Chapter 218: Fighting without bloodshed
Upon hearing this, Li Mingxiao chuckled and said, "Qi Lao Er, your subordinates are quite interesting. How come you don't even give them a proper meal? Look how hungry they are. Commander Lin, if you're ever hungry again, come find me. I'll give you plenty of food, haha."
Qi Rong also looked at Lin Changning with some curiosity. Changning always ate a lot, and he had previously told the kitchen staff to give Changning more food.
"Is your current portion not enough? I'll get a stove later and add some more for you."
Lin Changning waved his hand: "No, it's not that there isn't enough food. I came across a group of orphans in the city. The older ones were about twelve or thirteen, and the younger ones were two or three years old. After they received the food distributed in the city, it was always stolen. I felt sorry for them, so I brought them back. We have them sweep the military camp and wash and dry the soldiers' clothes and bedding. They do some work. Old Han and I each contributed half of our allowance to hire these kids to do the work."
Qi Rong nodded, a gentle look in his eyes: "I can't finish my allotted food anyway, so you can eat with me from now on."
Lin Changning scratched his head and sighed, "Thank you, Commander."
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Mingxiao's eyes as he looked at Lin Changning. He hadn't expected that this young commander would be so kind. He couldn't help but say, "I'll give you half of my share too. I am, after all, the heir of a prince. I can't finish my allotted portion of eight dishes and two soups. From now on, I will eat with you."
Qi Rong glanced at Li Mingxiao with some disdain: "Just bring the food, there's no need for you to come. It doesn't look appetizing."
Li Mingxiao glared at Qi Rong and said, "Qi Rong, you really know how to kick someone when they've used them."
Qi Rong picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Aren't you still trying to seize military power from me? Do you think it's appropriate for you to sit and eat with us every day?"
Li Mingxiao then thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.
He snorted and fell silent. After the two quieted down and the servants cleared the food from the table, Lin Changning finally got down to business.
"Commander, we should get a reply from the people we sent out about the hostage exchange the day after tomorrow. The three cities of Yongning, Yongzhou, and Daxing are all very quiet right now, and I suspect that the Tartars are plotting something."
Upon hearing this, Qi Rong also began to think: "We should have sent word back that we have recaptured Datong City some time ago. We will definitely attack the three cities, but we don't know what the situation is like on the Tartar side."
Li Mingxiao watched the two people making wild guesses, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and leisurely looked at them: "Qi Lao Er, your intelligence isn't very good these days."
Qi Rong looked up at Li Mingxiao with some confusion, then frowned, realizing that Li Mingxiao's words had a hidden meaning: "Just say what you want to say, stop beating around the bush."
Li Mingxiao raised his head: "Fine, beg me and I'll tell you."
His handsome face paired with that arrogant demeanor made him look incredibly irritating.
Qi Rong smiled gently, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "Want me to loosen up your muscles? It's been two years since I last did."
Li Mingxiao rolled his eyes: "It's always the same trick. Don't you get tired of it? Fine, I'll just give it to you for free. The old Khan of the Tatars is not in good health. Recently, there has been chaos on the grasslands. Although the Third Prince has occupied several cities on our border, he probably doesn't have time to deal with this place recently."
Lin Changning raised an eyebrow. When they went from Daxing to Taiyuan before, they had news of the grasslands. However, nearly half of the Daxing Guard died, and now their spies can't find them, so the news chain was broken. If he remembered correctly, the old Khan's health was failing last year, and more than half a year has passed. Could it be that he really couldn't hold on any longer?
Qi Rong thought to himself, "You mean the old Khan is no longer healthy? And the third prince wants to go back to fight for the throne?"
Li Mingxiao shrugged: "The old Khan's health is indeed failing. I don't know if the Third Prince will return or not. It is said that recently the various tribes of Mongolia have been making some moves, and the grasslands are not peaceful."
Qi Rong pondered for a while and hesitated.
If that's the case, then the best conditions are now to attack the three cities.
With internal strife within the Tatars, there was no chance to properly manage the three cities they were stationed in. If the third prince wanted to seize the throne, he would definitely have to gather his troops and return to the grasslands.
Therefore, if the news is true, even if they only have more than 6,000 men now, taking Yongzhou should not be a problem, because the Third Prince will definitely want to preserve his strength in order to ensure that he has an absolute advantage in the struggle for the throne.
Therefore, as long as they can intimidate the third prince and force him to withdraw from the three cities, they can take back the three cities without bloodshed.
Qi Rong glanced at Lin Changning, and both of them saw a hint of eagerness in each other's eyes.
Lin Changning hesitated before saying, "I do have an idea, how about commanding?"
Qi Rong knew that Xiao Liu always had a lot of ideas, so he nodded and said, "Just say it."
A sly glint flashed in Lin Changning's eyes: "Now that the Tartar prisoners are all being held here, why don't we spread false information here, and when we exchange hostages, have the prisoners take the false information back to the Tartar camp?"
Lin Changning paused for a moment: "If what the Crown Prince said is true, the grasslands are about to fall into internal strife. Then the Third Prince, who attacked the three cities, is trying to gain some merit before his father's death to facilitate his succession to the throne."
Now that we've captured four cities, our objective has been achieved. If we were to spread false information now, saying that the imperial army of 200,000 is about to turn around and attack the remaining three cities, the Third Prince's small force on the frontier certainly wouldn't be enough.
At this crucial juncture in the struggle for the throne, he naturally wouldn't dare to fight the imperial army head-on. Therefore, he will likely have no choice but to sound the retreat. Once he withdraws from the three cities, our objective will be achieved, and we can reclaim the three cities without bloodshed.
Qi Rong nodded: "But how do we convince these prisoners that the imperial army is coming soon?"
Li Mingxiao also pondered deeply: "It's not difficult to spread false information, the difficulty lies in how to make the Tartars believe it."
Lin Changning pursed his lips, also pondering how to make the Tartars believe the false information they had spread.
"Perhaps we can write a letter to the old prince. The court is probably going to wipe out the rebels soon. If we want the Tartars to really believe us, we will need the help of the court's army."
"You mean, we spread false information that the imperial army has suspended its attack on Prince Sheng to cooperate with us. As long as the imperial army stops attacking, the Tartars will believe that the imperial court is really going to attack them this time, so they have no choice but to withdraw and preserve their strength?"
The Crown Prince of Qin stroked his chin, pondering as he spoke.
Lin Changning nodded: "Exactly."
After thinking for a moment, Qi Rong said, "Then it will be as you said. After the hostages are exchanged, I will write a letter to the old prince."
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