“Hehe, you didn’t see Xu Wenzu’s face.”

Zheng Fan grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the blind man, cracking them open as he chatted.

The blind man, Bei, smiled and said,

“Understandable. All the foreplay is done, everything’s prepared, and then you find out it’s a guy.”

“Blind man, I’ve noticed you’ve changed your style a bit since that one overdraft.” A’ming joked from the side.

“Everyone has a wild youth. Too bad this world is in an ancient setting; otherwise, I could recommend all the WeChat contacts whose names start with ‘A’ to you.”

Fan Li, upon hearing this, rubbed his head and asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Si Niang glared at the blind man and said to Fan Li,

“Little kids shouldn’t interrupt when adults are talking.”

“Oh.”

Fan Li continued to squat by the doorstep, listening to everyone’s conversation.

Ever since their late-night chat in the pavilion when Fan Li directly suggested, “Why don’t we just chop off the master’s head?”

Everyone had tacitly excluded this simpleton from their conversations.

Not having to go to war anymore, or rather, not having to fight that kind of war anymore, everyone was actually quite happy, so they deliberately made their conversations a bit more cheerful to liven up the atmosphere.

To get back to the main topic,

The blind man, Bei, said:

“The Qian people are going for a complete scorched earth strategy.”

Directly abandoning the fortress network, discarding it altogether. This seemingly passive way of avoiding battle was like retracting one’s fist, making them even harder to deal with.

The fortress network, in its early days, was a defensive measure against small groups of Yan cavalry raiding southward. Indeed, after the Qian people’s defeat a century ago, small-scale skirmishes were common. Then, the Qian people began constructing fortifications, and gradually, small groups of Yan cavalry no longer raided south to pillage.

Later, the decline of the desert barbarian royal court led to the rise of the Silk Road, and everyone became busy making money and doing business. The border between the two countries became more like a large transit market.

However, now that the Yan people’s large-scale southward advance was a certainty, the Qian Kingdom’s fortress defense system was actually unable to play any substantial role.

Because it was no longer needed for early warning, and it was difficult to play any real role in interception.

When Zheng Fan first led only four hundred cavalrymen into Qian Kingdom territory, he first pulled out a nail in front of him, then carefully weaved his way in.

But the second time, when he led more than a thousand cavalrymen south, pulling out nails was just a casual act, more like a warm-up. When he returned, he did so openly and grandly.

Light the beacons if you want to; you can’t catch up with me anyway, and the Qian soldiers in the fortresses wouldn’t dare to come out and stop me.

Therefore, after this measure was implemented, the Qian Kingdom could cut its losses, no longer needing to invest too much in the fortress network, and could also consolidate its forces.

However, the Qian Kingdom was a world ruled by scholar-officials, and scholar-officials loved nothing more than engaging in verbal warfare, shouting slogans without regard for reality. For the Qian court to make such a decision, it must have been the ministers who pushed through the plan despite opposition.

Zheng Fan said,

“In this way, what the Great Yan army will face is no longer a small group of fortresses, but the three garrisons directly.

“The Liang Garrison, the Wei Garrison, and the Chen Garrison are the major fortresses on the three borders, garrisoned by the elite troops of the Qian Kingdom.

“This is the Qian Kingdom’s first line of defense.

“The second line of defense, mainly composed of the Western Army, is deployed along the Mianzhou City line, consisting of 150,000 Western Army soldiers and more than 40,000 Lang barbarian soldiers.

“Mianzhou City isn’t very large, but the Western Army is best at earthen fortifications. Relying on this point of Mianzhou City, they’ve built an extremely solid defense line.

“The third line of defense consists of 100,000 Imperial Guards, 50,000 Zu family soldiers, and more than 100,000 soldiers similar to the Yan Kingdom’s territorial troops, built up in the Chu Commandery and the area bordering the three northern garrisons.

“This line of defense relies on the cities of Chu Commandery, and when needed, troops can be transferred from here to the first two lines of defense for reinforcement.”

A’ming looked at his master with some surprise. Originally, this work should have been the blind man’s responsibility, but it seemed that his master hadn’t been completely idle.

“Three lines of defense, totaling nearly 700,000 troops, and because the Yan Kingdom’s attack is so fierce this time, taking the initiative to start the war, some things can no longer be hidden.”

