Chapter 305 The War Begins
The Imperial Palace, inside the Golden Throne Hall.
Today's morning court lasted a long time.
The hall was brightly lit, and the huge golden pillars with coiled dragons cast long, blurry shadows in the sunlight.
Yan Shixu sat high on the dragon throne, his dark uniform embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon.
Its scales and claws were spread out, and it looked majestic, but at this moment there was also a hint of indescribable tension.
His gaze slowly swept over the civil and military officials standing below, silent as a mouse.
You could hear a pin drop in the hall, with only the sound of suppressed breathing and the three urgent reports spread out on the imperial desk, still covered in dust from the border crossing.
The first one comes from the northernmost Shuofeng Pass.
The journey was expedited for eight hundred miles, and the ink was splattered everywhere, as if one could smell the strong smell of blood carried by the wind and sand from outside the Great Wall.
General Luo Yuan of Shuofeng Pass urgently reported:
Six days ago, Ashina Duoji, the wolf lord of the Northern Di, personally led his troops, united the three tribes of Mobei, assembled 500,000 elite cavalry, and suddenly attacked the pass!
The enemy used the heavily armored cavalry "Iron Pagoda" as their vanguard, assisted by the huge siege weapon "Mountain Shaker". Their offensive was like a tide, non-stop day and night.
Two of the three defense lines built along the mountain outside Shufeng Pass had been breached within six days!
Although the city wall was strong, the enemy was fearless and attacked in turns. Arrows were like locusts covering the sky, and all the rolling logs and stones were used up.
Soldiers fought bloody battles, resulting in over ten thousand casualties! The walls of the pass were broken in many places and were on the verge of collapse! Smoke obscured the sky, and blood stained the yellow sand!
All the soldiers have sworn to live and die with the city, but the enemy's strength is as vast as an abyss, and we fear we cannot hold out for long. Therefore, we earnestly request the court to quickly send reinforcements, food, fodder, and firearms.
The Northern Di have always been a major concern for the Dayan Dynasty, and a joint attack of this scale has not happened in the past twenty years.
If Shufeng Pass is breached, the Di Rong army will charge forward and turn the fertile lands of the northern border into scorched earth.
At this moment, King Wu was like an enraged lion, pacing back and forth in the hall.
"Damn it! Those shameless Beidi bastards! They dare to show off their power while I'm away!"
After walking back and forth a few times, he suddenly stopped and turned to the imperial steps.
"Your Majesty! I beg your command! Immediately mobilize the troops to support Youzhou's Shuofeng Pass! We must make sure that Ashina Duoji, the bastard, never returns!"
Yan Shixu lowered his eyes and looked at his uncle, the emperor who was so powerful in the northern border.
He was the most ferocious wolf in the northern border of Dayan. With him back at Shuofeng Pass, repelling the Dirong coalition was a sure thing. However, merely repelling...
A faint light flashed in Yan Shixu's eyes as he stared into King Wu's eyes burning with war.
King Wu was stunned by his gaze. "Your Majesty? What I said...is there anything wrong?"
Minister of War Su Zhanyue stepped forward and bowed, saying:
"Your Majesty, Prince Wu is the bravest of the three armies, and his reputation intimidates the Northern Di. The Northern Di are invading en masse, and Shufeng Pass is in imminent danger. If you dispatch Prince Wu to help overnight, he will surely quickly stabilize the situation and turn the tide, greatly reducing our casualties and the suffering of the people. Although General Luo Yuan is also a good general, he is undoubtedly inferior to Prince Wu in deterring the Northern Di. I agree with Prince Wu's request!"
King Wu nodded heavily, his eyes burning.
Yan Shixu's voice was low and clear, with undeniable penetrating power:
"Uncle Wu, what I want is not just to drive the enemy back to the northern desert. I want to expand our territory. I want to make sure that the Northern Di dare not even dare to look at Dayan again for a hundred years! Can Uncle Wu achieve this on this trip?"
Upon hearing this, King Wu was stunned at first, and then a terrifying light burst out in his eyes.
He slapped his thigh and laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Good! Good boy! You are worthy of being the emperor of Great Yan! You think alike! This time when I go back, I will definitely beat those Beidi bastards and teach them what it means to 'steal a chicken but lose the rice' and what it means to 'let the wolf in'! I will make the thousand-mile grassland in Mobei fly the dragon flag of Great Yan!"
