"What's going on? Has something happened to the Xining Army?"
The others exchanged bewildered glances. Why was the Emperor so alarmed upon hearing of 70,000 bandits? Had the Xining Army been attacked by bandits?
No news yet?
Aside from Li Anlan, only Crown Prince Li Qiankun and Imperial Clan Minister Li Ruyu knew about the planned attack on Xiliang; no one else was aware of it.
It was just that the Emperor's unusual behavior aroused their suspicions.
Li Ruyu, standing to the side, also frowned slightly, for he had also considered this question. That damned Lin Yi, could he have killed all 70,000 of the Emperor's men?
If that's the case, then something really serious has happened!
But that doesn't make sense. How could 70,000 elite Xining Army be wiped out so quickly? Even 70,000 pigs would take several days to slaughter, right?
Li Anlan glanced at the assembled officials and said in a deep voice, "Let's adjourn the court for now. Grand Commandant and Minister of the Imperial Clan, please stay!" This matter should not be known to too many people, otherwise it will surely cause a great uproar.
"Your Majesty, what has happened?"
Li Ruyu knew the truth, but Qin Li had no idea what had happened; he had just returned from reorganizing the Kingdom of Shu's military affairs.
Li Anlan didn't hide this from him. After all, the Grand Commandant was the number one figure in the army, and if he wanted to investigate, he really couldn't hide it from him. It was better to just tell him directly.
"I see!" Qin Li had no objection to this. It was good to test the other party's strength; at least he could find out the truth.
However, the situation now seems rather serious.
The three chatted about the problems in Xiliang for a while until Wei Kuang finally returned in the afternoon.
"Your Majesty, something has happened to the Xining Army!" These words caused Li Anlan to slump onto the dragon throne, his last glimmer of hope shattered, and he remained stunned for a long time.
Qin Li and Li Ruyu, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't help but change their expressions drastically. Something had really happened to the Xining Army. Could it be that Lin Yi had wiped out Cai Yu?
Wei Kuang glanced at the Emperor, and only continued after the latter nodded, "We received news that General Cai Yu launched an attack on the Xiliang army immediately after heading north! However, there was no news of the Xining Army afterwards. When they went to check, all that was left was a scene of devastation and buried corpses."
Corpse!
Li Anlan felt a sweet taste in his throat, and his whole body swayed involuntarily. He asked in a deep voice, " Wei Kuang, how many of our men were killed?"
"The entire army was wiped out; not a single soldier survived!" Wei Kuang glanced at the emperor and said with a heavy expression.
puff!
Li Anlan could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, almost collapsing to the ground. The fact that all 70,000 elite troops he had left in Xining had been wiped out was simply unacceptable to him.
That force of 70,000 elite troops, on whom he had placed his highest hopes, capable of even standing against an army of over 100,000, had now been completely wiped out?
"Your Majesty!" Li Ruyu was startled and quickly supported Li Anlan. The Emperor couldn't be harmed.
Li Anlan shook his head, rallied himself, and said in a deep voice, "Who made the move? How many troops do they have? Surely Xining wouldn't be unaware of such a small detail?"
A few hours is certainly not enough for Wei Kuang to travel back and forth to Xining Commandery, but it is enough for him to meet with the intelligence personnel in Xining Commandery. There should be quite a bit of information there.
"Your Majesty, according to intelligence, the one who made the move was Bai Zizai's Asura Army. He's the one who went on the killing spree. It's said that even the General's favorite dog was killed!" Wei Kuang hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up.
" Bai Zizai that old geezer?"
A murderous glint flashed in Li Anlan's eyes. It was actually Bai Zizai! How could this old guy still be able to take on his elite troops in Xining?
He gritted his teeth and said, "What a rebellious Prince of Xiliang! How dare he lay a hand on my Great Ning! He's courting death! This time, I will personally lead the army to destroy Xiliang!"
To slaughter 70,000 of his own elite troops in one fell swoop, leaving not even a dog alive, was utterly ruthless.
Keeping someone like that around is definitely a disaster.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! This is absolutely unacceptable!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Li quickly stepped forward to stop him, explaining, "Your Majesty, this matter was initiated by us attacking the enemy. If we win, we will naturally have a valid argument."
But now, not only have we lost this battle, but Lin Yi has also labeled us as bandits from the Western Regions. If the Emperor were to intervene, it would be tantamount to admitting that we launched a preemptive attack on Xiliang, and the consequences would be unimaginable!
This admission will not only cause resentment among the people of Great Ning, but Lin Yi will also likely lose his last restraint and launch a counterattack against Xining Commandery.
Given the current situation in Xining Commandery, how can it withstand the attack of the Xiliang army? At this point, Lin Rusong, the Prince of Northern Liang, will surely join the fight, and the Northwest will probably change hands in an instant.
Then Lin Yi's Xiliang army will send troops to Youning Commandery. It would probably be enough to take Youning Commandery with just tens of thousands of troops, since they have powerful families helping them.
The Imperial Clan Court official, Li Ruyu, also stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Grand Commandant is right. Righteousness can still restrain Lin Yi for now, but once this last veil is torn away, there will be no turning back!"
Your Majesty, please be careful!
The crowd quickly stopped the emperor. At this time, the Northern Barbarians were already causing trouble, and if the Xiliang and Northern Liang were added to the mix, the Great Ning Dynasty would basically be doomed.
"Snort!"
Li Anlan glanced at Qin Li, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "You mean Lin Yi wiped out my 70,000-strong army, and I still want to promote him? What will the people of the All Under Heaven think of me then!"
The meaning is clear: if I were to swallow this insult, would I have no shame?
"Your Majesty, a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan. I believe we should tell Tuoba Wanli about the strength of Xiliang now, and he'll know what it means to have sleepless nights!" Qin Li took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.
You old codger, you're so cocky. Wait till you find out there's a tiger lurking beside you, then see if you can still be so arrogant.
Li Anlan's eyes lit up, and he said in a deep voice, "That makes sense. In this way, if the Northern Barbarians want to survive, they will be forced to befriend our Great Ning. Otherwise, they alone cannot withstand the combined forces of Lin Yi and his son!"
"That's right. In addition, His Majesty also needs to comfort the families of the fallen soldiers of the Xining Army. This matter must not be blown out of proportion, otherwise it will affect the morale of the army. At the same time, the Xining Army has lost all its elite troops this time and will also face the challenge of the Western Regions. We must not be careless!" Qin Li said with a worried expression.
Almost everyone in the Western Regions who wasn't blind or deaf witnessed this great battle, which made them think that the Xining Army was weak and easy to bully, and that their future days would be difficult.
Li Anlan nodded slightly. This was indeed a problem, and it seemed it needed to be arranged properly.
Furthermore, Lin Yi wanted to reward him, which made Li Anlan extremely uncomfortable. He now wished he could kill Lin Yi.
After pondering for a long time, he gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, " The Prince of Xiliang has rendered meritorious service in suppressing the bandits and safeguarding the Great Ning. He is hereby granted a golden token of immunity from death. With this token, you may be spared the death penalty!"
"In addition, a reward of 100,000 taels of gold and 100 beautiful women..."