“Forget it, forget it, go down, go down.”

Prince Fu held his belly with both hands and began to walk down the city wall.

At the bottom of the city tower, a sedan chair was waiting, with dozens of guards beside it.

It is said that Prince Fu was used to riding in a sedan even in his own residence.

Generally speaking, it is common for nobles to ride litters in the palace, but that is because the palace is too big. Prince Fu, however, was too fat and didn't like walking.

When Prince Fu entered the sedan chair, the newly appointed prefect of Mianzhou took the initiative to step forward and said,

"Your Highness, why not stay at this official's villa tonight?"

"No, I'll stay in the yamen. The regulations of the imperial court cannot be abandoned."

"Yes."

"There's no need for you gentlemen to see me off. Go back and rest early."

A group of new civil and military officials in Mianzhou City bowed to the sedan chair together.

The sedan chair was lifted,

After leaving these local officials,

The sedan chair moved at a steady and smooth pace to the gate of the yamen,

The guards at the gate took the initiative to open the yamen gate and let the sedan chair go straight in.

Although it was night, the yamen was brightly lit. You could even find residual black bloodstains in some brick and tile corners or cracks in the pillars.

Several months ago, a group of Yan dogs suddenly broke into the city and went straight to the yamen.

The line of words on the pillar had been erased, but the name of the person who left the words had been remembered by many people.

Breaking into the city, entering the yamen, killing people, and leaving a message,

That Yanese garrison officer named "Zheng Fan" can be said to have interpreted the arrogance of the Yanese to the extreme.

The sedan chair went all the way into the backyard. The bloody smell in the backyard was actually heavier. Of course, you couldn't smell it, but when you thought of how many adults had their heads cut off here that night, and headless corpses were scattered here and there, it seemed that the wind in the backyard became a little gloomy.

Prince Fu finally got off the sedan chair,

Supported by a close eunuch, he walked into the house.

In the house, two pots of charcoal were burning. After Prince Fu sat down, the eunuch immediately brought hot water and personally helped Prince Fu take off his boots and began to soak his feet.

Prince Fu's ankles were already a little bruised and swollen, still because his body was too fat and he lacked exercise on weekdays. It was normal for his feet to swell after traveling for several days.

The eunuch thoughtfully helped massage him to relax his muscles and promote blood circulation.

On the side, a maid served tea. Prince Fu reached out to take it and began to drink.

In the hall, there also stood a middle-aged man wearing leather armor and a scholar wearing a bloated brocade robe.

"Hoo..."

Prince Fu breathed a long sigh of relief,

Put down his teacup,

And said:

"Don't you think it's ridiculous? Those scholars often say, 'The Master does not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, or rebellion,' and 'Cultivate noble spirit.' In the end, they don't even dare to live in this yamen."

Although this yamen still had the sign of the yamen, the newly appointed prefect and others did not choose to work here again, but rented a villa in the city.

The reason is simple: people died in this yamen, many, many people died, and those who died were of their own kind.

The scholar then said:

"Perhaps they are laughing at Your Highness for being too timid and not daring to overstep the rules."

When an imperial envoy is sent out, there are regulations everywhere, and where you live is a very important item. Of course, other imperial envoys may not pay special attention to this, emphasizing adapting to local conditions.

But Prince Fu was a prince, and the imperial court had always been extremely strict with princes. Those civil officials would stare at any outrageous behavior of the prince.

The princes of the Great Qian are noble because they are surnamed Zhao.

But the princes of the Great Qian are like glamorous spittoons. Every educated person with a sense of integrity will spit into them.

No matter when, scolding princes, scolding this group of national parasites, is politically correct in the Great Qian.

Therefore, the princes can only stay in their own fief residences and live their lives with their heads buried. The fiefs are very large, but they rarely leave their residences, and even rarely leave the city once in a few years.

"Let them laugh if they want to. Aren't they also laughing at Old Dog Yang?"

Prince Fu said calmly.

His image is indeed very "generous and fat."

"Your Highness, you also laughed at Grand Commandant Yang on the city wall earlier."

"There's no way. Wen Le, the best way to get along with a group of people is to scold someone with them. The court is in an uproar these days, and the memorials impeaching Old Dog Yang are said to have filled the imperial study."

Speaking of this, Prince Fu reached out and touched his four-layered chin,

And said:

"But along the way, to be honest, Old Dog Yang is not easy, and it is very difficult."

The scholar named Wen Le also nodded and said:

"Grand Commandant Yang is not easy."

"This Prince knows those eunuchs. They are incomplete by nature. Civil officials can risk being beaten with court rods for fame, but eunuchs actually want fame more than civil officials."

Because they are more eager to prove themselves.

Prince Fu raised his left foot, motioning the eunuch below to help him wipe his feet, and continued:

"But along the way, our Great Qian's border army is really rotten. I knew a little bit about it before, but after seeing it with my own eyes this time, I realized that it has become so outrageous.

