Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 102 The Barbarians Are Here?

The atmosphere in Northshire grew increasingly oppressive, and the dark clouds of war loomed over the county.

After the Northern King's Palace issued a scorched-earth order, the people of Great Xia gained a new understanding of the Northern King.

No one expected that the Northern King would actually lead 30,000 soldiers to fight a decisive battle against 300,000 barbarian cavalry in Yancheng.

The fact that the once ignorant, lecherous, and incompetent Northern King had suddenly risen to power was astonishing to the people of Great Xia, especially the officials of the imperial court.

People can't help but wonder if the Northern King was truly prepared to die for the Northern Commandery.

That's 300,000 cavalry!

How could 30,000 people possibly hold them off?

Could it be that the ignorant, lecherous, and incompetent Northern King actually has a lot of backbone?

Although he indulged in debauchery and pleasure, he was actually a good prince.

At the same time, the assassination attempt on the Eighth Prince was instantly overshadowed by the Northern King's declaration of war, and it seemed that in people's eyes, it was no longer important who assassinated the Eighth Prince.

What the people of Great Xia want to know most right now is whether the Northern King can hold off the 300,000-strong barbarian army until the imperial army marches north to provide support.

As for the struggle for the throne in the capital, most ordinary people didn't care much. It could be said that Lu Chen's announcement directly focused everyone's attention on Beijun and on him personally.

This is the first prince since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty who dared to lead 30,000 soldiers in a decisive battle against the barbarians, and he was also a prince who was once considered a good-for-nothing.

This infuriated the Eighth Prince, Lu Shuyun. The Northern King had drawn all attention to the Northern Prefecture, and almost no one cared about his plight anymore.

His mansion was massacred, yet no one seemed to care. The crucial point is that the Ministry of Justice has investigated for so long, but hasn't found a single clue about the assassins, as if they had vanished into thin air.

There are even rumors circulating that he staged all of this to get the Xia Emperor's attention; it was a pure act of self-inflicted suffering.

Hearing these rumors, Lu Shuyun was furious. His mansion had been ransacked, and even the Grandmaster whom the Wang family had arranged to protect him had been killed. And yet some people were saying it was all a ruse.

Who would stage a self-inflicted injury to kill a master of their own faction?

One grandmaster is worth thousands of martial artists. Only someone insane would sacrifice a grandmaster to stage a self-inflicted injury.

……

Great Xia Dynasty.

The territory of the Prince of Qi.

A large army clad in red armor was marching rapidly, approaching Yan City.

After being delayed in the capital for so long due to the lack of supplies, Lin Xiuming finally led the imperial army of 70,000 elite troops north to resist the barbarians.

He had ordered his soldiers to march at full speed, with the aim of meeting up with the Northern King before the barbarians reached Yan City.

With their 70,000 soldiers plus the tens of thousands from the North County, they must have at least a hundred thousand soldiers.

Although they were no match for the barbarians when they went out to fight, they could still hold onto several key cities. As long as they held them, they could buy time for the various vassal kings of the Great Xia to send troops.

Especially Prince Qi, who was closest to Beijun.

If the Prince of Qi does not send troops, the barbarians will be able to directly enter his fiefdom. Therefore, the Prince of Qi will inevitably be the first among all the vassal kings to send troops. With the Prince of Qi's army, their chances of victory will be greater.

As Lin Xiuming rode on his horse, he looked at the increasingly lower mountain peaks in the distance and knew that they were not far from Beijun. Lin Xiuming was a little worried. He didn't know what the situation was like in Beijun.

Had the barbarians already entered the Northern Commandery? Had the Northern King's soldiers held the city? Had the Northern King been frightened into fleeing? He knew none of this.

Since leaving the capital, they have not received any intelligence from the Northern County, so he is now worried.

If the Northern King abandons his people and flees south, and his soldiers fail to defend the cities, losing those key cities that defend against the southward advance of the barbarians, then it would be nothing short of a pipe dream for his 70,000 soldiers to hold the Northern Commandery.

