White snow covered the grasslands. Wuzhugu and Beishan stood side by side.
Before them, slave soldiers were digging trenches, and cannons were being transported by slave soldiers to the Pingzhou city wall.
“The Great Yu Empire has been quiet all winter. They must be planning to attack Pingzhou City after spring begins,” Wuzhugu said, looking towards Shanhai Pass.
Beishan’s face was calm as water. To prepare for a possible attack from the Great Yu Empire, he was now ordered to serve under Wuzhugu.
Despite his reluctance, he seemed to have no other choice now.
“Last year, the Great Yu Empire attacked Haigucheng in spring. This year, it might be the same,” Beishan casually echoed.
Wuzhugu glanced at Beishan. He knew this younger brother was unwilling to be commanded by him, but he didn’t care, because Beishan understood the Great Yu Empire army’s fighting style better than he did.
He continued, “But if that’s the case, wouldn’t it delay the Great Yu Empire’s spring plowing?”
“My brother is wrong. The Great Yu Empire has stockpiled a large amount of grain in Shanhai Pass, and they can also transport it by sea. They don’t need to conscript commoners; slaves will be enough,” Beishan said calmly.
Wuzhugu frowned. Beishan’s words made him somewhat worried, because the Great Yu Empire of the past could definitely not have done such a thing.
As if to vex Wuzhugu, he continued, “Additionally, the Great Yu Empire has dispatched twenty thousand soldiers to Juehua Island. These twenty thousand men constantly threaten the heartland of the Khanate.”
Hearing this, Wuzhugu’s brows furrowed even deeper. Unbeknownst to them, the Great Yu Empire seemed to have already completed its deployment for attacking the Khanate.
He said, “What must come will come. Father Khan has already summoned all the tribes on the grasslands. They can send cavalry at any time. Now, with the full might of the Golden Tent Khanate, I want to see how the Great Yu Empire takes Pingzhou City.”
Best stood behind Beishan, a hint of an unnoticeable smile flashing in his eyes. The current confrontation between the Golden Tent Khanate and the Great Yu Empire was what he most desired to see.
He truly wished this war would end soon, so he could go home.
…
Qingzhou Province.
Half a month had passed since the Spring Festival, but warm spring was still far from arriving.
For good fortune, on the day before the New Year, he ordered everyone in the temporary palace to move into the imperial palace, formally bidding farewell to the former King Qi’s residence.
Upon arriving at the palace, Xiao Ming suddenly felt as if he had moved from an apartment building to a grand villa. Now, walking from south to north, it would take him twenty minutes.
When he was free, he could stroll around the palace with his consorts, instead of being cooped up in the small bedchamber.
At the same time, due to their formal move into the imperial palace, there were more imperial guards in the palace, and the palace rules suddenly increased, making it more and more like the Chang’an imperial palace.
And he no longer had to ride a carriage to the council hall for daily deliberations; he could go directly from the bedchamber to the Zhengda Guangming Hall.
“Your Majesty, the number of new recruits who enlisted last year was ninety thousand. Adding the current number of troops in the Great Yu Empire, the army now totals two hundred and twenty thousand men. I have now allocated these ninety thousand new recruits to various army corps in preparation for the northern expedition.”
In the Zhengda Guangming Hall, Niu Ben reported to Xiao Ming on the conscription situation.
Sitting on the dragon throne, Xiao Ming’s gaze swept across the spacious hall. This was the first council meeting of the new year.
Hearing this, he asked, “How is the new recruit training?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, these new recruits have all trained in the military camps for over three months. They are now familiar with the use of firearms and can go to the battlefield,” Niu Ben said.
Xiao Ming nodded. This was the advantage of firearms: they could form an army in three months of training. For the barbarians, it was impossible to replace a lost cavalryman in three months.
Because barbarian cavalry lived on horseback from a young age.
“Excellent,” Xiao Ming said loudly. Then he looked at Luo Quan, “General Luo, after the General Staff Department is established, all operational plans and grain and fodder allocations will be handled by the General Staff Department. How are your preparations coming along?”
Luo Quan bowed and said, “Your Majesty, the grain in Shanhai Pass is abundant. I also transported dried sweet potatoes, cured meat, and other supplies this winter. The army’s grain and fodder are now well prepared. Additionally, General Niu, I, and the generals of the General Staff Department have formulated a detailed plan. I hope Your Majesty will review it.”
With that, Luo Quan handed a map to Qian Dafu, who then transferred it to Xiao Ming.
Taking the map, Xiao Ming briefly glanced at it. His reason for requesting the formulation of operational plans was precisely to regularize the army and eliminate previous crude methods.
On the map, Luo Quan meticulously marked the offensive routes. Among them, Lei Ming’s Huben 3rd Army would launch a frontal assault on the barbarians from Shanhai Pass.
And the Huben 3rd Army’s 4th Division on Juehua Island would, along with the Huben 2nd Army led by Ye Qingyun, attack Liaozhou City, located on the Goryeo border, completely cutting off communication between the Golden Tent Khanate and Goryeo.
Xiao Ming nodded slightly, highly satisfied. He had extensively publicized this northern expedition, but it was actually to conceal the true purpose of the northern expedition’s first phase.
Pingzhou City was not the primary target of the northern expedition; Liaozhou City was. Because once Liaozhou City was captured, Goryeo would be completely at his mercy.
Judging from last year’s trade, Qingzhou Province’s goods were very popular among Goryeo’s powerful elite and common people. He needed to further control Goryeo to expand the market.
Besides the main offensive routes, this map also contained detailed combat methods. Of course, these were merely guidelines.
The battlefield changed rapidly, requiring generals to adapt on the fly.
“Excellent. Execute the established strategy without any errors. This northern expedition cannot be achieved overnight. All of you must be mentally prepared,” Xiao Ming said.
The barbarians’ territory was too vast. Even just traversing it would take a year and a half. Ending the war in a short time was impossible. At this stage, he could only reclaim the six cities in the northeast.
However, even so, the barbarians would contend with him with the full might of their nation this time. War sounded easy, but fighting it was not so simple. Pingzhou City would likely become a meat grinder for both nations.
Fei Ji and Pang Yukun and the others remained silent. In truth, they did not wish to initiate a war, but they also understood that even if they did not attack Pingzhou, the barbarians would still march south.
Rather than passively reacting, it was better to take the initiative to attack.
Returning the map to Luo Quan, Xiao Ming looked at the civil officials. He said, “During wartime, the Great Yu Empire’s government affairs must not fall into disarray. Continue to encourage the development of industry and commerce, and by no means panic.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” a group of civil officials said.
This northern expedition, in their view, was the most incredible event since the founding of the Great Yu Empire. Facing the nomadic empire that had bullied the Great Yu Empire for so many years, could they truly win?
Xiao Ming’s gaze was sharp. This war would be a head-on confrontation between two nations of comparable strength. If they won, the Great Yu Empire would forever gain the Hetao pasture lands and the fertile black soil of the Northeast, extending for thousands of li.
If they lost, he would likely be in a very passive position
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair