At the beginning, I gave up my military power with a cup of wine, and I ascended the throne

Chapter 245: Master Xun Deciphers the Situation
"Is there no way to break the impasse?"

for a long time.

She withdrew her gaze, frowned, and muttered to herself.

"It's not that you lost."

Master Xun shook his head, "It's not like I won."

"Master, is there really a solution?"

Xie Peiyao spoke, her tone filled with reluctance.

"Under the will of heaven, there is still a glimmer of hope. Could it be that Jizhou really has no chance at all?"

“The situation is changing too fast.”

Master Xun sighed: "Who could have thought that in just one year, such a war would break out in the three places of Jizhou, Xiliang and Northern Wei."

"With the tide, we seized five counties in Youzhou, pacified Shangdang in the west, and now occupy eight counties in Xiliang. The situation is set.

"And Jizhou is already on the decline. Even if it can defeat the Northern Wei, it will certainly be seriously damaged. With one side gaining and the other losing, it is difficult to see the future."

"The court will not sit idly by and watch Jizhou fall."

The second daughter of the Zhenbei Marquis said firmly, "My father has already submitted a petition for help. Within two months, the court will surely raise a large amount of food and fodder to send to Jizhou."

"Can these grain and grass enter Jizhou smoothly?"

Master Xun shook his head and said, "In the past, the Buddhist sect led by Shadow Mountain wanted to enter Jizhou, but was blocked outside Qingzhou City by Xiliang Hou."

"If the Xiliang Marquis doesn't want to, the Xiliang cavalry can march south and enter Qingyan Prefecture in an instant."

"He dares to rebel?"

Xie Peiyao opened her beautiful eyes wide.

"Even if there is rebellion in reality, there will be no rebellion in name only."

The Master said, "During the time of the guns, I heard that the General of Pingxi's office reopened the Northern Army and recruited soldiers. In just over a month, they had tens of thousands of soldiers."

"Now, under the command of Xiliang Hou, there are eight counties, spanning Xiliang Youzhou, two thousand miles from east to west, with three hundred thousand elite soldiers and generals."

"Even if they stole the imperial court's food supplies, the emperor would at most issue a few mild reprimands in a memorial."

"So, Jizhou is doomed?"

Xie Peiyao spoke in a low voice.

"not necessarily."

Master Xun said, "If the young lady were the Marquis of Xiliang, would she hope that Jizhou would fall, or would she wait until she had digested the five counties of Youzhou before swallowing up Jizhou in one gulp?"

"I would choose the latter."

Xie Peiyao hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"If Jizhou were to fall now, the pressure from the imperial court and Northern Wei would shift to Xiliang, and it would be extremely difficult for a small state to swallow a large one."

"So Jizhou will not fall in the short term."

Master Xun nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, "But this is only a matter of life and death in the short term. If we look at it in the long run, when Xiliang Hou completely manages the five counties of Youzhou, Jizhou will not have a single chance of survival."

"Please teach me, Master."

The second princess of Jizhou stood up and respectfully performed the etiquette as a disciple.

“It’s as difficult as climbing to heaven to be on the outside.”

Master Xun stroked his beard and shook his head: "If the Second Miss wants to break the situation, I'm afraid she will have to join the game herself."

"What does the Master mean?"

Xie Peiyao stood up.

"There are four places in the world that have the ability to break the impasse. They are the capital, Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Xiliang."

Master Xun said, "You can choose from these four."

"This first strategy is the last strategy that my master can come up with."

The Master stretched out his hand, dropped it on the chessboard, and disrupted the game. "I will go to Xiliang in a few days."

"Master, are you going to Xiliang?"

Xie Peiyao was surprised.

"Ah."

Master Xun nodded and said, "I have been in the academy for decades, and my bones are a little numb. In recent years, many students who went out to study have heard that Xiliang Hou is implementing new policies in Xiliang."

"Many disciples highly praise it. I also want to go and see it. It happens that I haven't been back to Xun's family for many years."

"Master, will you still choose Xiliang?"

Xie Peiyao smiled bitterly.

"Not a choice."

Master Xun smiled carefreely: "I'm just going to take a look first." After that, the white-haired old man walked out of the pavilion. The biting cold wind blew towards him, rustling his white Confucian robe.

Although Master Xun is over 70 years old, he is in very good health and walks with full of energy.

Watching the figure of the academy teacher walking away, Xie Peiyao felt mixed emotions.

She really wanted to persuade him not to go to Xiliang, but she didn't know how.

In recent years, Xiliang's new policies have indeed achieved unprecedented results, the people are prosperous, and all industries are booming.

Not to mention other places, just in the academy, every year there would be a horse team coming from Xiliang, carrying many high-quality coats and furs.

Many disciples of the academy rushed to buy them, and the supply even exceeded the demand.

"Miss."

The servant who had finished packing came over and asked cautiously: "Are we still leaving today?"

"Don't go."

She shook her head.

She originally planned to return to Jizhou, but after being advised by Master Xun, Xie Peiyao became hesitant.

Even if she collected the porridge, she couldn't help much.

If you want to break the impasse, there is only one place, Jizhou, Xiliang, Qingzhou or the imperial court.

It's getting late.

The second young lady of Jizhou lay on the bed, tossing and turning, thinking about what Master Xun had said during the day.

Entry.

Where are you going?

The imperial court is out of reach and cannot resolve Jizhou's crisis for the time being, and the Marquis of Qingzhou is afraid that he would not dare to lend a helping hand at this time.

That leaves only Jizhou and Xiliang.

Should I go back to Jizhou or go to Xiliang?
There is one more place.

If we can persuade the Northern Wei to withdraw its troops, that would be fine.

But Xie Peiyao rejected this possibility. She was the second lady of Jizhou. Once she entered the Northern Wei Dynasty, it would be a hundred harms and no benefit.

Not to mention whether he could persuade the Northern Wei to withdraw its troops, even if he could, Xiao Han and the censors from the Censorate would seize the opportunity.

Given the emperor's suspicious character, I'm afraid Xie Xuanli will be involved.

Jizhou?
Xiliang?

She lay flat on her back, staring at the roof with empty eyes. The doors and windows made a rattling noise due to the cold wind.

The noise kept Xie Peiyao awake all night.

"Can returning to Jizhou help break the impasse?"

She asked herself.

After a moment, he shook his head: "No."

Jizhou's military strength and food supplies have been stretched to the limit, and there is no way to break the impasse without external intervention.

There is only one choice.

That is Xiliang.

The impasse can only be broken by convincing Xiao Han to send troops to Northern Wei.

the next morning.

Xie Peiyao, who was waiting for the two panda-eyed men, took two servants and drove a carriage out of the academy, heading north to Qingzhou.

Capital.

It's snowing heavily.

The majestic imperial city stood between heaven and earth, with endless halls and countless palace maids and slaves sweeping the snow.

Inside the Weiyang Palace.

Wisps of smoke rose from the incense burner, emitting a faint fragrance. The door of the hall was closed and two windows were open.

The current emperor was leaning on the dragon throne, reading the memorial in his hand with great interest.

"It seems like this is the first time Xie Xuanli has bowed to the imperial court in all these years."

"It's the first time you bow to me."

The emperor spoke with a sigh: "My son-in-law is so capable that he swallowed up the five counties of Youzhou in one breath."

"Now we are just standing by and watching the battle between Jizhou and Northern Wei."

Gao Qian, who was serving beside him, lowered his head and looked submissive, without responding.

(End of this chapter)