knife

Chapter 64: Attack with troops
On the frozen river, a man wrapped in a fur robe knelt on one knee, easily inserting a sharp dagger into the ice as if it were butter rather than steel. He then twisted the hilt, drawing a neat circle on the ice. With his other hand, his fingers hooked, he picked up the icicle he had chipped off and tossed it to another man on the bank, saying, "Go and boil water for His Highness. I'll get a few more fish."

The man on the shore responded and turned to leave.

In the sheltered spot below the riverbank, seven or eight tents were scattered like stars, yet they surrounded a slightly larger tent in the middle.

The man carried the crystal-clear icicle into the central tent. Inside, a bronze stove was burning brightly with fine silver charcoal. A young man was sitting cross-legged on a cashmere blanket, reading a book. Seeing the man enter, he put down his book and smiled, "Ruhe, is Gro still fishing?"

The man called Luhe shaved a piece of icicle and put it in the kettle, laughing, "Your Highness, as you know, Gro is addicted to fishing. Whenever he has even a little bit of time, he's always fishing. I really don't know what's so great about fishing. I prefer casting a big net; you can tell immediately whether there are any fish or not."

The young man smiled and said, "Gero likes the feeling of waiting for the fish to bite. He enjoys the process, not the result."

Lu He shrugged, sat down opposite the young man, and carefully poked at the silver charcoal with small iron chopsticks. He said, “Your Highness, how confident are we in this trip? To be honest, I’m really worried. We’ve been fighting each other for so many years, and the enmity runs deep. If you go rashly like this, and that Yan Sheng turns his back on you, you’ll be in danger.”

"What? My great Yuan Dynasty's commander of a thousand men, the brave warrior Lu He who charges into battle and never retreats, is actually feeling guilty?" The young man laughed.

“If it were me alone, I would charge into Treasure City with a knife without hesitation. At worst, I’d just die there. But Your Highness is of noble status, unlike me. You absolutely cannot afford to have anything happen to you!” Lu He used his knife to crush the ice, and wisps of steam rose up, blurring the face of the young man opposite him.

This young man is none other than Tiele, the second prince of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, who leads tens of thousands of troops stationed at the crucial Qingtongxia and Shazhuling line, the border between the Northern Yuan and the Great Qin Dynasty.

He is also one of the most powerful figures in the Northern Yuan Dynasty today.

In the past two years, the Northern Yuan army has actually been divided into three parts.

The main force had been following Emperor Yingzhuo northward for two years, resisting the southward advance of the Donghu and Beihu tribes.

The second part is about the Tiele army fighting against the Qin army.

The third part is about the Left Wise King Astu stationed in Yandu. However, Astu's troops are now only responsible for suppressing domestic security. Although there are more than 100,000 troops, they are scattered in various parts of the Northern Yuan and their combat effectiveness varies. There are brave and skilled warriors like Wutu, and there are those who are just going through the motions.

This demonstrates Emperor Yingzhuo's high regard for the Tiele people.

The main force went north to resist the Hu. If the Qin people took advantage of the chaos to plunder, and the Tiele could not hold their ground, then the Northern Yuan would be attacked from two sides and its demise would be imminent.

For the past two years, Tiele and Linghu Ye, the commander of the Qin army stationed outside the pass, have been at peace. Although Linghu Ye had his own ulterior motives, if Tiele revealed a major flaw and Linghu Ye saw its weakness, he would naturally not be polite and would swallow it up first.

However, Tiele did not give Linghuye any chance at all. In these two years, Tiele not only demonstrated his strong military command ability, but also his political skills, which were astonishing.

This is one of the reasons why many people inside and outside the Great Wall regard the Tiele as the next generation of successors of the Northern Yuan.

The political system of the Northern Yuan was largely copied from that of the Qin Dynasty, but it differed significantly in its approach to establishing an heir.

The Qin Dynasty determined its heir early on, educated him from a young age, and then formed its own team to participate in the management of the country after the heir reached a certain age. In the Qin Dynasty, the Crown Prince's lineage was an absolutely powerful political force that could influence the court.

In the Northern Yuan, however, no crown prince was appointed. The emperor secretly designated an heir, and the successor was only revealed in the imperial edict after the previous emperor's death.

Before this, all the princes had a chance.

Therefore, it is conceivable how fierce the struggle between the princes was. The emperors of the Northern Yuan Dynasty did not care about the naked bloody competition between the princes at all, but instead deliberately encouraged it.

Compared to the Qin Dynasty, the Northern Yuan was very weak. Only the most powerful emperor could lead the Northern Yuan to fight against the powerful Qin without leading to its demise.

This method of cultivating successors, akin to raising poisonous insects, indeed ensured that the emperors of the Northern Yuan Dynasty for several generations were all exceptional individuals. Those with less ability had long since perished in the competition, while those whose abilities were utterly incompetent never participated in the struggle for the throne. They simply collected their salaries and lived a life of leisure.

The Tiele had no shortage of competitors. Whether it was the eldest prince, Jebe, who was currently fighting against the barbarians in the northern frontier with Emperor Yingzhuo, or the fourth prince, Akdun, who was assisting the Left Wise King Aslan in Yandu, both possessed considerable power within the country. Unlike the Tiele, the eldest prince Jebe and the fourth prince Akdun also had their maternal clans to rely on; their mothers came from one of the largest tribes within the Northern Yuan territory.

