Chapter 314 The Temptation of Heading South

The little prince had a resilient mindset; after being scolded by his father, he didn't cry. Instead, he immediately turned around to complain to his mother, which naturally resulted in a chaotic scene.

Zhao Xiyao completely abandoned the dignified bearing expected of a Princess. Her slender jade hands twisted Gao Yuan's ear as she gave him a piece of her mind. Gao Yuan, being a man who knew when to yield, immediately admitted his mistake, diffusing the storm into nothingness.

However, Gao Yuan was subsequently stripped of the right to personally teach his little brat. Zhao Xiyao handed over Crown Prince Zhao Cheng's education to Liu Rengui and Xia Luqi.

In truth, women like Zhao Xiyao and Wu Xu could have taught him how to govern a country, but she worried that being raised solely by women would lead to a lack of masculinity in Crown Prince Zhao Cheng. Thus, she ultimately chose to entrust him to others.

Being able to tutor the Heir Apparent left Liu Rengui and Xia Luqi somewhat overwhelmed by the honor. Naturally, they did their utmost, wishing they could teach Crown Prince Zhao Cheng everything they had learned in their lives.

Crown Prince Zhao Cheng, for his part, was like a dry sponge, frantically absorbing all kinds of knowledge. This made the two teachers very happy, and they taught with even more fervor.

News of the Heir Apparent's intelligence and love for learning quickly spread everywhere. This gave everyone a sense of infinite motivation, and they worked even harder, accelerating the development of the State of Yue once again.

As the saying goes, good news stays indoors while bad news travels a thousand miles. The news that Great Qian was on the verge of internal strife soon reached the north.

Gao Wu immediately summoned the two brothers, Gao Long and Gao Hu, along with several trusted ministers to discuss the matter of heading south.

"Internal strife in Great Qian is imminent. I believe our Great Liang should be prepared to head south at any moment to contend for the prosperous lands of Jiangnan. What do you all think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Hu stood up and said loudly,

"This son is willing to serve as the Commander-in-Chief to lead the troops south."

Seeing Gao Hu take the initiative, Gao Long felt a surge of regret and immediately stood up as well.

"Father King only needs to give me fifty thousand elite troops, and I can strike directly down to Jiangnan."

Gao Hu refused to be outdone.

"This son only needs thirty thousand!"

The two stood there glaring at each other, neither willing to back down. The situation instantly reached a stalemate.

Gao Wu was very pleased to see his two sons competing. He couldn't help but smile and nod. Seeing this, Mr. Wei quickly rose to offer advice.

"Great King, I believe that even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. Moreover, if we head south, our army will not only face the troops of Great Qian but must also guard against Northern Yan. Therefore, I believe we should either stay still or strike with full force to ensure a swift resolution."

"At the same time, our army must also prepare the defenses for the Guanzhong and Hebei regions, lest Southern Yue and Northern Yan take the opportunity to cause trouble."

Gao Wu highly approved of Mr. Wei's words. He nodded slightly and turned his gaze toward Gao Long.

"Heir Apparent, you have managed the court for many years. What are your views on the defenses of Guangzhong and Hebei?"

Seeing Gao Wu ask this, Gao Long was secretly delighted. He immediately held his head high and began making arrangements.

"Guangzhong is guarded by my Third Uncle, Eleventh Uncle, and Twelfth Uncle, so there should be no problem. As for Hebei, it is of great importance, especially since Lu Heng of Northern Yan is a formidable foe. Therefore, I believe my Second Brother must personally go there to guard it."

When Gao Hu heard that Gao Long wanted him to guard Hebei, he immediately refused to accept it.

"Father King, in this campaign to the south, the Hebei region not only needs to be defended against Northern Yan but also requires the coordination of grain, grass, and personnel. This is not my strength. Therefore, I believe Eldest Brother should be the one to go to ensure everything is secure."

These words hit the mark. Gao Wu's originally hesitant mind immediately became firm. He stood up and announced,

"Issue an edict: appoint Xue Mao as the Transport Commissioner of Hebei Circuit. He will accompany the Heir Apparent to Jizhou to oversee the coordination of the army's grain, grass, and military supplies."

Upon hearing this, Gao Long's face instantly fell, while Gao Hu was overjoyed, staring intently at Gao Wu.

Not disappointing him, Gao Wu soon announced the selections for the expeditionary army.

