Realm of Power

In Xinjing, Central Asia, ever since the Aden Army marched north, the atmosphere in the streets has become more subtle. The latest news about the Aden Army marching north will always be sent here as soon as possible.

"The people of Aden should not be able to defeat the empire, but the 200,000 Aden army is probably enough to give the empire a drink." "Why hasn't today's news come yet? It's really annoying to wait."

The court officials, the streets, and the small households all have their eyes wide open, waiting for the latest news. Every day, they are like waiting for a big show to start on time. This mentality comes from the self-confidence of the Central Bian people. What about the superior wisdom and the most powerful empire in the world? The ferocious 200,000 Aden army is nothing more than that. In Central Asia, the people In the eyes, they are all Western barbarians who only know how to kill people. In the deliberate propaganda of the Central and Asian courts, these Western barbarians are all powerful but lack a string in their brains. If they are given a little benefit, they can attract people. They kill each other. If it comes down to playing tricks and using tricks, just finding a Central Asian is enough to turn these Western barbarians around. "These Western Barbarians are stupid. The court only used one Luzhou in exchange for 200,000 Aden troops to go north and fight to the death with the Empire. They only need to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and they can easily wait for the exhaustion of the two Western Barbarians. At the end, the final result will be included in the bag" "If all the Western barbarians have heads, what will happen to this world!" The two-story restaurant next to the road on one side was already densely packed with people early in the morning, all craning their necks to watch as they passed by the restaurant. The pipeline in the city, messengers will pass through here every day. I don’t know that Du Shaoren is waiting for the news about Aden’s northward movement, even from the south. The news about Luzhou is rarely mentioned. The imperial court has mobilized an army of 100,000 to encircle Luzhou. The Lu family, whose vitality is severely damaged, can do nothing but surrender. How can there be a collision between the 200,000 Aden Army and the 200,000 Imperial Army in front of them? When it comes to the excitement, it is more attractive. It is best for both parties to work hard. The market is so crowded and there are all kinds of strange things.

Yu Fenglong, the Prime Minister of China and Bibia, walked into the court hall and immediately attracted everyone's attention. All the voices discussing in low voices suddenly fell silent. Yesterday, it was reported that 40,000 Aden forwards had entered Huizhou. The war was about to break out. Now One day has passed, and the news of the collision between the Aden people and the imperial army in Huizhou should come. Once The two major countries are fighting in Huizhou, which is definitely a good thing for the Central and Asian courts. If the Aden Army is defeated, it will be a disaster. If the Empire is defeated, the Aden Army will inevitably continue to cross the river northward and enter the Imperial Capital. After all, the Aden Army came from afar. Even if it could enter the Imperial Capital area, how long could it last? For the people of Aden, the Imperial Capital is no different from Luzhou. They are both targets of robbery. However, for Zhongbia, if the Imperial Capital area can be redeemed from the Aden people like Luzhou, it will eventually be restored to the original prosperity of Zhongbia. There is hope in the period. "It won't cost a single soldier. If we can get the Imperial Capital back, it will be so worth it!" "The empire will be resurrected, and our hope for the rejuvenation of China and Bia will depend on this time!"

Everyone who is qualified to participate in the distribution of benefits is secretly watching. Run around each other privately to unite. There are still some people who are gearing up to discuss how to divide the big cake after taking back the Imperial Capital from the Aden people. No one has thought about what would happen if the Aden people did not move north, but suddenly turned to the new capital of Central Asia. The Aden Army's northward march was personally led by Yu Fenglong, the prime minister of the court. Everyone from top to bottom was applauding, "Prime Minister Long, is there any latest progress in the war between the Aden people and the empire in Huizhou?"

The Emperor of Zhongbia looked at Yu Fenglong sharply, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone. You can weaken the local power, and you can control the financial power of the court, but the entire court is now almost paralyzed. We have to come up with a solution. How long will this mess last? "There is no news yet, but the empire's troops in Huizhou have begun to move. After all, there are 200,000 people in Aden, and with the momentum accumulated all the way north, the empire does not dare to go to war easily. It should be in the next few days. There will be new news!" Under the emperor's gaze, Yu Fenglong said calmly,

Only he knew that the news from Huizhou was cut off. According to the order, the Huizhou Military News was originally reported twice a day. The last one he received was the one from one day ago, which was the one that the Aden Army decided to leave Lichuan and march north. The reason why he joined the Imperial Army The meeting was late because he had been waiting for the latest report, but the report, which was usually delivered in the early morning, was nowhere to be seen until he had to come to attend the imperial meeting.

