Qin Chuan once sent Jiang Lianyue and Jiang Ran with a letter to Empress Jiang Yao of the Jiang Kingdom. The gist of the letter was that he asked her to disband her army, pay one million taels of silver to the Da Gan Dynasty every year, and transfer sovereignty to Da Gan, but still retain the ruling power to Jiang Yao. He intended to change the country into an autonomous territory.
It's already early May, a long time has passed, and Qin Chuan still hasn't received a reply.
It's easy to guess that Jiang Yao still held onto a sliver of hope, believing that the Jiang Kingdom could withstand the Da Gan's attack, and therefore ignored the letter.
Three days after the Ministry of War sent the transfer order to the northern border, Ma Yuxiang sent Zhang Chaozong back to Beijing by motorcycle, accompanied by more than a hundred personal guards on motorcycles.
This spectacle really frightened the residents along the road.
"What kind of monster is that? It buzzed around and disappeared in the blink of an eye!"
After arriving in the capital, the two generals went directly to the Ministry of War.
Upon seeing Qin Chuan, Ma Yuxiang knelt down and complained, "Your Highness, that iron horse... it's almost out of oil. Please give me some oil, I'm so used to riding this iron horse, I never want to ride a live horse again..."
Zhang Chaozong knelt down, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "This humble general pays his respects to Your Highness, the Prince of Yan!"
"Oh dear, General Zhang, please rise quickly. General Ma, please rise as well. We can discuss the oil matter later."
Qin Chuan offered a slight gesture of support, and the two generals, clad in armor, stood up, their faces solemn.
After Zhang Chaozong stood up, he glanced at Qin Chuan and saw that Qin Chuan was incredibly noble at this moment, completely different from the one he had seen last year!
For a moment, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The person before me was a man of great talent and skill, a true immortal!
Qin Chuan looked at Zhang Chaozong and asked, "General Zhang, why aren't you riding an iron horse?"
He recalled that 30,000 motorcycles were left at Longmen Pass, along with some fuel. He never expected that Ma Yuxiang would use a motorcycle to bring Zhang Chaozong back.
Before Zhang Chaozong could speak, Ma Yuxiang burst into laughter: "The General hasn't even learned how to ride this iron horse yet!"
Zhang Chaozong rolled his eyes at him speechlessly, as if to say, "Why expose someone's shortcomings!"
Hearing this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but laugh. Zhang Chaozong, a warrior of great skill and strength who ranked first in the Great Gansu, actually couldn't learn to ride a motorcycle. What a thing...
This is both surprising and somewhat amusing.
Then, Qin Chuan led the two into the back hall of the Ministry of War.
After the three sat down, Qin Chuan had someone bring over a map of the geography and terrain of the Jiang Kingdom. He got straight to the point and said, "In order to carry out the great cause of unification, I intend to wage war against the Jiang Kingdom this time. If you two generals have any good ideas, please feel free to speak them."
At this moment, a clerk from the Ministry of War brought up a tray of top-quality Lion Peak Longjing tea and placed it on the table in front of the three of them. The tea steamed through the lid hole, emitting a pleasant aroma.
Qin Chuan picked up his teacup and said with a smile, "This is this year's newly produced Lion Peak Longjing tea, a top-grade tea with one bud and one leaf. It was presented to the palace by the Governor of Jiangxi. General Zhang, I originally wanted to invite you to drink wine, but time is short and the battle at the front is urgent, so I can only offer you tea instead of wine this time."
"Your Highness, this humble general is filled with trepidation."
As he spoke, Zhang Chaozong picked up his teacup and stood up.
"General Ma, this bowl of tea is also a toast to your hard work and great achievements in guarding the frontier."
Upon hearing this, Ma Yuxiang quickly stood up as well.
After the three of them drank the tea in their bowls, the clerk immediately refilled them with fresh tea. Qin Chuan then said, "What are your thoughts on this attack on the Jiang Kingdom? Please speak frankly."
Zhang Chaozong pointed to the geomantic map and said, "The Jiang Kingdom has relied on its surrounding mountains and ridges to defend itself for over a hundred years. There are only two routes for our Da Gan to enter the Jiang Kingdom. One is to go north along the Lancang River, climb the plank road, ascend Jianmen Pass, defeat the Jianmen Pass garrison, and then enter Jiang, which is a flat plain..."
Ma Yuxiang shook his head and said, "This road is probably difficult to travel. Even with iron horses, we can't get up here. Even with divine bows, our army is in a low-lying and disadvantageous position below Jiange, so we may not be able to make good use of the divine bows."
After listening to their words, Qin Chuan nodded. It seemed that destroying this Great Jiang would still be quite difficult...
Thinking of this, he hurriedly asked, "Didn't General Zhang say there was another way?"
Zhang Chaozong continued, "There is another way to enter the Jiang Kingdom, which starts from my Dagan Xichui Pass and goes along the mountain road. However, this road passes through a long and secluded canyon, where the Jiang Kingdom's army will surely ambush you."
Hearing this, Qin Chuan finally understood why Jiang Yao was so confident and unwilling to reply to him.
They originally thought they could defend the area from a strategic location, believing that a large army wouldn't be able to break through...
Thinking of this, he asked Generals Zhang and Ma, "Besides these two routes, are there no other routes? What about the Western Regions? There should be a way into the heart of the Jiang Kingdom, right?"
Zhang Chaozong and Ma Yuxiang exchanged glances, wondering what the Prince of Yan meant.
Qin Chuan continued, "Is there a direct route from the Yuezhi Kingdom in the Western Regions to the Jiang Kingdom?"
Zhang Chaozong said, "The thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions are a complex region, and they often annex each other. Although they are called thirty-six kingdoms, they dare to call themselves kingdoms even if they have only a few hundred people. It's quite ridiculous. However, our dynasty does not border them, so we rarely fight with them. Therefore, we know very little about the Western Regions..."
Ma Yuxiang pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps we can ask General An Dingguo about this matter. He was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions when he was young, so he must know something about it."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted, "Someone come here!"
A captain of personal guards with a sword immediately entered from the front hall, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Highness."
"Go immediately and invite General An Dingguo here!"
"yes!"
...
Anzhai is now established.
General An Dingguo, dressed in a gray cloth robe, squatted on a patch of land in the backyard, gazing at the potato seeds that were gradually growing into small green seedlings. His old eyes were filled with hope and awe for the new life.
Just as he was lost in thought, his wife, Madam Qi, hurriedly entered the backyard and called out, "Master... Master, Commander You from the Ministry of War has arrived. He says that Prince Yan invites you to the Ministry of War for a meeting!"
"Madam, quickly prepare my armor, I'll change right away!"
"Hmm... okay!"
Qi immediately turned around and went back into the house to prepare armor.
An Dingguo hurriedly came out of the small vegetable garden, went back into the house to change into his armor, and then went out to follow the people from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of War's office.
"The Prince of Yan, General Zhang, and General Ma are in the back hall. Please follow me."
Commander You led An Dingguo into the inner hall.
Upon seeing Qin Chuan, An Dingguo knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This humble general greets Your Highness, the Prince of Yan."
Qin Chuan waved his hand dismissively, telling him to stand up, and said directly, "I want to attack Da Jiang and see if we can go through the Western Regions, bypass them, and strike directly into Da Jiang's heartland. You have been an envoy to the Western Regions and have some understanding of them. Tell me, is this plan feasible?"
After standing up, An Dingguo said directly, "It's feasible, but..."
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