Chapter 132: 112, Deceased Country Princess Request to See His Majesty (4K Big Chapter, Request for Monthly Ticket)
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For the first half a month after the Army Seeking Revenge headed south, Li Xiaozu had scoffed at his Father King, Li Liang’s, words. He thought Li Liang was old, his ambition gone, merely content with the Siming Mountain Court and daring not to covet the rivers and mountains within the pass.
But when he found himself mired in battle on Yan Mountain Road... He regretted it.
The Imperial Court Soldiers did not confront him directly. Instead, they merely held out in the cities, strengthening their defenses and clearing the surrounding fields. Yan Mountain Road and Luonan Road were plains where cavalry could gallop freely. However, if he ventured forward without conquering the cities behind him, he risked being encircled by the Imperial Court Army.
Moreover, the grain supply for the Army Seeking Revenge was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
This was especially true since a few of King Zhenbei’s adoptive sons, who had been granted titles of kings, had secretly accepted an Imperial Decree of rewards from the Imperial Court without informing him. Recently, morale among the troops had slumped, and the desire to return to the lands beyond the pass had grown stronger.
"Crown Prince, I’ve told you before,"
"Mount Siming is different from the previous dynasty; it’s a tough nut to crack. Emperor Tiande’s intentions are clear now. He plans to use the might of the entire country to wear us down, to drag us iron cavalrymen to our deaths."
"The consumption by men and horses is immense. In a few days, it will be autumn and winter, and the Imperial Court hasn’t provided new cotton clothing. We can use last year’s, but..."
In the command tent of the Army Seeking Revenge, Li Yong, an adopted son of King Zhenbei who had been enfeoffed as the Luzhou King, grumbled.
In fact, Li Xiaozu’s timing for the southern expedition, coinciding with the autumn harvest, had been opportune. He could have fully sustained the war with spoils, robbing the common people of Yan North Path of their grain.
But who could have known that the organizational capacities of the current and previous dynasties were in entirely different leagues?
Initially, they managed to plunder the food supplies of one or two states. Later, however, the Imperial Court Army, working with the common people, had already harvested their grain. The Imperial Court had even forcibly relocated the populace, leaving only fortified cities standing on the plains of Yan North.
"We can purchase some grain from the Tartars."
"Right now, Shuo Duo is merely observing our fierce struggle with the Imperial Court’s troops, waiting to profit when both sides are exhausted. Our army is short on food. If we retreat beyond the pass, the Tartars certainly wouldn’t want to see that."
Warming his hands over the fire basin, Li Xiaozu proposed.
He wasn’t one to be bound by rigid scruples.
Sending his wife to the Tartars’ Ascending Dragon Mansion as a hostage was one thing; buying grain from them was another entirely. The latter would hardly be a stain on his reputation.
"In my opinion..." Li Dan began, his eyes flickering as he spoke, seemingly unintentionally, "could it be that the assassin who targeted the King was not sent by Emperor Tiande?"
"Emperor Tiande is a heroic figure. How could he commit such a despicable act?"
In the tent, Li Dan, who had been granted the title Jiaozhou King by Xu Xing, had made his seemingly unintentional remark.
The Imperial Court had already secretly sent an Imperial Envoy to bribe him.
If he was willing to turn traitor, while he wouldn’t get King Zhenbei’s former territory, the Imperial Court would allow him to relocate his followers to another path and enfeoff him as a king.
Of course, Li Dan wouldn’t easily believe the Imperial Court’s deceitful promises. All decrees were empty words; only having actual soldiers and horses under his command was the truth.
It was just that... at this moment, Crown Prince Li Xiaozu no longer had the ability to keep the various factions within the army in check. The fragmentation of the Army Seeking Revenge was imminent. If he could secure the Imperial Court’s support, he could claim the largest share of the inheritance King Zhenbei had left behind...
His current remark, suggesting the assassin who targeted Li Liang wasn’t sent by Emperor Tiande, was a deliberate attempt to undermine the "righteous cause" for which the Army Seeking Revenge marched south. If this "righteous cause" was declared a failure, Crown Prince Li Xiaozu would bear the greatest responsibility, and his prestige would inevitably plummet.
Without that prestige, Li Xiaozu would be unable to command the entire army.
His scheme was well-calculated.
"This king saw the assassin with his own eyes! Could that be false?"
"Or are you implying... that this king murdered his own Father King?"
Li Xiaozu glared coldly at Li Dan. Seeing Li Dan falter and stammer under his questioning gaze, Li Xiaozu’s tone softened slightly. "In all the world, the only ones with a motive to kill my Father King are Emperor Tiande and Shuo Duo. And that assassin was clearly from the Central Plains, a monk from the Xuanji Temple..."
The Xuanji Temple dispatching eight hundred Stick Monks to support Emperor Tiande was a fact known throughout the land.
Since a monk from the Xuanji Temple assassinated King Zhenbei Li Liang, there was no doubt that Emperor Tiande was the one who had dispatched him.
And the Shuo Duo he mentioned was the Emperor of the Tartars.
"Summon my generals!"
"All forces are to regroup and prepare! We march south to Shenjing for a decisive battle with Emperor Tiande!"
"We can delay no longer!"
Li Xiaozu realized the only chance of victory now was to emulate Xu Xing’s past actions. If they could conquer Shenjing and sever the Imperial Court’s claim to orthodoxy, the remaining regional powers could be eliminated one by one.
If the Army Seeking Revenge retreated now, his prestige would be utterly lost.
At that point, never mind preserving the Li Family’s private property, even saving the lives of his entire household would be a monumental task.
One step back, and it would be a cascade of retreats!
But if... he took a gamble with his troops, perhaps victory was not entirely out of reach.
"Yes, Crown Prince."
The adopted sons of King Zhenbei in the command tent exchanged glances, each understanding the others’ intentions. Outwardly, they remained composed, choosing to obey Li Xiaozu’s military orders.
However, after they stepped out of the command tent:
"First, bind Princess Anren..."
"Then... issue orders to all armies. State that Princess Anren bewitched the Crown Prince into attacking the Imperial Court. Claim it was all due to the manipulations of Anren, that princess of a fallen kingdom, who intended to sacrifice the lives of our soldiers to avenge her Royal Father."
With the Imperial Decree previously issued by Xu Xing, these generals knew what they had to do to escape punishment from the Imperial Court and how to seize the military power left by their adoptive father, Li Liang.
As long as they could establish that Crown Prince Li Xiaozu had been bewitched by this woman, Princess Anren...