Chapter 384 The Full-Scale Northern Expedition

As for the cannons unique to the Qian Army, Gao Yi had also studied them. He discovered that these cannons were not invincible; at least for now, their numbers were small and their power limited, with their actual lethality being far less than the deterrent effect they brought.

Therefore, although Northern Liang had been busy with internal strife during this period, their weapon improvement work had been ongoing. They came up with a method of using large iron-clad shields to withstand the cannon fire.

Unfortunately, everything remained theoretical. Governor Gao An verified this with his own experience: as over a hundred Red-Coat Cannonss roared in unison, the iron-clad shields they had placed so much hope in were completely unable to withstand the explosive damage.

A single round of shelling caused over a thousand casualties. After five rounds, no defenders were left standing atop the walls of Nan'an City. Yue Fei waved his command flag, and the soldiers swarmed forward.

Inside the city, Governor Gao An hurriedly commanded the few surviving soldiers to the walls for defense, but unfortunately, the defensive supplies prepared on the walls had long since been blasted into oblivion.

These soldiers, who had summoned the courage to climb the walls, could only rely on the short weapons in their hands to resist the wolf-and-tiger-like soldiers of the Qian Army.

At the southern wall, Yang Reaxing and General Yue Yun were the first to stand atop the city walls by climbing two simple siege ladders. With these two on the walls, Yue Fei felt at ease.

The two did not disappoint, scattering the last of the Northern Liang Army soldiers who dared to resist. In less than a day, Nan'an City was captured, with only Governor Gao An escaping the city with a small number of Cavalry.

Looking at his son kneeling miserably before him, Gao Yi kicked over an iron-clad shield standing nearby. Beside him, Gao Bing hurriedly spoke to comfort him.

"Second Brother, don't be angry. This battle was by no means the fault of our nephew; it's that we all underestimated the power of the Red-Coat Cannonss."

Gao Yi waved his hand.

"I'm not angry that An'er failed to hold Huang State, but rather at the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan. They only think of their internal schemes for the throne, never considering that the realm has yet to be unified, nor how to deal with Southern Qian;"

"I said from the beginning that since these Red-Coat Cannonss can blast open city gates, how could a mere shield possibly block them? They simply wouldn't believe me, and now look..."

Gao Bing also couldn't help but sigh, saying,

"Isn't that the truth? Now that Huang State is lost, what should be done about Guang State, An State, and other places?"

Gao Yi helped his son up and patted the dust off him.

"An'er, you have witnessed the power of the Red-Coat Cannonss. You tell us, what should be done?"

Governor Gao An had been thinking about how to counter the Red-Coat Cannonss on his way back, and he actually did come up with an idea.

"Father, Third Uncle, I believe those Red-Coat Cannonss are incredibly heavy and cannot move quickly. If we use our main army to engage them head-on and then use Cavalry for a flank assault, it might yield miraculous results."

If Gao Yuan were here, he would surely give him a thumbs up. This was indeed a weakness of the Red-Coat Cannonss. However, what they didn't know was that they were facing perhaps the commander most adept at fighting Cavalry in history.

Yue Fei could annihilate the Iron Pagoda and Guaizi Ma with his infantry-based Beiwei Army. His ability to counter Cavalry was among the top three in history, if not the absolute peak. Furthermore, he now had Cavalry of his own.

Completely unaware of what kind of opponent they were facing, Gao Yi and Gao Bing abandoned their plan to march into Shandong and also gave up Guang State, An State, and other regions.

They gathered the main force of the Northern Liang Army, about eighty thousand men, in Ying State, preparing for a decisive battle with the Qian Army there.

Hearing that the enemy's main force had gathered in Ying State, Yue Fei immediately abandoned the plan to continue westward through An State and Sui State to take Xiang State. After the army rested for a while, they began to march north, intending to swallow Gao Yi and Gao Bing in one bite.

Regarding Yue Fei's plan, there was a chorus of opposition in the Southern Qian court, with a group of civil officials being particularly indignant.

"Your Majesty, Yue Fei could have taken Xiang State without any effort, yet he has abandoned Xiang State to go to Ying State for a decisive battle with the enemy's main force. This is an unwise move. I believe we should immediately send someone to reprimand Yue Fei."