The Great Qian's border army has 800,000 men, and the imperial court's tax revenue supports them every year, but those who truly live in the world rather than just on the books may have to be cut in half.

Of the remaining 400,000 people, some have been assigned as private slaves and coolies. Of Old Dog Yang's three-town troops, the ones that can actually be mobilized are probably only about 200,000, or perhaps even less."

As he spoke, Prince Fu pointed to the middle-aged man in leather armor standing there and said:

"Meng Gong."

"This subordinate is here."

"Tell me, what would be the outcome if Old Dog Yang dared to take the initiative to lead his troops to attack?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Yanese Jingnan Army has 50,000 men, but with its rear camp and local garrison troops, it can also have more than 100,000 men."

In military terms, the Qian people have never had much confidence in the Yan people.

The root of all this lies in the battle in which the founding Marquis of Zhenbei broke through 500,000 with 30,000 men, completely crushing the Qian people's martial spirit.

"Alas, the number of people is even."

Prince Fu sighed,

The number of people is on par with the Yanese,

Then what's the point of taking the initiative to attack!

"Your Highness, the Yanese Jingnan Army is cavalry."

The Qian people have few cavalry. This has been a problem for centuries.

The Yanese have better horse farms than the Qian people, and the Yanese are also adjacent to the desert. Whether they buy or rob them, they do not lack warhorses.

But the Qian Kingdom is different. However, people come up with solutions. The Qian Kingdom is rich, so it has also carried out its own horse administration, but it has all ended without success.

A lot has been invested, but not much has been seen.

"Although this Prince has always scolded Old Dog Yang, I still admire his abilities. He was able to sit in the position of governor-general of the three borders, not because of his three nieces.

In recent years, there have been many domestic rebellions, and Old Dog Yang has led troops to quell them one by one. He is a reliable person."

This is also the reason why Grand Commandant Yang was able to become Grand Commandant. With the body of a eunuch, he held such a dangerous position, but the civil officials also grudgingly recognized him. In fact, some civil officials also admitted in their hearts that this eunuch can indeed fight.

"The imperial court is in an uproar, and everyone is scolding Old Dog Yang for avoiding war and being timid. There is a strong trend to recall him to Shangjing and replace him as governor-general of the three borders. Do you know who suppressed this trend?"

Wen Le and Meng Gong both shook their heads.

"It's Chancellor Han."

Surprise appeared on the faces of Wen Le and Meng Gong.

You must know that this Chancellor Han and Grand Commandant Yang are the most at odds. When Grand Commandant Yang had not yet been sent out of the palace, Chancellor Han personally launched an attack on Grand Commandant Yang, saying that he was bewitching the emperor and disrupting the palace, almost forcing Grand Commandant Yang to be given death. Although he did not die in the end, he was also disgraced and embarrassed.

"Surprised?" Prince Fu smiled, "Not only Chancellor Han, but also Chancellor Fu and Chancellor Sima. All the chancellors suppressed the outrage and jointly guaranteed to the emperor, which allowed Old Dog Yang to continue to sit in that position."

Prince Fu's feet were wiped clean and put into his boots. He stood up with some difficulty and said:

"The chancellors in the court are not confused. If it were ordinary times, the chancellors would probably be happy to remove Old Dog Yang, but now is not the time.

If we remove the war-avoiding Old Dog Yang and send someone else up, no matter who that person is, they will not dare to follow Old Dog Yang's old path and will definitely look for an opportunity to fight the Yanese actively.

The emperor may not be very clear about how much strength our Great Qian's border army has left, but the chancellors are clear, and they also understand that our Great Qian's border army only has this little bit of wealth left. If it is really lost, we won't even be able to find paper to paste the windows.

Therefore, in order to appease the court's discussions, they will let this Prince, a useless prince, lead the imperial commission to rebuke Old Dog Yang.

Hehe, if we really want to rebuke him, how could we choose this Prince to be the imperial envoy?"

Prince Fu's positioning of himself is very clear.

Wen Le cupped his hands and said:

"Your Highness is too modest."

"No, this Prince is not being modest. In fact, the chancellors in the court are doing a good job. This Prince was really worried that the emperor would issue an edict to remove Old Dog Yang or replace him with someone else.

This Prince's fief is in Chuzhou. Once the Yan dogs break through the three borders, the first to suffer will be this Prince.

However, I feel relieved now.

150,000 Western troops have already set off, as well as 50,000 Wolf-Trooping soldiers. 100,000 imperial troops have also set off. The Zu family army, which has been busy clearing out pirates in the southeast coast in recent years, has also been transferred 50,000 north.

Roughly calculating, 350,000 troops have already come up, hehe."

