Chapter 214: Difficult Problem

Liu Zheng ordered the entire army to rest and reorganize for three days.

In this battle, the Yinzhou army lost barely three thousand soldiers, because the defensive strength of Cheshi had played no role at all.

Yet, it yielded five thousand slaves...

Liu Zheng did not waste words and handed these five thousand slaves directly to Qin Zhangfeng to handle.

A large army, of course, could not consist only of combat forces. There were many logistical supplies, such as those specifically responsible for transporting heavy equipment and grain; all told, there were over ten thousand such personnel. Qin Zhangfeng distributed these five thousand slaves and then transferred the logistical personnel into the combat units.

At the very beginning, Liu Zheng had worried that these slaves would not endure the exploitation and might trigger some conflict. But clearly, he had underestimated the degree of exploitation of the lower classes in this era. At first, these slaves had other thoughts. But after being locked up for a few days, they discovered what the Yinzhou army was feeding them at every meal.

That fierce-looking general said to them menacingly: "My young master has a heart of benevolence, which is why he keeps you here in Cheshi to work. You must cherish the young master's kindness and labor well; do not harbor any thoughts of disobedience or rebellion, otherwise, you will be fed nothing but white rice every day!"

The Cheshi slaves were shocked to hear this.

What kind of punishment was this?

White rice every day?

The whole group went crazy, their eyes shining brighter than the golden palace of the King of Cheshi, and they began to scramble for the opportunity.

"My lord, punish me!"

"I want to eat white rice!"

"Every day?"

"My lord, what must I do to be able to eat white rice every day!"

Originally, the language used in Cheshi was Yanqi, and the Yinzhou commanders could not understand it at first, but someone volunteered to stand up and translate for him. His expression immediately turned dark.

Little did they know, although the people of Cheshi had been farming for thirty years, there was no soil suitable for rice cultivation in the Western Regions. Agriculture here mostly consisted of coarse grains, and since Jiao Zhe was extravagant and greedy with extremely heavy taxes, these farmers worked from sunrise to sunset every day, yet could only eat some Nang Bread, which they even had to soak in water to eat...

Who had ever seen white rice every day?

Wouldn't that be the life of an immortal?

The slaves suddenly felt that the lives they had lived before were not even as good as the slaves of this Longyan Dynasty! Fine, we submit, we want to be slaves! We want to be excellent slaves!

Jiao Zhe was in a sorry state, fleeing while angrily cursing: "What is the meaning of this from the Governor of Qiuci! I sent seven urgent requests for help, and they actually ignore my Cheshi!"

The generals were silent as cicadas, not knowing how to answer.

Logically, this should not be happening.

This Governor of Qiuci had now also submitted to Xie Xuan and was a governor of the Dayuan Kingdom; once the gateway of Cheshi was lost, the Northern Western Regions would be in imminent danger.

"Your Majesty, look! Over there!"

Suddenly, at this moment, a soldier pointed ahead with a livid face.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, especially Jiao Zhe, who saw that there was a barbecue grill ahead that had not yet gone out, and beside it were the fur and bones of the vultures they had raised; only the flesh and blood were gone.

Jiao Zhe was furious: "My vultures, my vultures... who did this, who did this!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

"Ahead, ahead..."

"It seems to be the Loulan Army!"

"Young Master, this Yanqi will not be easy to attack."

Qingyang Shuo and the others were currently studying the sand table together.

Liu Zheng nodded.

If one were to speak of the central location of the Northern Western Regions, it was Yanqi. Yanqi once had a glorious period in the Western Regions, having annexed many small states of the Western Regions, which was how it became a major power in the Western Regions. The Yanqi language subsequently became the official language and was popularized in many places.

Coupled with the fact that Yanqi City had a superior geographical location, right in the center of the Western Regions, when the Han Dynasty later conquered the Western Regions, they established the Protectorate here to achieve the goal of governing the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions.

Except for the Ghost City they had created, Cheshi had almost no natural defenses, but Yanqi was different.

It is recorded in the *Book of Wei*: The Kingdom of Yanqi is southwest of Cheshi, with its capital at Yuanqu City, seventy li south of Baishan; it is an old state from the Han era. It is ten thousand two hundred li from Dai. The capital city is two li square, and there are nine cities in the kingdom. The country is small and the people are poor, with no laws or regulations. The soldiers have bows, swords, armor, and spears. Marriage customs are similar to Huaxia. The dead are all cremated before being buried, and the mourning period lasts for seven days before ending. Men cut their hair to use as head ornaments. The script is the same as the Brahmins.

They worship the Heavenly God and revere the Buddhist Dharma. They place special importance on the eighth day of the second month and the eighth day of the fourth month; on these days, the whole country follows the Buddhist teachings, fasting and practicing the Way. The climate is cold, the soil is fertile, and the crops include rice, millet, beans, and wheat; livestock includes camels and horses. They raise silkworms but do not use the silk, only discarding the cotton and floss. The customs favor grape wine and also love music. Ten-odd li to the south is the sea, which has an abundance of fish, salt, and reeds. It is nine hundred li east to Gaochang; nine hundred li west to Qiuci, all through sandy deserts; and two thousand two hundred li southeast to Guazhou.

Relying on the dangerous terrain, they often plundered envoys from the Central Kingdom. The Emperor was angry and issued an edict for the Duke of Chengzhou, Wan Du, to lead a punitive expedition against them.

In other words, the geographical location of Yanqi had natural defenses.

And under the rule of Xie Xuan, Yanqi had achieved significant development, fortifying its city walls and stationing one hundred thousand troops. It belonged to the primary strategic town of this Northern Western Regions.

