Chapter 400: Chapter 257: A Mere Two Hundred Thousand Troops, Nothing to Fear_2

Now, the chaos within the Great Wu Dynasty was unceasing, and with such commotion, the morale of Great Wu’s civilians had become unstable, and its military power would also be greatly weakened in the future. The emergence of a military monster so powerful at Great Wu’s side made Wu Junwan very uneasy.

At this moment, a soldier burst into the tent with excitement, “Princess Junwan, good news, the rebel leader plans to surrender! He wants to negotiate with you personally!”

Hearing this, Wu Junwan put down the intelligence in her hand. The affairs of the North Country could wait; she would first quell the internal turmoil within Great Wu.

Her purpose in leading troops this time was to thoroughly suppress the rebellion in the southwest. Through her various means, there were not many rebels remaining now; most of the rebels had already chosen to surrender to the Great Wu court.

Of course, in name they were surrendering to the Great Wu court, but in reality, these surrendered troops had essentially become the private soldiers of Princess Junwan. They were not surrendering directly to the court, but to Wu Junwan.

…

The Da Yue Dynasty.

The Empress’s Bedchamber.

Inside the bedchamber, red curtains fluttered in the wind, and deep within the chamber, the silhouette of a woman wearing a red Phoenix Robe could be seen now and then.

At this time, a maid entered the bedchamber.

“Your Majesty, Sir Wang requests an audience.”

The woman spoke indifferently, “Let him in.”

Her voice was crisp, cold, and penetrating, as if it directly reached one’s brain.

As the woman finished speaking, a man wearing an official hat entered the bedchamber.

“Your servant greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live, long may you reign!”

The woman then asked, “What is it?”

The official immediately took out an envelope, then said,

“Your Majesty, this is intelligence from a North Country spy.”

As he finished speaking, the intelligence in the official’s hand flew up and “whooshed” into the curtains.

Inside the curtains, the woman glanced at the contents recorded in the intelligence and then said with a smile, “Interesting.”

“It seems the Tianqi King couldn’t gain any favors from us and is a little unwilling to accept that.”

The kneeling official asked, “Your Majesty, do we need to do anything?”

“The rapid growth of the military power of the North Country is extremely disadvantageous to us in Da Yue.”

Hearing this, the woman chuckled and then said, “What, does Sir Wang intend for our soldiers to march northward at this time and attack the North Country?”

Seeing the woman’s tone was somewhat off, the official did not speak further, although that was indeed his thought.

The North Country bordered Da Yue, and it was not in Da Yue’s interest to watch the North Country grow stronger. Moreover, the North Country was a feudal state of the Great Xia Dynasty, and its strength also meant the strengthening of Great Xia.

However, hearing the tone of the Empress, it was clear she had other ideas, so the man did not speak further.

At this point, the woman said, “Sir Wang is not wrong, we indeed should do something. Send an embassy immediately to the North Country, tell them, whatever the North Country needs, they can turn to Da Yue.”

“If the North Country cannot resist the Barbarian Tribe, they can also ask Da Yue for help, and I will surely send troops to assist them immediately.”

Hearing the Empress’s words, the man kneeling on the ground was stunned.

Help the North Country? Why?

To Da Yue, wasn’t the North Country an enemy? If North Country became stronger, how would that benefit Da Yue?

At this moment, the woman said, “Sir Wang, the North Country is key to splitting Great Xia. Do not be so shortsighted.”

Hearing this, the man’s heart thumped, and he instantly understood the Empress’s plan.

Indeed, if the North Country was considered part of Great Xia, then the rapid increase in its military power was indeed bad news for the Da Yue Dynasty.

But if the North Country was viewed as an independent entity, that changed everything. The swift rise in the North Country’s military power clearly indicated that the North Prince was an ambitiously Seignior.

In the future, it was highly probable that the North Country would rebel. Even if they did not, the Sum Emperor would definitely not allow such a powerful feudal state to exist, so he would certainly seek to reduce its power.

If the Sum Emperor sought to diminish their power, the North Country wouldn’t passively wait to be targeted; the inevitable outcome would be a civil war.

Currently, Great Xia was fighting against the rebels in the South, and once the internal strife ended, its strength would surely be weakened. If a war between the Great Xia court and the North Country were to break out afterwards, it would lead to great suffering among the people of Great Xia, and the Seigniors were bound to have all sorts of thoughts.

That was why the Empress intended to establish friendly relations with the North Country and then further provoke the Sum Emperor.

The North Country was merely a feudal state and had no right to have independent foreign relations with a dynasty. If it did so, it would mean the North Country was seeking independence, planning to rebel.

With this in mind, the man said, “Your Majesty is correct, it is my lack of foresight. I earnestly request that Your Majesty allow me to lead the mission to the North Country.”

The woman’s voice came from within the curtains, “Granted.”

“Thank Your Majesty, your servant takes his leave!”

As his words fell, the man left the Empress’s bedchamber.

Then, the woman in the bedchamber murmured to herself, “North Prince, I hope you do not disappoint me.”

…

North Land.

Ningbei City.

Lu Chen stood on the city wall, feeling the breeze from the grasslands. At this moment, Chen Wanrong, wearing a white garment, stood beside him.

Throughout the journey, Chen Wanrong, having followed Lu Chen to the north, harbored numerous doubts, especially concerning the many strange things within Lu Chen’s army.

She had never seen such things before, did not know their use, and was even less understanding of why Lu Chen and his men had gone to such great lengths to transport these objects to the North Land.