The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

Sitting on Ashina Sun's throne, Xiao Jingchen did not feel the joy that a victor should have.

His mood was as calm as an ancient well.

For him, conquering the grasslands was merely a logical step in his overall plan. Like a chess player who has captured an important piece, though crucial, the game is far from over.

The real enemy is never on the grasslands.

In that seemingly prosperous capital city, undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface.

"Your Highness."

Chen Jing's voice rang out from outside the tent. He lifted the curtain and walked in, holding a letter sealed with sealing wax.

"An urgent letter from the capital."

Xiao Jingchen's eyes flickered.

He took the letter and saw the familiar special mark on it, belonging to the "Dark Raven" intelligence network he had left in the capital.

He tore open the seal, pulled out the letter, and read it quickly.

The letter was short, but contained a great deal of information.

First, the three hundred heads of the Kheshig guards that he sent back, along with the news of Ashina Sun's capture, were like a thunderbolt detonating in the capital. The entire court was shaken.

The young Emperor Li Chengqian was overjoyed in the court and publicly read out the victory report, praising Xiao Jingchen as "the number one war god of the Great Yan Dynasty and a pillar of the nation".

The civil officials, led by Zhou Wenyuan, were all deathly pale and silent as if trembling with fear.

They never imagined that this Northern Expedition, which they considered to be of uncertain outcome and potentially even mutually destructive, would achieve such a decisive victory in such a crushing manner.

After this battle, Xiao Jingchen's prestige has reached an unprecedented peak.

This is not the outcome they wanted to see.

Secondly, the letter mentioned a key figure—the Empress Dowager.

After the good news reached the capital, the Empress Dowager, who had always lived a secluded life and did not concern herself with politics, surprisingly summoned several core cabinet ministers, led by Zhou Wenyuan, and had a private conversation in the Cining Palace for an entire afternoon.

The Dark Ravens were unable to find out exactly what was discussed.

But after that, Zhou Wenyuan and the others seemed to have calmed down considerably. The previously anxious and uneasy court also became strangely calm.

Third, and most important.

The Yuezhi are making unusual movements.

Just as Xiao Jingchen's main force was engaged in a decisive battle with Ashina Sun, the Yuezhi Kingdom in the Western Regions suddenly assembled an army of 100,000, claiming to "avenge their ally Ashina Sun," and advanced eastward, deploying their troops outside the Jade Gate Pass in the western border of the Great Yan Kingdom.

However, they did not attack the city immediately, but instead set up camp outside the pass, adopting a menacing posture.

Its intention is self-evident.

They are taking advantage of the situation.

They had calculated correctly that Xiao Jingchen's 200,000-strong army, after its repeated battles with Ashina Sun, would inevitably be exhausted and suffer heavy casualties.

At this time, they waited in comfort and deployed troops on the border, intending to put pressure on the Great Yan Dynasty and demand benefits.

Either we cede territory.

Either pay compensation.

This is their usual trick.

"hehe."

After reading the letter, Xiao Jingchen let out a cold laugh that had an ambiguous meaning.

He casually placed the letter on the charcoal fire and watched it slowly turn to ashes.

"Your Highness, what happened?" Chen Jing asked, noticing his strange expression.

"It's nothing," Xiao Jingchen said casually. "A bunch of clowns trying to get a piece of the pie."

He stood up and paced back and forth inside the enormous golden tent.

Empress Dowager, Zhou Wenyuan, the Yuezhi...

These three things seem unrelated, but at this point in time, they all showed unusual activity.

If there's nothing fishy going on here, then Xiao Jingchen's name should be written backwards.

He could almost guess how the game was going to go.

Zhou Wenyuan and his ilk feared that his great victory in the Northern Expedition would bring him too much prestige, threatening their positions and even the young emperor's throne.

However, they lack the ability to militarily confront themselves.

Therefore, they need an outside helper.

One, an external aid that can restrain me and prevent me from returning home smoothly.

So they found the Yuezhi.

They may even have reached some kind of secret agreement with the Yuezhi through the Empress Dowager's connections.

For example, if the Yuezhi send troops to create trouble in the western border, preventing Xiao Jingchen from escaping, the Great Yan Dynasty would be willing to cede certain interests in the western border as a reward.

For the Yuezhi, this was an incredible windfall.

They don't need to pay any real price; they just need to bring their army outside Yumen Pass and make a show of it to take a piece of the fat flesh from the Great Yan.

Why not?

What a brilliant "using one enemy to devour another" strategy.

What a grand spectacle of "collusion between insiders and outsiders"!

They thought they had just fought a fierce battle and were exhausted, so they were no longer able to deal with the 100,000-strong army in the west.

They thought they would be overwhelmed and caught in a dilemma by this sudden change.

They thought that as long as they could stall them, they could calmly make arrangements in the capital and gradually weaken their influence.

"Innocent."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Xiao Jingchen's lips.

They miscalculated one thing.

That is, they simply don't understand what kind of force they actually control.

They had no idea how easily they had won this Northern Expedition.

"Chen Jing." Xiao Jingchen stopped in his tracks, his eyes revealing a murderous intent.

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Send the order: the army will rest for three days. After three days, leave 50,000 troops to guard the grasslands in conjunction with the Commerce Department. The remaining 150,000 troops, including Lei Lie's Northern Frontier Cavalry and all the newly reorganized grassland cavalry, will march west!"

Chen Jing's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Your Highness, do you mean...we're going to Yumen Pass?"

"No." Xiao Jingchen shook his head, his finger drawing a shocking arc on the map.

That line did not point to Yumen Pass.

Instead, they bypassed Yumen Pass and went directly into the heart of the Western Regions, heading towards the capital of the Yuezhi Kingdom!

"Don't they like to garrison troops on the border and act like scoundrels towards us?"

"Then let's be straightforward."

"We will go and destroy their country."

Chen Jing's breathing stopped.

He looked at Xiao Jingchen and felt like he was looking at a madman.

Having just finished a war that annihilated a nation, without even taking a breath, they are about to start another, even larger-scale war of annihilation?

This...this is beyond insanity.

This is the spirit only gods and demons possess!

"Your Highness...we...our logistics..." Chen Jing stammered.

Continuous operations place immense pressure on logistics.

"Logistics?" Xiao Jingchen laughed. "What are we standing on right now?"

"It's a grassland."

"What is the one thing that is most abundant on the grasslands?"

"It's...it's cattle, sheep, and warhorses..." Chen Jing's mind instantly clicked.

"That's right." Xiao Jingchen's eyes gleamed. "We now have the cattle and sheep of the entire grassland for meat, and countless warhorses for mounts. Our soldiers can ride two horses, or even three, on long-distance raids. Our logistical burden is more than ten times less than it was in the interior!"

"That's why I decided to conquer the grasslands first!"

"Using war to sustain war!"

"Use the resources of the grasslands to fight the war in the Western Regions!"

Chen Jing finally understood.

He looked at Xiao Jingchen, his heart filled with endless admiration.

It turns out that the prince had already included the Yuezhi in his plans from the very beginning.

He conquered the grasslands not only for revenge, but also to obtain the most powerful war base that could be used for both offense and defense!

"Go and relay the order," Xiao Jingchen's voice returned to calm.

"This time, I'm going to show those self-righteous fools in the capital what's what."

"My blade, Xiao Jingchen's, can not only point north, but also west."

"Anyone who dares to cause trouble behind my back, I'll chop all their henchmen to pieces first!"