Chapter 631

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“I have never received any letter from Qingzhou!”

The King of Chu said, suppressing the anger in his heart.

Li Chu Yuan understood. He threw the letter from Qingzhou into a nearby brazier, and the letter turned into ashes in the flames.

The King of Chu then said, “Now, the situation in the north is complex. Even if Xiao Ming can defeat Prince Zhao, Prince Yan, and Prince Liang, he will certainly suffer heavy losses and be unable to move south immediately. While this is happening, we must strengthen our military readiness and rely on the natural defenses of the Yangtze River to resist foreign enemies!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

All the ministers responded in unison.

Richard and Basil sat upright, looking at the officials. They also stood up and bowed to the King of Chu. Now that they were receiving the King of Chu’s salary, they naturally had to work for him.

…

Qingzhou.

Amidst hurried preparations, there were less than seven days left until the enthronement ceremony. During this period, Fei Ji had already arranged all the enthronement procedures, and Pang Yukun had also relayed the news to all the vassal princes.

After waiting for twenty days, Prince Yong, accompanied by Princess Yong, entered Qingzhou City. At the same time, an envoy from the Prince of Huainan also arrived. As they had largely guessed, whether it was the King of Chu, Prince Yan, Prince Zhao, or Prince Liang, none of them paid any attention to the enthronement ceremony.

Not only that, Prince Yan, Prince Liang, and Prince Zhao each dispatched troops to form rebel armies heading towards Yunzhou. This was clearly a show of force to give Xiao Ming a hard time.

“Your Highness, the Southern Expeditionary Army and the Dengzhou Army have a total of 30,000 men garrisoning the thirteen prefectures, and the remaining 50,000 men are all rushing to Yunzhou City. The Youzhou Army has dispatched all its cavalry towards Yunzhou City. Including the Qingzhou cuirassiers, we now have a total of 50,000 cavalry available.”

In the Qingzhou Grand Camp, Niu Ben informed Xiao Ming of the entire deployment of the state army. The enthronement ceremony was imminent, but the three princes chose this moment to raise an army to attack. He had no choice but to respond.

Moreover, he also intended to use this opportunity to fight a tough battle, severely weakening the allied forces of the three princes. As he had been pondering, the current situation in the north could not be changed without a decisive, grinder-like battle.

Now with Japan invading from the east, the barbarians pressing hard from the north, and Western powers interfering in the south, he needed at least to end the internal strife in the north and establish a stable environment for development. Otherwise, a country embroiled in war would only consume resources without achieving revolutionary changes.

The reason Britain was able to achieve the Industrial Revolution first was partly due to long-term accumulation, and partly because of its distance from the European continent and its stable social environment. Therefore, his decision to ascend the throne now also took many factors into consideration.

Niu Ben’s words somewhat eased Xiao Ming’s mind. He said, “Yunzhou City originally had 10,000 Yunzhou troops, plus 10,000 Qingzhou troops, and now another 60,000. The army in the city totals 80,000 men, plus the cavalry, making a total of 130,000 men. More than half of the state’s military strength is here.”

After a pause, he said to Niu Ben, “Governor Niu, I order you to be the Grand General of the Western Expedition and unify the overall command. This time, you must stop the allied forces of the three princes outside Yunzhou City; there must be no mishap.”

Niu Ben cupped his fists and said, “Your Highness, rest assured. I will never let them cross Yunzhou City by half a step.”

“Hmm, furthermore, in this battle, you must strive to completely annihilate the armies of the three princes, allowing them no return.” Xiao Ming said sternly. For him, the essence of war was to eliminate the enemy’s vital forces.

The purpose of Bai Qi burying 400,000 Zhao troops alive was precisely this: from then on, the state of Zhao had no power to resist.

According to the intelligence provided by Wang Xuan, the allied forces of Prince Yan, Prince Liang, and Prince Zhao totaled 350,000 men. Among them, Prince Yan sent 180,000, Prince Liang sent 130,000, and Prince Zhao sent 40,000 cavalry.

Xiao Ming was indeed somewhat shocked upon learning that so many troops were marching towards Yunzhou City. However, fortunately, the Great Yu Empire had always lacked cavalry. The combined cavalry of the three allied forces numbered only about 60,000, with the rest being infantry.

And for him, he was not worried about the infantry, because in the face of firearms, these feudal armies armed with traditional swords and sabers were no match at all. His only concern was the cavalry.

However, now that the Youzhou Army and the Qingzhou Cuirassiers were merged, he was not so worried. In terms of equipment and soldier training, he believed his cavalry could prevent these 60,000 cavalry from devastating the prefectures and counties near Yunzhou City.

After instructing Niu Ben, Xiao Ming and a group of generals conducted many more simulations on the sand table of Yunzhou City. Yunzhou City was the gateway to Qingzhou; taking Yunzhou City would allow direct access to Qingzhou.

It was precisely for this reason that they stationed troops in Yunzhou City, just as the barbarians had once planned to pass through Yunzhou City.

Having formulated the war plan, Xiao Ming returned to Qingzhou City. This time, he was not the only one participating in the war; Prince Yong, having arrived in Qingzhou, was prepared for an audience.

Before he came to the military camp, Princess Yong had already taken the first step to meet Imperial Concubine Zhen, implicitly mentioning Prince Yong’s attitude. After having a plan in mind, he arranged to meet Prince Yong at noon to clarify some matters.

Overall, he probably only had two true allies in the Great Yu Empire now: Prince Yong and the Prince of Huainan. However, compared to the Prince of Huainan, whose support required a marriage alliance, Prince Yong’s support might be simpler.

Although Prince Yong had a bad temper and indulged in pleasure, his straightforward nature made him simple: he would follow whoever was the true emperor.

Upon arriving at the princely estate, Xiao Ming went directly to the main hall. Soon after, Prince Yong, led by Qian Dafu, arrived in the main hall.

“Worthy nephew!”

Seeing Xiao Ming, Prince Yong laughed heartily and walked towards Xiao Ming. His burly physique put some pressure on Xiao Ming.

“Fourth Imperial Uncle.” Xiao Ming also smiled. He had not yet ascended the throne, so the etiquette remained as usual. However, compared to his previous boorishness, Xiao Ming could still discern a hint of caution in Prince Yong’s demeanor.

Inviting Prince Yong to sit down, Xiao Ming came straight to the point. He gestured to Qian Dafu, who then brought over Xiao Wenxuan’s imperial edict.

This imperial edict was also what Prince Yong had always been concerned about. He had to confirm its authenticity, so when he received the imperial edict, he examined it carefully. After a while, he said, “This is Imperial Brother’s handwriting, and the silk used for this imperial edict is also exclusive to the palace. It’s indeed correct.”

After saying this, Prince Yong breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and said to Xiao Ming, “From now on, I will obey worthy nephew’s every command.”

Princess Yong had already mentioned Prince Yong’s intention to submit when she met Imperial Concubine Zhen, so Xiao Ming was not surprised. He did not stand on ceremony and directly said, “I presume Fourth Imperial Uncle also knows about Prince Yan, Prince Liang, and Prince Zhao jointly raising an army to attack me?”

“I have heard of this matter, worthy nephew. Rest assured, I will raise an army and attack these rebels with worthy nephew,” Prince Yong said angrily.

Xiao Ming nodded in satisfaction. His own troops were few, but with Prince Yong’s, they would be considerable, which would make things much easier for him.

However, his mentioning this matter was not to have Prince Yong participate in the battle for Yunzhou City.