Chapter 41: Undercurrents

  The New Year is approaching, and Dingzhou, which has been in a state of panic for several months, can finally take a breather. The people are busy preparing for the New Year's celebrations, and the refugees in the city have mostly dispersed, returning to their long-abandoned homes. The four military fortresses on the border have also been rebuilt, and the troops have moved in. Although they are no longer as majestic and solid as before, the flag of Great Chu still flies above them, giving the people on the border another reason to live in peace and prosperity.

  But in the Dingzhou military commander's mansion, Xiao Yuanshan did not have a festive mood at all. Although this pass was unexpectedly crossed due to the union with the Li family, would there be such good luck next time? Xiao Yuanshan didn't think so. He wasn't a simple martial artist. These days he had been thinking about a question: why did such a problem arise? Why would Ma Mingyuan, who usually seemed very obedient and loyal, abandon his orders at critical moments and act on his own?

  After so many days, he finally figured it out. Military power was the key. Because Ma Mingyuan had independent military power, he could completely control the three battalions of soldiers and horses under his command. These three battalions were not so much part of the Dingzhou army as they were the Ma family army. Ma Mingyuan had spent many years cultivating the Left Wing, turning it into his own private property.

  Xiao Yuanshan was vigilant and alert, wondering if there would be a second Ma Mingyuan. He couldn't help but think about it. The Central Association didn't need to be worried about, as it was under his direct control, and the Central Association's Dai Che was even more trustworthy, he wouldn't betray himself, but what about Lyu Dalin of the Right Association? Xiao Yuanshan had to treat this matter with caution.

  Lv Dalin is a good general, not only brave but also wise. He does things calmly and has a mind of his own. He is a fierce general that I admire very much. Currently, the Dingzhou army has three brigades, but only his right brigade remained intact in this big battle because it was left to guard. Its strength has not been damaged at all, and its combat power is now the best in the whole army. On the other hand, the left brigade was almost completely destroyed, and the newly rebuilt three battalions are basically new recruits, whose combat effectiveness can be temporarily ignored. It's already a blessing if they can form a combat force before the barbarians attack again next autumn. The middle brigade directly under my control also suffered heavy losses and has been supplemented with a large number of new recruits. Compared to Lv Dalin's right brigade, it is not on the same level at all. This is also why I assigned Lv Dalin's right brigade to defend the four military fortresses at that time, because I need this old army to stabilize the morale of the troops and resist the second wave of barbarian attacks that may come at any time.

  Lü Dalin has also been in the Right Guard for five years, and when he reorganized the Dingzhou Army, he was already in the position of the Right Guard. Over the years, Ma Ningyuan was able to grasp the Left Guard firmly in his hand, so with Lü Dalin's cunning and skill, how could he not have a firm grip on the Right Guard?

  No, this situation must be changed. The Dingzhou army can only have one master, that is oneself. One must be able to command it at will, and cannot again appear as it did this time with its duplicity. Otherwise, disaster will certainly come to visit oneself once more.

  "Minister Shen, I intend to reform our military system!" Xiao Yuanshan said resolutely to his chief of staff, Shen Mingchen.

  After listening to Xiao Yuanshan's idea, Shen Mingshen said with some worry: "General, at present, such a large movement may not be beneficial to the military morale." He saw at a glance that the military reform proposed by the general was clearly aimed at Lü Dalin, and now Lü Dalin was the most powerful figure in Dingzhou Army.

  "Lü Pi'an will be afraid of nothing but dissatisfaction!"

  Xiao Yuanshan smiled and said: "Ming Chen, you say if I do this, what will Lv Dalin do? Will he lead his troops to rebel against me?"

  Shen Mingchen shook his head, "It's not that serious, but privately they will definitely be dissatisfied, and this way, the morale of the Righteous Alliance Army will be unstable, and there may be chaos!"

  Xiao Yuanshan said decisively, "It's precisely because of this that I chose to make my move at this time. As the New Year approaches, the soldiers' minds are easily distracted. I've given them a generous military allowance and rewarded them handsomely. This year's New Year festival will see me doubling their rewards, and I'll personally go to the right camp to distribute the rewards to the soldiers, letting them know whose money they're taking and who they should be working for."

  "While the barbarians will not come again until next autumn, when their horses are fat and strong, there is almost a year's time to settle even the biggest problems."

  Xiao Yuanshan said coldly, "Moreover, I won't treat Lv Can unfairly. I will transfer him to the military headquarters and promote him to deputy general. His younger brother, Lv Dabing, has already been made a participating general of the Xuanfeng Camp. What can he be dissatisfied with?"

  Shen Mingchen nodded and said, "In that case, Fang Wan will not make any mistakes. Even if Lv Can is dissatisfied, he can tolerate it for the sake of promotion and won't mind. However, General, Lv Can is a rare talent, you should still try to appease him more."

  Xiao Yuanshan nodded and said, "That's natural, he arrived at the Military Commander's Mansion, how could I have waited for him?"

  "This time the general made a big move, changing the military system, abolishing the three cooperatives, and having the general directly control each battalion. This is certainly a good way to make the army more loyal to you, but I don't know if it will cause trouble for the Ministry of War or the imperial court."

  Xiao Yuanshan coldly smiled and said, "Firstly, this is just an internal move, we won't make it public. Secondly, even if they find out, we can say that we drew some conclusions from our previous defeat and are testing them in Dingzhou. The heavens are high and the emperor is far away, they wouldn't bother with such a small matter."

  "What's going on with the personnel of each camp? Can the general make a plan?" Shen Mingchen asked.

