inspire-indiana Chapter 908 If you're going to gamble, gamble big.
Chapter 908 If you're going to gamble, gamble big.
Two thousand elite soldiers from the Da Nu Kingdom sneaked towards the border of the Da Nu Kingdom, deliberately choosing a side road to avoid attracting attention.
They were almost at Jinglang Prefecture, but no one there noticed.
Mu Tai burst into laughter.
"As expected, Qiao Lian'er has lost those crooked and evil skills. It's like a tiger having its teeth pulled. Her Jinglang Prefecture is going to suffer, but she's been kept in the dark. She's just a fool after all."
A cold glint appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I just hope those good-for-nothings in the capital will fight a little harder. I've put in a bit of effort here, so they can't remain so cowardly and incompetent."
Two days later, two thousand elite troops successfully crossed the border and invaded Jinglang Prefecture.
The army of Jinglang Prefecture resisted for a while, but then abandoned their armor and weapons and retreated in defeat.
The elite troops marched south and encountered resistance along the way, but the counterattack in Daze Kingdom was not ideal. Later, upon hearing the name of this elite force, they fled at the mere sight of them.
Some analysts believe that the reason for this is that the Daze Kingdom won a battle a few years ago, which made the king and generals proud. They stopped training their troops diligently, which led to the army becoming lax, undisciplined, and its combat strength greatly reduced.
Mutai then consulted with Khan Zhenyou, suggesting that, taking advantage of this opportunity, another 50,000 main forces be dispatched south to occupy Jinglang Prefecture as a base, and then further increase troop strength to expand southward.
The smooth march was something the Khan had never imagined, and the constant stream of good news from the front left him stunned.
"Could it be a conspiracy by the Great Swamp Kingdom? With the Great Swamp Kingdom's defenses, it shouldn't be able to hold off even two thousand elite soldiers."
"I think it's unlikely. The main reason is that this time we evaded Qiao Lian'er's eyes, marched quickly, and attacked suddenly. The Daze Kingdom had no time to prepare. The reputation of our fierce army has spread, and the troops at the front have suffered defeat after defeat. So it's only natural that the soldiers of Daze Kingdom are afraid."
After Mutai's analysis, Khan Zhenyou nodded: "There's some truth to that."
"However, we still need to be careful. Fifty thousand is too much. Let's send thirty thousand first."
The Da Nu Kingdom has a total of 150,000 soldiers. If it really is a trap set by the Da Ze Kingdom, losing 50,000 of them would be a loss of 30%, which is not worth it at all.
Upon receiving the letter, Qiao Lian'er was somewhat disappointed; it was only 30,000, whereas she had expected it to be at least 50,000 or 60,000.
This way, the fighting is more exciting, and the men of the Qiao family can achieve even greater feats.
She decided to take another risk and not rush into action.
If you're going to gamble, gamble big.
Once these tens of thousands of soldiers had occupied half of Jinglang Prefecture, the Great Khan was confident and would send even more troops.
That's when the real fighting begins.
The news that the 30,000 troops of the Da Nu Kingdom had invaded Jinglang Prefecture, causing it to suffer repeated defeats, lose cities and land, and leave it in ruins, quickly reached the emperor's ears.
At this time, the emperor had almost fully recovered, and he hurriedly summoned Qiao Lian'er.
"What's going on? Why haven't we fought yet?" The emperor asked in a questioning tone, not even waiting for Qiao Lian'er to bow.
“Your Majesty, 30,000 men are too few,” Qiao Lian’er said.
The emperor understood her meaning, and he frowned: "I am still a little worried. If the situation gets out of control, it will be like spilled water that cannot be recovered."
Qiao Lian'er said, "This humble woman has already signed a military pledge; with my head on my neck, I can take it at any time."
The emperor thought for a moment. Jinglang Prefecture was Qiao Lian'er's fiefdom. If she wanted to gamble with that fiefdom, then let her gamble.
He also understood Qiao Lian'er's thoughts to some extent. Even though she was trying to share his burdens, she also harbored the idea of letting the men of the Qiao family make contributions. Of course, this required her to be able to handle such a chaotic situation.
Chaos broke out in Jinglang Prefecture, and the soldiers of Princess Zhenguo were constantly being defeated. This news spread to the capital like the wind.
Everyone is saying that the princess who has always had a smooth life and has never lost is about to suffer a major setback this time. She may be stripped of her title and have her fiefdom taken back, because she can't even protect her own territory.
At the same time, everyone was worried that the army of the Da Nu Kingdom was advancing south and would soon reach the capital after crossing two more states. What would happen to the capital then?
From high-ranking officials to ordinary citizens, everyone felt insecure.
When Qiao Lian'er attended court, she remained silent in the face of the officials' probing questions.
Her attitude has always been unpredictable, but the situation was clearly unfavorable to her, so everyone thought that she had run out of options.
Qiao Lian'er's reputation plummeted, and she was surrounded by doubts. But in order to deliver a heavy blow to Da Nu Kingdom, slap Mu Tai in the face, and let the Qiao family's sons achieve merit, she calmly accepted everything.
Following this trend, in a couple of days, the Da Nu Kingdom will occupy half of Jinglang Prefecture.
"Your Majesty, thirty percent of the counties and prefectures of Jinglang Prefecture have already been occupied. As the fiefdom of the Princess Zhenguo, the soldiers stationed there are led and trained by the Princess Zhenguo, yet they have been repeatedly defeated by the Da Nu Kingdom, bringing shame upon the Great Ze Kingdom. This is the Princess Zhenguo's ability; she has only raised a bunch of good-for-nothings."
During the morning court session, Prince Jin confronted Qiao Lian'er directly, his words dripping with barbs.
Originally, the Emperor had explicitly forbidden Prince Jin from attending the morning court session, but seeing another opportunity to kick Qiao Lian'er away, Prince Jin disregarded the imperial decree and insisted on barging into the Golden Palace, even threatening to kill himself if he was driven out.
The soldiers from Qingfeng Plain had already marched into Jinglang Prefecture, but this news was not leaked out.
Therefore, many people are confused as to why the emperor did not send other generals to lead troops to provide support given the situation.
The emperor also felt a little uneasy; how could he not worry about the situation getting out of control?
"It's just a tactic to lure the enemy in; Princess Zhenguo has her own plans."
Prince Jin was always stirring up trouble, and the emperor was very impatient with him.
Saying it outright would only make it seem like a cover-up.
Prince Jin scoffed, "This must have been what Princess Zhenguo told the Emperor. She was utterly defeated and utterly humiliated, yet she claimed it was a strategy to lure the enemy deep into her territory. The Emperor actually believed her. When the soldiers of the Da Nu Kingdom finally reach the capital, the Emperor will realize that some people are all show and no substance."
The emperor began to feel a headache again, pointing outside the Golden Palace.
"Get out of here."
"Before you leave, I must say what I need to say. The situation is extremely urgent. The primary responsibility lies with Princess Zhenguo. We should first strip her of her title and reclaim her fiefdom as a warning to others. Then, we should send a capable general to lead troops to meet the enemy, lest our beautiful land fall into enemy hands."
Prince Su also said anxiously, "Your Majesty, please think it over. Some people are simply not trustworthy. I even suspect that she may be colluding with foreign enemies, deliberately suffering defeats to create opportunities for the enemy, and then pretending to be loyal in front of Your Majesty to make Your Majesty trust her completely. If Your Majesty does not wake up sooner or later, you will get burned and regret it too late."
Other ministers echoed this sentiment.
“I trust Princess Zhenguo,” the Prince of Yan said.