Chapter 273 Unbelievable Conditions

Due to the need for military intelligence transmission, the Harrier Eagle could no longer bring Ye Tao regular news from Danyang. He could only learn about current events through Peng Detian and Min Yue. Although Xuanshan Pass and Yicheng were almost the westernmost and easternmost points of Dongping, the military affairs of Xuanshan Pass and its surroundings would not directly affect Yicheng. Although Dongping's national power, especially its military strength, was not superior to Xiling's at the moment, it was definitely impossible for Xiling to win in one battle. However, due to the limited content of such military intelligence transmissions to various places, and because it was a military secret, neither Peng Detian nor Min Yue could tell Ye Tao too much. Further information came from friends and business partners in Danyang who had good relationships with him. Lu Dan's family would also send a detailed letter every other day, but without the use of the military's fastest post system and the Eagle Station, the news would be delayed by several days before reaching Yicheng.

This sudden war caused everyone's soaring mood due to the completion of the clock tower to plummet.

The Xiling army could not maintain too long-lasting, continuous, blooming attacks, but before they stopped, they had already conquered several towns, forming a large area of land from Xuanshan Pass to Miancheng. Subsequently, the main force of 120,000 troops stopped at Ningshi City, and sent envoys to contact the Dongping military.

During these days, the court's discussions about whether to fight and how to fight never stopped. As with any war, there were always some surrender factions, and this time was no exception. Although Dongping's national strength was booming, there were still many people who advocated that this time, they should do their best to promote a compromise, tolerate it, and win time for Dongping's continued development and future revenge. The military was indeed facing the problem that although the total military strength along the way from Xuanshan Pass to Danyang was considerable, it was scattered in different towns, and too few troops could be concentrated in a short period of time. Moreover, once the Xiling army crossed the Ningshi City-Baishi City line, this route would be Dongping's main grain-producing area and cash crop area, and the losses caused by the war would be very alarming.

At this time, although the envoys sent by Xiling were extremely arrogant, they did come at the right time. Whether the compromise could be reached or not, at least the Dongping army had time to mobilize.

After preliminary mediation, the day before the Xiling envoys set off for Danyang, an incredible thing happened again. Twenty thousand well-trained infantry and five thousand cavalry urgently transferred from Liyang arrived at the Tiger Leap Gorge, only thirty miles away from Ningshi City, and camped there, preparing to enter Ningshi City the next day to strengthen its military strength. However, on the same night, 20,000 Xiling troops sneaked out of the Ningshi City-Baishi City line and went straight to the Tiger Leap Gorge, attacking the exhausted Dongping barracks. After a fierce battle, less than 9,000 of the 25,000 men finally entered Ningshi City. After succeeding, the Xiling army immediately retreated behind the actual control line, and hypocritically sent another group of envoys, provocatively asking the Ningshi City garrison commander whether they were preparing to fight or let their delegation depart normally.

The main general of the Ningshi City garrison, Zhuo Zhixing, was the nephew whom General Zhuo Mang had personally brought up. He naturally understood that at this time, a buffer time was more important. He gritted his teeth and allowed the Xiling delegation to depart as usual. To avoid any trouble on the way, he even dispatched two hundred soldiers to accompany them for protection and surveillance.

The itinerary of the army departing from Liyang had been reported to the Ministry of War and Ningshi City. The Xiling army was able to take such accurate targeted action. There was only one explanation: a more serious leak had occurred within Dongping. However, Tan Xiaopei was helpless. Besides issuing another order for thorough investigation, he could only accept it. The current time did not allow him to tamper with the entire intelligence system and the Ministry of War. Including the troops that could be transferred from Danyang, Tan Xiaopei could only piece together an army of 100,000 in a short period of time. Facing the 120,000-strong main force of the Xiling Central Army, they might not suffer too much, but Xiling also had troops stationed in various places. The total force they dispatched this time was definitely more than 250,000. These 100,000 people might be able to stabilize the front, but they were powerless to drive the Xiling army back. The work of transferring troops from various places was underway, but it still took time for the troops to arrive in the war zone one after another...

If the Xiling army could not be stopped, once they crossed the Ningshi City-Baishi City line, even if Dongping eventually won the war, it would take several years or even longer for its vitality to recover.

The chief envoy of the Xiling delegation was Zhu Qi, a famous eloquent scholar of the Hanlin Academy who was deeply favored by the Xiling King. The deputy envoy was Chen Ban, a rude fourth-rank general of Xiling. No one expected that Zhu Qi would only offer one condition when he came to Danyang: the Xiling Crown Prince wanted to marry Dongping's princess. As long as Dongping could agree, the two countries' armies would maintain their current state. After the princess's carriage departed and arrived at the Xiling capital, the Central Army would withdraw from the Ningshi City-Baishi City line, retreat to Xuanshan Pass, and wait for the marriage ceremony between the two countries to be completed. Xiling would return Xuanshan Pass intact. Even the searches and seizures by the army in these days would be sealed up and wait for the Dongping army to take over.

