Everyone was excited when they heard the summons.
Who didn't know that Prince Ding had once fought against Southern Yue, repelling seventy thousand enemy troops? With only sixty thousand now, it would surely be no problem.
However, when everyone saw Prince Ding walk in, they couldn't help but gasp.
His expression was calm, but his gaze was serious.
He walked step by step towards the Crown Prince, his pace firm and his attitude clear.
With him here, there was a candidate for the commander of the southwestern campaign.
But could his body truly support it?
No one knew.
After all, he had been ill for many years. It was said he was cured some time ago, but he hadn't been seen out much. Looking at his complexion now, it was still not as ruddy as that of a healthy man, let alone comparable to the soldiers in the army.
"Why has Uncle Ding come?"
"Your Highness, I heard news from the southwest in my manor, so I came specifically to see."
"Uncle has made great contributions to Great Jin. But now Southern Yue and Jiaoren are about to go to war, which is simply disregarding Great Jin. So we are currently discussing who to send!"
"Well, since I am here, I want to tell Your Highness, let me go."
The Crown Prince frowned, but his heart bloomed with joy.
"But Uncle, your health..."
"It's fine. Going to the southwest will not be a problem. With me here, Jiaoren aside, Southern Yue will also be more wary. This will reduce the casualties of Great Jin's soldiers. Moreover, after so many years, I am still familiar with everything in Prince Ding's army. Sending an unfamiliar commander rashly might be inappropriate. It would be much more troublesome if the battle opportunity were delayed."
Yes, Prince Ding had been recuperating in the capital for many years, and he was still cared for by many people, all because he held the trump card of the Prince Ding Army.
In times of national crisis like this, it would be abnormal for him not to step forward.
So he looked at the people in his faction, and soon those ministers understood his intentions and immediately spoke.
"Your Highness, His Highness's actions are righteous. Moreover, His Highness is right. Sending an unfamiliar general rashly might be counterproductive. It would be better to let His Highness go. With him here, I believe Southern Yue and Jiaoren will not dare to act rashly, and perhaps the southwestern crisis can be resolved without a single soldier being lost!"
As soon as he finished speaking, many people below echoed his sentiment.
It was as if the Crown Prince would be ungrateful if he did not agree.
Prince Ding was well aware of the hidden motives of these ministers and the Crown Prince, but he was too lazy to expose them.
He was going to the southwest anyway, so he pretended not to see their exchanged glances.
Prime Minister Bai and Senior Scholar Xu remained silent, standing still. It wasn't that they weren't supporting Prince Ding, but they knew that once Prince Ding made a decision, no one could change it.
Moreover, they also felt that Prince Ding was the best candidate for the southwestern campaign and that he would be fine.
After all, outsiders thought his health had not fully recovered, but only those close to them knew how capable Prince Ding was.
Therefore, they were not very worried.
The Crown Prince feigned reluctance and said with a heavy heart,
"Uncle is righteous. I, the Crown Prince, thank you on behalf of all the people for stepping forward. Since that is the case, then Uncle will personally go to the southwest, and then send word to General Su, ordering him to lead a hundred thousand troops to reinforce."
"Yes!"
Now that the Duke of Wei and others were no longer causing trouble in the court, and the Crown Prince was eager to gain some achievements to gain external recognition, no one was paying attention to the grain and fodder.
Feng Hai also collected them quickly.
Three days after Xiao Tingyi departed, the grain and fodder also headed towards the southwest, and Yang Zhao, whom he trusted, was naturally in charge of escorting them.
Fearing that the battle would be delayed, he rode at full speed.
Xu Lin led a team to protect him, partly to prevent information from leaking and partly to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
Although the Crown Prince would not make a move easily now and was waiting for Prince Ding to personally take the stage and gain some good reputation, others might have other ideas.
When they reached Xuzhou, they switched to the fast boats of the Chi family. Not only did their speed increase several times, but it was also much safer than riding horses.
In less than ten days, Xiao Tingyi was already standing in the command tent of the Prince Ding Army.
The people outside didn't know, but when Yang Xu saw Xiao Tingyi, he almost burst into tears.
"Your Highness!"
Seeing Yang Xu's dark circles, Xiao Tingyi knew he must not have slept well these past few days. He patted his shoulder and said,
"Go down and sleep for two hours, then come back and report!"
"Yes!"
With His Highness here, Yang Xu felt at ease even if he slept for a whole day.
Xiao Tingyi was not idle either. As soon as he entered the tent, he had been studying the military map.
Xu Lin followed him, constantly relaying the news from Princess Qianling and General Jiang Xun.
"This great battle was proposed by the Third Prince of Jiaoren. It began the day he entered Dongdu City. He had been in contact with the Sixth Prince for years, though not much. It was only because of the palace banquet incident that they launched it early. Southern Yue is currently controlled by the Crown Princess, but according to the news from the Princess, she seems to be constrained by her consort."
Southern Yue had always been like this; succession was not determined by gender but by the eldest legitimate heir.
The one who fought with him back then was the King of Southern Yue, the Crown Princess's father. However, it was said that he had been ill since the battle, so the Crown Princess had been in charge of important court affairs.
This was similar to the current situation in Great Jin where the Crown Prince was acting as regent.
However, they didn't know much about this Crown Princess's consort before.
"Investigate and verify the details of this person. Also, tell Qianling that if she has a chance to meet this Crown Princess, I want to know her true thoughts."
If, as Princess Qianling speculated, the Crown Princess did not want war, then there was a great opportunity for a turnaround.
The best way to deal with such alliances with ulterior motives was to break them from within.
Alliances were formed due to the convergence of interests. If the interests disappeared, or if the balance of interests tilted towards one side,
Then this so-called alliance would fall apart in the blink of an eye.
As the sky darkened, the military discipline was strict. Shortly after nightfall, sentries began to be posted.
For decades, no one in the Prince Ding Army dared to slack off.
Under the cover of night, Prince Ding and his entourage quietly left the military camp. He was now going to find Wen Zhonghe.
Lord Wen was in his study, organizing the remaining grain, cloth, and other supplies from the recent disaster relief efforts, working so hard that he forgot to eat and sleep.
Lady Wen had spoken to him several times, but he was still organizing.
When Xiao Tingyi suddenly appeared, he startled Wen Zhonghe.
He had served as an official in Shuzhou for many years and naturally knew about the Prince Ding Army's great defeat of Southern Yue back then. At the same time, he had received urgent news from the capital saying that Prince Ding would be commanding this battle, which eased his worried heart.