In the first year of King Li of Xia's reign, his tyrannical rule was evident. Compared with King Jie of Xia, King Li of Xia was even more extravagant and corrupt. In just one year, besides Queen Shen, he had taken in twenty concubines, five of whom had been tortured to death. It was said that the reason was that they resembled Queen Shen in appearance but differed greatly in behavior.
Meanwhile, due to the major reshuffle in the court, after a group of talented veteran officials from the Prime Minister's Mansion left, most of the newly promoted officials by Xia Chuli were novices. Their inexperience led to frequent corruption and their poor governance ability was obvious. The first imperial examination was rigged, resulting in the selection of a few sycophants. Beneath the glorious surface, the court of Li Xia was already riddled with holes.
However, King Li of Xia was oblivious to all this. Lying on the gilded dragon bed, he ate the grapes peeled by his concubines one by one, thinking he was in a care - free situation. He did have reason to think so. After all, Xia Yonglin was dead, and Xia Yanhe had been shot through the chest and his body couldn't be found. Although he was quite wary of Lu Yan because of what happened in the previous life, Lu Yan was currently missing and his life or death was uncertain. Besides, Cen Shuning was guarding the Northern Kingdom for him. In his opinion, almost all the uncertain factors were eliminated. It wasn't until he received a memorial from Cen Shuning stating that he was leading an army back to Yushan after a year of comfort that he woke up from his ill - conceived ease.
Xia Chuli suspected Lu Yan, but no matter how he asked, Cen Shuning's answer was always the same: he was tired and wanted to go back to Yushan to rest. He never mentioned Lu Yan's whereabouts.
Xia Chuli sensed Cen Shuning's non - cooperation. However, the memory of being beheaded by Lu Yan in the previous life kept torturing him. He went crazy and flew into a rage at Shen Qingfeng, who was once again imprisoned in Qifeng Palace and looked pale. Finally, in the face of Shen Qingfeng's indifferent and disgusted expression, he decided to send troops first to attack the Northern Kingdom.
This was a very absurd decision, but it could give Xia Chuli, who had the memories of the previous life, a sense of security.
So, that night, Qi Yang, the newly - appointed Cavalry General, led 200,000 troops and set off mightily towards the Northern Kingdom.
On the other hand, after Lu Yan regained control of the Northern Kingdom, he immediately began to reorganize the army quietly. He reappointed Wei Yan as his strategist, named Qi Qi as the general, Xu Ruhui and Gong Tan as deputy generals, and Yu Shuang and Xiang Cheng as scout lieutenants, each leading a small troop.
"The imperial court has a total of 200,000 troops," Xu Ruhui said. He had just finished training the soldiers when he was informed that Lu Yan wanted to see him. Without even taking off his armor, he plopped down beside Yu Shuang and looked at Lu Yan sitting on the high seat. "Senior brother, currently, the number of available troops we've trained here is only 100,000."
Lu Yan propped his head up with one hand and his eyes wandered back and forth on the military map in front of him. He nodded and said, "Xia Chuli probably guessed that I'm still alive. He sent 200,000 troops. It seems that he wants to destroy our Northern Kingdom."
Wei Yan, sitting on one side, stroked his slightly white beard, coughed lightly, and said slowly, "My lord, don't be anxious. In my opinion, 100,000 troops are enough."
Xu Ruhui turned his head to look at him. Although Wei Yan had always been the strategist of the Lu family and Xu Ruhui had been taught by him, it still seemed like a fantasy to use 100,000 troops to fight against the 200,000 - strong imperial army.
"Teacher, the imperial troops will arrive in the Northern Kingdom in half a month. If we fight them head - on at that time, with only 100,000 troops, will it be a bit..."
"We can't just sit and wait for death," Wei Yan stroked his beard and said. "Since ancient times, war has always emphasized strategy. In my opinion, this battle can be fought."
"How should we fight it?" Lu Yan asked.
Wei Yan turned to look at Lu Yan and said, "My lord, please think carefully. Has King Li of Xia achieved any merits in his one - year reign?"
Lu Yan said in a deep voice, "He has been tyrannical in his governance and has achieved nothing."
Wei Yan said, "If the emperor fails to govern well, the people will rebel. If the people's will is not respected, there will be war. My lord hasn't announced to the common people that you've regained power yet. At this critical moment, King Li of Xia suddenly sends troops to attack the Northern Kingdom without a just cause. The common people won't support him."
