Want to Conquer the Northern Frontier Better Head South and Capture the Empress Instead

Yunji City.

After going to Shanhe City, the guerrilla general had already returned.

He came to report back to Ren Tianye.

"General, on this trip, your subordinate has brought back all the families of the Eight Hundred Army, without leaving a single one behind. In addition, I also brought back many citizens of Shanhe City, over five thousand people. They have been temporarily settled."

Ren Tianye nodded, feeling a heavy stone finally lifted from his heart. With the families of the Eight Hundred Army brought back, there were no more worries holding them back.

However, the extra five thousand people brought back needed to be properly arranged. Moreover, they had to immediately recruit more soldiers and buy horses to expand their strength.

As he was thinking, Sun Xiang added, "General, when your subordinate was returning, I looked back at Shanhe City. Under the night sky, the shouts of killing and cries shook the heavens and the earth, and there were endless raging fires. I am afraid..."

"I am afraid the barbarians are massacring the city."

Massacring the city!

When these words were spoken by Sun Xiang, even though Ren Tianye was mentally prepared, he could not help but shudder.

However, he did not say much else, but instead said, "Xiao Mingzhao just handed Shanhe City over to the barbarians as a dowry, and the barbarians dare to massacre the city."

"It seems that Xiao Mingzhao's trust in that Third Prince of the barbarians has reached quite an absurd level."

"Heh, but that is normal."

Pausing, he asked, "Did you discover anything else?"

"Yes!" Sun Xiang said. "General, right after your subordinate left the city, barbarians chased after us to kill us. But they did not pursue us relentlessly like they usually do. Instead, when they could not find us, they returned to Shanhe City."

"Your subordinate felt this was suspicious, so I looked back for a while longer. I could vaguely sense that a large barbarian army was entering Shanhe City."

"Moreover, the number is not small. I am afraid there are tens of thousands!"

"The scouts who were with your subordinate also reported to me, saying that observing the barbarian army, the number of people entering Shanhe City is probably around a hundred thousand!"

A hundred thousand!

These words fell into Ren Tianye's ears, making him immediately alert.

"The barbarians entered Shanhe City bringing a hundred thousand soldiers?"

"It should be. Even if it is not quite that many, it will not be far off."

"Then things are not right..."

Ren Tianye frowned slightly.

He had a good idea of the barbarians' basic military strength. Previously, under the strong suppression of the Chifeng Army, although the barbarians were strong, it was difficult for them to develop much.

Therefore, according to statistics, the number of combat-capable soldiers was about one hundred and fifty thousand. This included about forty thousand light cavalry, around five thousand heavy cavalry, some elite ranged cavalry and infantry, and especially logistics and miscellaneous personnel which numbered nearly a hundred thousand.

Moreover, this was shared among multiple tribes.

In other words, apart from the royal family, it took the alliance of the ten great powerful tribes on the grasslands and numerous marginal tribes to have this many.

Only one hundred and fifty thousand in total.

Now, there were a hundred thousand in Shanhe City!

Two-thirds of the entire grassland had come to Shanhe City?

Furthermore, most of them were probably combat-capable soldiers, with only a small portion being logistics personnel.

"This is the prelude to war!"

Ren Tianye thought to himself.

Although he knew the barbarians had malicious intentions, he did not expect them to move so fast, directly stationing a hundred thousand troops in Shanhe City.

This made it clear that a great war was imminent.

But what kind of moves would they make?

Ren Tianye pondered.

According to barbarian customs, they rarely besieged cities and seized territories. They always operated by coming and going like the wind, using hit-and-run raiding tactics.

But the mobilization of a hundred thousand troops would not be a simple raid.

Ren Tianye tried to put himself in the shoes of the barbarians, thinking about their next actions and methods. Soon...

His eyes lit up!

"March south!"

"The barbarians want to march south!"

Sun Xiang was startled. "March south? Would their target not be the capital?"

"Now the northern border exists in name only. The natural moat that was difficult for them to cross no longer exists."

"If the barbarians command forty thousand light cavalry, with their speed, it will only take a few days to cross the Yellow River and point their blades straight at the capital!"

Sun Xiang gasped.

"In that case, the Great Yu is in imminent danger!"

"The Empress, I am afraid, will become a prisoner of the barbarians before she can even react!"

Ren Tianye, however, looked excited. "This is a good thing!"

"With the barbarians marching south, the already chaotic world will become even more chaotic. If they can successfully abduct the Empress, the world will be without a ruler. That will be the perfect time for us to rise to power."

"When the world changes hands, we will not have to bear the bad reputation of usurping the throne, and we will gain the prestige of wiping out the tartar invaders and restoring the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers!"

Thinking of this, Ren Tianye could no longer hide the smile on his face.

This was a heaven-sent opportunity!

Let the barbarians handle the resistance of overthrowing the Great Yu. Not only would they reap huge benefits by following behind, but they could also become the army of a true king!

This move by the barbarians was brilliant!

"General..." Sun Xiang said. "But what if the barbarians do not march south, and instead come to annex our Great Yu's northern border?"

