My wife has a secret

Chapter 211 Dark clouds over the city
"Are you lying to me?"

Seeing that Yuchi Qi did not trust his words, Liao Yue said, "Minister Yuchi, do you think the relationship between Guangping Marquis and the Yang family is very bad?"

"Everyone knows that the Saint had disagreements with the Yang family when she was the Queen Mother in the previous dynasty. The marriage contract was just a compromise to get money and food. How could it be bad?"

When Yuchi Qi said this, his long beard began to tremble with anger again. If it weren't for all these power struggles, would it be so difficult for him to hold the position of Minister of War?

"If you put the military power in the hands of Marquis Guangping, believe it or not, he will station troops in Yuyang City near Huangling Pass overnight. No matter how fierce the fighting is in front, he will not move at all."

Liao Yue grinned and laughed, attracting the attention of the officials on their way back here. When they saw that they were the two ministers, they hurriedly bowed and saluted, then quickly passed by.

Yuchi Qi was a little embarrassed and annoyed by Liao Yue's attitude, and couldn't help asking, "What are you laughing at?"

"You know about the incident at the Xiangshan Falun Temple, right?"

Yuchi Qi frowned and replied, "I know, but what does this have to do with it? Even if he, the Marquis of Guangping, has the ability to investigate cases, he doesn't have the ability to lead troops."

"The one who acted together with Marquis Guangping was actually Yang Xianning himself."

Yuchi Qi first looked at Liao Yue in a daze, then blurted out, "Impossible!"

Liao Yue calmly asked back: "How is it impossible? The Saint's coronation ceremony invited the Yang family. Don't you want to know why Yang Xianning, as the head of the Yang family, didn't come?"

After hearing this, Yuchi Qi believed Liao Yue's words a little more.

Among all the members of the Yang family, the current head of the family, Yang Xianning, is the one with the most friendly attitude towards the imperial court. Since she took office as the head of the family, she has been working hard to repair the relationship with the imperial court.

If not for this, she would not have agreed to the Xu family's marriage proposal.

"The Yang family did not attend the Saint's coronation ceremony. According to the Saint's previous temper, they would have convicted the other party and caused trouble. Think about it carefully... What has been the Saint's attitude since the coronation ceremony?"

Yuchi Qi suddenly understood.

Ever since the Yang family gained power and prestige in Huangling Pass and reached a peak, successive emperors have been suppressing the Yang family openly or covertly.

During the reign of the sage, he made things difficult for the Yang family several times and restricted the resources at the border.

After the coronation ceremony, although the saint did not lift the border regulations, he did not criticize the Yang family or say anything else... This is not normal!
"Marquis Guangping mysteriously left the capital, and suddenly followed the envoys to Huangling Pass, reporting the military situation outside the Great Wall. All signs indicate that the Xu family is reconciling with the Yang family. Moreover, the two are engaged, and they are originally a family. If you transfer our elite troops there, Xu Qing, who has no experience in leading troops, will naturally hand over the command to the Yang family, and everyone will be fine on the surface."

"I see."

Yuchi Qi didn't expect that this fat guy had such a delicate mind. He usually thought that he knew nothing and could only flatter.

Now it seems that I underestimated him.

……

There is a crescent-shaped plain near the border town of Huangling Pass.

Passing through the city on the right, you can reach the border between Liao and Qi. Huangling Pass is also usually used to check pedestrians and merchants.

But before the Liao army arrived, Huangling Pass had already closed the border, pulled up the suspension bridge over the moat, and forced all the soldiers and surrounding residents to hide inside the pass.

On the other hand, on this vast plain, rows of infantry and cavalry phalanxes stood in place, looking forward with firm expressions.

Looking from afar, it had already become a dark mass, with an aggressive momentum, like a black cloud that was going to crush everything.

In the center of this army, which was extremely large in both numbers and size, there was a carriage pulled by sixteen horses. On top of the carriage was not a carriage, but a large and luxurious tent. Prince Xiao Chong was brought by his father to fight in all directions since he was born. Over a long period of time, he had developed the habit of living in a place without a fixed place. He built his own house in the army and followed the troops to the battle.

The personal guards on both sides of the tent were the most elite soldiers of the Liao Kingdom. They held long spears with the flags of the Liao Kingdom and the prince hanging on the heads of the spears.

This Khitan man, who was famous for his strong fighting ability and courage, was now standing in front of the terrain sand table in the house, using war chess to deduce the direction of the battle.

Although the Liao Kingdom had the advantage in numbers in this war, the terrain of Huangling Pass was dangerous and the Yang family stationed there was an extremely tough opponent. He had to minimize the losses as much as possible.

Only in this way can the remaining troops conquer the vast territory of Qi.

"Report!"

The messenger knelt outside the tent and shouted loudly, "The spies in Qi reported that the Queen of Qi has ordered the six divisions to be assembled, and will dispatch half of the Zhennan Zhongwu Army and the Yinshan Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to support Huangling Pass."

"Report!"

Another messenger galloped past the path that the imperial guards had made way for, jumped off his horse, knelt on both knees in front of the tent, and shouted: "The spies reported that the general leading the reinforcements from Qi is Xu Qing, Marquis of Guangping."

"Report!"

"..."

The sound of news came one after another from outside the tent. Xiao Chong, wearing a sable fur coat, stared at the chessboard with a calm expression.

But the Xiao family's retainers who were standing on one side with their heads bowed and the staff who were hired with huge salaries could no longer stand.

"My Lord, the royal family of Qi has always been at odds with the Yang family. The fact that they were able to gather the six divisions this time is strange in every way."

After the first aide finished speaking, another person stood up and suggested, "Your Excellency, the terrain of Huangling Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although we have catapults, Huangling Pass has more advantages than just the city walls."

"Yes, it will take Qi's elite troops ten to fifteen days at most to reach Huangling Pass. If we cannot capture Huangling Pass, we will be stuck in a quagmire."

"By then, our main force will be stuck in a quagmire, and the Kingdom of Jin may even tear up the treaty and launch a counterattack."

The speeches of these staff members were full of concerns.

In order to conquer Qi in one fell swoop, Xiao Chong mobilized most of the young and strong men in Liao. Ordinary people who were over 16 years old and still able to breathe were drafted into the army and logistics.

In this battle, both the Liao Emperor and Xiao Chong chose to gamble on the fate of the country. As long as they could annex Qi, the Liao Kingdom would become the most powerful existence on this continent.

Facing these objections, Xiao Chong did not even look at them, but simply gave orders: "Saba, tell them the current situation of the army."

"Yes!"

A deputy general in full armor and a silver helmet faced his staff and said in a heavy voice: "This time, we are going to the southern expedition to Han and Qi. Including the logistics workers, we have recruited a total of 800,000 soldiers, and they consume 2,000 dan of grain every day."

Xiao Chong continued to ask: "How much is left in reserve?"

"Twenty thousand!"

When the staff heard this loud answer, their faces turned pale.

They never thought that Xiao Chong would be so crazy that he summoned young and strong people from all over the country, but only prepared food for ten days.

(End of this chapter)