met free Page 218
Page 218
Restaurants, dance halls, and brothels remained open all night as people and scholars celebrated the great victory at Dingzhou.
Thirty years ago, Nanqing rose from a small country roughly the size of Xiqin.
Step by step, they conquered cities and territories, and under Emperor Qing's rule, they became the most powerful nation in the world.
However, after Emperor Qing's third Northern Expedition failed, he stopped large-scale Northern Expeditions.
This time, Li Chang'an expanded his territory by thousands of miles and ventured deep into the north. How could the people of Qing not be excited?
Now everyone on the streets is talking about the miracle of Li Chang'an and Ye Wan marching a thousand miles in three days and driving straight into the heart of Western Qin.
At this moment, no one is more anxious than His Highness the Crown Prince.
Ever since the battle report arrived, the Crown Prince has been restless.
Twenty days later, it was time for the Crown Prince to visit his aunt once a month.
But this time, the crown prince was completely uninterested and absent-minded.
"How could such a feat of land reclamation, unprecedented in twenty years, be obtained so easily?"
"Even though our leader is such a good fighter, he hasn't been able to conquer the north. Li Chang'an has only been in Dingzhou for half a year!"
Li Yunrui reminded him, "I've heard that some ministers are already getting restless and want to ask His Majesty to bestow the title of Prince of Qin upon Li Chang'an."
Upon hearing the words "King of Qin," the crown prince's mood worsened.
Li Yunrui continued, "Among the classics passed down by the Heavenly Vein Masters a thousand years ago, the titles of nobility were most prestigious in Qin and Jin."
"Coincidentally, the state that Li Chang'an conquered was named Qin."
Li Chengqian knew perfectly well that the title of Prince of Qin was second only to the Crown Prince.
"I have heard about it, but Your Majesty is still hesitating."
After all, Li Chang'an only occupied the capital of Western Qin and controlled half of Western Qin.
"Half of the northern territory of the Western Qin Kingdom is still in the hands of Han Xin and Shang Shanhu."
"Without fully conquering the Western Qin state, he is not suitable to be made King of Qin."
Li Yunrui mocked, "Your Highness, don't harbor any illusions."
Be prepared, you never know when good news will come.
If Li Chengqian successfully inherits the throne, Li Yunrui will gain considerable power.
However, if Li Chang'an comes to power, Li Yunrui will be sidelined and won't get any benefits.
Li Chengqian said in a skeptical tone, "Aunt, don't exaggerate!"
"Even if Li Chang'an were a god, he couldn't easily defeat Han Xin's army of 100,000!"
"General Qin said that Han Xin's military strategy is no less than that of my father!"
Just then, the female official Bai Ling hurriedly entered Guangxin Palace and handed Li Yunrui a note.
Li Yunrui opened the note and found it increasingly hilarious, eventually laughing hysterically.
"Giggle..."
"Hahaha……"
"How could such a ridiculous thing exist in the world? How could there be such a general who is so inept at political maneuvering!"
It was exactly what I feared had happened; Li Chengqian had just sworn not to believe it, and now it had occurred.
Seeing Li Yunrui's crazed expression, the Crown Prince immediately sensed something was wrong.
He took the note and glanced at it; his vision went black and he nearly fainted.
"Li Chang'an and Gao Yao broke into Han Xin's 100,000-strong army camp. With a spy arranged by Zhao Gao, the two successfully seized Han Xin's general's tiger tally."
"Li Chang'an quickly seized control of the 100,000-strong army. Han Xin's foundation in the army was still shallow, and many of his soldiers were promoted by Gao Yao."
"The entire territory of Western Qin has fallen to Daqing. Li Chang'an led an army of 200,000 to fight against the northern barbarians of the snowy region and won a great victory!"
"The Dingzhou Army and the Western Qin Army have now switched from defense to offense, with their two elite cavalry forces penetrating thousands of miles into the snowy plateau!"
The Western Hu and Northern Barbarians have harmed countless people in the Central Plains for hundreds of years, and their viciousness and cruelty are known throughout the world.
Both Northern Qi and Southern Qing took pride in resisting the Northern Barbarians and Western Hu. This great victory over the Northern Barbarians will undoubtedly further enhance Li Chang'an's prestige.
Li Chengqian could hardly believe his eyes. The mighty general had his tiger tally stolen and his military power usurped.
This is absolutely ridiculous!
"Since Han Xin is so stupid, why is Gao Yao afraid of him purging the court of corrupt officials, and why did he surrender to Li Chang'an?"
Why doesn't he just seize Han Xin's military power himself?
