Jiuxi

Chapter 622 [Beside the Couch]

June of the seventh year of Dajing Tiande.

After the defeat at Yongqiu, Emperor Jing dismissed the Southern Court Marshal Qing Yugong and ordered the deputy commander of the Loyalty Army Wu Yanshu to lead the southern armies.

Wu Yanshu had been a soldier for half his life and was an experienced military officer, but he was still unable to stop the offensive against Dingzhou led by Xiao Wangzhi himself.

The Jing army was forced to withdraw from the northern part of Dingzhou, and the Dingzhou Feiyun army, which had held Fengqiu for eight months, finally saw the light of day again.

At this point, the border line between Qi and Jing changed again.

Starting from the northern foot of the Shiwan Mountains in the west, with Heluo City as the core in the middle, and extending to Dingfeng Road and the outskirts of Baotai Mountain in the east, the Jing army is carefully stationed on this long border of more than 2,000 miles.

At the same time, in order to strengthen his rule over various places north of the Yangtze River, Emperor Jing finally accepted the surrender letter submitted by the four-year-old Emperor of Yan at the strong request of some Yan ministers.

The State of Yan thus submitted to the Jing Dynasty, and its territory included Jiangbei Road, Jingji Area, Henan Road and Weinan Road.

The Yan State, which existed for only thirteen years, became a mark in history books.

A situation of confrontation between the North and the South between Qi and Jing was thus formed.

Emperor Jingdi changed Heluo to the secondary capital Nanjing and established Nanjing Road, whose jurisdiction included the former Jiangbei Road of Yan State and the capital area, with a total of seven prefectures and forty-eight counties.

Wu Yanshu was appointed as the governor of Nanjing, in charge of all military and political power.

Although this official position was high and powerful, no one in the Jing Dynasty competed for it because the newly established Nanjing Road was destined to become the first line of defense against the Qi army.

To the south of Nanjing Road is Jingzhou of Da Qi, and to the southeast is Dingzhou of Da Qi.

In addition, in the previous Battle of Yongqiu, the Qi army had used Shazhou as a passage to launch a surprise attack from the north of the Shiwanda Mountains, and the west of Nanjing Road also had to be guarded more strictly, which meant that there were enemies on three sides.

Wu Yanshu had a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Fortunately, the Qi army stopped after regaining the entire Dingzhou, allowing the Jing army, which had been in a passive position, to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Both sides are well aware of the situation. The Jing army needs to lick its wounds and recover, while the Qi army also needs to recuperate due to years of war and the death of the previous emperor. In the foreseeable one or two years, neither side will rashly provoke a war.

The world situation has been ups and downs, from the Jing army looking down on the world fifteen years ago to the current situation where Qi and Jing are evenly matched, ushering in a period of peace that is destined to be relatively short.

However, for a country in a remote place, this apparent peace means unpredictable dangers.

In the northwest of this vast continent, there is a country called Dai.

More than a hundred years ago, there were a large number of nomadic tribes in the north of the continent. After decades of fighting each other, three tribes gradually grew stronger and formed a rivalry. From west to east, they were the Gaoyang, Helan and Jinglian tribes.

The Qi Dynasty had always adopted the strategy of winning over, suppressing and dividing these three forces, and the effect was quite good at first. The three tribes were too busy fighting among themselves to look south. It was not until more than 30 years ago that the leaders of the three tribes reached a consensus with great difficulty, and from then on they became a major concern for the Qi Dynasty.

They are Alihe Yili, the father of the current Emperor Jing, Huoba, the leader of the Helan tribe, and Geshugui, the leader of the Gaoyang tribe.

The three tribes worked together and invaded the border of Qi Dynasty countless times. Especially twenty years ago, the Emperor of Qi falsely killed Yang Guangyuan, which made the Jinghe River defense line useless and allowed the northern cavalry to move freely.

