Lu Yan didn't return to the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion until dawn was just breaking.
Seeing Chen Qi bowing at the gate, waiting for him, Lu Yan raised his eyebrows and casually tossed Xu Ruhui, who he was holding, aside.
"Ouch!" Xu Ruhui rubbed his buttocks, pouted, stood up, and sidled to the side. He stole a glance at Lu Yan but didn't dare to say a word.
"Yo, Marquis of Dingbei, where have you been? Why weren't you in the mansion last night?" Chen Qi asked in a shrill voice, grinning.
This eunuch, Chen Qi, was a favorite of King Xia Jie. Naturally, Lu Yan didn't dare to be negligent. He bowed and replied, "I had some private matters to attend to in a hurry."
Hearing this, Xu Ruhui beside him covered his mouth awkwardly and coughed lightly.
Lu Yan turned his head and glared at him fiercely.
"I see. I was just saying that maybe the Marquis of Dingbei forgot about the military situation in Liangcheng and went off for some entertainment!"
Lu Yan lowered his head and frowned slightly.
It was well - known that Chen Qi, as a powerful eunuch, had great influence in the court. Often taking advantage of King Xia Jie's favor, he would speak without restraint. It seemed that in Chen Qi's eyes, Lu Yan was nothing at all, and he dared to mock him in public.
If this were in the Northern Kingdom, anyone who dared to say such things in front of Lu Yan would surely lose their tongue. But now, under someone else's roof, he had to yield. Lu Yan calmly replied, "Sir, you're joking. This is an order from the King. How could I be negligent?"
Chen Qi snorted and said, "That's good. Marquis of Dingbei, since you're free now, come with me to the palace. The King is waiting for you."
It was common for a general to be summoned to the palace by the emperor before a military campaign. But in this volatile place of Lige City, such a thing could never be underestimated. Moreover, it was Qi Shuhuan's ulterior motive that made him the commander this time.
Lu Yan followed behind Chen Qi, turning left and right in the vast Bian Palace. The scenery on both sides became increasingly unfamiliar. Just when Lu Yan thought he was about to enter the inner palace, Chen Qi suddenly stopped in front of a palace.
Lu Yan looked up and saw an old plaque hanging on the vermilion - walled and green - tiled palace. On the plaque were a few gilded characters—
Jiying Hall.
Lu Yan frowned.
Although he hadn't been to every corner of the Bian Palace, he had heard a great deal about the palaces in it from the conversations of his colleagues and ministers.
Even so, this was the first time he had heard the name of Jiying Hall.
Chen Qi slowly pushed open the somewhat faded vermilion gate, stepped aside, and said in a shrill voice, "Marquis of Dingbei, please."
Lu Yan glanced at him and then at the name of the palace. Without saying a word, he stepped in directly.
As soon as Lu Yan entered the palace, Chen Qi's cheeks suddenly twitched. The skin around his mouth, like that of a withered tree, was pulled up to his cheeks. His parted lips revealed a set of slightly yellowed teeth. His cloudy eyes suddenly shifted direction and stared intently at Lu Yan's back, showing a strange and creepy smile.
Unaware of the strange expression on Chen Qi's face behind him, Lu Yan was walking forward. He pushed open the mahogany gate of the main hall but was suddenly choked by the smell of incense and coughed violently. When he regained his senses and looked up, he saw an incredible sight.
In the center of the main hall behind the gate stood a gilded statue of Xingtian, almost as tall as the entire framework of the palace.
The whole palace was brightly lit. Thousands upon thousands of slightly yellowish candles were lit, surrounding the Xingtian statue in circles, making the already dazzling statue even more resplendent and blinding Lu Yan's eyes. In front of the Xingtian statue were three cushions. King Xia Jie, wearing his dragon robe, slowly stood up from the middle cushion, then turned around and looked at Lu Yan.
"My subject has come."
King Xia Jie's voice was somewhat languid. Lu Yan didn't dare to be negligent. He quickly bowed and clasped his fists, saying, "Greetings to Your Majesty."
"Rise." King Xia Jie said softly. Then he turned around again and looked up at the Xingtian statue. Lu Yan straightened up, and for a moment, neither of them said a word. The whole palace was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Why was there such a huge statue of Xingtian in the deep palace?
This was the first question that popped into Lu Yan's mind when he saw the scene in front of him.
In the whole Lige City, there was the Golden Summit Temple on the Three Saints Mountain in the east (although it had been burned down), the City God Temple in the west, and the Divination Tower built by the Divination Department in the north. If one wanted to offer sacrifices, it seemed more convenient to go directly to the Divination Department. Why build such a large statue of Xingtian in a corner of the deep palace? Moreover, this statue of Xingtian seemed to be quite old. It was gilded all over, and it was obvious at a glance that it was very expensive.