The Western Army has been suppressing the rebellions of the native chieftains in the southwest region of the Great Qian. That Tattoo-Faced Chancellor was also from the Western Army. It can be said that the Western Army is the most relied-upon field elite of the Great Qian.

The Wolf-Trooping soldiers are a part of the native chieftains who have submitted to the imperial court. They are fierce in combat. As long as the imperial court gives them money and food, they will be willing to fight for the imperial court. They were also subdued by the Tattoo-Faced Chancellor at the earliest. Therefore, although there have been occasional disturbances in the southwest region in recent years, they have not become significant, and it is no longer possible to reproduce the scale of the turmoil that ravaged the entire southwest of the Great Qian decades ago.

The Zu family army is an elite force in the southeast coast of the Great Qian and is also a force that can fight.

As for the imperial army...

Prince Fu couldn't figure it out, because like the border army, the imperial army stationed in Shangjing has always claimed to be 800,000, but God knows how many of these 800,000 imperial troops spend their days carrying goods and doing business at the docks?

It is said that Chancellor Han originally wanted to transfer 200,000 imperial troops to the north, but he couldn't gather them, so he could only piece together 100,000 to set off first.

Prince Fu trusts the Western Army, the Wolf-Trooping soldiers, and the Zu family army, but for the imperial army in the capital, Prince Fu can only hope that they don't lose too much face.

But if we add the local garrison troops that have been ordered to set off from various counties and states, we can probably gather another 100,000. If it really doesn't work, they can also help defend the city as auxiliary soldiers.

"If those Yan dogs want to go south, let them try to go south and see if they can bite through my Great Qian's important border towns."

450,000 reinforcements. Although there are question marks over the 100,000 imperial troops and 100,000 local garrison troops, if we add Old Dog Yang's three-town troops, Prince Fu feels that he can sleep peacefully after returning to his fief if they are used to defend the city and not to engage in field battles.

"The chancellors are also not easy." Wen Le said with emotion.

"Isn't that right." Prince Fu smiled and continued, "This world has long been hollowed out. It is already very difficult to gather so many troops to go north in such a short period of time. The subsequent transportation of grain and grass is also a very headache for the chancellors."

"In the current situation, our Great Qian only needs to defend the three northern counties and block the Yan dogs. The Yan dogs themselves will probably be unable to withstand internal strife." Wen Le said.

This is actually the view of Zheng Fan and the Blind Man. The current situation in Great Yan seems to be like adding oil to a raging fire, but it is ultimately difficult to last. There is an urgent need for a huge victory in foreign expansion to shift domestic contradictions.

Otherwise, the side effects of trampling on the noble families will slowly manifest.

"The chancellors also think so. The Yan dog emperor is indeed a ruthless character. Who knows how many of those aristocratic families that have been passed down for hundreds of years will be left after this knife is cut down?

It's just that the Yan dog emperor is so bloodthirsty and desperately militaristic that it will ultimately lead to his own death and cannot last long.

Moreover, the emperor has already sent out three other imperial envoys. The specifications of those three envoys are much higher than this Prince's, hehe."

The three imperial envoys. Two of them are easy to guess: one to the Chu Kingdom and one to the Jin Kingdom. Since the Yanese emperor has already brandished his whip at the Qian Kingdom, the other two countries will definitely react in the face of imminent peril.

As for the third imperial envoy...

Wen Le was puzzled at first, but then he understood.

Prince Fu nodded and said:

"That's right, it's the Desert."

"In this way, our Great Qian only needs to defend the three borders for a year, and that Yan Kingdom will collapse from within due to internal and external troubles!"

Wen Le's eyes were shining.

Prince Fu reached out and rubbed his fat face,

And said:

"In fact, this Prince doesn't like those civil officials because they always like to stare at this Prince and bite a few times, seeking fame and reputation. But what this Prince has to admire is that those few chancellors are indeed extraordinary.

Hehe, this Prince thinks that the Yan dog emperor and the others may still be dreaming of the imperial court removing Old Dog Yang."

Troop deployment, strategic formulation, alliance, one by one, item by item, it can be said that political wisdom has been brought into full play.

It is already quite rare to make this series of plans in such a short period of time.

Wen Le said somewhat forlornly at this time: "It's just a pity, if our Great Qian..."

These words were started, but not continued.

If the 800,000 border troops and 800,000 imperial troops of the Great Qian were not weakened, and most of them were not only living on the military register, then it would be much easier to deal with the Yan dogs.

You must know that the Great Qian spends military pay every year, which is actually distributed according to the military register, but it has been supporting hundreds of thousands of non-existent people...

"Our Great Qian cannot produce a Tian Wujing."

Prince Fu said.

The affairs of the Yan Kingdom had actually been introduced into the Qian Kingdom long ago. In recent years, the Qian Kingdom's Silver Armor Guards have done a good job in infiltrating and espionage work in the Yan Kingdom. At least, the performance of the Silver Armor Guards far exceeds the performance of the Great Qian's border army.

