In Liangzhou's restaurants and teahouses, the drinkers lowered their voices and told hearsay stories. How the mission was humiliated and how the princess escaped were the most popular topics. The Xiliang court prohibited the discussion of this matter, but this was in line with people's opinions.
The psychology of curiosity, the more you don’t let people know, the more you want to know.
"If we in Xiliang hadn't been fighting to the death in front of us, maybe the Turks would have invaded Henan by now. Why didn't the imperial court take us seriously?" a middle-aged drinker wondered.
"That's right, we are not barbarians from a foreign country. The whole country is Han, so why are we so unpopular with others? Our envoy went to the capital not to declare war, but to declare vassal status and pay tribute. We are not here. Those people from the imperial court are here.
The eyes must be on the top of your head," another person agreed.
Xiliang is a multi-ethnic country. The basic ethnic group is the Han people, including the descendants of the original border guards and the descendants of the prisoners. The Great Zhou Dynasty still has the status of a suzerain state in their hearts. If Yuan Feng had launched an expedition to the east a year ago, the people would have
There will definitely be resistance, but it is different now. The people are thinking that since the princess of Xiliang can be bullied, then ordinary people like them are not even as good as ants in the eyes of the Zhou court.
"A young master from the Marquis family dares to rob our princess and make her a child. In the eyes of the imperial court, we from Xiliang are not even worth mentioning. Maybe in two days, their army will arrive.
"Someone said.
"It's very possible, wasn't it last year? We beat the Turks away with our front foot, and then the Gansu army came over. When we fought desperately, we didn't see any of their soldiers. After we finally won, they took advantage of the situation.
This is the virtue of their great Zhou Dynasty."
After the Liangzhou Defense War, the people of Liangzhou felt marginalized by the Zhou Dynasty. Now that this kind of thing is happening again, few people regard themselves as Zhou people. Everyone is completely and absolutely from Xiliang. Glorious
Proud Xiliang people.
While we were talking, several patrolmen walked by outside. The drinkers immediately fell silent, but the patrolmen didn't care about them at all.
Regardless of you, this is one of the reasons why the people love the Xiliang Little Court even more.
…
In the academy club, the atmosphere of the discussion became more intense. The young students made impassioned speeches and analyzed the potential causes of this incident from a deep level. That is the deep contempt and hostility of the people of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty towards the people of Xiliang. Due to geographical differences,
The reason is that Xiliang is very dependent on the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The large tracts of pastoral areas in the Western Regions are vast and sparsely populated and cannot provide a wealth of industrial products.
All of them are necessary, but the Eastern Zhou Dynasty has already locked up the border, which means that they want to trap Xiliang to death.
Therefore, war is inevitable.
…
Liangzhou East Camp is a place where hot-blooded men gather. The humiliation of the mission and the princess gave them the greatest stimulation. The iron-blooded warriors who traveled thousands of miles across the world were unable to protect the dignity of the country. If the dignity of the lord is not recovered,
Who has the nerve to survive in this place!
The soldiers cut their fingers and wrote letters in blood demanding that they go to war to wash away the country's humiliation. The blood letters flew to the general's desk like flakes, and the generals collected them and sent them to the palace.
The so-called palace is the original magistrate's office of Cao Yanhui, where Yuan Feng temporarily lived. Xiliang, as the eastern capital, is actually temporary. It is actually an advance base, and the eastward expansion of Xiliang's territory will start from here.
Yuan Feng, wearing a moon-white Shu brocade tunic, sat behind the dragon desk and looked at the reports gathered from all parties. In the northwest in early spring, it was still warm and cold at first, and the hardwood in the fireplace was burning.
There was a gentle knock on the door, and Yuan Feng said without raising his head: "Come in."
It was Yulia who came in. The little girl knew that she had caused a big disaster. She was so scared that she dared not speak out these days. Using the princess's name indiscriminately was not a joke, especially when it brought such a big disaster to the Xiliang Kingdom.
The humiliation made her regret it. The only thing she was happy about was that Yuan Feng didn't seem to have any objections to her calling herself a princess.
Yulia was carrying a tea tray with a silver pot filled with milk tea on it. She walked tiptoe to Yuan Feng, put the teapot down, and whispered: "You drink tea."
"Oh" Yuan Feng still didn't raise his head, examining the report. Officials from various places reported that the people in their jurisdiction were so excited that they could no longer suppress it. This made him excited, and the people's support could be used.
After reading a few pages, I found that Yulia was still standing aside, with her head lowered and fiddling with the corners of her skirt with both hands, as if she was full of thoughts.
"What's the matter? Yulia." Yuan Feng asked.
"Well, something happened." Yulia raised her head, with tears hanging on her white cheeks: "I know I got into trouble, and I won't dare to do it again. I just want to be a maid, and I won't pretend to be a princess anymore."
He looked down, his mouth flattened, and tears rolled down in large drops, but he still suppressed his sobbing, and could only see the clavicle squirting continuously.
