Chapter 680: Broadening Horizons~

This time the Great King's luck was good; he didn't wait for the enemy to reach his doorstep before discovering—he had already received a warning from the Intelligence Section.

The Chief Steward's carrier pigeons really came in handy this time; a spy posing as an East Hu person discovered in Qushe that a large army was marching south, heading southwest of Qushe.

The Great King turned his big sand table twice, estimated Qushe's location, and thought: if it's southwest, they probably wouldn't want to provoke Gu Pass and Youzhou, so they headed west.

Soon he summoned the officials for a meeting; everyone hurried over, and before they could catch their breath they heard the Great King say: "I had just gathered some grain and fodder, and the thieving heavens already knew about it—sigh."

The old officials looked at each other, bewildered: "What does this mean?"

"When I first ascended the throne I promised to exempt the world from taxes, but now I have to buy grain and fodder from the people. The silver just dug from the mines never even made it into the treasury before being hauled off to purchase grain and fodder. Now look, we've barely scraped together a little, and the poor neighbors already found out."

Seeing everyone completely confused, the Great King revealed: "The above is just complaining; the real topic is—the Xiongnu and Xianbei allied forces have marched south."

What?!

This time the old officials really panicked!

They aren't in Chang'an anymore; this is the northern border, Youzhou! Are the barbarians on the plains really attacking now? Is Youzhou still safe?

After the Great King finished his idle chatter, he said: "I intend to lead the campaign myself."

This time Xie Yuan didn't stay silent, saying: "Your Majesty, think thrice. The northern borders are not lacking capable generals who can conquer and win in battle; the Mysterious Armor Cavalry is superior to the steppe cavalry, and I see no need for Your Majesty to personally lead the campaign." As for emperors who personally lead campaigns, they usually do so to boost morale, but Minister Xie felt the northern border cavalry had no need for that.

No sooner had his words fallen than Zhang Tu stepped forward to volunteer for battle.

The other officials had long grown accustomed to it; they came, came again, came again—these northern border folks are addicted to war. One can't even imagine how far they'd go if they never had to worry about food and drink.

By the time the Great King received the news, he had already made up his mind; no amount of persuasion could sway him. Dong Fu said he would personally lead the troops, but the Great King refused as well. Seeing that this fellow's resolve was firm, Xie Yuan was the first to relent. Though he had initially opposed it, his deep understanding of the Great King meant he ended up being the first to support it.

According to the intelligence, the enemy forces numbered not few—about a hundred thousand. The Great King selected the Owl Cavalry and added seven thousand Mysterious Armor Cavalry, preparing to mobilize ten thousand troops.

Ten thousand against a hundred thousand?

The officials began to worry again; it's not that there's no one, but is taking so few men overly risky?

This time the Great King retorted with a single sentence: "That's easy to say; bringing more troops is fine—everyone, scrape together some grain and fodder. However much you can gather by tomorrow night, that's how many I'll take."

This impromptu meeting was held in the Great King's study, and his talkative cousin was present as well. As soon as the Great King finished speaking, the old fogeys fell silent, and finally it was Wei Shen's turn to speak.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty saying that means tomorrow it'll just be the two of us going, huh~"

The officials: ……

The Grand Minister of Agriculture almost shrank his neck back into his chest.

The officials dispersed to make preparations, while the Grand Commander and Zhang Tu stayed behind, as the Great King still had orders to give.

"The remaining seven thousand must all be experts skilled in offensive weapons." It was obvious the Great King intended to give the Xiongnu and Xianbei a harsh lesson.

"If we change the Chanyu, the Xiongnu will forget the pain; I must make them hurt again, preferably keeping them honest for a few years so that even if they starve on the steppe they won't dare speak of marching south. I don't want to send troops to Hanshou only to have the steppe rise up again afterward."

With fewer men, Zhang Tu tried to persuade the Great King to take more people; the Great King pointed out the window and said, "Look, Lord Cover-the-sky is out strolling on the lake."

"Not to mention Lord Cover-the-sky could still help; if the Mysterious Armor Cavalry can't even manage a one-to-ten ratio, then all the silver I've spent these years would be a bit wasted." Having said all that, the number of ten thousand cannot be changed.

After they left, the Great King suddenly clapped his hands excitedly: "I've thought of something! There's a ready-made good method right now to really stimulate Si Pangzi—this is absolutely brilliant~"

Everyone in the room perked up to listen: "Zhao Bao, go tell Lao Si to get ready; I'll take him to the real battlefield to broaden his horizons!"

Zhao Bao: ……

Minister Xie left all too quickly……