C85

Before Zhang Zhou could send out his letter for help, an urgent military message was sent from the northwest! A large number of troops from the Great Yan Mountain Pass appeared. Sima Guangye led the troops and left the pass. He had a confrontation with the enemy's vanguard and won a battle. The enemy temporarily retreated. However, according to the horse scout report, the Great Yan Prairie tribe had already gathered no less than a hundred thousand troops at the border region of the prairie two hundred miles northeast of the Great Yan Mountain Pass. His intention to take over Shardland was obvious! Sima Guangye didn't dare to act rashly, so he could only retreat to the Great Yan Mountain Pass, increase his guard, and report back to the imperial court that the situation in the northwest was urgent, and ask for reinforcements!

There had been no war in the Empire for twenty years, so the military situation naturally affected the nerves of countless people! After receiving the information, the emperor Zhao Qianyuan immediately issued an order for a meeting to be held the next day!

The attitude of the Tang Dynasty towards the invasion of foreign invaders was very uniform; it was the attitude of an absolute power! It was a 'battle'! However, on the question of who would lead the troops to battle, no one would stand up and suggest anything!

If there was a war in the Northwest, it must have been because the Sima family was in charge of fighting. Thus, they formed a habit of not participating in the military deployment of the Southlevel Prefecture, as long as it was not against the Tang Dynasty. But a while ago, the awkward and unhappy scene in the imperial court was still fresh in everyone's mind. After that incident, Sima Jingyan had been confined to the hospital, and now there was a war in the northwest …

Zhao Qianyuan's expression was extremely dark, especially when he looked at Ning Wang. The matter of Hu Xianwen committing suicide, and whether there was any trace of Ning Wang inside, Zhao Qianyuan did not want to investigate further, but he knew that he would not be so innocent. In the past, when Princess Linlang had helped Ning Wang, things had been better. Although the way she did things wasn't that exciting, it was still very stable! However, ever since Princess Linlang had opened her own residence, Zhao Qili, who had lost her elder sister's assistance, had her IQ plummeted. When he thought of the proposal he made that day, not only did it embarrass him, it even led to the current situation. He could not help but feel infuriated!

"Ning Wang, what do you think?"

"Father, child, child …"

"Speak!"

"This son feels, feels, that we should send out troops …"

"Oh? How can we send troops? "

"About this … about this, I don't really understand military affairs …"

"Don't understand? Weren't you able to explain it clearly a few days ago? Humph! He was simply a piece of trash! Get the hell out of here! If you remain in the Palace and meditate on the matter, you will be forbidden to take a step outside of the Palace without my order! "

Zhao Qingrui was about to say something, but seeing Zhao Qianyuan's furious expression, she hurriedly retreated out of the hall.

At this time, Lu Dai Wen, who was standing at the front of the group, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, this subject has some thoughts!"

Zhao Qianyuan calmed his mood and asked, "What is Dai Wen's suggestion?"

"Your Majesty, this subject believes that although the military newspaper has said that the Great Sea Prairie is full of menacing troops …" But my Great Tang Dynasty is in danger of the Great Yan Mountain Pass. In the past, hundreds of thousands of Western Tribes's militants were unable to cross even a single inch of the border. Therefore, there was no need for such complicated arrangements! We can send twenty to thirty thousand more troops from the Southwest Prefecture to the Great Yan Mountain Pass to ensure that there is no problem in the Southwest! "

The meaning of his words was, if it was a large-scale transfer, perhaps it would require Sima Jingyan's attitude, but the imperial court had decreed that twenty to thirty thousand soldiers would be mobilized. As the general of the Western Region, did he dare to disrespect the imperial edict?

Without waiting for Zhao Qianyuan to speak, General He Xiong, who was in the military general queue, seemed to be annoyed by what he heard. He stepped forward and said, "Defense? But what about Shardland? Can I just give it to Servant Hu for nothing? "

Lu Daiwen looked at He Xiong, smiled and said, "So, what do you think of this, General He?"

"Of course it is to send troops to the Great Sea! "It's only 100,000 Hu slaves, they can be destroyed in a single battle!"

Lu Daiwen looked at it. This idiot, who never had any brains, actually said in his heart, "Send troops?" Whose soldiers? Sima Jingyan? Could it be that he wanted His Majesty to plead with him? Even if they could get rid of the Sima family, the imperial government could still recruit an army of one hundred and two hundred thousand troops. However, the Northwest was desolate. Without the support of the Sima family, the empire would not be able to bear the burden! Besides, the imperial army had its own duties. The Northwest had always been the defence of the Sima family. If the Sima family didn't send troops, then what right did they have to send others to their deaths?! The key to solving this problem still depended on the Sima family's attitude! Right now, His Majesty's attitude is very clear. He doesn't want to compromise with Sima Jingyan!

