Especially since last year's rain prayers, the celestial phenomena have only been peaceful for a short time.
Spring has just begun, and every household has just finished spring plowing.
The water output from rivers and wells throughout the village is far less than before, and it looks like this year will be another drought.
The effects weren't very obvious in various places, but Jiang Bai's spirit was sharp, and he also resonated slightly with the earth's veins because of his first rain-praying ceremony.
Lately, she has been feeling a bit hot and dry in the air.
To put it bluntly, the natural disasters and man-made calamities are all due to the current lack of fortune in the Qian Yuan Kingdom.
She is not a bloodthirsty person, but the possibility of her being mentally unstable after killing someone is also a weakness.
Weaknesses should be eliminated.
Her expression darkened slightly, and Jia Yi replied, "This subordinate does not know whether Prince An is worthy of ascending the throne."
“But Prince An killed the angel who came to deliver the imperial edict, which is a blatant act of defiance against the court. Neither the emperor nor the other officials will let him off easily.”
"you're right."
Jiang Bai nodded.
"Chongyu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is a natural defensive pass, but the commander was changed on his deathbed, which led to the fall of Chongyu Pass."
"Besides wanting to force me to take action, they may also be trying to kill Prince An."
Since the barbarians breached the pass, the imperial court has not responded in the slightest, disregarding the lives and deaths of the people.
If it weren't for Prince An gathering the fleeing people, Xuchuan Prefecture would probably have already fallen into the hands of the barbarians.
"Perhaps... they want Prince An to amass military power, use him to annihilate the barbarians, and then seize the military power he has gathered under the pretext of rebellion."
Jia Yi is not good at political maneuvering, but from a conspiracy perspective, it's possible that the capital really has this intention.
"This is to completely pin Prince An down in Xuchuan."
Jiang Bai sneered.
A prince, without any support from the court, only had a state as his fief.
It was a fiefdom that had just suffered a drought, with less than one in ten people surviving.
We have no money, no food, and no manpower.
If any barbarians break through the pass again, it would be easy to 'take advantage of the situation' and kill them.
"He ordered people to spread the news that the court had abandoned Xuchuan and incited the people to flee to the capital."
After pondering for a while, Jiang Bai decided to take the initiative.
For her mission to be accomplished, a stable regime is a prerequisite.
But right now, let alone stability, there's a risk of collapse at any moment.
"Since the capital wants to watch the barbarians fight with Prince An like a clam and a snipe, we can't let them reap the benefits."
Jiang Bai picked up his pen and wrote a reply, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
She didn't have many men under her command, and although she had an army, there was no need for her to show her face.
"Send a message to Xuan Ye: there's no need to leave anyone to guard Mangshan. Tell him to take the rest of the people, regroup, and go to join Prince An."
The Black-Clad Guards are all elites, but since they are elites, they cannot be overlooked.
"But my lord, this means that Mangshan will be left without guards..."
A looked worried.
"There's no need to worry."
Jiang Bai has already tested it; it's almost impossible for outsiders to get deep into Mangshan.
She suspected that the Imperial Seal of the State was the culprit, and that the thing might have become a spirit.
However, this was just her suspicion, and in this ancient world with low martial arts levels, it was far too fantastical.
Jiang Baixin's message was sent out, and at the same time, rumors spread throughout Xu Chuan Prefecture.
Some people vividly described how the imperial court had already ceded the entire Xuchuan Prefecture to the barbarians, so the temporary change of general at Chongyu Pass was to allow the barbarian army to enter the pass.
All the people of Xuchuan Prefecture were provided with food by the imperial court to the barbarians.
This was to prevent barbarians from invading the capital and harming the nobles.
The people of Qian Yuan all knew that the land where the western barbarians lived was barren and unsuitable for growing crops.
Every year, a large amount of grain needs to be purchased from the border markets.
When they are short of money, they will raise an army and invade Qian Yuan, plundering food, women, and treasures within its territory.
They don't even spare ordinary people.
In addition, they had a strong and well-equipped army, so they succeeded five or six times out of ten.
You should know that barbarians are cannibals.
That's why, once these rumors spread, most of the people believed them.
Fengchuan County and Duyang County in Yingzhou had been occupied by barbarians, and many people who had fled from there were now living in Xuchuan Prefecture.
They were able to come to Xuchuan Prefecture because they had relatives there and were able to obtain travel permits.
Hearing these words now, I feel that Xu Chuan Prefecture is not safe either.
If the rumors are true, the entire Xuchuan Prefecture might become a wasteland.
In an instant, panic gripped the people, and they dared not stay any longer. Those who had connections signed travel permits and fled elsewhere to save their lives.
Without connections, they lived in constant fear, worrying about when the barbarians would invade their territory.
The people in the city were restless, while the people in the villages were even more panicked.
The city has walls to keep out the intruders, but there are no barriers in this village. If barbarians come, they can be killed without hesitation.
In an instant, people in the village also started looking for ways to escape to the city.
Some who had no relatives in the city fled towards the capital with their families.
Chaos is rampant in Xuchuan.
The rumor that the imperial court had given Xuchuan Prefecture to the barbarians had barely been circulating for a few days when it was replaced by a new rumor.
It is said that the imperial court did not send Xuchuan Prefecture out, but because the general guarding the pass was eager for quick success and opened the gate on his own initiative, hoping to gain merit in defeating the enemy. Unexpectedly, the barbarians found an opportunity and broke through the pass instead.
Unable to provide assistance, the imperial court issued a secret order, commanding Prince An to lead troops to drive out the barbarians.
The people, recalling the news they had recently heard that Prince An's troops were indeed attacking the barbarians, began to believe the news even more.
But the rumor also said that Prince An had just been enfeoffed as a prince and had no money or manpower, so he probably wouldn't last long.
As a result, the people panicked again.
Once the conscription order from Prince An was issued, many able-bodied men from the common people packed their belongings and left to join Prince An.
Regardless of whether the news is true or false.
Since these two rumors spread, Prince An's forces have gained 30,000 soldiers in just a few days.
"Jiang Bai really is something else."
Looking at the numbers reported by his subordinates, Ming Yu felt a mixture of joy and worry.
The good thing was that he had more soldiers under his command, but the bad thing was that these soldiers had just joined the camp and could not go to the battlefield yet.
And the amount of food consumed is astronomical.
He glanced at his personal space when he had a moment to spare, and found very little gold or silver inside. The money he had borrowed from Jiang Bai had been mostly squandered.
"Your Highness."
Ji Yanwen called out to him, and he finally came to his senses.
Looking at this man who was nominally her strategist but actually her cousin, and thinking of the empty space, she couldn't help but ask, "Yanwen hasn't been home for a long time, has he?"
Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about?
Ji Yanwen felt a little angry.
When he first came, he clearly said that he would temporarily take over the position of military advisor and only needed to drive out the barbarians within the territory of Nan'an County.
But after he drove out the barbarians from Nan'an County, he said that the people of Fengchuan County were being harmed by the barbarians and were suffering terribly.
After the rescue in Fengchuan County was completed, it was said that there were barbarians in other counties.
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