Chapter 627: Ryukyu Returns
Zhao Feiyan said firmly: No matter how difficult it is, these places are the territories of our New Song Dynasty and must be defended.
She felt that it was time to inspect the various states in Gansu Road. Due to the war in recent years, they have been so busy with this that they have not been able to take care of that. Now it's time to free up some time.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said: The officials in these places think that they are far away from the emperor and no one is in charge of them, so they can't be allowed to act too recklessly.
Feiyan said that she would discuss with Lord Hua tomorrow and send imperial envoys to inspect Gansu and Shaanxi.
Fenghuang was the first to put down her chopsticks. She went over to Zhao Yulin and said, "I haven't inspected my room for a long time. Is it possible tonight?"
The beauties burst into laughter.
Zhao Yulin glared at her and told her to take a walk together since they had just had dinner.
The women burst into laughter again.
Fenghuang took his hand and walked out openly. The two of them walked through the yard. It was late spring in March, the grass was growing and the birds were singing. The flowers and plants in the yard were already lush and green.
He asked Fenghuang where he was planning to inspect.
The woman pulled his neck and patted him, saying that he was really smart. She had discussed with Brother Miao and planned to go through Guizhou, Guangnan West and Thang Long Prefecture.
He said that the further south he went, the hotter the sun became, and he was afraid that he would be so tanned that he would be unrecognizable when he returned.
The woman immediately said with a pitiful look on her face, “Then give my sister some pain.”
Zhao Yulin stopped looking at her and just kept walking forward. When she returned to her room, she honestly worked as a maid, carefully bathing and dressing Fenghuang, and serving her happily all night.
At dawn, Fenghuang set out on the journey south to Guizhou.
The grassland empire in Mobei was already very lively at this time.
The New Song Dynasty suspended its attack, and the border between the two countries finally became peaceful for a rare time, but they themselves could not sit still.
Hubli's younger brother Alibuge, with the strong support of Kuochun and Mengge's wives and children, proclaimed himself emperor and ascended the throne of the Great Khan. The first move he made was to slash at his own brother Hubli.
Alibuga's advisers used sharp words to enumerate the crimes of Hubili, scolding him for promoting Han rituals, employing Han officials, forgetting his ancestors and breaking his promises. They called on the princes of the grassland to rise up in arms and destroy Hubili.
That guy was stunned when he saw A Li Bu Ge’s declaration of war. Is this still his own brother?
How could Hubili know that ever since he took away A Li Bu Ge's beloved woman, the seeds of hatred had been sown. The two of them had long been sworn enemies, so how could there be any brotherhood between them?
Not only that, even Xu Liewu, who publicly expressed his neutrality secretly sent 30,000 troops to Alibuge. The wealth of this brother when he went to the Western Regions was all arranged and purchased by Hubili himself.
Seeing the brothers turning against each other and about to kill each other, his mother Sulu Henidi was so angry that she cried all day long, but she was helpless.
Hubli felt that the problem was serious and had to be dealt with as soon as possible. If the Badu family on the Ross Plain also clearly supported Alibuga and supported him to be the Khan, Hubli would have to give up the position of Khan even if he had the legitimacy of the royal court.
Because the Khans on the grasslands have always been judged by their strength, unlike the hereditary system of the Central Plains dynasties, and certainly not the democratic republic that Zhao Yulin is practicing now.
This guy did not dare to be careless and immediately dispatched troops to plan a western expedition.
At the same time, Hubili did not forget to write a letter to Zhao Yulin of the New Song Dynasty, stating their relationship, promising to give Goryeo to the New Song Dynasty, and hoping that Zhao Yulin would not cut off his retreat.
Hubili knew very well that once the army set out, it would inevitably be exposed, and he was worried that Zhao Yulin would take the opportunity to attack the grassland. If that happened, the old camp of the grassland empire in the east would be in danger.
However, when he thought of the prosperous cities of the New Song Dynasty and the advanced weapons on the battlefield that he saw in Shu, an idea suddenly came to his mind.
He suddenly realized that although he could not defeat the Shenwei Army, the weapons and soldiers in his hands were five or even ten times more than those of Ali Buge's men. Why not take this opportunity to attack and occupy their territory and accumulate strength in another place?
This was inspired by his traditional nomadic habits. If he could win, he would fight. If he couldn't win, he would run away. After all, the horse ran fast. He could hide far away to conserve his strength and then come back to hit the enemy with a hammer. He would still kill the enemy.
This guy was sitting on the dragon chair thinking when his Chinese professor, Mr. Yao, requested an audience.
Mr. Yao is knowledgeable and wise. One of his greatest strengths is that he looks down on the New Song State and Zhao Qier.
He thought that he would be able to conquer the world by following the heroic leader Hubili. However, he did not expect that the invincible and prosperous grassland cavalry would stop in front of the mighty army formed by Zhao Yulin.
When Mr. Yao arrived at the Mobei royal court, due to the cold climate, he could only live in a tent with a bunch of great scholars all day long, drinking and chatting. He was very unwilling.
After he entered and bowed, he respectfully reported to Hubili: Great Khan, the empire has lost a large amount of territory and military power, and Ariq Boke in the west has rebelled again. The situation is extremely critical. The Khan should make a decision as soon as possible, march west to quell the rebellion, and quickly eliminate this source of evil, otherwise there will be endless troubles.
Hubili pretended to look at him seriously and motioned him to continue. But in his heart he said with disdain: I know all this, but it's useless to say it. The key is what to do?
