Chapter 532

Da Wang saw the Yang clan's "donated" grain list and was very satisfied; he decided to leave a good place for the Yang clan in Youzhou.

The next day at dawn the army set out, but Da Wang didn't immediately follow; he participated in the handover of Hongnong's regime.

The first task Da Wang gave his maternal uncle was to reorganize Hongnong's household registration, which must be an accurate recount of the population within the borders. Though this sounds like a huge project in ancient times, as long as one is willing, it's not difficult to get a clear count of a commandery's land. Da Wang showed his uncle the old precedent from the northern border; the vast northern border could do it, so Hongnong could certainly do it as well.

The Yang clan had been entrenched in Hongnong for a thousand years; this job was extremely suitable for Yang Yao.

Who would have thought Da Wang would be pleased for only two days? Before he could leave Hongnong, scouts delivered urgent intelligence: the false emperor Bai Li Jun had mustered three hundred thousand troops and was stationed east of Chang'an at Wuguan Yuan, clearly intending to fight ahead of schedule.

Da Wang was shocked: "Where did he get three hundred thousand people? Didn't he keep his main force in Chang'an?"

Wei Shen took it and examined it seriously: "It's just forced conscription from the surrounding areas, eh! The three hundred thousand might have some inflation, but it's not that far off."

The King still felt doubtful, thinking that the approach of the Mysterious Armor Cavalry toward Chang'an had put too much pressure on Baili Jun, making the enemy so angry they kept making foolish moves.

This kind of positional battle on the open plain—surely isn't that what he's been dreaming of?!

"Could it be a free point question?"

Stationing troops at the Five Passes Plain, can Baili Jun's newly recruited forces withstand the charge of the northern border cavalry?

"Is Baili Jun crazy, or is my Black Wind Horse unable to move its legs?"

Wei Shen pulled out a map and pointed to it for him, saying, "Beyond Vast Agriculture, where else can they make a last stand? If we don't desperately block them, our main force will all reach Chang'an. Rest assured, his main force is definitely still in Chang'an."

After the King pondered, he began to feel delighted, and immediately set out to go to the Five Passes Plain to pick up equipment.

One iron knife per person is already no small expense! How to put it? Baili Jun might have been scared crazy, but the kids are crazy from poverty.

Yang Yao personally escorted the King out of the city with the new administration of Vast Agriculture Commandery, and the King, unable to wait, sped up to catch up with the main force.

Man proposes, heaven disposes; the King had ridden horse for half a day, still not having met up with the main force, when he received Zhu Ti's news of border movements.

In broad daylight, they came looking. The King immediately threw out Zhetian as cover, and he himself found a place to enter the manor.

Zhu Ti had just received the news; two days prior, in the northern part of the wilds of Juyan North, they had spotted barbarian cavalry, now moving toward the Juyan direction.

The King had to think a moment to recall where those obscure place names in Cool Prefecture were and how many people lived there. Upon thinking that in Juyan, a day's ride might not even encounter a few living souls, he quickly calmed down, found an excuse to stop, and checked the map.

Mengmeng gave no hint, probably meaning they haven't officially entered the border; the enemy forces are still in the wilderness of northern Juyan, right?

The King doubted even this marching speed: "Is the news accurate?"

"Very reliable. The cavalry numbers about fifty to seventy thousand; our own salt‑merchant caravan unexpectedly encountered them in northern Juyan, and among them was an elder from the intelligence bureau."

The King's luck ran out, and he began to study the map seriously. "This place… borders the Xiongnu; could it be Xiongnu cavalry? They just finished paying tribute—could my demands have been too harsh? That's what drove them to take desperate measures."

Zhu Ti shrugged, saying, "Maybe they got the idea from the Owl Cavalry; they're said to cover their faces with cloths and have no banners or other insignia to identify themselves, so you can't tell whether they're Xiongnu or Western Regions people. North of Juyan there's hardly any population; it seems they didn't fail to receive the lord's warning, but rather made preparations both ways."

"So what do you think—are they Western Regions people or Xiongnu? Or have they joined forces?"

"It wouldn't be surprising if they were either Western Regions or Xiongnu; that place is far out, uninhabited. If Western Regions cavalry went around Shanyang Pass to enter via Juyan, the Xiongnu could claim ignorance, since it's still far from their settlements. If it were Xiongnu cavalry, they come masked, perhaps hoping to deny responsibility."

The King laughed in anger, saying, "They surely haven't heard that in the Great Jin there's a crime called extermination of the nine clans—if one person sins, the nine clans are exterminated. I won't be playing guilt by association?!"

The warning is just a warning; the King's pressure on them is heavy. Come to think of it, the Xiongnu and Western Regions wouldn't resign themselves. If Baili Jing manages to also take the Central Plains, the Xiongnu chieftain would hardly be able to sleep! Once the realm is unified, the unlucky ones will be the neighbors. This once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity, the borders are probably all restless.

Before the King could grow too anxious, he heard the familiar alert beep. All right, no need to verify its truth now.

A red exclamation‑point warning popped up again on the homepage—enemy forces in great numbers are about to enter the border.

"Let Shuofang Pass send troops to resist the enemy—no, there's not enough time; I'll have Zhetian make a run. Go back and inform Dong Fu, so he has a sense of the situation and makes Shanggu Pass ready to provide support."

The King stepped away for a while, then returned and began writing a hand letter, even taking out his tiger talisman for mobilizing troops to start stamping; Wei Shen finally noticed something was up.

"Anything going on?"

While writing, the King cursed the Xiongnu and Western Regions for their wolfish ambitions, vowing to someday flatten their lairs.

He took a moment to reply, sighing, "Ah! There's movement on the northern border of Cool Prefecture."

This time he was truly worried sick. The King isn't afraid of war; he fears that internal and external conflicts will erupt together, blowing the roof off logistics. As for the northern border economy, collapse is certain—after all, it's never gotten off the ground. Time is still too short; this broken world gives him hardly any breathing room.

Wei Shen looked at him, then at Zhetian, and grew worried as well.

"They actually dare to make a move?! What scale are we talking about? Should we call for reinforcements? Or I should just go back—compared to Baili Jun, the Xiongnu are still harder to fight."

"That's also unnecessary. Let Tang Qian and Li Yuan go; Shanyang Pass is easy to defend but hard to attack, so just shift some troops to support Li Yuan; You Prefecture still has Grand Marshal Dong holding the fort."

And we still have at least four to five hundred thousand troops up front; the southern vassal kings are all fighting to the death, with masses of civilians dying or becoming refugees every day—internal troubles are even more worrying. … As for the Xiongnu and Western Regions, this grudge the King will surely repay double when he takes action!

When they caught up with the main force, Marquis of Dongdu discovered that the King, who usually dressed casually, had unexpectedly donned his armor; even his usual spear was gone, replaced by the treasured sword Taia.

How does it feel… this guy finally got serious?