Chapter 460: The Eerie Capital

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In the woods, Zhong Li looked serious and meticulous.

Since leaving Qin Pass, they traveled at night, and when dawn approached, they would either enter the mountains to hide or enter desolate villages to rest.

There were also these stretches of forest that extended for over ten miles.

Benefiting from the Telescope, they were often able to discover the enemy in advance and then respond accordingly.

Today, they finally snuck into the vicinity of Xian City without anyone noticing.

"Captain, Xian City is currently surrounded by the main force of the Northern Di."

While everyone was busy, the Cavalry responsible for scouting returned.

Zhong Li nodded, "No need to scout anymore. You keep an eye on the outside of the woods; if there is any movement, report back immediately."

The closer they got to Xian City, the more Northern Di scouts there were.

Now, everyone was on edge.

If they were discovered, they would be dead.

"Boom!" A tree was chopped down by the soldiers, crashed to the ground, and was dragged deep into the woods.

After two hours of work, a circular clearing with a diameter of fifteen meters appeared in the middle of the woods.

"We act at dawn tomorrow," Zhong Li said to the nine Hot Air Balloon Troop members.

To ensure success this time, they had brought three Hot Air Balloons.

The nine soldiers were divided into three groups.

"Yes, Captain," the soldiers replied.

Nodding, Zhong Li let the soldiers rest; tomorrow, their actions might determine the future of Da Song.

Jinling.

The news that Zhao Heng was trapped in Xian City by the Northern Di army reached here; after all, paper cannot wrap up fire.

Upon learning of this,

the entire Imperial Court of the Great Song Dynasty fell into chaos.

At this moment, the First Prince Zhao Gang sat on a side chair next to the Dragon Throne, wailing loudly.

The officials in the great hall also looked sorrowful, and some were even shedding tears continuously.

After crying for a while, the First Prince said: "My fellow officials, what should be done now? The Northern Di, Western Liang, and Ma Jin have surrounded Xian City with nearly seven hundred thousand troops. Once the provisions are exhausted, won't the Emperor, won't he... wuwu, this is truly a misfortune for our Great Song..."

As Zhao Gang spoke, he began to cry again.

Dou Wei kept his head down, pretending to wipe away tears, but there was not a single tear in his eyes.

This time, when Zhao Heng went on a personal expedition, he hoped every day that Zhao Heng would be captured by the Northern Di.

He did not expect that it would actually fulfill his wish.

The only pity was that although the Northern Expeditionary Army had severely damaged Western Liang this time, the Northern Di army had been defeated as soon as they arrived, without suffering any major injuries.

However, even so, he did not find it too regrettable.

To him, what he hoped for most was that Zhao Heng would be captured; that was enough.

In this way, he could send the Third Prince to the throne.

"Your Highness, we should immediately dispatch troops, exit Wuguan, and lift the siege of Xian City," Mi Yan said, stepping out of the ranks.

When Zhao Heng went on the personal expedition, he had disagreed.

Now that a problem had indeed arisen, he felt both angry and worried.

After Zhao Heng went on the expedition, Jinling immediately became the world of the Rich Clans.

The Xie Family, Dou Family, and Liang Family behind the First Prince were fighting fiercely in the Imperial Court.

Without Zhao Heng to back him up, he, the uncle of Yan Wang, was completely ostracized.

Dou Wei and other officials from the Rich Clans did not take him seriously at all.

"Censor Mi, you speak lightly, but from where can we mobilize troops to lift the siege of Xian City?" Liang Kai sneered.

Dou Wei snorted, "Even if we mobilize troops from all over the Great Song, it will take more than a month, and by then, Xian City will have long been taken by the Northern Di."

He paused and continued: "On the other hand, Yan Wang claims to be loyal to the Emperor and the country, so why does he not go to save the Emperor now, but instead leads troops south to expel Yuan Li? I truly do not know what his intentions are!"

"You..." Mi Yan was speechless for a moment; he also could not understand what Yan Wang was doing now, so naturally, he had no way to argue.

