Chapter 704 A Dream of Youth 236
Xie Ning was ultimately unable to return to the capital before the New Year. Instead, he traveled with Liu Yuanchang to several places before returning to Lingzhou City to rest and recuperate, where he also spent the New Year.
Previously, Li Yu had seized Liu Yuanchang's military power. Then, because Fu Yao complained behind his back, he immediately received an imperial edict questioning him. Moreover, because Fu Yao and Liu Yuanchang had made the greatest contribution in capturing Lingzhou, Li Yu was demoted and Fu Yao was promoted to the position of commander-in-chief.
Originally, Fu Yao and Li Yu held similar official positions, but the emperor gave the position of commander-in-chief to Li Yu, which made him more powerful.
As a result, Fu Yao was promoted, while Li Yu was now relegated to a position on par with Liu Yuanchang.
At the end of winter, Jingyuan Army took the lead in occupying Lingzhou. Fu Yao also reminded them to be careful of Xili Army using light cavalry to cut off their supply lines. So, apart from the Xulinyang route which encountered some problems, the other armies were fine.
As the first blade of grass sprouted from the ground, the various armies of the Great Zhou Dynasty approached Xingzhou according to the original plan, and with the convergence of multiple forces, they carried out an encirclement strategy.
While the Great Zhou was frequently reporting victories, the Northern Jin sent an envoy to express its willingness to join forces with the Great Zhou to attack Xili, which infuriated the emperor.
They were almost finished fighting, and now the Northern Jin is trying to get a share of the spoils. It's absolutely disgusting.
Thus, the court was divided into two factions: one faction supported the Northern Jin's accession, mainly because they feared that the Northern Jin would take the opportunity to attack; the other faction strongly opposed it. The advantages of one-on-one versus two-on-one were different.
Despite the heated arguments, the final outcome was quickly determined: to barely withstand the harassment from the Northern Jin on the border and take Xili first.
The emperor was unwilling to swallow his anger, and the tax revenue had been good in recent years, especially the maritime tax, so he could temporarily support the costs of the war.
Moreover, even though he has already conquered so much territory, he won't lose out if he doesn't completely take over Xili. As long as he recuperates for a period of time, he will be able to break even.
It wasn't that some ministers, seeing the empty treasury, wanted to call a truce first, but most still wanted to seize Xili in one fell swoop, so that they would have no worries about the future.
The emperor thought the same way, so he wrote a letter to the generals in the border region of Northern Jin, telling them to keep Northern Jin in check and that if they had to fight, then they should fight!
Don't back down, we can't give in! He can just take money from his own coffers at worst!
The northwest is cold, but there is little rain or snow, so the rivers do not freeze, but are icy cold.
Xie Ning rode after Xueqiu, taking a rare opportunity to relax and check if there were any herbs to dig up. He was accompanied only by his two guards and Aqilan.
Du Xin is going to manage things on her behalf.
This was a moment of leisure for her amidst her busy schedule. The cold wind whistled past her ears like knives, but looking at the vast expanse of heaven and earth made her feel much more relaxed.
"Splash—" Snowball plunged into the water. It was never afraid of the cold and had excellent fishing skills.
Xie Ning lagged behind. When she rode up, she saw Xueqiu, who was holding a fat fish in his mouth, staring blankly at her with his wet head. Beside him stood a woman dressed in coarse cloth and wearing a headscarf.
Upon seeing Xie Ning on the black horse, the woman's face turned pale with fear. She instinctively wanted to kneel down, but her legs had already been numb from the icy river water.
The deepest part of the river only reaches a person's chest, not enough to drown them, let alone the fact that she was only standing where the water had reached her waist.
If it wasn't about seeking death, then what was it for?
Xie Ning recognized the man and gestured for the people behind him not to approach. Then he dismounted and walked closer, trying to soften his voice as he said, "Dong'er, what are you doing? Come on up, it's cold in the river."
When Xie Ning saw the blood spreading in the river, his outstretched hand trembled, and he went into the river himself to carry Dong'er out. Her legs were covered in bruises, clearly from being soaked for too long and frozen stiff.
Dong'er buried her head in Xie Ning's chest, her voice trembling as she kept apologizing. She didn't know what to say; she felt helpless and terrified.
Xie Ning draped the fox fur coat he had just tossed aside over Dong'er's shoulders and said to the guards not far away, "Wei Yong, you guys go away! A Qi Lan, come here."
Then he looked down at Dong'er, who was still crying, and removed his hand from her wrist. "Why didn't you come looking for me?"
Dong'er didn't answer. She just shrank back, her head bowed low, not daring to look at Xie Ning or touch the warm fox fur that wrapped her. When she saw that she had dirtied the fox fur, she whispered, "Lord Xie, I... I've dirtied your fox fur. Please take it off."
The pain made her voice tremble involuntarily.
"So what if it's dirty? What's more important than a person if it's an inanimate object?"
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