I summon all the famous generals in history in another world

Chapter 1480 Yuzhou Beset by Internal and External Troubles

"Yuen Long is mistaken. What do you mean by 'fighting for power and profit'?"

“Yuzhou is the Prince’s homeland. Now that the Prince is trapped in Qianzhou and his life is uncertain, we, as his subjects and family members, should protect this foundation. How can we allow outsiders to covet it?”

At this moment, Li Yujing tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his face showing no sign of panic, but rather a faint hint of sarcasm.

"Outsider? I married my second sister, Ye Qingwan, so I'm practically half a son of the Ye family!"

"In the Battle of Qianzhou, the main force of the Night Fiend Army was wiped out. I led the remnants to break through the encirclement at the last minute, gathered more than 30,000 brothers, and fought bloody battles all the way back to Yuzhou. I didn't come here to listen to you talk about 'outsiders'!"

Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that he laughed and pointed at Li Yujing's nose.

"Ask yourself honestly! News of Qianzhou's defeat has already spread throughout Yuzhou, and the people in various counties and villages are in a state of panic. In many places, there have been uprisings by displaced people."

"The Mongols in the north are taking advantage of the chaos. Ögedei and Jochi are leading their cavalry south. The three beacon towers on the border of Yuzhou have already been leveled. Yesterday, our scouts reported that even the important northern town of Fengzhou has been besieged by Mongol cavalry!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the silent officials below, and his voice suddenly rose.

"With refugees rioting inside and foreign tribes knocking on the gates outside, you have 30,000 Nightshade cavalry left behind and more than 50,000 garrison troops from various prefectures and counties under your command. Instead of preparing for war, you're here arguing about who should be in charge of Yuzhou!"

Zhao Kuangyin grew angrier as he spoke, and suddenly grabbed the dragon-patterned staff from the side, slammed it on the ground, and with a muffled thud, a fine crack appeared on the blue brick.

“Yuan Lang, don’t be alarmist. Although the Mongol cavalry are brave, they are not good at attacking cities. Fengzhou City is well-defended and cannot be taken down in a short time. As for the refugees, the various prefectures and counties have already sent troops to suppress them, so there is no major problem.”

"But you, leading the remnants of the defeated army from Qianzhou, have taken in a lot of stragglers along the way. These people are of mixed quality and have poor discipline. Now they are entrenched outside Yulu City. Who knows what your intentions are?"

Li Yujing's expression changed slightly, but he still forced himself to remain calm.

"I, Li Yujing, have been managing Yuzhou for more than ten years. I have personally handled everything from grain and fodder allocation and city defense repair to pacifying the people."

"When the Prince went south, he entrusted me with the military and political power of Yuzhou, and it was written down clearly in black and white! Now that you have some military power, you want to usurp it. Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

He handed the ledger on the table forward, his tone sharp.

"Entrusted to you? His Highness asked you to guard the rear, not to amass military power!"

"You think I don't know that you have already gathered the grain and fodder from various prefectures and counties into Yulu City and Yunzhou City, but you have been slow to distribute them to the border garrison!"

Zhao Kuangyin chuckled and stepped forward, closing in on Li Yujing.

"Fengzhou City has been besieged for three days, and the defending troops have long been out of food, yet you sit idly by and do nothing. Isn't it just that you want to use the Mongols to weaken those generals who don't obey your orders?"

Upon hearing this, the officials below the hall all looked up, their eyes filled with astonishment and whispering among themselves.

Everyone knows that Li Yujing is meticulous and good at scheming, but no one expected him to have such thoughts at this time.

"Nonsense! There are established procedures for the allocation of provisions. The provisions for the border garrison have already been allocated according to regulations. It was their own poor management that led to the Mongols cutting off their supply lines. What does it have to do with me?"

"But you, Zhao Kuangyin, have been trying to win over generals as soon as you returned to Yuzhou, promising them high-ranking positions and generous salaries. Do you think you can hide these things from me?"

Li Yujing's face turned pale, and he immediately retorted sharply.

"The 30,000 Night Fiend cavalry under my command are all elites who have fought alongside His Highness the Night King for many years. The garrison troops of various prefectures and counties were also trained by me. The people of Yuzhou also support me, Li Yujing!"

