Chapter 1223 - 301: Seeking Battle (Part 2)

Chapter 1223: Chapter 301: Seeking Battle (Part 2)

On hearing this,

the Yan Emperor

smiled

and said:

"If the south changes, can you make the Qian people wait a year or two before they attack, so we can bring our troop numbers back up?"

Ji Chengjue spoke:

"Father, the allocations for the first half of the year were sent out long ago; as for the second half, they were already decided at the start of the year. The treasury has indeed kept a reserve for emergencies, but we still have to repair the Wang River works. River works have, since ancient times, been a gold-devouring beast, swallowing up countless funds and grain. Your son has already racked his brains over this matter and is begging for donations everywhere."

The Yan Emperor waved his hand. As emperor, how could he not know the current state of the treasury.

However,

in the end he still looked to Zheng Fan, who was seated in the very back,

and said:

"Lord Pingye, you speak."

Yan had a rather strange tradition: for example, when matters were discussed in the Imperial Study, even if the subject was military, in the past there was actually no other major military figure present besides the Minister of War.

Because in Yan, military authority had been devolved to an extreme degree. Over at the Earl of North Border’s side, most affairs in Beifeng Prefecture and concerning the barbarians were decided entirely within the Earl of North Border’s own household.

In the east, it was the same with Lord Jingnan.

According to the Qian people’s practice, military magnates like the Earl of North Border and Lord Jingnan should long since have had their commands removed and been brought back to the capital to enjoy an honorable retirement, given all sorts of empty titles like Grand Preceptor or Grand Tutor to completely sideline them; then, when a military situation arose, they would be called back to serve as mere advisers and have their opinions heard.

So this time, it really was no easy thing for the Imperial Study to have a genuine "soldier" appear.

And for the moment, everyone turned their gaze to Lord Pingye, whose momentum in recent years had been unmatched.

Moreover, when they saw Lord Pingye entering the Imperial Study, they all understood that today his advice would be very important—otherwise, it could not be that he had been specially summoned merely to sit in and listen, could it?

Lord Zheng rose to his feet, saluted, and said:

"Your Majesty, in my view the Imperial Guard need not be mobilized, nor is there any need to increase funds and grain for the Nanwang City line. Your Majesty can order the Eldest Prince and Hui Wenzu to contract the defensive line at Nanwang City and not compete with the Qian people over momentary gains and losses."

Upon hearing this,

Right Assistant Chancellor Cao Que immediately spoke: "Our Yan has faced the barbarians for several hundred years and has never voluntarily yielded a step. Now we are to retreat while facing the Qian?"

Chief Minister Hsu Qiutai also asked in puzzlement: "Lord Pingye, what do you mean by this?"

Zheng Fan turned toward the two lords, cupped his hands in salute, and replied:

"Because the court is not flush with funds, therefore..."

At this moment, Left Assistant Chancellor Wang Lian cut off Zheng Fan’s words and said, "I have heard that at your Snow Sea Pass, Lord Pingye, the allocation of funds and grain is higher by twenty to thirty percent than that of other commands."

As he said this, Wang Lian’s gaze swept once over Ji Chengjue.

Zheng Fan did not know why Wang Lian bore hostility toward him, nor did he have the time to analyze the other man’s political stance. What he had to do now was to quickly help the Yan Emperor complete this "casting a brick to attract jade" step, and move on to the next important topic.

Thus Lord Zheng said directly:

"My lord, have you ever been to Snow Sea Pass?"

"Naturally I have not."

"Snow Sea Pass stands against the wild people of the northern snowfield and blocks the Chu people from marching north in the south, and within a radius of a hundred li around my Snow Sea Pass, one could say nine out of ten households are empty—almost no human presence at all.

Even if this lord wished to squeeze the localities to make up what the troops need, there would be nowhere to go.

If I cannot rely on the court, am I not to fight? Am I to lead my officers and men to herd on the snowfield for a living, or go south to open wasteland and farm for a living?"

In other places, the troops can still squeeze some "grease" out of the places where they are stationed; living men do not die from holding their piss in, after all. But Lord Zheng simply did not have this condition.

At the very least,

from the written reports on Snow Sea Pass that the grandees of the court had seen, they could not see any ability in Lord Zheng to be "self-sufficient."

Wang Lian shook his head and smiled; he did not seem particularly angry.

Lord Zheng continued:

"Your Majesty, in my view, since the court currently has no surplus funds and grain to distribute, it would be better simply to retreat in order to advance, to assume a posture of ’please, come to our door,’ and see whether those Qian people dare to launch another northern expedition."

Cao Que then said: "Lord Pingye, if we contract our defenses, does that not mean that the lands along our Yan frontier line will be handed over to the Qian people?"

"My lord, have you ever been to Yinlang County?"

Cao Que swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Again?

"This official has indeed been there; to Nanwang City as well."

Nanwang City had once been called Yan’s Little Jiangnan, and had been a place where Yan’s culture gathered in abundance.

"Then has my lord ever gone to the border? Ever gone to the Qian State’s Three Frontiers? Ever crossed the Three Frontiers to Shu Prefecture?"

"This official... has not."

"Then I can tell my lord this: the Qian people have built countless forts along their frontier. The so‑called Nanwang City frontier line today is in fact a rather wide zone of mutual access between the two sides on the border.

In other words, it is itself a region of interlocked ’dog teeth’ that neither side can truly control, where either side can gallop their horses.

First, because our Yan soldiers are not skilled at assaulting fortresses, when facing the Qian forts we inevitably have nowhere to start;

second, because the Qian are poor at field warfare. That Zhong Tianlang of these last two years is nothing more than leading small bands of cavalry to run wild for a moment; the Qian do not dare advance too far forward from their forts.

Therefore, Nanwang City contracting its defensive line is nothing more than depriving the Qian of convenient targets the next time they wish to send small forces north."

"What if the main Qian army launches a northern expedition?" Wang Lian suddenly asked. "Frontier defense serves first to secure our soil, and second to provide early warning.