  "Just as I was about to discuss this with you, the commander of each camp must have ability and also be completely loyal to me, which is quite a headache." said Xiao Yuanshan.

  At the time of Xiao Yuanshan's major military operation, Baiyal, the Great Khan of the Menggu tribe in Saiwai Longcheng, was also having a severe headache. The entire Angu tribe had been annihilated, and it happened on the Mulan Festival where all the tribes gathered to celebrate their victory over the Dingzhou army. Although the Angu tribe was small, they were loyal and had always followed him. Suddenly being exterminated, he was naturally furious, but what was strange was that not a single clue could be found, and everyone present was killed clean. Now the old chief of the Angu tribe, Wanyan Buluo, and his son Wanyan Jitai come to cry and complain to him every other day, making him truly worried and anxious.

  The destruction of the Anguo tribe is not a big deal, with only over 10,000 people and 2,000 warriors on both sides. Moreover, there were still over 1,000 elite troops who escaped this disaster because they were brought by Wanyan Nuru. However, the shock caused by this incident on the grasslands was not trivial. All tribes of similar size to Anguo were in a state of panic and secretly discussed it among themselves, guessing who had destroyed Anguo.

  The five major tribes of the barbarians are mainly yellow, white, cyan, blue and red. The strength of the five tribes is not much different. Over the years, the grasslands have basically been dominated by these five tribes. In recent decades, they have always regarded their own White Tribe as superior, and they have led them to a series of military victories against the Great Chu, successfully suppressing the Dingzhou Army of the Great Chu, forcing them to remain on the defensive, while allowing themselves to take what they want at will. And when their momentum was at its peak, something unexpected happened, which cannot help but make him furious.

  Bayar's first reaction was that this matter was one of the four departments of Huang Qinglan Hong, either cutting off his own wings or plundering An Gu's wealth, but who was it after all? He couldn't make a rash judgment.

  Baiyar's ambition was not small, his long-held dream had been to establish a grassland empire, unify the grasslands, and bring all tribes under his own banner. Only in this way could he contend with his neighbor, the Great Chu, for a long time. Now was the perfect opportunity, as the Great Chu had been established for a long time, with warlords rising up everywhere, and various aristocratic families accumulating vast wealth, secretly disobeying the imperial court, forming de facto separatist regimes. This was the best time for Baiyar to accumulate his own strength. If he unified the grasslands, his power would be beyond comparison with what it was now. Not only could he defeat the Xiongnu tribes that had been harassing the grasslands in the west, but even marching east into the Great Chu and exploring its prosperous lands was not impossible. If he missed this opportunity and allowed the giant beside him to awaken and revive, Baiyar knew that the various tribes of the grasslands would be unable to contend with him.

  The more it is so, the more he hesitates. If he acts rashly and causes internal strife, all his efforts over the years will be in vain.

  "Ah, Father, today's weather is really great, it's not easy to see the sun, why are you frowning instead?" A silvery voice came, without turning around, Bayar knew it was his little daughter, Prairie Pearl Nafu.

  Putting away his worried look, Bayar turned around and smiled: "My clever and beautiful little daughter Nava, how come you have time to visit your old father today? In this weather, at this hour, you should be hunting and dancing with those strong and brave young men. How did you end up here?"

  Nafu hummed, "Father, being with them is so boring. When we race horses, they deliberately lose to me. When we go hunting, they drive the prey right in front of me. There's no sense of accomplishment at all. It's better to come here and talk to Father!"

  Bayar smiled, knowing that his pearl had now become the object of pursuit for the brave and strong men on the grassland. However, based on his understanding of Nafu, these warriors were using the wrong methods, as Nafu was a girl with her own thoughts and ideas.

  "Uncle, are you still worried about the Wanyan family's affairs? I saw Wan Yanlu and his son when I came in." Nafu asked softly, sitting cross-legged beside Bayar.

  Bayar knew he couldn't deceive his clever daughter, so he sighed and said: "This matter is really embarrassing. Father doesn't know how to explain it to the two of them. As long as we can't find the murderer, it's like a sharp sword hanging over our prairie tribes, threatening us with disaster at any moment. Some small tribes are already unstable, fearing they'll become the second Angkor!"

  Nan Fu curled her lip and said: "Father, what's difficult about this? This thing doesn't even need to be thought about, of course it was done by the Dingzhou army."

  Bayar was startled, "Nafu, how can you be so sure? Have you got some clue?"

  Nanfu lazily smiled, waving the golden and jade-inlaid whip in her hand, saying: "What clues could I have that Father doesn't? This matter wasn't done by the Dingzhou army, but they did it. Father, you should gather all the troops and declare that you've found the true culprit. When next year's fine horses are strong, we'll send out troops to avenge the An Bone tribe!" The whip cracked loudly in the air.

  Baiyar was taken aback, and suddenly came to his senses. Yes, since the real culprit couldn't be found, it wouldn't hurt to frame Dingzhou Army for it. After all, the two families were sworn enemies, and even if Dingzhou Army was wrongly accused, they had no place to reason with. But Baiyar could take this opportunity to unite the various tribes of the grasslands, and next year, lead another expedition to invade and plunder Dingzhou. With a series of victories, he could solidify White Tribe's position on the grasslands, laying a good foundation for himself to unify all the tribes.

  "Haha, my good daughter, you are indeed a wake-up call to the dreamer. Yes, this is certainly the doing of the Dingzhou army." Bayar laughed loudly.

  Nanfang swung her whip and stood up, "Father, come with me to go hunting."

  Bayar stood up excitedly, "Alright, Father will accompany you to have a great time today. Let's go hunting."