After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

His eyes narrowed slightly. He put aside all the strange things for the moment and wanted to determine the truth of the news.

Did the Northern Dynasties form an alliance with the Rakshasa?

Ning Nan stared at the carpet spread in the flower hall, her eyes flickering, her heart pounding rapidly.

If this news is true, it could plunge the entire delegation, and even the entire Southern Dynasty, into complete panic.

He thought of his wife sitting on the dragon throne in Nanjing, and the child in her belly, and his chest felt heavy.

But the more sudden and dangerous the situation, the clearer my mind becomes.

With a slightly lowered gaze, Ning Nan carefully analyzed the entire chain of events.

The Northern Dynasty had long ago agreed to form an alliance with the Rakshasa... He pressed his right index finger on the table.

Using a trick, they pretended that Aihui had been captured, the main force of the Eight Banners had suffered a crushing defeat, and Ningguta was in imminent danger... Their fingers moved down a bit on the table.

The Northern Dynasty sought an alliance with the Southern Dynasty, even going so far as to allow Hongfeng to marry into the family and cede the land south of the Huai River in exchange for the Southern Dynasty's assistance. In return, the Southern Dynasty was required to pay the salt tax for Huainan for many years in a lump sum... The finger moved down a little further.

Seeing that Aihui had been captured, the Northern Dynasty sought help, but the brother-in-law did not believe the Northern Dynasty at all, and the Southern Dynasty began to prepare for war.

While discussing an alliance, under the guise of "forming an alliance between the North and South to jointly resist the Rakshasa in exchange for Huainan," his wife and brother-in-law were raising funds and provisions to prepare for the Northern Expedition in April... Ningnan's finger did not move down any further.

"This doesn't make sense."

He frowned.

If the Northern Dynasty were to ally with the Rakshasa and attempt to take over the Great Liang, it would undoubtedly be to catch the Great Liang off guard.

It was right to make a big show of discussing the alliance; it was a delaying tactic to make the Southern Dynasty lower its guard.

But it doesn't make sense that the Southern Dynasty would raise so much money and military equipment to prepare for war.

"Was Emperor Yongzheng's plan, which showed he wasn't afraid of the Great Liang, to launch a northern expedition?"

Thump thump thump, thump thump thump.

His heart pounded like a war drum.

"Even if the Great Liang truly allied with Yongzheng, given the Great Liang's extensive war preparations, where did Yongzheng get the confidence to wipe out the Great Liang, which was fully prepared for war, in one fell swoop?"

The thoughts in my mind collided like two waves.

Ning Nan gritted his teeth, his thoughts caught in a chaotic struggle where neither side would give in.

He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, shook his head to clear the two colliding waves of thoughts from his mind, and closed his eyes.

He raised the fingers of his right hand resting on the table, moving them a short distance upwards, intending to re-examine the illogical points from the perspective of the most fundamental motives and capabilities.

If Yongzheng wanted to destroy the Great Liang, he could rely on at most three forces: the three major camps in Huainan, Nian Gengyao's Northwest Army, and the main force of the Eight Banners Army in the Northeast... His finger moved down a little further, leaving a watermark-like mark on the table.

He couldn't easily move Nian Gengyao's Northwest Army; he also had to guard against Nian Gengyao's rebellion... No, not necessarily... Ning Nan pressed his finger on the table with a little force.

Emperor Yongzheng's decision to kill Nian Gengyao did not necessarily mean he distrusted or disused him.

Instead, some of the Northwest Military Towns were placed in Qinghai-Tibet and Junggar.

Nian Gengyao led another part of the Northwest Army to conquer Daliang. He cut off Nian Gengyao's logistics in the rear, and in this way, he slowly replaced a group of military and political officials in the Northwest.

This probably aligns more closely with what the Fourth Master was thinking.

...Ning Nan's fingers remained pressed on the table.

The three major battalions alone could not have taken over Daliang; this has been proven over the years.

Yongzheng was bound to move the main force of the Eight Banners from the Northeast south, which was why he wanted to form an alliance with the Rakshasa... Ningnan's finger moved down a little further.

"No, that's not right."

His closed eyes twitched, and his fingers dragged upwards again.

"An alliance? An alliance is nothing but a piece of waste paper."

Whether it's the Great Liang, the Northern Dynasties, or even the Rakshasa, everyone knows this principle.

His heart showed no signs of slowing down.

As soon as the main force of the Eight Banners withdraws from the Northeast, the Rakshasa will immediately break the alliance and march south to capture Ningguta.

"Why wasn't Yongzheng worried about this?"

Ning Nan's brows furrowed immediately.

