jdhmnovel Chapter 290 Young Man on a White Horse Drunk in the Spring Breeze 65
Chapter 290 Young Man on a White Horse Drunk in the Spring Breeze 65
With the internal hidden dangers of Beili eliminated, Xiao Ruojin began to turn her attention to all directions.
He had long harbored ambitions to unify the world, but he was unwilling to bear the infamy of being a warmonger, greedy for merit, and reckless.
Therefore, he patiently lay low for five years, allowing Beili to develop and become stronger, minimizing the negative impact of the subsequent war.
Now, the time is ripe, and he can finally officially embark on the path to unification.
The Southern Kingdom and the Northern Barbarian Kingdom are located to the south and north of the Northern Kingdom, respectively, while the Northern Kingdom lies between the two.
The Northern Barbarians, as the name suggests, were a nation composed of tribes from the north.
The capital of the Southern Kingdom remained unchanged, but the Northern Barbarians were different. Because of their location in the north and the barren land, whenever the harvest was poor, they would invade the northern border and carry out burning, killing, and looting.
However, the Northern Barbarians are agile and quick to retreat once they receive news of the Northern Li's military action. After the Northern Li withdraws, they will return to harass the border once again.
This situation persisted until Xiao Ruojin ascended the throne and dispatched Baili Chengfeng to guard the northern border, which finally brought relief.
Baili Chengfeng is indeed a brilliant commander. Since he was stationed in the northern border, he has not only maintained the stability of the border, preventing the northern barbarians from making any rash moves, but he has also occasionally intimidated them. He has led his troops deep into the northern barbarian territory and has always returned safely, bringing back a large number of livestock as spoils of war.
However, the Northern Barbarians were ambitious and had long harbored the desire to conquer the Central Plains. Although they suffered repeated defeats in their numerous battles with Baili Chengfeng, they never gave up and continued to fight despite their losses.
In this situation, if Bei Li attacks Nan Jue first, Bei Man might take the opportunity to cause trouble. If they join forces with Nan Jue, they will be attacked from both the north and south.
Therefore, before attacking Nanjue, we must first deal with the Northern Barbarians.
The reason why Xiao Ruojin waited five years before not officially starting a war with the Northern Barbarians was because...
Firstly, the Northern Barbarian cavalry should not be underestimated. If war were to break out rashly, it could result in huge casualties. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the military strength of the Northern Li and weaken this advantage of the Northern Barbarians.
Secondly, it was to allow Baili Chengfeng to thoroughly understand the Northern Barbarians' true strength and weaknesses, ensuring a decisive victory and preventing them from fleeing at the first sign of trouble as they had done before.
And now,
After choosing an auspicious day, Xiao Ruojin officially issued an imperial decree, ordering Baili Chengfeng to lead an army to attack the Northern Barbarians.
However, before issuing the decree, he still mentioned the matter in court, causing the civil and military officials to debate it for several days.
After all, he is now a wise ruler. How could a wise ruler disregard the opinions of his ministers and act arbitrarily?
Anyway, with him making macro-level adjustments, the final outcome of this matter will definitely develop as expected, and in the end, he can also gain a good reputation for being open to advice. So why wouldn't he be happy to do it?
Sure enough, within three days, an imperial edict was swiftly delivered from Tianqi City to the border.
After receiving the imperial edict, Baili Chengfeng slowly closed his eyes, concealing the excitement within.
He had finally waited for this day to come!
Wen Luoyu gently held his hands beside her, feeling happy that he had achieved his wish.
Wen Luoyu is not some innocent flower who needs protection. She comes from the Wen family of Lingnan. In addition to her good martial arts skills, her skill in using poison is not to be underestimated.
She followed Baili Chengfeng to the border and provided him with much help.
……
Xiao Ruofeng adjusted his sleeves, placed another piece on the chessboard, looked up at Xiao Ruojin sitting opposite him, and asked, "Brother, how long do you think it will take for the young master to conquer the Northern Barbarians?"
The heir he was referring to was Baili Chengfeng.
Clearly, Xiao Ruofeng had great faith in Baili Chengfeng's abilities; otherwise, he wouldn't have been concerned about when they could conquer the Northern Barbarians, but rather whether they could succeed at all.
“Given Beili’s current military strength, as long as he doesn’t underestimate his enemy, victory is only a matter of time.” Xiao Ruojin didn’t look up when she heard this, her eyes still focused on the chessboard. After Xiao Ruofeng made his move, she responded immediately, taking away several of the surrounded pieces. She continued, “Therefore, under such circumstances, he should not only consider the outcome of the game, but also how to minimize casualties and losses.”
Xiao Ruofeng nodded in agreement, thinking about the changes in the army's weapons in recent years. But then he thought of the seasonal factor: "It's already August. If we delay any longer, the weather in the Northern Barbarians will turn cold and the roads will be blocked by heavy snow, making the battle difficult. Therefore, Baili Chengfeng will definitely take over the Northern Barbarians before the snow falls."
“That’s right!” Xiao Ruojin said calmly, indicating to Xiao Ruofeng that it was his turn to make a move.
Xiao Ruofeng then placed a piece and asked, "Then why didn't you issue the decree sooner, so that Baili Chengfeng would have more time to prepare?"
Xiao Ruojin smiled upon hearing this: "He has waited for this day for more than thirty years and has been stationed on the border for five years. Isn't that enough preparation?"
Having said that, without waiting for Xiao Ruofeng's reply, Xiao Ruojin continued:
"When I sent Baili Chengfeng there five years ago, he eagerly wrote a letter requesting to attack the Northern Barbarians. The reason I hesitated to agree was twofold: first, I wanted to strengthen the military strength of the border troops and reduce unnecessary casualties; second, I wanted to take this opportunity to temper his character."
"Bai Lichengfeng is indeed outstanding, but unfortunately he missed the most precious time of his life and has been wasting it until now. Although he used to be stationed in the military camp, he has never actually experienced a real battlefield. His so-called talent can only be considered theoretical. Moreover, his temperament is too impatient. He was absolutely not fit to go to the battlefield back then."
"However, five years have passed, and his temperament has been completely honed. Through countless battles with the Northern Barbarians, he has thoroughly integrated the military strategies he learned into actual combat. Now, Baili Chengfeng possesses all the qualities a commander should have."
"I have chosen this moment to issue the decree in order to fulfill his wish, so that he can win the fastest, most brilliant, and least loss-making battle in the shortest amount of time."
"This battle is enough to make him famous throughout the world!"
Xiao Ruojin has many talented people under his command. The reason he spent five years cultivating Baili Chengfeng was not because he was bored and had nothing better to do, but because he wanted to use Baili Chengfeng to make up for the stigma brought about by Beili's wrongful killing of the God of War.
At the same time, this is also the most powerful evidence to prove that he is completely different from Emperor Tai'an.
Moreover, Baili Chengfeng is indeed a talented person. Although he had some shortcomings at the beginning, after five years of careful training and refinement, he has become more mature and steady, and has grown into a general who can stand alone.