On the city wall of Yongzhou, Bai Chuxiao stood with her hands behind her back, with Yu Fengyang and Murong Xuan standing on either side of her.
Watching the departing army, Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly, "We should also make our preparations."
"Your Highness..." Several figures rushed up the city wall.
Bai Chuxiao raised an eyebrow, "Why are you here?"
The visitors were Shen Xuanxuan and Shen Yiyu from the Shen family, and Song Hang and Song Le'er from the Song family.
Shen Yiyu and Song Hang cupped their hands and said, "Father has instructed us to stay in the Princess's army and accompany her to attack Qizhou..."
Shen Xuanxuan and Song Le'er quickly said, "Your Highness, we also want to go to war with you..."
Bai Chuxiao couldn't help but rub her forehead. It was true that she should give young people a chance, but she felt that the people under her command were a bit too incompetent...
"You can absolutely go with General Song and General Chen," Bai Chuxiao said with a smile.
This is war, not a playground. Training is one thing, but it's hard to say how these four newbies will fare...
Shen Yiyu and Song Hang said with a wry smile, "Your Highness, please accept us. As for the Prince..."
The prince seemed to dislike them, and Song Fei and Shen Tao didn't dare to take them along to cause trouble...
Bai Chuxiao was speechless. So, you can just leave it to her?
Seeing that she also seemed somewhat disdainful, the group quickly pleaded with the two men beside them, "Young Master Yu, Second Young Master, please take us in!"
They used to be spoiled brats, but they've changed; now they want to make a name for themselves...
Murong Xuan remained unfazed, "I'll do whatever Sister Xiao says."
Yu Fengyang touched his nose, "Bringing the two young masters is fine, but are the two young ladies sure they want to come too..."
It wasn't that he looked down on women, but in his experience, not many women were as interested in war as Bai Chuxiao...
Shen Xuanxuan said seriously, "Your Highness, we have also learned martial arts from our father and read military books. We certainly won't cause any trouble."
Song Le'er nodded vigorously, "Your Highness, Sister Shen is right, please accept us..."
It's not easy for women to join the army; they never even had the chance before...
Now that the Princess Consort of Yan has set an example, and moreover, this time the Princess Consort is personally leading the troops, the resistance they face in entering the military camp is much smaller...
As a woman herself, Bai Chuxiao was indeed happy to see that the two of them had this idea.
However, he still cautioned, "War is no joke; you could lose your life at any moment. Are you sure you can endure hardship?"
Shen Xuanxuan and Song Le'er quickly replied, "We are ready."
Bai Chuxiao nodded and said in a deep voice, "In that case, Song Hang will follow Yu Fengyang for now, Shen Yiyu will follow Second Brother, and as for Xuanxuan and Le'er, you will follow me. Once you enter the military camp, you must abide by military discipline. Do you understand?"
The men's faces lit up with joy. "We understand, thank you, Your Highness."
Back at the Prince of Yan's residence, Zhao Sifang, dressed in red, greeted her. "Xiaoxiao, if you really want to lead the troops yourself, how could he have put you in such danger..."
Bai Chuxiao said in a deep voice, "It's my own idea to do it. You know I won't just sit here in the Prince Yan's mansion in Yongzhou City and wait idly..."
Zhao Sifang lowered his eyes. "Fine, I can't help you with things on the battlefield, but you and... don't need to worry about the logistical support at home."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "Thank you... With you here, I feel much more at ease about this battle."
Zhao Sifang smiled, "I hope I can really help you..."
At the end of March in the first year of Chong'an of the Great Xia Dynasty, the army led by Marquis Xuanping defeated King Xiang in Huzhou, and King Xiang and his queen disappeared without a trace...
Meanwhile, the Prince of Yan personally led an army of 300,000 men with unstoppable momentum, capturing the two prefectures of Jin and Yue, and advancing straight into Pengzhou...
Inside the Imperial Study in the capital city's palace, Chu Tianling slammed the memorial to the ground.
"Traitorous ministers... We just pacified the King of Xiang, and the King of Yan has already made his move. My dear ministers, tell me, how should we eliminate the King of Yan's rebel faction..."
The ministers kept their heads down and dared not utter a sound, remaining silent for a moment.
The Minister of War stepped forward respectfully and said, “Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan’s move is intended to advance up the Huai River and seize the heart of the Central Plains. Now, the Marquis of Xuanping has just won a great victory, but he has also lost a lot of troops. We must send reinforcements and absolutely cannot let that traitor cross the river…”
Chu Tianling was quite satisfied with the cry of "thief," "Lord Lü is right, but that thief has many generals under his command, and I'm afraid Marquis Xuanping alone won't be able to stop him..."
Zhang Yu said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Prince of Yan only brought two generals, Song Fei and Shen Tao, while the rest remained in Yongzhou and Shuozhou..."
Chu Tianling announced loudly, "Very well, issue an order to the Xuanping Marquis's army: whoever captures Shen Tao and Song Fei's faction alive in this battle will be rewarded with the title of Earl; whoever captures the Prince of Yan alive will be rewarded with the title of a king of a different surname..."
In April, at the Prince of Yan's residence, Bai Chuxiao, having received the battle report from Pengzhou at the front, quietly led her army away.
The 150,000-strong army split into several routes and silently entered Qizhou territory. Operating by day and moving by night, they quickly and quietly wiped out the garrisons throughout Qizhou and reached the outskirts of the city.
The entire army took less than ten days from entering Qizhou to capturing the city.
Of course, this was also due to the fact that the Prince of Yan led 300,000 troops to attack Pengzhou and other places. Officials in Qizhou and other places never expected that the Prince of Yan's palace could spare troops, which led to lax defenses.
Moreover, as far as they knew, Marquis Murong and his men had not made a move in Shuozhou or Yongzhou.
Officials throughout Qizhou were completely unprepared for the sudden appearance of an army. It was only through this unexpected attack that Bai Chuxiao and her forces were able to so easily capture a prefectural city.
Inside the Provincial Administration Office of Qizhou City, Bai Chuxiao frowned slightly as she looked at the account books of Qizhou. "There's actually so much grain in Qizhou Prefecture."
It should have been a good thing, but the people of Qizhou haven't had an easy time along the way. Since Chu Tianling took the throne, there has been constant warfare, and the court has had to increase taxes. The garrison in Qizhou is weak, and there are also famines in other areas...
Xia Fan said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, the treasury has a total of two million shi of grain and one million five hundred thousand taels of silver. In addition, eight hundred thousand taels of cash were also confiscated from the Provincial Administration Commission."
Murong Xuan's face was icy cold. "The people of Qizhou are suffering terribly, yet this prefecture has so much grain and silver. This provincial governor is truly adept at amassing wealth. Judging from the current situation, taking Qizhou will not benefit us at all..."
This silver and grain, let alone being used to replenish military supplies, actually required them to expend considerable manpower and resources to govern Qizhou...
Xia Fan spoke up, "Your Highness, what should we do now..."
Bai Chuxiao said calmly, "Confiscate the property of all the wealthy merchants who colluded with the Provincial Governor of Qizhou to amass wealth. In addition, immediately announce that all taxes in Qizhou will be waived this year. Then issue a conscription order. It will not be forced; it will only be voluntary. Those aged eighteen to forty-five are eligible."
Shen Yiyu, standing to the side, asked in confusion, "Your Highness, if Qizhou is exempt from all taxes, then it wouldn't make sense to exempt the other prefectures as well. But if that happens, we won't benefit from conquering those prefectures, and if we conscript soldiers on a large scale, our burden will only become heavier..."
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