Chapter 432: Southeast Strategy

The latest website: "What is meant to come will come eventually."

The cold wind from the North made the military flags on the city walls snap and flutter.

Mo Yu caught a glimpse of the contents of the letter and clenched his fists.

Zhao Xu nodded and looked toward the direction of Gaoli.

This news was sent by Zhou Yi.

Ever since the warships were launched, he had been leading twelve warships to patrol the Bohai Bay area.

Utilizing the advantage of the Telescope to see further, the fleet could easily discover the movements along the Gaoli coast without being detected by the other side.

Come to think of it, the territory of this Gaoli previously only existed in the area of the contemporary Chaoxian Peninsula.

But after the Great Song declined and the Northern Barbarians rose, Gaoli betrayed the Great Song and turned toward the Northern Barbarians.

Moreover, at the time of the betrayal, Gaoli took the opportunity to send troops to seize the Changbai Mountain area northeast of Ningjin Dusi, as well as the contemporary Jiaodong Peninsula area.

The current Ancheng Port of Gaoli is the Lushunkou of the contemporary Jiaodong.

From here, it takes only one day of sea travel to reach Liaojun, which is the contemporary Qinhuangdao area.

After turning to the Northern Barbarians, the King of Gaoli begged the Northern Barbarians to let Gaoli continue to occupy these territories, and the Northern Barbarians agreed to this matter.

Afterward, Gaoli completely degenerated into a lackey of the Northern Barbarians.

Changing from the respect it had for the Great Song a hundred years ago, it constantly harassed the fishermen of Yanzhou at sea and even indulged Gaoli pirates in attacking the coast of Yanzhou.

It even once sent the Koryo Army to follow the Northern Barbarians on their conquests.

The figure of the Koryo Army was present in the Ningjindusizhizhan of that year.

"This time, not only will I make the Northern Barbarian army hide on the seabed, but I will also teach Gaoli a harsh lesson!" Zhao Xu slapped the city wall with his palm.

After becoming a vassal of the Northern Barbarians, Gaoli played its role as a running dog to the extreme.

In the Ningjindusizhizhan, the cruelty of the Gaoli soldiers toward the people of the Great Song was not a bit inferior to that of the Northern Barbarians.

They humiliated Great Song women,

and slaughtered Great Song soldiers; they could even bring themselves to harm infants not yet a month old.

Although the Ninth Prince was in the deep palace, he had often heard of these one incident after another.

A general of Mo Yu's rank naturally knew that there was a fleet composed of twelve Warships under the command of Yan Wang.

The identity of this fleet was gray; on the surface, it had no connection to Yan Wang, but in reality, it was the private property of Yan Wang.

So he said, "Your Highness, why not let the fleet directly destroy the Navy of Gaoli? In this way, the Northern Barbarians' southward march will become a delusion."

Zhao Xu chuckled twice. "Wouldn't that be letting them off too easily? I have long had a battle plan in my heart to make them wish they were dead. Moreover, the Yuan Family has not made a move yet; I want to see what kind of trouble the Yuan Family will stir up this time, and I will deal with them all at once."

The coldness of Yan Wang at this moment made Mo Yu feel a sense of awe.

Previously, his father was the only person he worshipped.

But now, Yan Wang had gradually replaced his father's position.

This Yan Wang, who had carved out a world amidst the crisis in Yan Commandery,

and led the North Four Commanderies to quell the chaos in Yanzhou and defeat the Northern Barbarians, truly made him prostrate himself in admiration.

"Your Highness, please let this subordinate participate in the war in Liaojun this time." Mo Yu felt a bit restless.

It had been nearly a year, and the sorrow of his father's death had gradually faded.

The dull days of guarding Yanguan made him feel somewhat bored.

Now, he wanted to fight side by side with Chang Wei and the others.

Zhao Xu shook his head. "There will be opportunities in the future, but for now, Yanguan still needs you. The two royal tents outside the city are not just for show, and it is hard to say whether the Yuan Family will rise up again."

To him, Mo Yu was still the best candidate to guard Yanguan at that time.

Although a bit disappointed, Mo Yu immediately cheered himself up again.

Yan Wang was right; there could not be any slip-ups at Yanguan.

After discussing this matter, Zhao Xu descended from the city wall.

