Chapter 575: Even the mother is jealous (2/2)
The biggest of Northern Li’s three major horse farms, located in South City, had caught a plague that quickly spread to their herdsmen’s horse pastures too. Although the sickness had passed, they’d suffered heavy losses as a result. Supposedly, South City’s horse farm was all but ruined, thus greatly diminishing Northern Li’s military strength.
“I heard that the horse farms in Vast City and Skypool City have all fallen under the crown prince’s control?” Emperor Kang Cheng probed. From what he knew, parts of the farms used to belong to the Duke of Kang Jun Yixie as well before he lost his dukedom following the Medicine City fiasco.
“No matter who controls them, it’s all hopeless when the plague hits,” Long Feiye intoned. “Your lordship heard a piece of news recently. Actually, last year’s pestilence affected Vast and Skypool City’s horse farms as well. However, their losses were far less than South City.”
Hearing this, Emperor Kang Cheng grew apprehensive. Although Long Feiye didn’t say it outright, he could guess at the implications! It looks like Northern Li had suffered more than he expected. In other words, its military strength wasn’t as strong as it appeared.
No wonder. After Tianning’s civil unrest, the military split into three factions with Great General Ning of the cavalry, Great General Mu of the infantry, and Great General Baili of the navy in the south. Despite its splintered forces, Northern Li Country hadn’t moved to invade its neighbor even though it only (publicly) lost one horse farm.
So they’ve suffered heavier losses than I thought!
But why had the Duke of Qin told him such a secret?
“This would have been a golden opportunity for Tianning if it hadn’t suffered the split,” Emperor Kang Cheng sighed with emotion. Historically, it had always been Northern Li who was constantly encroaching on the borders of Tianning and Western Zhou. If Tianning’s infantry and cavalry could united with Western Zhou’s own military forces, they could have attacked Northern Li together.
“If Western Zhou has such aspirations, your lordship could call over General Baili for a chat,” Long Feiye said simply.
Now Emperor Kang Cheng understood Long Feiye’s intentions. As it turned out, he really was here to propose an alliance! If General Baili could move from the sea and attack Northern Li’s eastern borders, then Western Zhou could ally with them for a pincer attack to trap the enemy. Emperor Kang Cheng’s heart was moved by the thought! But he kept his cool and quickly analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of such a proposal. As it turned out, the losses outweighed the gains!
For one thing, allying with Long Feiye would send a message to Tianning’s western capital that he was against them. If the other side got desperate, they might command General Ning’s troops stationed at the border to charge into Western Zhou, leading to unthinkable consequences.
For another, there were miscalculations for even the best of battle plans. Western Zhou and Northern Li were close neighbors, so they’d risk invasion from that side as well. Northern Li’s crack cavalry could really hold a grudge, so they’d wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice countless lives just to avenge an affront. In contrast, Long Feiye’s southern central regions were located far enough from Northern Li by a buffer zone of Emperor Tianhui and Long Tianmo’s territories to be at risk. The Duke of Qin could simply withdrew his navy if he lost his battles without much consequence, but Western Zhou had no such luxury.
For a third—and the most dreaded reason—was the fact that cooperating with the Duke of Qin was like asking a tiger or fox for its skin. He wouldn’t even know how he died before he was screwed over! Heaven knows whether the Duke of Qin was targeting Northern Li with his proposal, or Western Zhou instead! Emperor Kang Cheng’s first reaction was to reject the proposal, but he still maintained a grateful expression since he wanted to ferret out more intel from Long Feiye’s lips about Northern Li.
Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to get anything at all after that. The Duke of Qin had started out talkative, but by the end it was just Emperor Kang Cheng speaking as the man listened. Sitting next to him, Han Yunxi didn’t even say a word. Although it looked like she was being neglected because she was useless to the conversation, the Duke of Qin still made sure to pour her tea at regular intervals. When Empress Xue saw this as she spied from the shadows, she couldn’t help but feel jealous.
She was the doted empress of an entire nation, yet she still had to hide away and listen in on this meeting from the shadows. Han Yunxi was only a wangfe, but why could she still right next to the Duke of Qin while he discussed affairs of state? Moreover, the Duke of Qin was even pouring tea for her in public! If anything, it should be Han Yunxi serving him tea instead! Although Cloud Realm Continent was quite civilized, it was still a patriarchal society in the end. Men, especially men with power, could plea with women in private, but never wait on them in public. Despite this, the Duke of Qin’s actions were received quite calmly by Han Yunxi, indicating that the two of them were used to it.
Empress Xue couldn’t help but seethe at the sight, to say nothing of her daughter! She would have to find a way to tell this to Yao Yao so her daughter could control the elements she needed at Celestial Mountain. Even if Duanmu Yao had lost the chance for a marriage alliance and her own status as princess, they couldn’t let Han Yunxi simply sit there and reap all the benefits!
Long Feiye and Emperor Kang Cheng talked for less than two hours before the former agreed to attend the latter’s banquet tonight. Then he left with Han Yunxi. As soon as the palace was behind them, she exclaimed, “You’re not really planning to ally yourself to Western Zhou! Isn’t that right? You’re here to expose the truth of the pestilence instead!”
After being with Long Feiye for so long, her experience and intellect were enough to clue Han Yunxi into his schemes.
“Keep talking,” Long Feiye said, amused.
“Thus, Emperor Kang Cheng take advantage of the crown prince’s confinement to move against the Chu Clan!” Han Yunxi said earnestly. One with too many merits overshadowed the master, one with too much power only incurred disaster. No matter how tolerant and confidence Emperor Kang Cheng could be, he would never let the Chu Clan advance limitlessly. This was especially true after Chu Qingge had married Emperor Tianhui and became the empress in under two years. Emperor Kang Cheng’s heart couldn’t help but dread.
The reasons Emperor Kang Cheng hadn’t moved against the Chu Clan yet was because he was still observing the situation and wary of Northern Li’s powerful cavalry. After all, the Chu Clan’s superior archery skills were an invaluable asset against Northern Li! But now…
Han Yunxi smiled at her husband. “Long Feiye, you’re too evil! You came to sow discord on purpose!”