Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 175 From this point on, the roles of offense and defense have reversed.
Tongguan.

After Xiao Zan left, Hou Jing asked with a puzzled look:

"My lord, what's the point of bringing such a thing here?"

The princes of the Southern Dynasty, or rather, those of the previous dynasty, appeared weak and frail. In Hou Jing's eyes, they were simply a waste of money to be raised.

Li Shuang smiled.

"Don't be fooled by his current weak appearance; it's all an act. He's actually quite ruthless!"

Hou Jing was astonished upon hearing this.

"How to say it?"

"This kid dug up Xiao Baojuan's grave and even killed one of his own sons in order to verify whether the blood test for kinship was real."

Even though Hou Jing was ruthless, he was still somewhat taken aback when he first heard this.

"Not only that, when the Liang army took advantage of Yuan Faseng's rebellion, he occupied Pengcheng. He secretly wrote to Xiao Baoyin and asked Xiao Yan for permission to lead an expedition to defend Pengcheng. However, he secretly defected to Yuan Yu, who was sent to quell the rebellion, and killed a whole city's Liang army. In the end, only 20% to 30% of the Liang army survived."

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing stroked his beard, smacked his lips, and asked:
"He leads troops into battle, so he certainly can't bring his family to the front lines. He ran away, not caring about his family at all?"

"Xiao Yan was furious upon hearing this, but ten days later he pardoned Xiao Zan's family!"

Hou Jing was even more stunned upon hearing this.

"Is this even possible? If Emperor Liang does this, how can the laws be enforced? Won't the Liang Kingdom descend into chaos?"

The Grand General of the Universe was knowledgeable about the law. He also knew that if the rebels and their families were not punished, who would obey him in the future? Wouldn't they all rebel?

Han Ling then stepped forward, listened to Hou Jing's words, and smiled:

"The Liang Kingdom is not in chaos; on the contrary, it is very prosperous!"

Hou Jing turned around, saw Han Ling, and asked in confusion:

"how so?"

Clearly, this was beyond Hou Jing's comprehension.

Han Ling bowed to Li Shuang, and then slowly said:
"Xiao Yan was a man of great talent and ambition, whose learning and literary skills were rarely matched by ancient rulers. Moreover, he was able to distinguish between loyalty and treachery. With such wisdom, controlling the Southern Dynasty would have been a piece of cake. He ruled the Liang Dynasty through political maneuvering!"

Hou Jing shook his head, staring at Han Ling with a look of utter incomprehension.

"Simply put, he pardoned Xiao Zan's mother and son because these people posed no threat to him whatsoever, and on the contrary, he gained a reputation for benevolence."

Hou Jing nodded at Han Ling's words, finally understanding, and murmured:
"That person surnamed Xiao is actually quite nice!"

Han Ling listened, a smile spreading across his face. Hou Jing appeared dull and simple, always speaking his mind, but he was quick to understand. Compared to Xiao Yan, he was the complete opposite.

"My lord, Tong Pass has been captured, but what about Guanzhong?"

Li Shuang asked:

"What do you think of the current situation in Guanzhong, sir?"

Han Ling thought for a moment and summarized it in three words.

"Poor, chaotic, and disorganized!"

Li Shuang then asked:
"What do you think should be done, sir?"

"Construct water conservancy projects, establish military farms and promote commerce to alleviate poverty; suppress rebel armies and win over the hearts of the people to quell chaos; pacify the Han and pacify the Hu people, each fulfilling their proper role to manage the complexities!"

As he spoke, Han Ling cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Shuang and said:
"To achieve the three goals, we must quickly capture Xiao Baoyin, and Xiao Zan is a good card to play."

Li Shuang instead said:

"Sir, these three treatments will probably take at least ten years to be effective!"

"Exactly!"

From Han Ling's perspective, capturing Chang'an and taking Xiao Baoyin would be relatively easy. The real challenge, however, was governing Guanzhong, which presented a myriad of complex issues.

"Ten years of effort, when will we ever get there?"

"What does my lord mean?"

Li Shuang pointed outside Tongguan and said:

"What do you see over there?"

