Chang'an is good

Chapter 628 You Need Her Approval

"Because Your Highness paved the way first." Cui Jing replied: "I followed the footprints and secret signals left by Your Highness, so the road was naturally smooth and fast. Otherwise, I would have been difficult to reach here in several months or half a year."

Then, he added: "Also, I have seen the secret letter from the Queen that General Tang mentioned."

He lowered his eyes to look at Li Suining, who was sitting with her clothes and hair loose, and looked up at him, and explained to her: "On the night when I sent Your Highness away, after the night raid on the enemy camp, one of the captured enemy soldiers was a capable subordinate of Ashide Yuanli. I instigated this man to rebel, let him go, and let him serve as our army's eyes and ears--"

The situation was chaotic that night, with many Northern Di soldiers fleeing in all directions. No one could tell which ones had been lost from the main army and which ones had been captured.

The capable general found a group of fleeing Northern Di soldiers and returned with them without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Obviously, there will not be only one person who has been instigated to rebel. They will cooperate with each other when necessary and monitor each other.

The secret letter from the queen to her brother Yuanli was intercepted by the rebellious general and first delivered to Cui Jing.

The queen did not kill her husband but announced the death first. Someone did come to the funeral first - but it was not her brother, but Cui Jing.

The secret letter was withheld by Cui Jing for five full days before it was delivered to Yuan Li.

There are people in the army who are good at "stealing letters". They use a thin blade to cut a slit in the bottom of the seal, take out the letter, and after checking the letter, they restore and repair it. Ordinary people can hardly see any traces. There are also spies who are proficient in this skill who assist Tang Xing in his work.

Thus, the letter, which had been read twice and was called a secret letter but was no longer "secret", finally reached Yuanli.

Tang Xing didn't think there was anything wrong with this. The Queen of Beidi asked him to send the letter. Since she was willing to let it go through his hands, she probably tacitly allowed him to read it. If he could read it, why couldn't General Cui?

Li Suining was silent for a moment. She didn't think there was anything wrong with secretly reading the letters.

In the final analysis, Cui Jing arrived first because he got the news first and slowed down Ashide Yuanli's departure time, but he opened his mouth first and asked, was it because she "paved the way first"?

He was really good at exaggerating her achievements and downplaying his own deeds.

Li Suining thought about it and felt that if he was not sober enough, he would be made into a fool by him sooner or later.

Cui Jing had no idea that her thinking was wrong - in this place that had never been set foot on, she led the army ahead and waded through such a bloody path, while he had only read a letter. How could the two be compared?

After the Khan's death, Yuanli might not have the will to fight again, but if Yuanli was allowed to return to Beidi first, it might pose a threat to her - taking her home was a very important matter and she should not be negligent in the slightest.

He listened to her and guarded his home. In addition to guarding the country's borders, welcoming her home was also his long-cherished wish.

Therefore, he took the initiative to take the lead to cut off those unknown "maybes".

Cui Jing never expressed this feeling explicitly, nor did he need to.

Then, he talked about the battle situation and the actions of all parties after Li Suining left, so that she could have a comprehensive understanding of the current situation.

After the night raid, Ashide Yuanli's marching became more cautious, which also attracted more dissatisfaction among the Northern Di army. Some tribal leaders claimed that they "did not believe in evil" and insisted on leading their troops to attack the pass, but they all suffered heavy losses from the powerful army guarding the pass.

The Northern Di army was unable to capture the city after a long siege, so Cui Jing took the opportunity to launch several surprise attacks, all of which were unsuccessful.

In addition, the tribes captured by Li Suining began to ask for help from the front line. The tribesmen who had already suffered heavy losses had no choice but to withdraw their troops and rush back to the rear. This was precisely one of the reasons why Li Suining went deep into the Beidi camp to cut off the source of their trouble.

Under Li Suining's arrangement, the information those people received was a mixture of true and false. Some large tribes were not within her reach, but she also released false information in order to separate the front-line troops as much as possible and reduce the pressure on the front line.

On the other hand, in order to prevent the Northern Di troops from posing a threat to Li Suining after they rushed back, Cui Jing set up more than one ambush during their retreat to reduce their troops and delay their progress - at that time, he was already preparing to find her.

After seeing the secret letter from the queen, Cui Jing, who had already made preparations, set off almost immediately.

He led 10,000 cavalrymen and tried his best to intercept the fleeing Northern Di troops on the way.

