Chapter 331: New Worries

"Boom, boom, boom..."

This was not the sound of artillery, but the noise made by the stampede of numerous Northern Di cavalry.

On this southward expedition, his most important target was Xiliang.

Tongguan was merely an appendage, but since Tongguan had fallen into the hands of the Yan Wang's soldiers.

Even if he attacked, he would not be able to gain any advantage, only wasting troops and horses in vain.

And this was not what the Northern Di needed at present.

Tuobawen followed behind Tiemuta, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

At this moment, his heart held hatred and disappointment.

The hatred was directed at Great Song and at the Northern Di.

Great Song had defeated Xiliang, causing Xiliang to completely lose Jinzhou.

And the Northern Di had killed Xiliang soldiers right before his eyes, and now wanted to take advantage of the situation to cross Yanshan.

The disappointment was that the Northern Di had not attacked Tongguan.

To him, if Great Song could restart the war with the Northern Di, Xiliang would gain a chance to catch its breath.

Tiemuta rode his horse for three li, then suddenly stopped and turned to Tuobawen, "I remember you saying that Xiliang was interested in forming an alliance with us, the Northern Di?"

"Yes, Great King Tiemuta." Tuobawen nodded.

The Northern Di army had left Tongguan, so the Yan Wang's troops no longer needed to be nervous, but now it was Xiliang's turn to be nervous.

Tiemuta sneered inwardly, though he wore a seemingly sincere smile on his face.

He said: "Great Song is a common enemy to both the Northern Di and Xiliang; we should have formed an alliance long ago to deal with Great Song together. I will report this matter to the Khan. Your Highness Tuobawen, please return."

Having said this, Tiemuta continued to gallop forward.

Tuobawen was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he led the Xiliang Cavalry toward Wuwei.

Seeing Tuobawen leave, a sharp glint flashed in Tiemuta's eyes.

In his view, an alliance with Xiliang was unreliable.

If they attacked Song together,

Xiliang would inevitably cherish its own strength and not put forth genuine effort.

And in that case, the alliance would have no meaning.

Instead, this country situated under the belly of the Northern Di would still remain a threat.

Originally, according to his plan, after taking Tongguan, he would have had the opportunity to advance westward on a large scale and attack Xiliang.

But now he had changed his mind.

Since Tuobawen had proposed an alliance with Xiliang, then he would let Xiliang perish through this very alliance.

Tongguan.

Watching the departing Northern Di army, the soldiers cheered loudly.

For them, the war in Jinzhou was over.

In over two months, they had fought from the north to the south, and then from the south back to the north; both their spirits and bodies were extremely exhausted.

Every soldier now only craved two things: to be full and to get a good night's sleep.

Chang Wei looked at the joyful soldiers and said to the commanders: "Take turns guarding the city and let the soldiers get some good rest. Also, send someone to Yancheng to report the news of taking Tongguan to His Highness."

"Yes, General!" Guan Tong and the other commanders replied.

Before long, a troop of cavalry departed from the Nanmen of Tongguan and headed toward Yancheng.

Two days later, they arrived at Feihu Pass.

At this time, they encountered the reinforcements who were rushing toward Tongguan.

"You are late; Tongguan has been taken, and the Northern Di army has retreated." The cavalrymen looked at the arriving soldiers and laughed heartily.

When Lv Chang heard this news, his face immediately grew long.

"Sigh, I missed it again. No, next time, no matter what His Highness says, I must be the first one to go." Lv Chang was filled with annoyance.

Then he had someone take a message back with the returning cavalry.

He asked for instructions on whether to still go to Tongguan.

After all, without the Yan Wang's order, he dared not lead the army at will.

Another day passed.

The cavalry arrived at Yancheng.

Looking at the familiar city walls, their eyes turned slightly red.

To them, this place was the only one that felt intimate, because this was their hometown.

Arriving at the Prince's Mansion, after reporting, they walked inside and told the news to Zhao Xu.

"Go back and tell General Chang that they fought well. Leave thirty thousand men to garrison Tongguan and the passes to the west, and a thousand or so for other important cities; have the rest withdraw." Learning of the great victory at Tongguan from the cavalrymen, he was filled with excitement.

Thus, the war in Jinzhou could be considered a perfect conclusion.

Ten years after Jinzhou was ravaged by Xiliang, it had finally returned completely to Great Song once again.

Pausing for a moment, he continued: "Also, have Lv Chang return."

"Yes, Your Highness." The cavalrymen replied in the affirmative and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Zhao Xu then called for Feng'er, ordering her to fetch some Fine Wine from the Prince's Mansion and take some Silver to reward these soldiers.

Hearing this, the cavalrymen were even more overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

As the figures of the cavalrymen disappeared, Zhao Xu laughed three times in the Council Hall.

With this battle, he had taken Jinzhou, and the threat Xiliang posed to the west of Yanzhou was completely eliminated.

From now on, Yanzhou can finally focus on development with peace of mind.

He then went to the study and sent a memorial to Jingshi, reporting the matters of Tongguan.

Putting down his brush, he ordered someone to send the memorial off.

Suddenly, he remembered something, and his brows furrowed slightly.

If there was one thing that still displeased him about the war in Jinzhou, it was the matter of the Ma Family.

The Ma Family, led by Ma Chong and Ma Jin, actually dared to collude with Xiliang to deal with him during this war; it was shameless to the extreme.

Even calling them shameless could be considered a compliment.

Although he had schemed to trap Ma Jin, it was said that it cost him twenty thousand troops.

But having a Ma Family that wanted to harm him right under his nose still made him unhappy.

Moreover, the Ma Family was currently occupying Lin Jun, south of Jinzhou.

It was feared they had intentions of laying a finger on Jinzhou.

Thinking of this, he immediately summoned Xu Lie and ordered him to go to Fanyang to secretly bring Ma Han to Yancheng.

……

Jinling.

The warmth of spring and the blooming flowers added many vibrant colors to the entire city.

The commoners in the city had also shed their heavy cotton-padded jackets and put on short tunics.

Meanwhile, the children of the nobility and wealthy merchants wore light, thin silk.

Young ladies of noble families draped themselves in gorgeous, light gauze and sat on painted pleasure boats, drifting with the current on the famous Nine-Bend River in Jinling.

Along the wooden railings of the Nine-Bend River, many scholars held books and recited, yet their eyes glanced toward the painted boats passing not far away.

If any women on the painted boats pointed at the shore, the sound of their recitation would grow even louder.

"Sister, have you heard? Ninth Brother has won another victory; it is said that this time in Jinzhou, he beat Xiliang until they were scurrying away in terror." Inside a painted boat, four women sat around a small square table.

One of the young girls was only about ten years old; as she ate an osmanthus cake, she said this with a giggle.

The women sitting on either side covered their mouths and chuckled, while the woman sitting opposite frowned, "What 'terror' and 'scurrying'—aren't you afraid of losing your status as a Princess by saying such things?"

The young girl pouted and said, "There are only the four of us on this boat, what is there to fear?"

"Changle Princess is afraid that you won't be able to get married in the future." The woman on the left made a face.

The woman on the right covered for the young girl, saying, "Qingyang Princess is still young, she is just being blunt."

Changle Princess shook her head, "His Majesty spoils her, and you all spoil her too; if she cannot get married in the future, you will be the ones to blame."

Then she changed the subject, "However, although Qingyang's words were crude, the description was quite apt, hee hee..."

After she finished speaking, all four of them could not help but laugh.