Chapter 422: Fish in the Urn

"Your Majesty, you must absolutely not march deep into enemy territory alone." Yang Feng was greatly alarmed and hurriedly knelt before Zhao Heng to block his path.

He had always known this emperor was extremely fond of grand achievements and success.

But usually, it was fine if he merely took credit for accomplishments himself; that was of no great consequence.

However, how could one be reckless with a matter as significant to the rise and fall of the nation as the Northern Expedition just for the sake of merit?

Following this, he glared fiercely at the Second Prince, "Your Highness, you have bewitched the Emperor time and time again; what exactly is your intent? The movements of the Northern Di are unclear, yet you continuously urge the central army to advance to Xian City. Do you not know that marching deep into enemy territory alone is a great taboo in military strategy?"

Ever since the Yang Family was left with only this seventy-year-old general, and he no longer held the slightest influence within the Imperial Guard, Zhao Qu had long since stopped taking Yang Feng seriously.

Now that Yang Feng was scolding him in front of his own Imperial Father, he was immediately enraged.

"Audacious Yang Feng, when have I ever bewitched the Imperial Father? It is you who are relying on your seniority to act arrogantly and unreasonably time and time again," Zhao Qu shouted. "In the Battle of Weng City, if we had listened to your words, how could we have captured nearly seventy thousand Xiliang soldiers? They would have likely run to Xian City long ago and become a reinforcement for Xian City."

Arriving at Yang Feng's side, he also knelt before Zhao Heng, "Imperial Father, please uphold justice for your son. Since leaving the pass, not a single strategy I have offered has been wrong."

Glancing at Yang Feng, he continued, "Furthermore, regarding General Yang's suggestion to contact Yan Wang, I did not object. It is just that Yan Wang fights sluggishly, and now the bridge has been severed. He says half a month, but who can say for sure when it will actually be repaired? I am afraid of missing the window of opportunity; once the Northern Di army arrives, Xian City will be difficult to take."

Yang Feng sneered, "The Second Prince has a silver tongue. This general is the Grand Marshal of this Northern Expedition; all military orders should come from me, and orders must be followed strictly. But the Second Prince has repeatedly disrupted military morale before the Emperor. If Your Highness were not an Imperial Prince, this old general would have already dealt with you according to military law."

The Second Prince's expression changed, "You dare!"

Ignoring the Second Prince, Yang Feng bowed to Zhao Heng, "Your Majesty, even Yan Wang cannot take a city in just two or three days. That Weng City fell into our hands so easily, and the city was filled with newly recruited soldiers; there is definitely something wrong. This subordinate dares to guess that this is a ruse by Xiliang to lure the enemy deep!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng's brow furrowed.

Originally, when Yang Feng knelt to stop him, he had been somewhat hesitant.

But then Yang Feng brought up Yan Wang for comparison, and he immediately felt annoyed.

"What? Are you saying that because I led the army to a victory, it was intentionally yielded by Xiliang? Only when Yan Wang wins a battle is it a real victory?" Zhao Xu slammed his hand heavily on the chair.

"Your Majesty, this subordinate did not mean that. It is just that Yan Wang is capable in battle; if he were by our side, this Northern Expedition would be even smoother. There is no need to take risks for the sake of these ten or fifteen days," Yang Feng explained hurriedly upon seeing Zhao Heng's displeasure.

"Yan Wang is capable in battle, but he relies on nothing more than Artillery. Since he is so capable, why has Weicheng not been taken after such a long time? Imperial Father, is it possible that without Yan Wang, this Northern Expedition cannot be fought?" The Second Prince, both jealous and resentful of Yang Feng constantly mentioning Yan Wang, spoke up to sow discord.

Zhao Heng's brow locked even tighter.

Yang Feng always mentioned Yan Wang, as if without Yan Wang, they could do nothing at all.

If this Northern Expedition relied so heavily on Yan Wang, he feared that even if they won, others would say it was Yan Wang's credit again!

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a loss of interest.

He had worked so hard to lead the expedition in person; was he just here to go through the motions?

