Chapter 400: War Begins
Outside Chang'an City.
On the official road, a fast horse came galloping, stirring up a cloud of dust.
As they were about to approach the city gate, the knight on horseback showed no intention of slowing down. The soldier guarding the gate shouted angrily and was about to stop him, but he saw a big "Urgent" word on the knight's chest. He shuddered suddenly and immediately ordered: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, everyone..."
At the same time, he turned around and ran into the city without hesitation, ordering the carriages and horses to temporarily stop inside the city gate and immediately clear the way.
A horse galloped past on the main street in Chang'an city. After the renovation, the main roads in Chang'an had long been separated from people and vehicles, so there would be no collisions with civilians.
Even so, the new traffic law has strict restrictions on the speed of riding or driving in the city. The speed of the horse just now was more than twice the prescribed speed.
Just as the people along the way were curious about where this person came from and why he was so bold, some observant people had already noticed something.
"A thousand miles of rush?"
"How can there be a thousand-mile rush at a time like this?"
"Could there be any changes at the border?"
The knight rode through Chang'an and finally stopped between the palace gates. He took out a secret letter from his arms, shouted "Urgent News from Liangzhou", and then fell to the ground, unconscious.
Soon, someone came out of the palace and carried him in.
Soon, the ministers of the six ministries, the ministers of the nine temples, and officials of the third rank and above in the court were summoned to the palace one after another.
In the Golden Palace, everyone's expression was solemn.
Chang'an had just received an urgent military intelligence report from Liangzhou, that the Wei army had launched a night attack from the Liang side. By the time this urgent report was sent, Liangzhou had been breached by the Wei army.
This means that the war between Wei and Daxia has officially begun.
It was not until this time that people realized the right prime minister's foresight.
More than a year ago, the Right Prime Minister began to stockpile troops on the southwestern border. Liangzhou was just an outpost on the front line, easy to attack but difficult to defend. Even if it was lost, it would not have much impact.
After Liangzhou, Daxia had already stockpiled heavy troops, so even if Wei launched a massive attack, it would not be without the ability to defend itself.
As one of the five great dynasties, Wei's national strength was far superior to that of Daxia.
Soon, orders were issued from the palace.
"The Honglu Temple will immediately arrange for an envoy to go to Zhao State to ask for help."
"Expel the Wei envoys and announce to all nations that Wei has invaded Daxia territory. Daxia declares war on Wei immediately!"
"Send a message to the six major families, asking the semi-saints of the six major families to go to the front line to guard it."
"From today on, the national treasury will be used to support the Ministry of War first."
"The Ministry of War continues to expand the number of troops. Anyone who joins the army with cultivation will be rewarded generously..."
…
This was not the first day that Daxia faced the threat from Wei, and it had already prepared various proposals.
Daxia and Zhao were allies. If either country was invaded, the other would provide unconditional assistance.
Shortly after the palace issued the order, the Wei envoys were expelled from the Sifang Pavilion.
When the two countries were at war, they did not kill envoys, and the Daxia court did not make things difficult for them.
Soon, letters were delivered to the six major families.
Wang family.
Wang Yun took a letter and walked into an underground quiet room. He said to the two old men who were sitting cross-legged on the futon: "Ancestors, the Wei State has officially sent troops to invade Daxia. The court has sent a letter asking the two ancestors to go to the border to guard it..."
Hearing this, the two old men slowly opened their eyes.
Wang Yun asked, "Grandfather, how will the Wang family respond to the court?"
An old man nodded and said, "We two old men will go there as soon as possible."
The world of Daxia belongs to the imperial court and also to them.
For thousands of years, the Wang family has been deeply tied to the land beneath their feet. If Daxia no longer exists, the six major families will be replaced by the families of Wei and become the dust of history.
The Wang family is very clear about this.
No matter how fiercely the Wang family and the imperial court fought, it was nothing more than an internal fight between them.
Faced with an external enemy whose purpose was to annex and destroy them, the Wang family, as the largest family in Daxia, had no other choice.
Not long after, two powerful auras rose into the sky from the Wang family and headed straight to the southwest.
Soon after, Henan Road, Longnan Road, Huainan Road..., the places where several other major families were located.
One after another, powerful auras that were not concealed swept through the sky at high speed. Even ordinary people along the way could sense it and looked up at the sky, feeling frightened for no reason...
…
Zhao State.
In Prince Zhao's palace.
Li Nuo held Li Nian in his arms and slid down a slide.
At the bottom of the slide, Li Zhi had already impatiently reached out his hand to him, while Li Yan and Zhao Che were queuing behind them, their little faces full of anticipation.
He and Zhiyi have not changed Zhao Che's name for the time being.
In name, he is still the adopted son of Her Majesty the Queen.
But how many people in the Zhao court and among the people believed it was not something they could control.