The blind man, Bei, took out a letter from his sleeve,

And said:

“Now it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Sixth Prince’s spies in the Qian Kingdom to send back intelligence or valuable intelligence, but this one is pretty good.

“It talks about how, facing the pressure from the Yan Kingdom, the incompetence of the three northern garrisons, and the mess made by the Imperial Guards when they marched north, the boils that had been covered up for so long have been exposed.

“The Qian Emperor is very angry. Three officials have been dismissed from the Privy Council, and one minister has been granted a Qingliang umbrella (a symbolic dismissal) to return to his hometown.

“At the same time, the Qian court has sent out nine imperial envoys to various commanderies to recruit soldiers. I don’t know about other places, but in Beihe Commandery alone, they’ve already recruited 20,000 Beihe brave warriors.

“The Qian Emperor has some tricks up his sleeve too.”

“After all, emperors who don’t know the suffering of their people are rare in this world,” Zheng Fan said.

A’ming then asked, “Does that mean that as long as we continue to stalemate, the Qian Kingdom might be able to undergo self-reform because of the pressure from the Yan Kingdom?”

“It’s already begun,” the blind man, Bei, corrected. “The three northern garrisons and the Imperial Guards in the capital were originally listed as having 800,000 troops each. According to tradition, after squeezing out the excess, there should be more than 700,000 troops.

“You have to know that the Qian Kingdom’s problem of redundant personnel is very serious, and military spending is the top priority. Every year, the Qian court fully allocates military expenses. As for how it’s distributed and how much actually ends up in the hands of the soldiers, that’s been a tacit understanding for decades.

“In the past, even if the emperor knew about this problem, he wouldn’t dare to do anything about it. The Qian Kingdom doesn’t have a Li Liangting or a Tian Wujing.

“But now, taking advantage of the national war, they can take action. If the Qian Kingdom really manages to train a sufficient number of soldiers, not to mention the Great Yan advancing south…”

“A counterattack is unlikely,” Zheng Fan said.

“You never know,” the blind man, Bei, shook his head. “It depends on national fortune, on luck. Who knows if there are any future military stars in the Qian Kingdom’s army.”

Back then, the Yan Kingdom was almost destroyed, but the first generation Zhenbei Marquis (Marquis Who Pacifies the North) emerged out of nowhere and crushed five hundred thousand Qian soldiers.

That was fate, also known as national fortune.

Of course, this kind of fate is rare, and it comes with all sorts of special conditions. Even if you let the first generation Zhenbei Marquis do it again, he might not be able to achieve that glorious victory.

“Maybe our level isn’t high enough. I don’t believe that the three of them can’t see the problems that even we can see,” Zheng Fan said.

“Master, what you’re saying is like how commoners always think the emperor is good, and it’s the ministers around him who are bad.”

“That’s actually not wrong,” Zheng Fan smiled and said to the blind man, “Throughout history, no matter how foolish an emperor is, how many of them are so stupid that they deliberately try to ruin their own empire?”

“See, we can only watch now anyway,” the blind man, Bei, rubbed his temples and said, “I asked the Sixth Prince’s merchants to help investigate the situation and found that our Great Yan hasn’t been manufacturing siege equipment on a large scale, nor has it been collecting related materials on a large scale.

“Perhaps, as you said, master, the three of them have already made a plan in their hearts; otherwise, Jinnan Marquis (Marquis Who Pacifies the South) wouldn’t have ordered those military leaders to harass the south when the Zhenbei Army was still busy trampling on the aristocratic families. Isn’t that just stirring up trouble?”

As he spoke, the blind man turned to Liang Cheng and said,

“A’cheng, what do you think?”

Ever since returning from the gathering place, Liang Cheng hadn’t said much.

Seeing the blind man call on him to speak,

Liang Cheng could only say:

“Cavalry, using them to attack cities is a waste.”

A’ming shook his head and said, “Don’t speak nonsense.”

Liang Cheng nodded,

And said:

“Not necessarily.”

…

Mianzhou City, which Zheng Shoubei (Garrison Officer Zheng) had visited twice, wouldn’t have a third visit anytime soon.

Extending from the city walls of Mianzhou City in all four directions, military camps rose from the ground, with Western Army soldiers training in them every day.

