Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 310 - 225 Siege_2

Chapter 310: Chapter 225 Siege_2

The people are of utmost importance, the state comes next, the sovereign is the least.

This phrase sounds very pleasant to the ear.

In the ancient feudal dynasties of previous lives, few monarchs could achieve this, let alone in this extraordinary feudal dynasty of today.

The madness of the end of life, for the morbid obsession of a lifetime, that sort of thing the current Emperor of Dayan would certainly do.

Li Qingyan fell silent for a short while, not making any further statements, and turned to Lou Ji to ask:

"If Uncle Mu and the others are like this, what about the Sects of the Northern Frontier? Where are their troops?"

Lou Ji smiled and glanced at Xu Yuan, slowly leaning back on the soft couch behind her:

"This group of Sects are all tucked away on the second line."

"The second line?" Li Qingyan frowned.

Lou Ji lowered her gaze, playing with the Sumeru Ring on her fingertip: "Nearly three hundred thousand of their elite troops are all huddled near Houting County, hearing orders but not heeding them."

"Houting County?" Xu Yuan murmured.

Li Qingyan pondered while softly explaining:

"Uncle Mu built a military fortress there thirty years ago, which had fallen before. After being recaptured, it has always served as a logistical transit point."

Xu Yuan shook his head and said:

"What I mean is, with so many troops all huddled together, can the logistics keep up?"

"It’s not too deep into the Northern Frontier, only three hundred li from Northern Border City, and they can use the official road for material resupply."

"...." Xu Yuan fell silent.

The distance from Dali Mountain to the Northern Border City is almost thirteen hundred li.

Three hundred li...

This is hardly a second line; these Sects are practically lurking right at their doorstep.

It’s possible that some high-ranking military officers could leave in the morning and still make it back to Northern Border City for dinner.

Terrible.

Too terrible.

Lou Ji crossed her legs, looking at Li Qingyan with a meaningful tone:

"Indeed, supplies can be sent via the official road, and my spies report there’s still a lot in stock within Northern Border City."

Disobeying orders, The Imperial Court naturally cut off the Sects’ military food supply, but the problem is that these Sects have been operating in the Northern Frontier for a thousand years, amassing stockpiles of supplies which are hardly an issue.

In other words, if we were to move against them, the Northern Frontier would have ample resources to sustain the warfare.

Exchanging a look with Lou Ji, Li Qingyan gently shook her head:

"Under the current situation, we cannot touch the belongings of these parasites. Doing so might lead to significant upheaval."

Lou Ji spread her hands:

"I didn’t say we should move against them, I’m just giving Her Highness a heads-up."

While speaking, Lou Ji took out several sealed scrolls from the Sumeru Ring:

"These are the overviews of the Northern Frontier’s battle situation that I’ve compiled. The Princess might take a look when she has time."

Li Qingyan reached for them, placing them into the Sumeru Ring, and then gave a respectful bow:

"Wu Yuan, thank you, Chief Lou."

"Come on, family doesn’t speak of two houses. My Black Scale Guards will take care of escorting these goods to the front line."

Lou Ji smiled faintly, then turned to Xu Yuan and said, "But since the Princess owes me thanks, can you lend me Changtian for a day?"

Hearing this, Li Qingyan glanced at Xu Yuan and, after a moment’s thought, suddenly said with a smile:

"Of course, Chief Lou can make free use of my Prince Consort."

"Giggle... Her Highness is truly generous~ Don’t worry, sister. I won’t wear out Changtian~"

After a round of coy laughter, Lou Ji took Xu Yuan and flew out of the carriage.

By the time Xu Yuan came to his senses, he was already in a maiden’s chamber.

The room was filled with the intoxicating scent of poisonous roses.

The messy, dark green bed curtains were adorned with various bottles and jars, seemingly for concocting potions.

On the other hand, the desk was piled high with various documents, which were sorted out much more neatly and clearly compared to the bed’s mess.

This old auntie always knew how to separate public from private matters very well.

Xu Yuan retracted his gaze, finally landing on Lou Ji who sat on the edge of the bed:

"Sister, why did you call me over?"

"Changtian, give it to me."

"?" Xu Yuan.

Lou Ji narrowed her beautiful eyes:

"Don’t play dumb, Xu Changge has already given you the Tianxun Crystal Orb, don’t think I don’t know."

Xu Yuan’s eyelid twitched, and he walked over to sit beside the bed, saying:

"Sister, my father said that it is for Wu Yuan’s use, and you already have a Communication Crystal in Northern Border City."

Lou Ji cast a coquettish look, pulling on Xu Yuan’s arm:

"I’m just borrowing it for two days, Changtian, don’t be so petty~"

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes.

