latelenovela Chapter 158 Winter Ends, Qin Wu's Overt Scheme
Chapter 158 Winter Ends, Qin Wu's Overt Scheme
The days passed by.
This winter has been very long.
Snow began to fall in October and did not begin to melt until February of the following year.
After several months.
The Northern Barbarian Kingdom was in a state of utter devastation.
In the past few months, due to a lack of supplies, many people in the Northern Barbarian Kingdom have died this winter.
Even those who weren't dead were in very poor condition.
Even the Northern Barbarian army had lost much of its fighting strength.
It can be said that this is the weakest time for the Northern Barbarian Royal Court.
In fact, these past few months have been difficult not only for the Northern Barbarian Royal Court, but also for the various tribes of the Northern Barbarians.
These days, the lack of grain and supplies plundered from Eastern Qin and Western Zhou has only compounded their difficulties.
Just as the snow began to melt, they received a message from the royal court ordering them to send troops to provide support.
Upon receiving the news, they all complained, saying that they had enough food and supplies to support their army's expedition.
But the current situation does not allow them to refrain from sending troops.
The royal court absolutely cannot be allowed to suffer any mishap; if it does, the Northern Barbarians will truly be finished.
In the end, the various tribes had no choice but to grit their teeth and send troops, but they really couldn't manage to get supplies and provisions.
Without bringing enough provisions, they marched directly towards the Northern Barbarian King's court.
"Your Highness, our scouts have just reported that the major tribes of the Northern Barbarians have already dispatched troops. However, due to insufficient supplies, they did not bring much food. It is likely that they will need the Northern Barbarian Royal Court to provide them with provisions when they arrive."
Liu Yu came to report.
They discovered that the Northern Barbarian Royal Court had sent out powerful warriors just as the snow began to melt, so Qin Wu immediately dispatched scouts.
As expected, Qin Wu guessed correctly.
Those people were there specifically to mobilize troops.
Of course, Qin Wu also sent people to investigate the situation of these tribes and knew that their current situation was not bad.
The current situation is entirely within his expectations.
"After spending the whole winter at home, I've had enough rest and it's time to get some exercise."
Qin Wu sneered.
They come to provide support without bringing enough provisions; do they really think the Zhenbei Army is made of clay?
"I will go and inform the generals to come immediately."
After hearing Qin Wu's words, Liu Yu immediately understood what Qin Wu meant.
After saying that, he left to inform others.
An hour later, all the generals of the rank of lieutenant general and above arrived at Qin Wu's tent.
"This general pays homage to His Majesty."
The generals bowed.
After all the generals had arrived, Qin Wu stepped out from the back.
"No need to be polite, just sit down."
Qin Wu sat down in the main seat, and then gestured for all the generals to sit down as well.
"It seems everyone has had a good winter; some have even gained weight."
Qin Wu glanced at the generals and teased them with a smile.
"Your Majesty."
Qi Ye said embarrassedly.
This winter, they eat mutton every day, but because of the cold weather, they rarely go out.
And that's how I gained weight.
"Alright, we've rested enough for a few months, it's time for everyone to get moving."
"Now that the Northern Barbarians have made their move, I want you to each send men to attack the armies that are coming to reinforce us."
"But remember not to kill too many. Drive them into the Northern Barbarian King's Court without leaving a trace."
Qin Wu smiled and gave the order.
He wanted to drive all these people into the Northern Barbarian Royal Court, making the already overburdened court even worse.
The generals immediately understood Qin Wu's meaning.
"Your Highness, given the situation at the Northern Barbarian Royal Court, I'm afraid they won't let anyone in, will they?"
Qi Ye asked the question that had been on his mind.
"Not letting people in? Wouldn't it be better if they weren't allowed in?"
“We will block them outside the city, starve them for a few days, and once they are no longer able to fight, we will slaughter them in front of the Northern Barbarian King’s army, so that the Northern Barbarian King can experience the consequences of losing the hearts of the people.”
Qin Wu sneered.
Under these circumstances, the Northern Barbarian King had only two options: either let those people into the city.
Secondly, they were left outside the city and ignored.
But neither of them would do him any harm.
Actually, he hoped even more that the barbarian king wouldn't let anyone in.
When he raises his sword, that will be the time for the Northern Barbarians to perish.
After all, he could no longer continue to slaughter all the northern barbarian tribes. He still needed to capture all of them and make them build cities for the Eastern Qin on the northern barbarian lands.
This will enable them to better guard the northern barbarian territory.
To truly take control of the vast grasslands of the Northern Barbarians, which are also the best natural pastures, allowing them to breed enough warhorses and train enough cavalry.
After hearing Qin Wu's words, the generals' eyes lit up.
They all understood Qin Wu's meaning.
"Your Highness, rest assured, we know what to do."
The generals immediately stood up and made their promises.
"Go ahead! It's a good opportunity to lose some weight."
Qin Wu smiled and ordered his generals to carry out their tasks.
"Yes."
The generals all knew that the prince was teasing them, so they smiled, bowed, and left.
Next, the Zhenbei Army began to take covert action.
The Northern Barbarian troops that rushed to provide support were constantly attacked by the Zhenbei Army.
They even deliberately burned their meager supplies, making the northern barbarian tribes' armies that came to their aid suffer even more.
In the end, having no other choice, they had to focus all their efforts on heading towards the Northern Barbarian King's Court.
However, their goal of quickly reaching the Northern Barbarian King's Court was not so easily achieved.
Every time they stopped to rest, the Zhenbei Army would launch an attack.
By the time they finally arrived at the Northern Barbarian King's court, several armies had almost completely lost their fighting strength and morale.
At Qin Wu's instruction, the Zhenbei Army deliberately let them pass through, allowing them to reach the outskirts of the Northern Barbarian King's Court.
As soon as the army arrived, they immediately requested to enter the city.
The generals returned and reported back to Qin Wu.
"Very good, you've done a great job. Now it's up to the Barbarian King to decide how to handle this."
After listening to the reports from his generals, Qin Wu smiled and said.
“You should also go back and prepare, put some pressure on them every day, and don’t let them have it too easy.”
Qin Wu gave the order.
The generals then rose, bowed, and returned to their camp.
The Northern Barbarian Royal Palace.
Upon receiving the news, the barbarian king's face turned ashen with rage.
He never expected that the army that came to his aid would be in such a sorry state.
"Trash, a bunch of trash."
The barbarian king roared.
The Left Wise King stood to the side, his face grim.
Their royal court is already in a bad situation, and now they're sending in hundreds of thousands of troops.
The Northern Barbarian Royal Court simply couldn't afford to support them.
They now face two choices.
First: send the army into the city.
The result would be that the Northern Barbarian royal court could not afford to support them, and a mutiny might eventually occur.
Second: Let people ignore it.
The result could be that these armies harbor resentment towards the royal family, and the final outcome could be that these people turn against them.
Neither option is beneficial to them.
They're practically roasted over a fire now.