Chapter 258 Opportunity

Just as Yang Xin had said to comfort Gao Yuan, the opportunity he had been waiting for arrived very quickly.

In the eighth month of the fifth year of new era name, a piece of news spread everywhere:

Western Kang withdrew its troops from the Pamir Mountains, exiting the struggle for the Western Regions, and Northern Liang returned the favor by gathering its forces in Chang'an, preparing to head south to Hanzhong.

Although there was no Jiang Huaizhen confirmation, everyone analyzed that this was most likely for Yaizhou, or even for the entire Sichuan region.

Northern Liang had not only secured the safety of the entire Silk Road but had also gained complete control over the various kingdoms of the Western Regions.

Furthermore, they might take this chance to completely control the gateway to the Sichuan region, the prosperous land of Hanzhong.

At this time, the best choice for the Great Qian Imperial Court was to set out from Jing Prefecture to attack Deng Prefecture and other areas to pin down the Northern Liang Army, and then reinforce the Jiannan Circuit.

However, no one knew what The Emperor was thinking, as he only dispatched over ten thousand troops to the Jiannan Circuit.

Moreover, these ten thousand plus troops were not from the Southern Palace Imperial Guard, but were temporarily drawn from local militia units.

Ever since the Southern Palace Imperial Guard arrived in The two Jiangnan Circuits, the local militias in various places had existed in name only.

After all, across just three circuits, there were over a hundred thousand Southern Palace Imperial Guards, along with tens of thousands of border troops from Jiannan and the Jiangnan West Circuit.

These forces were sufficient for both defense and offense, and the pressure of maintaining such an army was already great enough.

Sending these militiamen, who hadn't trained in years, to reinforce the Jiannan Circuit now was simply a joke.

Gao Yuan had originally thought The Emperor's move was to gather elites to attack Xiang State and Deng Prefecture.

To his surprise, it wasn't that either, which left Gao Yuan completely baffled.

This instead made Gao Yuan, Lu Kuan, and others nervous.

It wasn't until Gao Yuan received letters from Zheng Ting and Song Yehong that he understood the reason.

The Emperor's profligate spending had led to a deficit in the imperial treasury; the Southern Palace Imperial Guard's weapons and equipment had not been updated, and they lacked military pay.

This meant that the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Palace Imperial Guard, the most elite of Da Qian, were actually unable to go on campaign in the short term.

To this end, The Emperor and many ministers were already planning to disband some troops to reduce expenses.

"I never expected it to be for this reason. It truly caught me off guard!"

After reading the letters from Zheng Ting and Song Yehong, Gao Yuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"I don't know if this should be considered a good thing or a bad thing."

Zhao Xiyao sat down beside Gao Yuan and poured him a cup of tea.

"If these troubled times continue, it won't be a good thing for the common people;"

"Better a short-term pain than a long-term one. It would be better for us to take over the Jiannan Circuit sooner; it might save the vast majority of people."

"Zhao Xiyaos informal address, your third brother becoming like this is partly my fault. Do you resent me?"

Zhao Xiyao shook her head gently.

"He was that kind of person to begin with. Even if you, Husband, hadn't sent those things, someone else would have."

"True. A leopard can't change its spots; he is just that kind of person. If it wasn't elephants, it would be something else."

Gao Yuan lit the two secret letters with a candle flame, dropped them into a bronze basin, and then began to dictate orders.

Zhao Xiyao also picked up her brush in silent understanding and began to write for Gao Yuan.

"Order Xia Luqi to lead the First Division of the Beiwei Army, and Zhao Meng to lead the entire Xiaoguo Army to station in Jia Prefecture and the prefecture to guard against any contingencies;"

"Order the Second Division and Third Division of the Beiwei Army to immediately end their rest and recuperation, and proceed fully equipped to Region to assemble and await orders;"

"Order each circuit to draw one to two brigades to assemble and await orders in the Zunyi area of Bo Prefecture."

"Starting today, allocate three months' worth of grain, fodder, and various military supplies for fifty thousand troops to be sent to Bo Prefecture."

Soon, orders were issued one after another. Various parts of the Southern Yue Kingdom became busy, making all necessary preparations and waiting for the right moment.

While the Southern Yue Kingdom was fully preparing, over in Western Kang, with the elites withdrawn from the Pamir Mountains, the ruler Li Yuanhao's resolve had strengthened.

