Chapter 262 Blood Swallow

Seeing Huo Gannian remaining silent, his expression growing increasingly cold, and even beginning to develop a sense of strangeness and resistance, Nan Lijun felt annoyed.

She didn't want to say it out loud and let Huo Gannian look down on her, so she could only stir the bowl of rock sugar blood swallows in front of her roughly, making the porcelain spoon clang loudly.

Finally, the porcelain spoon broke into two pieces and fell into the bright red soup bowl.

She upset herself and knocked over the soup bowl, spilling blood all over the long brocade carpet.

Blood bird's nest is a more luxurious food than ordinary white bird's nest.

This is a bird's nest that can only be built by the golden-tailed red swallow, and it is built on the cliff.

People who collect bird's nests often go through hardships, climb cliffs, and risk their lives to collect them, but they can only get one penny of bird's nest.

After collecting the bird's nest, it needs to be cleaned and picked out several times immediately, then sealed in an ice box and sent to Kyoto by fast horses.

Moreover, bird's nest is not easy to preserve. From the time it is picked to the time it is transported to the palace, it cannot exceed fifteen days.

This required the officers to ride their horses at a speed faster than that required to transport urgent military intelligence.

The post horses galloped away at full speed, their bells ringing for miles. When the next post station heard it, the officials on standby day and night immediately mounted their horses and galloped away.

When the rear horse catches up with the front horse and the two horses are side by side without stopping, the ice box is handed over on horseback.

The front horse galloped away, and the rear horse often fell to the ground and died of exhaustion due to over-travel.

Not only that, now the officials transporting the blood swallows have to risk their lives crossing the front lines of the war zone...

Bird's nest collectors, post horses, government officials... dozens of lives were sacrificed just for a bowl of sweet and sticky blood bird's nest with rock sugar.

It was so difficult to get one penny of blood swallows, and there were two taels in the bowl that Nan Lijun just overturned.

Because blood swallows are so expensive and rare, the previous emperor strictly prohibited the palace and Kyoto nobles from using them during his reign.

Now, since I don’t know when, Nanlijun has to drink a bowl every day.

Staring at the dirt splashed on the carpet by Blood Swallow, Huo Gannian seemed to have a huge ravine in his heart, and countless demons and monsters slowly crawled out of it.

He closed his eyes, forced the gully together, took a deep breath, and began to speak patiently:

"Let's put Ni Kun aside for now and discuss the war. Right now, we have Luojiang in the north, remnants of the former Great Chu rebels in the middle, and the Black Scale Cavalry in the southeast. We still don't know where the Black Scale Cavalry came from. These three forces are attacking simultaneously. Who is behind this, and what are their true goals? This is the most important issue right now, one that concerns the safety of our nation."

Nan Lijun thought for a moment and said, "It's not that I haven't checked, but I don't have any clues. I really don't know where to start."

Huo Gannian remained silent, and Nan Lijun knew that he knew much more than she did.

For some reason, Nan Lijun suddenly discovered that Huo Gannian had the same temperament as Ni Kun.

He always denied her and lectured her, acting as if he was smarter and more confident than her, which made her extremely disgusted.

Holding back her annoyance, she asked, "What ideas do you have? Tell me, I might be able to adopt them."

Huo Gannian stood up and slowly approached Nan Lijun. His tall figure and imposing aura made Nan Lijun feel very uncomfortable.

He stood in front of the desk, pointed at a brand new national map on the table, and said:

"It doesn't matter if we can't find out. Whoever dares to provoke a national war won't reveal their true intentions easily. Let's make some bold guesses. Now that the Nan Kingdom has been invaded, who benefits the most?

Luojiang and our country have a long history of "killing friendly forces and slaughtering the royal family." Rather than them wanting to invade the territory of the Southern Kingdom, I prefer to believe that they repeatedly invaded the northern border, making the Xuanjia Army extremely tired, more like venting their anger;

The original Great Chu rebels were simple: they wanted to restore their nation and reclaim the territory annexed by the Nan Kingdom. The goals of both countries were clear. Now let's look at the other countries neighboring the Nan Kingdom. Zhao Kingdom and Dongyan are both friendly nations borrowing troops, so only Xiyan remains. The Black Scale Cavalry might be soldiers from Xiyan.

"Xi Yan?" Nan Lijun was surprised. She had never thought about this quiet and insignificant country.

Huo Gannian controlled his expression in time and said without frowning:

"Judging from the fact that the Black Scale Cavalry are hiding their identities everywhere, Xiyan is unwilling to confront the Nan Kingdom head-on. Perhaps they know they don't have enough power to annex the Nan Kingdom, and they don't want to make enemies with the Nan Kingdom in the future.

What Xiyan wants may not be from Nan Kingdom, but from Dongyan. East and West Yan were originally one, but were separated decades ago. The monarchs of the two countries have always hoped to annex each other and unify their territories. So -"

After a pause, Huo Gannian, holding on to the last glimmer of hope, said to Nan Lijun sincerely:

"My guess is that the mastermind behind all this may have promised Xiyan that if he were willing to assign the Black Scale Cavalry to him and help him plan the invasion of Nan, he would hand over Dongyan to Xiyan. Therefore, whether from the geographical location or the old feud between Dongyan and Xiyan, this person is likely from Dongyan, and most likely a member of the royal family.

This man is not valued in Dongyan, and knowing his future is hopeless, he is plotting to seize our Nan Kingdom. Dongyan has over twenty princes, so numerous and scattered that it is difficult to track them down. Moreover, if the spies sent out are discovered by the Dongyan Emperor, it would easily create a rift with our country. If Your Highness wishes, it would be best if you send a secret letter to the Dongyan Emperor, requesting that he investigate the princes."

Nan Lijun half opened his mouth, stunned and not knowing how to respond. Why did such a complicated and unpredictable situation sound so simple and clear when it came out of Huo Gannian's mouth?

She suddenly felt that the man in front of her was far more thoughtful and strategic than he let on.

Feeling a little sour, a little jealous, and full of admiration, Nan Lijun asked:

"Okay, then I'll do as you say. I'll write a letter to Uncle Yan Chuo and try to find out."

Huo Gannian stared into Nan Lijun's eyes:

"Your Highness, think carefully. Once this letter is sent, if even the slightest word leaks out, it will be like a death warrant for the Emperor of Dongyan. The mastermind behind this will definitely be killed. They might even use this as an excuse to borrow reinforcements from the Nan Kingdom."

"Nan State owes Dong Yan the 20,000 troops it previously loaned. If Nan State lends out the last 80,000 Jing troops, all the remaining forces will be tied up on the battlefield, leaving Jingdu defenseless. The mastermind behind this will not let this opportunity slip by and will instigate Xi Yan to lead his army in an attack! Nan State is in danger!"

Every word was so serious and terrifying that it stunned Nan Lijun and took him a long time to react.

If it was really as Huo Gannian said, then her initial idea of ​​transferring the Beijing troops specifically to kill Ni Kun was ridiculous. It was tantamount to opening the door to the enemy and destroying the country.

But who is willing to admit that the other person is extremely smart, while they are stupid and wrong?

Nan Lijun subconsciously didn't want to believe this and asked:

"That's ridiculous. If it's really like what you said, then who is the mastermind behind this? Who has the ability to do this?"

Huo Gannian looked directly at Nan Lijun and spoke slowly:

"Yan Qing."