On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Chapter 512 Laugh 3 times a day

"How could those old foxes in the Northern Yan Shangshutai allow the emperor to do what he wants? I guess Li Chonghou was afraid that withdrawing troops from Yanmen would expose his corruption, while Zhang Shouzheng was afraid that the loss of the southern front would prove his embezzlement. The two of them argued back and forth, and finally Tuoba Ke chose a strategy that seemed to be a compromise, but in fact it would lead to his quick death."

He suddenly chuckled, his sword arcing in the candlelight. "30,000 men will remain to guard Yanmen, perfect for Chen Xiao to target. 50,000 will return to defend the capital, enough for us to slowly pick off enemies along the way."

The fat man scratched his spiky hair. "So what's our next step? Attack Yunzhong as planned?"

"No." Lin Zhenxian threw the dense silk into the brazier and watched the paper curl up into the shape of a wolf's head in the flames. "Tuoba Ke has withdrawn his defense line to the clouds. He must have laid deer horns and trenches in front of the pass. Although our eight-ox crossbows are powerful, a direct attack is bound to cause losses. Moreover, our forces have begun to shrink. It is unrealistic for us to attack the capital with only 5,000 men."

He suddenly pointed to the southwest corner of the map. "Hequ County houses the last remaining grain reserves on Northern Yan's western front. The commander in charge is Li Chonghou's nephew. According to secret reports, he's busy trading warhorses for horses at the Youzhou horse farm."

The fat man's eyes lit up. "Hequ has no strategic location to defend, and it's right next to Yunzhong! I'm willing to bring two thousand men and horses, and we can destroy his granary in two days!"

"Two days isn't enough." Lin Zhenxian grabbed the jade bracelet left by Hao Aimin from the desk, the beads clattering against his palm. "Pass the order down: The entire army will rest for two days, with three meals of wine and meat provided daily. All the roasted knives Hao Aimin sent must be distributed to the crossbowmen."

He suddenly looked out the window at the wolf head relief obscured by the Suzaku flag. "Two days later, the entire army will march westward to Hequ. When passing through Heishan, they will also take down the bandit nest of "Old Wolf". Doesn't Beiyan like to raise wolves? Let's help them get rid of the wolf cubs."

The fat man took the order and left, the sound of his boots shattering the moonlight in the courtyard.

......

Late at night, Lin Zhenxian sat alone in an empty hall, listening to the sound of rock-paper-scissors coming from afar - that was the soldiers of the Qian army sharing the yellow sheep meat sent by Hao Aimin.

He traced Hao Aimin's secret notes on the account book with his fingertips, and suddenly found a line of tiny words on the page for "River Defense": "Seventy percent of the Yanmen garrison is Li Chonghou's private army, most of whom are from Youzhou."

The candle flame suddenly popped.

Lin Zhenxian looked at the flickering flames and recalled that ten years ago, he had fought with Li Chonghou's father, King Yanbei, for three days and three nights outside Yanmen Pass.

The Yan army at that time was as brave as a pack of wolves, but now its foundation has been eaten away by a group of greedy rats.

He suddenly sneered and pushed the account book back to its original place - isn't Hao Aimin's greed another sharp weapon?

Amid the sound of the night watchman, the barking of dogs could be heard from the alley behind the government office.

Lin Zhenxian stood up and looked out the window, and saw Hao Aimin directing the yamen runners to move the wine jars. His fat figure looked like a rolling snowball in the moonlight.

......

In the late spring of Daqian capital, willow catkins are floating in the air. In front of the vermilion lacquer door of the Prince Regent's Palace, eight bronze Vermilion Bird lampstands are emitting candle flames, making the white marble lions in front of the door look as majestic as if they were bathed in fire.

Lin Zhen's study is located in the west wing. The carved lattice windows are half open. The incense of agarwood wafting from the Boshan stove on the desk mixed with the fragrance of wisteria flowers outside the window, weaving a faint mist on the yellowed map.

At this moment, he was leaning on a carved rosewood chair, holding a secret report sent by a fast horse from Northern Yan between his fingers. The cinnabar annotations on the plain white letter paper were particularly eye-catching under the candlelight.

He scanned over key words such as "Tuoba Ke divided his troops at Yanmen", "Li Chonghou's private army stayed", and "The defense line in Yunzhong is ineffective". He suddenly chuckled and ran his fingertips over the wolf-head totem mark of the Northern Yan territory on the map.

"Your Highness is right. Beiyan's move is clearly putting its neck under the butcher's knife."

"My husband is laughing at the ruler and his ministers of Northern Yan again?"

Amid the tinkling of her rings and bracelets, Huanbi, wearing a long green skirt, came in holding a teacup. As the hem of her skirt swept across the map, the soles of her snow-white satin socks embroidered with silver thread were revealed.

The jade bracelet on her wrist touched the celadon cup, making a clear sound. "Ever since the fall of Dingxiang City, you have laughed three times a day."

Lin Zhen put down the secret report and his eyes fell on the pearl hairpin on Huanbi's temples - it was a Persian treasure that was tributed by merchants from the Western Regions last year. At this moment, it was swaying gently with her movements, making her skin look whiter than snow.

"I'm not laughing at their stupidity, but at their greed." He took the teacup. "Li Chonghou was afraid of being caught embezzling, and Zhang Shouzheng was afraid of being exposed for withholding. These two old thieves split a hundred thousand troops in half, which actually saved us half a month's journey."

On the map, the red lines of Yanmen Pass and Juyong Pass were like two broken chains, dividing the territory of Northern Yan into two parts that were difficult to see from both ends.

Lin Zhen suddenly stood up, his sleeve sweeping across the pile of battle reports on his desk, his finger pointing at the Black Mountain bandit's lair. "Only three days after your Highness entered Hequ, a secret letter from Black Mountain's 'Old Wolf' arrived. Those wolf cubs of Northern Yan have long been waiting to bite their master's throat. Ultimately, the imperial court is being too unfriendly to them."

Huanbi leaned closer to the map and said, "I heard that the prince left a corrupt official as a guide in Dingxiang City?"

"How did you know?"

"I heard from the housekeeper the other day that the corrupt official hid the gold in the incense burner at the City God Temple. Even the mice could tell that there was gold dust on his cuffs."

"Hao Aimin?" Lin Zhen recalled the jade bracelet and the double account details mentioned in the prince's secret letter, and suddenly chuckled. "This man is greedy for money but not power, and loves life but not fame. He is just perfect to be a chess piece in troubled times."

He turned and looked at the wisteria trellis outside the window. In the twilight, a dark shadow was walking quickly along the corridor. It was the secret guard responsible for delivering the secret letter.

"I've come up with a plan for the prince. I've asked Hao Aimin to issue a notice exempting Dingxiang City from taxes for three years. This strategy may seem like a benefit to the people, but it actually cuts off Beiyan's excuse to collect taxes. The more popular Hao Aimin becomes, the harder it will be for Beiyan to recapture the city."

Huanbi placed the teacup on the desk and suddenly noticed the Western Trade Route marker in the corner of the map. "Oh, by the way, didn't my husband say last time that when the Western Trade Caravan returns, he'd let my brother go with them to Kucha? There's a war going on over there..."

She twisted her skirt, and the jade bracelet on her wrist made a crackling sound.

Lin Zhen knew he was worried about Li Chuang being in danger, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry. We have Chen Xiao's secret agents in the caravan, and we've replaced our men at all the checkpoints along the way. Your brother will go with us to see the scenery of the Western Regions and learn some business skills. This will be of great benefit to him. How can a man grow without going through hardships?"

As he was speaking, a maid walked in from outside the door and said, "Sir, Madam Zhang Li sent someone to deliver grapes from the Western Regions. Also, the leader of the Western Regions caravan requested an audience tonight, saying he brought back a defense map of Yunzhong County in Northern Yan."

Lin Zhen's fingertips stopped at the Black Mountain position, and a gleam in his eyes flashed: "Let him wait in the side hall."

He turned to Huanbi and smiled, "Go and call your brother back quickly. This team leader is a capable manager and can't be neglected."

"Yes, my lord, I will go right away."