Chapter 73 The First Battle Conference
Emperor Wen looked again. He Zhaojun was sitting in the main hall. The others were all royal nobles, but she remained neither humble nor arrogant. Despite her young age, her mentality was unusual.
Moreover, given the status of the He family and He Zhaojun's personality, she would rather die than share a husband with another man. Furthermore, the Crown Prince was gentle and too kind, and might not be able to control He Zhaojun.
Thinking of this, Emperor Wen's eyes drifted between He Zhaojun and the third prince, as if he was thinking about something special.
He Zhaojun ignored all the formalities and said, "Your Majesty, the mineral veins in Yongzhou have not yet been fully explored. Perhaps the Xianbei people found one and decided to smelt iron. Those young men who were abducted must have been forced to work in the mines."
Emperor Wen nodded, it was indeed so.
"Your Majesty, the battle report mentioned that the Tuoba tribe originally had the upper hand in the Xianbei civil war. However, some time after our people were captured, the Yuwen tribe suddenly emerged and wiped out the surrounding tribes at an extremely fast speed. I'm afraid that after some time, this civil strife will be put to an end." He Zhaojun analyzed.
The prince nodded. "War is a cruel and brutal struggle, with civilians displaced and often dying. If we can end war with war, that would be good news."
Emperor Wen glanced at the Crown Prince and said, "Zikun, do you know what the consequences will be if the Xianbei civil strife ends?"
The prince was stunned. He had not thought of this before, and quickly looked at Ling Buyi who was standing beside him for help.
Ling Buyi looked back at him and said solemnly, "Your Highness, the Yuwen tribe's swift victory must have been built on the blood and tears of our captured craftsmen and people."
"These people were forced to mine minerals and forge weapons all day long. Even the Yuwen tribe tortured them to death, which shows how cruel and ruthless they are."
Wen Ziduan took over the conversation, "So, if the Yuwen tribe really uses war to stop the internal strife among the Xianbei, not only will the captives never see the light of day again, but when they turn their spears against us and attack our cities, plundering our land, and slaughtering our people, wouldn't it be too late to regret it?"
Emperor Wen nodded and asked He Zhaojun, "Zhaojun, how do you break this dilemma? Tell me."
"All we need to do is to fight the Tuoba clan and lose a battle." He Zhaojun said this method which sounded very discouraging with a calm expression.
The prince shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, if we start a war, our soldiers will surely suffer heavy casualties, not to mention defeat."
He Zhaojun explained, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is compassionate to the soldiers and civilians on the border, and his heart is truly a blessing to our people. However, what I said was that we feigned a defeat, but in reality, we left behind weapons sufficient to counter the Yuwen tribe, thus allowing the Tuoba clan to regain the upper hand."
"The Xianbei were at odds with each other internally, and by the time the winner was decided, they had already suffered heavy losses and had to rest and recuperate. It would be difficult for them to engage in battle with our army in the short term."
The prince suddenly understood and almost clapped his hands in delight. "That's right! Then, our army will go search again, find the mineral vein, and rescue the trapped people. This is a brilliant plan, killing two birds with one stone!"
He Zhaojun nodded and looked at Ling Buyi. "General Ling, as far as I know, the Xianbei have been controlled and oppressed by the Xiongnu for a long time, and they have been forced to repeatedly invade the border."
"The Xiongnu's intention in this scheme is despicable[35]. They want to reap the benefits while sitting back and taking advantage of the situation to completely annex the Xianbei and strengthen their power."
"Once this matter is resolved, we can inform the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei people of the favor we provided them with military equipment. When the time is right, we can join forces with the Xianbei, using both internal and external resources to inflict a heavy defeat on the Xiongnu. Then, there will be no need to worry about our dynasty resorting to war again."
When Emperor Wen saw Ling Buyi's delighted expression, he quickly interrupted him, "Ling Zisheng, you'd better marry Cheng Siniang sooner rather than later to continue the Huo family's lineage. There's no rush to conquer the Xiongnu again!"
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