Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

82. Preparing for war.

The tall trees cover the morning clouds, and thousands of horses are roaring.

~

Not long ago, the old prince and the young prince came to the main hall with the left and right prime ministers. This time they specially called General Zhongwei. King Xilu understood immediately when he saw them.

"After all, General Chao Chao is a foreign queen. I don’t know how your majesty will reward him for this triumphant victory."The old prince went straight to the topic.

King Xilu looked ahead and thought, not knowing what to do at this moment.

"Your Majesty, having an army of 250,000 in his hands is indeed worrying."The Prime Minister looked worried.

"Your Majesty, General Chao Chao has always been arrogant and has long since ignored us veterans. I am afraid that in the future, he will only have His Majesty in his eyes, and it will be even more difficult for him to share the government."The left prime minister looked a little sad.

"It would be inappropriate to give General Chao Chao so much power all of a sudden."The little prince questioned in his tone.

Compared to their reaction, General Zhongwei was very calm. General Zhongwei is responsible for the internal stability of Xilu Kingdom and is directly under the orders of King Xilu. Xilu Kingdom has always been very stable. Usually, it can be done without being summoned by King Xilu. Before going to court, King Xilu saw General Zhongwei coming and asked:"General Zhongwei, what do you think?"

"This...this...this is, after all, a matter for the external vassal army. The final general is in charge of internal defense, so it is inconvenient to talk too much."General Zhongwei looked back at the old prince and the young prince.

"According to the decree, it may be inappropriate to withdraw the general who conquered the east. You have no joke."King Xilu was a little embarrassed. He felt that it was indeed a bit hasty before. There was a risk in handing over all 250,000 troops to him. After all, he was not a royal family. He was always the queen of a foreign race. Upon seeing this, the young prince went further and said:"Your Majesty, there are 250,000 elites. If there is a bad plan, the consequences will be disastrous. I am afraid that the Xilu Kingdom will also be in danger by then, and this is no longer just a matter for the foreign vassal army."

The left minister added:"Your Majesty, even if he occupied Dongfu Kingdom and settled there, there is nothing we can do for a while with 25 troops."

King Xilu knew that their concerns were indeed reasonable, but it was difficult to stop them in the face of the orders issued by the civil and military officials.

General Zhongwei noticed King Xilu's scruples:"Your Majesty, since you can't withdraw directly, I think you can send another one. The prince goes out on behalf of His Majesty to command the waterways, which can not only demonstrate the majesty of the royal family, but also remind the transcendent general that he is loyal to the royal family, so as to avoid being insecure in the future, and the prince can also gain experience."General Zhongwei.

King Xilu raised his eyebrows and said,"Very good. This can convince the public.""

"This is justifiable."Prime Minister

"It also avoids the monopoly of detached power."Prime Minister Zuo

"In this way, the court can rest assured."Little Prince

"So who is more appropriate to send?"King Xilu

"Your Majesty, it is more appropriate for the prince to go on an expedition. As the eldest son, he should lead by example."Little Prince

"I think the third prince is relatively calm and can better highlight the dignity of the Wang family."Old Prince

"The prince can better represent His Majesty, and this opportunity can also establish the prince's majesty and change his impression of being playful."The young prince.

The old prince has always felt that the prince is too playful:"Prince Shen Tan Ningxiang, war is not a child's play, in case something unexpected happens... The third prince is capable in doing things and has excellent martial arts, so he is more suitable."

"The late king also went on an expedition 60 years ago. With my powerful Xilu army here, nothing unexpected could happen, and all kings in the past have led troops."Little Prince

"Of course there is no danger with the Xilu Army escorting you. This time is different. I heard that the disaster in Dongfu Country has not ended yet. I am afraid that……"old prince

"Could it be that the third prince is not afraid?"Little Prince

……

"Okay, okay, General Zhongwei, what do you think?"King Xilu

"They are all princes. The prince has the dignity of the prince, and the third prince has the calmness of the third prince. You will decide who is suitable for your majesty."General Zhongwei

"The prince has been imprisoned for a year. I think his temperament has changed. I might as well practice it again. When is the best time to go to war?"King Xilu made the final decision

"The Zuo Fan army dispatched from the Luoba Kingdom needs to provide food and grass from the Luoba Kingdom. However, the Luoba Kingdom claims that it does not have so much reserve food and grass at the moment. In the past, most of the food and grass was purchased from the Dongfu Kingdom. Now the Blue Lake is implemented against the Dongfu Kingdom. Ban, they said they would have to wait until new grains came down before they would have enough grains."Little Prince

"How could this happen? If there was no war, wouldn't there be enough food and grass on weekdays?"King Xilu

"I don’t know that Luoba Kingdom has never been short of food and grass for my camp in the past."Little Prince

"What about Da Ying? Is this true too?"King Xilu

"Your Majesty, there is no problem in the supply of food and fodder for the Youfan army from the Kingdom of Ying, and it can be provided immediately."Old Prince

"What about ships?"