Li Suining had instructed the soldiers guarding the rear that if they encountered the Northern Di people rushing back to rescue the tribe, they could use the old, weak, women and children as hostages. If the enemy was too much of a disparity and they were really defeated, they could use the hostages to disperse and there was no need to fight to the death with the Northern Di army rushing back.

But what was beyond the plan was that Cui Jing soon arrived with his troops.

On his way here, he sent additional troops to garrison in the tribes occupied by Li Suining's men.

The two of them were one in front and one behind, one inside and one outside, and even though they were unable to communicate with each other in time, they were able to cooperate seamlessly.

After hearing this, Li Suining felt more at ease and relaxed. She couldn't help but think that she had not slept enough. If she had known that Tang Xing had succeeded and that the situation was controlled so well by Cui Jing, she would have slept a few more days.

As the sky outside the tent began to brighten, Li Suining asked one last question: "Was it Prince Rong who spread the news that I had gone deep into the Northern Di?"

Cui Jing nodded.

This matter spread very suddenly and there was no definite source, but it spread so quickly in such a short time. The only person who could do it was Prince Rong, and there is no need to elaborate on the motive.

It is very difficult to prevent spies from infiltrating the army, especially since the battle in the north is difficult and they have been recruiting and borrowing troops all the time. With such a large number of people, there is naturally no shortage of loopholes for inserting spies.

What's more, there was a precedent like Yu Zeng. Li Suining had no doubt at all about her uncle's ability and foresight in this area.

Therefore, her misfortune was not only related to her temperament and the principles she adhered to, but also to Li Yin's contribution in an invisible way.

He wanted her to stay in Beidi forever, in both lives.

Her uncle Wang really didn't want to see her go home - but this time she had to go back.

Li Suining felt a little tired. He leaned lightly on the soft pillow behind him, looking at the sky outside the tent. He suddenly felt a little expectant. He wondered what expression Uncle Wang would have when he saw him.

Tang Xing did not come alone, he was accompanied by the queen's people, but Li Suining was not in a hurry to see them and just continued to recuperate.

While Li Suining was recuperating from his injuries, the atmosphere in the Beidi royal court once again underwent a drastic change.

The army at the front suffered repeated defeats, and it was said that Sheng’s army had irresistible weapons;

The situation in the rear was in chaos. The Khan was dead, the little Khan was dead, and Tilie was also killed by the Grand Lady of Dasheng. Of the five thousand cavalrymen that Tilie led out, only a few hundred returned alive...

The princess of the Great Sheng was currently camping less than two hundred miles away from the royal court, with nearly ten thousand cavalry stationed around her. And according to their investigation, more troops of the Great Sheng were entering the country from the rear, and the entry road had been completely controlled by the Sheng army!
How could one allow others to sleep soundly on his bed? Some Northern Di officials demanded that troops be dispatched immediately to hunt down and kill the Princess of Dasheng, but they were the first to lose their heads.

The queen killed someone, and this time she did it openly and honestly. All those who advocated war were killed.

Her brother Ashide Yuanli is back.

Yuanli concealed the death of the Khan at the front line and only brought back 10,000 soldiers and horses. But precisely because he only brought back 10,000 soldiers and horses - he could not fully control the entire army, but these 10,000 soldiers and horses were bound to obey him.

What he wanted was to first control and clean up the situation in the royal court - this was one of his intentions.

The queen summoned all the ministers to discuss the matter. Her brother was wearing a sword at his side. Below, a general who had led his troops without authorization to assassinate Princess Dasheng was lying in a pool of blood with his eyes wide open.

The queen was in no hurry to have the bodies collected. Instead, she announced to everyone across the corpses - at this time, there was internal strife, and the front lines suffered heavy casualties, with tens of thousands of cavalry killed. Morale was broken, and Sheng's army stood outside the royal court with flying fire weapons in their hands. In order to preserve the Khanate, she wanted a truce and surrender.

One general tried his best to suppress his dissatisfaction and asked her: "Does the Sheng army really have the ability to annihilate our warriors in one battle, or do they have the strength to fight for a long time? They are also in turmoil in Dasheng, and my Khanate still has the strength to fight, and there are 50,000 cavalry on their way back. When the time comes, we can trap and kill them here! Why do you surrender so easily now!"