"You think you can control Yuzhou with a bunch of remnants? That's just wishful thinking!"

He took a half step back, creating some distance, and his voice was firm and resolute.

Seeing Li Yujing's unyielding attitude, Zhao Kuangyin felt a surge of anger rising to his head.

"Li Yujing, I'll ask you one more time. The Mongol cavalry has already crossed the border, their vanguard pointing directly at Yunzhou. In less than five days, they'll be at the gates of Yulu City. If we continue this infighting, Yuzhou will surely fall!" "Then, we will both become sinners of the Ye family, a laughingstock to the world!"

He took a deep breath, suppressing the agitation in his heart, and his gaze fell on the area marked by the Mongol cavalry on the map. His tone became serious.

"A sinner? I have a duty to defend this land, and I will not allow anyone to disrupt the laws and regulations of Yuzhou!"

"If you truly care about Yuzhou, you should hand over your military power to me so that I can command it and defend against the Mongols. Otherwise, if we each guard our own territory and Yuzhou is lost, it will be because of your power struggle, Zhao Kuangyin!"

Li Yujing sneered.

"This is utterly absurd! Do you think I covet this position as the head of Yuzhou?"

"I don't want to see the land that countless soldiers bought with their blood destroyed by our hands! We both know what kind of people the Mongols are. They only came south to burn, kill, and plunder, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake!"

Zhao Kuangyin suddenly swung his dragon-patterned staff, and the wind from the staff swept across the table, knocking the account books on it to the ground.

"Outside Yulu City, tens of thousands of refugees have gathered. They are all people who have fled from the border. They have nowhere to go and can only sleep on the streets."

"You hold grain in your hands, yet you refuse to open the granaries and release the grain, only caring about hoarding supplies for unforeseen circumstances. How can you face these people? How can you live up to the prince's trust?"

He pointed outside the hall, his voice tinged with heartache.

Li Yujing's face turned pale and then red. Looking at the account books scattered on the ground, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.

He was indeed stockpiling grain and was indeed wary of Zhao Kuangyin, but he also knew in his heart that the threat from the Mongols was no exaggeration. However, once power is in one's hands, it is difficult to let go of it.

Upon seeing this, the officials below began to whisper among themselves. Some thought Zhao Kuangyin was absolutely right, and that the priority should now be resisting foreign enemies; others thought that Li Yujing had more seniority and was more suitable to take charge of the overall situation in Yuzhou; still others adopted a wait-and-see attitude, and no one wanted to easily take sides.

The north wind blew in through the cracks in the lobby door, causing the candlelight to flicker and casting the shadows of the two people on the wall in an alternating pattern.

Looking at Li Yujing's stubborn profile, Zhao Kuangyin felt helpless. He knew that Li Yujing was quite capable, and if they could work together, they might be able to defend Yuzhou.

But the allure of power was too great, causing this brother-in-law to lose his former sense of the bigger picture.

“Li Yujing, I can give up the position of chief administrator, but you must immediately open the granaries to distribute grain and appease the refugees.”

"Immediately allocate provisions to the border garrison and order them to hold their ground and await reinforcements; immediately divide half of your troops and let me lead them north to resist the Mongol cavalry!"

Zhao Kuangyin's voice softened slightly.

"Don't even think about it!"

"How can I easily relinquish military power? If you head north and take the opportunity to expand your influence, how will I check and balance you?"

Li Yujing refused without even thinking.

"Look, everyone! Yuzhou is now facing a life-or-death crisis, yet Lord Li is still worried about me expanding my power!"

"I, Zhao Kuangyin, swear to Heaven that if we can defeat the Mongols and save Yuzhou, I am willing to hand over all my military power and submit to their disposal! But if Lord Li insists on doing so, once Yuzhou falls, I will expose what happened today to the world!"

Zhao Kuangyin, enraged, laughed instead, turned to the officials below the hall, and said loudly.

"Lord Li and General Zhao, please prioritize the overall situation and join forces to resist the foreign enemy!"

Upon hearing this, the officials below the hall all knelt down and said in unison.

Li Yujing looked at the officials kneeling before him, then at Zhao Kuangyin's resolute gaze, and his expression finally changed.

(End of this chapter)