Even if Cui Liu Fortress hadn’t succeeded in bleeding them dry this time, even if Zheng Shoubei had brought all his wealth, facing this unreasonable amount of construction, exhausting all his resources might not even allow him to touch the walls of Mianzhou City again.

The winter wind was like a knife cutting flesh.

Zhong Wendao stood on the city wall, with his youngest son, Zhong Tianlang, standing beside him.

The Western Army’s young general’s great achievement of traveling hundreds of miles to destroy enemy forts and beheading Zheng Fan had been widely publicized, which was a morale-boosting victory.

Throughout history, truly excellent generals have understood that even when fighting a defensive battle, there is never a reason to completely shrink back and passively take a beating.

The general direction is defense, but in order to boost morale, you always have to create some advantages on a local level.

This was the fundamental reason why Zhong Wendao was willing to let his youngest son take the Western Army’s most valuable cavalry to “play around.”

At this time, the father and son were standing in the cold wind. Zhong Tianlang was worried about his father’s health, but he also knew that if he told his father that the wind was too strong and he should go back and rest, it would make his father unhappy.

“I’m glad that you have these realizations.”

“I was indeed a bit ignorant and arrogant before, son.”

“This battle will be difficult. The Yan people are not the Northern Qiang, nor are they the native chieftains in the southwestern mountains.”

“I know, son.”

“Restrain your arrogance, preserve your sharpness.”

“Thank you for your teachings, Father.”

“The Western Army will eventually be handed over to your hands. Actually, when I received the imperial decree to dispatch troops, I hesitated.”

As he spoke, Zhong Wendao scanned his surroundings and said,

“The most terrifying thing about the north is never the weather, but this flat plain.”

“Father, no matter how strong the Yan people’s cavalry is, they won’t be able to break through our Western Army’s military fortresses.”

Zhong Wendao glanced at his son without saying anything, but there was a hint of sadness in his brow.

Zhong Tianlang then said,

“Father, if we want to launch a northern expedition, our Great Qian must nurture our own cavalry.”

“A northern expedition?”

“Yes, a northern expedition. I believe that one day, our Great Qian will launch a northern expedition against the Yan barbarians!”

Zhong Wendao smiled as he listened to these words.

He didn’t want to talk to his son about the difficulty of a northern expedition,

Nor did he want to explain how much of a taboo the words “northern expedition” were in the court.

But for young people, longing for this was always normal.

He was the same back then.

Zhong Wendao couldn’t help but recall the scene when he and Meng Gong’s father stood beside Minister Ci Mian, they were already planning the northern expedition.

A portion of the Western Army was specifically used to restrain the Northern Qiang, but they didn’t kill them all off back then. Their purpose was to use the Northern Qiang to train the Qian Kingdom’s cavalry.

However, after the prosperity faded and the ambition subsided, many things that used to make people’s blood boil had become numb.

To the point where you didn’t even have the slightest desire to lift your eyelids.

At this moment, a team of scouts returned to the camp, entered the military fortress, and then directly entered the south gate of Mianzhou City, which was the location where Zhong Wendao and his son were standing.

A military report that could directly enter the city was obviously of a certain level. Ordinary military reports would be digested and analyzed outside before being presented.

After all, the commander-in-chief wasn’t a god and couldn’t possibly manage everything in the nearly 200,000-strong army camp.

Zhong Tianlang took the initiative to receive the military report.

After a while,

Zhong Tianlang walked back, with an excited smile on his face.

After walking to his father’s side,

He said,

“Father, Second Uncle has led the Western Mountain Camp north.”

The Western Mountain was the Qian Kingdom’s front line against the Northern Qiang, where a portion of the Western Army was stationed, and it was always under the command of Zhong Wendao’s younger brother, Zhong Wenmian.

The Western Army was a massive military group. Although the Zhong family had an extraordinary position in the Western Army, they didn’t have absolute control over the Western Army like the Zhenbei Marquis’s estate. It was more like a military… freak formed under specific conditions in a specific era.

And Zhong Wendao and Zhong Wenmian, the two people in charge of the Zhong family, were the symbols of the Western Army, and were called Minister Zhong and Little Minister Zhong by the outside world.

Zhong Tianlang was very excited, because although the Western Mountain Camp didn’t have many troops, only 30,000, most of the soldiers in the Western Mountain Camp were cavalry.