If he doesn't come again, I'm afraid the whole court will smell something bad.

"It's been a day, why is there no news? It couldn't be some accident!" The emperor took a deep breath, his face gloomy. Although he hated the people of Aden, he firmly supported this northward march. Yes, because the Aden people's northward movement has really brought many benefits to Central Asia, and it is even more beneficial to him. It was an excellent opportunity to take back the royal power. Facts have proved that this is correct. The Lu family, the head of the local forces, suffered heavy losses and may not be able to do anything within ten years. This greatly boosted the morale of the central court and the arrogance of the local forces. , and along the way northward, more than 300 aristocratic families were raided by the Aden army, and they suddenly calmed down.

Even the famous Icheon clan, which was once known as one-third of the court, and was known as the most powerful local power in the court, was uprooted this time, and its momentum plummeted, completely declining. The ministers who came from local factions were already in despair. Several ministers from local factions who had gathered together reported illness and did not attend the imperial meeting. Even the officials in the military cabinet reported illness within one day. This also allowed many powers that had been divided from the emperor's hands to be taken back again.

But it is not entirely pros and cons. For example, the current chaotic situation in the court is that the collective strike of ministers from local factions has caused the court to be almost paralyzed. Even the imminent Luzhou rebellion has previously announced an order to mobilize a hundred thousand troops to encircle and suppress Luzhou. , are still kept on the desks of the heads of the military cabinet, because officials The work was so difficult that the order could not be issued. Faced with this kind of thing, even Tang Yu, the head of the military department, was powerless. Going out for a large army was not a matter of a word. It involved a lot of logistics deployment, army assembly, and even the weather turned cold. , If we don’t distribute the supplies for this year’s winter, are we going to let a hundred thousand troops go to Luzhou to drink from the northwest wind?

"Your Majesty, don't worry. This time the Aden Army marches north, and the 30,000-strong army that flatters the military leader Chen Dongyang is following them all the way to ensure that there will be no deviation. At this moment, Chen Dongyang is stationed in Lingcheng to the west of Lichuan and keeps an eye on it. As long as the Aden people If there is any trouble, we will report it immediately." Yu Fenglong's decisive voice echoed in the hall, "That's good!"

The emperor finally showed a relaxed look on his face

To be honest, he is also afraid of the 200,000 Aden army marching north. That is an army of 200,000 people, not 200,000 dogs. Once the Aden people stay and don't leave, they will just reach out to China and ask for money. How long can a nearly bankrupt Sino-Biya court hold on if it needs food? The money used to redeem Luzhou to buy grain this time was borrowed by Yu Fenglong from the royal family's private treasury in the name of the court. He originally hoped that after taking back Luzhou, he could collect the imperial tax collected in the south. Unexpectedly, Lu The family actually staged a counterattack. Not only did they reoccupy Luzhou, but they also deducted part of the southern imperial tax that had been shipped to Luzhou!

Now the emperor can only rely on the 100,000 troops to set off as soon as possible to open the road to Luzhou and break this unsolvable deadlock.

But when it comes to sending out armies, it's not easy, as long as we start the war. This cost is astronomical. Not only the supplies required by the army, but also the settling-in allowance distributed to the soldiers before departure are enough to consume more than half of the royal family's private treasury. Since returning to Xinjing, the Emperor of Zhongbia ordered the establishment of The private treasury is the result of the royal family using its power to plunder and rob various places, commercial trade, and the proceeds from the sale of some of the royal family’s treasures. The number is also astonishing. The Xiao and Wei families, two major business alliance forces that were uprooted by the empire on Dijing West Road some time ago, are behind the Xiao family. The Zhongbia royal family is said to have been greatly impacted by the empire's business model. The Zhongbia emperor was also secretly following suit, but the huge deficit caused by the Zhongbia court in the past few years was far from being filled. Relying on making money through tricks in a short period of time, life was a little easier, but now because of Luzhou, some of the hard-earned savings are suddenly gone.

"If I had known this, I should have agreed to a loan from the empire. At least it would be most useful if I could get it."

