Departure (3)

  134. Expedition (3)

  Outside the city of Xinyang, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were staring at the distant city in the distance. That city was more attractive and meaningful than just a small border town. There were countless grains and military supplies there, the prosperity and prosperity of the largest city in the northwest, where they would take their first step in conquering the Great Chu. In the main tent, the King of Zhen Nan, who was nearly fifty years old, sat at his desk, holding a letter that had just been handed to him by his subordinate, reading it for a while before suddenly bursting out laughing. The generals below looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what made the king so happy. When he finished laughing, he shouted: "Mo Liu Fang! You also have today! If you were still alive or saw that the Dingguo King's mansion had reached this point, would you regret it?!"

  The various generals exchanged a glance, and one of them stepped forward and asked: "Your Highness, is there some good news?"

  The King of Zhen Nan handed over the letter with a smile, saying: "The Wang Fu of Ding Guo is indeed without successors, and it's actually controlled by a woman!" The generals who saw the letter also had a strange expression on their faces, saying: "Nan Hou, Deputy Commander, Ding Guo Wang Fei supervising the army? What does this mean for East Chu?" Zhen Nan Wang snorted and said: "It can't be helped. I've heard of Nan Hou before, he's always been neutral and doesn't ask about worldly affairs. It's okay to be a general, but leading the Mo Jia army is not his expertise. Moreover, the military power of the Mo Jia army is not that easy to take."

  "Isn't it now that the Mo family army is in the hands of King Ding's queen?" The general exclaimed.

  The King of Zhen Nan nodded, smiling thoughtfully: "That's right, Mo Xiu Yao is still in Bei Rong and can't come back. The Ding Guo Wang Fu has no one who can lead the army to conquer, and now the military power has fallen into the hands of a 16- or 17-year-old yellow-haired girl." The generals under the account couldn't help but get excited, whispering to each other for a while, someone stepped forward and said: "Since that's the case, Your Majesty, we might as well take this opportunity to clean up the Mo family army. And avoid them joining forces with Ding Wang again to bring trouble to our expedition to Eastern Chu!" The King of Zhen Nan slightly narrowed his eyes, his right hand casually stroking the empty left sleeve: "Although I want to fight against Mo Xiu Yao, however... as a general, one must not engage in petty squabbles. This time is indeed the best opportunity given by heaven to our army. If we can destroy this large army, the Ding Guo Wang Fu will no longer be able to rise!"

  "We await Your Highness's orders!" everyone chorused, the idea of destroying the Dingguo King's manor causing a subtle stir in each person's heart.

  King Zhen Nan nodded in satisfaction, "Very good, intensify the attack on Xinyang, we must capture Xinyang City within three days! Then head to Jiangxia and wipe out the Mo family army!"

  "Roger!"

  "Report to the princess, a letter has arrived for number two." In the Mo family military camp, Ye Li was sitting in the main tent discussing matters with Nan Hou and others while the whole army was stationed. Zhuo Jing walked in holding an envelope, Ye Li didn't even lift his head, saying in a light tone: "Translate it for me." Zhuo Jing nodded and went to the desk at the corner of the main tent to translate the letter. Ye Li continued to say to Nan Hou: "At least seven more days are needed before we can arrive at Jiang Xia, Lord Hou's suggestion to speed up the march is likely to be somewhat difficult."

  Nan Hou frowned and said: "What's going on? The Mohist army has always been known for its speed. I remember the fastest time, they once marched several hundred miles in a day..."

  Ye Li shook her head and said, "Duke Hou, that is a small team. We have nearly three million troops, and the journey that should take ten days has been compressed to five days. Do you think that even if we really arrive at the border, these three million soldiers will still have the strength to fight? I'm afraid the people of Xiling won't give us time to repair either. As soon as we arrive in Jiangxia to welcome us, it can only be a fierce battle."

  Duke Nan let out a heavy sigh and said, "What the princess says, I naturally know, but I am really worried about Xinyang..."

  Ye Li shook her head and whispered, "Xinyang cannot be kept. With your ability, Duke Hou, how many days can you defend Xinyang City?"

  Duke Nan thought for a moment and said, "Xinyang City is not lacking in military supplies. If it were me, I could defend it for a month."

  Ye Li said: "General Leng can hold on for half a month, Master Hou, count the days until today. Even if we grew wings, we wouldn't be able to reach Xinyang City in time. Moreover, Xinyang City is not lacking anything, what it lacks is water!"

  Everyone's face changed slightly, if it was said that the grain was lacking, they could still barely hold on for some time. But if there was a lack of water, then there really wasn't much to say. And coincidentally, Xinyang is located in the northwest, where the water source was originally scarce. After being besieged by Xiling, the lack of water was almost inevitable.

  "If we hurry a bit more, Lord Zhen Nan will definitely be waiting for us in Jiang Xia." Ye Li sighed.

  Mu Yang furrowed his brow and asked, "What if Jiang Xia is also breached?"

  Lv Jin Xian raised his sword-shaped eyebrows and said, "Marquis Mu can rest assured that although General Yuan Pei's troops under the Jiangxia garrison are only a few tens of thousands, Jiangxia is completely different from Xinyang. Guarding it for ten days or half a month will not be a problem at all. Even if the King of Southern Chu really sends his army to attack, as long as there is one soldier left in Jiangxia, he will never let the people of Western Hills set foot in it!" Upon hearing this, both Nan Hou and Mu Yang's faces flushed with heat. The Mo family's military had been guarding the border for over a hundred years and had never allowed enemy countries to enter the territory of Great Chu. But now, because the Emperor was wary of the Ding Wang Fu and had put the Mo family's generals on idle duty, less than a month into the war, the Western Hills' army had already taken down several cities and advanced three or four hundred miles forward.