Ren Tianye's eyes turned sharp. "Not marching south, but annexing the northern border? Hmph, our Yunji City is the throat of the northern border. If the barbarians want to annex the northern border, they must take Yunji City."

"If they obediently march south, so be it. But if they dare to come to Yunji City, even if they are tigers, I will pull out their teeth."

"I will let them know that Yunji City is impregnable and not something they can lay their hands on. Their proper path is to obediently march south and abduct the Empress!"

Sun Xiang understood.

The key to the matter lay in their Yunji City.

As long as Yunji City stood, the barbarians would have no way to take the northern border, otherwise they would constantly have to worry about disturbances in their rear, risking total destruction at any moment.

Therefore...

As long as they held Yunji City, the barbarians... would have to march south whether they wanted to or not!

"Alright, go down and rest!" Ren Tianye said at this time. "I am afraid that after today, you will have endless things to do in all of Yunji City."

"Yes!" Sun Xiang took the order and left.

Ren Tianye's mind was still spinning rapidly. The current situation was becoming more and more favorable to them, but their confidence was still lacking.

Not having enough soldiers was not a big problem. There were hundreds of thousands of residents in Yunji City, so they could easily recruit. They were also not lacking in weapons and armor for the time being.

Lu Qing had left him seventy thousand sets of imperial guard equipment.

This included fifteen thousand sets of heavy cavalry equipment, thirty thousand sets of heavy infantry equipment, and a lot of equipment for logistics and miscellaneous troops.

It was enough for him to form a powerful army.

Now the biggest problem was still money and provisions!

In Yunji City, that Zhan Shubai had spent all the money and provisions on the construction of Yunji City and the training of soldiers, leaving them short of funds and food.

Now that there was no support from the imperial court, they were gradually struggling to make ends meet.

"The simplest method would be nothing more than letting the soldiers loot. The wealth among the people of Yunji City is unimaginable, but doing so would be tantamount to destroying our own foundation."

"So, it still has to be..."

Ren Tianye's gaze hardened.

The Su family!

These past few days, he had investigated the Su family again and found that the Su family was much stronger and wealthier than he had imagined. It could be said to be the accumulation of several generations. To say their wealth rivaled a nation would not be an exaggeration.

If he could get the full support of the Su family, the issue of money and provisions would not be a problem in the short term!

Thinking of this, he ordered, "Call Su Jin here."

Before long, Su Jin, dressed in plain clothes, hurried over and bowed low. Her peerlessly beautiful face was full of apprehension, not knowing why the Great General had suddenly summoned her.

"How are the preparations for my wedding going?"

Hearing this, Su Jin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Great General, my second sister Su Xiu has agreed to the marriage with you. However, regarding the General taking her as the primary wife..."

Before she could finish, Ren Tianye interrupted, "What primary wife? I only said I would marry her, I never said anything about a primary wife!"

"Ah?" Su Jin was stunned.

As far as she knew, the Great General had never been married. For his first marriage, wouldn't it be for a primary wife?

Could it be as a concubine?

How could her second sister ever agree to that?

Their Su family could never agree to that either!

"A wife is a wife. Here with me, there has never been a distinction between a primary wife and a first wife. Do you understand?"

Su Jin understood.

All wives would have equal status.

This meant he could marry multiple wives and rely on the powers behind them.

Therefore, the more wives he married, the stronger his power would become!

What a rebellious and unorthodox thing this was!

But since it was the Great General, Su Jin dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction or objection. Instead, she warned herself inwardly that she must not state this explicitly and must keep it from her second sister.

Once the deed was done, it would be out of her second sister Su Xiu's hands.

She then continued her previous thought, "Regarding the General taking my second sister Su Xiu as a wife, she is rather aloof and proud, and not very happy about it. Therefore, there is a high probability she will ask the General for a larger betrothal gift."

"No matter, just give her more."

On this point, Ren Tianye expressed his indifference.

After all, the Great Yu was a dynasty built on etiquette and rites. There was a set of standards for marriage between men and women, and the bride's side cared deeply about this, feeling that the betrothal gifts represented face and power.

Normally speaking, he now commanded nearly ten thousand men, held Yunji City in his hands, and was a Great General. To marry the daughter of a merchant, the betrothal gift wouldn't even need to reach the lowest grade.

And for a low-grade betrothal gift, besides the three traditional rites of proposing, sending betrothal gifts, and escorting the bride, one would also have to present a pair of gold hairpins, a pair of jade bracelets, some silverware, and a piece of fine jade.

It also required fifty bolts of fine silk and a hundred bolts of cotton cloth.

He, Ren Tianye, would give this betrothal gift!

No, he would raise her qualifications.

He would give her a medium-grade betrothal gift.

That is to say, besides the three rites, he would give a pair of mutton-fat jade ruyi scepters, eight sets of pure gold jewelry, a number of pearls and jadeites, as well as fifty bolts each of Shu brocade and Yun brocade, and two hundred bolts of top-grade silk and satin.

Using these things in exchange for the full support of the Su family.

He indicated that he would agree to such a trade no matter how many times it was offered!

"Then, this concubine thanks the Great General on behalf of my second sister."

"Good, go prepare. In three days, I will marry your second sister, Su Xiu!"

"Yes, Great General!"

...