King Xia Jie stood with his hands behind his back. Lu Yan slightly raised his head and followed King Xia Jie's gaze. Although he was still some distance away from the Xingtian statue, he still noticed something.
Since Xingtian had no head, the statue was usually modeled with the upper body exposed. On the exposed abdomen of this Xingtian statue, there was an obvious square - shaped protrusion.
King Xia Jie's eyes were fixed on that spot.
"Lu Yan." King Xia Jie suddenly called out and said, "Come here."
"Yes." Lu Yan stepped forward and stood just one step away from King Xia Jie.
King Xia Jie still had his back to him. Since there was only the burning candles in the whole palace except for the Xingtian statue and the place was very empty, King Xia Jie's voice had a faint echo: "Tell me, how many troops does Qimen have exactly?"
Lu Yan was stunned.
Wasn't the number of troops in Qimen reported by Chu Jietian? Although because of Qi Qi in Qimen, he did know that the available troops in the whole Qimen Principality were less than 100,000, but... why did King Xia Jie's tone sound like he was interrogating him?
"The troops in Qimen... I only know a rough number." Lu Yan wasn't sure what King Xia Jie meant, so he didn't say it clearly.
King Xia Jie said again, "Just tell me directly. How many are there exactly?"
Lu Yan paused and said, "According to the report from my subordinates, there are about 100,000 troops."
King Xia Jie snorted and said, "100,000? In my opinion, it's 200,000, right?"
Lu Yan trembled all over, and cold sweat immediately broke out.
Although Qimen, like the Northern Kingdom, was rich in war - horses and its people were brave and good at fighting, after years of civil strife in Qimen, even the richest place had already been emptied. It was not easy to muster 100,000 troops. Where did the number of 200,000 troops come from?
"Your Majesty, Qimen has been in civil strife for many years. It is already short of troops and people. There are definitely not 200,000 troops!" Lu Yan said.
"What about this military pay then?" King Xia Jie said and threw a memorial scroll from his sleeve in front of Lu Yan.
Lu Yan looked down. The memorial scroll happened to show the page about the military pay. In black and white, it read:
"Recorded in the Military Flag:
The Qimen Army requests 1.2 million dan of grain.
40,000 war - horses, 100,000 draft animals, and 380,000 draft animals for carriages.
Supplies for an army of 200,000."
After reading this, Lu Yan stood there, stunned.
"That brat, Chu Jietian, has hired 200,000 troops but only reported 100,000 to Lige. Then he secretly took grain from Lige. What did he do with all that grain? Feed the dogs? Or is he amassing troops and trying to rebel?!" King Xia Jie's voice grew louder. His eyes were sharp. He turned his head and looked at Lu Yan, saying, "I think you don't need to lead 10,000 troops to support anymore. Coincidentally, Li Yanqing is asking me for troops. You reorganize your troops and go directly to Qimen! After repelling the Donghu, bring Chu Jietian's head back to me!"
Lu Yan quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, you know that Qimen has been in civil strife for a long time. They can't have 200,000 troops. The record in the Military Flag must be wrong! Your Majesty, the 200,000 - strong Donghu army is approaching. We mustn't be careless!"
King Xia Jie snorted and stared straight at Lu Yan. His suspicious nature made his look at Lu Yan even more vigilant: "Do you mean that Li Yanqing of the Military Flag is lying to me?"
Lu Yan said, "I don't mean that. Qimen has been in civil strife for many years and is already in a dilapidated state. We must be even more careful when confronting the Donghu. Although Lord Li has made such a statistic, according to my subordinates' reports, the number of troops in Qimen is indeed less than 100,000. This time, the Donghu has been training hard. It won't be easy to fight against them. I suggest that Your Majesty have someone verify the account book of Qimen's military pay again."
King Xia Jie said coldly, "Don't say anymore. If it weren't for Prime Minister Qi who told me to look at this account book, I wouldn't have known that I've been kept in the dark by that Chu Jietian all this time. Chu Jietian has received so many resources from the court. Presumably, he doesn't need more troops, right?"
It was Qi Shuhuan again!
Lu Yan gritted his teeth.
Qi Shuhuan and Li Yanqing were in cahoots. It was already an open secret what Qi Shuhuan was up to. But unfortunately, King Xia Jie was so blind that he trusted Qi Shuhuan to the bone. Qimen bordered the Donghu in the north and Lixia in the south. If Qimen couldn't be defended, considering its strategic location, if the Donghu broke through Qimen, Lixia would be in danger!
This Qi Shuhuan was really crazy! He was willing to sacrifice the country's safety for his own self - interest!