Through wars, the three tribes continued to expand their power and established their own countries one after another. The Jinglian tribe established the Jing Kingdom, the Helan tribe established the Zhao Kingdom, and the Gaoyang tribe established the Dai Kingdom.

The elegance of a man is always blown away by the wind and rain, and talented people emerge in every generation.

After Emperor Jing Alihehuan ascended the throne, he quelled the infighting among various forces at home and implemented the strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby countries. In the fifth year of Tiande, he annexed the State of Zhao and completed the absorption of Yan this year. Although he was defeated by the Qi army twice in the middle, it still did not affect the Jing Dynasty as the number one dynasty in the world.

The Dai State was isolated in the northwest, and even if it only wanted to live in peace in a corner, it could not help but feel uneasy because of the majestic momentum of the Jing Army's cavalry.

To the north of the 300-li sea of ​​grass is Lingqing, the capital of the Dai State.

There are more than 600,000 permanent residents in the city, and 80,000 armored soldiers, including 40,000 infantry, 30,000 light cavalry, and 10,000 dragoons composed entirely of sons of nobles.

The imperial city is located in the southwest corner. It is huge in scale and gorgeous in color.

There are three tall and majestic palace gate towers on the front. The towers have five bays and are covered with glazed tile roofs. The main ridge is a gargoyle with a dragon head and a fish tail. The palace wall divides the entire imperial city into two parts, inner and outer parts.

The most important building in the inner city is the Zhengyang Palace, where the emperor summoned his ministers to discuss state affairs.

This hall has seven bays, with a tall crane-shaped ridge and a dragon-shaped animal mouth biting the ridge, which makes it look more sacred and solemn. The platform in front of the hall is surrounded by railings, and there are staircases and corridors on both sides, connecting to the palaces and pavilions in the inner city.

If you look down from above, the palace gate tower, Zhengyang Hall and Qianyang Hall in the harem form the central axis of the imperial palace, while the palaces, pavilions, towers, curved railings, stone bridges and pools on both sides form a symmetrical layout that is extremely neat and regular.

The Zhengyang Hall was spacious and could accommodate hundreds of people for court meetings. However, today the hall seemed very deserted, with only a few people present, and the sound of conversations constantly echoing in the hall.

The man sitting on the dragon throne was over thirty years old, with brows like swords, eyes like eagles, tall stature, and quite a majestic aura.

He is the current emperor of Dai State, Geshu Kui, who is 34 years old and ascended the throne eight years ago.

Geshu Kui had great ambitions since he was young and was also skilled in archery and horse riding. He joined the army at the age of seventeen and made many achievements on the battlefield.

He and Emperor Jing Alihehuan were both completely different types. Although the latter had the most powerful cavalry in the world, he had never been on the battlefield himself. Ge Shukui was not only brave and good at fighting, but also a good hand at leading cavalry to make roundabout raids. In the years when the three-tribe coalition attacked the Qi Dynasty, the Gaoyang Dragon Cavalry led by Ge Shukui had an outstanding record.

But later the gap between the two people became wider and wider.

Relying on their outstanding talents, Ali and Hehuan managed the internal affairs of Jing Dynasty in an orderly manner, and they also took steady steps in their external affairs without any sense of haste.

Due to the sparse population of the Gaoyang tribe and the relatively barren land of the Dai State, Geshu Kui had to be trapped in the northwest for many years, watching the Jing Dynasty first destroy the Zhao State and then swallow up the Yan land.

Thinking of this, the ambitious emperor frowned and said in a deep voice: "The Jinglian people have now taken over the Yan territory. What do you two think?"

There were two important officials standing at the bottom of the stairs. The one on the left had a pale face, short beard and a thin figure. He was the Minister of the Central Secretariat, He Zhu.

He tried to guess the emperor's thoughts and said carefully, "Your Majesty, our dynasty is located in the northwest, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. I think the Jing army will not dare to invade easily. Moreover, according to the report from the spies, the Jing army suffered a defeat in the Yongqiu area in the south this year. Qing Yugong was defeated by the Qi people and the main force suffered heavy casualties. Under such circumstances, the Jing Kingdom will definitely not be an enemy of our dynasty. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

"Feel relieved?"

