Chapter 505: Use Huo Gan Nian Again
The first day of February, the thirty-fourth year of the Nan Kingdom.
Fifty thousand Black Scale Cavalrymen invaded the border from the southwest and attacked Kyoto City directly.
The vicious enemy burned, killed, looted, and captured civilians, cooking and eating them. The southwest was filled with grief and misery, like a living hell.
Nan Lijun no longer had the heart to talk about love, and even rarely met Yan Shijiu. He spent all day in Yong'an Palace or the Imperial Study discussing the issue of sending troops with a group of ministers.
Who would have thought that it had just been finalized that Su Zhengyang would lead 80,000 troops to fight.
Soon after, urgent military information came from the northern border—
The new king of Luojiang came to power and refused to recognize the peace agreement that Huo Gannian had previously made in the northern border. He sent 150,000 troops to attack the capital city.
This military report immediately shocked the whole country.
It seemed as if everything had returned to the terrifying situation five years ago after the death of the previous emperor, when the Kingdom of Nan was caught in war on three sides.
People are afraid that they will repeat the same mistakes and fall into endless war again.
But this time, can the mighty General Huo and Yun Lao Hu still save the world?
Just as the people were panicking and speculating, and officials in the court and the country were worried, shocking news came from the southeast that tens of thousands of righteous men, led by Guying City, had risen up in rebellion and openly opposed the "South".
At this point, people were finally forced to face the fact that "the nightmare has returned", and everything has returned to the past exactly as it was.
Everyone is saying:
The master of the black-scale cavalry, the mastermind behind the three-sided war in the Nan Kingdom, took action again.
But in fact, Yan Shijiu was more surprised than anyone else when he heard the news of Luojiang's uprising and the emergence of rebel forces in the southeast.
He was a little confused at first. He felt as if he had been plotted against and was being treated in the same way as others had treated him.
Then he began to feel something was wrong.
It is not uncommon for rebellions to occur in the southeast. There have always been rebels who intend to resist imperial power in every dynasty. Nan Lijun is foolish in his dealings, imposes heavy taxes and is unkind, which makes him unpopular among the people. It is only a matter of time before a rebellion breaks out.
Yan Shijiu had anticipated this a long time ago, and even hoped for frequent rebellions. That way, it would be more reasonable to wait for the day when he replaced Nan Lijun. After taking the throne, he would only need to give some small favors to win the hearts of the people.
But he couldn't figure out what was going on with Luo Jiang.
Since Touman's death, Yan Shijiu had less and less contact with Luojiang because Huo Gannian had been leading the Lion Army to occupy the northern border for a long time. He only knew that the royal court was controlled by several close ministers.
The royal court was unable to decide on a new king and had no intention of going to war, so it signed a peace agreement with Huo Gannian.
But why did they suddenly appoint a new king? And why did they send troops to the Southern Kingdom right away?
Yan Shijiu felt something was wrong, and as usual, he quickly ordered his secret guards to go to Luojiang to inquire about the situation. He soon received a response saying:
The new king of Luojiang has a mysterious identity. He is as tall and strong as a black bear. He likes to wear an iron mask on his face and never shows his true face.
The purpose of sending troops to the State of Nan this time was to take advantage of the situation and gain some advantage on the border of the State of Nan while the State of Nan was busy dealing with the Black Scale Cavalry.
The response was perfect.
But Yan Shijiu was still worried, so he immediately sent a letter back to Guangyulan Island, ordering the secret guards on the island to go to Luojiang for a thorough investigation, but the result was the same.
Yan Shijiu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he was too worried.
Huo Gannian was imprisoned in Kyoto City, right under Yan Shijiu's nose, so it was impossible for him to cause such a big stir.
Thinking of this, Yan Shijiu felt relieved, but he had to face a new problem together with Nan Lijun -
Originally, Yan Shijiu planned to use 50,000 Black Scale Cavalry to induce Kyoto to mobilize troops.
No matter how many troops Kyoto sends each time, the Black Scale Cavalry only has 20% more, which is enough to kill all the soldiers of the Nan Kingdom in every battle until Kyoto is left with no defense.
But now that Luojiang has declared war, it means that Kyoto’s military forces must be divided into two groups.
One group went southwest to fight the Black Scale Cavalry, and the other group went north to fight Luojiang.
Yan Shijiu calculated over and over again, and the current situation was not problematic at all, it was extremely favorable to him!
There are only 200,000 troops in Kyoto now. If we only rely on the Black Scale Cavalry in the southwest, it will probably take more than a dozen battles and at least half a year to wipe them out.
But now with Luo Jiang, half a year's worth of military forces in Kyoto were taken away, so Yan Shijiu's Black Scale Cavalry didn't need to fight much, and they could win a great victory in a few days and march towards Kyoto.