In the past two years, Li Nuo has been busy with various things and running around, and rarely stays at home. Not only does he have no time to accompany his wives, but he also has even less time to spend with his children.
Now, he finally doesn't have to worry about his strength and lifespan anymore. He can stop for a while and enjoy life.
In a small pavilion not far away, Jia Ren, An Ning Yi Ren and Zhi Yi just sat together at a table.
Li Nuo originally brought Jia and An Ning to Zhao just to give them a change of environment, but he didn't expect that they got along so well with Zhiyi.
Of course, in the final analysis, Zhiyi was too good to them. He held a martial arts conference for Jiaren, gave An Ning the green light in the court, and prepared a century wedding for Yiren. It would be strange if they didn't have a good relationship with her...
If Jia and An Ning hadn't known Zhiyi beforehand, and Li Nuo suddenly had a son who looked so much like him in Zhao State, things might not have gone so smoothly...
Li Nuo was lying on the grass, the little ones were crawling around him, and he was listening to their voices. This was probably the most comfortable time for Li Nuo since he came into this world.
The sky is pure blue, with a few white clouds floating here and there.
At a certain moment, a black dot suddenly appeared in the white clouds.
The black spot quickly grew larger, and a giant black bird fell from the sky, eventually landing on an open space in the backyard of the palace.
One side of the bird's belly slowly opened, and a row of steps slowly extended down.
Li Yun walked out of the cockpit of the bird's head, and several envoys from Daxia also came down from the bird's belly.
Without waiting for Li Nuo to ask, he said anxiously: "Wei State suddenly sent troops and captured Liang Province. Daxia has officially declared war on Wei State. The court sent me to lead an envoy to ask Zhao State for help..."
A moment later, at the Zhao Palace.
In the imperial study.
Zhao Zhiyi had already changed into the empress's attire. She looked at Li Yun and several Daxia envoys and said, "Don't worry, Daxia and Zhao have already signed an alliance. If Daxia has problems, we in Zhao will not ignore it..."
The mutual assistance treaty between Daxia and Zhao was signed a hundred years ago.
Among the five dynasties, Daxia and Zhao were the weakest. When the two countries joined forces, they were stronger than any of the other three. In order to gain a foothold on the continent, no matter who was in power in the two countries, they had to abide by this treaty.
She has summoned the court officials to discuss the matter.
The Minister of War was the first to arrive at the Imperial Study. Li Nuo showed a hint of surprise on his face. The Ministry of War was the farthest from the Imperial Palace, but the Minister of War was the first to arrive. Judging from the time, the person who delivered the imperial edict should not have left the palace yet...
The Minister of War had a serious face. After entering the imperial study, he immediately said, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the front line. Qi State suddenly deployed troops on the border between Ning State and Sheng State. There must be some conspiracy..."
Only then did Li Nuo realize that the Minister of War was not summoned, but came to the palace to report after receiving news from the border.
Qi and Zhao were only separated by Ning and Sheng.
The national strength of Ningguo and Shengguo is not even as good as that of Yueguo. If Qiguo wants to attack these two countries, there is no need to make a big fuss. It can just send a sixth-level realm master to wipe them out.
This is obviously aimed at Zhao State.
Soon, several important officials who were summoned arrived here.
"Wei invaded Daxia, and Qi deployed troops on our border. This can't be a coincidence!"
"They must have discussed this. If Zhao sends troops to aid Daxia, Qi will definitely take advantage of the situation. Your Majesty, think twice!"
"Don't send troops rashly!"
…
Several envoys who had come all the way from Daxia to seek help came out with disappointed looks on their faces.
It seems that we can no longer count on the reinforcements from Zhao.
Qi's national strength was originally stronger than Zhao's. Even when Zhao tried its best to deal with the situation, it was still difficult to protect itself. If it withdrew its troops to Daxia at this time, it would be courting its own destruction, and Zhao could not be blamed.
The State of Wei invaded Daxia and the State of Qi was eyeing the State of Zhao covetously. The peace on the continent that had lasted for more than three hundred years was completely broken.
Prince Zhao's Palace.
Li Yun looked at Li Nuo and asked, "Do you want to go back with me?"
Li Nuo nodded. He had only enjoyed a few days of good life before he had to leave again. Although he felt very sorry, he was still an official of Da Xia after all. When the country was in danger, how could he enjoy himself leisurely in another country?
Jiahe and An Ning did not hesitate and said in unison: "I will go back with you!"
Li Nuo shook his head and said, "You guys stay here first."
Although the cultivation level of the fifth realm is not weak, in the face of war, the Grandmaster is nothing more than a stronger cannon fodder.
At this time, a figure walking side by side with Dongfang Xuan said, "Take me with you."
Li Nuo looked at this half-saint of martial arts from Wei. Wei invaded Daxia. As a half-saint of Wei, would he go back to Daxia with him?
