Chapter 723: When Xiazhou and Lingzhou Form Opposite Corners, Civil and Military Unite

Hearing the eunuch's vivid description of Chen Yan's feats, which could be called "miraculous," Yang Langhui, standing nearby, grew so excited that his fists clenched, his face flushed red, and even his breathing became as heavy as a bellows.

Yang Langhui slapped his thigh hard, could not stop pounding his chest and stamping his feet, and sighed to the heavens: "Chen Zhuguo truly is the war god of our age! With this move, you can see whether he has it or not! He clashes hard with the Qi State's heavy troops, yet can in a single battle behead forty thousand—what dominance! What majesty!"

Yang Langhui, frantic, spun in place like a lion that missed its prey, snarling, "Detestable! Truly detestable! I, Yang Langhui, failed to follow Lord Zhuguo today, wasted time chewing sand atop Yubi City, and missed the perfect chance to earn everlasting fame by achieving world‑shaking feats alongside Lord Zhuguo! How much celebratory wine must I forgo now!"

Zhang Poqi and Huan Jing, though more restrained than Yang Langhui, at this moment also had eyes full of frenzy.

Their admiration for the strong is etched into their bones, and their reverence for Chen Yan now overflowed, even wishing they could sprout wings and fly to Xiazhou to worship him at once.

While everyone was immersed in revelry and shock, the eunuch seemed suddenly to recall something urgent.

He hurried forward two steps, drew close to Yuwen Ze, reined in his earlier frenzy, lowered his voice, and in an extremely solemn tone delivered another Secret Order.

"Prince, besides this imperial edict, the Grand Preceptor also issued an extremely severe Oral Order: upon receiving the decree you must not delay a moment! Immediately muster your trusted Personal Guard, depart the city overnight, and rush at full speed to Lingzhou to assume command, swiftly taking over all military and civil defenses of Lingzhou! The Grand Preceptor specifically instructed that, even if a few horses die, you must not stay a night in Yubi City!"

Yuwen Ze, upon hearing this, slightly furrowed his brows.

He glanced at the ink‑black night outside the window and muttered, "Why is Father in such a hurry? Depart overnight?"

Standing beside him, Huan Jing, as a far‑sighted confidant, immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands and advised, "Prince, this matter still needs three‑fold consideration! It is already deep night; the He Dong area is prone to encountering scattered Qi State troops at night, the risk is huge. Moreover, Yubi City is the eastern gateway, the handover of tens of thousands of troops' defenses is extremely complicated and cannot be clarified in a short time. How about the Subordinate General and others intensify inventory tonight, and you set out tomorrow morning?"

However, as soon as Huan Jing finished speaking,

Yuwen Ze's eyes, which had still been immersed in the joy of victory, were as if doused with ice water, instantly regaining a terrifying calm and depth.

His thoughts raced like lightning, and he immediately grasped the deep meaning behind his father Yuwen Hu's top‑level scheming.

"No! No hesitation!" Yuwen Ze suddenly raised his hand, cutting off Huan Jing, his tone decisive.

He turned to the crowd, his gaze blazing as he explained, more like dissecting a larger political battle: "You don't understand! The Northern Border has just been stabilized, and both local warlords and the original official system have been completely shattered by this war. This Lingzhou and Xiazhou now constitute a massive power vacuum!"

Yuwen Ze's voice was low yet carried a hair‑raising sharpness: "Father is buying time! If we wait until tomorrow, or until those great clans regain their senses, they will, like sharks smelling blood, crazily insert their own men into the Northern Border. Father sending me to depart overnight is to beat all the great clans, with lightning speed, to nail the crucial peg of Lingzhou—concerning the fate of Northwest Dazhou—firmly into our own hands!"

"As long as I arrive in Lingzhou, take the Inspector's seal and command the troops, even if those great clans argue to the heavens, it will be rice already boiled and served!"

Yuwen Ze, decisive and thunderously swift, showed no trace of a modest scholar: "Yang Langhui, obey! The defenses of Yubi City, I now transfer full authority to you! Guard this gate; if you lose it, bring your head to see me!"

"Zhang Poqi, Huan Jing! Immediately go to the Training Ground, muster my five hundred elite guards, each with two horses, bring three days' dry provisions! After one incense stick, follow me out of the city!"

The generals, seeing Yuwen Ze's plan set and his reasoning so thorough, raised no objection and shouted in unison, "Subordinate General, at your command!"

Having arranged everything, Yuwen Ze seemed to lift a mountain; his eyes again flashed with extreme curiosity and excitement.

He turned to the eunuch still waiting, a smile curling at his mouth, and asked, "By the way, Duke. Since Father is so eager to have me plug the gap in Lingzhou, who is the new appointed Xiazhou Inspector? Who did Father send to take over Xiazhou's post‑war mess?"

The eunuch, hearing this, smiled brightly like a blooming chrysanthemum.

He bowed deeply, his tone reverent, and answered, "Answering the Prince. The Grand Preceptor did not send anyone else. The Grand Preceptor has already issued an edict, entrusting the military, civil, personnel, and tax authority of the Seven Prefectures, including Xiazhou, to one person! The new appointed Xiazhou Inspector and also the overseer of the Seven Prefectures is none other than Lord Chen Yan, Lord Chen Zhuguo!"

Boom!

This lightly phrased sentence sketched in Yuwen Ze's mind an immensely grand, terrifying national‑strategic map.

Yuwen Ze was stunned for three breaths, then his eyes suddenly burst with light like stars.

He clapped his hands hard and laughed, his laughter full of extreme admiration for Father's political skill: "Brilliant! Brilliant! Father's move is simply perfect! Worthy of a deity's brush!"

Yuwen Ze paced excitedly in the room, slapped the desk, and shouted, "Let A Xiong, such a living Yan King, sit in Xiazhou, wielding the life‑and‑death power of the Seven Prefectures; those great clans that want to pick peaches in the Northern Border will fall one by one! And I go to Lingzhou, perfectly linked with A Xiong!"

"A Xiong handles external warfare, I handle internal strategy. We are opposite corners of Xia and Ling, civil and military combined. This Northern Border's great gate, even if the Qi State pours its whole nation in, even if deities descend, they cannot open even a fraction of an inch!"

Having understood this earth‑shaking layout, Yuwen Ze could no longer restrain his inner turbulence.

He suddenly grabbed the Long Sword hanging on the wall, strode out of the Tongwan City commander's residence, his handsome face full of eager anticipation.

He shouted at the freshly assembled Zhang Poqi and Huan Jing, who were standing with warhorses in the courtyard, "Relay the order to the whole army! Mount!"

"We head to Lingzhou for appointment, slightly altering the route. Not taking the official road, taking a shortcut, full speed into Xiazhou Tongwan City!"

Yuwen Ze flipped onto the pure white Divine Steed, pulled the reins hard, the warhorse sprang up, emitting a long neigh that split clouds and stone.

"I must first go see A Xiong! To drink his mother's bowl of celebratory wine for slaying forty thousand enemies!"

In the night, Yubi City's gates thunderously opened.

Yuwen Ze, full of the stirring feeling of reuniting with his brother, led five hundred wolf‑like Iron Cavalry, like a black arrow released from a bow, trampling the cold frost of He Dong, without looking back, racing toward that fateful northwest.