The queen looked at the unwilling man and said, "It is precisely because they don't have the strength to fight for a long time and because their rear is also in turmoil that we have the opportunity to surrender... Otherwise, do you think that the Li family's crown princess would give up just because she attacked all the way to the outside of the royal court and even killed Ti Lie single-handedly?"

"The Sheng army has never set foot on the Khanate's territory, but now it has! She is now a hundred miles away from the royal court!"

"If we continue to fight for a long time, even if we both lose--" the woman who was always taciturn in the eyes of outsiders actually had some power in her voice at this moment: "But everyone, don't forget that we have tried our best to kill a princess of Dasheng. Dasheng also has a Rong Wang. In addition to these two losses, there is still a third person... Even if Dasheng is defeated and injured, we are doomed to fail!"

"Are you all determined to be defeated to the end and have your clan and country destroyed by the Sheng people?"

As everyone's faces changed, Ashide Yuanli spoke, his voice calm and confident: "The discipline and morale of the Sheng army are incomparable to the soldiers of the Khanate. The wisdom and courage of the Grand Lady of Dasheng and Cui Jing of the Xuan Ce army are beyond our reach. Moreover, they have lethal weapons in their hands. If the battle lasts for a long time, our army will definitely be defeated."

He is the leader, he knows his opponents best, and no one is qualified to refute his words.

Ashide Yuanli looked straight ahead and said calmly, "If you insist on starting a war again, I will unite with the forces of those who advocate peace and lead the army to stop it. I will offer your heads to the Grand Princess of Dasheng to ask for surrender. Then she will surely recognize my sincerity."

"You..." Someone gritted his teeth, pointed his finger upwards, but then threw it down heavily.

He wanted to angrily call the other party a spineless traitor, but when he thought of the other party's Han blood, he despised him even more in his heart. However, at this moment, looking at the corpse lying on the ground, he did not dare to vent his anger.

In the tense and heavy atmosphere, several tribal leaders came to ask for an audience. Their families were in the hands of the Sheng army, and they had suffered a disastrous defeat at the front. At this moment, they were completely unable to rescue their people, so they could only ask the king to intervene.

They promised that as long as they could save their people, they would be willing to submit again and obey the king's orders.

The queen looked at them with sympathy, and then sighed to the officials and generals, saying that this was the will of the people and they had no choice but to surrender.

Under the changing gazes of the crowd, the queen sat back down slowly and feebly, with a somewhat sad gaze falling from above: "Now that things have come to this, why don't you all think carefully about what we can do to make Her Royal Highness the Princess agree to our proposal for peace..."

That Princess Royal has not yet summoned the people she sent.

The Beidi royal court sent officials and envoys one after another to seek an audience with the Crown Princess of Dasheng.

Afterwards, Ashide Yuanli arrived in person, with only ten people accompanying him.

Yuan Li's arrival was enough to show that the opinions within the Beidi royal court had reached a consensus, and Li Suining felt that the time was about right.

But Cui Jing said that there was still one thing to do.

Yuan Li also failed to meet Li Suining or Cui Jing, but at least he got a request, and the other party's request is a good start.

Yuanli left.

When he turned back, he brought with him more than twenty Northern Di people. They were all tied up and taken to Sheng’s camp to plead guilty.

Half of them were the main fighters in this war, and they are still unwilling to stop the war.

The remaining half were the soldiers who had participated in using Chongyue's corpse to vent their anger... Although it had been a long time, it was not difficult to determine their identities. Each of them had boasted about this incident countless times in front of others, and their eyes were always shining with excitement while describing it.

In the course of the war, everything that happens can be done regardless of the means used. If that was the case with the Northern Di people back then, then that is also the case with Cui Jing's actions now.

Besides, he didn't care whether this move was fair, tolerant and decent, or whether there should be a reckoning later. The rules here should only be made by the winner.

Li Shang, who had killed the Northern Di commander first, did not care about his own affairs after his death, but she knew that someone cared: Cui Jing cared, Wu Jue cared, her teacher also cared very much, and even the people of Dasheng could not accept that their princess was humiliated after her death.

As a princess of a dynasty, her dignity is often also the dignity of a country. If this move can comfort her old friends and boost the morale of her people, then she can do it.

Ashide Yuanli ordered the twenty men to be beheaded in front of the camp to apologize to the people of Dasheng and the deceased Princess Chongyue.

After doing all this, Ashide Yuanli came to the tent again to ask to see the Princess of Dasheng.

This time, the heavy curtain was finally opened in front of him.

