No Peace

Night, Lu Mansion.

A few alluring beauties were dancing alluring dances in Lu Gaosheng's room.

However, Lu Gaosheng, who was sitting in the main hall, did not show any interest. After watching for a while, he immediately drove all these women out.

The lights were bright and the night was quiet.

As the room was left with only himself, Lu Gaosheng shook his head. The headaches and stuffy feeling in his chest that had been bothering him for a while came back again.

In his ears, that person's mocking voice continued non-stop.

"Lu Gaosheng, Lu Gaosheng, what's wrong with you? You don't even like beauties now? You have been obsessively pursuing power for so many years, isn't it all for these?"

"Up until today, among the other five Prefects, you have secretly subdued three. With Ming as your Chief Minister and Jin Wange assisting you, the position of Governor is already set for you. What else are you not satisfied with?"

"Tell me, Lu Gaosheng!"

As he listened to the mocking words in his ears, Lu Gaosheng suddenly stood up and angrily scolded: "You waste! Why haven't you died yet! Stop bothering me again!"

As the scolding ended, the voice disappeared.

The room gradually calmed down.

Lu Gaosheng looked around and felt disoriented.

With his excellent hearing, Lu Gaosheng had already heard the footsteps in the garden outside the door.

Who is it?!

Lu Gaosheng panicked for a moment.

But soon, he felt puzzled by his 'panic'.

He had operated this residence for many years, secretly laying down endless means to protect himself. What did he have to be afraid of?

Soon, Li Xing's voice sounded outside the door: "Sir, I have an important report."

Lu Gaosheng, a cunning schemer, quickly adjusted his state and calmly said: "Come in."

The door was opened. Li Xing, covered in sweat, obviously didn't have Lu Gaosheng's composure. Especially after he had just learned about the trouble in the north, Li Xing clearly understood. After the troubles in the north were resolved, the court of the Dawu Country would probably undergo drastic changes.

The result of the trouble would determine the direction of the upcoming drastic change.

Lu Gaosheng was slightly puzzled. This subordinate that he trusted greatly was usually quite calm. How could he lose his composure this time?

Then, as Lu Gaosheng opened the letter handed over by Li Xing and read it, even someone like him couldn't help but tremble slightly.

The Northern Garrison Army was besieged by the Alliance Army of Five Countries.

The biggest grain depot behind them was burned.

Wang Jue ordered snatching grains from Hanwu Commandery!

The Northern Garrison Army, who had obtained grains again, was now engaged in a tug-of-war against the Alliance Army of Five Countries!

After receiving the news, the court urgently ordered the Governors of the four Central Commanderies to send troops to assist...

...

Lu Gaosheng had been in his room for a long time.

Li Xing had already lit up quite a few candles, so that Lu Gaosheng could clearly see, in addition to the report, the intricate map showing the current balance of power and military troop positions in the north.

It has to be said that although Lu Gaosheng was cruel and ruthless, and exploited people to amass wealth, he was indeed extremely learned and talented, skilled in both civil and military arts. In just a few years in office, he had almost grasped the position of Provincial Governor firmly in his hands.

At this moment, staring at the simple military maps, he could still see quite a few things.

After a long time, Lu Gaosheng finally lifted his gaze from the maps and slowly leaned back on the sandalwood chair behind him to take a short break.

Li Xing asked from one side in a low voice: "Sir, did you notice anything..."

Lu Gaosheng whispered with his eyes closed: "Wang Jue has overstretched his lines. It's too long"

Li Xing, who never had any doubts about Lu Gaosheng's schemes, was greatly shocked. Because he heard an ominous meaning from Lu Gaosheng's words.

Li Xing quickly said: "Does Sir mean..."

Lu Gaosheng shook his head. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Wang Jue will definitely lose."

Li Xing was slightly relieved. After all, he came from the army and still cared a lot about the victory and defeat of their main force.

Lu Gaosheng continued: "Over the years, Wang Jue has been able to attack cities and plunder land in the north, undefeated against the fifteen northern countries. His military skills are undoubtedly superb."

"However, even if he has 200,000 troops, he now has 100,000 troops deployed behind him, with the main force under his own command in the center and another 50,000 troops deep into Shuangxue Country. There is no sign of concentration of his whole force at all. If they get wiped out one by one, the consequences would be unimaginable. It's impossible for Wang Jue not to understand these."

Overstretched lines of defence make it hard to defend both ends, akin to placing the main force in a precarious position. This is a mistake even a bad general will not make.

But Wang Jue still did it.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, even desperate actions like snatching grains from Hanwu Commandery were taken, clearly Wang Jue did not intend to retreat. Otherwise, when the grain depot was burned that day, he should immediately order the 50,000 troops in Shuangxue Country to retreat, withdraw all his troops to within the North Pass, and give up the territories outside the pass.

However, all current signs show that Wang Jue is not only not retreating, but is deliberately stretching the line of defence while not taking the initiative to attack. He just hoarded the snatched grains and persisted in a stalemate against the enemy main force.

What exactly is Wang Jue thinking?

Lu Gaosheng thought: to dare to do that, it shows that Wang Jue is very confident. He is confident that the Alliance Army of Five Countries cannot defeat him. Otherwise, if these 200,000 troops fall, even greater past achievements won't offset that sin of destroying the nation.

Lu Gaosheng asked Li Xing again: "What are that old incompetent Governor's arrangements for sending relief troops?"

Li Xing replied: "This was a direct imperial order. None of the Governors of the Central Prefectures dared to pocket or hide anything. The 30,000 iron cavalries of our Tian Ge Prefecture, the 30,000 elite infantry of Tianyu Commandery, and the 25,000 naval forces of Tianshui Commandery - they should all be on the way now, moving day and night."

By right, if the north had problems, the northern prefectures should send troops to assist.

However, under Wang Jue's governance in recent years, all the new recruits in the northern prefectures had been absorbed into the Northern Garrison Army. So the northern prefectures practically had no more deployable troops.

So now the responsibility of sending reliefs naturally fell upon the central prefectures.

"That means the entire central region will be emptied out," Lu Gaosheng muttered.

Li Xing echoed in agreement: "Sir is correct."

The Dawu Country's bureaucracy was rotten. The corruption was also reflected in the local garrison troops. The prefect guards only had a few hundred to a thousand troops each. And even with such meagre numbers, problems like taking salaries without working, outdated equipment, lax training and more were increasingly serious.

To be blunt, the prefect guards were rotten troops, completely lacking any combat capabilities.

And now, with the 30,000 iron cavalries of Tian Ge Prefecture and other local crack troops marching out, it was fair to say the central prefectures had been 'emptied out'.

Of course, what was referred to as 'prefectures' here did not include Lu Gaosheng's Tian Ruo Prefecture. While his guards only numbered a thousand men, their quality across the board was extremely strong.

Li Xing was also studying the map, and asked after a long while: "Sir, I wonder if you noticed one thing..."

Lu Gaosheng flatly replied: "You mean the burning of the grain depot right."

Li Xing immediately nodded: "Exactly! General Wang Jue's mastery of military strategy is comparable to General Bai back in the days. Being stationed in the north for years, how could he not understand the utmost importance of those transport supplies!"