Li Yunrui laughed for a long time before he could catch his breath. "Because at that time, the Northern Qi had an army of 100,000 men pressing in, and Li Chang'an was eyeing them covetously. If he had been careless, he would have been wiped out."
"Later, he surrendered to Li Chang'an, who trusted him greatly."
Once a eunuch finds a good master, he will naturally serve him to the death.
"Your Highness, look, Li Chang'an has already taken over the entire territory of Western Qin."
They've ventured thousands of miles into the snowy region, and might even wipe out the barbarians' stronghold.
Li Chengqian's expression grew increasingly grim; he knew all too well the value of Li Chang'an's achievements.
They expanded their territory by thousands of miles, effectively encircling the Northern Qi!
This brings us one step closer to the unification of the country by the Great Qing Dynasty, something Emperor Qing greatly desires to see.
Moreover, given Li Chang'an's outstanding military achievements, Emperor Qing might actually consider changing the heir apparent!
"Aunt, we can't wait any longer. I must go to General Qin to discuss a solution."
"Li Chang'an's achievements are primarily due to the Ye family, and the Qin family is probably not going to sit idly by either."
Li Yunrui teased, "You can wait a bit. What if Li Chang'an can't defeat the Snowfield Barbarians and suffers a crushing defeat?"
Hearing Li Yunrui's teasing, Li Chengqian said unhappily, "Auntie!"
You'd better understand, we're in this together, you can only support me!
Li Yunrui said, "I know, I know, why are you being so fierce? Go on your way."
Li Chengqian's expression softened as he said, "Please lend me the experts from the Junshan Society, Aunt!"
Li Yunrui complained, "What about the Junshan Society? I have no income now, and I'm just sitting here eating away my savings."
"Besides, Fan Xian hasn't been killed yet, so where would you find a master to lend you?"
"You are the crown prince, make good use of the Qin family, you are better than your aunt."
The northern border of the Western Qin Kingdom.
Li Chang'an received the imperial edict conferring the title of King of Qin, and nominally the entire Western Qin Kingdom became Li Chang'an's fiefdom.
However, Qin was not a real fiefdom, so Li Chang'an still had to return to the capital.
Currently, the Western Qin state has an army of 200,000, of which 80,000 are stationed in the capital and the other 80,000 are scattered in various border passes and cities.
The remaining 40,000 men were all elite cavalry, led by Ye Wan and Shangshan Hu respectively, who went deep into the snowy plateau to sweep away enemy strongholds.
Li Chang'an, Zhao Gao, and Han Xin have been at the border for over a month.
Han Xin pointed to the map and said, "Your Highness, these 40,000 men are mid-level third-grade warriors drawn from the 200,000-strong army. They are absolutely capable of long-distance marches."
"We have already thoroughly investigated the royal court of the northern barbarians in the snowy region, so there will be no problem with this surprise attack."
Li Chang'an said, "There's nothing to worry about. Ye Wan and Uesugi Tora are both the strongest cavalry commanders."
"The tribes along the way can sustain their war effort through warfare. As long as we don't get lost, we will surely be able to destroy the royal court of the Northern Barbarians."
"Zhao Gao, have the spies from the Surveillance Bureau in Langya City made any moves?"
Zhao Gao replied, "Yes, they are collecting information on your words and actions in Langya City, including the situation regarding the incorporation of the Western Qin intelligence agency."
Li Chang'an knew that Chen Pingping was probably up to something.
With the pacification of Western Qin and the destruction of the Northern Barbarian King's Court, such achievements would likely make even Emperor Qing restless.
Chen Pingping wanted to gather evidence to make Emperor Qing distrust and fear Li Chang'an, and ideally, cause the brothers to turn against each other.
Whether it was Emperor Qing discarding his usefulness after it was over or Li Chang'an rebelling, Chen Pingping was happy to see it.
"Old Zhao, then reveal to them the fact that I secretly recruited the Langya Pavilion of Western Qin."
"This will prevent them from making unfounded accusations and clinging to baseless issues."
"By the way, I also want to go beyond the bounds to bestow titles and rewards upon the surrendered generals and officials of Western Qin, so that they can have more leverage against me."
We must lure all these potential enemies out and then wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, once their identities as Grandmasters are revealed, these people will all go into hiding.
We need to give them a chance to bounce their missiles before we can deal with them properly.
Chen Pingping, your life is almost over.
Zhao Gao continued, "News has come from Yangguan that Gong Dian and Qin Yi are in close communication with the capital."
Gong Dian is Emperor Qing's man, and Qin Yi is very likely in contact with the Crown Prince.