The wooden wheels turned, and a four-wheeled carriage was slowly pushed out of the tent by the young man who had fought with him many times on the battlefield.

The woman on the chair was wearing a large dark fox fur coat and a hood. Most of her face was covered in the fluffy fox fur. The only thing that could be seen clearly was her pair of dark, calm eyes.

Yuanli suddenly realized that her avoidance of Beidi officials these days might be related to her serious injury, and she was recovering from it.

After all, she killed Tireth.

He was very clear about Tilie's skills, and even he was no match for him. Normally, this should have been impossible.

Yuan Li didn't let his thoughts get distracted too much, as he was very clear about why he came here today.

No longer an opponent, but a surrenderer.

Yuan Li knelt down on one knee, held up his knife, and let the woman in the chair do whatever she wanted.

The war stopped, and he was the commander-in-chief of this war. In the large-scale offensive and defensive battles, his hands were stained with the blood of countless Dasheng soldiers.

Of course, he was kneeling here not out of remorse, he just needed to do this, just as he chose to lead only 10,000 troops back to Beidi this time - he did it to take control of the situation in the royal court for his sister, and also to avoid posing a threat to the Sheng army that had already entered the country.

As the commander-in-chief, he predicted the defeat of this war earlier than many others.

In this case, we should naturally consider our way out.

He was not unaware of Cui Jing's invasion of the country, but he no longer needed to fight meaningless battles.

He was never a person who would be carried away by war, nor was he a desperado. From the beginning to the end, all he wanted was to gain more abilities so that he could protect his sister.

In fact, he is not his father's biological son. He has never been treated well since he was a child. Only his sister treats him as a relative. He just wants to do his best to protect the mother and daughter. If possible, he also wants them to live as honorably as possible.

So he knelt here, not for the Khanate, not for repentance, but for the people he cherished.

The invasion of Beidi was a sin to Dasheng, and he was a sin to the Sheng army. At the same time, his existence was also a threat. If his death could bring about the desired result, then he would not hesitate.

Li Suining looked at the held up knife and the person kneeling in front of him.

The sunlight hits the snow on the mountain top, casting a blinding white glow.

The snow on the day Li Suining killed Tilie was the last snow of this winter in Beidi. The snow was so heavy that it seemed to completely vent all the biting cold and desolation of the severe winter.

It was sunny for several days in a row, and the frozen snow gradually showed signs of melting.

On this day, the Queen of Beidi took off her mourning clothes, put on the formal queen's robe and crown, and took her daughter's hand.

"Khatun, where are we going?"

"Go and greet the Dasheng Crown Princess Li Suining and surrender to her and ask for peace." The queen held her daughter's slender hand and said softly, "Anai, you must make her like you."

"why?"

"Because you need her approval," the queen said, "so that we can have long-term honor and stability."

The girl seemed to understand but nodded seriously.

Accompanied by a group of Beidi officials, the queen brought her ten-year-old daughter out of the tent to meet the crown princess.

The vast white sky and earth was torn open by the black-armored cavalry.

A few dozen steps away, neatly-organized soldiers lined up on both sides, forming a path.

The leading young general jumped off his horse, walked to a carriage at the back, and helped the woman in a black shawl down from the carriage.

A Dian hurriedly pushed the chair over and Li Suining sat in.

Her injury healed exceptionally well this time and she can walk now, but the ground is slippery after the winter snow, so Wu Jue and A Dian would not allow her to move around without permission and insisted that she recover better.

Before leaving today, Cui Jing did not forget to comfort her by giving her the right medicine: [This does not reduce your majesty. ]

Adian said that if she really felt that her majesty was not enough, he would make up for the rest.

So at this moment, Adian, who was pushing Li Suining towards the officials of the Queen of Beidi, frowned and pretended to be serious, with his posture being particularly straight.

Cui Jing followed by his side.

She Cai, Tang Xing, Wu Jue and others followed closely behind.

Under the sky, the eagle's cry echoed.

The queen looked up at the circling eagle, then lowered her eyes and saw the crown princess from Dasheng.

It was such a young woman who invaded Beidi alone, killed Tilie, and "instigated" her to kill her husband.

The queen and her ministers respectfully bowed to the young girl and invited her into the tent for negotiations.

Today's chapter is 5200 words long. I'll make up for yesterday's chapter a little bit. Tomorrow Ningning will start her return journey.)
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