Lu Yan said, "Your Majesty, my subordinates are now in Liangcheng. What they've seen and heard indeed prove that the troops in Qimen are relatively weak and the military pay is not very abundant. The account book must be recorded wrongly!"
Lu Yan knew that it was more likely that Qi Shuhuan and Li Yanqing had deliberately written it wrong! But what was the purpose? Was it to prevent him from taking the troops in Lige City away? Or did they have some other scheme?!
"Lu Yan." King Xia Jie's voice suddenly turned as cold as ice: "Since you always speak for that Chu Jietian, how about you transfer the troops from the Northern Kingdom to support Qimen?"
Lu Yan was struck like lightning: "Your Majesty! The Donghu has a vast territory and borders both Qimen and the Northern Kingdom. Not to mention that the Donghu has been recuperating for so many years. Its troops are far more than 200,000. The Donghu borders the Northern Kingdom. To prevent the Donghu from attacking from both sides, the Northern Kingdom is already in a state of combat readiness, and some troops have already been transferred to support Qimen. We can't spare any more!"
"Can't you do it?" King Xia Jie said coldly.
Lu Yan was shocked all over.
"I gave you the tiger tally to defend the country, not for you to make excuses here!" King Xia Jie said, "Do you still remember your father?"
Lu Yan looked at King Xia Jie. He gritted his teeth tightly and lowered his head: "...Yes, I do."
"Your father was the God of War of Lixia. He won so many battles. But when it comes to you, you can't do it?" King Xia Jie waved his sleeve and said.
The situation was different now. Not to mention that the Donghu now was not at the same level as it was more than a decade ago. After so many years, the Northern Kingdom was almost fighting alone. Comparing Lu Jiang with Lu Yan was simply not comparable.
But King Xia Jie didn't care about all this. He never understood leading troops to fight. He only blindly emphasized the result. Moreover, he didn't believe that Qimen had less than 100,000 troops at all. In fact, it was not a battle between 200,000 and 200,000, but a battle between a tired and weak army of 100,000 and 200,000 aggressive invaders.
This couldn't be compared at all.
"My subject..." Lu Yan gritted his teeth. If King Xia Jie was unwilling to provide troops for Qimen and he was forced to dilute the defense of the Northern Kingdom again, he really wasn't sure who would win this war.
And King Xia Jie was still daydreaming, not caring at all: "Lu Yan, if you're not sure of victory, it doesn't matter. I'll let someone else go."
Someone else? Who would you let go? Do you think there are still any capable generals in Lixia? That useless Li Yanqing?
Lu Yan almost cursed out loud. He hated that King Xia Jie still couldn't see Qi Shuhuan's true face. He hated that King Xia Jie still didn't realize that he had been led around by Qi Shuhuan and was still making such outrageous and absurd decisions.
For this reason, Lu Yan almost immediately knew why Qi Shuhuan had gone to so much trouble to marry Qi Siyu to Li Yanqing.
He really had taken too much trouble for Xia Yonglin.
Forcing him to go to the battlefield without providing subsequent troop reinforcements from the court, he would be caught between Qimen and the Northern Kingdom, and his situation was already very dangerous. In this way, Qi Shuhuan just had to wait at home for his death notice and the tiger tally that would come with it!
As a symbol of military power, Qi Shuhuan couldn't directly get the tiger tally. But the tiger tally couldn't be obtained by just anyone. First of all, at least one had to be a royal relative, like himself, or a relative related to the royal family.
The Qi family was considered a royal relative because of Queen Qi. By marrying Qi Siyu to Li Yanqing, Li Yanqing, with his status as the son - in - law of the Qi family, would have the opportunity to hold the tiger tally. Then, the faction supporting the Crown Prince would have absolute strength, and even forcing the emperor to abdicate and seizing the throne would not be an impossible thing.
In this case, Qi Shuhuan first gave him the so - called "opportunity to make contributions", and then submitted a memorial to King Xia Jie asking Li Yanqing to help him fight against the enemy. Presumably, he had communicated with Li Yanqing in advance, asking him to kill him when he was off guard, and then he could directly inherit the tiger tally. Then, by marrying Qi Siyu, he could obtain the tiger tally more justifiably. But unexpectedly, his plan failed. After that, he gave King Xia Jie a reason not to give him troops.
Lu Yan narrowed his eyes.
Good job, Qi Shuhuan! You've come after me. You're really crazy about seizing the throne and becoming the Duke Protector of the State. You don't even care about the safety of the country!
You should know that if Qimen and the Northern Kingdom were broken through, Lixia would directly border the Donghu. With Li Yanqing's level of only being able to talk about war on paper and not having been on the battlefield for so many years, could he resist the Donghu cavalry?