Chapter 417 Letter from the Emperor
"Yes, son, I understand."
After hearing what the old marquis said, Uncle Su knew that the old marquis supported Murong Li and would not stand on Murong Yi's side.
In terms of their abilities, Murong Li's ascension to the throne would benefit Xifeng Kingdom more than Murong Yi's. Murong Li could make great strides to strengthen Xifeng Kingdom, while Murong Yi's vision would not be as far-sighted. Just like the present, he would only keep his eyes fixed on the chair under his buttocks, and things that benefit the country and the people would be secondary.
In terms of broad-mindedness, Murong Yi is no match for Murong Li. He is a narrow-minded and short-sighted person.
If he comes to power, the Marquis of Anding's Mansion will no longer exist.
The second brother was only thinking about assisting Murong Yi and didn't consider the consequences. He was probably deceived by Murong Yi. He didn't think that once Murong Yi came to power, he would definitely not treat the Marquis of Anding Mansion well and would definitely get rid of it.
With Murong Yi's petty nature, how could he keep the second branch of the Su family, which is related to the first branch of the Su family?
The second child’s thoughts were too naive and simple.
Uncle Su talked with the old marquis for a while, then hurried back to his study, wrote a letter to Murong Li, and summoned him for comfort.
He handed the letter he had written to our secret guards: "Take two people with you and rush to the border as quickly as possible to hand the letter to the eldest lady or Prince Li.
If an emergency occurs, destroy the letter to prevent it from falling into the hands of others."
"Yes, Master, I will risk my life to deliver the letter to the young lady."
The secret guard took the letter and swore solemnly.
"Okay, go quickly and protect the young lady when the time comes."
"Yes, Master."
"Well, go ahead."
The secret guard nodded and slipped away.
At Qingniu Pass, the first group of officials from the Ministry of Revenue sent by the Emperor to deliver a letter to Murong Li arrived. After paying their respects, Lord Wang carefully took out a letter and presented it to Murong Li: "Your humble servant greets Prince Li. This is a letter sent by the Emperor to Prince Li. Please review it."
"Master Wang, please stand up."
Murong Li took the letter from Lord Wang and immediately opened it to read. It was just as they had heard before. The emperor neither sent troops nor food, nor any silver. He asked him to obtain materials locally at the border. The reason was that the national treasury was empty, with no soldiers or food. He could not send troops or food, and naturally there was no silver.
There are not many soldiers left in Qingniu Pass now, so he can still overcome the difficulties by finding a way himself.
Murong Li sneered in his heart. He knew the emperor quite well. If he had made the decision himself, even if there was no silver, he would still have given some food and fodder. This was the result of Murong Yi's obstruction.
He had known about this before, but he was not very angry at that time. But now that he saw the emperor's handwritten letter, Murong Li couldn't help but get angry.
Murong Yi, this idiot, is playing with the lives of so many people at the border just to trap him here.
The snow hasn't melted yet, and after a war, the people have nothing to eat. Where can they get food?
Idiot, if such a person comes to power, Xifeng Kingdom will collapse within ten years.
He glanced at Lord Wang and said calmly, "I understand. Lord Wang, please go down and rest."
Lord Wang bowed and said, "Then I shall take my leave."
Lord Wang hurried on, looking very tired. He sighed after he retired, and finally delivered the letter before the prince lost his temper.
Murong Li put the letter away and went to find General Wu.
Now that the emperor has sent a letter, he must act quickly.
All the soldiers that can be recruited from the villages near the Qingniu Mountains have been recruited, and now we have to start recruiting soldiers from within the pass (the area outside the Qingniu Pass is called the pass outside).
To recruit troops inside the Great Wall, General Wu must be dispatched. After all, he has been guarding the border for many years. In the hearts of the people living on the border, he is their backbone.
General Wu has been recuperating for a while, but his injuries have greatly improved and he can walk around on his own.
"General, King Li is here."
General Wu had just stood up and was about to take a few steps when a soldier came to report.
General Wu said happily, "Please come in."
The soldier hurried out and lifted the curtain for Murong Li: "Prince Li, please come in."
Murong Li waved to him and then entered the tent.
"I will pay my respects to King Li."
General Wu was about to kneel down and salute.
Murong Li supported him and said, "Your injuries haven't healed yet, so forget it. I came here today to discuss something with you. Please sit down."
General Wu nodded and quickly sat back on the bed. Murong Li also sat down on the stool next to him. He then said directly: "The soldiers outside the border have been recruited almost, but only about a thousand. This is far from enough for the troops needed at the border.
My idea is to collect some from several counties within the Great Wall. I will leave this matter to General Wu. What do you think, General Wu?"
After hearing this, General Wu said doubtfully, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your esteem for me. Excuse me, has the imperial court sent no troops?"
Murong Li shook his head: "No, today the imperial court sent someone to come and deliver a letter, asking me to recruit soldiers here and collect food myself."
General Wu was surprised when he heard this: "Do we have to recruit soldiers ourselves?"
Is there no food, no silver, and no soldiers?
General Wu couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand what the court meant.
Could it be that the emperor was angry with him for losing the battle?
But the soldiers who came back didn't say anything. The emperor didn't even blame him, but just asked him to guard the border.
Murong Li nodded. Seeing General Wu's bewildered look, he didn't explain the reason to him. He just said, "Yes, the troops at each border are insufficient and we can't spare any soldiers. It's not suitable to recruit soldiers now. We have to wait until spring. Moreover, the soldiers recruited by then will all be new recruits. We still have to train them ourselves. Instead of doing that, why don't we recruit soldiers ourselves?"
In fact, I have thought about this matter a long time ago. The sooner we recruit soldiers, the sooner they can be trained and put to use."
Murong Li has been busy these days and has no time to communicate this matter with General Wu. It just so happened that the emperor sent a letter today, so he took the opportunity to tell General Wu about this matter.
After hearing this, General Wu smiled bitterly in his heart and said, "Prince Li's idea is indeed good, but there are not many civilians at the border, and there are few strong laborers. It is difficult to recruit about 100,000 soldiers.
Moreover, after the conscription, many families were left without labor, which made life even more difficult for the people living at the border.”
At the border, there are usually people who volunteer to join the army, which makes the already limited number of strong laborers in families stretched. This is even more of a problem. For some families, it is simply adding insult to injury.
Murong Li knew what General Wu was worried about, and he said, "I know this situation, so I am thinking of strengthening Qingniu Pass. If Qingniu Pass is strong, we won't need so many troops.
There is no need to recruit 100,000 troops now, just tens of thousands will be enough.
Furthermore, this time we're recruiting soldiers, we're giving each person ten taels of silver, and each recruit's family will receive a load of grain and ten pounds of meat. The age limit is between fifteen and thirty years old. General Wu, do you think you can recruit thirty thousand new soldiers under these conditions?"
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