Han Ling stroked his beard, squinted, and finally saw clearly.

"A group of Hu people seemed to be arguing."

Li Shuang shook his head and asked Hou Jing again.

"What do you see over there?"

Hou Jing didn't even look at it, and said directly:

"Nothing at all!"

Han Ling was stunned when he heard this.

"Hou Jing, go and attack Huazhou!"

"promise!"
-

Changan.

"What did you say?" Xiao Baoyin looked at her advisor in disbelief, her face full of astonishment.

"Huazhou City has fallen!"

Wei Langen looked terrible. After hearing the news, he checked it again and again, almost thinking he was hallucinating.

Xiao Baoyin held his hand and asked:

How was it lost?

"Li Shuang's general Hou Jing led three hundred cavalry to ten miles outside Huazhou City. He sent a general from one of the Six Garrisons and more than ten soldiers from the Six Garrisons to provoke Zhang Shirong outside the city. Zhang Shirong underestimated them and did not close the city gates. Who knew that these ten or so cavalrymen would drive straight into the city and no one could stop them. The general from the Six Garrisons even killed Zhang Shirong with a single stroke. Then Hou Jing let his troops in, and Huazhou City surrendered!"

No wonder Wei Langen looked so pale. Even Xiao Baoyin was shocked when he heard this, and almost thought he was joking.

If Xiao Baoyin hadn't known that Wei Langen never joked...

"What about the troops in Huazhou City?"

"Hou Jing captured more than fifty men of centurion rank and above, and released the rest."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Baoyin was momentarily confused about Li Shuang's intentions, but then Wei Langen continued:

"Not only that, Hou Jing also used the pretext that the Hu people in Huazhou had sided with the rebels to arrest the leaders of various tribes, their subordinates, their relatives, and more than fifty people, and sent them all to Luoyang."

What for?

"They said it was to present prisoners of war!"

"Was there no resistance?"

Wei Langen nodded.

"Yes, but Hou Jing slaughtered them all!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Baoyin laughed loudly:
"Okay!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Langen wondered if Xiao Baoyin had been scared out of her wits.

But Xiao Baoyin remained calm at this moment and said:

“Li Shuang’s perverse actions are unpopular. Just watch, the Hu people in the various prefectures of Guanzhong will surely live in fear.”

Xiao Baoyin's ascension to the throne was originally unpopular.

The Hu people in Guanzhong were loyal to the Wei dynasty, while the Han people were not fond of it.

Upon hearing this, Wei Langen understood Xiao Baoyin's meaning.

"I will immediately go and contact the tribal leaders of the various Hu peoples in the provinces!"

Xiao Baoyin stopped Wei Langen, and for the first time, he didn't seem to be in such a hurry.

"No, don't rush."

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Baoyin straightened her body, revealing the dignified demeanor of a nobleman.

"In the past, I was the one showering them with money; now it's their turn to pay tribute to me!"
-

Luoyang.

Yuan Xu looked at the memorial in his hand and said angrily:

"This traitor!"

Yuan Xu's confidant, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, Gu Hui, cupped his hands and said:

Why is Your Majesty doing this?

Yuan Xu sat on his throne, furious.

"Li Shuang has recaptured Huazhou!"

Gu Hui didn't understand.

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Yuan Xu stood up and cursed:
"What's so good about it? He even sent over three thousand prisoners to Luoyang, saying it was a tribute!"

"Show prisoners?"

Gu Hui was stunned, but then heard Yuan Xu say sarcastically:

"Back then, when Huo Qubing raided Yizhixie's stronghold, he captured more prisoners than he did!"

"Then quickly order the generals in various regions to lead their troops to intercept them!"

"Can we stop them? He occupied Tongguan and sent Xue Xiuyi to take Shancheng. Who in the counties and prefectures along the way would dare to stop them!"

Yuan Xu said fiercely:
"This traitorous minister, compared to Xiao Baoyin, is considered loyal and pure in thought. How could I have thought he was a loyal minister in the first place!"

At this moment, Yuan Xu had never felt such an urgent expectation—

Xiao Baoyin, you absolutely must win!

……

(End of this chapter)