Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 139 Foreign Schemes, a Chaotic Frenzy

Jia Jue was quite satisfied with Shi Ding's response; aside from anything else, his execution was top-notch.

After giving a brief explanation, Shi Ding went down to inspect the fleet.

Time flies, and another seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside Mingjing City on the border of the Western Sea, the leaders of all the tribes of the Western Sea gathered here, each with a beaming smile.

The Western Sea Barbarians comprised more than a dozen tribes with a population of over one million.

As a loose tribal alliance, the nominal supreme leader of the Western Sea Barbarians was the High Priest Shamito.

At the same time, Shami Tuo is also the leader of the Shami tribe of the Western Sea.

This battle in the Western Sea was initiated and implemented by Shami Tuo, who traveled among various tribes.

At the beginning of the war, the various tribes in the Western Sea were quite uneasy.

After all, the Western Sea tribes were far inferior to the Great Zhou in both population and military strength, and they were very worried that invading the borders of the Great Zhou would provoke retaliation from the Great Zhou.

However, after the five border cities were breached, the Western Sea barbarians plundered them wantonly.

The wealth of the five small cities made the foreign tribes of the Western Sea green with envy. Although they knew that the Great Zhou was rich, they did not expect it to be this rich.

At this moment, everyone rubbed their hands together, looked at the novice monk with anticipation, and asked him.

"High Priest, we've taken and digested the five cities. Shouldn't we press our advantage and take a few more cities from the Great Zhou?"

The novice monk, sitting in the main seat, smiled calmly and said.

"I think all departments have gained a lot during this period."

"I can understand everyone's desire to strike while the iron is hot."

"However, through this attack on the five cities, I think you should have seen it by now."

"We encountered virtually no resistance and captured these five cities with ease."

"Do you know what this means?"

A tribal chief said without hesitation.

"This shows that Zhou Jun is a spineless coward and not worth fearing at all."

"Shamito" waved his hand and said.

"Wrong. This means that Zhou Jun deliberately gave us these five cities."

The tribal chiefs were puzzled after hearing this, and an old man looked at Shamito and asked him.

"High Priest, why is Zhou Jun doing this?"

Shami chuckled softly.

"I spent a lot of money to buy intelligence that the current commander of the Western Navy, the Duke of Nan'an, and the Emperor of Great Zhou are suspicious of each other."

"The emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was very dissatisfied with these founding heroes and demoted them from princes to dukes."

"They deliberately created friction on the border to provoke us into launching a war against the Great Zhou, both in order to retaliate and to protect themselves."

"At the same time, they also tampered with those five cities. The garrison commanders they sent were not from the Duke of Nan'an's faction. It was clear that they were sent to be scapegoats."

There is a saying among the Zhou people: "To raise an enemy is to enhance one's own prestige."

"The commander of the Western Navy is now deliberately condoning our raids on the border in order to demonstrate his importance."

"As a result, the Emperor of Great Zhou was afraid to do anything to him."

"I'm sure that if our army continues its attack, it will encounter the elite forces of Zhou's army, and we may suffer heavy casualties."

Upon hearing this, everyone said with great reluctance.

"High Priest, if that's the case, then shouldn't we retreat?"

The novice monk said confidently.

"Now that I have led my troops out here, I will not go back easily."

"However, it's not worth it to fight Zhou Jun head-on."

"I have a plan, and I need the full cooperation of all departments."

"If this matter can be accomplished, our tribe will no longer need to return to those deep mountains. We can occupy the Western Sea of ​​the Great Zhou Dynasty, establish our own territory, and live a more carefree and happy life than being savages in the mountains."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly responded.

"High Priest, please tell us what you have to do. We, the thirteen tribes, swear to follow you to the death."

"I swear to follow the High Priest to the death."

Seeing that the morale of the troops was high, Shamituo immediately began to deploy his plans.

The next day, in the command tent of the Western Sea camp, Deputy General Liu Dingfang was reporting to the Duke of Nan'an on the current situation on the Western Sea border.

After listening for only a few words, the Duke of Nan'an became very impatient and said...

"Alright, don't bother me with these trivial matters. I'm asking you, how long will it take for this batch of military supplies to arrive?"

After a moment's thought, Liu Dingfang said.

"Reporting to the Commander, it should be about five more days."

The Duke of Nan'an nodded and said.

“Very good. Once this batch of weapons arrives, we will proceed according to the old procedures.”

"Ah, they even sell to those Western Sea barbarians."

Liu Dingfang was also extremely shocked.

The Duke of Nan'an said dismissively.

"If we don't sell to them, who else would we sell to? We'd sell to you."