These days, this person is like a dog-skin plaster, sticking to Li Nuo and can't be shaken off.
Huang Yuan coughed lightly and said, "Although I am a Wei citizen, I am actually against war and aggression in my heart. I am very clear about the strength of Wei, which may be of some help to you..."
A moment later, on the plane back to Chang'an.
Huang Yuan spoke eloquently: "Daxia has been expanding its military strength in the past two years. From the perspective of military strength, it is not much weaker than Wei, but the number of top-level masters is too far behind. Daxia's six major families have only seven semi-saints, while Wei's eight major martial arts families alone have eleven semi-saints. In addition, Wei has one semi-saint each from the Mohist School, the Agricultural School, the Military School, and the Diplomatic School. The number of semi-saints is more than twice that of Daxia..."
Li Yun felt something was strange while listening to the half-saint of Wei analyzing the situation between the two countries.
He is a Wei person. Let's not talk about the Great Wei and the Xia Kingdom, but the Wei Kingdom and the Great Xia. I wonder where Li Nuo abducted this semi-saint traitor from?
Although the strength of a country is not entirely determined by the number of semi-saints, the number of top-level strongmen can indeed have a great impact on the war situation.
Judging from its apparent strength, Da Xia is almost certain to lose.
Because only a semi-saint can kill a semi-saint. If all the semi-saints of Daxia died, even if they were exchanged one for one with the other side, the remaining top-level powerhouses of the other side would be able to wipe out a country without a semi-saint.
Li Nuo calculated that for the fifteen semi-saints, their average remaining lifespan was sixty years, plus the thirty years required to exchange for a semi-saint from the Yin-Yang family each time. Rounding it off, it would take him a hundred years to deduct the lifespan of each semi-saint. It would take a total of fifteen hundred years to deal with all the semi-saints in Wei.
His current life span is not enough.
Moreover, even a Half-Saint of the Yin-Yang School cannot directly reduce the lifespan of strong men of the same level to zero, causing them to die on the spot.
Those semi-saints could still live for ten days or half a month after being deprived of their lifespan.
Unlike the two brothers of the Ximen family, their cultivation level and lifespan are positively correlated.
A warrior's cultivation has nothing to do with his life span.
A dying martial arts half-saint is still a half-saint, and most likely a crazy and reckless half-saint...
The Yin-Yang magic that deprives people of their lives is like a nuclear weapon.
It only has the strongest deterrent effect before it is used.
Once used, all you will get is a dying, crazy half-saint...
No one knows what irrational things he will do.
After returning to Chang'an, Li Nuo first placed Huang Yuan in the Li Mansion, and then he went to the Secretariat.
Ever since the news of Wei's invasion came, the Secretariat has become extremely busy. All the information collected by various departments is processed here, countless reports come in, and countless orders are issued...
In the office of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Li Nuo met the Left Prime Minister again.
He looked even more haggard.
Seeing Li Nuo, the left prime minister's spirits lifted a little. Without even having time to exchange pleasantries, he immediately asked, "How many troops has Zhao agreed to send?"
Li Nuo shook his head and said, "Qi has deployed troops on the border of Zhao, and Zhao is also dispatching troops to defend. I'm afraid it doesn't have the spare energy to help Daxia..."
The left prime minister sat on the chair, the brilliance on his face quickly dimmed, and he slowly said: "The State of Chu has also dispatched 100,000 troops to the southeastern border of Daxia. I'm afraid they have been plotting for a long time, with the goal of annexing Daxia and Zhao at the same time..."
Li Nuo felt that this situation was familiar.
Phoenix had anticipated this outcome half a year ago.
Daxia's situation is not very good, but it is not the end of the road. If it really comes to that, Li Nuo will be able to turn the Emperor of Wei into a truly lonely man...
In the Secretariat, Li Nuo carefully read each report.
Li Mansion.
Huang Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, admiring the flowers in the garden.
When analyzing the fighting power of Wei State, he actually missed one thing.
Himself.
He was a Wei citizen and should have stood on the side of Wei. However, after experiencing the events of Yue, he changed his mind...
Even if Wei conquered Daxia, it would not bring any substantial benefits to it.
It would be better to be like that old man and stay by Li Nuo's side. Maybe one day, when he's happy, he'll give me a few decades of life...
Of course, the more important reason was that he didn't want to be an enemy of this person.
Li Nuo can give himself life, but he can also take away his life.
In the whole world, the person he fears the most, besides Li Nuo, is that mysterious man...
To this day, he still didn't know what that person had forced him to take. He had already checked his body countless times, but still couldn't find anything...
At this time, a figure slowly walked into the garden.
Huang Yuan looked back and saw an elegant middle-aged man.
Although this was the first time he had seen this person, he felt as if he had seen him before...
(End of this chapter)
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