Seeing King Wu's arrogant and presumptuous words and deeds, several imperial censors could not help but step forward to impeach him.
But after being glared at by King Wu's fierce eyes, several imperial censors shrank their heads and dared not move forward.
Civil and military officials had long been accustomed to King Wu's unruly temperament.
In the Golden Palace, he called the emperor "good boy" and himself "Laozi"——
Absolutely unprecedented and unparalleled!
Yan Shixu did not care about King Wu's presumptuous words and deeds.
He waved his hand and asked the ministers to continue discussing the war situation.
The second urgent report came from Zhennan Pass in the southwest.
The edge of the letter was stained with the unique dampness of southern Xinjiang. Chen Zhen, the commander of Zhennan Pass, reported anxiously:
At the hour of Yin on February 26, Nong Zhigao, the brother of the Nanzhao King and known as the 'Ghost King', led 50,000 'rattan armor ghost soldiers' under his command, and took advantage of the thick fog and miasma to raid three garrisons and important trading towns outside the southern gate of our town!
The enemy is good at expelling insects and poisons, and is familiar with the small paths in the deep mountains and old forests. He appears and disappears mysteriously and his whereabouts are erratic.
Our army was caught off guard and all three camps were burned down. The defenders and merchants suffered heavy casualties. The preliminary count has exceeded a thousand, and the exact number is still being verified!
Fodder, salt, iron, and cloth were all looted!
The terrifying thing is that when the enemy retreated, they spread the plague in streams, springs, and the bodies of fallen soldiers!
Soldiers and civilians inside the pass are now suffering from persistent high fever, body sores, and skin ulcers and pus.
As the epidemic gradually spread, the military and civilians were frightened and the people were in panic.
Chen Zhen has issued strict orders to seal off the epidemic area and burn and bury the bodies, but this poison is so strange that it may spread out of control!
Nanzhao's actions this time were by no means ordinary looting. Their intentions were sinister and they seemed to have a bigger plot.
Although there are 300,000 soldiers defending Zhennan Pass, they need to divide their forces to defend the long border and guard against the enemy's attack again. At the same time, they have to devote all their efforts to dealing with the epidemic, which makes them very stretched!
Chen Zhen implores the court to urgently dispatch the Imperial Medical Bureau's experts in epidemic prevention, along with a large quantity of medicinal materials, southward! Delay could lead to a major crisis!
The danger in the southwest is not as fierce and violent as the one in the north, but it is more sinister and treacherous, like a thorn in the flesh.
Fifty thousand elite soldiers took advantage of the terrain and poisoned the people, burned the village and looted the goods, and even spread the plague!
This is not just a military provocation, but an attempt to destroy the foundation of survival of the military and civilians at the border.
Once the plague gets out of control, even with an army of 300,000, it will collapse without a fight!
Yan Shilin, who was standing at the front row, frowned and said:
"Nong Zhigao of Nanzhao has always been as cunning as a fox and as vicious as a scorpion. He uses poison to drive away insects and will do anything to get rid of them!"
"This operation is about looting, but spreading the plague is a deadly move. It's intended to weaken the combat capabilities of our border troops and civilians, create panic, destabilize our foundations, and pave the way for a subsequent large-scale invasion."
Many officials agreed.
"The southwest is a land of malaria and plague, with poisonous insects everywhere. Ordinary soldiers will have difficulty adapting. We need to dispatch veterans who are familiar with the geography and climate of southern Xinjiang and have rich experience in mountain warfare to lead the troops to provide assistance!"
"The prevention of the epidemic cannot be delayed any longer! I believe that the Imperial Hospital Director He should be personally in charge, selecting capable doctors, bringing sufficient medicinal materials, and traveling south at full speed!"
Yan Shixu's face was also covered with a layer of frost.
A veteran who is familiar with southern Xinjiang and skilled in the battlefield... the most suitable person is none other than Xie Heqi, the former Duke of Rong.
However, Xie Heqi was dismissed from office by his imperial decree for some reason, and was explicitly ordered not to serve as an official in the court for ten years.
If he were to be reinstated and given military power at this time, not only would his frequent changes of orders be detrimental to the emperor, but it would also arouse public controversy and shake the people's hearts.
The trade-offs here must be made with extreme caution.
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