Moreover, he did not need to use the troops of Xiyan to replenish the Black Scale Cavalry, which not only saved a lot of trouble in mobilizing troops and hiding his identity, but also prevented him from being exposed as the actual controller of Xiyan.
This greatly accelerated Yan Shijiu's plan.
The only problem is that there are not many generals in the court now.
Su Zhengyang can lead the troops, but he must go to the southwest. So who will lead the troops to the north?
Nan Lijun originally wanted to use Duan Jie or Rong Yi. She believed that with such a great opportunity to regain her favor, Duan Jie and others would definitely be willing to work for her.
Unexpectedly, a report came from the camp outside the capital, saying that Duan Jie, Fu Lin, Rong Yi and others had deserted long before Luo Jiang started the rebellion.
Nan Lijun had no choice but to reconsider the candidates. After several discussions with civil and military officials, he screened almost all the people he could think of. In the end, the most popular candidate was "Huo Gannian leading the army to the north."
Officials said: Huo Gannian has rich combat experience, is familiar with the northern border, and is in urgent need of an opportunity to make merit and atone for his sins. He is the most suitable person to lead the army to the north.
Nan Lijun wanted to refuse, but couldn't find a more suitable candidate. He wanted to agree, but felt it was inappropriate, so he could only discuss it with Yan Shijiu.
Yan Shijiu was silent for a long time.
He had already considered the suggestions of the officials and Nan Lijun's dilemma a hundred times in his mind.
He had long known that the current situation had forced people into a corner with no alternative but to activate Huo Gannian.
Should we send Huo Gannian to fight against the Black Scale Cavalry, or to Luojiang?
Yan Shijiu thought for a moment and decided that it would be most appropriate to send Huo Gannian to Luojiang.
If Huo Gannian was sent to the southwest, with his intelligence and the fact that he had long known Yan Shijiu's identity, he would easily see through Yan Shijiu's plan, and it would be bad if he tried to obstruct him.
After careful consideration, Yan Shijiu made up his mind and said to Nan Lijun:
"A ruler must be tolerant. He should be able to punish traitors and also cherish the virtuous. Huo Gannian is extremely talented and is the best candidate for the Northern Expedition. You don't have to worry about him not returning and causing more chaos. Don't forget, we still have Yun Chen in our hands!"
Yan Shijiu thought that with Yun Chen as a hostage, Huo Gannian would definitely not dare to act rashly.
Although capturing Huo Gannian was extremely difficult, it took several years of planning to bring him down and imprison him.
But Yan Shijiu was confident that as long as he had Yun Chen in his hands, he could defeat Huo Gannian a hundred times more.
Therefore, even if Huo Gannian returned victorious from Luojiang and made great achievements, he would only be able to control 100,000 troops in Kyoto City and a few tens of thousands of troops on the border.
Holding Yun Chen is like holding his lifeline, so there is no need to worry about him raising troops to cause chaos.
Yan Shijiu immediately made a decision with Nan Lijun.
Nan Lijun's pen hovered above the bright yellow paper, and he did not dare to write down the order.
At this time, the female official Zhuang Ji, who had been watching the two of them talking for a long time without saying a word, stepped forward and said slowly:
"I have a suggestion for His Majesty and Young Master Yan. Since we are going to use Huo Gannian, it is not enough to have Yun Chen as a hindrance. It would be best to place a reliable candidate to accompany Huo Gannian.
My humble elder brother, Zhuang Fengtian, has been supervising the northwest border defense for many years. Although he cannot be the chief general, he is familiar with military affairs and is more than qualified to be a deputy general. He can be stationed by Huo Gannian's side to keep an eye on him and prevent any changes.
After Zhuang Ji finished speaking, she noticed that Yan Shijiu was looking at her with a look of scrutiny and suspicion. She smiled slightly and continued:
"My humble brother has been supervising the army in the northwest for a long time and has not returned to Kyoto for more than ten years. I am afraid he and General Huo are very estranged. But Your Majesty, rest assured that with me by your side, my brother will do his best."
After saying this, Yan Shijiu indeed withdrew his gaze.
Zhuang Ji has always been smart and thoughtful in her words and deeds. She is beautiful and intelligent, and has great scheming. Look at her ability to serve Nanli Jun, and she is very popular among the female officials. She can even greet people like Zhiluo with a smile every day.
Moreover, Duke Zhuang's family is powerful and can be relied upon and controlled. Zhuang Ji's brother Zhuang Fengtian is indeed a rare good candidate.
Yan Shijiu nodded in agreement. Nan Lijun was overjoyed and said with a smile:
"Since you became a female official, you have been meticulous and prudent. You did a good job confiscating the Huo Gang's property and managing it. You also executed several insignificant members of the Huo Gang to appease the death of King Xiyan. I naturally trust your brother!"
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