r18novel Page 211
Page 211
When she calmed down, she found that the bed was already empty.
Li Chang'an enjoyed teasing Sang Wen and watching her blush.
It's late at night; it's time to go back to drilling.
Li Chang'an returned to the bridal chamber silently. Just as he picked up the wedding wine from the table, Ye Ling'er suddenly sprang into action, smashing the coffin open with her veil still on her head!
Li Chang'an clenched her fist and gently applied force, causing Ye Ling'er's small hand to open.
Then, he shoved a glass of wine into Ye Ling'er's hand, saying, "Ling'er, are you trying to murder your husband?"
Ye Ling'er removed her veil herself, and upon seeing that it was Li Chang'an, she immediately dropped her fierce expression.
"So... it's His Highness who has returned."
Ye Ling'er had never worn makeup in her entire life, and even though she was only wearing light makeup now, she was still extremely beautiful.
"Ling'er, drink this cup of wine, and you will be mine."
Ye Ling'er nodded gently and said, "It's all up to my husband."
After the two drank the nuptial wine, Ye Ling'er felt somewhat at a loss.
"Ling'er is new here and knows nothing. I hope my husband can teach me!"
Ye Ling'er nervously cupped her hands in greeting, adopting a stance befitting a martial arts contest.
Li Chang'an put his arm around her slender waist, walked step by step to the bedside, and drew the curtains.
"Ling'er, the wedding night is actually not difficult at all. You just need to listen to me."
Not long after, Ye Ling'er suddenly let out a painful groan, "It hurts so much."
Li Chang'an was immediately puzzled, "I haven't even used any force yet, and you're already crying out in pain?"
Ye Ling'er blushed and said, "It has nothing to do with my husband. I was injured a while ago and the swelling hasn't gone down yet."
After being slapped by Lin Wan'er, my skin is so swollen that it hurts even with the slightest touch, and it even hurts to wear clothes today.
The rest of the process went much more smoothly. As expected of a woman who had practiced martial arts since childhood, she was indeed tenacious.
Three days later.
In the Imperial Study, Emperor Qing received a military report delivered by express messenger.
Ku He assassinated Shi Fei, who was temporarily serving as the Grand Commander of Dingzhou. The Western Expeditionary Army in Dingzhou was leaderless and fought independently.
Taking advantage of the situation, the 100,000 convicts newly deployed by Western Qin have occupied the three prefectures of Dingzhou and even the important pass of Yangguan.
The Dingzhou army suffered a loss of half its strength, leaving only 50,000 troops who camped east of Yangguan Pass, thus managing to halt the Western Qin army's offensive.
Yangguan was the name Emperor Qing gave to the pass after Li Chang'an copied the poem.
"That old bastard Ku He still can't forget about killing someone for revenge!"
"Eunuch Hou, go and summon Prince Yong to an audience!"
After Li Chang'an arrived at the Imperial Study, Emperor Qing immediately presented him with a map of the border region.
"Chang'an, the five counties north of Dingzhou, is the territory of the state that we seized from the Northern Qi last year."
"Now that the Western Qin has risen to power, they have actually seized more than half of our newly occupied territory!"
"The border is in dire need of attention; your chance to make a name for yourself has arrived!"
"I hereby order you to oversee the military affairs of Dingzhou and Qingzhou, and to additionally conscript 50,000 troops from other border regions."
"Including the original 50,000 troops, the only troops I can give you now are these 100,000!"
The total number of troops in the Qing Kingdom is 500,000, and the border troops number around 350,000, so 100,000 troops is not a small number.
Qingzhou is a piece of land that the eldest prince seized from the Xihu people, and the population migration has just been completed.
The Grand Commander, who held supreme military power over Dingzhou and Qingzhou, could control all border troops in the northwest. This was a position that the Qing Kingdom would only appoint during wartime.
"Ye Zhong, Gong Dian, and all the border generals below them are under your command!"
Li Chang'an asked, "Your Majesty, what is the purpose of this battle?"
Emperor Qing looked at the map and said fiercely, "I want you to destroy the Western Qin Kingdom!"
"I know it will be difficult, and it may take eight or ten years to conquer it."
"The Western Qin state has an elite army of 150,000, with very fine weapons and armor."
"The force currently opposing our Western Expeditionary Army is not the main force of the Western Qin Army."
"Instead, it was a convict army composed of serious criminals from various vassal states of Northern Qi and Northern Qi soldiers captured by Western Qin."
Li Chang'an was very clear about this matter, and it was he who arranged it.
Li Chang'an had no desire to go to the battlefield and fight against the elite troops he had painstakingly raised; these convict soldiers were nothing but cannon fodder.
Therefore, he had Han Xin assemble this army of convicts.
He himself did not expect that after Shi Fei was assassinated, these convict soldiers would still advance unimpeded and conquer cities and territories!