Shame appeared on Wen Le's face. Tian Wujing is naturally not to be done, and the chancellors cannot learn from him. They know the problem of the Great Qian's three redundancies, but no one has been able to change it because they themselves, including the families of the chancellors and their disciples and former officials, are all members of it.

When reform requires reforming oneself, it is naturally impossible to reform.

"Meng Gong, why don't you speak? Old Dog Yang specifically asked this Prince to bring you along this time, which shows that Old Dog Yang really appreciates you. After traveling with you for many days, this Prince also knows that you are not a talkative or ostentatious person, but you must know that life opportunities depend on the word 'grab'."

Hearing this, gratitude appeared on Meng Gong's face.

He naturally knew that tonight's conversation, rather than Prince Fu feeling bored and wanting to say something, was actually Prince Fu intentionally promoting himself.

Prince Fu told him the information he had obtained and the details he could know, so that he could perform well after meeting Grand Commandant Yang tomorrow. This was a great kindness.

Meng Gong knelt down,

And said sincerely:

"This subordinate thanks Your Highness for your promotion."

"Get up quickly, get up quickly. These words cannot be spread out. This Prince is just a latrine, smelly and unbearable. You must not let people know your relationship with this Prince, otherwise it will inevitably delay you."

These words were said sincerely.

Meng Gong kowtowed three times to Prince Fu.

This was treating Prince Fu as his elder.

Meng Gong was born into the Meng family.

His father was once the chief military officer under the Tattoo-Faced Chancellor. The southwest rebellion that year was unprecedented in scale and was finally quelled by the Tattoo-Faced Chancellor. His father, as the chief military officer, once led only 8,000 Qian troops to defend the isolated city of the southwest for a year until the reinforcements arrived.

The Tattoo-Faced Chancellor's use of troops has always been bold and aggressive, but because of this, the role of Meng Gong's father was even more prominent. Every time aggressive use of troops was used, a defensive general was needed to guard the lifeline. Meng Gong's father was like this. The city he defended had never been broken.

Good defense can be said to be the family tradition of the Meng family.

It is a pity that after the Tattoo-Faced Chancellor's bleak ending, the Meng family, because they had been his arms and assistance, were also sent away far away.

This time, Grand Commandant Yang thought of this descendant of the Meng family, and his intention was self-evident.

"Meng Gong, tell me your opinion, and this Prince will help you review it."

Tomorrow he will meet Grand Commandant Yang, just like taking an exam.

Prince Fu really didn't plan to gain any benefits from Meng Gong. As a prince, the only way he could gain benefits was to rebel. The reason why he helped Meng Gong was really just out of love for talent.

Meng Gong took a deep breath,

Seeming a little hesitant.

"Speak, speak boldly." Prince Fu encouraged.

Meng Gong nodded,

And said:

"The arrangements of the chancellors and the decisions of Grand Commandant Yang are not wrong, and what Your Highness said is not wrong either."

"Say some more."

Meng Gong took a step back and bowed to Prince Fu,

And said:

"But, Your Highness does not know how to command troops."

"............" Prince Fu.

"Cough cough..." Wen Le on the side couldn't help coughing.

Prince Fu smiled magnanimously and said:

"If this Prince knew how to command troops, then it would really be..."

The Great Qian raised the princes like pigs, so Prince Fu ate himself into a pig;

How could the court be at ease if the princes really knew how to command troops and fight?

"Grand Commandant Yang's decision is also very good, but Grand Commandant Yang also does not know how to command troops."

Grand Commandant Yang has indeed led troops to quell many rebellions, but those faced mostly rebellions led by peasants, bandits, and outlaws.

"You continue to speak." Prince Fu's face began to sink.

"The arrangements of the chancellors are also very good, but the chancellors also do not know how to command troops."

This means that he is just about to scold the chancellors for only talking on paper.

Prince Fu was a little puzzled,

And asked;

"Is there more?"

"Yes."

"Continue to speak."

"Your Highness, how are Li Liangting and Tian Wujing of the Yanese court compared to the chancellors of our dynasty?"

"They are more than equal to them."

Prince Fu replied.

God knows what the Yan emperor was thinking, that he dared to trust two commanding generals and nobles so much!

"What this subordinate wants to say is:

Li Liangting and Tian Wujing know how to command troops."

---

Thank you to Wang Xiaonan and Yan Yi for their support.

This chapter is to lay the groundwork for the next big plot, not to make up the numbers.

In fact, I am writing this book, *The Descent of Magic*, with great enjoyment and great willfulness. I hope to write more interesting plots and more interesting characters, so I am always grateful to the readers who subscribe and support, as well as the friends who send barrage comments.

When it was first launched, our first subscription results were indeed not as good as Dragon Virgin's *Midnight Bookstore*.

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