Chapter 365: Chapter 365

Another three days passed. During this time, large bonfires were lit every night outside Green Willow Fortress, where Blind Bei was conducting ideological re-education and transformation for the newly arrived Barbarian soldiers.

With the older Barbarian soldiers sharing their experiences, the ideological transformation seemed quite effective.

Zheng Fan had already noticed that during the day, these new Barbarian soldiers would look at him with a gaze carrying a hint of timid avoidance.

Well, Zheng Fan no longer cared about the role Blind Bei’s brainwashing process had assigned him.

Since he was disinclined to "mingle and enjoy himself with the soldiers and common folk," letting them fear him as a devil seemed like a decent alternative. At least it saved him some trouble.

The newly arrived Barbarian soldiers were young and strong men from tribes that had submitted. Their tribes had already been resettled within Yan State, so, to a certain extent, their vulnerabilities were exposed, making them as easy to control as the nobles’ prisoner soldiers.

However, sitting in his room and reading the messages Ji Chengjue had relayed, Zheng Fan felt a growing sense of pressure.

Firstly, there were signs of unusual activity from the Desert Royal Court. While 100,000 troops still remained stationed in Beifeng Prefecture, the withdrawal of 200,000 from the original 300,000 had significantly weakened Yan State’s deterrent effect against the desert tribes.

The Yan Emperor had ordered the Eldest Prince, Ji Wujiang, to lead 100,000 troops from the Yanjing forbidden army and Tiancheng County soldiers to Beifeng Prefecture to guard against the desert tribes.

The imperial court’s policy of appeasement towards the desert tribes had attracted numerous Desert Barbarian tribes to submit. This was also a measure intended to weaken the Barbarians’ overall strength.

Ji Chengjue mentioned in his letter that the Yanjing forbidden army had been heavily infiltrated by the noble houses. Many of its officers, including commanders and captains, were originally from noble backgrounds.

During the imperial court’s crackdown on the noble houses, the Yanjing forbidden army also underwent a major purge. This significantly weakened its combat effectiveness, which had largely been more for show than substance to begin with.

However, in Zheng Fan’s opinion, as long as the 100,000 troops of the North Border Army from the Earl of North Border’s command remained in Beifeng Prefecture, the army led by the Eldest Prince could simply provide auxiliary support from the rear. There shouldn’t be any major issues.

Ji Chengjue’s letter also mentioned that a new round of major internal strife had begun in Jin State. This time, however, it seemed rather peculiar. Even if the Three Great Clans of Jin State were complete fools, they should understand that this was not the time to incite significant conflict. Thus, it had all the hallmarks of a deliberate attempt to conceal something.

The remaining Yanjing forbidden army, along with most of the mobilizable county soldiers from various regions, had been dispatched towards the eastern part of the empire. This served as a warning to Jin State and also as a precaution against them attempting to exploit Yan State’s campaign against Qian State, much like Qian State itself had done a century prior.

Reading this, Zheng Fan couldn’t help but rub his temples. As the Commander of Green Willow Fortress, he was naturally very sensitive to any hint of unrest or unusual movement within Yinlang County.

Just yesterday, the 50,000 reserve troops of the Southern Peace Army had departed.

These 50,000 reserve troops had always been the Southern Peace Army’s reserves. Their combat effectiveness and equipment were naturally inferior to the 50,000 main troops of the Southern Peace Army, but they were certainly a cut above ordinary county soldiers.

According to the intelligence he had received, this reserve army did not go south, but headed east instead.

Presumably, they were also dispatched to guard against Jin State. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel⚑fire.net

With this, the interior of Yan State was actually quite vulnerable.

If remnants of the noble houses were to suddenly incite an uprising or rebellion within Yan State at this juncture, the Yan Emperor, stationed in Yanjing, would find it truly difficult to mobilize forces to suppress it quickly.

This was because, following the suppression of the noble houses, the vanguard of the 200,000-strong North Border Army had entered Yinlang County the day before yesterday.

This is not good. Not good at all.

Zheng Fan picked up his teacup and took a sip of hot tea.

The Barbarians had always been a grave concern for the Yan people. Although the Barbarians were now in decline, they were still age-old adversaries with centuries of deep-seated blood feuds between them. Therefore, there was no room for even the slightest relaxation of vigilance.

Sending the forbidden army to reinforce the north was an entirely appropriate measure.

Consider that a hundred years ago, when the Barbarian Royal Court was at its zenith, Yan State chose to allow the first-generation Earl of North Border to take only 30,000 cavalry back to defend their homeland. They still opted to keep their main forces in the desert to battle the grand Barbarian army.

For centuries, Yan had defended the east against the Barbarians. This was not mere rhetoric; it was a duty they truly fulfilled.

Although Jin State was plagued by internal strife, leading to its continuous decline—with rumors even suggesting the Three Great Clans might attempt to partition Jin State among themselves at any moment—its army remained respectably strong. Jin State frequently clashed with Chu State. While no large-scale wars had erupted for many years, regular engagements involving twenty to thirty thousand troops were almost constant. Jin State, even while mired in internal conflict, managed to hold its own in these skirmishes against Chu State.

Therefore, Yan State also had to be wary of Jin State. The new round of strife in the Jin court, which even Zheng Fan found suspicious, certainly wouldn’t escape the Yan Emperor’s notice.

However, the situation in Yan State was like a person standing on the edge of a cliff.

Regardless of which front developed problems—or even if no new problems arose—if this stalemate persisted, Yan State itself would inevitably face internal turbulence.

Since ancient times, war has always been a means to divert internal conflicts.

Internally, Yan State felt like it was being roasted over a fire.

The only key to breaking this deadlock lies with Qian State. But how exactly should this war be fought?

Bearing the deep concern for the country and its people, Chief Zheng chose black stockings tonight.

Early in the morning, a noise came from outside the door. "Master, the three masters are back!"