When night fell, the princess and her entourage set up camp on the snowy plain.
It would take at least half a month to reach the capital of the Wilderness Country at the current speed of the convoy.
Tuoba Qiu was not in a hurry, because a group of bandits had come to the territory of the Wilderness Country - he naturally knew that they were not bandits, but the Divine Sword Special Forces from Pingling Mountain.
He had received intelligence about this team. In less than a month, this team had traveled nearly a thousand miles to raid six ranches in the deserted country and robbed nine towns.
What do they want to do?
Tuoba Yuan asked this question in Tuoba Qiu's tent.
Tuoba Qiu's face was serious. "On the smallest scale, they are trying to cause chaos in the desolate country."
Tuoba Yuan understood this. In order to annihilate this army, the Huang Kingdom dispatched 60,000 cavalrymen to encircle it in three directions.
Unfortunately, they have not been able to intercept them so far, and have lost at least 10,000 troops.
The 60,000 cavalrymen operating in this icy and snowy environment consumed a huge amount of food and grass. Although there was no need to transport food and grass from the rear, the food and grass stored in various important border towns could not withstand such a toss.
With less than 4,000 troops, they tied down 60,000 elite cavalrymen of the Wilderness Country. Their war horses and the food and fodder they needed were also robbed. These bastards really caused chaos in the Wilderness Country, causing panic among the people in many ranches and small towns.
"Then...what about the bigger picture?"
Tuoba Qiu was silent for a long time. "To put it in a bigger picture, I'm afraid it means destroying the Desolate Kingdom."
Tuoba Yuan was stunned. Four thousand people destroyed the Huang Kingdom?
This is impossible!
Although Huangguo has the smallest land area and the smallest population among the four countries, it still has a population of tens of millions under the Eight Banners. With only 4,000 people... I'm afraid my father is overthinking it.
"Not only do you not believe it, I'm afraid the king doesn't believe it either." Tuoba Qiu took a sip of wine and said slowly, "Yes, there are only 4,000 of them, but since entering the Desolate Country, they have killed 16,000 of our soldiers, not counting the 20,000 elite soldiers who died in Pingling Mountain."
"They stole at least 10,000 horses and destroyed six ranches. This loss may not seem too serious, but don't forget, we haven't killed a single one of them yet!"
"Fight to support war, this was once our strategy for the barbarians to move south, but now this divine sword has mastered it to perfection!"
Tuoba Qiu took a deep breath, his tone extremely heavy. "Although ants are small, they can kill elephants. If we still can't do anything to them, let me ask you, one year from now, do you think our country will still have war horses available? Will there still be elite soldiers?"
Tuoba Qiu suddenly realized - the Divine Sword Army was not going to capture cities, their target was the war horses of the Wilderness Country. They only needed to destroy all the pastures and all the war horses, and then eliminate the soldiers of the Wilderness Country one by one under the pursuit of the Wilderness Country cavalry. Then, would the Wilderness Country still exist?
"We have no way to deal with them?"
"I'm afraid we won't have a chance to destroy them until their firearms are exhausted... You've met Fu Xiaoguan in Wuchao. What kind of person is he?"
Tuoba Qiu asked with a frown.
Tuoba Yuan thought for a moment and replied, "I haven't sensed any military aura in him. He's more of a scholar, and his talent is indeed extremely high. Speaking of scheming, he once plotted against the Sixth Prince of the Yi Kingdom, Yan Hanyu, causing him to lose an arm. Later, Yan Hanyu actually wanted to invite him to Liuyuntai."
"This man loves money and lust. After Emperor Wen issued the imperial decree confirming him as the crown prince, he didn't even attend the Liuyuntai Literary Gathering awards ceremony. Instead, he went to the residence of the Wu Dynasty's chief eunuch, Gao Gong, and stole items worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. And regarding his lust, the Wu Dynasty's ministers had already planned to hold a nationwide beauty pageant when he entered the Eastern Palace..."
"The Wu Dynasty's national talent show hasn't happened in three dynasties, but because of him, it almost happened again."
"It would be best if he died. If this fellow really ascended the throne and became the Emperor of the Wu Dynasty, given his seventeen years of living in the Yu Dynasty, I'm afraid it would be extremely detrimental to our dynasty's southward advance."
Tuoba Qiu stroked his beard and nodded slightly, but the worry between his brows did not dissipate.
This Divine Sword Army had been established for less than a year, and both its combat methods and weapons and equipment far surpassed all the armies in the world.
This training method was naturally invented by Fu Xiaoguan, and Bai Yulian was the person in charge.
This means that even if Fu Xiaoguan died, such an army would continue to emerge, and their weapons and equipment would also continue to be produced.
The firearm had already been handed over to the craftsmen of the Yi country for research, and no one knew when they would be able to produce this powerful weapon.
This is the heaviest stone weighing on Tuoba Qiu's chest. If the Yu Dynasty had more than 10,000 such soldiers, with this kind of firearms and red cannons, how could the border of this desolate country be defended!
At that time, the country of wilderness will face its greatest crisis.
Tuoba Yuan didn't know that Tuoba Qiu was worried about the next one or two years. He also took a sip of wine and was about to speak when he suddenly stood up.
The sound of fierce horse hooves came from the vast snowfield!
The snow on the snowfield was already about a foot thick, and the clear sound of horse hooves meant that the cavalry was very close to this place.
"Could it be the Divine Sword?"
Tuoba Qiu also listened with a frown, but after five breaths, he smiled and said, "Two thousand cavalrymen, just in time."
At this moment, not far from the camp, a cavalry of more than 10,000 people also launched a charge, rushing towards the 2,000 Excalibur cavalry who were walking on the snow in the night.
Tuoba Yuan was startled. Tuoba Qiu smiled and said, "They came here to kidnap Her Royal Highness the Third Princess and bring her back to the Yu Dynasty. That's why I've deployed 10,000 cavalry here, and another 10,000 cavalry at the next resting place. This is a trick to lure the enemy into a trap."
"Father is wise, but... isn't it unnecessary for them to bring the third princess back to the Yu Dynasty?"
"No, since the letter of credence has been signed, the Third Princess must enter the Desolate Kingdom. But if they disguise themselves as bandits and kidnap the Third Princess, not only will it not violate the letter of credence agreement, it will also give the Yu Dynasty an excuse."
Tuoba Qiu stood up and took two steps in the tent. "The Yi Kingdom in the east is doomed to fail. You witnessed Fu Xiaoguan's plan to pacify the people a few days ago in Pingling. If the Yu Dynasty is given another two years to recuperate, and if the Divine Sword wreaks havoc on the Desolate Kingdom for two years, tell me, can the Desolate Kingdom still resist the Yu Dynasty's army heading north?"
Tuoba Yuan was suddenly shocked. "Is this the plan that Fu Xiaoguan had already made?"
"Besides him, who else in this world could be capable of such a meticulous plan?"
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