Dao Fruit

"Have you heard? Another tribe was defeated by Qiu Yan's army!"

The morning court has not yet opened, and the emperor has not yet sat down, but the ministers have gathered in the Golden Palace.

They talked to each other, seemingly leisurely, but in fact they wanted to collect some information from others and speculate on the direction of the court.

The most touching thing recently is undoubtedly that more than a month ago, Da Rui raised a large army in the northern border, totaling 200,000, and marched towards the grassland to fight the Rou Luo people and wipe out the northern threat.

So many troops and horses have very strict requirements on logistics, and the transportation and mobilization of the entire dynasty are a severe test. If something goes wrong, not only will the military encounter twists and turns, but the foundation of the entire dynasty may also shake, causing social unrest.

This is also what many ministers are worried about, and they use this as an excuse to stop it in many ways. They can also see that the emperor intends to use martial arts to send troops and reform the military system.

However, with the smooth progress of the mission to Sanshui, there were many unexpected gains. When opportunities appeared, even the military could not sit still. With the support of the military, the emperor's back was undoubtedly straighter.

The two parties, one wanted to seek fame and military reform after death, and the other saw the signs and wanted to expand the territory, enfeoff his wife and children, and earn great military merits. They immediately hit it off. In addition, many court officials were shaken, and the west wind overwhelmed the east wind in the court, causing the wind direction to change, and then there was the matter of sending troops.

However, after the heavy troops entered the grassland, it was not as smooth as Li Kun had thought. Instead, they encountered many problems that they had not expected. Due to logistics, the battle line did not have time to open up. It fell into a stalemate.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Li Kun's idea, so that many court officials who opposed the dispatch of troops had already written memorials and were ready to make trouble on this matter as a breakthrough to make the army return.

Li Kun, the Supreme Lord of Da Rui, was also prepared for this. He was ready to withstand the pressure from the ministers and hold on until the army had some results, and then counterattack.

However, the two parties who were prepared did not expect the development of the matter to be completely beyond their expectations. Before the ministers could launch an attack, an unexpected news came from the grassland-

It turned out that Qiu Yan led a slave army to successively break through three grassland tribes and release all the enslaved people in the tribe, which caused an uproar in the grassland.

But when the news reached the Da Rui court, many people saw it as disrupting the overall deployment. They were ready to launch an attack, but Li Kun used it and said it was a strategic link to attack Rou Luo in the north.

In this way, not only did Qiu Yan save Qiu Yan, but he also stopped the ministers who were planning to launch an attack on the army but had no achievements.

However, this matter was regarded as a minor setback by the court officials who were negotiating peace. They thought it was just a slight delay in time. They did not think that Qiu Yan could really do anything to reverse the situation with his limited manpower. After all, Qiu Yan was originally a civil official, even though he wrote a military classic. But theory and leading the army are two different things after all.

However, they never expected that they would never be able to take the initiative again after a temporary retreat. In the following days, there was news that Qiu Yan had conquered a tribe almost every day.

You know, the grassland tribes are different from those in the Central Plains. They do not build cities, but live by water and grass. If the tribe’s settlement is conquered, even if there are not many casualties, the momentum will decline, and they will be targeted by other tribes and fall into a series of chain reactions.

The people in the border areas have the most direct feeling of this impact. The tribes that have lost their pastures often want to go south to plunder, but they are greeted by the officers and soldiers of Da Rui who have been ready for the enemy!

These officers and soldiers were supposed to cooperate with the entire northern attack strategy, but due to the limitations of logistics and intelligence, they could only be stationed on the border, one side was responsible for guarding the border, and the other side was as a reserve to deal with the changes in the grassland.

However, these are the views of decision-makers. Specifically, for the generals and soldiers in the army, they can only watch the front-line troops make meritorious deeds, and they themselves have no achievements. How can they not be anxious? At this time, encountering the tribes heading south is just what they want, so why not try their best to resist?

In this way, not only the people in the northern border are not harmed, but the situation in the court is also opened up. The military is no longer without achievements. It is just strange that the front-line troops have only fought a few small battles, but the garrisons in the rear have killed many.

Of course, no court officials mentioned it at this time, because they all saw the emperor's mind, and the border troops did have a record. Even if others persuaded him to withdraw the army, it would be difficult to say anything.

It is worth mentioning that some officials of the peace party tended to withdraw the army out of overall considerations, while some received benefits, so they added fuel to the fire. How could they not try their best?

Seeing that the situation was difficult to reverse, someone soon noticed a key point -

Qiu Yan.

There was no achievement on the front line, and the record of the garrison was shabby. The real military achievement was actually Qiu Yan, the editor.

He led a group of slave soldiers, moved erratically, fought in the north and south of the grassland, and frightened all the tribes. More than a month ago, the court finally contacted him, and a commissioner sent by the governor's office joined, so they were able to keep in touch. As a result, the victory news came like snowflakes, shocking the court.

