Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 375: 二百六十二章_2

Chapter 375: 二百六十二章_2

"Prince Consort, do you think the Barbarian King will choose the most secure way?"

Xu Yuan nodded and replied:

"After all, the Cloud Qi Bomb can only disperse the blizzard for two to three days at most. Once the blizzard resumes, Northern Border City without its north wall is like a large prison—a prison the Barbarian Tribes can freely enter and leave. All they need to do is to wait at their ease, continuously harass us, and within a minimum of ten days to a maximum of a month, the Sects will definitely collapse."

After carefully listening, Li Qingyan smiled and nodded:

"Prince Consort, you’re definitely right, but the Barbarian King cannot be sure that we won’t head south during this period."

"....." Xu Yuan gave a wry smile, at a loss for words.

Li Qingyan took a deep breath, her voice wistful:

"An absolute disadvantage; only by putting life and death out of one’s mind can one fight for a glimmer of hope. The Barbarian King seized the opportunity you gave him, so he earned that sliver of hope.

"It’s just a pity that the north city gate was blown up too soon, causing the Sects to collapse too quickly. Although the Barbarian Tribes suffered losses, they were not fatally weakened."

Xu Yuan spread his hands helplessly:

"Life is full of disappointments; even my father can’t guarantee foolproof strategies, let alone me? However, I suspect that it’s most likely when people from the Sects entered the north city wall for defenses they discovered some clues. If they did not set it off, they could have been exposed by the Sects, and those responsible had to detonate it prematurely."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyan fell into a brief contemplation before saying:

"The destruction of the north city wall will likely make these Sects suspect us."

"As long as these Sects have a bit of sense, they can definitely guess that, after all, the Barbarian Tribes don’t have the construction plans for Northern Border City’s walls, let alone the exact locations of the Source Crystal Bombs within the critical parts of the wall."

While speaking, Xu Yuan looked down from on high at the Sect foot soldiers below, his voice indifferent as ice:

"What can they do even if they know? Openly rebel? With their current combat power, do they qualify to rebel? And as for settling scores later? Heh... Qingyan, Chief Lou was called back to the Northern Frontier by my father last night, you should be receiving the news soon, too."

Li Qingyan immediately looked back, her slender eyebrows knitting:

"Prince Consort, are you saying the Emperor is ready to act?"

Xu Yuan nodded:

"That should be the case. The Sects in Di’an, who were wary of the Northern Border’s force of 300,000 Elites, have now collapsed, naturally leaving no concerns."

"..."

Li Qingyan did not immediately respond, but quickly pondered the consequences of this action in her mind.

After a moment,

she asked softly:

"Can they... can the Emperor still muster an adequate force to exterminate these Sects?"

The Dayan Dynasty’s soldiers are spread throughout the land: the Imperial Guards stationed in Di’an City, the Zhenxi Army that defends the Great Desert, the Xuanjia Army that garrisons the Wanxing Mountain Range, and even the Qianji Army that guards against Japanese pirates along the southeast coast—but these forces cannot be easily moved.

To exterminate the Barbarian Tribes, almost all of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and Imperial Family’s deployable elite forces had converged on the northern snow plains.

Although the Northern Border Sects’ force of 300,000 Elites is now defeated, the Inner Sect Disciples within their mountain gates, as well as Elders and other high-level Cultivators, still represent a formidable force.

If there aren’t enough troops, once it’s confirmed that the Imperial Court is taking action, these core Sect Cultivators would most definitely not sit by and wait for death; they could collectively rebel.....

"Not sure."

Regarding this question, Xu Yuan answered very directly, but after a pause, he then added with a meaningful smile, "But it probably won’t need too many troops."

"....."

Suddenly, the air atop the city gate tower grew quiet.

Li Qingyan pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked:

"Eclipse?"

"....."

Xu Yuan grinned and gave a nod with a smile.

This Princess is indeed experienced in leading troops, knowing the Dayan military’s weapons inside and out; with just a hint, she understood immediately.

Although the original intention behind her younger sister’s tinkering with those things was for the benefit of the people, the effects seemed to be even better when converted for military use.

At least, it made the old man’s plan to eradicate the Northern Border Sects a lot simpler.

Thinking of this,

Xu Yuan offered a silent second of condolence for his younger sister in his heart, then said softly:

"The Eclipse Bomb’s ability to shield will-spirit and disrupt Origin Qi directly prevents all Communication Crystals inside the Sects’ mountain gates from working."

Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, and the tip of her delicate, pale pink tongue gently licked her moist, red lips:

"In that case, it seems we really won’t need too many troops; just acting with more caution and ensuring no survivors when annihilating the Sects, even 50,000 Elites would be enough to stealthily extinguish all the Northern Border Sects."

Xu Yuan looked up at the endless snow falling from the sky and spoke softly:

"This century’s unprecedented snowfall has provided the Barbarian Tribes with an opportunity to turn the tables, but it has also sealed off most roads in the Northern Frontier, concealing the Imperial Court’s troop movements and transport of supplies and arms."

Li Qingyan inhaled deeply and said with a smile:

"In that case, we must act quickly."

"Hmm?" Xu Yuan murmured doubtfully.

Li Qingyan looked back:

"If we spend too much time with these barbarians, I won’t be able to personally take my revenge on those Sects’ scum."

Xu Yuan, seeing the killing intent in her eyes, pondered for a moment and tentatively asked,

"Your Highness... do you harbor great hatred for the people of the Sects?"

"...."

After his words fell, silence followed.

After a while, Li Qingyan, her eyes tinged with crimson and a smile, counter-questioned:

"Prince Consort, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Xu Yuan cracked a smile:

"Princess, you are not only wise and far-sighted but also consider the welfare of the world as...."

"Heh... slick talker."

Li Qingyan shot Xu Yuan a glance, cutting him off, and said somberly as she looked in the direction of the Northern Border:

"I indeed detest the Sects, but not for any so-called noble cause or for the people or the state."

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered, as he played along:

"If not for these reasons, then is it because..."

Li Qingyan interrupted Xu Yuan again, asking:

"Prince Consort, may I ask you something?"

"...Ask," he responded.

"Has Chief Lou treated you well?"

"Um... Yes."

"Then, if Chief Lou were to be framed by the Sects and die on the way back to the Northern Frontier tomorrow, how would you react?"

"..." Xu Yuan fell silent.

"It seems you would be unable to accept such a thing happening, Prince Consort, and I am no different. Yet it has happened."

Li Qingyan, watching Xu Yuan’s expression, shook her head slightly and clenched her fists, yet her tone remained calm: "Because of those Sects’ scum, not just once has it happened....."

"....." Xu Yuan suddenly understood her meaning.

Meanwhile,

Li Qingyan stared at Xu Yuan and spoke softly and warmly:

"Prince Consort, since I was young, I knew of Father Emperor’s and Minister Xu’s aspirations from Uncle Mu. But I am of indifferent nature, and initially, I didn’t care about these matters. So-called reforms claim to benefit the nation and the people, but in the end, it is nothing but a power struggle between our Imperial Family and the Sects. If the Sects are successfully weakened, it won’t be long before another ’Sect Family’ will emerge in a different way. Not to mention, if the infighting becomes too severe and the national strength is overtaxed, it’s very likely that the surrounding foreign tribes will seize the chance to invade our Great Yan’s fourteen provinces."

"...." Xu Yuan remained silent.

Li Qingyan exhaled a long breath of white mist that dispersed into the snow, and smiled faintly:

"But now, my thoughts have changed and become very simple: whoever can eliminate all the Sects in this world, I will support them to take the throne."

Having said this,

she winked playfully at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and concurred in a low voice:

"My father’s thoughts are probably not much different from yours, Qingyan. It’s just that he’s unsure who to support."

Li Qingyan chuckled softly, saying nothing more.

And Xu Yuan also stood quietly to the side, deep in thought.

Time passed by minute by minute amidst the snowstorm,

After half an hour,

Xu Yuan suddenly pointed at the remnants of the Sects below the city wall:

"Qingyan, it’s already been a quarter of an hour, how should we deal with these people? Why not just do what Yuan Hao did?"

That madman Yuan Hao took trivial things as absolute authority.

As soon as the defeated troops arrived at his location requesting to enter the city for supplies, he immediately secretly dispatched his army to surround those who came to him for refuge, slaughtering many and confiscating their weapons, holding them in the city, preparing to use these defeated troops as cannon fodder in the next day’s battle with the Barbarian Army.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Li Qingyan pondered for a moment and replied in a low voice:

"Given the current situation, this might indeed be the best choice...."

As they spoke,

a clear and cold female voice carried from below the city:

"Prince Wu Yuan, we are willing to surrender all our arms and supplies in hopes that you will allow us into the city."