Especially in Yancheng.

Yancheng is located below the Wanning River Valley. If the barbarian cavalry were to move south, they would most likely pass through the Wanning River Valley.

If Yancheng were still standing, and they had held it, the barbarian soldiers would not have been able to march south for a while, and it would have taken them time to take a detour.

If Yancheng is lost, the barbarians will be able to advance unimpeded and directly enter the fiefdom of King Qi.

When that time comes, if the Great Xia does not gather hundreds of thousands of troops, it will be impossible to drive the barbarians out of the Northern Commandery.

Just as Lin Xiuming was looking at Beijun with worry, a soldier on horseback came up to him with a bamboo tube containing intelligence.

"General, intelligence from the Northern Commandery."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuming was stunned for a moment. He snatched the bamboo tube from the soldier's hand, took out the intelligence inside, and began to read it carefully.

Upon seeing that the Northern King had withdrawn all defenses north of Yancheng, Lin Xiuming's face turned deathly pale.

Has the Northern King gone mad?

They actually withdrew all the defenses north of Yancheng. Without those cities as a buffer, the barbarian army will directly target Yancheng.

How could the few soldiers in Yancheng possibly stop the barbarian army of 300,000!

This isn't how you shrink your defenses.

The barbarian cavalry were much faster than their marching speed; if the barbarians hadn't encountered any obstacles, they could have directly blocked Yancheng.

I'm afraid that when the imperial army arrives at Yancheng, it won't be them defending the city, but the barbarians.

At this moment, Lin Xiuming seemed to already see the scene of the defeat in the northern war and his own punishment.

Although he was the prime minister's son, he could not shirk responsibility for the defeat in the war. Even if it was not his fault, the Xia emperor would find someone to take the blame.

The Prince of the North is a prince who represents the face of the royal family, so we can't let him take the blame.

In the end, the only one who might bear the responsibility is himself, the general who led the troops north.

Lin Xiuming was furious. He really wanted to see the Queen of the North and give her a couple of punches.

However, when Lin Xiuming saw in the intelligence report that the Northern King was leading the soldiers of Yancheng to fight the barbarians to the death, Lin Xiuming's resentment towards the Northern King instantly disappeared by more than half.

He frowned, his gaze sweeping over the intelligence report in front of him repeatedly.

Lin Xiuming found it incredible that a useless prince would suddenly have such an awakening.

If the Northern King truly fought to the death, perhaps he could still be saved when they arrived in Yancheng.

If the Northern King's will is not firm and the morale of the army is shaken, then the Northern King's fate will be either death or capture by the barbarians.

After a long pause, Lin Xiuming came to his senses and shouted, "Speed ​​up the march! We must meet up with the Northern King before the barbarians reach Yan City!"

……

Beijun.

Yancheng, the Northern King's Mansion.

Lu Chen was in his study carefully reading the intelligence about Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao that Wu Yuan had sent him.

Lu Chen was most interested in Yelü Nanyan's information. Yelü Nanyan, a woman, was able to hold such a high position in the Sirius King's tribe and make the Sirius King listen to her so much. It was clear that she was indeed very extraordinary and not an ordinary woman.

Just then, a soldier's voice rang out from the study doorway, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

Hearing Mu Changtian's urgent voice, Lu Chen immediately said, "Come in."

The soldier pushed open the door and entered. Before Lu Chen could even ask any questions, the soldier spoke up, "Your Highness, a cavalry force from the Wanning River Valley is rapidly approaching Yancheng! They appear to be the vanguard of barbarian cavalry!"

Since this book was first published on Qread, Qread's rating is quite important.

For every ten five-star reviews QRead receives, I will add one more chapter.

All you need to do is give it five stars when you leave a comment; it's that simple.

I also recommend a similar novel, "Many Children, Many Blessings: Starting as a Feudal King in the Apocalypse," an ancient post-apocalyptic novel. Like my book, it's about vying for supremacy and also a harem story. If you like this type of novel, you might want to check it out.

(End of this chapter)