Lending them would likely be like throwing meat buns to a dog.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan took out a black box from the Sumeru Ring.

Lou Ji’s eyes suddenly brightened at this scene:

"Is this..."

"The Sumeru Ring."

Xu Yuan slowly opened the black box, which neatly contained thirty-eight Sumeru Rings.

The Sumeru Rings could not be directly placed into another Sumeru Ring, but they could be stored by using a black box made of precious special materials to isolate them.

As Xu Yuan leisurely handed the black box to Lou Ji, he said:

"These Sumeru Rings have very large internal spaces, already filled with supplies in the Imperial Capital. If transported to the front lines, Father said they should suffice for Mr. Zong’s consumption for two months. I’ll have to trouble you, sister, to send them over."

The sects from twenty thousand years ago were all rich, each Sumeru Ring containing a substantial amount of Levitation Stone. Even after wear and tear, they were still incomparable to the current Sumeru Rings.

Lou Ji’s eyes flickered, and she nodded her head, taking the Sumeru Rings and then said:

"Alright, sister will take responsibility. Changtian, let’s continue discussing the Tianxun Crystal..."

Before she could finish,

Lou Ji suddenly fell silent, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked towards the southern part of the city.

...

...

...

While Xu Yuan was negotiating with Lou Ji, the several horse-drawn carriages transporting the "Cloud Qi Bombs" had been bought by people from the Black Scale Guards.

After Xu Yuan and Lou Ji had left, Li Qingyan sat alone inside one of the horse-drawn carriages, perusing the Black Scale Guards’ compiled intelligence on the war.

It was very detailed.

It included text descriptions and several maps.

It meticulously recorded everything that had happened in the Northern Frontier over the past three months.

In short, due to the sudden blizzard, Dayan had to consolidate its forces to defend, while the Barbarian Tribes wanted to deplete Dayan’s military strength as much as possible during this process.

The unexpected blizzard essentially gave the Barbarians who lived in the harsh cold lands both the advantage of time and terrain, like fish in water.

Even though the Dayan forces were strong, under such a natural disaster, they had no choice but to choose a defensive posture.

In the early stages of the snowfall, the Feathered Forest Army under her command had suffered a great loss.

To split forces would mean to be defeated one by one.

Around this point, Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng had been engaged in a strategic battle of wits with the Barbarian Strange King for over a month.

There had been three large-scale encounters, with substantial losses on both sides, but Dayan had managed to complete the strategic goal of concentrating their forces in one place.

And since Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng had retracted their troops, the Barbarian army had been hovering around the periphery, scouting but not attacking.

After carefully reading through the text description, Li Qingyan spread out a map on the tea table.

The layout of the Dayan Empire’s troop garrisons, the supply transport routes – all were laid bare on the map, including the Black Scale Army, the Northern Border Army, and even the defense deployments of the various sects’ armies.

Next to each garrison, small print indicated information such as casualty scales, provisions, and armament reserves.

Besides that, several Barbarian strongholds identified by scouts were also marked.

As she looked at the map, with the passage of time, Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes gradually narrowed.

Since the Barbarians’ large-scale attack on Zong Qingsheng’s camp more than a month ago failed, they had only been carrying out small-scale harassment.

She had seen the deep blizzards of the Northern Frontier.

The snow was so deep it could nearly bury a person; even soldiers of Seventh Grade couldn’t see five meters ahead.

"A tactic of exhausting the soldiers?"

Li Qingyan realized what the all-conquering Barbarian King was trying to do.

High-ranking officers might not need rest, but soldiers do.

Marching thousands of miles, isolated in the Northern Frontier, harassed day and night – under the prolonged tactic of exhausting the soldiers, it becomes easy to break under a sudden blow.

With that thought, Li Qingyan furrowed her brows, her slender fingertips gently tracing across the map.

Uncle Mu was no ordinary general, and Mr. Zong was no ordinary person. With the ability of these two to command their armies, the effect of such a tactic on their troops could be minimized.

The reason the Barbarian Strange King insists on doing this is to achieve what.....

As she pondered, Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes showed a trace of puzzlement, trying to deduce her old opponent’s thoughts with a change of perspective.

Time passed unknowingly, and suddenly,

"Boom!!!"

A huge explosion resounded from the south of the city, interrupting Li Qingyan’s thoughts.

After a moment of silence, Li Qingyan got up from the carriage, looking in the direction where the explosion originated.

She saw a massive blaze rising from outside the city, while the Protective City Formation of the Northern Border City had automatically activated due to the blast.

The next instant,

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

Three deep tolls of the warning bell echoed in the Northern Border sky.

The Barbarian Tribes had begun their assault on the city.