——
The capital city.
The Golden Palace.
On the dragon throne, Jin Fengluan's face was ashen, her long, delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. Looking at the civil and military officials before the hall, she parted her cherry lips and slowly spoke:
"The ever-victorious general has been in Beiliang for some time now, why is there still no news from him?" She looked at Huanglong.
Huang Long bowed forward and said:
"Your Majesty, Tianhu has been traveling at a rapid pace and should have already arrived at the Beiku Grassland by now. Battle reports from the front should be arriving in the capital in the next few days, so Your Majesty need not worry."
At this point, he smiled faintly and said:
"The Prince of Zhenbei has already made a great contribution. Now, with the addition of Tianhu's 50,000 troops, success is assured!"
"On the day Tianhu set out, I gave him detailed instructions, and I believe he will live up to expectations and fulfill his duties!"
When he said the last few words, Huang Long emphasized his tone.
He knew the Empress missed Qin Ze very much...
Jin Fengluan nodded slightly, picked up a memorial from beside her, her brows furrowed, and then spoke:
"In the past few months, the Xijing Prefecture has been sending memorials one after another. This 'Xijing turmoil' is getting worse and worse. What are your thoughts, my esteemed ministers?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Li frowned deeply.
Xijing Prefecture is located in Xijing County, which has been a vast territory since ancient times. However, it was seized by the neighboring Tuyuan Kingdom fifty years ago. It was not until five years ago that General Qin Haotian led a large army to defeat the Tuyuan Kingdom's forces and recover Xijing.
Despite the recapture, Xijing still harbors hidden dangers.
For decades, Xijing has been part of the Tuyuan Kingdom. The local people, especially the younger generation, have been brainwashed by the Tuyuan Kingdom and believe that they should belong to the Tuyuan Kingdom.
Therefore, Xijing kept clamoring to return to Tuyuan. When Qin Haotian was alive, they did not dare to take any open action, but since Qin Haotian died and the Chiyan Army was disbanded, the chaos in Xijing has intensified.
Especially in the last two years, there have even been calls for independence, leading to frequent chaos.
Zhang Li frowned and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the chaos in Xijing must be instigated by the Tu Yuan Kingdom. They have long coveted Xijing. I believe Your Majesty should send a large army to Xijing to quell the rebellion!"
Jin Fengluan was well aware that the Tu Yuan Kingdom was behind it all, but at this critical juncture, how could she send a large force to Xijing?
The territory of Xijing County is only a little over 10,000 li, so no matter how much trouble it causes, it's just a minor disturbance. But Beiliang is different. Qin Ze is now making waves in Beiliang, and there's still no news about how many troops he has.
Compared to the Prince of Zhenbei, the chaos in Xijing is nothing more than a minor matter.
It seems that the only way to put my mind at ease is to wait for Huang Tianhu to send a message from Beiliang. As long as Qin Ze is dead, I can rest easy.
Before that, no large force should be deployed without authorization.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard Wang Yong, the Minister of Revenue, bow and say:
"Your Majesty, I believe you need not worry too much. Xijing has its own troops, and what they are doing now is just a small-scale skirmish. They will naturally share Your Majesty's burdens."
"Tuyuan Kingdom is currently militarily strong and is a neighboring country. We should not engage in conflict with them without concrete information."
"Right now, we are fighting against Huma."
Jin Fengluan nodded slightly and said:
“That makes sense. However, we must not ignore the situation in Xijing. Issue my decree to the Xijing military commander to thoroughly investigate the movements of the people and report any unusual activity as soon as possible.”
Zhang Li sighed inwardly. He knew that the Empress's focus was on Northern Liang; she was too wary of Qin Ze.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel sad.
If Haotian hadn't died, or if the Chiyan Army hadn't disbanded but instead Qin Ze had continued to lead and protect Dagan, how could Dagan have fallen into such chaos?
Peace was established by the general, yet the general is not allowed to see peace.
Now, even this peace is slipping further and further away...
And Your Majesty...
She seemed only interested in power struggles, while her understanding of worldly affairs was...
Zhang Li lowered his eyes, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness...
"I hope Qin Ze can wipe out the Hu Ma as soon as possible and return safely to Beiliang..." Zhang Li thought to himself.
——
Beiku Grassland.
"My lord, when shall we launch our attack?" Huo Qubing asked.
Qin Ze stroked his chin, looked into the distance and said, "No rush. Let them finish fighting and let the Hu Ma taste the flavor of 'victory' before we send out our troops."
Huo Qubing nodded and then said, "My lord, there is something I don't understand. Why spare Huang Yuanlang's life?"
"This person is clearly up to no good; keeping him around will only create trouble."
Qin Ze pursed his lips and sneered, "That's right, Huang Yuanlang naturally cannot be allowed to live."
"By using his dog's life, we can give our uprising a legitimate reason, and the people will definitely support us."
"With the support of the people, many obstacles can be avoided."
Huo Qubing raised an eyebrow, "My lord intends to..."
Qin Ze sneered: "Huang Yuanlang is Huang Long's adopted son. Let him reveal Huang Long's sinister methods for killing me in front of the people."
"Huang Long is the General Who Guards the Army, yet he harbors such wicked intentions. How can such a treacherous minister not be eliminated?"
"If Jin Fengluan is determined to protect Huanglong, then I will march directly from Beiliang into the capital!"
"Purge the court of corrupt officials!"
Huo Qubing's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.
"The time has come, my lord!"
As they were talking, Wei Qing rode up from the front and said, "My lord, the Panlong Army only has 30 to 40% of its strength left. The Dayuan tribe has a lot of troops, and this time they have sent at least 100,000 men."
"They have Julu Pass at their backs, so they should still have quite a few troops."
Qin Ze nodded and said in a deep voice, "Alright, then let's wait a little longer."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
