The Northern Di royal court.
The spies quickly reported back the news of the shocking changes in the capital of Dayin, the feud between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin, and the outbreak of civil war.
Upon hearing this, the Northern Di Khan Wutugu suddenly stood up, with greed and excitement flashing in his eyes!
"Eternal Heaven bless my Dadi! The opportunity has come!"
He drew his golden sword, pointed it to the south, and his voice spread throughout the royal court like thunder, "Order all troops! Assemble immediately! Two hundred thousand cavalry, split into two groups: one will attack Shuozhou directly, and the other will capture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!"
"Notify King Loufan, King Zhelan, and King Shule to gather their troops immediately and prepare to join the army's march south."
"Strike him while he's weak! It's time for this glamorous world of the Central Plains to have a new owner!"
The desolate sound of the horn echoed over the Beidi grassland, and countless cavalry began to gather.
On the Shulechuan grassland, Timur received a golden order from Wutugu Chanyu ordering him to attack Yinzhou. He was overjoyed and hurriedly discussed with Huyan Gu how to send troops.
In the grasslands south of the desert, King Loufan was devastated by the rebellion of the Murong tribe, which led to the defection of other small tribes, and Han Yanshou was forced to be helpless.
When the order came that Wutugu Chanyu was going to march south in a large scale and asked them to attack Weizhou for cooperation, King Loufan and Han Yanshou were overjoyed and immediately announced it everywhere.
Those small tribes that were about to defect came back to apologize.
In the Xichuan grassland of Yunzhou, King Zhelan had long been deserted by his friends and relatives. After receiving the golden order from the Chanyu, he immediately gathered 5,000 cavalrymen and expressed his intention to be the vanguard of the southward march.
This time, I will get back everything I lost, including the principal and interest.
The autumn wind is bleak, and the Northern Di army is like a polar cold wave, ready to march south at any time.
At the Dayin border, the Guannei Road, Hedong Road, and Yanyun Road, the suffocating feeling of oppression increases dramatically every day.
The autumn of the 39th year of Dayin Yongchang was another eventful one.
......
Shuozhou City, the Colonel's Mansion.
The scout camp and the night watchmen kept bringing in intelligence that the Tatars were about to move south.
Due to the unexpected death of Zhao Muyun and the threats of the imperial envoys Pan Ren and Xiao Cheyun to seize power, the atmosphere in Shuozhou has been extremely tense.
It's like a bowstring that keeps tightening, making it hard to breathe.
Although the city was still covered in mourning and there were occasional cries, there was more of a dead silence as if a storm was about to come.
The soldiers' patrolling footsteps became heavier, and their eyes were filled with vigilance and uneasiness.
Han Zhong's "illness" seemed to be more serious. He was almost unable to leave the bed, and all military orders were delivered through his personal soldiers.
Wang Tiezhu's "violent temper" became even worse. He took his anger out on his subordinates all day long, roaring like thunder, so frightening that no one dared to approach him.
Xi Sheng's one hundred Modao warriors and Guo Luo's nine hundred cavalrymen were like taut steel wires, always on guard against Xiao Cheyun's troops outside the city and any possible threats from the capital.
Zhong Dahu returned, bringing with him a thousand newly recruited militiamen from Wuzhou City and its surrounding areas.
Lin Feng trained soldiers in Weizhou, Tian Qing strengthened the city defenses in Yinzhou, Du Wei prepared food and fodder in Yanzhou, and Tong Gu took in refugees in Xiazhou.
Shi Yong temporarily evacuated from Wohugang and came to Shuozhou with a thousand of his men for reinforcement.
The secret of tobacco has been intentionally released to Zhou Dequan and others, and it will not come back for a while.
The beacon towers at the Shuozhou border, Jingbian Military Town, Zhendi Fort and other places have also strengthened their vigilance, and the beacon smoke may be raised at any time.
Ever since Yin Yao parted ways with Bai Ruolan and Huan Naxue that day, he has been living temporarily in a secluded courtyard in the city, rarely going out.
She was not as eager to seize power as Xiao Cheyun had expected. Instead, she was unusually calm and just burned incense and chanted scriptures every day to pray for her "deceased husband".
Occasionally, he would ask the personal soldiers sent by Han Zhong about the food supply situation of Xiao Cheyun's troops outside the city, and he was very pretentious.
This silence made Han Zhong, Bai Ruolan and others even more unpredictable, and their vigilance only increased.
With the Tartars about to march south and the Crown Prince and Prince of Jin's men eyeing them covetously, the pressure on Shuozhou is increasing day by day.
......
That afternoon, a letter of top-secret intelligence from the capital was personally delivered by Fan Bingbing, a lieutenant stationed in the capital, to Zhao Muyun, who was staying in a secret villa thirty miles away from Tianzi Mountain.
Under the candlelight, Zhao Muyun unfolded the secret letter. The more he looked at it, the tighter his brows furrowed.
The capital city undergoes tremendous changes, the crown prince forces the emperor to abdicate, the Prince of Jin quells the rebellion, Emperor Yongchang is placed under house arrest, both sides deploy their troops, and the crown prince hastily ascends the throne.
The situation changed much faster than any of his previous deductions.
"Civil war... just broke out like that?"
Zhao Muyun sighed, his voice filled with helplessness and heaviness.
Although he pretended to be dead and escaped, intending to jump out of the whirlpool to avoid the sharp edge temporarily, but how could he easily avoid the huge wave that swept the world?
Shuozhou, the foundation he built with his own hands, immediately became a crucial weight in the eye of the storm.
"Sir, the chaos in the capital may be an opportunity for us?" Fan Bingbing said softly.
Zhao Muyun shook his head, his eyes sharp. "It's a crisis, but also an opportunity. But right now, the crisis far outweighs the opportunity."
"No matter who wins or loses between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin, they will never allow the power of Shuozhou to escape. They must control it as soon as possible. Moreover..."
He paused, and pointed his finger heavily at the area north of Shuozhou:
"With internal chaos, external enemies are bound to arrive! The Northern Di Chanyu is definitely not a mediocre ruler. How could he miss such a godsend opportunity? Shuozhou and Yanyun will bear the brunt of the attack!"
"In addition, Li Jingang of Guannei Road took the opportunity to expand his territory, recruit soldiers, gain a firm foothold, and strengthen his strength!"
"How can this world be described with just one word, chaos?"
He pondered for a long time before speaking in a deep voice, "Secret order to Han Zhong: First, the Shuozhou army must enter the highest state of combat readiness. Openly relax, secretly tighten. Show weakness to paralyze the Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince, while internally intensively preparing for battle."
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