Xu Yixing put her lips close to his, but didn't hear anything, just felt a warm touch. Realizing that she had been fooled, she was about to withdraw in frustration, but Lu Anyuan's voice controlled her like magic, making her unable to move.
"I didn't come to the grassland this time to attack those Hu people, but what I did was definitely for Daxia..."
Lu Anyuan whispered this to Xu Yixing one word at a time. He had been working on this plan since he was still the King of Xiaoyi. After all, the late emperor had sent him to the northern border to comfort the troops. At that time, he realized that the border troops were cumbersome and costly, and the price of constant war was tens of thousands of casualties and losses every year.
How to make these barbarians give up their attack on Daxia, or completely cripple them, has always been a headache for him. He had been planning this for a long time, but he couldn't tell anyone else. Today, he was finally able to speak out, and he was really happy.
Xu Yixing felt dizzy when she heard what he said. This plan was too bold, wasn't it? After she finished listening to all this, her mouth was still wide open, and she couldn't recover for a long time.
It turned out that Lu Anyuan came to the grassland not to attack the royal court, but to cooperate with the Khan.
"In other words, you devised a plan that defied public outrage, pretending to lead the army in person, but in reality, you were negotiating peace with Yingli Khan? The conditions were the opening of the market to clear trade routes and the permission to trade ironware?"
Xu Yixing smacked his lips. These conditions were indeed very tempting. Opening trade routes meant that the Hu people could exchange gems and leather for enough money, while the sale of ironware was a strict ban in all dynasties.
The grasslands lack iron ore, so good weapons are naturally scarce. Only in peacetime can the Hu people exchange some weapons from Daxia merchants, and there are strict restrictions on quantity and quality. This is because they are afraid that the Hu people will harm the local area after acquiring sophisticated weapons. How could Lu Anyuan be so bold?
"Yes, and I came here with full sincerity this time. I brought a lot of good things for them, Yingli Khan."
"Aren't you afraid that once the iron restrictions are lifted, those people will become even more powerful?"
"Haha, of course we can't give them unlimited supplies. Besides, the ironware exported to the Hu people is specially made. It's sharp but very fragile. It can only kill cattle and sheep, but it can never withstand the hardness of our armor in a war. I'm not stupid enough to give the enemy a knife."
"Well...but the Khan is not stupid. You can't expect him to succeed by using this to fool people."
Lu Anyuan flicked her head. Why didn't this clever brain of hers come to its senses? This plan was originally a long-term one. First, they would use these conditions to sign a peace treaty with Yingli Khan. Then, when supplying goods, they would slowly mix in those special products, in small quantities, and gradually increase them. By the time they discovered the problem, it would be at least a year or two later.
In the next one or two years, Lu Anyuan will gradually come into contact with several other leaders on the grassland, find out their details one by one, provide them with what they need, and slowly undermine their loyalty to the Khan. It would be best if they start internal strife. In this way, even if Yingli Khan finds out, he will inevitably have to face the troubles of internal strife and will have no energy to distract himself from Daxia.
Xu Yixing seemed to understand, but not quite. She knew that if this plan succeeded, it would naturally be beneficial rather than harmful. However, even if Lu Anyuan had made a mistake, Yingli Khan might not fall into his trap step by step. Now that he was injured, wasn't that a good proof?
"Then why did you guys break down?"
At this point, Lu Anyuan's face darkened. "He broke his promise. We had already met and agreed on everything, but he suddenly attacked the next day and trapped the delegation at the bottom of the slope."
"I think they probably didn't intend to cooperate with you from the beginning. They just tricked you into coming over and then killed you."
Lu Anyuan did not comment. Whether it was a planned murder or a sudden change of mind, Yingli Khan did not keep his promise. Fortunately, Lu Anyuan had a backup plan, so he did not deviate from the plan.
"Yingli is very arrogant. He thinks that everything will be fine as long as he traps the Emperor of Daxia. He is so stupid." Lu Anyuan's expression softened a little and he continued to tell Xu Yixing about his experiences.
As he said, his strength was pushing people from behind. Yingli Khan's ninth son, known as Prince Gudu, had long harbored the idea of seizing the royal tent, instigated and silently supported by Lu Anyuan. Seeing the Great Xia army engaged in battle with his father's cavalry, he took advantage of the chaos to charge into the royal tent, even shielding the already injured Great Xia emperor and sending them to the royal tent for shelter.
Because of this, Lu Anyuan didn't die at the hands of the Hu people, but was almost poisoned by a milkmaid, so you can't blame Xia Xiao for disliking her. After Mr. Yao tested the mare's milk, Xia Xiao immediately felt that this person was a spy sent by Gu Du, which is why he angrily led people to capture him. However, the result was really unexpected.
"This so-called lonely prince actually let you go and hid you from everyone. Do you think I can believe it?"
"Hahahaha! You still understand me." Lu Anyuan smiled slyly: "That's because I lent him Ren Shaozhou's troops to encircle his father Yingli Khan and those nobles. Besides, if it weren't for the money and weapons I gave him before, he would have no chance of doing anything!"
"Let your son beat me? And beat his aunts and uncles from the same clan? You really dare to think about it. And this Gu Du is really heartless. He actually lets outsiders beat their own people. Tsk tsk tsk tsk..." At this point, Xu Yixing completely understood Lu Anyuan's intention. He was determined to weaken the power of the royal court from the beginning.
Whether Yingli Khan accepted the treaty and lived in peace with Daxia, or instigated civil unrest and let them kill each other, Lu Anyuan had no intention of letting those Hu people go. Otherwise, he would have sent a peace delegation instead of leading hundreds of thousands of troops deep into the grasslands under the pretext of personally leading an expedition.
I'm afraid that even if Yingli Khan signed the treaty, Lu Anyuan would try his best to lend this team to ambitious people and let them cause trouble.
"So, the only variable in your plan is that you're injured?" Xu Yixing placed his hand gently on Lu Anyuan's chest and could feel his heartbeat, right next to the wound. If it had been a little further off, it would have hit his heart directly, and there would have been no chance of survival.
"You are the only variable in my plan!" Lu Anyuan clasped her hand with his backhand. "I was indeed keeping an eye on Xu Yiwen before I came here. I saw that his route was to enter the capital, but for some reason he returned to Miaozhou. I guessed you must be in Miaozhou, so I left the team and came here early. Sure enough, I followed him and found you."
Uh... Would you believe me if I said Xu Yiwen returned because you were too strict in checking and he couldn't enter the capital? And did he know I was here? Didn't he only find out from Gao Yao after he came back...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
