On the towering city wall, Yuwen Chengdu stood, looking deeply at the vast grassland in the north.
This time the battle in Yunyan City was no worse than Nanyang City. More than half of the 40,000 defenders in Yunyan City suffered casualties. Almost all the generals, big and small, were killed and wounded. Even the original generals died on the city wall.
Of the less than 10,000 cavalry he led, there were only less than 3,000 left in the end. If not for the timely support from Xiangshan City in the end, he himself would have died on this battlefield.
Although the strength of the northern Rong tribe is not as good as that of the southern barbarians, they still cannot be underestimated, especially now that the four royal courts of the northern Rong tribe are all ready to make moves. They have secretly colluded together and may invade Dali again at any time.
The previous battle in Yunyan City was just a test move by them.
At this time, he had just received the reward document from the Governor's Mansion and had just taken up the post of Chief Soldier of Yunyan City. This meant that the future safety of Yunyan City would be tied to him.
Every time he thought that the Rong tribe might attack again, Yuwen Chengdu felt extremely heavy in his heart.
Today, there are less than 20,000 defenders left in Yunyan City, and there are many wounded soldiers among them. The current Yunyan City cannot withstand any hardships.
While Yuwen Chengdu was meditating, a soldier wearing iron armor and a rough face hurriedly came to him.
"Lord Commander-in-Chief!"
This soldier is Wang Han, the newly appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Yunyan City.
Yuwen Chengdu asked: "How is it?"
Wang Han shook his head slightly and said: "The governor's office responded that they will not be able to add more troops to us in a short period of time."
"Why?" Yuwen Chengdu frowned.
Yunyan City has a serious shortage of soldiers. If the Governor's Office cannot replenish them with soldiers, then the defense of Yunyan City will be very dangerous.
Wang Han smiled bitterly and said: "There were too many casualties in the battle of Nanyang City in Yunzhou. Now the Governor's Mansion has transferred all the soldiers that can be mobilized to Yunzhou, and we can only wait for the soldiers in Nanyang City to be replenished before we can take turns.
Come to us."
Hearing this, Yuwen Chengdu fell silent.
Dali's military system has very strict restrictions on the border army. First of all, the border army is not allowed to recruit soldiers. Instead, the Fifth Army Governor's Office recruits, trains, and distributes soldiers. To put it simply, the commander-in-chief of the border army only has the power to command troops.
No right to train troops.
Once the casualties of the border troops are too large, the governor's office will replenish troops as soon as possible, but it is not known how fast this will be.
The training of soldiers by the Governor's Mansion cannot be completed in a day or two. Even if soldiers are dispatched from the garrison of various states, it will take several months to complete.
Yuwen Chengdu once again looked at the vast grassland in the north. The vast grassland connected with the gray sky, and the howling north wind set off waves on the grassland.
Standing with his hands behind his back, the cloak on his armor rustled.
Faintly, a strong sense of uneasiness arose in his heart.
What was it that made him so uneasy?
Yuwen Chengdu's frown deepened.
…
Kyoto, Prince Ping's Mansion.
As night falls, the dark night makes the entire Kyoto feel unusually mysterious and quiet.
Even the luxurious Prince Ping's Mansion became calm and low-key at this time, as if everything seemed very dull under the night.
In the study room of Prince Ping's Mansion, a dozen candles flickered on the bronze lampstand, causing Qin Changping's shadow to dance.
Qin Changping looked at the man in black in front of him with a solemn expression.
Dressed in black, with a strange face, and a slender sword hanging on his waist.
"Nanyang City failed!"
The man in black had a shrill voice, as if he was speaking with a pinched throat on purpose.
"I have received the news!"
Qin Changping said.
The incident in Nanyang City had spread throughout Kyoto a few days ago, so it was naturally impossible for him not to get the news.
"What a pity!"
He said with some regret.
"No one thought that he would actually arrange so many things in Nanyang City." The man in black shook his head slightly, with a bit of helplessness and a bit of embarrassment on his strange face.
Qin Changping nodded, knowing that the 'him' the man in black was referring to was Li Huang.
Emperor Li exceeded everyone's expectations in Nanyang City.
"Where's next?"
Qin Changping asked.
"Yunyan City!" said the man in black.
"Northern Rong tribe?" Qin Changping frowned.
The man in black nodded and said: "We don't have much time, we must do it as soon as possible."
"If Nanyang City had not failed, we would naturally not need to go to Yunyan City to cause trouble, but Nanyang City failed and disrupted all our plans."
Qin Changping closed his eyes slightly and leaned on the back of the chair, his eyebrows filled with solemnity and entanglement.
"Do you really want to do this?"
His voice became extremely deep.
The man in black looked at him with a pair of narrow eyes and said: "Your Majesty, there is no way out."
Qin Changping lowered his head and remained silent.
yes!
He has no way out.
At this point, even if he wants to retreat, countless people will push him forward.
And once what he has done is exposed, there will be only death.
"When to act?"
"Three months later!"
"I will cooperate with you, but I want you to do something." Qin Changping said quietly.
"What's going on?" the man in black asked.
"Kill Prince Rui." Qin Changping's tone was very calm, as if he was not talking about killing people, but killing a chicken, simple and ordinary.