"I appoint Gao Hu as the Grand Commandant of the Jiangnan Circuit. Gao Yi and Gao Wu shall serve as Deputy Grand Commandants. Raise eighty thousand troops to station in Yanzhou and await the opportunity to head south."

Everyone stood up, cupped their fists, and bowed in acknowledgment.

With the major matters settled, everyone quickly dispersed to make preparations. Only Gao Long sat there looking somewhat dejected.

Seeing this, Gao Wu stopped his departure. Looking at the disheartened Gao Long, he said in a stern voice,

"Long'er, you are my eldest son. You should be thinking about how to control the overall situation, not obsessing over these gains and losses. Furthermore, you shouldn't only think about how to earn military merit—that is for the people below you to do!"

Hearing Gao Wu's words, Gao Long's lowered head snapped up. He stood up and looked at Gao Wu.

"Fa... Father... I..."

Seeing his son like this, Gao Wu felt a surge of frustration.

"Look at you. You don't have a shred of a king's bearing. Get back and reflect on yourself! Hmph!"

Gao Wu flicked his sleeves and left, leaving Gao Long standing there to carefully ponder his father's words. He soon understood.

By the time he walked out of Linde Hall, Gao Long was holding his head high, filled with confidence.

Gao Hu was still unaware of this brief conversation between Gao Wu and Gao Long, let alone Gao Wu's intentions.

Returning home, he ignored the darkening sky and immediately summoned his trusted aides to discuss how to advance the troops south.

He had secretly made up his mind to fight this southern campaign well and surpass Gao Long in prestige.

Who wouldn't care about that chair? If possible, he also wanted to sit in it, no matter the cost.

On the other side, in Ji County, the capital of Northern Yan in Youzhou, the father and son Lu Kuan and Lu Heng were also discussing their plans to head south with their ministers.

General Tian Gang was the first to propose mobilizing all forces to head south.

"Great King, the internal strife in Great Qian is our best chance to raise troops and head south. This opportunity must not be missed!"

Zhang Su, however, voiced his opposition.

"I believe Northern Liang will certainly take the opportunity to head south, and we can use this chance to concentrate our forces and compete for the Central Plains;"

"As the saying goes, he who gains the Central Plains gains the world. As long as we occupy the Hebei region, we can seize the initiative."

Soon, the court split into two factions. Both sides argued their points forcefully, neither able to convince the other, their faces turning red from the shouting.

Lu Kuan had no clear direction in his heart regarding where to strike, so he turned his gaze toward Lu Heng.

Lu Heng knew it was his turn to take the stage. He cleared his throat and said,

"I believe that while attacking Great Qian by heading south might be easier, the Jiangnan region still has tens of thousands of elite troops, and Northern Liang is watching like a tiger;"

"Therefore, I believe heading south is not the best strategy. Our army can take advantage of the Northern Liang main force heading south to attack the Jizhou, Zhao Prefecture, and Xing Prefecture lines."

Seeing that Lu Heng had made a decision, Lu Kuan no longer hesitated and immediately made the call.

"Issue an edict: appoint Lu Heng as the Grand Commandant of the Hebei Circuit. Zhang Su and Lou Jin shall serve as Deputy Grand Commandants, overseeing all military and political affairs of the six prefectures including Ding, Shen, Ying, and Cang."

Lu Heng, Zhang Su, and Lou Jin stood up, cupped their fists, and bowed to Lu Kuan, shouting their acknowledgment.

Lu Heng moved quickly. After five days of preparation, he set out with ten thousand elite troops stationed in Youzhou and ten thousand tribal cavalrymen composed of various ethnic groups from Jizhou.

Counting the units stationed in the six prefectures, the total force mobilized by Northern Yan for this battle exceeded sixty thousand.

In normal times, sixty thousand men would certainly not be enough to attack major strongholds like Jizhou and Zhao Prefecture.

But this time was different. Northern Liang had clearly misjudged Lu Heng's intentions.

They never would have imagined that Northern Yan would give up the choice morsel of heading south and instead turn their sights on them.

Meanwhile, Zhu Song, who was stationed in Si State, was facing the greatest crisis of his military career.

Xiao Yu, Cui You, and the elders of the Zhu family had sent repeated letters demanding that he immediately lead his troops south.

But he simply could not leave at this moment. He had already learned of Northern Liang and Northern Yan's troop movements.

If he were to take his elite troops south now to help the Powerful Families fight a civil war, it would be an act of irresponsibility toward the state and the people.