He dispatched his Left Prime Minister and younger brother, Li Yuanlang, as the commander, leading thirty-five thousand troops to reinforce Bo Prefecture.

On the other side, eighty thousand soldiers and thirty thousand laborers of the Northern Liang Army set out from Chang'an and headed south, attacking Hanzhong in three columns via the Ziwu, Baoxie, and Chencang paths.

The situation in Hanzhong, which had been looking positive, suddenly became tense.

Wang Mian hurried to Song Prefecture to consult with Jiang Huaizhen and Meng Zhenshan.

They finally finalized a plan: Meng Zhenshan would lead fifteen thousand troops to hold Song Prefecture and block the Xikang Army.

Jiang Huaizhen would lead the main force of the Left Martial Guard along with ten thousand militiamen to Hanzhong to meet the enemy.

They believed that as long as they repelled the Northern Liang Army, the Xikang people would naturally retreat without a fight.

Facing this situation, Wang Mian arranged for the transport of grain and military supplies in Chengdu while sending out multiple messengers to Capital City to seek help.

He knew very well that with the Jiannan Circuit's own strength, it would be difficult to withstand a two-pronged siege. However, he never expected that his requests for help would be intercepted and never reach The Emperor's desk.

"Chancellor Xiao, this is already the fifth request for help. Are we truly not going to inform His Majesty?"

Xiao Yu smiled and tossed a memorial to the visitor.

"See for yourself."

The visitor opened the memorial and glanced at it; it was a request from the Ministry of War for the back-payment of military wages and an appropriation for repairing damaged armor.

However, the response written on it consisted of two glaring words: No Money.

Xiao Yu sighed.

"His Majesty just ordered the expansion of Linan Palace, and the two ships of oranges and plantains that just arrived at the port also cost money. Where would the court find the money now to replace armaments or pay back-wages?"

With arrears in pay and damaged equipment, even the most elite Sixteen Guards of the Southern Palace Imperial Guard now had less than a tenth of their combat effectiveness remaining.

Xiao Yu continued.

"I am planning to discharge a portion of the elderly and weak soldiers, hoping this can save some funds and provisions."

"Chancellor Xiao, how much longer will this take?"

"If we move quickly, results will be seen in two or three months, and troops can be dispatched before the end of the year."

The visitor turned pale with shock and hurriedly spoke up.

"Chancellor Xiao, the front line is in imminent peril right now. How can we wait until the New Year?"

Xiao Yu's eyes widened, and he said angrily.

"Do I not understand that? But where are the funds and provisions? How can we dispatch troops without them? Should we let the soldiers starve?"

The generals leading the troops were all itching for action, waiting for the court's order to march. However, what they received instead was an order for downsizing:

Except for the Left and Right Gate Guards and the Left and Right Qianniu Guards, which remained unchanged, the twelve guards—including the Left and Right Guards, the Left and Right Xiao Guards, the Left and Right Martial Guards, the Left and Right Wei Guards, the Left and Right Lingjun Guards, and the Left and Right Jinwu Guards—all had their establishments reduced.

The twelve guards originally had between twenty-five thousand and forty thousand men each. After being reorganized upon reaching Jiangnan, each guard was reduced to twenty thousand men, and some, like the Jinwu Guard, only had about fifteen thousand.

Now, they were all uniformly reduced to fifteen thousand men, which meant fifty thousand troops were disbanded at once, shrinking the Southern Palace Imperial Guard to a scale of one hundred and eighty thousand men.

At the same time, the scale of the Jiangnan West Circuit border army was reduced from over forty thousand to twenty-five thousand, with the vacancies to be filled by troops from the Sixteen Guards.

This truly saved a lot of money; because many people were discharged, their weapons and equipment were left behind, saving the money originally intended for repairing armor.

Having saved a large sum of money for his own profligacy, The Emperor was overjoyed and very satisfied with his newly selected Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.

However, there was great dissatisfaction within the army. They were all comrades-in-arms who had faced death together, yet now they were being ruthlessly abandoned.

In particular, there were rumors that the purpose of downsizing the army was to save money. And why save money? Because The Emperor wanted to expand his palace and keep elephants.

These soldiers immediately became defiant. Their life-and-death loyalty and achievements were, in The Emperor's eyes, less important than the fodder for two elephants. Who could stand that?

Many were disheartened by this, and some even considered resigning from their posts.

Yet The Emperor was completely unaware of this; even his confidant Song Ren could not see His Majesty.