Chapter 697 Let’s discuss this matter again
Bingzhou, Taiyuan
Ever since Tuoba Khan learned that Pingzhou had explosives, a powerful weapon for warfare, he ordered the Xianbei royal headquarters to be moved from Leping to Taiyuan.
First of all, Taiyuan is all mountainous, which makes it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Relying on the terrain, it can block the Pingzhou army.
In addition, Taiyuan is connected to the Xianbei area in Hexi. If the situation is not right, they will evacuate directly from Taiyuan.
In short, facing an invincible weapon like explosives, Tuoba Khan was already considering a retreat.
At the same time, spies learned that Pingzhou was sending heavy troops to attack the Xianbei while also launching a large-scale attack on Dali.
The members of the Xianbei royal court were shocked when they heard the news. What the second prince said was right. Pingzhou had indeed taken action against Dali.
For a time, speculation about Pingzhou’s military strength was rampant.
Some guessed 800,000, some guessed 1 million, and some guessed 1.2 million...
Even if he had an army of 800,000, it would still be very powerful.
Their Xianbei army only had 500,000 men at most.
These 500,000 soldiers and horses were already the limit. Most of the young and strong men from various tribes, including the Eastern Xianbei, Tuoba Xianbei and Hexi Xianbei, had been mobilized.
Tuoba Khan and others thought they had overestimated the military strength of Pingzhou and discussed changing their battle strategy.
Before, they were thinking of going south to occupy the city of Dali. Now, they have to go south, but this time they will mainly go south to plunder food.
If the city can be defended, defend it; if it cannot be defended, give it up; never defend it to the death.
Anyway, there is no chance of winning against the Pingzhou army armed with powerful weapons. If you know you can't defend the city, then don't defend it. Just rob the food and property.
At worst, they could just plunder the surrounding cities and hide in the grasslands. I don't believe Pingzhou would be able to send troops into the grasslands to hunt them down.
"Our next step is to march into Hexi!" It has been confirmed that if we can't defeat Pingzhou, then we can just bully Dali.
If the plunder of Hexi is successful, they will move south and plunder the Hedong area!
We have to get through this winter no matter what.
All members of the royal court seconded this decision.
Tuoba Khan noticed that Yuchi Rui was a little distracted. "General Yuchi, what are you thinking about? But what's wrong with our plan?"
Yuchi Rui came back to his senses and replied, "Khan, I was wondering why Pingzhou suddenly attacked Xianbei and Dali. What's wrong?" There was no sign at all.
At this time, news arrived that Pingzhou and Dali were fighting in Yangping.
When the members of the Xianbei royal court heard the reason why Pingzhou sent troops to Dali, they were stunned.
The sixth prince Tuoba Chao just thought it was ridiculous, "No, it was the spies from Dali who caused Lu Songli to give birth prematurely, what does it have to do with us Xianbei?" Why did Pingzhou send a large number of troops to attack their Xianbei city?
Tuoba Lian said quietly, "That was Pingzhou's reason for attacking Dali. Furthermore, Pingzhou's slogan for attacking us was 'expel the barbarians and recover our lost territory.'"
All in all, Pingzhou is going to go to war, and any reason is just an excuse!
…
Asda, the chief of the Sushen tribe, also felt that Pingzhou's reasons for attacking them were very unreasonable and incredible.
It has always been the Hu Lu tribe that went south, and the Han people rarely went north to attack them, because the grassland was so vast, it was easy to get lost, and it was difficult to attack.
Besides, it was not cost-effective. The Han people did not value their grassland land, considering it as a barren land beyond the Great Wall.
In other words, there is not much benefit in winning.
Therefore, the Sushen tribe has been very stable over the years.
Even though they were adjacent to Xuantu County, they never thought they would be attacked by the Han people.
Later, the Buyeo tribe was attacked and occupied by Pingzhou. Asda was worried and on guard for a while, but there was no unusual movement in Pingzhou for the next two years, so they gradually relaxed their guard.
