The outskirts of Mountain and River Pass are the Northern Barbarians outposts!
Having just suffered a defeat and licking his wounds, Tuoba Wanli received some earth-shattering news, which immediately roused him.
He looked at his son and said in a deep voice, " Qingsong, are you sure the yield per mu reached 7,500 jin? Do you know what that number represents?"
"Your subject understands. This means that our Northern Barbarians will no longer need to risk their lives to feed our people!" Tuoba Qingsong took a deep breath and said solemnly.
When he first received the news, he didn't believe it either, but after investigating and verifying it from various sources, he confirmed the news, because some of the aristocratic families in Youning Commandery had already sent back the message.
These aristocratic families reacted as if they had seen an unparalleled beauty, which suggests that the news must be true.
Tuoba Wanli nodded and said in a deep voice, "Lin Yi's strength is now extraordinary. The Heavenly Eagle Guard just received news that Lin Yi not only destroyed two countries in the Western Regions, but also annihilated 70,000 troops of the Xining Army of Da Ning and killed the famous Xining general Cai Yu."
"It's going to be incredibly difficult for us to get the potatoes from Lin Yi!"
"What? Lin Yi also annihilated 70,000 Xining Army?" Tuoba Qingsong's pupils shrank. He hadn't even heard of this news. The secrecy of Xiliang was too exaggerated.
etc!
So, it seems that the people of Xiliang and Great Ning are fighting amongst themselves.
A glint of joy flashed in his eyes, and he said excitedly, "No wonder Father insisted on not withdrawing his troops. He knew Li Anlan was getting impatient, so he deliberately wanted to squeeze more money out of him."
"Haha, you're quite clever, aren't you!"
Tuoba Wanli didn't hide anything, nodding straightforwardly and laughing, " Li Anlan is very arrogant and has always looked down on us Northern Barbarians. This time, when he confronted us, he originally had the upper hand."
However, this guy launched a preemptive attack on Xiliang in the Western Regions, only to be slaughtered and his entire army of 70,000 was wiped out. He's the one who's most anxious now. If Lin Yi and his son join forces, they could easily march from Xining into Great Ning!
If not now, when?
Tuoba Qingsong suddenly realized why he felt the recent negotiations had been so lukewarm; this made sense – his father was playing hard to get.
However, at this moment he thought of something and said in a deep voice, "Father, our people were previously intercepted outside Xiliang, so we prepared to take the Ziwu Road to enter Xiliang, but we were stopped."
I'm afraid we've lost the Ziwu Road, and now Xiliang will be in danger for us!
This is a vital passage, yet it has fallen into the hands of the enemy; this is absolutely fatal.
To his surprise, Tuoba Wanli remained calm, as if he had known all along, which puzzled him greatly.
"Father, you knew all along?" he asked, somewhat strangely.
"Good!"
Tuoba Wanli nodded and said in a deep voice, "Actually, I've always had people in Tuoba Yu's army. Recently, they suddenly lost contact, so naturally I had to send people to check. However, in order not to affect the morale of the front lines, I didn't make it public."
I see!
Tuoba Qingsong smiled bitterly, realizing that he had been kept in the dark all along.
So here's the problem: the Northern Barbarians are in a very troublesome situation. If they're not careful, they could be invaded deep into their territory. The father and son have joined forces, and their military strength is no less than that of the Northern Barbarians. It's very dangerous for them.
Tuoba Wanli took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The three of us are supposed to check and balance each other. Among us, Great Ning is the strongest, so he has always controlled the rhythm of things."
However, Lin Yi's sudden rise has clearly disrupted this rhythm, and the combined efforts of him and his son could change the landscape.
So it's not just us who are afraid; Li Anlan is even more afraid. After this, he'll have to join forces with us to fight against the Lin family, otherwise, once the Northern Barbarians fall, a true ruler of the North will be born!
When the North and South are divided, we can still escape, but Li Anlan can't!
When this was mentioned, Tuoba Wanli was beaming with pride.
The Northern Barbarians are masters of escape; their men are all cavalry, so they can simply run away. But Li Anlan can't escape.
The ruler of the North versus the ruler of the South: even if Great Ning wins, his forces will likely be scattered and fragmented. He can then take the opportunity to march south again, which would be incredibly satisfying.
If we lose, then forget about it, our lives will be in danger.
So Old Li will definitely protect us.
What's wrong with being a little shameless to survive? It's not shameful!
Forehead!
Tuoba Qingsong's lips twitched, shocked by his shameless father. He was, after all, the King of the Northern Barbarians, so why was he thinking of running away?
He chuckled dryly, "It's good that Father is prepared. Do we still want these potatoes?"
"Want!"
Tuoba Wanli took a deep breath and gave the answer directly. This grain, with such a high yield per mu and resistant to the cold, would be unworthy of the title of Barbarian King if he didn't take it.
He knew that even with the annual looting of grain, many people still starved and froze to death, but with this potato, that situation would be prevented from happening.
However, how to get his hands on it is a big problem.
After destroying the Jushi Kingdom and the Shachi Kingdom, Lin Yi must have obtained a lot of warhorses. Therefore, even if Lin Yi agrees to the warhorse trade, he will probably need to bring out the best warhorses.
After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Send someone to contact Lin Yi and ask if the previous deal still stands. As long as the conditions aren't too unreasonable, we can agree to them! However, if we do that, our lives will be much more difficult from now on!"
Once Lin Yi possesses a top-tier warhorse, he will definitely be able to threaten the Northern Barbarians. This is a very difficult decision, and hopefully Li Anlan will step up his game.
"Your subject understands!" Tuoba Qingsong nodded, then frowned.
He had just stepped out when he heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching. He was slightly taken aback, and judging from the insignia, the person who came was none other than the Heavenly Eagle Guard.
"Your Majesty, Great Ning Qin Li of Da Ning has personally come to the battlefield and given us an ultimatum: if we do not withdraw our troops, they will leave us here!"
"So assertive?"
Tuoba Wanli slowly walked out, his face extremely gloomy. He sneered, "Although we suffered a minor defeat earlier, where does Qin Li get the courage to say such things?"
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Min of Great Ning has reinforced his troops. He has transferred his elite forces, which he had prepared to provide support. If we do not withdraw our troops soon, we will likely face an army of nearly 300,000!"
Holy crap!
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Qingsong couldn't help but twitch his lips; he was now in an awkward situation.
It seems Li Anlan realized his father was trying to extort money, so he got serious from there.
If 300,000 troops were to appear, then Great Ning would probably launch a direct attack on our side, given their overwhelming numerical advantage.