Ge Shukui sneered and said coldly, "Just like those fools in Zhao State, they were deceived by the sweet words of Jinglian people, and the iron-clad army composed of the royal family's children was wiped out in one day, and they are trapped in a situation of waiting for death from then on? Lord He, everyone in the court and the public says that you are smart and wise, and a well-educated person. Don't you see the danger?"

He Zhu was stunned for a moment, then said with shame: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have a narrow vision and am not even a fraction as good as your Majesty."

Ge Shukui let out a long sigh and did not continue to blame the Minister of the Central Secretariat.

After the Gaoyang tribe established the Dai Kingdom, it was inevitable that they had to recruit famous people from all over the country. Otherwise, they would not be able to maintain the operation of the court and local government relying solely on the talents within their own tribe.

Just as Emperor Jing did, Geshu Kui and his father also promoted many officials with Qi blood, and He Zhu was one of the best among them.

However, the Gaoyang clan members were still respected in the court, and He Zhu was always cautious and careful, not daring to overstep the mark.

Ge Shukui looked at another important official and asked, "Matsudaira, what do you think?"

This man's name is Geshu Songping, and he is Geshu Kui's cousin. He is currently the Privy Councilor of Dai State and concurrently holds the position of Mo Ning Ling, which is an honorable position in the Gaoyang aristocratic system, second only to Geshu Kui's position of Ning Ling.

Geshu Songping was a man of great stature, with an angular face that looked as if it had been chopped by a knife or an axe.

He said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, I think the people of Qi are better than those beasts of the Jinglian clan."

"Tell me more specifically."

"Your Majesty, the Qi people are not good at cavalry warfare. Even though they occupied the most prosperous and rich land in the world, they still had no way to deal with our cavalry. Even if the Qi army defeats the Jing army in the future, they can only maintain the situation of several decades ago. But if the Jing army defeats the Qi army, relying on their cavalry, which is far more than ours, they will definitely covet our territory at that time."

"So you plan to unite with the Qi people to deal with the Jing Kingdom?"

"Two years ago, I would definitely not have made such a suggestion, because the Qi army was too weak, and it would be meaningless for our dynasty to help. But now it is different. Through the past two years of fighting, the Qi army has proved that they have the strength to compete with and defeat the Jing army. At this time, if our dynasty's elite troops take action again and give Jing a heavy blow from the rear, we may be able to completely defeat Jing. As for whether to divide Jing's land equally with the Qi people or go a step further after the victory, it depends on your majesty's thoughts."

Although Goshu Songping may seem rough, he is actually a very meticulous person, so his analysis is reasonable.

Ge Shukui pondered for a long time and said slowly: "The key lies in whether the Qi people are trustworthy?"

Ge Shu Songping then asked, "Your Majesty, have you ever noticed the sinking of Qi?"

"I've heard a lot."

"This man is a new military noble of Qi State, and will be in charge of Qi State's border troops in the future. As far as I know, the former emperor of Qi State has granted him two marriage contracts, one of which is with a woman named Lin. This woman is the daughter of Lin Jie, the leader of the Green Forest Seven Stars Gang."

"Do you know this Lin Jie?"

Geshu Songping said respectfully, "One of the stewards in my house met Lin Jie several times. He encountered danger when he went south for business, and he saved his life with the help of Lin Jie. The steward gave him a fine iron dagger unique to our dynasty, and thus they became friends. If Your Majesty is interested, I will let the steward go to find Lin Jie, and maybe he can get in touch with Lu Chen of Qi State."

Ge Shukui tapped the armrest of the dragon chair gently, his eyes becoming increasingly resolute, and he said word by word: "Tell him to go south to find Lu Chen and discuss the plan."

Ge Shu Songping bowed his head and said, "I obey your order!"

(End of this chapter)