It was late at night, but Prince Nanzhao had not yet gone to bed. He sat at his desk, lighting a lamp, deep in thought.
Although he appeared confident and ambitious in front of his son and ministers during the day, to be honest, he was not very sure about this battle.
Why
Because it was too hasty.
He had been in Nanzhao for twenty years. When he first came, he was still a young boy. At that time, Song Wanji had not yet ascended the throne. Song Wanji's mother, now the empress dowager, disliked him and his mother, and forced the emperor to make him a fiefdom in advance in the barren Nanzhao, and asked his mother to come with him, resulting in his mother never seeing his father again until her death.
Fortunately, he came to Nanzhao in advance, so he was not involved in the bloody fight among the seven dragons for the throne after his father's death, thus avoiding a fatal disaster.
In that fight, three brothers were killed by Song Wanji. The King of Wei, the King of Jin and the King of Dongshan managed to save their lives, but were expelled to their fiefdoms and were not allowed to return to the capital for ten years.
Because he did his job well, he was appreciated and trusted by Song Wanji. Over the years, Song Wanji treated him and his son with special favor.
But there was not a single day when he did not hate Song Wanji. He not only hated him, but also the Queen Mother. If it were not for them, mother and son, his mother would not have followed him to this barren land and died in depression.
He swore in front of his mother's spirit that one day he would return to the capital, seize the throne from Song Wanji, and seek justice for himself and his mother.
So, he endured humiliation, worked hard, and used all his efforts to govern Nanzhao, making it his own kingdom. He recuperated here, stockpiled troops, and waited for the right time to rise up and seize the world.
Yes, he had been preparing for that day for twenty years. He took every step very carefully and did not dare to be careless in the slightest.
Song Wanji is cunning and suspicious, and he has two war gods, Xie Zhanting and Zhao Jiuzhou, at his disposal, so he cannot act rashly. He must aim at the right moment and strike hard.
If he misses the target, what awaits him is to be reduced to ashes and there is no hope of recovery.
But how could a shrewd man like Song Wanji let him take advantage of the opportunity? So he kept waiting and waiting, even though such a big mess occurred when he returned to Beijing this time, he dared not move.
Facts have proved that he was right not to move. If he had moved, he would have suffered the same fate as the King of Wei.
However, what he didn't expect was that Song Wanji actually took the initiative to give him a chance, entrusting his only son to him, and also gave him a daughter with the fate of a phoenix.
It was the arrival of this girl with the Phoenix destiny that disrupted his rhythm unknowingly. Like an invisible big hand, she pushed him step by step to where he is today.
After learning the identities of Zhao Jingyu and Xiu'er, all the ministers in Nanzhao were excited. They had waited for many years just like him and finally waited for this opportunity. All the ministers advised him to take the opportunity to kill Zhao Jingyu and let Song Huai marry the daughter of the Phoenix. In this way, they could easily change the ownership of the Great Zhou and keep the dragon's fortune in his lineage forever.
So, under the encouragement of everyone, he gradually lost his patience and joined forces with Song Huai to take the following series of actions.
Now, when he calmed down and thought about it carefully, he couldn't help but doubt Song Wanji's real purpose.
Perhaps, this opportunity, which seemed to be a great opportunity to him and his ministers, was actually a conspiracy carefully planned by Song Wanji.
Perhaps Song Wanji had already known that he had the intention of rebellion, and seeing that he had been keeping his troops inactive, he took the initiative to expose a flaw to him, with the purpose of making him lose his temper and reveal his true intentions.
And those two young men, could it be that they came here with Song Wanji's orders from the very beginning
If so, they are disguising it very well.
Another person who was also good at disguise was Luo Ping. He used to be a general under Song Wanji. Later, because of a defeat, Song Wanji was angry and demoted him to a lieutenant general and banished him to Yunyang.
After arriving in Yunyang, he was disheartened and angry. He went to Nanzhao many times to express his loyalty to him, and he was quite critical of Song Wanji in his words. Later, he simply brought his wife and children to Yunyang, and never returned to the capital since then.
So many years have passed, and he always thought that Luo Ping's heart had long been connected with him and Nanzhao. He never expected that he was actually Song Wanji's eye planted in Nanzhao.
Such a flawless disguise, even the most skilled actor can only do this.
Did Song Wanji send all the actors to Nanzhao
Things have come to this point, and it is futile to think more. There is no choice but to give it a try.
The success or failure depends on this battle!
"Your Highness, the Second Princess requests to see you." There was a knock on the door and the guard reported quietly.
The second princess? The King of Nanzhao was slightly startled, and ordered, "Let her in."
The door opened and Song Meiying walked in with some midnight snacks.
"It's late at night, please take care of yourself, father." Song Meiying came forward and placed the tray on the table. "My daughter has prepared some snacks, please try them, father."
King Nanzhao glanced at her and said indifferently, "Why haven't you rested yet?"
Song Meiying hesitated for a moment and whispered, "My daughter is a little scared and can't fall asleep."
"What are you afraid of?" asked King Nanzhao.
"My daughter heard that a war is about to break out..." Song Meiying said.
"..." King Nanzhao paused, picked up a piece of dessert and put it in his mouth, chewed a few times and said, "It tastes good. What are you afraid of in a war? I won't let you go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. As long as your father is here, you will be fine."