Lu Yan raised his eyes to look at him, stood up, and paced back and forth. "I understand what you mean, teacher. But the Lu family's army suffered heavy casualties in the past year due to resisting the Donghu and Xia Chuli's suppression. My original plan was to start from Yongzhou and fight all the way to Lige, recruiting troops along the way. But now that the imperial court has sent troops directly, with the current military strength of the Northern Kingdom, we may not be able to fight them."
Wei Yan shook his head and said, "King Li of Xia doesn't have a good reputation in various places, especially in Yongzhou. The tax quota last year was more than twice that of previous years. The common people have already suffered a great deal."
Lu Yan paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Do you mean that we should start an uprising and attack Yongzhou before the imperial troops arrive?"
Wei Yan nodded appreciatively. "My lord is really quick - witted. The Northern Kingdom is adjacent to Yongzhou. It only takes one day to reach Youhu, the military stronghold in Yongzhou, from here, but it will take half a month for the imperial court to send troops. This is enough time for us to capture Youhu. Meanwhile, the common people in Yongzhou are suffering. If my lord starts an uprising, there will be many followers."
After hearing this, Yu Shuang suddenly said, "My lord, I have something to say."
Lu Yan looked at him. "Go ahead."
Yu Shuang said, "Since ancient times, Li Xia has attached great importance to the imperial bloodline. Although my lord has royal blood and the right of inheritance, you are a royal family member with a different surname. If my lord starts a rebellion, will the common people respond as well as we expect?"
Lu Yan frowned and pondered for a while. Then he turned to look at Wei Yan. "What's your opinion, teacher?"
Wei Yan seemed a bit troubled. "What General Yu said is reasonable. But now the arrow is on the bowstring and has to be shot. At present, there is no better representative than my lord..."
Just then, Xiang Cheng suddenly rushed in in a hurry. He bowed to the people in the room and said, "My lord, there are two people outside the Lu Mansion asking to see you. They said they have something important to tell you!"
Lu Yan said, "What are their names? Where do they come from?"
Xiang Cheng thought for a while and said, "They are both wearing dark purple cloaks and I can't see their faces clearly. One of them said his name is Lan. He also said that if I told you this name, you would summon him."
As soon as Xiang Cheng finished speaking, Yu Shuang, who was sitting on one side, suddenly stood up with a "whoosh" and stared at Xiang Cheng in horror.
"What did you say... his name is what?!"
Xiang Cheng felt a bit creepy under his stare. "His name is Lan... Why are you staring at me like this!"
Lu Yan looked at Yu Shuang in confusion. "What's this person's background?"
Yu Shuang gritted his teeth and hesitated for a while. Finally, he seemed to lose all his strength and sighed. "My lord, this person is my former leader, the head of 'Wuhen' in the Southern Xiang Kingdom."
He paused for a moment, looked up at Xiang Cheng and then at Lu Yan. He said with some difficulty, "Moreover, this person has something to do with both of you..."
In the main hall, the burning candles crackled. Yu Shuang stood in the hall and told the whole story one by one.
Everyone in the hall stood there in a daze for a long time. After a while, Xiang Cheng covered his chest and took a few steps back suddenly. He said in a trembling voice, "You mean... the person who raised me is that Lan? He even locked me in that Thousand - People Tomb as a tomb - keeper? Why didn't you tell me before!"
Yu Shuang gritted his teeth and said, "That memory was too painful for you. Since you lost your memory, the young master didn't tell you."
"Yu Shuang!" Lu Yan suddenly shouted. He walked quickly up to him, drew out his long sword, and pointed it at him. He asked angrily, "Did you just say that Shen Qingfeng inferred that it was that Lan who built that Thousand - People Tomb?"
Yu Shuang's eyes darkened. "Yes."
Lu Yan shouted again, "Then, is there any connection between the death of my father and the Lu family's army, that lead - laced silver water, and that Lan?"
Yu Shuang said, "When I entered the tomb with the young master, I examined those corpses. I know medicine. Those people did drown... The thousand members of the Lu family's army were forced to the Yujiang River by the Donghu army and jumped into the river to commit suicide..."
Lu Yan trembled all over. The hand holding the sword shook violently. His teeth gritted and his eyes were blood - shot. Suddenly, he threw the long sword on the ground hard, turned around, and shouted, "Xiang Cheng! Go and call that Lan in. I'm going to ask him myself!"