"Why?" the man in black asked.
"Gong'er disappeared in Shuzhou, maybe he is dead!" Qin Changping said calmly.
Qin Gong was his legitimate son. After Qin Gong disappeared in Shuzhou, he sent people to search for him, but unfortunately nothing was found.
He didn't know whether Qin Gong was captured or killed, or who did it, but this did not prevent him from blaming Qin Wei for the incident.
"A little impatience will ruin a big plan!" the man in black said with deep meaning.
Qin Changping fell into silence again.
He understood what the man in black meant. A little impatience would ruin a big plan. He was just a son. Compared to the throne, he was not important at all.
Qin Gong died, but he still had six or seven sons, including Qin Cheng, Qin Yang, Qin Jing, etc. Even if he didn't have a single son, it was still too late to be born again.
But after all, that was the son he valued most. How could he not care if he disappeared like this?
"Prince Rui's influence in Shuzhou is not small. If we cannot get rid of him, he may also be a serious problem for us in the future."
Qin Changping tried to persuade the man in black.
However, the man in black still shook his head and said: "We don't have much power to waste in Shuzhou now."
When Qin Changping heard this, he fell into silence.
However, he did not show any anger or annoyance, and his face was terrifyingly calm.
"I know it!"
"Please put the overall situation first, Your Majesty!"
"I know it!" Qin Changping said again.
"Then I'll resign!"
The man in black looked at him deeply and then slowly exited the room.
Qin Changping leaned on the back of the chair, his whole body disappearing into the darkness, with only a pair of eyes shining a little brightly in the darkness.
Cold and dark, as if those eyes were the eyes of a demon from hell, making people tremble.
…
Danlianfu City.
early morning.
The fresh air is filled with the scent of fragrant grass, which makes people feel refreshed.
After Qin Wei had breakfast, he practiced his sword in the courtyard.
Although he didn't put much energy into martial arts, he practiced swordsmanship and Qinggong for a short time every day.
"Your Highness!"
After Qin Wei finished practicing his sword skills, Xiao Shunzi immediately brought the towel up.
Wiping the sweat from his face, Qin Wei asked: "Where is Marquis Lan Yue?"
Lan Yuehou has been staying in Danlian Mansion for three days. Except for the first day when Qin Wei met him, he has spent the past three days in Danlian Mansion touring the mountains and rivers.
I have to say that the scenery of Danlian Mansion is really beautiful, which even made Marquis Lan Yue reluctant to leave.
"Lanyue Hou is in Qingxitan!" Xiao Shunzi replied.
Qingxi Pool is located more than ten miles east of Danlian City. It is a pool formed by mountain springs. The pool is not big, only about a hundred meters long, but because of the beautiful surrounding scenery, many people like to go there.
Drinking and having fun there.
Lan Yuehou would not miss such a good place.
Qin Wei nodded and said: "Prepare the carriage, let's go take a look too."
"Here!"
Xiao Shunzi responded and then prepared his carriage and horses.
Just when Qin Wei was riding a carriage and preparing to go to Qingxi Pool, a member of the Luowang ran up quickly.
"Your Highness, a letter from Lord Zhao Gao!"
Outside the carriage, Xiao Shunzi immediately took the letter and handed it to Qin Wei inside the carriage.
Qin Wei opened the letter, glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
Then he read the letter carefully again, his expression becoming more solemn.
"Send a message to Zhao Gao and ask him to investigate the matter as soon as possible."
"Also, Xiao Shunzi, please prepare yourself. We will leave for Kyoto tomorrow! Be careful to hide your whereabouts, do you understand?"
Qin Wei solemnly ordered.
"I understand, little one." Xiao Shunzi responded quickly.
Emperor Li asked him not to leave Shuzhou for two years. Although this was not an explicit decree, Qin Wei had to take it into consideration, so naturally he could not leave Shuzhou with great fanfare.
But this time he had to go back to Kyoto.
Because Zhao Gao discovered a chilling conspiracy in Kyoto.
Qin Wei felt a little numb when he thought of what Zhao Gao described in the letter.
If this matter is true, then Kyoto is afraid that it will completely collapse.
Xiao Shunzi hurried back to the other courtyard. Qin Wei ignored him and directly ordered the guards beside him: "Go to Qingxi Pool."
As the carriage moved forward, Qin Wei sat in the carriage, frowning.
In Kyoto, someone is plotting a rebellion!
This is a real conspiracy to rebel, not a rebellion that looks like a joke like Lan Yuehou's.
It felt like what Zhao Gao had found seemed to involve a wide range of things, and the traces were becoming more and more obvious.
This means that the rebels may take action soon.
However, Zhao Gao currently does not have much information. He can only speculate from some clues that someone is dispatching troops and generals to infiltrate the Imperial Guards and the Imperial City Division.
If Zhao Gao had not said this, Qin Wei would not believe that such a person existed in Kyoto.
Kyoto is Lihuang's base. Rebellion in Kyoto is simply courting death. At least now Qin Wei doesn't dare to go to Kyoto to rebel.
"Who could it be?" Qin Wei pondered.
There are not many people who are qualified to inherit the throne. King An, King Ping, and King Ning should be the most likely.