After listening to Li Xue's story, Li Guang considered for a moment and then spoke:
“I don’t think things are that simple. Under normal circumstances, the forces in Louye and Lanwei would not raise troops to rebel. There must be something going on with the foreign kingdoms. The riots in the two places were probably planned by the foreign kingdoms.”
This time, the vassal states, in alliance with the Jin and Luo states, invaded the Central Plains but suffered a disastrous defeat, severely weakening their national strength and rendering them unable to contend with the Great Northern Dynasty.
Fearing retaliation from the Northern Dynasty, they attempted to win over the forces in Louye and Lanwei, hoping to distract the Northern Dynasty from its campaigns and prevent it from retaliating.
Li Xue thought Li Guang's analysis made sense, so she continued to listen to him.
"It is perfectly acceptable for the imperial court to send people to Louye and Lanwei to investigate the situation. Only by understanding the truth of the matter can we formulate the next course of action."
Since the forces in Louye and Lanwei have rebelled, the imperial court need not rush to send troops to quell the rebellion. If troops are dispatched to the desert, the Great Northern Dynasty will be plunged into endless warfare.
"But the imperial court has already dispatched troops to Louye and Lanwei, preparing to wipe out the forces in both places in one fell swoop."
"Which general will the imperial court send to the desert to quell the rebellion?"
"It seems to be a general named Huo Pingxi, who should be from the border region."
"Yes, there is a general at the border named Huo Pingxi. He is highly skilled in martial arts and knows how to use strategy."
If he were to deal with the forces in Louye and Lanwei, there shouldn't be any problem. However, if foreign states intervene, things would become complicated, and General Huo would undoubtedly be defeated.
"There are many capable people in this foreign land. Although I led my troops to many victories recently, if it weren't for the help of Brother Zhao and Master Dao, I might have already died on the battlefield."
Li Guang's words left Li Xue stunned. If Li Guang could consider these things, why hadn't the imperial court?
"Then what do you think the imperial court should do?"
"In fact, after receiving rumors of riots in Louye and Lanwei, the court should have carefully analyzed the reasons behind them."
Even if two factions were foolish, they wouldn't eliminate the local government first, resort to uprisings to develop their own power, and openly confront the imperial court.
Under normal circumstances, they would develop themselves quietly without letting outsiders notice.
The court could ignore the uprisings that occurred in Louye and Lanwei, and instead concentrate its efforts on dealing with the foreign states.
At this time, the Great Northern Dynasty was fully capable of raising an army and marching north to attack Yanjing. Under such circumstances of a large army pressing on the border and the city under siege, it could have forced the vassal states to write a letter of surrender and submit a pledge of allegiance to the Great Northern Dynasty.
However, when the imperial court sent troops to quell the rebellions in Louye and Lanwei, they fell into the trap of the foreign states, thus giving them a chance to catch their breath.
By the time the imperial court truly reacts and begins to deal with the foreign states, a golden opportunity will have been missed. The Jin and Luo states, out of self-preservation, will certainly send troops to assist, and the imperial court will have lost its best chance to confront the foreign states.
"So what do you think we should do now? Is there any way to remedy this?"
"The imperial court has dispatched troops to quell the rebellion. General Huo should first head to Nanwei. It is estimated that he is already close to Lanwei by now. It is impossible for the army to return. Now we can only wait and see the outcome of the army's suppression of the rebellion."
Due to the abnormal climate this year, although the ice and snow in the Central Plains have melted, the foreign countries are still covered in ice and snow. Now is not the time to attack the foreign countries.
Moreover, the three northern kingdoms have already had a chance to catch their breath. Once the imperial court sends troops, they will join forces again to deal with the Great Northern Dynasty. In that case, the Great Northern Dynasty will have little chance of winning.
The only course of action for the imperial court now is to wait and see, awaiting the outcome of the suppression of the rebellion, before making any further plans.
Li Guang's analysis was absolutely correct. At this time, Huo Pingxi led 15,000 men and was already close to Lanwei.
Further ahead lies a desert. This desert is not large; it is indeed rare to find such a large desert in the Gobi Desert.
Huo Pingxi ordered his army to halt its advance. He stood at the edge of the desert and surveyed the area. The desert was several dozen miles wide, and he could vaguely see the scenery on the other side.
Huo Pingxi surveyed the desert and discovered a clear road with tracks left by cattle and horses crossing it.
This desert must be frequently crossed; it's the only way to reach Lanwei. Once you cross the desert, Lanwei won't be far away.
Huo Pingxi looked back at his army. Since this was a long expedition, he had brought a lot of provisions with him. He wondered if the supply wagons could get through.
One of Huo Pingxi's lieutenants noticed his worry and spoke up:
"General Huo, let me go and scout it out to see if the vehicles can pass."
Huo Pingxi nodded. It would be best to scout the desert. If that wasn't possible, they would have to take a detour, which would take two more days.
The lieutenant spurred his horse forward and soon entered the depths of the desert. Half an hour later, the lieutenant returned.
"Reporting to General Huo, this road in the desert doesn't contain much sand and has a solid roadbed, so vehicles transporting grain can pass through, although they will have to travel at a slower pace."
Huo Pingxi nodded. As long as they could get through, it didn't matter if they were a little slow. They could cross the desert in less than a day.
Huo Pingxi immediately ordered the large contingent to continue its advance and cross the desert.
There is a road in this desert, which is already very rare. Due to the wind and sand, there is still some sand on the road surface. Heavy grain carts can not travel fast at all on such a road.
This slowed the team down. Huo Pingxi estimated that they could cross the desert before nightfall.
Two hours later, the large group of people reached the center of the desert. The lead supply wagon got stuck, and the supply wagons following behind had to stop as well.
When marching in the desert, it is very common for vehicles to get stuck in the sand. The soldiers inspected the area and found that there was a hole in the road that had been buried by sand. It was fine for people to walk on, but heavily loaded vehicles would immediately sink in when they passed over it.
The supply wagons were positioned in the middle of the main force to protect the supplies; if the supplies were stolen, the army would be in dire straits.
Since the vehicle is stuck in a pothole, push it out of the pothole and then drive forward. The vehicles behind should be careful and go around the pothole.
The soldiers gathered around, and together they prepared to push the supply wagon out of the sand pit.
Because there were many people pushing the cart, it didn't take much effort to push it out.
Just as the vehicle left the sandpit, a massive explosion occurred, blasting people and vehicles around the sandpit into the air.
The violent explosion resulted in hundreds of casualties, and several supply wagons following behind were also destroyed.
The soldiers immediately scattered and lay on the ground, thinking they had been attacked by a bomb.
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