Chapter 216: Each Harboring Ulterior Motives

"I have summoned you all here today to discuss what should be done at this moment."

After the Sixth Prince and Yuan Hang were dragged away and the court returned to silence, Zhao Heng asked aloud.

With the Beidi having breached the pass, it is impossible to drive them out of Yanguan relying solely on the strength of the Imperial Clan.

After all, the Yan Pass Imperial Guard he relies on most at present has likely been decimated.

And it is already too late to move the one hundred thousand Imperial Guards currently guarding the south against Jiaozhi, Piaoman, and Gaochang to the north.

If the eighty thousand Imperial Guards currently in a standoff with Xiliang in Jinzhou were to be moved now, he fears Xiliang would take the opportunity to strike.

And the one hundred thousand Imperial Guards in Jingshi are tasked with the duty of defending the Capital City.

If they are moved out of Jingshi, who will guarantee his safety? He does not trust the conscience of these influential clans in the slightest.

Thinking of this, he sighed mournfully in his heart.

In the past, when the Great Song Imperial Clan was at its peak, it possessed eight hundred and twenty thousand Imperial Guards, plus over a million local garrison troops.

He never expected that today, it would be so desolate.

"Your Majesty, we should immediately dispatch envoys to the Beidi to request that the Beidi Khan withdraw his troops. All the Beidi want is gold, silver, jewelry, grain, and beauties. Our Great Song is rich in resources; it would not be impossible to offer some to them," Minister of Personnel Wang Zi'an said urgently while wiping his sweat.

His Wang Family's territory is Yuzhou; once the Beidi take Yanzhou, Yuzhou will become a delicacy in front of the Beidi.

How could he not be anxious?

"You are willing to send them, but are the Beidi willing to accept?" At this moment, a general stepped out of the ranks and suddenly knelt on the ground, wailing loudly.

He is Mo Di's eldest son, Mo Kuan. Upon learning that his father had died, he could not suppress the grief in his heart and cried out: "I beg Your Majesty to conscript the troops of the Han Family, Wang Family, and Ma Family to join this general, and grant this general fifty thousand Imperial Guards; this general is willing to fight the Beidi!"

"Your Majesty, although this old subject is advanced in years, I am also willing to fight," Duke of Yiyang Feng said loudly as he arrived behind Mo Kuan.

Zhao Heng then looked at the Second Prince, Zhao Qu.

He did not reprimand the Second Prince, which was already giving the Han Family face.

The Han Family's Qizhou and the Wang Family's Yuzhou both border Yanzhou, and the Ma Family is separated from Yanzhou by only Jinzhou.

Mobilizing troops from these three places is naturally the most swift.

Given the current emergency, he does not oppose Wang Zi'an negotiating peace with the Beidi.

But there must also be troops capable of fighting the Beidi to stop them from moving south.

Zhao Qu met Zhao Heng's gaze and immediately looked away.

Wang Zi'an lowered his head and said nothing.

Zhao Heng wanted to find Ma Yuan, but suddenly remembered that Ma Yuan was not in Jingshi.

He was suddenly filled with anger.

During the Ningjin Battle back then, these influential clans were just as cowardly.

Dou Wei was happy to see the Ma Family, Wang Family, and Han Family suffer. He put on a righteous appearance and said: "It is only a pity that my Jingzhou is too far from Yanzhou, otherwise my Dou Family would certainly send a large army."

"Indeed, with the Beidi at our doorstep, we should be of one mind. The Xie Family is willing to donate three hundred thousand dan of grain," Minister of Revenue Xie Duan chimed in.

General Protecting the State Xiao Cheng, Minister of Rites Fan Xinglun, and Minister of Works Liang Kai chose to remain silent.

Since their three families are the furthest from Yanzhou, there was naturally even less reason for them to send troops.

Minister of War Han Zheng saw the other five families wanting to watch the fire from across the river and make his three families bleed, and he felt a surge of anger.

He said: "Since this concerns the safety of the Great Song,

no one can act like a coward. If my three families cannot hold them off, what then? Your Majesty, it would be better to issue an imperial decree ordering all Prefects to lead their troops to Yanzhou."