At the beginning, some people impeached Qiu Yan on the grounds of the turbulent grassland situation and prepared to take him back by force, but after hearing that Qiu Yan defeated the coalition of seven tribes in one fell swoop and forced the Tulang tribe to flee everywhere, such voices became much smaller.

Instead, there was a series of proposals to bring him back with the military classics.

Yes, there is such a saying in the court that Qiu Yan was able to defeat the tribes so smoothly because of an original book written by him. Now the court army is exhausted and is being restrained by the Rouluo people. It is in a dilemma and needs the guidance of this book. Therefore, many ministers have written to Li Kun, hoping that Li Kun can issue an order to let Qiu Yan and the book return to Beijing as soon as possible.

As time goes by, more and more people have signed a petition for the order, and many people do not have ulterior motives, but sincerely think that Qiu Yan's book can help the court break through the current predicament. There are also well-informed and active war advocates who hope that Qiu Yan can follow the order to go to the front line and use the military order to help.

"This time, Qiu Yan and his army were even more amazing. They defeated the two tribes that had sheltered Tulang to join the army, causing the two tribes to decline from prosperity. I heard that one of them was eaten up by the subordinate tribe that day! The rise and fall changed in the blink of an eye!"

"Speaking of which, the news in recent days has said that Qiu Yan's stirring up trouble in the grassland this time is aimed at the Tulang tribe. I don't know what the reason is."

"I don't know much about this, but there are many rumors among the people. Some people say that he is avenging his father, but it's too ridiculous. Qiu Yan is from Jiannan. It is said that his father died at the hands of the swamp people. How could he go to the grassland people? The reason for revenge? "

"But I heard that this action was a rage for a beauty. You may not know that there was a daughter of the Marquis in the delegation. One of the young masters of the Tulang tribe molested the princess in Dingchang City, which led to his death. Qiu Yan was not satisfied and wanted to uproot the entire Tulang tribe! "

"I'm afraid your news is a little wrong. Why did I hear that it was because of an old soldier? I heard that the Tulang tribe took advantage of the sudden attack by the Marquis of Maishan and took advantage of the opportunity to enter..."

...

The court officials discussed in a low voice, told the news they heard, exchanged information, and then tried to restore the situation by analyzing and observing the expressions of others.

In the corner of the hall, Di Ai, standing in the crowd, bowed his head and said nothing, but he was quite indignant in his heart.

A month and a half ago, the envoys returned. The chief envoy Meng Qingbin received many rewards. His position in the Ministry of Rites was already secure. It was said that he would be promoted. The ministers in the delegation also rose with the tide. Thanks to Qiu Yan's two letters, they were praised by the emperor and everyone was promoted.

Di Ai was no exception. He not only had a rank in the Hanlin Academy, but also was given an official title and transferred to a powerful department. He had the opportunity to participate in the court meeting. Although he was ranked last and had no right to speak freely, it was more or less a little progress and a good start.

But it was precisely because of this that he became more unhappy and felt that it was Qiu Yan's means to win people's hearts.

In fact, no matter what Qiu Yan's purpose was, after such an action, the entire delegation completely changed their view of him. Not only did they have no hostility, but they also regarded it as an honor to have traveled with him on a diplomatic mission and often took it out.

This is just a microcosm. In fact, Qiu Yan is in the limelight right now. Although he is not here, his reputation is rising day by day!

Now that he is fighting on the grassland, not only has his prestige among the people increased greatly, but even the court has become more cautious about him. The court officials no longer talk about him casually. Even if they do, they will show a little respect, which shows that they are gradually recognizing his status as a master of military strategy. This is especially obvious among the military generals.

"What a good calculation. In one mission, he caused so many incidents and even provoked the two countries to fight, but I took advantage of the situation..."

Thinking about it, Di Ai deliberately ignored the emperor's intentions and the great trend that had long accumulated in the Central Plains and the grassland, and attributed the cause of the military dispute to Qiu Yan.

While thinking, his eyes slowly turned, patrolling in the chaotic crowd, and finally fell to the middle position of the civil officials, and swept over Yu Panxiang and Tian Youqing. He remembered that the two had sent people to convey their meanings to him in the past few days.

"However, his sharp edge is a double-edged sword, and he is not without political enemies. I am afraid that there will be a storm when he returns to the court."

While thinking, the eunuch sang in the depths of the palace, and the emperor walked out and sat on the dragon throne. The morning court officially began, and the hall was immediately quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

After a series of etiquette, the court began to answer questions related to the government and policies. The process was long and boring, but the ministers present were all alert to listen carefully, trying to find clues from it, so as to adjust the future course of action.

In the middle of the conversation, the new party and the old party inevitably had another dispute, which was already the norm.

After the meeting was over and calmed down a little, Li Kun glanced at the hall and said, "A few days ago, I thought carefully about the joint signature of several prime ministers and decided to approve it. I will recall Qiu Yan and give him a reward."

PS: Thanks to "Dao Keqi" and "Adventurer*Tianyun" for their monthly votes!

I got home too late today, so the update is late.