Yuan Feng couldn't help but stand up, wiped Yulia's tears with his sleeves, stroked her golden hair and said: "Silly girl, you didn't cause trouble, it was those dog thieves who did, how dare they mess with my Yulia, you
Just wait and see, I will kick their asses hard."
Yulia burst into tears and smiled: "Are you really not angry with me?"
"Really, Yulia is so good, how could I be angry?"
Yulia was happy, picked up the tea tray and said: "Then you go ahead, I'm leaving." She jumped away and when she came to the door, Yuan Feng suddenly said: "Wait a minute."
Yulia turned back, her big eyes flashing.
"You are not a maid, you will become my princess in the near future."
Yulia blinked, performed an elegant Roman etiquette, and walked out backwards. Then she heard cheerful footsteps and excited shouting: "Yuchijia, come out quickly and tell you good news~~"
…
The large meeting hall of Liangzhou Palace has a thick carpet on the floor and a large map hanging on the wall. Two rows of tables and chairs are placed on both sides. Civil and military officials sit according to their rank. A large chair covered with white tiger skin is placed on the
Go up. Suddenly I heard the guard at the door shout loudly: "The Generalissimo is here!"
The bodyguards stood up and saluted: "See you, my lord."
Yuan Feng raised his hand and said, "No courtesy." He took off his cloak and threw it to the guards. He came to sit in front of the tiger skin throne and said, "Let's get started."
Zhou Ze'an, a member of the Xiliang Junior High School and the general manager of the East Road March, stood up and said: "My lord, since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty locked up the pass, our country's inventory of sulfur, gunpowder and pig iron has been unable to make ends meet. This is true for military supplies, and it is even worse for civilian supplies. Prices are higher than the same period last year.
It has increased by 50%. If it continues like this, people may not be able to make a living."
Yuan Feng nodded and asked Zhao Ding'an to speak.
Zhao Ding'an said: "The Gansu army in front of us has about five inadequate battalions and 4,000 troops. They are responsible for locking the pass. If there is a war, I promise to defeat them within one day."
"How many days will it take to reach Lanzhou City?" Yuan Feng asked.
Zhao Ding'an attended the meeting, picked up a slender stick and pointed at the map and said: "After the border troops are eliminated, there will be no more Eastern Zhou troops between Liangzhou and Lanzhou. How many days we can reach Lanzhou City depends entirely on the march speed of our army.
Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Shaanxi official army east of Lanzhou will quickly advance westward to intercept our army. Even so, I can guarantee that we will reach Lanzhou in half a month."
Half a month, if these words were heard by the officers of the Zhou Dynasty, they would definitely think it was a myth. However, Zhao Ding'an said that it was a conservative estimate. The Xiliang army inherited some of the fine traditions of the Turkic and Mongolian armies, making quick assaults and supplying supplies on the spot.
, can march under the stars and at night, and has the best interspersion ability in the world.
A civil servant stood up and said: "My lord, we must not start a war lightly. Our Xiliang country is not yet stable, we have insufficient reserves of food, grass and baggage, and most of our citizens are Han people. I am afraid it is not the right time to start a war with the Zhou Dynasty at this time."
Yuan Feng smiled slightly: "What you said makes sense. It has been less than a year since the founding of Xiliang and we have no accumulation. Moreover, we are blocked by the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and our life is difficult. If we delay it any longer, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, in order to survive, we must go to war.
"
"But..." The civil servant wanted to speak, but Yuan Feng stopped him.
"I know that we can defeat Timur because the people of Liangzhou are united, the city wall is strong, and the grain and grain saved by the old prefect are resources and the foundation of the family. But the enemy is Timur after all.
He is a rare hero in the world. To deal with the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it is enough for us to have public opinion and military morale."
"Lord, after the war, the country has been settled and the people's minds are stable. It is the time to recuperate and recuperate. You must not use weapons rashly." There were still civil servants who came out to advise.
Yuan Feng was not angry. It was good to have different voices in the court, but it would not be good if all his subordinates spoke based on their own opinions.
"You have underestimated the consciousness of the people of Xiliang. Come with me." After Yuan Feng finished speaking, he led the ministers to the rooftop of the palace. Looking around, I don't know when, people have gathered on the broad streets of Liangzhou.
tens of thousands of people.
In front were the students from the academy. The students in white clothes were holding banners with four big characters on them, "Abandoning the National Humiliation." Behind them were a large number of people, each with a righteous look on their face. When they saw someone appearing on the rooftop of the palace,
The common people began to move, shouting slogans as they walked, and the slogans came one after another. They always said "fight to Chang'an" and "capture the Fenyang Marquis alive" and the like.
"Everyone, please see, this is the will of the people." Yuan Feng said, taking a thick stack of blood books from his entourage, "This is the morale of the military."
"I have the morale of the army and the public opinion, so why worry about it? Come on, please pass on the order. From now on, the whole country will be mobilized to prepare for the Eastern Expedition."