If we're talking about noble birth, Tiele's mother was the one with the highest status. She was Princess Chang Le of the Great Qin Dynasty, the niece of the current Emperor of the Great Qin. In terms of seniority, Tiele would have to call the Emperor of the Great Qin "Grandpa".

However, this mother tribe brought the Tiele not an aid, but an obstacle.

Within the Northern Yuan, a significant portion of the population did not want their imperial bloodline to contain Qin blood, and therefore, no matter how outstanding the Tiele were, they were not among their choices.

The other group did not care about bloodline, but political differences made them even more irreconcilable enemies with the Tiele.

The Tiele advocated for a purely centralized system that fully emulated the Qin Dynasty, rather than the current hybrid system of the Northern Yuan.

This proposition touched upon the fundamental interests of a considerable portion of the Northern Yuan nobility, who naturally could not tolerate the Tiele's ascension to the throne; the Tiele's succession would represent their demise. The Tiele were currently under immense pressure.

For two years, his elder brother Jebe stayed by the emperor's side, offering advice, charging into battle, and making numerous contributions. Their long-term companionship naturally deepened their bond, and his achievements were clear to everyone.

The third son, Akdun, was stationed in Yandu, suppressing domestic rebellions and procuring supplies for the army. The fight against the Hu enemies in the northern frontier was going smoothly, and it seemed that the Donghu and Beihu would be completely subdued. Akdun was naturally credited with great merit.

Meanwhile, the Tiele people enjoyed two years of peace and tranquility, without any incidents. Outsiders, however, could not see the efforts and hardships the Tiele people endured to maintain this peace.

A skilled warrior may not achieve great feats, but sometimes, the lack of great achievements means you have no chance of advancement.

Tiele knew very well that if he could not make outstanding achievements in a short period of time, he would likely be marginalized when the war in the northern frontier ended, the army returned to Yandu, and the day came to reward those who had made contributions.

Riding on the prestige of conquering the two Hu tribes, the emperor's next military advance will definitely be directed at the Great Qin. Those proud and fierce generals who have returned from the northern frontier need to be given a battlefield to continue fighting. Those Donghu and Beihu generals who have just surrendered to the Northern Yuan need to demonstrate their abilities to their new masters and make enough contributions to secure their positions.

So, who was the protagonist of this southern campaign?

The eldest brother, Jebe, who won a decisive victory in the northern border region?

Or is it Akedun, the third son of Yandu who strategizes and plans from behind the scenes?
Or is it the same self that has always been in confrontation with the Qin Dynasty?
After much deliberation, Tiele realized he was at a disadvantage.

With a single imperial edict, the general was replaced, and he could only obediently return to Yandu and become a lazy, idle member of the imperial clan, living a life of idleness and waiting for death.

Even if I were willing to become that kind of person, would my eldest brother and third brother feel at ease?
Will not.

All the princes who participated in the struggle for this chair, except for the one who ultimately succeeded, all the rest faced certain death.

The attempt to win over Yan Sheng of Baoping Prefecture began a year ago.

Constant dripping wears away a stone!
After a full year, as the situation within the Qin Dynasty gradually worsened while the Yuan Dynasty achieved successive victories in the northern frontier, Yan Sheng finally made a decision.

Once Yan Sheng is completely subdued and Baoping Prefecture is captured, the Yuan army can be thrust into the area outside the Great Wall like a wedge, dividing the area into two parts. With Yan Sheng's naval fleet as a support, the Yuan army can launch attacks at will, while Linghu Ye will be completely overwhelmed.

Linghu Ye was not a loyal subject of the Qin Dynasty.

If things don't go well, this guy will only have two paths to choose from.

First, surrender to the Yuan Dynasty.

Second, he abandoned the area outside the pass and led his army back into the pass.

Tiele guessed that Linghu Ye would definitely choose the second path. This was the most advantageous choice for a shrewd minister. It was also the path Tiele most wanted him to choose.

Because Linghu Ye chose this path, it meant that he had to break with Chang'an. He had no other way to survive except by rebelling.

With 100,000 elite troops from beyond the Great Wall entering the pass, the Qin Dynasty is about to be thrown into complete chaos, which is a double blessing for him.

Under his planning, he effortlessly acquired thousands of miles of land beyond the Great Wall, millions of people, and caused internal strife in the Qin Dynasty, laying a solid foundation for the Yuan Dynasty's next attack on Qin. Such an enormous achievement is beyond what his elder brother, that warrior, could achieve by beheading thousands of people. It is also beyond what his third brother, that cunning fellow, could achieve by acting all sneaky and pretending to be a respectful and courteous person.
Are there any risks involved in this trip?

Of course there is.

But compared to the enormous gains, this risk is truly insignificant.

It wasn't that Tiele looked down on Yan Sheng, but rather that under the current circumstances, Yan Sheng truly wouldn't dare to lay a finger on him.

Yan Sheng was no ordinary bachelor; the Yan family had been rooted in the area beyond the Great Wall for hundreds of years, and their entire fortune and lives were in Baoping Prefecture.

On the surface, no one dared to touch Tiele, but in secret, he naturally made some other arrangements to ensure his safety.

The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting!

(End of this chapter)