It could be said that the most elite cavalry force in the entire Great Qian was the Western Mountain Camp.

In Zhong Tianlang’s opinion, with his second uncle’s arrival, he would be able to fight more calmly in the future. Compared to the dullness of infantry battles, he preferred the swiftness of cavalry battles.

However,

There was no joy on Zhong Wendao’s face. Instead, one hand was tightly gripping the bricks on the battlements, and his fingernails were scratching clear marks on the bricks.

“Father?”

Zhong Tianlang was a little frightened.

Every son was most afraid of his father’s anger.

“Hehe… hehehe… hahaha…”

Zhong Wendao laughed.

“Before departing, I repeatedly instructed your uncle that it was enough for the Western Army to send 150,000 soldiers north. We must leave some resources for the Western Army at home!

“Your uncle promised me in person,

“But now…”

“Father, for the great cause of resisting the Yan, our Zhong family cannot… cannot…”

Zhong Wendao suddenly glared at his son.

This terrifying gaze made Zhong Tianlang’s heart sink.

“Do you want to tell me to consider the big picture, to think about the country, to think about the people of Great Qian, and not to care about the gains and losses of one family?”

“No, I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”

“That’s what you mean, that’s what you mean!”

Zhong Wendao gritted his teeth, and his silver hair fluttered slightly in the cold wind.

“The mobilization of the Western Mountain Camp is almost upon us, but I haven’t received any news or seen any imperial approval. Do you know why?”

“Son…”

“This must be because the imperial court sent an imperial envoy to hand over the command to your uncle in person! Your uncle is acting on imperial orders. Hehe… hehe…”

“Father…”

“I’m just an old man, the age where I should be enjoying the company of my grandchildren, but for the sake of Great Qian, I still have to put on my armor and lead the Western Army’s soldiers north.

“What about the imperial court? What about the imperial court?

“They’re busy dividing our Western Army, dividing our family!”

Zhong Tianlang was silent.

The imperial court had always wanted to solve the problem of the Western Army’s military power. This was a well-known fact. This time, the imperial court took advantage of his father’s absence and incited his uncle to go north. This action actually marked the separation of the Western Army from now on.

The Western Mountain Camp would no longer belong to the Western Army and would become independent.

“Father, I have something to say, even if you punish me, I still have to say it.”

“Speak, I’m letting you speak!”

Zhong Tianlang took a deep breath and said,

“Father, our Western Army is really too big.”

The southwestern battlefield was under the jurisdiction of the Western Army, the Northern Qiang territory was under the jurisdiction of the Western Army, and even rebellions in some places had to be dealt with by the Western Army.

“Big?” Zhong Wendao suddenly laughed, “How old are you? The Western Army when we quelled the southwestern chieftain rebellions was truly big.

“Son, I know what you want to say, and I know what you mean, but some things you haven’t experienced, so you don’t understand.

“It’s wartime now, because the Yan people could invade south at any time, so the ministers in the imperial court are so easy to talk to.

“Once the war is over, once the war is over,

“The civil officials and military officers will naturally start to separate.”

Zhong Tianlang was about to say something,

But Zhong Wendao raised his hand to stop him,

“Do you really think I hate your uncle for starting his own family?”

“This…”

“Do you really think that the reason I didn’t specifically send the Western Mountain Camp north this time was to leave a way out for my Zhong family? To leave a bargaining chip for my Zhong family to secure a foothold?”

“Father…”

Zhong Tianlang suddenly realized that his father seemed to have lost a lot of energy, and his whole person seemed much older.

“Hehe… hehehe… haha hahaha…”

Zhong Wendao laughed again,

“Back then, someone commented on the current ministers:

“They all think they’re reincarnated military geniuses just because they’ve read a few books on warfare.”

…………

On this day,

Xu Wenzu gathered nearly ten thousand cavalry only to have to disband and return to camp;

On this day,

The Western Mountain Camp of the Western Army, with 30,000 cavalry, entered the three northern garrisons;

On this day,

Zheng Fan didn’t choose a color;

On this day,

A down-and-out swordsman and an old man holding a long sail came to the outside of Yanjing City. The old man seemed to have caught a cold and sneezed:

“Achoo!”

————

This chapter is setting the stage, don't panic.