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

Chapter 77 Order to Expand the Army

Upon hearing Right Chancellor Zhao Wenhan's words, Left Chancellor Lin Gaoyuan chuckled and said, "The border vassal kings do indeed have the responsibility to resist foreign invasions, but the Northern Commandery only has 30,000 troops. Does Chancellor Zhao believe that the Northern King can repel the barbarian invasion with these 30,000 troops?"

Zhao Wenhan immediately replied, "I did not say that."

At this point, Zhao Wenhan looked at Emperor Xia on the dragon throne and continued, "Your Majesty, Beijun is the front line against the barbarians. The regular 30,000 troops are no longer sufficient to resist the barbarian invasion. Therefore, I believe it is time to issue an order to expand the army in Beijun."

As soon as Zhao Wenhan said this, the court was abuzz with discussion.

Since the Xia emperor ascended the throne, he issued a decree to limit the number of troops in order to prevent the vassal kings from rebelling.

Within a prince's fiefdom, the maximum number of soldiers allowed is determined by the size of the land.

The maximum number of troops in Beijun is 50,000, which is why when Lu Chen said he wanted to recruit new soldiers, he only recruited 10,000.

Zhao Wenhan's words seemed reasonable, after all, Beijun was on the front line of resisting the barbarians, so it was only right to give the King of the North more soldiers.

but……

Once this precedent is set, other border vassal kings will also use the same excuse to expand their armies.

Resisting the barbarians is resisting foreign invasion, but what about the other major dynasties in the Xia Dynasty? Although these dynasties haven't fought for many years, who can say for sure what will happen if one of them attacks?

If the Northern Commandery has expanded its army, other border vassal kings will surely demand similar expansions.

This will obviously cause a chain reaction.

Moreover, if the Northern Commandery expands its army, other dynasties might suddenly launch an attack on the Great Xia.

Not all vassal kings were law-abiding citizens; it was not impossible that they colluded with foreign enemies and used this as leverage to demand that the court issue an order to expand the army.

Emperor Xia was not a fool; he was well aware of the consequences of issuing the order to expand the army in the Northern Commandery.

However, at this moment, Emperor Xia still spoke up: "Issue an edict: Beijun is the front line against the barbarian invasion. The 30,000 troops in Beijun are no longer sufficient to resist the barbarian invasion. Effective immediately, the maximum number of soldiers in Beijun will be increased to 150,000. Furthermore, the King of Beijun is the vassal king of Beijun. No matter what happens, the King of Beijun must not desert his post and must defend Beijun!"

Upon hearing Emperor Xia's words, Zhao Wenhan immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Emperor Xia glanced coldly at Zhao Wenhan, then continued, "Minister Wang, Minister Chu, Chancellor Lin, Chancellor Zhao, the four of you stay. Court is adjourned."

After saying this, Emperor Xia rose from his dragon throne, waved his long dragon robe sleeves, and turned to leave.

Clearly, the expansion of the army in the Northern Commandery made Emperor Xia very uncomfortable, but he had no choice but to do so.

With internal strife brewing within the Great Xia Dynasty, it is impossible for Great Xia to send hundreds of thousands of troops north to resist the barbarians.

If hundreds of thousands of troops were actually sent north, it would shake the very foundation of the nation.

Emperor Xia also realized that this invasion by the barbarians was most likely related to the aristocratic families, but whether any princes were involved remained unknown.

Now is not the time to worry about these things.

Behind every war lies politics. If, as the Northern King stated in his letter, the barbarians intend to establish a kingdom in the Northern Commandery, that is absolutely unacceptable.

Beijun is the gateway to the Great Xia. Once Beijun is occupied by the barbarians, their military might will be aimed directly at the capital.

Emperor Xia knew that to resolve this crisis, he would have to compromise not only with the barbarians but also with the aristocratic families.

This made Emperor Xia feel extremely frustrated; it was the most frustrating thing he had ever felt since ascending the throne.

The main reason was that he had just reorganized the Great Xia army, and the barbarian invasion from the south was too sudden, giving him no time to catch his breath.

If he waits another year, and the Great Xia army is fully reorganized, then when he sends troops north, those barbarian cavalry will be nothing to him.

