Chapter 468: All Sides Are Making Their Moves (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Please, it can't be the people chasing us!
The boy screamed wildly in his heart, praying to the heavens.
"Mr. Yan Xingning, if you are watching from heaven, please bless your wife and daughters..." Please also bless him.
The boy muttered to himself, pulling his straw hat down further. Despite being drenched in cold sweat, he dared not whip the donkey to make it run faster. Those few breaths felt like an eternity, until finally—
A group of people galloped past.
They didn't even glance at their dilapidated little donkey cart.
The boy's heart, which had been pounding in his throat, suddenly settled, and he exhaled a breath of stale air: "Damn it, that scared the hell out of me."
Thankfully, it was a false alarm.
Not only was he worried, but the woman was also on edge, cautiously lifting the curtain to peek at the group's attire. She immediately discerned their origins, and while reassuring her sleepy daughter, she said, "This is an urgent military order from the front lines."
The boy then remembered that the leader had a flag with the word "urgent" printed on it stuck on his back, and asked, "Has something happened at the front?"
He muttered to himself, "It's still at this critical juncture..."
Could it be related to Mr. Yan's death?
The woman said, "That's inevitable."
Although she was a woman confined to the inner quarters, her early education was the same as that of ordinary scholars, and she often discussed matters with her husband until late at night. Regarding the internal strife within the royal family instigated by the two kings, Zheng Qiao, and the other two, the couple unanimously believed that Zheng Qiao had a greater chance of winning.
There's no other reason than that Zheng Qiao is even more ruthless.
His methods have no bottom line.
In terms of cunning, even the two kings were no match for him.
"With Xingning's passing, Zheng Qiao may have only lost a distrusted senior brother, but do you know how many colleagues, classmates, and fellow students Xingning had? My father-in-law was a renowned scholar of our time, with nearly a thousand students. Xingning was famous in his youth and had a wide circle of friends..."
Among them were many who served as officials in various local powerful families or established their own independent businesses.
As she uttered the first four words, the woman's expression visibly dimmed. She acknowledged that her husband's death was painful, even though she had mentally prepared herself for this day for over two years. But when she actually faced it, her heart was still torn apart...
"If the old king of Xin hadn't been so muddleheaded, giving foreign enemies an opportunity to take advantage, leading to the destruction of the country and the loss of his family, Xingning might have become the foremost scholar of this generation, unmatched by anyone in the literary world." As she said this, the woman's eyes were filled with sincere pride.
The boy muttered, "Mr. Yan doesn't seem to have many friends."
It doesn't seem like someone who "has a wide circle of friends" at all.
The woman gave a bitter smile.
Outsiders misunderstood Yan An as aiding and abetting tyranny, but as his wife, she knew very well that he was walking a path of martyrdom, one that was misunderstood by others. His only desire was to reduce war and spare lives from devastation. No amount of criticism could shake his resolve.
However, while his friends were puzzled, Yan An hadn't helped Zheng Qiao commit any heinous acts. His death would completely ignite the conflict between the literati and Zheng Qiao. Zheng Qiao's situation was already unstable, and with this added threat, things were getting even more complicated.
The woman said, "Let future generations write the truth."
The boy responded with an "oh".
The woman continued, "Given the current situation, even someone as arrogant and conceited as Zheng Qiao might be losing control. If he wants to keep his head, he must bring back the troops from the front lines to protect him and suppress any other emerging forces, big or small."
"Troops to be recalled to the front lines?"
The boy let out a strange cry.
"Are we just going to ignore the enemy?"
The woman shook her head: "Zheng Qiao deliberately delayed the battle for two reasons. First, to ease the tension between himself and his troops, letting them taste the sweetness of victory and making them more willing to fight for him. Second, to secretly suppress the soldiers who were showing signs of disobedience and wear down their fighting strength. As for the King of the Pigs, although their mobilization was impressive and they seemed to be invincible, Zheng Qiao never took them seriously from beginning to end. He was merely using the external war to divert attention from his own internal conflicts; to put it bluntly, they were just a whetstone."
Once the knife is sharpened, is there still a need for the stone?
The boy was stunned: "W-Is that so?"
"He also took the time to play tricks on Shiwu."
Previously, Shiwu had lent troops to Zheng Qiao.
But he used these soldiers as cannon fodder.
The Ten Crows' plans have been thwarted, compounded by old and new grudges. Hearing that the border defenses are weak, the Ten Crows will likely seize this opportunity to act desperately. With pressure from multiple sides, if Zheng Qiao wants to survive, he has no choice but to act swiftly and decisively.
Once the front lines are secured, withdraw your troops to defend the front.
The boy's lips twitched slightly. He hadn't expected that the person he considered sick was actually quite clever, but unfortunately, he didn't use his intelligence for good. So many innocent people had lost their lives because of his decisions. Then he heard the woman say, "Let's go to the river magistrate first, and then make further plans."
"Transfer to Heyin?" The young man pulled out the plan given to him by Yan An, which he had hidden in his pocket. "But Mr. Yan intends to..."
"Xingning can't predict everything accurately either."
The woman interrupted the boy's rambling.
For example, the Zheng Qiao incident.
The young man readily agreed: "What you say is true, madam."
They immediately chose to change routes.
He was preoccupied with the situation at the front, and wondered what the urgent military order contained.
His intuition told him it wasn't anything good.
Although it's called an urgent dispatch, the actual delivery speed is much faster. After all, a martial artist's warhorse is different from a living warhorse; as long as the former has enough martial energy, it won't get tired and slow down. It can gallop all the way to its destination.
"Report—"
"Urgent military order!"
The leading warrior, holding aloft a battle flag bearing the character "急" (urgent), marched unimpeded to the main tent of the camp.
The commander-in-chief was drinking and making merry with his soldiers in his tent. Recently, that fierce barbarian on the other side had been recalled, so the war was not urgent, and they had won more than they had lost. He spent his days leisurely, either training the troops or drinking and relaxing. Before he could fully enjoy himself, a military order arrived.
The commander was startled, his slight intoxication completely dissipated, and he respectfully accepted the military order sealed with wax.
Once opened, I quickly scanned through the pages.
The commander's expression turned strange.
On one side, the staff and soldiers waited anxiously.
"Marshal, what does it say?"
Some military officers couldn't wait to urge them on.
The commander handed out the bamboo slip containing the military order, while simultaneously rolling up the secret letter tucked inside and carefully hiding it in his robes. He said, "You'll see when you see it. Hey, the king is sending us military merits. We're in for a good show."
Everyone stared intently.
They went so far as to turn the enemy general Gongxi Chou against his cause, regardless of the cost.
"That barbarian... he's only good at fighting, he doesn't have much real power. Even if we could win him over, it wouldn't benefit us." We've run into a clash of styles! We're all martial artists, and we only have so many soldiers and merits.
The more he gains, the less they benefit.
Gong Xiqiu was a well-known professional fighter.
He's very good at fighting, but he rarely commands troops.
After a while, everyone saw it clearly.
So he's just a high-ranking thug with no real military power. It wouldn't be very profitable to turn a slightly better ordinary soldier against him. Barbarians are barbarians, truly clueless. To stay after being treated so badly, most of them would have resigned long ago.
If they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will.
Turn him to his side...
It appears to be harmful rather than beneficial at present.
(●''●)
To find out what happens next, just wait and see—
Pretty Tang Mei, with two thousand soldiers, crushed the capital of Shiwu.
Dai Anian, single-handedly, turned the tables and killed his brother and father.
(End of this chapter)
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