Furthermore, like the Second Prince, he largely believed in his heart that Yan Wang's ability to win battle after battle was indeed related to the Artillery.

Since the central army also had Artillery, he might not necessarily be unable to win.

Thus he said, "No more words. My mind is made up. Tomorrow we shall march to Xian City. If the attack is blocked, it will not be too late to wait for Yan Wang."

"Imperial Father is wise!" The Second Prince was overjoyed.

If he could successfully take Xian City, when they returned to Jingshi, his Imperial Father would certainly record a merit for him as well.

"Your Majesty!" Yang Feng refused to get up, "If Your Majesty insists on this, this subordinate will kneel here indefinitely."

Zhao Heng snorted and said, "The Second Prince's words actually have some truth to them; you really are relying on your seniority a bit too much. Since you want to kneel, then kneel."

Having said that, he walked out of the tent.

The Second Prince sneered repeatedly and followed behind Zhao Heng.

At this moment, Yang Feng's face turned deathly pale; the thing he feared most had happened after all.

This emperor, in the end, could not control his nature of being fond of grand achievements.

Now, he deeply regretted supporting Zhao Heng's personal expedition.

Just as Mi Yan had said, Zhao Heng was fond of grand achievements and his nature was hard to change.

The Second Prince was also of crooked mind, and there were many generals from powerful clans in the army who were surely in cahoots with the Second Prince.

He had not expected that all of this would be spoken correctly by him.

Letting out a long sigh, he almost blurted out the words "dim-witted ruler."

But he swallowed them back down; he knew that if he cursed Zhao Heng, it would only make Zhao Heng more stubborn and distrustful of him.

"Sigh..." Looking up, Yang Feng sighed heavily.

The next day.

The sun rose above the treetops, and the central army continued to march north.

This time they would head to Xian City, which was only two days' journey from Weng City.

As long as Xian City was taken, Qinzhou would basically return to the embrace of the Great Song.

Just one day after the army departed, a Scout from Weicheng arrived at Weng City.

Upon learning that the central army had already marched toward Xian City, the Scout soldier immediately hurried back to Weicheng.

Another day or so later, Zhao Xu received this news.

"A bunch of idiots!" Zhao Xu cursed in his heart.

"According to the garrison general of Weng City, General Yang and the Emperor argued several times, but because of the bewitchment of the Second Prince and the generals of the powerful clans, the Emperor still decided to march south." The Scout soldier said, then he hesitated, "Also..."

"Also what!" Chang Wei had a short temper and immediately demanded.

"The garrison general also said that there is a rumor in the central army now that His Highness's ability to win battle after battle is entirely due to the credit of the Artillery," the Scout soldier said.

After hearing this, Zhao Xu, Chang Wei, and the others were all stunned.

"That explains it. The Emperor has always been greedy for merit; if he believed this claim, he would definitely want to go and snatch the credit for himself," Zhao Xu sighed.

With the Scout's round trip, the central army was likely already at the gates of Xian City.

He could not predict what was about to happen.

But he had to prepare for the worst now.

Turning to Ma Han, he said, "You immediately send someone to Qin Pass and order the garrison general there to prepare more defensive supplies."

Ma Han nodded and immediately sent someone off.

Yan Wang has made the decision to retreat and defend Qin Pass should the Northern Expedition fail.

Zhao Xu then said to Chang Wei, "Have the soldiers build the bridge day and night, and get the main army across the Wei River as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei received the order and left.

At this moment, Xian City.

Gule, Wuyan, and Ma Jin stood on the city wall, watching the Great Song army slowly approaching.

An army of over four hundred thousand men stretched out along the imperial road like a long snake, with no end in sight.

"Hahaha, it seems the rumors that this Emperor of Great Song is fond of grandiosity are true; he has indeed fallen for our trap," Gule said.

Before the Great Song Northern Expedition, Prime Minister Li Xin had advised their Emperor, Tuoba Hao, to adopt a strategy of luring the enemy deep.

The reason for this was the temperament of this monarch.

Now, it has truly hit the mark.

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