"Your Majesty, even if we have enough food and grass to transport hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the Blue Lake, there are not enough ships. It will take time to recruit and renovate fishing boats."Prime Minister

"Well, it doesn't matter if it's the autumn harvest time. When the fruits are ripe in autumn, it's the time to pick them. It's also the busiest time in Dongfu Country. It doesn't hurt to wait for the autumn harvest to go on the expedition."King Xilu

~

After learning the news that the prince was leading the army on the expedition, the third prince was very unconvinced. Seeing the usually steady third prince rushing in angrily, Concubine Yi was very worried:"Prince, what happened? Are you so angry?"

"Mother, my father actually asked the prince to go on an expedition. I don’t know what my father was thinking. Is he an old fool?"

Upon seeing this, Concubine Yi immediately pushed away the people around her and scolded:"Don't talk nonsense, the prince must be the eldest son."

"What can he do? He only knows how to eat, drink, have fun, and go to Pingkangfang to find women. Sooner or later, the Xilu Kingdom will be destroyed in his hands. Concubine Yi walked to the third prince and said,"He can't do anything. The Xilu army is so powerful, and General Chao Chao is here. There are two princes and left and right prime ministers in the Xilu country. He doesn't need to do anything. You His father wanted him to earn some capital in the army to prepare for the future. When he came back, his status in the court was completely different."

"Mother, is there any way to prevent him from going?"

Concubine Yi looked at her son with sadness and helplessness:"This is your Majesty's order.Zhongweiniang knows that you are the most suitable person, and she has worked hard these years, but the harem is not convenient for political affairs, let alone the queen. What can we do? The third prince pondered for a moment and said to himself secretly and naturally:"We can't let him go, he can't go.""

Concubine Yi was silent, thinking of ways to

~

He was originally in charge of the two vassal armies, but the court suddenly assigned part of the military power to the prince. Chao Ran had no title of general, which caused dissatisfaction among the officers and soldiers of the right vassal army, especially those who followed Chao Ran.

"The general was born and died for the imperial court, but the imperial court was so unfair to the general."A follower behind complained.

"He is a prince, and he is lucky enough to be born in the royal family. In fact, he is just a loser and knows nothing about fighting." said another attendant

"The prince is just going to show off. Our 100,000 Youfan army is enough. Everyone knows who is really fighting the battle. When he returns from the victory, the general will marry Princess Baiyun and become the consort, and he will soon be on an equal footing with the princes. Now, those of us who are subordinates will be more dignified."A third person said

"The young prince has never fought in a big battle, and actually does not know how to fight. The old prince has passed his seventies and has long been indifferent to what happens on the battlefield. Only the general can handle this expedition."The first follower

"The old prince is getting older, his courage is getting weaker and weaker, his mind is unclear, and now he is getting in the way."The second follower

"What are you talking about?"General Xiao couldn't stand listening anymore and turned around to scold him.

When Chao Ran and his party came to check on the combat readiness, the soldiers were in a mood and complained all the way, complaining for General Chao Ran. It wasn't until they mentioned that the old prince was in the way that General Xiao interrupted, Chao Chao He and General Xiao stopped, and the three attendants realized that talking about the old prince was a bit disrespectful, and immediately begged for mercy:

"General, forgive me"

"General, forgive me"

"General, forgive me."

After looking at the follower for a moment, he said:"It's all the truth, what's the crime?"

After checking, General Xiao suddenly said when he came back:"General, when General Mo was talking about the Dongfu Army with the Minister of the Ministry of War a few days ago, he asked about the Daozhi who got rid of the former Minister of the Ministry of War. He said that that person had some skills. Jiang asked him where he came from, but he didn't know. He seemed to have suddenly appeared from Tianpu Club three years ago. King Dongfu trusted him very much. I was thinking……"

"Say whatever you want."Detachment stopped.

"Just now they said that the young prince didn't know how to fight, which reminded the general of the general in blue in Zuo Fan's army, who happened to also die three years ago."

Chao Ran looked doubtful and thoughtful, and the followers behind him turned their eyes to General Chao Ran.

One of the followers said:"Although we found the body, the body was completely disfigured after being eaten by fish."

Chaoran looked back at his entourage, then looked at General Xiao:"Go and call the Minister of the Ministry of Finance."

After General Chao Chao's interrogation, they were similar in height, but clean and beardless, thin, and frail and scholarly. They were completely different from the burly General in blue, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and beard. Judging from the appearance description, they should not be the same person. Chao Chao thought of Those strange dreams during this period made me more and more suspicious.

After the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance left, Chao Ran suddenly became anxious. He walked around and said to himself:"Impossible, he fell into the cliff with several arrows in his body. Impossible to still be alive……"

Another follower said:"According to legend, the water of the Blue Lake can resurrect people with the Yang Qi. Is it possible that he can be resurrected?"

Chao Ran also heard about it, and after a while he said to himself:"Even if he is still alive , the Youfan army can also conquer Dongfuguo, 100,000 Youfan troops are enough, well, enough... It came out three years ago, three years, three years……"

I thought about it aloofly and thought about Princess Baiyun.