"Besides these buyers, who else in the Western Sea would buy these things?"

Liu Dingfang quickly tried to persuade him.

"General, we've already sold equipment for tens of thousands of people during this period."

"If we continue to sell, the armies of the Western Sea tribes will be too well-equipped. If they become disadvantageous to the enemy, that would be disastrous."

The Duke of Nan'an said with great disdain.

"Those savages wouldn't know how to use weapons even if you gave them to them."

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. Do as I say immediately."

Liu Dingfang nodded helplessly and said.

"Alright then, by the way, Commander, there's one more thing."

"The Ministry of War and the Cabinet have issued more than a dozen military orders, urging the Western Navy to send troops as soon as possible to quell these rebellious barbarians."

"Our inaction has already greatly displeased the cabinet."

"Shouldn't we take the initiative and achieve some results so that we can report back to the imperial court?"

After a moment of contemplation, the Duke of Nan'an spoke.

"That's true. If we don't fight a couple of battles, it'll be hard to get military pay."

"Let's do this: once this batch of military supplies arrives and is sold off, we'll wage war against these barbarians and drive them out of the five cities first."

"I will obey my orders."

After dealing with the matter, the Duke of Nan'an leisurely continued drinking and making merry.

A few days later, at the residence of the Duke of Beijing in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, apart from the Duke of Nan'an who was far away in the Western Sea, the other three gathered together.

Inside the study, the Duke of Dongping and the Duke of Xining looked at the Duke of Beijing with some curiosity and asked him questions.

"Brother Shui, you invited us here today, is it because something happened?"

The Duke of Bei Jing looked at the two of them and said with a serious expression.

"I have invited you two here today to discuss a momentous matter."

"There is another guest here as well. The matter that the four of us discuss today will determine the fate of the entire Great Zhou."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Dongping hurriedly inquired.

"Guest? What guest?"

"The Duke of Bei Jing said calmly."

"You'll find out soon, my lord. Please."

As soon as the Duke of Bei Jing finished speaking, a man walked out from behind the screen.

The Duke of Dongping and the Duke of Xining were both taken aback when they saw this person, and then spoke in unison.

"Young Marquis Yue, it's you."

The visitor was none other than Consort Yue's younger brother, the Second Prince's maternal uncle, Marquis Xiao Yue.

Marquis Xiaoyue stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Three dukes, it's an honor to meet you."

Upon seeing Marquis Xiaoyue, the Duke of Dongping and the Duke of Xining felt a jolt in their hearts, and then glared at the Duke of Beijing with questioning eyes.

The two men already had a premonition that the matter the Duke of Beijing had asked them to discuss today was going to cause a major disaster.

Looking into their eyes, the Duke of Bei Jing smiled calmly and said.

"Gentlemen, we've been family friends for many years, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Now that you've seen the Marquis, I think you should already have your answers regarding the matters we've discussed today."

The Duke of Dongping gave a wry smile and said.

"It seems that dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes indeed."

"Could it be that the Second Prince intends to emulate His Majesty?"

"But if I may be frank, the few of us simply don't have that kind of strength."

"My lord, Duke of Beijing, say no more. Just pretend I was never here."

"me too."

The Duke of Xining echoed this sentiment and also prepared to get up and leave.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuehou smiled calmly and said...

"If you don't fight with all your might, you won't even be able to cry when a knife is at your throat in the future."

"You two don't think that His Majesty will continue to indulge you just because you control the situation in the Western Sea, do you?"

"Moreover, do you really think your little scheme of raising bandits to enhance your own importance can succeed? How laughable."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Xining and the Duke of Dongping stopped and looked at Marquis Xiaoyue with some surprise, asking him questions.

"My lord, what do you mean by that?"

Xiao Yuehou sneered.

"What do you mean? I'm laughing at you for not realizing you're about to die."

"His Majesty is so wise; he knows that the Western Navy has been infiltrated too deeply by the four of you."

"In order to stabilize you, His Majesty appointed the Duke of Nan'an as the commander-in-chief of the Western Navy to go to the front line to quell the rebellion."

"But His Majesty can't count on you at all when it comes to the Western Sea issue."

"Let me remind you one more time, do you know where the Champion Marquis is right now?"

The Duke of Dongping became even more puzzled after hearing this.

"The Marquis of Champion, he's in the capital, where else could he be? Could he still be in the Western Sea?"

Marquis Xiaoyue gave Duke Dongping a meaningful look and then said.

"You guessed quite accurately, but he probably hasn't arrived at the West Sea yet, but it won't be long."