The emperor regretted a little. The atmosphere in the center of the imperial court had been tense these days. They were all staring at the Aden people marching north, watching the ministers below pretending to be stupid one by one. Under the anxiety, the emperor's fingers Holding tightly together, these guys made it clear that they wanted to avoid the fact that they could not attack Luzhou because they had no money.

The imperial meeting ended in dull discussion. In the end, the ministers were not allowed to come up with a money and food plan that was sufficient for the crusade army.

Yu Fenglong, followed by his personal guards, stepped onto a carriage with a thick layer of cushions. In front of the carriage, there were twenty guards in armor leading the way, and on both sides were ten servants on foot. Passers-by along the way saw , all gave way. Prime Minister Yu Fenlong lowered the window curtain of the carriage and rubbed his swollen temples. After all, it was At a certain age, in the past month, he has been planning for the Aden people to march north, planning to weaken the local clan, planning to severely damage the Lu family, and now he is thinking about how to find the military funds to send the army out. Now the news of the northward march has stopped again, and there are How many people know that there is a thousand pounds of weight on his shoulders?

"Now we can only hope that the report is delayed, otherwise there will be an accident, and it will be a catastrophe!" Yu Fenglong murmured to himself in a low voice, leaning on the thick cushions of the carriage, and the carriage and horses were at the gate. When they stopped outside, several smart maids from the inner courtyard had already come out to greet them. Yu Fenglong had a tired look on his face, and his slack eye circles were a little blue. The layers of wrinkles are denser than on other days, and the look of decay is more obvious. The chaotic and unclear court situation is a huge shock. The various forces in the temporary stalemate between the DPRK and China will definitely take this opportunity to reshuffle the cards. All the forces are holding back their energy and waiting for the best opportunity to start fighting with all their strength. No one will notice the sudden change in Lingcheng, let alone Thinking that the 200,000 Aden troops had suddenly turned and were heading towards Zhongbia Xinjing. When the battle report about Huizhou came in, what appeared in front of the entire Zhongbia Xinjing was the flames of war, a large-scale The turmoil is spreading from east to west.

Chen Dongyang's 20,000-strong army in charge of surveillance was completely destroyed. Chen Dongyang's whereabouts are unknown. The mausoleum city that served as a choke point was defeated. Guard Bin Feng and all 5,000 defenders were killed in the battle. The 200,000-year-old Aden army was like a prairie fire, and mercury poured down the ground. , penetrated through it as quickly as possible in one day and one night The three cities on the critical front line of Lichuan should not be attacked, but driven directly in, because the Central and Asian sides had no defense at all, and even the number of defenders was extremely small, and they were completely incapable of combat. The Aden Army Just drive to the bottom of the city and the city gate will naturally open.

"Don't worry about these places! Our goal is Xinjing, Central Asia." The Aden generals urged the troops to march all the way. The light cavalry as the forward troops moved forward all the way. No one dared to stop them along the way. The surging Aden army moved at the fastest speed. They rushed towards Xinjing at high speed. By the time the Zhongbia court reacted, they had already reached Xian County, an important town less than 200 miles away from Xinjing.

It is equivalent to skipping the middle area where the most likely obstacles will be encountered, and directly hitting the outskirts of Xinjing. The ancient Xian County is where a 20,000-strong army of the Zhongbia court is stationed.

Countless Aden troops swarmed the city wall like ants, the sound of shouts and the blood of fighting covered everything. In the past three days, the walls of this city have been breached and changed hands twice. Because it is a military town, there are sufficient storage materials. Rolling logs and stones were thrown from the city walls, and kerosene was ignited during the pouring. , lighting large swaths of flames beside the city wall can be considered as forcing the Aden Army's offensive back.

"Back off!" "There are so many, how can we fight!"

"Without reinforcements, we are really going to die here." There were no cheers on the city wall. Instead, there was a sound of gasping and a sound of silence. You could clearly hear the crackling sound of flames burning grease under the city wall. Thousands of people were covered with it. The blood-stained soldiers stood on the dilapidated tower, looking at the Aden army retreating like a tide, and at the dense military formation behind them. Further to the rear, there were huge catapult arrays spread out in a line, and large military camps spread out. The loss in front of me was nothing in front of such a large army. I really couldn't be happy on my face. Two requests for reinforcements had been sent out. Oh my god, but until now, I haven't seen a single support army. It's only two hundred miles from here to Xinjing. Is it that far?