your own future."

The wolf packs on the grassland are very scary, but the scariest thing is that the wolf pack is scattered and the lone wolf loses its mother and cubs.

The Di tribe was broken up, the men were driven out, and they were left to fend for themselves.

Those who have lost their homes and are desperate will go crazy and do anything.

To drive away the wolf and devour the tiger is indeed what is said in the art of war.

But the hundreds of soldiers and civilians in Pingliang Fort, as well as the farmers in those villages, were innocent.

When Zhao Tinglei heard his father say that he "used human lives to gain fame", his face suddenly turned cold and his eyes became complicated.

One general becomes famous at the cost of thousands of lives!

Only then did he realize that the once majestic General Zhenbei had become gray-haired due to the ravages of the northwest wind and sand, and even his body under the military uniform could no longer hold up.

He is old, nearly sixty years old.

No one could believe that the general who had once massacred the Dilu grasslands, became a marquis by stepping on mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and made his own sister the queen, would say something that cared about human life.

My third brother said it right, my father is old, the old horse is in the circle, the eagle returns to the nest, and the hero is old.

Although the Zhenbei Army is still stationed in Yunzhou, its voice in the court is gradually weakening.

Until now, my father is still thinking about avoiding all risks and delaying the time until the prince ascends the throne in the palace.

He can return to Beijing to retire, and the Zhao family's status will be second only to the emperor.

But can those people in the court give him this opportunity?

The Zhenbei Army is a knife.

A knife that is not used will rust and be thrown away.

Now the military power of the Zhenbei Army has been divided up by Tang Ying, and the supply of food and wages has been delayed again and again.

This is not a power grab, it is clearly a grab for the knife. If it goes on any longer, the knife will be on the necks of the Zhao family.

By then, not only would the status of the aunt and the prince in the palace be lost, but the Zhao family would also end up being executed.

The third brother returned to the grassland not only because he wanted to take revenge, but also to break away from the control of the Zhenbei Army and gain a foothold on the Dilu grassland.

Now that my third brother has caused civil strife in the Di Lu Alliance, if I don't take this opportunity to get rid of Tang Ying and take back the military power, the Zhenbei Army will be in real danger.

"Father, look at this!"

Zhao Tinglei took out a small bamboo tube from his sleeve, opened it, and pulled out a piece of paper with tiny handwriting densely written on it.

Zhao Yangjiao has been in charge of the army for many years and is not a mediocre person. He just has too many concerns and is therefore hesitant in doing things.

Upon hearing that Pingliang Fort had lost contact, Zhao Yanjiao rushed to Leiziying overnight just to confirm what he was thinking.

Seeing that it was indeed his two sons who were causing trouble together, he immediately came to his senses.

He just thought that the killing had broken out again on the border of the Wu Dynasty, and that it was the wave that his son had started.

As a marquis of the Wu Dynasty, he couldn't get over this hurdle.

Seeing his son take out the secret letter, Zhao Yanjiao raised his hand and asked Zhao Tinglei to stand up and speak: "Read it to your father!"

His eyes are presbyopic and he can no longer see small print.

Zhao Tinglei brought a stool over to his father and whispered, "On October 15th, the Crown Prince fell into the water... On October 20th, the Crown Prince had diarrhea twice... On the first day of the winter month, the Crown Prince made a mistake while playing a musical instrument in the court, and was punished by the Emperor to be confined to the Eastern Palace. On the fifteenth day of the winter month... the Empress fell ill, and the imperial physician was late in arriving, so the Emperor didn't even inquire about her condition..."

These trivial matters are all small things, but to Zhao Yanjiao's ears they sound like a loud bell.

The younger sister lives in the deep palace, surrounded by wolves on all sides, and the prince is the target of public criticism, but the emperor actually turns a blind eye.

The divine will is unpredictable!

Zhao Yanjiao's biggest fear was that his position as Crown Prince would be in jeopardy. He took the note, held it in his palm, and said in a deep voice, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Zhao Tinglei lowered his head and said, "My son only started to inquire about the trivial matters in the Crown Prince's Palace this year."

The border and the capital are thousands of miles apart, making correspondence difficult. In the past, like his father, he focused all his energy on important officials in the court and paid little attention to the private affairs of the prince and the queen.

Besides, the Marquis of Zhenbei lived in the capital, and the female members of his family could visit the palace every month, so the men didn't take it seriously at all.

Why did no one mention these things in the family letters?

Zhao Yanjiao regretted it.

He had not been home for many years and had failed to discipline his eldest son, which led to him indulging in poetry, calligraphy and painting every day.

Zhao Tinglei was silent. This was also his father's own fault. He did not want the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion to become too powerful and become the envy of the emperor.

The second brother who stayed in the capital, the son of the Marquis of Zhenbei, only talked about love and romance and ignored family affairs. He became the most famous free and easy young man in the capital.

Although the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion was less suspicious of the emperor, it also reduced his vigilance.

The prince is in danger.

He is Zhao Yanjiao's nephew and the hope for the Zhao family to continue its glory.

At this time, the father and son finally sat down to discuss countermeasures.

"Father, the Pingliang Fort garrison is under Tang Ying's command. According to regulations, the garrison should have 58 people. The fort is well-equipped. If the soldiers are united, the Di people will need at least 100 people to capture this fortress.

Father, think about this: the Di tribe has been suppressed and dispersed by the Zhenbei Army over the years, and they can no longer muster a hundred warriors. The number of people they can hastily gather is at most thirty or fifty, and Pingliang Fort is safe.

Zhao Tinglei grew up almost entirely in the northwest, and had been to all the garrisons and fortresses in Yunzhou. Now he could talk about them like the back of his hand.

If Pingliang Fort was garrisoned by the Zhenbei Army, which had rich experience in fighting against the Di people, it would take the other side ten days to capture and besiege it.

Ten days is enough time for other reinforcements to arrive.

He spoke with great confidence, but he was not sure in his heart.

The troops stationed there now are the Xuanwei Army dispatched from the capital, not his own Zhenbei Army. He is not sure whether these veteran soldiers can hold the position.

Zhao Yanjiao felt that his son's analysis made sense.

Pingliang Fort is in an excellent location, and the Di people may just be surrounding it now, which is why no news has leaked out.

What he cares most about is national affairs.

If the affair between Xiao San and Ting Lei were known to the court, it would be a serious crime of colluding with foreign enemies.

"Tell me first, how did Xiao San discuss this with you?"

National affairs, family affairs, and military affairs all involve human lives.

If he fails to do so, lives will be lost and the country will be in jeopardy. He cannot harm the people of Yunzhou for his own selfish reasons.

(End of this chapter)