Lu Daiwen was a bit too lazy to reply. He felt that saying even one extra word to this fellow was a waste!

However, Huo Xiaoyun couldn't help but speak out, "Your Majesty, I, along with the Prince Ping, have come to the Western Tribes to understand the situation in the Great Yan Mountain Pass. If the conscription of troops from other cities was done, not only would the journey be long and rough but it would also be difficult. It was just from the supplies alone that they would have to work very hard. Therefore, sending an army to explore the prairie was simply unrealistic! Also, this subject has fought with the knights of the prairie, so my strength cannot be underestimated! He absolutely could not let his guard down when dealing with a hundred thousand Hu slaves! "For you to be able to kill me in a single battle, you absolutely cannot believe this!"

He Xiong and Huo Xiaoyun were never on good terms with each other as they glared at each other.

"Huo Xiaoyun! He admitted he was incapable just because he had no ability! Why do you have to come up with so many excuses? "

Huo Xiaoyun smiled coldly and ignored him.

Li Ji, the official from the Ministry of Revenue, also spoke up, "Your Majesty, what General Huo has said is not false. Although Sai Prefecture has already belonged to our territory, it has not been cultivated yet.

The officials voiced their opinions, but they were generally in agreement. Although they could fight, they could not afford to send out large numbers of troops. After all, such a scale of war could affect the entire body at one go. Very few people could benefit from it! Tang was strong, but not strong enough to the point where he could not spend all his money!

How could Zhao Qianyuan not know about this? Although he also felt that Lu Daiwen's suggestion was more prudent, he couldn't let go of that thought in his heart! As the emperor of the empire, there were many things that could not be done by him. For the sake of considering the overall situation, he had to weigh the pros and cons again and again, and had no choice but to give up on a lot of personality. But he was truly unhappy about this Sima family!

The discussion among the officials quieted down as they waited for the king to make his final decision.

At this moment, the eunuch who was standing outside shouted loudly, "General Sima Jingyan of the West has come to pay his respects!"

Zhao Qianyuan's eyes lit up!

"Announce!"

He walked into the main hall extremely calmly and knelt down as he said, "Your Majesty, this old subject has heard that there is a Hanhai Hu Nu Kou in the northwest of here. His Majesty has trusted that the Sima family has been guarding the northwest for many years and has been through a lot of fortuitous encounters. Today is the day that the Sima family is going to repay the emperor's kindness. I humbly request that Your Majesty issue an order for the Sima Family to send troops to punish you, to share the worries for Your Majesty and for the Tang Family! "

The change in Sima Jingyan's attitude was unexpected, but such a big step was reasonable!

"Jingyan, please rise. I am very pleased that you are willing to share the nation's burdens! It's just that your body is unwell and your journey is difficult, so I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it? "

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty! This old official's body is fine! Besides, national affairs were important. The Sima Family had the responsibility to defend the Northwest! For a time when troops are needed, this old official shall feel guilty and uneasy for not letting this old official take the field at this time! "

"Jingyan!" With these words of yours! I am very comforted! "I will be relieved if you make a move!"

Zhao Qianyuan paused for a moment and continued, "Yes, the Sima family is very poor. In fact, it was not easy. This time, the Ministry of Revenue has set aside one million gold coins for the military!" Another promotion to Sima Jingyan as General Huwei! "Dispose of the war with Hanhai Servant Hu with full power!"

"This subject thanks the lord for his grace!" The always calm Sima Jingyan's words also contained traces of excitement.

Longwei and General Huwei had been empty for many years! Although it had no real power and was purely proof of honor and rank, in the entire Tang Dynasty, this military rank was worthy of its reputation. It was the second person in the military under the Dazhu Country! In other words, only with this rank would he be qualified to become the successor of Dazhu!

The praises from the entire dynasty were like a tide, and those that were more careful would notice that the corners of Sima Jingyan's mouth slightly curled upwards, and between his brows, they would notice an indiscernible complacency! In the Sima family's one hundred years, he was the first to be conferred the title of General Huwei!

With the timely appearance of Sima Jingyan, it seemed as if the Northwest Military Intelligence was easily resolved! Everyone was happy!

Zhao Qianyuan, who had withdrawn from the court, was the first to call for the head of the investigation department, Jiang Da. The investigation department was somewhat similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Ming dynasty, but whether it was in terms of authority, ability, reputation, or methods, they were all much weaker. Currently, in many of the Tang Province's prefectures, they were practically useless. Among them, the investigation department had a task that few people knew about, and it was to monitor the daily movements and interactions of fourth rank and above high-ranking officers. Although they did not necessarily know what was going on between the ministers, they still had to keep a normal record of what was going on.