Why...why...why...

A barrage of questions flooded his mind.

He felt a slight pain in his temples. After a while, he took a deep breath and shifted the focus of his analysis to this point.

From the most fundamental perspective, the reason why Yongzheng dared to withdraw the main force of the Eight Banners army from the Northeast was because...

Just as I thought of this...

Ning Nan's fingers, which were resting on the table, suddenly trembled.

Is it because... because Luosha has lost his troops in the Northeast?

"Bang!"

Ning Nan's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly opened his eyes and slammed his hand on the table. Qian Sijin was taken aback.

"That makes sense!"

Ning Nan was breathing rapidly.

"The Rakshasa army will also march south! And it will be the main force of the Rakshasa in the Far East making a major southward advance!"

Before Qian Sijin could even ask what was wrong with his son-in-law, he was speechless upon hearing his son-in-law's words.

"The Rakshasa will also head south..."

His eyes, which had just opened, suddenly shone brightly and trembled as they turned.

"The Rakshasa will also head south... Yes, they definitely will. Only when the main force of the Rakshasa goes south will Yongzheng feel at ease."

"What about the Rakshasa? What if their main force marches south and Yongzheng cuts off their retreat?"

Two new waves surged in my mind.

"At the same time, what if the Rakshasa use this route to attack Guo? Isn't Yongzheng worried? What if they stop at Ningguta when they head south?"

Ning Nan suddenly remembered something, turned his head quickly, and looked at Qian Sijin, saying:

"Any news about Vladivostok lately?"

Vladivostok is a large island in the Far East belonging to the Northern Dynasty.

Qian Sijin's mind was in turmoil, and he hurriedly said, "I will investigate later. Commander Shi Sidong is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Northern Dynasty..."

"No," Ning Nan raised his hand, his eyes darkening, and said, "No, it's not necessary."

Asking too many questions could easily alert the enemy.

Vladivostok... Ningnan held his breath.

While the main force of the Rakshasa army marched south, they wanted to avoid being cut off from their retreat by the Northern Dynasty. The Northern Dynasty, in turn, wanted to prevent the Rakshasa from using this route as a pretext for their own invasion. So…

It's highly likely that Rakshasa will be traveling by water.

If the Rakshasa were to travel by water, he would inevitably need a place in the Far East to ensure his logistics, and Vladivostok... would certainly be the site of some unusual activity.

As darkness fell outside, Master Ning's eyes held a mixture of light and shadow.

He pressed his fingers on the table again.

Now let's return to the question: "Wasn't Emperor Yongzheng afraid that the mobilization of funds, provisions, and troops by the Great Liang was for the purpose of a northern expedition, or that he ultimately failed to conquer the Great Liang?"

Given that the main force of the Russian army will also move south.

This partially explains the problem.

Let the Liang and Luosha fight to the death, so we can reap the benefits?

That's at least one of the reasons.

The charcoal fire inside was warm as spring, but Ning Nan's body gradually grew cold. After a long while, he smiled with a sense of relief, or even a strange smile.

"Oh……"

The second reason... his eyes flickered uncertainly, which might mean that Nian Gengyao's Northwest troops would indeed be dispatched... but not to Huainan.

Instead, they went to Sichuan or Huguang.

To divert the funds and provisions of Daliang to Nanjing, thereby weakening the defenses along the Yangtze River?

After all, the Great Liang relied on the two northern cities. Once the Yangtze River defense line was lost, the Great Liang could move directly to the Huai River, thus pinning down the main force of the Northern Dynasty in the south to Huainan...

He removed his fingers from the table and pressed his hands against his knees, which had become somewhat cold.

Hmm...that makes sense.

"Qian Baihu,"

Ning Nan gazed at the closed vermilion gate in front of the flower hall, and after a while, said softly:

"We need to get out of Beijing as soon as possible."

Qian Sijin let out a breath and quickly gathered his thoughts:

"Yes! I will immediately arrange for someone to send a secret letter back to Nanjing to report this matter to His Majesty."

He gritted his teeth and quickly said:

"Tomorrow the delegation will meet with the Emperor of the Northern Dynasty. Afterwards, the delegation will formally discuss the alliance. This negotiation will take about ten days. The Northern Dynasty will not back down. Your subordinates will make preparations, first screening reliable personnel in the capital, and then mobilizing manpower to go north. As soon as the peace talks end, your subordinates will immediately arrange manpower to protect His Highness Prince Jing and his son-in-law as they travel south."

"Not until the peace talks are over."

Ning Nan's eyes darkened, and he exhaled as he retorted.

"We're leaving tonight."