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

Chapter 164 I am quite interested in this Northern King.

Upon hearing Wu Yunwan's words, Chai Jiliang said, "Since the Princess has said so, then I am relieved."

At this moment, Wu Yunwan glanced at Chai Jiliang and then continued, "I am very curious, why does Lord Chai want my father to end the war? Could it be that Lord Chai has accepted money from Great Xia?"

Chai Jiliang immediately replied, "Your Highness, the reason I advised Your Majesty to end the war is entirely because Great Wu can no longer bear the evil consequences of war."

"The people of Da Wu are now living in misery. Da Wu has maintained an army of over a million people all year round, which has led to fewer and fewer people farming. If the war continues like this, it may not only incite a popular uprising, but Da Wu will also soon face a large-scale famine."

"The people are tired of war, and the soldiers are tired of war. No matter how much land they occupy, you can't see smiles on their faces. Their faces are only numb and tired."

Upon hearing Chai Jiliang's words, Wu Yunwan let out a clear, melodious laugh. "Lord Chai is truly concerned about the country and its people. No wonder his hair is almost completely white, even though he's not much older than me."

"However, I still advise Lord Chai not to disobey my father. He is still tolerant of you now. If you continue to oppose him, it will probably not be as simple as just stripping you of your position as prime minister."

"Since he ascended the throne, he has had five prime ministers, and none of them had a good ending. Lord Chai, you must not follow in their footsteps."

Chai Jiliang bowed and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. I will pay attention to it in the future."

At this moment, Wu Yunwan thought of the previous topic and continued, "What does Lord Chai think of the 50,000 heavy cavalry in the northern part of the Great Xia? Many ministers in the court believe that the 50,000 heavy cavalry are Emperor Xia's private army. However, from the information I have gathered, Emperor Xia seems to have always disliked the Prince of the North, and his dislike stems from the Prince of the North's mother, which doesn't seem like an act."

"I find it hard to believe that the Xia Emperor would entrust such an important heavy cavalry force to a son he doesn't like."

Upon hearing this question, Chai Jiliang pondered for a moment before saying, "I also think that the appearance of these 50,000 heavy cavalry is a bit too sudden. Even if these 50,000 heavy cavalry are Emperor Xia's private army, the forging of 50,000 sets of heavy cavalry armor would definitely attract the attention of the major families of Great Xia. However, as far as I know, before these 50,000 heavy cavalry appeared in Beijun, the families within Great Xia were completely unaware of these 50,000 heavy cavalry."

"Beijun does not have the capacity to forge 50,000 sets of armor. Moreover, the Northern King has only been in his fiefdom for about a year. It is simply impossible to forge 50,000 sets of heavy cavalry armor in such a short period of time."

In Chai Jiliang's view, the Xia Emperor's every move was monitored by the aristocratic families. If it was just a matter of making a few thousand sets of armor, perhaps the aristocratic families would not know.

However, the armor needed to build 50,000 sets of heavy cavalry armor is a different story; it requires a great many craftsmen and a lot of resources.

The powerful families of the Great Xia Dynasty controlled its economic lifeline and various resources. It's impossible that they didn't discover that the Xia Emperor had created 50,000 sets of heavy cavalry armor.

Even if you don't find it directly, there will always be some clues.

However, according to the intelligence gathered by Da Wu, the powerful families of Da Xia had no idea that the Xia Emperor still had a heavy cavalry force of 50,000 men.

Upon hearing Chai Jiliang's words, Wu Yunwan placed the bamboo slip in her hand on the table and then stood up. At this moment, a gentle breeze blew, and Wu Yunwan's purple dress fluttered in the wind.

Wu Yunwan asked thoughtfully, "So, Lord Chai also believes that these 50,000 heavy cavalry are not Emperor Xia's private army, but rather the army under the command of the Northern King?"

Chai Jiliang replied, "I also do not believe that these 50,000 heavy cavalry are the private army of the Northern King. If the Xia Emperor's forging of heavy cavalry armor would be discovered by the aristocratic families, there is no reason why the aristocratic families would not have any information about the Northern King forging these 50,000 sets of heavy cavalry armor. Therefore, I believe that the 50,000 heavy cavalry in the Northern King's hands are very likely from other dynasties."

Upon hearing Chai Jiliang's words, Wu Yunwan said with a smile, "Lord Chai's guess is quite interesting."

"But has Lord Chai considered how these 50,000 heavy cavalrymen arrived in the North if they came from other dynasties?"

"North of Beijun are barbarians, to the southwest is Dayue, and to the east is the sea. No matter where these 50,000 heavy cavalrymen went to Beijun from, it was impossible for them to go without any news."

Chai Jiliang said, "I have been thinking about this issue recently. According to my analysis, these 50,000 heavy cavalry are most likely from the area north of the North."

"The Northland is inhabited only by barbarians. No one in the major dynasties knows what lies beyond the Northland, and we have never explored it. Therefore, I suspect that there are other dynasties in the area north of the Northland, but we are unaware of it."

Upon hearing Chai Jiliang's words, Wu Junwan fell into deep thought, murmuring, "North of the North..."

"That is something worth paying attention to."

"The winters in the North are so cold that even the barbarians can't stand it. I'm quite curious about what kind of race can survive in the lands north of the North and even create a nation."

"However, since neither Lord Chai nor I believe that these 50,000 heavy cavalry are under the control of Great Xia, then Lord Chai need not worry that these 50,000 heavy cavalry will appear on the battlefield between Great Xia and Great Wu."

Chai Jiliang said, "Your Highness, although I do not believe that these 50,000 heavy cavalry are completely under the control of Great Xia, judging from the fact that these 50,000 heavy cavalry helped Beijun defeat the barbarian army of 300,000, it is clear that the master behind these 50,000 heavy cavalry is biased towards Great Xia. Therefore, I still believe that these 50,000 heavy cavalry will appear on the battlefield, and the aristocratic families of Great Xia will definitely find a way to send these 50,000 heavy cavalry to the battlefield."

Just then, a maid entered the palace. She went straight to Wu Yunwan's side and whispered, "Your Highness, intelligence from the Great Xia."

At this point, the maid handed the intelligence report to Wu Junwan.

Wu Yunwan then took the intelligence report, glanced at it carefully, and then smiled at Chai Jiliang and said, "Lord Chai, you don't need to worry about those 50,000 heavy cavalry appearing on the battlefield now. My people have sent word that the Northern Xian King is leading an army of 200,000 south, and the Northern King still needs those 50,000 heavy cavalry to resist the Northern Xian King's army."

This……

Chai Jiliang was stunned.

He then asked in a skeptical tone, "Princess, why would the King of Northern Xian travel south in winter?"

Wu Yunwan said calmly, "I don't know about that, but the Great Xia Dynasty has already sent 20,000 cavalrymen with supplies to the north to support Beijun. This news has been confirmed by many parties."

Seeing that Wu Yunwan had said so, Chai Jiliang finally felt a little relieved.

Wu Yunwan then said, "However, to be honest, I am quite interested in this Prince of the North."

"Despite being seen as a good-for-nothing by everyone, he manages to get everyone's attention."

"As far as I know, in addition to these 50,000 heavy cavalry, someone from Xuan Yue Palace also went to Bei Jun, and it was the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace who went to Bei Jun."

"If he didn't have any special value, the country behind these 50,000 heavy cavalry wouldn't have sent them to the Northern Commandery to help the Northern King defend against the 300,000-strong barbarian army."

"It's even more impossible for the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace to make the trip in person."

"I am very curious to know what kind of value he possesses."

(End of this chapter)