Unfortunately, there aren't that many "what ifs".

The most urgent task is to discuss how to resolve the crisis in North County.

After summoning the four people he had just called to his study, Emperor Xia had a serious discussion about the recent southward invasion of the barbarians.

Ultimately, their discussion concluded with a desire for peace through dialogue. They agreed to send troops, but not hundreds of thousands of soldiers to march north.

As for ceding the entire Northern Commandery, that's impossible, but it's not entirely out of the question; some of the land in the Northern Commandery could be given to the barbarians.

Anyway, Beijun is the fiefdom of the Northern King, who is just a useless prince and can't manage so much land.

After discussing the specific tasks, Lin Gaoyuan left Emperor Xia's study directly.

His expression was very unpleasant, clearly indicating his dissatisfaction with the outcome of their discussion.

Emperor Xia summoned four people in total. One of them was the Minister of Revenue, and the other was the Minister of War. The third was the Right Chancellor, who was a treacherous minister who only knew how to fight for power and profit.

What good ideas can the three of them come up with when they get together?

It's nothing more than the old trick of ceding territory for personal gain.

After returning to his residence, Lin Gaoyuan sullenly remained silent for a long time.

At that moment, a man dressed in armor entered the hall.

As soon as the man entered the hall, he immediately asked, "Father, I heard that the barbarian army of 300,000 has marched south. Is that true or false?"

The southward incursion of the barbarians was a major event, and the ministers couldn't help but spread the word as soon as the court session ended. Soon, Lin Xiuming, who was in the army, also heard about it.

Lin Xiuming is now the commander of the Qilin Army, and he cares a lot about war.

Upon hearing his son's question, Lin Gaoyuan snapped out of his reverie, sighed, and said, "It's still uncertain whether it's true or not, but since the Northern King used the Red Silk Messenger, it's highly likely to be true."

Lin Xiuming continued, "Then what are Your Majesty's plans?"

Upon hearing this question, Lin Gaoyuan chuckled. "Plans? Ha, he wants you to lead 70,000 elite troops north to help the Northern King fight against the barbarian army of 300,000."

What?

Lin Xiuming was stunned when he heard his father's words.

Leading 70,000 elite troops to fight against a barbarian army of 300,000?

Are you kidding me?

Since they are described as elite troops, they must all be combat soldiers. However, even with 70,000 combat soldiers and 30,000 soldiers from the North County, the total number of soldiers is only 100,000.

Do you think 100,000 soldiers can hold off 300,000 barbarian cavalry?

Lin Xiuming frowned. The Great Xia Dynasty clearly has about 500,000 soldiers at its disposal, so why is it only sending 70,000 soldiers north?

Lin Xiuming then asked, "Father, after His Majesty reorganized the military camps, didn't he have 500,000 soldiers he could mobilize?"

Hearing his son's naive question, Lin Gaoyuan chuckled again and said, "Five hundred thousand? Does His Majesty dare to touch those five hundred thousand soldiers? If those five hundred thousand soldiers are moved, Great Xia might fall into chaos."

Lin Gaoyuan didn't elaborate on the deeper reasons. He directly told Lin Xiuming, "I don't want to say anything more. Once His Majesty's edict is issued, you should immediately lead your troops to Beijun and join forces with the Northern King."

"When fighting, you should try your best to hold off the barbarian cavalry. There is no need to fight them to the death. The real battlefield is not in the Northern Commandery, but in the imperial court."

Upon hearing Lin Gaoyuan's reminder, Lin Xiuming seemed to understand something and immediately said, "Okay, Father, I understand what you mean."

……

Beijun, Yancheng.

A woman dressed in a long black robe and holding a long sword walked slowly through the streets of Yancheng.

The woman's face was as cold as ice, yet incomparably beautiful, like a goddess untouched by worldly affairs.

Just then, a speeding carriage passed by her.

The wind blew open the curtains of the carriage, revealing a stunningly beautiful woman in white.

The woman in black and the woman in white made eye contact.

But it only lasted for a moment.

The carriage continued on its way, leaving the woman in black standing there, coldly watching the departing carriage.

(End of this chapter)