  Duke Nan nodded and said, "As long as the princess has a plan in mind, it's all good."

  Ye Li smiled shallowly: "This princess knows that the marquis is also worried about the war. The marquis can rest assured, General Sun Yan has already sent Hei Yun Qi to rush overnight and head to Jiang Xia first."

  "Princess." On the other side, Zhuo Jing had already translated the letter and walked over to hand it to Ye Li. Ye Li looked down at it for a while, furrowed her brow, and handed the letter to Nan Hou: "How do you think the various generals will view this, Your Excellency?"

  Nan Hou took a glance, looking surprised at Zhuo Jing who was standing beside Ye Li with a calm expression. He furrowed his brow and said: "The King of Zhen Nan suddenly accelerated the attack speed, could it be that he wants to take down Jiang Xia before we arrive? No! Your Highness, something is not right!" Lü Jin Xian and Feng Zhi Yao saw Nan Hou's change in expression and hastily took over the letter, not bothering with precedence as they read together. The more they read, the deeper their frowns became. The King of Zhen Nan was launching a fierce attack on Xin Yang on one hand, while on the other hand, he was detouring with his troops... Even the Southern Route Army, which was not far from them, had also split off a team to head north...

  "Queen..." Feng Zhiyao frowned.

  Nan Hou said in a low voice: "The King of Zhen Nan is launching a fierce attack on Xinyang, while also dividing his troops to take a detour, I'm afraid he wants to cut off General Yuan's retreat."

  Ye Li's eyebrows were deeply furrowed, and after a long time, she said, "Bring the map over." At this moment, the disadvantage of poor communication was revealed. No matter what they analyzed now, they could not immediately convey it to the commanders on the front line. They could only hope that the frontline commanders would also see through the opponent's intentions and make the necessary responses. Fortunately, this disadvantage often existed on both sides.

  Zhuo Jing turned around and took out a folded paper from behind him, slowly unfolding it to reveal winding lines indicating mountains, rivers, and streams. The border of Da Chu was clear from south to north. Ye Li picked up the pen on the table and marked the marching routes of the Xiling troops mentioned in the letter. Frowning, he looked up and asked, "Has the detailed map of the northwest been sent back?" Zhuo Jing turned around and took out another one, saying, "It arrived this morning, I was just about to show it to the princess." Ye Li spread out the map on the table, saying, "What's the use of showing me? I've never been to the northwest either. Lord Hou, General Lü, take a look."

  Everyone was already curious about the map in front of them, and after hearing Ye Li's words, they immediately gathered around. On the table were two maps of roughly the same size, one of which was obviously a map of all the border areas on the west side of Da Chu, while the other was much more detailed, but only had this northwest block. It was something they had never seen before, and Lv Jin Xian praised: "Good stuff, I was stationed at the northwest border at the age of 20. Even after nearly 20 years, I don't dare say that I can be clearer than what's on this map." Nan Hou nodded, pointing to a certain place on the map: "General Lv is right, I also went to the northwest several times back then, and the princess's map... is very detailed."

  Ye Li smiled in satisfaction, can't you be more detailed? This batch of people who have just been trained are all sent out, plus the original various maps, if they still don't know the northwest, it's as if they learned nothing.

  Ye Li stared at the two maps for a long time, picked up her pen and drew a heavy line on a certain place on the map, saying in a low voice: "Immediately pass the order to the troops in the south, all the troops near Xiling South Road will gather west. Intercept the troops split out by the Southern Route Army!"

  Zhuo Jing nodded in response, Ye Li raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before smiling faintly. She lowered her head, pulled out a piece of paper, wrote down a line of characters on it, and handed it to Zhuo Jing, asking: "Where is Qin Feng?"

  Zhuo Jing lowered his head and thought for a moment, saying: "Near Lingguan, they should be preparing to head north to meet up with us." Ye Li looked down at the location of Lingguan and said: "Let him not have to come back, this is for him, next step plan."

  Zhuo Jing put away the note and walked out without even looking at it.

  "What plan does the princess have?" Mu Yang asked with raised eyebrows.

  "It's not really a plan, just making some arrangements in advance. Just in case."

  She knew she didn't mean to say it, but Mu Yang just gave her a complicated look and didn't pursue the matter. The Mo family army had been following the orders of the Dingguo King's mansion for a hundred years, and in recent years, they had no good feelings towards the emperor. This emperor who was sent by the imperial court to his home was naturally an awkward identity, fortunately Mu Yang himself was also a very interesting person.

  Nan Hou glanced at Ye Li, then at Mu Yang, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents between them. He stroked his beard and chuckled: "It's good that the princess has a plan. We're hundreds of miles away now, so it's pointless to try to do anything. Let's hurry up and support the battlefield instead." Ye Li and Mu Yang both nodded in agreement. Nan Hou smiled and continued discussing with Ye Li for a while before getting up to bid farewell and return to his own quarters to rest. After Nan Hou left, Mu Yang also got up to bid farewell, even though he had wanted to stay behind and continue listening to the conversation.