Mr. Yao went on to say: I think that the Khan should also use the opportunity of advancing westward to quell the rebellion to unify the people’s hearts.
Hubili was surprised. Not bad. This person thinks the same as I do.
He gestured to continue.
The gentleman went on to say: More than half of the combat-capable soldiers under the command of the Khan are Han troops. These ruffians have lived in the farming areas of Hebei for a long time and are accustomed to eating rice and white noodles. They are not adapted to the life of galloping on the grassland. They must be uprooted before they can be driven by the Khan.
The best way is to reward them with some gold, silver and beautiful women to stabilize them, and transfer them away from the border of New Song Dynasty to the west to attack Alibuga. These bandit leaders are far away from their homeland, and they will surely serve the Khan wholeheartedly after they cannot return.
Hubili thought it was wonderful. He was delighted and nodded calmly while drinking tea.
When Mr. Yao saw Hubili pick up the tea bowl, he immediately realized that the Khan was tired of listening and thought that he had come up with a bad idea and the Khan didn't like it. He quickly said goodbye, bowed and backed away.
When he returned, he boasted and said with great pride: This time, the Khan chatted with me for half an hour with great interest, and he was very appreciative of the western expedition strategy I proposed.
These learned scholars and professors who moved from the Tai Chi Academy in Yanjing to the Desert Royal Court knew when they arrived at the Grassland Royal Court that they could never return to the Central Plains.
When they lived in Yanjing, they still felt at home, after all, they were Han Chinese, people from the Central Plains. They were sure that the great hero in their hearts, Hubili, would ascend to the throne and rule the Central Plains in the future. They were still the superior people in the Central Plains even though they attached themselves to the powerful.
They had never thought that they would move so soon, and finally came to the Mobei Royal Court. If they really wanted to herd sheep like Su Wu, they could have left a name for themselves, but they were not like that.
Sinology scholars like Mr. Yao are all wise men who have been immersed in history books since childhood, so they naturally have a deep understanding of problems. These think tanks saw the rapid expansion of the grassland empire and then quickly retracted it, which is a good interpretation of the idiom "one rises while the other falls".
When he learned that Alibuge had rebelled and a fratricidal civil war was about to break out within the grassland empire, he knew that even if Hubili had the means to turn the tide, he would not have the strength to march into the Central Plains in a short time.
Because the New Song Dynasty has not yet organized its military forces to march north to conquer the grassland empire.
However, the New Song Dynasty has the strength to do so, and the Shenwei Army is too powerful. Even if they don't come this year, the Shenwei Army will definitely march north next year, the year after, or the year after that.
Each of these old traitors has read Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong" and knows the shame and hatred in the bones of the Song people. If they get the chance, they will definitely go straight to Huanglong.
Therefore, they judged that the Northeast could not be defended, and it was not impossible for the Shenwei Army to directly attack the royal court after it had a large cavalry regiment.
Then, the grassland empire will always be under the harassment of the Divine Power Army.
Where is the safe place?
Kuoduan instigated Alibughe to rebel, and after the Chagatai Khanate got involved, they thought of the distant Western Regions, which were vast and rich in resources, and full of ruthless people who took up swords and killed people and robbed silver. Isn't it a good place to spread scriptures and give away treasures?
Mr. Yao didn't know that his idea was exactly what Hubili wanted, and the royal court deployed the Western Expedition even more quickly.
Sulu Henidi guessed about 80% of what Hubili was doing when she saw his house-moving-style mobilization arrangement. She became nervous. If this continued, wouldn't they have to completely abandon the place where the empire was founded?
She immediately summoned her son, the Great Khan, for questioning.
Hubili no longer concealed the truth from his mother. He personally brought a bowl of milk tea to Sulu Henidi and said honestly: The Song State in the south was a sleeping lion and has been awakened by Zhao Yulin.
Mother, do you know? The state under my sister's rule has a population of one million, and their national population exceeds 10 million. If they select warriors from a hundred miles away to fight, they will have a force of one million strong.
Our grassland empire has every citizen as a soldier. Even so, the total number of men, women, young and old is only about one million. How can we compete with the New Song Dynasty?
Sulu Henidi knew all this. She was helpless, but had to believe it. Just based on the fact that her husband was defeated in the war, her eldest son died, and her fourth son personally found out the truth about the New Song Dynasty, she had to believe it.
Hubili said firmly: We must bide our time and gather our strength to make a comeback.
In the Song Kingdom south of the South China Sea, the false emperor Zhao Bing was also thinking hard about how to make a comeback?
In the past few years, Zhao Bing used both suppression and appeasement to expand his influence to the entire island. After establishing the veritable Song State, he further moved south to Mayi, aiming to conquer all the island countries in the south.
This aroused strong resistance from the South Sea countries.
These countries have continuously sent envoys to make statements and negotiate. They all submitted to the Song Dynasty in the past. Why does the Emperor of Song want to annex them today?
Zhao Bing is now wandering overseas and doesn't care about the edicts and contracts of the previous emperor. He only wants territory and wants to keep expanding it.
These small princes were at their wits' end, so they elected King Ma Yi as their leader and united to fight against the Kingdom of Song. They even crossed the ocean to seek reinforcements from the Kingdom of Zhenla to fight against Zhao Bing's navy.
The navies of various countries attacked from multiple directions together and actually held off the Song Dynasty navy in two battles, and the two sides ended in a draw.
