Everyone looked at each other, remaining silent as they listened to Wei Jin continue.
"As far as I know, last year an envoy from a foreign country came to negotiate peace with the Great Northern Dynasty, but the court did not give the envoy any face, sent him back, and issued an ultimatum."
The foreign kingdom did not want to write a letter of surrender to the Great Northern Dynasty, but it was afraid that we would send troops to attack it, so it tried other ways to get out of its predicament.
The people of the Fan Kingdom knew that if they chose to continue fighting against the Great Northern Dynasty, their country would only face destruction.
Therefore, they thought of provoking trouble on the border of the Great Northern Dynasty, so that the Great Northern Dynasty would have no time to deal with it.
This gave the foreign states a chance to catch their breath and take the opportunity to develop their national strength.
The recent rebellions in Louye and Lanwei were likely the result of intervention by foreign states. They spread rumors in both regions, creating tension, and then the foreign states took the opportunity to intervene.
Once the imperial court sends troops to quell the rebellion, the foreign kingdoms will have achieved their goal: to help the forces in Louye and Lanwei fight against the imperial court.
It can be concluded that the attack on General Huo in Lanwei was orchestrated and directed by foreign forces.
The army suffered heavy losses in this attack, but they did not want to exterminate the enemy. Instead, they spared the survivors so that they could report to the court and hope that the court would send another large army to quell the rebellion.
Under the manipulation of the foreign states, the Great Northern Dynasty will be plunged into endless wars. Even if the rebellion is eventually quelled, the court will suffer a decline in national strength due to the enormous expenditure, and the foreign states will have achieved their goal.
This opportunity allows the vassal states to develop, and over time, they will regain the strength to continue their struggle against the Great Northern Dynasty.
After Wei Jin finished speaking, the hall fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Wei Jin's analysis made a lot of sense. This put the imperial court in a very awkward position. Sending troops to quell the rebellion again would fall into the trap set by the foreign state.
If no troops are sent to quell the rebellion, and time passes, both regions will become too powerful to resist, and once they gain influence, the possibility of them establishing their own states cannot be ruled out.
The emperor remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"Minister Wei's words make sense. Do you have a plan to deal with this?"
"At present, for the imperial court, continuing to send troops to quell the rebellion would be falling into the trap of the foreign states. If it does not send troops, the foreign states will create trouble and force the Great Northern Dynasty to send troops."
"Your humble servant has a plan that can disrupt the plans of the barbarian kingdoms: send troops to Yuanxi, station them there, and establish a general's headquarters there. This will resolve the current crisis."
As soon as Wei Jin finished speaking, the civil and military officials began to discuss among themselves. They believed that stationing troops in Yuanxi would allow them to counterbalance the forces in Louye and Lanwei, and that once the time was right, they could eliminate these two forces.
The emperor nodded, finding the idea feasible, and continued listening to Wei Jin's explanation.
"Yuanxi is currently very well governed. Although Yuanxi City has defensive facilities, it has no garrison, making it easy for Louye and Lanwei forces to target it. With foreign countries offering them advice, it cannot be ruled out that they have the idea of taking over Yuanxi."
Once Yuanxi falls into the hands of Louye and Lanwei, the imperial court will be in a passive position.
If the imperial court stationed troops in the western part of the desert, the situation would be different. This large army would be like a nail embedded in the desert, deterring the forces of Louye and Lanwei from making any rash moves, and leaving the foreign kingdoms helpless.
Wei Jin's words gave the emperor and his ministers a glimmer of hope. At this time, the foreign kingdom should have formulated a meticulous plan, waiting for the Great Northern Dynasty's army to arrive again to quell the rebellion.
If the court follows Wei Jin's plan, it will disrupt the plans of the foreign states, making it difficult for them to realize their idea of using the power of Louye and Lanwei to counter the Great Northern Dynasty.
Soon, based on Wei Jin's ideas, the imperial court formulated a plan to send troops to Yuanxi. Without delay, the emperor immediately summoned Wei Jin after the plan was finalized.
Wei Jin was overjoyed. The fact that the emperor had summoned him to the imperial study meant that the emperor trusted him greatly and must have something important for him to do.
As expected, the emperor ordered him to lead 20,000 troops to Yuanxi and announced the imperial edict.
Jin Gang, the former prefect of Yuanxi, was appointed as the general of Yuanxi, a fourth-rank official, in charge of all military and political affairs in Yuanxi.
In this way, Jin Gang remained the former Prefect of the Western Regions and concurrently served as the former General of the Western Regions, with his official rank rising from the fifth to the fourth grade, which was rare in the Great Northern Dynasty.
Wei Jin was appointed as a fifth-rank military advisor to assist Jin Gang in handling the affairs of the former Western Army. After the rebellion was quelled and the situation stabilized, Wei Jin rushed back to the capital to accept the court's reappointment.
What an honor! At such a young age, Wei Jin was promoted directly from a seventh-rank official to a fifth-rank military advisor, a meteoric rise indeed.
Three days later, Wei Jin, carrying the emperor's important mission, led an army of 20,000 men out of the capital and headed to Yuanxi.
In the emperor's eyes, Wei Jin was highly skilled in martial arts, courageous and insightful. The emperor's decision to give Wei Jin a high position was a last resort, hoping that he could achieve great things.
That day, the imperial court received a memorial from Qing'an Prefecture, saying that there was a village called Liuqiao Village, where many people had contracted typhoid fever. The government had sealed off the village and prohibited people from entering or leaving.
Incredibly, Princess Li Xue contracted typhoid fever while passing through this village, a fact that quickly came to the attention of the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince was taken aback and quickly inquired about the situation. Upon learning that Li Xue's typhoid fever had been cured, he was immediately relieved.
The Fourth Prince knew how dangerous typhoid fever was, but he didn't expect that Li Xue would be infected with it on the way. It might be related to Li Xue's weakened constitution and frail body.
Li Xue did not have a pleasant time in the capital. Last time, when Li Xue drove away the matchmaker, the Fourth Prince was furious and severely reprimanded Li Xue. Thinking of this incident, the Fourth Prince felt very guilty.
The Fourth Prince couldn't sit still any longer. He went to the palace and told the Emperor that he wanted to go to Narcissus Village to see Li Xue.
When the emperor saw that Fourth Prince was going to Narcissus Village, he nodded in agreement and instructed Fourth Prince to take an 800-year-old ginseng root for Li Xue to take and nourish her body.
With everything prepared, the Fourth Prince, accompanied by several attendants, left the capital and headed to Narcissus Village.
In Narcissus Village, Li Guang was accompanying Li Xue on a walk along the lakeside boardwalk.
On the lake, tender lotus leaves have already emerged from the water. In a few months, the area will be covered with lotus leaves and blooming lotus flowers, making it a very beautiful place.
The air temperature had risen, but the lake water was not warm. Koi are afraid of the cold, so most of them stayed in the deep water. Sometimes you could see a few koi swimming to the surface, only to dive back down again.
Just then, Li Xue noticed several very beautiful aquatic plants on the water not far from the shore. She had never seen such plants before, so she asked about them.
"Li Guang, look what this is. I've never seen it before."
Li Guang glanced at it and said, "This aquatic plant is called water chestnut. It's everywhere in the streams and ditches. I didn't expect it to start growing in the lake too."
“So this is water chestnut. I’ve eaten it in the capital. It’s crisp and delicious, but unfortunately it’s very small, smaller than my finger,” Li Xue said.
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