Zhao Qianyuan really wanted to know why Sima Jingyan's attitude suddenly changed. Had he seen anyone before? Who on earth had convinced this extremely stubborn fellow? With his understanding of Sima Jingyan, it was impossible for him to have discovered this matter through his own conscience. He was absolutely an old fox who couldn't afford to take advantage of anything!

Jiang Da did not dare to hesitate and immediately went to investigate! Very soon, a record was sent to Zhao Qianyuan. When Zhao Qianyuan saw the name on the report, he couldn't help but frown. He was lost in thought! He then softly ordered, "Proclaim that Zhang Zhuo has entered the palace to see me!"

An Inferior Grade Four Martial General and an Inferior Grade Five Martial Officer did not have the qualifications to participate in the court's meeting, unless the Emperor authorized it! Zhang Zhou was naturally not qualified to be within that range!

However, he cared more about the situation in the northwest than anyone else. That was the source of his great wealth! I can't be in a mess in the Northwest, or all my plans will go down the drain!

He did not believe what the report said, because he had the information from Mei Changqing!

Mei Changqing's plans for Bei Yan progressed very slowly, but he managed to open up an extremely good trading road in the Great Prairie! The name of the Great Sea originated from the Great Sea Desert! The Great Tang, Meng Province was north of the Great Tang, and south of the prairie, the Great Gobi Desert had formed a huge, uninhabited area. This was also the main reason why the tribes of the Great Tang Dynasty were unable to head south and directly invade their land. Because of the Great Wall of Dragon State in the east, the Great Prairie tribe did not pose much of a threat to the Great Tang. It was just that in the recent years, a vacuum had appeared under the jurisdiction of the Western Tribes, giving them the chance to enter the Heaven Realm Mountain area.

In his report, Mei Changqing had clearly described the situation of the Great Sea Prairie. The Great Prairie was divided into three main areas of jurisdiction: the Eastern King's Court, the Western King's Court and the Hanhai Royal Court in the middle. There were hundreds of large and small nomadic tribes below. The Eastern King Courtyard was under the suppression of the Northern Yan Dynasty. Their days were not easy, and they were short on resources and living conditions! Because the Great Sea King's Courtyard had been torn to pieces, its power and influence had been greatly reduced. The splendor of the unified prairie had long since disappeared! Mei Changqing's main trading targets were the tribes that belonged to the Eastern King's Court and the Hanhai King's Court. According to the intel that Mei Changqing knew, the grassland was severely divided. Although it was divided into three big kingdoms, it was still a piece of loose sand! They had long since lost the valiant power of the hundreds of thousands of Steel Cavalry that almost captured the Northern Yan Royal Capital! Especially the western royal courtyard. Because it no longer had the threat of the Western Tribes, the internal strife for power had become even more intense in recent years. There were constant attacks between tribes, and the Hanhai Royal Court seemed to have taken advantage of this to enter the west!

Adding on the incident at the entrance of the Heaven Realm Valley and all the information the captives had told him, Zhang Zhou's deduction was that there was only one possibility for the so-called north-west emergency! It was Sima Guangye who was lying! There was no such thing as a huge army of 100,000 Hu slaves! If there really was a huge army of 100,000, then the emissary would be the first to go unify the Great Prairie. This was not only an iron law of the Great Prairie, but also most places! His family was not yet unified, so how could he have the time to boast elsewhere? The nomadic tribes also had their own homes. After all, it was impossible for them to bring their families out to war with the elders and their children. If they didn't get rid of the neighbor that was eyeing them like a tiger, no one would dare to go on a long journey to attack others! There was only one result of doing that, and that was that the ancestral tombs could be dug!

The reason why the Sima family lied was very simple. They wanted to dispel the ill intentions the government had towards their family! Without the threat of the Western Tribes and Slave Hu of the Great Sea Prairie eyeing him covetously, the strength of the Sima Family couldn't be reduced!

However, regardless of whether it was real or fake! As long as Sima Jingyan did not express his opinion, no matter how the imperial government dealt with this matter, the Northwest would use this as an excuse to lock down the Great Yan Mountain! To enter the Western Tribes from the northwest, this was the only path. This was absolutely fatal to Zhang Zhou's plans! Emperor Zhao Qianyuan and Sima Jingyan were not people who would lower their heads and compromise easily! He didn't care if the deities fought, but there was a conflict between the both of you, which resulted in the Great Swallow Mountain Pass being sealed off and caused you to directly grab your own throat! To the Sima family, locking down an entire goose for eight or ten years didn't matter much, but it was of great importance to Zhang Zhou. Even if it was only for one or two years, his Western Tribes strategy would be completely ruined!

When Zhang Zhou heard that Sima Jingyan was at home recuperating from his illness and hadn't even participated in the assembly, he knew that this matter wouldn't turn out well. The two sides were in a deadlock where neither side was willing to admit defeat! You guys can afford to fight, but I can't afford to delay any longer. So he decided to visit Sima Jingyan himself!