Dou Wei sneered, "Nothing to say? And do you know that the national treasury of Da Song is currently empty? Mobilizing a large army and making such a fuss will be unsustainable."

During this time, in order to build the New Army, Zhao Heng had purchased a large amount of firearms, Weapon, and Armor from Yan Wang, which, combined with the military pay for recruiting soldiers, had cost a great deal.

Of course, he knew better than anyone why the national treasury was being depleted so quickly.

Zhao Heng building the New Army was one thing, but the officials from the Rich Clans embezzled even more under various pretexts.

At the same time, in recent years, the Imperial Court had received less and less tax revenue from the provinces controlled by the Rich Clans.

This was naturally because they had tampered with it.

Zhao Heng was well aware of this, but as the Emperor, he could not go and collect taxes himself.

He still had to rely on the officials from the various Rich Clans and powerful families.

Of course, Zhao Heng had also tried to change this, so many years ago, he supported a humble official surnamed Nian.

But in the end, he was still killed by them.

"Then, then what does the Prime Minister suggest?" Mi Yan suddenly felt very powerless. Yang Feng had also gone to Qinzhou and was likewise trapped in Xian City; he was truly facing the officials of the Rich Clans alone.

"Why not immediately sue for peace with the Northern Di?" Dou Wei's eyes darted around.

He already had an idea in his mind; their Rich Clans had secret connections with the Northern Di.

If they agreed to sue for peace, he would deliberately drag it out for a period of time.

Once the Beidi Khan captures Zhao Heng, he will then send someone to meet with the Beidi Khan.

At that time, he will negotiate with the Beidi Khan to have the Beidi people keep Zhao Heng and not allow him to return, so that he can take the opportunity to push a new monarch to ascend the throne.

At the same time, he will promise annual tributes, and even agree to cede Jinzhou to the Beidi in exchange for peace between the two countries.

In this way, after the Third Prince ascends the throne, what he will obtain is a Great Song with no wars abroad and peace within the seas.

After working diligently for a few years like this and eliminating Yan Wang, this Great Song will belong to his Dou Family.

Thinking of this, he could not help but feel slightly smug.

"The Prime Minister is absolutely right; we should seek peace for now," Xie Duan chimed in, while simultaneously winking fiercely at the First Prince.

The thoughts he held in his heart were much the same as Dou Wei's.

In his view, this was simply the best opportunity for the First Prince to ascend the throne as emperor.

The other powerful officials also nodded one after another.

Zhao Gang noticed his uncle's expression, guessed a few things in his heart, and could not help but feel a surge of joy.

He said, "Since this is everyone's intention, let us dispatch officials from the Court of State Ceremonial to Qinzhou to negotiate peace."

Mi Yan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then closed it and remained silent.

In fact, he also understood that by the time the army was reassembled, the war in Xian City would likely already be over, so sending officials to negotiate peace was faster.

"Furthermore, Yan Wang not only refused to save those in danger, but instead fabricated evidence to settle personal scores and marched his troops south; I suspect Yan Wang has rebellious intentions, and I hope the First Prince will uphold justice, first strip Yan Wang of his title as a vassal king, reclaim his fief, and order him to go to Jingshi to stand trial," Dou Wei suddenly added.

He knew very well that Yan Wang would not stretch out his neck to await slaughter, and the First Prince would not agree either.

But he had to pin this pot of filth on him first.

When the time came for him to send the Third Prince to the throne, he could use this as a pretext to say that the First Prince and Yan Wang were in cahoots and were not fit to be a monarch.

Sure enough, after hearing this, the First Prince's face showed a look of hesitation.

Although he was foolish, he also knew that Yan Wang was currently one of his bargaining chips.

How could one destroy their own bargaining chip?

Furthermore, the pretext for Yan Wang's march south was that the Yuan Family had once again colluded with the Beidi.

So he said, "This matter is complicated; we shall discuss it after the facts are clarified. Dismissed."

Having said that, he rose and left.