This condition was unbelievably good. But it was not incomprehensible. Xiling could not swallow Dongping now, and long-term warfare would easily cause a large number of casualties and huge military expenditures, which Xiling would not be easy to bear at present. What Xiling wanted most now was to bring Yunzhou under its name, and then gather its strength to solve either Dongping or Chunnan in the future. Relatively speaking, the Kingdom of Chunnan, which relied on Dongping, seemed to be a better choice. The so-called marriage of the Xiling Crown Prince to the Dongping Princess would naturally not be the beginning of a happy marriage. However, this name could give Dongping many reasons and concerns to shirk when helping Chunnan resist Xiling's attacks. Everyone knew that the Tan family had a tradition of doting on their children. Chunnan would also have many concerns when accepting Dongping's help. Even Yunzhou was the same. No matter under what circumstances the marriage between Dongping and Xiling took place, as long as it became a reality, would Yunzhou dare to accept Dongping's protection? Would the Dai family dare to completely trust the Dongping royal family? These were all problems.

With so many strategic benefits, the results of this carefully arranged army raid didn't matter too much. Originally, in Xiling's deployment, conquering Dongping was placed last. Dongping's current strength and momentum made them dare not underestimate it. Even this army raid was not a decision made by the court, but a decision made privately by the King. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the ministers to reach a consensus.

In the minds of many ministers in Dongping, such conditions were completely acceptable. Clans could break up pairs of lovers and carefully arrange marriages between families for greater power and more commercial interests. When the benefits were not so great and obvious, they would abandon such alliances formed by marriage without hesitation, and even kick their original in-laws without hesitation... Such things happened too often. So many that everyone took it for granted and thought it was a matter of course.

In such an environment, the opinions of the two princesses themselves seemed so insignificant. In a wave of approval and promotion, Zhuo Mang, Huang Xuping and others' opposition seemed so weak.

While waiting for Dongping's decision, Zhu Qi and Chen Ban didn't seem worried that Dongping would reject such a proposal at all. They wandered around Danyang City leisurely every day. They carefully observed the new urban area, which was not in line with the original style of Danyang, watched the shape of the Danyang clock tower, which was already nearly a hundred feet high, and even stayed in the Yizhan Building for several days. Zhu Qi and Chen Ban were fascinated by military chess, especially the grand strategy gameplay. Although there were hostile eyes around them, they never thought it was for "personal reasons." If it weren't for considering the major affairs of the country, the Ye family's employees who were active in the Yizhan Building, and those trainee officers and official officers of the Two Armies Review Office, would have wanted to take action.

Perhaps, the Xiling envoys really didn't need to worry. When the third batch of messengers, who came in a steady stream, delivered the progress of the Xiling army to Zhu Qi and Chen Ban, Ye Tao received the news from Min Yue, who had violated military confidentiality regulations, that Tan Weixin had agreed to the marriage with Xiling.

Under what circumstances would a woman from the modern era make such a decision, make such a sacrifice? Had his harm to Tan Weixin reached this point? Or was it a mixture of misunderstanding and impulse that made Tan Weixin feel that this would be a choice?

No matter what his relationship with Tan Weixin was now, no matter what kind of image he had in Tan Weixin's mind, Ye Tao picked up his pen and wrote a long letter, asking the fastest messenger he could mobilize—Federal Express—to send it to the princess. Several hours after the messenger left, Ye Tao received a letter from Tan Weixin. They were still so tacit in writing letters to each other. There was only one sentence in Tan Weixin's letter: "If only life could be like the first time we met."

This non-original poem brought Ye Tao back to the time when he first met Tan Weixin in Yicheng a few years ago. At that moment, when Tan Weixin jokingly asked him, "Why not call it Bai'anju, or Jinhaima, or Yazan, or Yundian, or Dafenzi, or Nordic Style, or Jicheng Weibang, or Ling Fangyuan, or Jiashijia, but choose to call it Yijia?" Every word was like a thunderclap hitting his heart, and the complicated and indescribably surging emotions that followed still lingered in his heart. Tan Weixin was probably the most precious and cherished person he could meet in this world. This emotion made them tacitly regard forming a family and participating in each other's lives as a matter of course. Without any hesitation or doubt.

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Monthly tickets? Monthly tickets.

This is another extra chapter. Everyone, continue to give me reasons to post extra chapters.