"Your Majesty, I believe this Yue Fei intends to preserve the enemy to increase his own importance, which is why he abandoned such a great opportunity."

"Indeed, Xiang State is the key to the Jingxiang region. Not taking it is truly an unwise move!"

These literati spoke with increasing malice. They likely thought that since Yue Fei hadn't been under Gao Yuan's command for long, he wasn't one of Gao Yuan's die-hard loyalists.

Some even thought to take the opportunity to shake Gao Yuan's status and extend their reach into the military. Gao Yuan even suspected someone wanted to replace his position as the person closest to the Empress.

A group of civil officials were there spitting feathers. Seeing Gao Yuan remain silent, they all thought he was intimidated, which made them even more enthusiastic.

Gao Yuan glanced at the person jumping the most vigorously. He remembered this person seemed to be a junior from the Xiao Family of Lanling. He forgot the name, but the man looked young and handsome and was exceptionally active in court.

With a cold sneer, Gao Yuan slowly stood up. With his hands still tucked into his sleeves, he scanned the crowd and then strode up to this man.

"What is your name, and what is your official position?"

Facing Gao Yuan, this person not only failed to bow respectfully but instead straightened his back.

"Xiao Wang of the Lanling Xiao Family, currently serving as the Palace Censor..."

Gao Yuan still showed no expression and nodded.

"A name that suits you. Have you ever led troops? Have you ever been to the front lines?"

Xiao Wang clearly felt a moment of guilt, but he still summoned his courage, stiffened his neck, and stared at Gao Yuan.

"Never, but I have been well-read in poetry and books since childhood, and I have some knowledge of military formations..."

Gao Yuan couldn't be bothered with him anymore. He turned and bowed slightly to Zhao Xiyao with his hands clasped.

"Your Majesty, for such a young talent to be a mere Palace Censor is a waste of his abilities. I request that he be appointed as a Record Editor and sent to the Ying State front line to assist Yue Fei."

Seeing Gao Yuan's respectful attitude, Zhao Xiyao's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. She knew he was unhappy. Gao Yuan had always maintained a clear stance: the separation of military and civil administration to avoid laymen directing professionals.

But clearly, these people had crossed the line today, which made Gao Yuan very displeased—especially since she, the Emperor, hadn't spoken up just now when these people were attacking Gao Yuan's beloved general.

Particularly over these years, it wasn't as if people hadn't tried to push people into Zhao Xiyao's circle, all of whom were handsome young men. Although she kept her distance, it was difficult for these Powerful Families to truly fall out with her.

Consequently, there were rumors outside that the Empress favored handsome young men, and even rumors that she was preparing to take a new Imperial Consort.

Gao Yuan's actions today were indeed intended to test Zhao Xiyao. Although he knew a Husband and wife shouldn't be like this, who could know what was in another's heart?

After all, he hadn't forgotten that this world was a brain-dead female-oriented novel world; he didn't know if that possibly existent 'Will of Heaven' would have some kind of plot-convergence force.

Without making Gao Yuan wait long, Zhao Xiyao spoke.

"Since Husband has decided, then we shall proceed according to your wishes. Any of these young talents in the court that you take a fancy to can be sent to the front lines for experience."

Then Zhao Xiyao stood up, walked down from the throne, came to Gao Yuan's side, took her Husband's hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze before turning to face the crowd.

"I have already made it clear that military matters are to be handled entirely by the Prince of Tang. If you ministers have any opinions, you may discuss them with the Prince of Tang after the court session; there is no need to ask me."

After speaking, Zhao Xiyao turned her beautiful eyes to gaze at Gao Yuan.

Seeing the determination in the woman's eyes, Gao Yuan knew he had overthought things. He gave her an apologetic look and then began calling out names.

Next, many of the ill-intentioned Powerful Families felt as if the end of the world had come. All the young talents they had planted in the court were called out and sent to the front lines.

In the court, they could jump around with their families' protection, but once sent to the front lines and into the military, what use was a family background? Military law is merciless; those are not just simple words.

No matter how these people pleaded, it was useless. Once Zhao Xiyao had made up her mind, there was no room for discussion.