He would head to Liaojun to personally command this critical battle.

Fanyang.

At the entrance of the Yuan Mansion, a person wearing a cloak walked in under the guidance of the Steward.

He was Zhuoge.

Having received the Khan's order for Wulanba to head south from the sea, he had come to Fanyang.

"Are we going to take action?" Upon learning the news, Yuan Li's body trembled.

Last time, he had believed Zhuoge's words and attacked Yanguan, only to lose his wife and soldiers in the end.

Now, the critical moment had arrived again, and he could not help but recall the previous failure, feeling hesitant.

Zhuoge glanced sideways at Yuan Li, knowing what Yuan Li was thinking.

He said, "This time is different from the past. This time, the Khan has ordered Xiliang to feign defeat, luring your Emperor to head north, intending to annihilate the Northern Expeditionary Army in Yongzhou. Your Emperor has already fallen for the trap, and the Northern Expeditionary Army will be in the pocket of our Northern Barbarians."

"With the victory in the Northwest war, the Great Song will decline further, and the Northern Barbarians will control the entire Qinzhou, Yongzhou, and Xiliang territories. Unprecedentedly powerful, the destruction of the Great Song will only be a matter of these few years."

"After the Khan's Northern Expedition is victorious, he wants to destroy Xiliang?" Hearing this, Yuan Li immediately sensed the implication.

Zhuoge nodded, revealing a look of arrogance. "Xiliang is merely a pawn of our Northern Barbarians. Once the Northwest war ends, it will be of no further use. It would be better to annex it directly and incorporate it into the Northern Barbarians, to save the Chanyu of Xiliang from being fickle. Furthermore, after taking Xiliang, our Northern Barbarians can destroy Tibet to the Southwest and take the Great Song to the Southeast."

"The Khan's ambition truly makes this one admire him." Yuan Li was immediately stunned and could not help but feel afraid.

Facing such Northern Barbarians, the Great Song was absolutely powerless to resist.

"This is only the Northwest of the Great Song. If we can take Yanguan again and destroy Yan Wang, from then on, the Great Song will be nothing but a horse-racing field for our Northern Barbarians." Zhuoge said, almost pressing against Yuan Li's face. "Lord Yuan, at a time like this, you should know how to choose, right?"

"I understand, I understand. This time, our Yuan Family will definitely do our utmost to cooperate with Deputy Commander." Yuan Li's demeanor was fawning.

He then added, "Since Deputy Commander has come this time, I wonder what instructions you have?"

After pondering for a moment, Zhuoge said, "Naturally, it is Yanguan."

Looking toward the due north, he continued, "Before King Ubalan arrives at Liaojun, your Yuan Family must find a way to send the Northern Di death squads into Yanguan. Have you thought of a method now?"

Yuan Li frowned; in fact, he had been contemplating how to send these four thousand death squads to Yanguan.

It was just that Yanguan was currently garrisoned by the troops of Yan Wang, and he found it as difficult as ascending to heaven to sneak them in.

However, it was not as if there was no way at all, but this method carried extreme risk; once exposed, he would truly be unable to escape punishment this time.

Seeing Zhuoge staring fixedly at him, Yuan Li's thoughts raced.

For this war in the Northwest, Emperor Zhao Heng was personally leading the campaign.

If they suffered a crushing defeat, the life or death of Zhao Heng would be uncertain.

And once something happened to Zhao Heng, the Eight Great Influential Clans would surely fight tooth and nail for the throne, leading to internal chaos in Great Song, making it even more powerless to resist the Northern Di.

Therefore, unlike the rash advance of the Northern Di last time, this time the Northern Di were truly confident of success.

If he remained hesitant, the Northern Di would certainly be displeased, and the future fate of the Yuan Family could be imagined.

"I already have a method," Yuan Li said, revealing a resolute expression. "This time, not only can I let the Northern Di death squads sneak into Yanguan, but I can also allow my Yuan Family troops to enter Yanguan openly and aboveboard." Yuan Li leaned in and whispered a sentence to Zhuoge.

Upon hearing this, Zhuoge revealed a look of astonishment, not expecting that Yuan Li had already had a plan to seize Yanguan a long time ago.

It was just that this plan was originally intended to be used when Great Song fell into internal chaos and the struggle for the world began.

Now, it could just be put to use.