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

Chapter 71 Should we ask the imperial court for help?

Upon hearing Li Rui's question, Lu Chen did not answer directly. He glanced at Qin Yushan in the crowd and then said, "Commander Qin, you answer."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, everyone's gaze fell upon Qin Yushan.

Li Rui and the others were somewhat curious: Commander?

What kind of position is this?

When did the Prince's Mansion acquire such a position?

Qin Yushan stepped out from the crowd and approached Lu Chen's table. He bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

Then, Qin Yushan said to everyone, "Our men intercepted the barbarian's summons on the grasslands. The barbarians are preparing to gather 300,000 cavalry to march south, conquer Beijun, and then establish a kingdom there, with Yancheng as their capital."

Upon hearing Qin Yushan's words, everyone's expression changed drastically.

The barbarians have always been the biggest threat to the North Commandery. The reason why the North Commandery is so poor is because the barbarians frequently raid southwards.

Unexpectedly, this time the barbarians didn't come to plunder, but instead directly occupied the North Commandery, and even wanted to establish a kingdom there.

For a moment, everyone in the study felt extremely flustered.

Li Rui, in particular, was able to become the prefect because the previous prefects had been killed by the barbarians; otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen to be the prefect.

He had thought he could finally have a few days of peace, but unexpectedly, just over a year later, the barbarians were marching south again.

Moreover, it wasn't just ordinary looting. If it were just about stealing grain, Li Rui wouldn't be so worried, because the barbarians would only raid grain in a few other cities north of Yancheng and rarely come to a city like Yancheng, which is further south.

After regaining his senses, Li Rui quickly asked, "Um, Commander Qin, is your intelligence accurate?"

The southward incursion of barbarians is a major event, not to mention the 300,000 cavalrymen attacking Beijun. This matter definitely needs to be reported to the imperial court, and it needs to be reported to the imperial court immediately.

In everyone's eyes, the 30,000 soldiers of Beijun were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of the 300,000 barbarian cavalry. They could only resist the barbarians with the help of the imperial army.

In fact, every time Beijun resisted a barbarian invasion, it relied on the imperial army. Beijun's 30,000 soldiers were only there to deal with some small fry.

Qin Yushan then said, "The intelligence we have gathered has been verified. Our people have infiltrated the barbarian royal court and personally obtained this information from a certain barbarian king."

This……

Upon hearing Qin Yushan's words, everyone's faces showed disbelief.

Who exactly is Commander Qin, who is standing next to the prince?

How could the prince's men infiltrate the barbarian royal court?

At this moment, Li Rui suddenly came to his senses. He had always thought that Lu Chen was a lazy prince who did nothing and did nothing. Now he understood that all of this was just a show put on by the Northern King for others to see.

The Northern King had long possessed a power of his own, which had infiltrated various parts of the Northern Prefecture and even the barbarian tribes.

Thinking of this, Li Rui broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, when the Northern King came to Beijun, he did not cause any trouble for the Northern King.

Otherwise, let alone his official position, he probably wouldn't even be alive now.

At this moment, Mu Changtian asked, "Your Highness, what do you plan to do? Should we seek help from the imperial court?"

With 30,000 against 300,000, there's no chance of victory. The imperial court will definitely have to send a large army, otherwise Beijun will be lost.

Lu Chen said, "I plan to send someone to inform the court of this news later. However, it will take the court at least three months to assemble a large army, while the barbarians can complete their assembly in about two months. We will still need to defend Beijun for a while."

Although Lu Chen was confident that his 30,000 soldiers could hold Beijun and wipe out the 300,000 barbarian cavalry, such a matter would inevitably have to be reported to the imperial court, since Beijun was nominally part of the Great Xia Dynasty.

If a foreign enemy invades and the imperial court is not notified, regardless of whether the battle is won or lost, the court will assume that the person harbors rebellious intentions and has failed to inform the court of such an important matter.

However, the Great Xia army could not assemble as quickly as the barbarians; it would take at least two or three months to mobilize a large army.

There's a saying that an army marches on its stomach, and the Xia army certainly wasn't as fast as the barbarian cavalry.

Moreover, this is in Beijun, where the roads are extremely bad, and it will take even more time for Daxia to mobilize a large army.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Li Rui's face turned even paler.

If the barbarians march south, they could probably occupy the entire Northern Commandery in less than a month. The Great Xia army takes so long to assemble, and by the time the Great Xia army arrives, their 30,000 soldiers will probably all be dead.

I can't even imagine what Yancheng will be like at that time.

Lu Chen continued, "I plan to evacuate all the people north of Yancheng to the south of Yancheng, and then concentrate all our forces to hold off the 300,000-strong barbarian army in Yancheng. General Mo, you have fought against the barbarian army before, what do you think of this idea?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's question, Mu Changtian paused for a second, then frowned slightly.

He then glanced at the map and asked, "Scorched earth is not a problem, but if we evacuate all the people north of Yancheng, the barbarian army will be able to advance straight to Yancheng. It will be difficult for 30,000 soldiers to defend Yancheng."

Mu Changtian was well aware of the strength of the barbarian cavalry. Most of the barbarian cavalry were elite, and it was highly unlikely that 30,000 soldiers could hold off 300,000 enemy cavalry.

Lu Chen continued, "What if I possessed a weapon capable of instantly shattering a cavalry formation?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Li Feng and the others' eyes lit up instantly.

Those who had followed the Northern King from the beginning knew very well that he possessed some mysterious weapons, such as explosive stones and a black staff capable of instantly killing a ninth-rank martial artist.

There are now rumors circulating in the army that the Northern King has received the inheritance of an immortal.

As for whether there is a lineage of immortals, that doesn't matter. As long as the Northern King has a weapon capable of eliminating the barbarians, or if such a weapon can be mass-produced, that's fine too.

Just as Mu Changtian was about to ask Lu Chen what kind of weapon it was, Lu Chen looked at the map and continued to ask, "General Mo, I plan to lure the barbarian cavalry to the Wanning River Valley and then ambush them on the high ground of the valley. I wonder if you think this plan is feasible?"

Mu Changtian had fought against the barbarians several times, so he knew the barbarian situation best. Therefore, Lu Chen wanted to ask for his opinion.

Professional tasks should be left to professionals.

After hearing Lu Chen's words, Mu Changtian looked at the map on the table seriously, but he did not answer immediately.

After a long pause, Mu Changtian finally spoke, "If Your Highness were in Yancheng, it wouldn't be difficult to lure the barbarian cavalry to the Wanning River Valley. The Wanning River Valley has a relatively flat terrain, making it easier for the barbarian cavalry to move south and head straight for Yancheng."

"However, Your Highness... if you set up an ambush in the Wanning River Valley, even with 30,000 men, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop the barbarian cavalry's charge."

The Wanning River Valley is surrounded by high ground on both sides, with a flat plain in front. Even if the barbarian cavalry were ambushed in the Wanning River Valley, others could quickly pass through it by speeding up.

The Wanning River Valley isn't very long, and it would be difficult to stop the barbarian cavalry's charge without at least 100,000 men.

Moreover, the 30,000 soldiers of Beijun will be ambushed on the high ground on both sides, so there won't be 30,000 soldiers to face them head-on.

(End of this chapter)