Seeing Han Zheng take the lead, Wang Zi'an seized the opportunity to say: "Minister Han is right. If we cannot hold Jiangbei, how can Jiangnan be secure? This matter must be handled with concerted effort."

Zhao Heng nodded slightly; this was the sentence he had been waiting for.

Although the Eight Great Influential Clans have immense power in their own provinces, almost equivalent to warlords, they are still nominally subjects of the Great Song, just like the Yuan Family.

They must obey the decree.

Upon hearing this, Dou Wei's expression stiffened. He had not expected Han Zheng and Wang Zi'an to tear off their masks.

If Ma Yuan were here, he would likely have joined them as well.

"What does the Prime Minister think?" Zhao Heng asked.

Dou Wei revealed an awkward smile. Since the Han Family and Wang Family had already spoken to this extent, he naturally could not oppose it.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "Minister Han and Minister Wang's words are reasonable. However, this subject believes that we should still prioritize peace negotiations and use military force as a supplement. The Great Song is currently surrounded by enemies on all sides and cannot afford to be mired in a protracted war."

Zhao Heng nodded.

If the Beidi were willing to negotiate, he would naturally be one hundred percent in favor.

Spending some silver is better than having this beautiful landscape smashed to pieces.

What he feared even more was losing his empire and becoming a prisoner.

If that happened, he, Zhao Heng, would be a sinner against the Great Song Royal Clan.

"In that case, order Prefect of Qinzhou Ma Xuan, Prefect of Yuzhou Wang Ziming, and Prefect of Qizhou Han Qi... to lead their respective troops and head to Yanzhou immediately, with no delays."

Yancheng.

Zhao Xu led his troops into the city through the East Gate.

If it were back when he had just awakened, the private armies of the rich clans would have been a terrifying existence to him.

But he never expected that today, they would become so vulnerable before his army.

Before the infantry he commanded even arrived, Zhong Li's cavalry alone had already defeated the rich clan's army.

"Yan Wang!"

"Yan Wang!"

"Yan Wang!"

"..."

The cheers on the city walls continued; at first it was just the soldiers, but later, the commoners who heard the news also poured out, shouting in unison on both sides of the road.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

Liu Fu came down from the city wall, rushing over with tears and snot streaming down his face.

Having narrowly escaped death, he wept with joy.

Zhao Xu patted his shoulder and said to him, "You have worked hard, Tutor."

"It is no hardship; to see Your Highness again, this official would have no regrets even in death." Liu Fu's lips were still trembling with excitement.

These past few days had felt like years to him.

Yanzhou had never faced such a crisis before.

He had steeled himself to die several times, carrying arsenic on his person at all times.

If he were wounded or captured, he would swallow it.

But Yan Wang had returned, creating a miracle once again.

Right now, he wished he could join the officials in hoisting Yan Wang up and tossing him high into the air.

Although he had already learned from Zhong Li that the Yuan Family had been defeated and the Northern Di had retreated.

He still wanted to hear it from Yan Wang's own lips.

"Your Highness, have we truly won?" Liu Fu asked.

The officials beside him all pricked up their ears, and the surrounding commoners also pricked up their ears.

Returning to Yancheng and leaving behind the oppressive battlefield, Zhao Xu's mood lightened considerably, and he said loudly, "That is correct, the Wangfu Army defeated the Yuan Family and held Yanguan; now the Northern Di have retreated!"

"Ooh..."

As Zhao Xu's words spread, a massive roar of cheers erupted from the crowd.

People passed the word from mouth to mouth, telling the news to others.

The cheers stretched on from the East Gate, and the entire Yancheng was plunged into an ocean of revelry.

Amidst the cheering crowd, Zhao Xu saw Feng'er and Xu E, both of whom were looking at him with beaming smiles.

He revealed a smile and winked at the two of them.

The smiles on their faces grew even brighter.

Zhong Li followed by Zhao Xu's side; he had never experienced a scene like this before.

But this was enough to prove just how much Yan Wang had won the hearts of the people here.

He looked at Yan Wang, deeply feeling that he had truly made the right choice.