"Your Majesty, the amount of money and grain needed to destroy the Western Qin Kingdom is not small."
Emperor Qing pointed to the Xihu people west of Dingzhou and said, "You can go and plunder the Xihu people to sustain your war effort. That's what our leader did."
"The imperial court's supplies can only guarantee the army's survival. If you want to destroy the Western Qin Kingdom, you'll have to find your own way."
Emperor Qing, that old fox, habitually treats everyone as pawns.
After studying the Western Qin Kingdom, Emperor Qing was well aware of its potential.
If left unchecked, it could become even more terrifying than the Northern Qi dynasty.
However, he cannot currently use most of his troops, which were fighting against Northern Qi, to eliminate Western Qin.
Therefore, Li Chang'an was sent to lead 100,000 border troops to wage a war of attrition against Western Qin, preventing Western Qin from rising smoothly.
Once he has plotted to eliminate Ku He and Si Gu Jian, he may even be able to personally suppress the Western Qin Kingdom.
Of course, the princes who stayed on the border for a long time were far away from the central government, so the crown prince was under much less pressure.
Moreover, Li Chang'an was stationed at the border, while the Crown Prince was in the central government, giving the Crown Prince many ways to restrain Li Chang'an.
In this way, Li Chang'an was stabilized, the Western Qin Kingdom was tied down, and the Crown Prince could continue to be trained.
In Emperor Qing's view, such an arrangement was simply flawless and achieved multiple benefits at once.
Li Chang'an deliberately sighed, "The journey to the border is long, and I don't know when I will be able to return to the capital!"
Emperor Qing spoke with apparent sincerity, “Chang’an, when I was the Crown Prince, I already had a distinguished military record.”
"If you want to establish your authority in the court, how can you win people's hearts without outstanding military achievements?"
The Emperor's promise is theoretically sound; if Li Chang'an can achieve great merit in expanding the territory, he will surpass the Crown Prince in every aspect.
However, if the Western Qin state had not been part of Li Chang'an's pre-arranged scheme, the task of destroying Western Qin with an army of 100,000 and with the Crown Prince hindering it in the court would have been extremely difficult.
In Emperor Qing's view, no matter how capable Li Chang'an was, he could only do what Li Chengru did: maintain the existing territory.
"Speed is of the essence in war. Chang'an, let's set off tomorrow!"
After this western expedition, Li Chang'an will be able to openly and legitimately display his strongest support.
At that time, Li Chang'an will hold immense power in the Qing Kingdom's court, with unparalleled achievements, and even Emperor Qing will not dare to act rashly.
If the Grandmaster's identity is made public, not only the Crown Prince, but even Emperor Qing might consider abdicating.
Upon returning to the Dragon Guard Manor, Li Chang'an ordered Jing Ni to remain in the capital to guard the Luo Wang and keep an eye on all movements, while Xing Yusen led one hundred Shadow Guards to stay and protect the Dragon Guard Manor.
Wang Qinian and Teng Zijing led two hundred Shadow Guards to accompany Li Chang'an on his westward journey.
Li Chang'an also recruited experts from various regions, including Northern Qi, Southern Qing, and Eastern Yi City.
Three hundred and three hundred experts of the rank of 77 or above were once again conscripted to go to Dingzhou and join Li Chang'an.
In this way, Li Chang'an could form a Shadow Guard special forces unit of 500 men.
Guangxin Palace.
The Crown Prince breathed a long sigh of relief, "Father has finally sent Uncle Yong away..."
Li Yunrui chuckled and said, "Chang'an is good at everything he does. You went to admire chrysanthemums and fell hard, while others went to admire chrysanthemums and gained great merit by protecting the emperor."
When the prince attempted to assassinate the prince at the Hanging Temple, he panicked and tripped over a wine cup, injuring his back.
"Aunt, do you think Uncle Yongwang might really be a Heavenly Vein Being? He seems to never make a mistake in anything he does."
Li Yunrui warned, "So you have to be careful. If he really destroys the Western Qin Kingdom, His Majesty will have nothing left to reward."
The crown prince shook his head firmly, "Absolutely impossible!"
"I have consulted General Qin several times, and he has provided me with a very thorough analysis of the Western Qin military strength."
"Not only are the troops well-trained and the supplies plentiful, but that Han Xin is no less capable than Father Emperor and Zhan Qingfeng."
"General Qin said that even if His Majesty were to personally lead the expedition in his prime, it would still require at least 300,000 troops and three years!"
“Uncle Yong has never fought a war. He only has 100,000 troops, half of which are under the command of generals from the Qin family.”
"Even if the Ye family is completely devoted to him, he can only mobilize about 50,000 men, which is far from enough to destroy Western Qin!"
Li Yunrui raised an eyebrow and said, "His Majesty is indeed still on his son's side."