But unexpectedly, Pingzhou did not play by the rules and actually sent troops north to attack their Sushen tribe!
Half of the young and strong men in their Sushen tribe had already been withdrawn by the Khan, and the remaining young and strong men naturally became the gate dogs protecting the tribe.
However, they were tricked by Pingzhou, and small groups were lured out of the tribe again and again and were eliminated.
Sadly, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
This time, he personally led his troops to guard the fortress, but he found that their Sushen tribe was no match for the Pingzhou army.
"General Yue, your slogan is wrong, isn't it? Pingzhou wants to 'expel the barbarians and recover the lost land,' but what does this have to do with our Sushen tribe?"
Yue Shu replied, "There's nothing wrong with that."
"You are here to attack our Sushen tribe? Which inch of our Sushen tribe's land belongs to your Pingzhou?" Asda, the chief of the Sushen tribe, shouted in despair.
"This Dongning Town, located at the foot of your Sushen tribe, once belonged to us Han people."
Asda: ...
Those were all things of the previous dynasty!
"Okay, okay, if you say so in Pingzhou, then it's fine. Give us two quarters of an hour, and we'll get back to you in Dongning Town."
It would be effortless to take over the land, so Yue Shu naturally agreed.
Asda abandoned Dongning Town and returned to the tribal center with his men, but he still felt uneasy.
At the same time, he cursed Murong Jie in his heart. The Khan asked him to come to the rescue, but this guy went to attack Pingzhou Liaodong County. He was really sick!
It's not that he used this trick incorrectly, but he chose the wrong place.
Liaodong County was the birthplace of the Qin and Lu families in Pingzhou. How could it be so easy to conquer?
It seems that Pingzhou is determined to conquer their Sushen tribe, otherwise they might as well leave.
He ordered, and Arthdal's daughter Hana couldn't believe it, "Dada!"
Asda ignored her, but her mother urged her to pack her luggage quickly.
Hana could only mutter as she packed her luggage. Her room was filled with good things brought from Dali. These were spoils of war sent back from the front lines. It was said that they were all used by Han noble ladies.
Chang'an, Imperial Palace
The court was very lively that day.
As soon as Liang An finished shouting "If you have something to say, please report it; if not, please dismiss the court", the ministers rushed to express their opinions.
"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to submit."
"Come on."
"Your Majesty, Xie Zhan caused great disaster due to personal grudges, and now I, Dali, have to bear the consequences. I suggest that Xie Zhan be punished to calm the anger of Pingzhou, stop the war, and restore peace to the world."
The reason why Xie Zhan attacked Lu Songli was certainly not entirely because of personal grudges, but also because he wanted to eliminate the number one enemy for Dali.
The emperor might not be unaware of this.
But now, Pingzhou obviously wants to hold Xie Zhan responsible.
Then, they can ignore everything else and give Pingzhou what it wants to quell the war.
What I mean is, Your Majesty, you can just put the blame on Xie Zhan and end this crisis.
In the court, Song Mo watched silently. He wanted to see how many people wanted Xie Zhan to die as an apology.
"Your Majesty, I second your motion. This disaster was caused by Xie Zhan, so it makes perfect sense for him to be the one to end it."
"Your Majesty, I second the motion."
"Your Majesty, I…"
The ministers expressed their opinions one by one.
Pingzhou's explosives are so powerful that they have no way to control them. There is no better way to solve a big problem than sacrificing one person. Sacrifice Xie Zhan and peace will return to the world.
Song Mo looked at the ministers who had fallen down, and was horrified. Finally, he sneered, "Let's discuss this matter later! Dismiss the court!"
"emperor--"
The ministers looked at each other and knew that it would not be so easy. If the emperor agreed at the beginning, where would their face be? However, they were confident that the emperor would agree, it just took some time and they had to ask a few more times.
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