"This, this is impossible. What could he possibly do in the Western Sea? The Western Sea Army is not the Zhenbei Army. If he goes to the Western Sea, he's just courting death."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuehou shook his head.

"Now I understand why you've suffered defeat after defeat, even losing your hereditary royal titles."

"You guys are really something, tsk tsk tsk, it's quite touching."

"you,"

The Duke of Dongping turned green with anger after hearing what the Marquis of Xiaoyue said.

Upon seeing this, the Duke of Xining pulled the Duke of Dongping aside and said something.

"Calm down, my lord. Just say what you have to say. Don't be sarcastic."

Xiao Yuehou smiled calmly and said.

"Fine, I won't beat around the bush with you anymore."

"It has been almost a month since the Marquis of Champion left the capital."

"He was ordered by His Majesty to go south. He arrived at the Jiangnan Grand Camp in Jinling City and mobilized the Jiangnan Navy. Under the pretext of conducting exercises, he sailed from Jiangnan along the sea route straight to the West Sea."

"It's laughable that you're still dreaming of raising bandits to enhance your own power."

"The Marquis of Champion is a master strategist. Now, the main force of the Western Sea tribes has gathered to confront the Western Navy head-on."

"If the Marquis of Champion leads his divine army to descend from the heavens and strike directly at the rear of the Western Sea barbarian lands."

"At that time, with the Champion Marquis's bravery, after wiping out the Western Sea barbarians, the next target will be to suppress the Western Sea Navy."

"Don't forget, His Majesty also dispatched 80,000 troops from the Imperial Guard and the Capital Garrison to reinforce the Western Sea."

“These men are all the direct troops trained by the Marquis of Champion.”

"When that time comes, the Western Navy will be reorganized by the Marquis of Champion, just like the Beijing Garrison."

"This is your last resort, isn't it?"

"If the Western Navy, your last remaining strength, is gone, given what you've done before, how do you think His Majesty will deal with you?"

Upon hearing this, both the Duke of Dongping and the Duke of Xining broke out in a cold sweat.

The two of them looked at the Duke of Beijing and asked.

"Brother Shui, is this...is this real?"

The Duke of Bei Jing sighed and said.

“You all know His Majesty’s character; how could he be controlled by others?”

"Moreover, the lawsuit between the Marquis of Champion and the Wang family has ended, but the Marquis of Champion has not been reinstated. Instead, he has taken his family to a villa in the suburbs of Beijing to recuperate."

"This whole thing seems really strange."

"We must make plans. If the Western Navy is really reorganized by the Champion Marquis, then we will be at his mercy."

After thinking for a moment, the Duke of Dongping spoke.

"Let's quickly send someone to inform the Duke of Nan'an; it should still be in time."

Xiao Yuehou smiled disdainfully and said.

"I didn't just find out about the Marquis of Champion's departure from the capital until now. Guess why I'm only telling you now?"

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Xining became furious and said...

"You, you did this on purpose. It's too late to notify us now, right?"

Marquis Xiaoyue said calmly.

"You're smart."

"It's too late to notify them now."

"Alright, I know exactly what you're thinking."

"Now, besides cooperating with me, you have another option."

"That means you can wait until the Western Sea is pacified, and then you can slowly wait for His Majesty to deal with you."

"You can choose for yourselves."

Duke Bei Jing tried to smooth things over.

"My lord, let's stop arguing and get down to business."

“We are well aware of our situation, and so is the Marquis.”

"However, to stage a military coup, one must have military power."

"Since you, Lord Marquis, dare to do such a heaven-defying thing, you must have some confidence in it."

"Let's be frank about what your trump cards are, what you want us to do, and what benefits we'll get after it's done."

"Although we are willing to take a gamble, we will not fight a battle that we have no chance of winning."

"Duke of Dongping, Duke of Xining, do you agree with my point of view?"

Although the two were somewhat dissatisfied with Xiao Yuehou's attitude, they still nodded.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuehou smiled calmly and said...

"The Duke of Beijing is still the most straightforward."

"Then I won't hold back anymore. We have inside agents in the Imperial Guards. If we weren't confident, we certainly wouldn't have chosen to take action."

"As for you, although the Beijing Garrison has been reorganized, I know that you have controlled the Beijing Garrison for many years, and there must still be some who have escaped the net."

"I need you to cause a disturbance in the Beijing garrison on the days I arrange, the bigger the commotion the better, so as to attract the attention of the Imperial Guards."

"After this is accomplished, all three of your families will be restored to their royal titles, which will be hereditary."

"At the same time, the Western Sea will forever be the fiefdom of your four families, and you will be kings of your own lands, with your own military and political autonomy."

(End of this chapter)