"My daughter is not worried about herself, but about father. My mother and brother are gone, and the only one I can rely on is father." Song Meiying's eyes turned red as she spoke, "Father, you must be well. I can't live without you."
King Nanzhao stopped chewing for a while, then took a sip of the soup and said, "Who said your mother and brother are gone?"
Song Meiying was stunned, then showed a happy expression: "They made a big mistake. I thought my father executed them secretly. Isn't that right?"
"Silly girl, they are your relatives and also your father's relatives. How could your father execute them?" King Nanzhao said, "Your father did that for Zhao Jingyu to see. They are now living in a very safe place with the princess and your elder brother. Don't worry!"
"Really?" Song Meiying swept away her frustration, "If that's the case, why don't you send me and my elder sister over as well, so you don't have to worry about anything."
“…” King Nanzhao glanced at her and did not answer immediately.
Song Meiying's smile froze on her face: "Father, is it because my elder sister and I are girls that it doesn't matter so much?"
"Nonsense, how is that possible!" King Nanzhao said, "You are all my father's children, and you are all equally important to me. The reason why I didn't let you go was because I was afraid that Zhao Jingyu would see the flaw. How about this, you go back and pack your things, and I will arrange someone to send you there at night. You are right, if you all leave, I will have less worries here."
“Thank you, father. Thank you, father…” Song Meiying was extremely happy. She served Prince Nanzhao his midnight snack and left happily.
Half an hour later, a carriage drove out of the palace, left the inner city under the cover of night, and headed towards the south of the city.
At the same time, a fast horse came galloping from the north gate to report that Zhao Jingyu had led his troops to Nanzhao. The team was currently in Feisha County. If there was no obstacle on the road, they would be able to reach the outside of Nanzhao City by dawn.
The action was so swift that King Nanzhao was really surprised. According to normal procedures, even with the emperor's order, it would take at least three days of preparation from gathering troops to setting off. However, Zhao Jingyu was so fast that he arrived in Yunyang and led his troops back the next day.
It seems that he really cares about Xiu'er and can't wait even for a moment.
In this case, his preparations were definitely not sufficient, and he might not even have enough food and fodder.
If this is true, it would not be difficult to deal with this kind of commoner who has never fought a battle and is acting recklessly.
"Pass the order down, order all counties and prefectures along the way to defend their cities and fight with all their might, and do not slack off..."
"Report!" Just as the King of Nanzhao was halfway through his words, another messenger came in from outside the door, "Your Majesty, the Yunyang troops have already breached Feisha County and are heading towards Liudao River."
"What?" The King of Nanzhao stood up suddenly. "We conquered Feisha County so quickly. Could it be that the magistrate of Feisha County surrendered without a fight?"
"No, the magistrate of Feisha County was ordered to stop the enemy, but was shot through the throat by an arrow from Zhao Jingyu on the city wall." The messenger replied, "The Yunyang soldiers are too fierce. There are a thousand heavy crossbowmen leading the way. They started shooting arrows one mile away from the city. Every arrow pierced the armor and was unstoppable."
King Nanzhao took a deep breath and realized that his previous judgment seemed a little premature.
"Come here, prepare the horses!" he ordered loudly, "Notify the prince to follow me to the North City Camp!"
Not long after Song Huai fell asleep, he was awakened and dressed neatly, following King Nanzhao to the North City camp.
Just as the father and son entered the tent, another scout came to report that Liudaohe had been lost.
"Isn't Zhao Jingyu too fast?" Song Huai swallowed, and the remaining sleepiness disappeared.
"This is called speed is the essence of war." King Nanzhao was anxious, but he did not forget to take the opportunity to teach his son.
After losing two cities in a short period of time, he no longer dared to say that Zhao Jingyu was a layman who had never fought in a war.
"Send the order down, have General Zhang Ke lead 20,000 troops to the north to reinforce the counties, and summon all the generals to the camp to discuss matters. But if there are any military reports, send them all here!"
"Yes, sir!" The messengers responded in unison and rode their horses to report to various places.
About half an hour later, generals from various groups arrived at the camp one after another.
Everyone entered the tent and had just sat down when a scout came to report that Changqing Ridge had been lost.
All the soldiers in the camp changed their expressions. They got up from their seats and gathered around the sand table to urgently discuss countermeasures.
In two hours, three cities were conquered. The distance between these three cities was huge, not to mention that we had to attack other cities in between. Even if we did nothing but rode on horseback, two hours wouldn't be enough, right
Could it be that Zhao Jingyu was leading heavenly soldiers and generals
"He should have divided his troops into several groups, and under the cover of night, they headed for the target city separately, catching us off guard. Plus, Luo Ping's army is an elite division, and each of them is worth ten. If they could create some false momentum in darkness, the deterrent effect should not be underestimated." A general analyzed.
"This tactic only worked in the first two rounds. After the cities got the news and understood what was going on, they knew how to defend themselves."
"Even so, they have already taken the lead. The battle between two armies is all about morale. With morale, they can fight with all their might..."
"General Liu, you are only encouraging others and destroying your own prestige by saying this!"
"I am telling the truth."
"Report!" A hoarse shout came from afar, interrupting the dispute in the tent. Everyone looked outside and saw a spy coming on horseback. As soon as he arrived outside the tent, the horse collapsed to the ground with foam at the mouth. The spy stumbled into the tent and knelt down to report, "Your Majesty, the Yunyang Army has already breached Yongjing Pass!"
(End of this chapter)