"Young Master, Yanqi has a great general named Jiulong. This man has followed Xie Xuan for many years and has illustrious military achievements, which is why Xie Xuan entrusted Yanqi to his command, appointing him Governor of Yanqi and Great General of the Dayuan Kingdom. This man has considerable Strategy and is skilled in desert warfare."

Since they had arrived in Cheshi, intelligence work in the Northern Western Regions had naturally unfolded.

Things that were once very mysterious were now easily inquired about.

"Jiulong?"

Liu Zheng nodded.

He knew that the surname Jiu was a royal surname in Yanqi. It seemed he was also a descendant of the former King of Yanqi.

He chuckled and said: "Then there is no rush. Conquering the Western Regions is a Protracted War. Let us first wait for the reply from the imperial court and see what kind of reward the current Emperor gives us before deciding."

Everyone laughed heartily.

The old Emperor, didn't he want to set a trap for Yinzhou? Now that this trap has been broken, what will your reaction be?

Jinghua.

The old Emperor had not held court for over a month.

This also caused the various forces in Jinghua to begin to stir.

Some who were supposed to take sides had already done so during this period.

"It seems today is another day without court!"

In the Nine Ministers Chamber, the civil and military officials whispered to one another.

That Zhu Zhen has been very smug lately, chuckling as he said, "Gentlemen, I hear that Ma Yong has already searched for quite a lot of evidence in Yinzhou regarding the corruption and lawlessness of that Military Commissioner Liu from the Western Regions, who ignores the Imperial Court!"

The crowd was shocked one after another.

This group of scholar-officials was instantly overjoyed, and many of them looked toward the Prince of Qin over there.

The Prince of Qin gave a cold snort and flicked his sleeves.

In his heart, he was actually angry too.

After all, although Sikong Jing had been assassinated, the relationship between Yinzhou and Hanzhong had been confirmed; it was a marriage alliance, no doubt about it. Who would have thought that this father and son of the Liu Family would be so disappointing? They had just become Military Commissioners, and they already let the Emperor issue an order to investigate them? Not only that, but they were also sent to conquer the Western Regions. Is the Western Regions a place an ordinary person can return from once they go?

This made the noble side suddenly feel a bit anxious.

Could it be that the Emperor is deliberately targeting their noble faction?

"Oh my, Prince of Qin, the weather is nice today, why don't we go hunting together?"

Zhu Zhen laughed very arrogantly.

The Prince of Qin was just about to speak.

At this moment, a soldier riding a horse suddenly came galloping from the Xuanwu Gate, riding at full speed the whole way, shouting: "Good news, good news!"

"Good news from the Western Regions!"

Everyone was startled.

Generally, one is not allowed to ride a horse in the Imperial Palace. Since ancient times, there have only been two situations in the Longyan Dynasty where one could ride a horse to report: one is when Jinghua is threatened by enemies, in which case the Emperor is in danger and rules are disregarded. The other is when the Longyan Dynasty expands its territory and good news arrives; only this level of good news qualifies for a report on horseback.

All the civil and military officials were in an uproar.

Zhu Zhen's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

Could it be that Military Commissioner Liu?

"Good news!"

"Good news!"

"My lords!"

"Prefect Liu, leading 150,000 Yinzhou troops, has broken the Cheshi ghost army and has already taken one city of Cheshi!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Zhu Zhen almost couldn't stand steady: "Wh, what?"

The Prince of Qin was instantly overjoyed: "Good, good, good, good! Quickly, quickly report this to the Emperor!"

Instantly, the entire Imperial Palace was stirred.

The Emperor woke up.

Hearing this news, he immediately bounced off the dragon bed.

He immediately summoned the civil and military officials for an audience, and the morning court began.

"Hahahaha..."

"Hahahahaha!"

Xie Tianyao held the military report, laughing so hard he fell backward, unable to stop.

They actually won?

The Yinzhou army actually really fought their way over? That ghost army that had given him nightmares for thirty-one years was actually so vulnerable in front of the Yinzhou army?

"Good!"

"A good Prefect Liu!"

"A good Yinzhou army!"

Xie Tianyao felt as if he had come back to life again.

The civil and military officials knelt and bowed one after another, shouting in unison that the Emperor was wise and that Heaven favored Longyan; for the first time in hundreds of years, they had expanded their territory—this was the might of the Son of Heaven!

The Emperor is comparable to Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang, the first Emperor of Longyan!

Who doesn't like such praise?

The old Emperor beamed: "Good, good, good. My heart is greatly comforted, my heart is greatly comforted. Then, my beloved ministers, tell me, how should we reward them this time?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Zhu Zhen forced a smile: "Emperor, although Military Commissioner Liu has made outstanding contributions, the Protectorate has not yet been rebuilt after all. Your subject believes that we should not confer rewards for the time being. Let us wait until the day the Protectorate is rebuilt to discuss the merits and rewards!"

The Prince of Qin snorted coldly: "Minister Zhu, you are the Minister of Personnel after all, yet your perspective is so small! 150,000 Yinzhou troops traveled a long distance to take Cheshi, establishing an immortal merit. The Imperial Court should reward them heavily to encourage them. Only then can the morale of the troops be boosted to plan for the Western Regions again!"

For a time, the civil and military officials in the court were divided into two factions.

This group of scholar-officials naturally did not want to see the Liu father and son promoted further.

The noble side, however, was determined to support them.

Xie Tianyao watched these people arguing coldly.

In his heart, how could he not know what these people were thinking?

Checks and balances!

It was still checks and balances!

He gave a cold snort.

Grand Eunuch Zhou shouted in a shrill voice: "Silence, silence!"

The entire hall fell silent.

The old Emperor gave a cold smile: "As for whether to reward them or not, and how much to reward, I see no need to argue. Because this Prefect Liu has already posed a difficult problem for you, my beloved ministers."

The crowd was startled and began to discuss among themselves.

What difficult problem?