The eighth year of Qingli, early winter.
The shocking rebellion led by Marquis Chengyang has come to an end.
After several months of stubborn resistance, Marquis Chengyang fought to the death with his close confidants in Linjiang City, ultimately exhausting himself in a three-thousand-mile march and committing suicide.
With this, the Chengyang Army scattered.
The White Lotus Sect’s Three Saints, renowned as Land Immortals, personally stepped in to quickly gather the remnants of the White Lotus Sect army, retreating to the Northern Territory of Yunzhou, returning to their base.
The Court divided its forces into three routes, tens of thousands of troops swept through the Yun, Liang, and Qing Three States, continually besieging rebel remnants, while diverting substantial military strength towards the Northern Territory of Yunzhou, vowing to completely annihilate the White Lotus Sect.
However, as the Court’s army marched to the Northern Territory, they encountered fierce resistance from the White Lotus Sect remnants, firmly entrenched in the Northern Territory of Yunzhou. Additionally, with the onset of winter and early snow in Yunzhou, complete recovery of the Northern Territory seemed challenging. In this situation, the Emperor personally appointed Ji Fu, known as the Great Xia Military God, to lead the expedition to Yunzhou.
The war broke out once again,
Ji Fu lived up to his name as Military God, commanding several battles consecutively, directly suppressing the White Lotus Sect with no room for retaliation, as the Court’s forces continued their advance, leading the White Lotus Sect to send envoys for negotiation.
The Court’s camp in the Northern Territory of Yunzhou.
Inside a tent, a large group of people were seated, all high-level representatives from various parties involved in the war to recover Yunzhou, including military officials, personnel from the Astronomical Bureau, and members from the Six Ministries.
Currently, sitting in the main seat was an elderly man with gray hair, with a stern expression, clad in armor, radiating an intimidating presence just sitting there.
This person was none other than the commander of the Yunzhou battlefield, Ji Fu.
Besides being a Duke, Ji Fu was from the Ji Family within the current royal family, and his appointment as commander was the result of negotiations among various factions.
In the first seat to Ji Fu’s left was a rather handsome middle-aged man with a slightly ominous demeanor. This man was the Military Supervisor—Marquis Pingjin Lü Chang.
The identity of Marquis Pingjin Lü Chang was also not simple, being the current Empress Dowager’s nephew and the Empress’s brother, known as Imperial Uncle Lü, and the Patriarch of the Lü Family, one of the three major noble families.
In the first seat on the right was the Director of the Astronomical Bureau in Yunzhou, Qin You.
Speaking of which, although Qin You’s status was not low, it was overshadowed by the other two. However, due to the success of the espionage plan, everyone knew that Qin You, as the executor, would certainly rise in prominence, with rumors suggesting the Emperor was preparing to appoint Qin You as the Grand Commandant in the Capital City, ranking among the Three Dukes.
In addition to these three, there were also several high-ranking officials within the tent, all of whom were close confidants of the three leaders.
Ji Fu looked at a letter on the table and said, "Everyone has read it, haven’t they?"
Military Supervisor Lü Chang nodded slightly and said, "The White Lotus Sect is willing to withdraw from the Northern Territory, but they need the Court to grant them the Ten Thousand Mountains as a place to settle down."
"I think they’re just dreaming!" Ji Fu snorted coldly and said, "We let them escape by luck during the last suppression of the White Lotus Sect fifteen years ago, and now they still think they can negotiate? Do they deserve it?"
The tent was silent; no one spoke.
Ji Fu squinted his eyes slightly and said, "What? Do any of you have other thoughts?"
The tent remained silent.
After a while, Qin You smiled helplessly and cupped his hands towards Ji Fu and Lü Chang, saying, "Lord and Marquis, you’re both now a Marshal and Military Supervisor; the unpleasant words that offend people can only be spoken by me."
Saying this, Qin You glanced around at everyone and said, "We must seriously consider the White Lotus Sect’s proposal. Although our army is advancing like a broken bamboo, the national treasury can no longer afford it, and it’s unwise to delay too much longer.
For whatever reason, Yunzhou has been in war for three full years, and this year, with the outbreak in the Yun, Liang, and Qing Three States, the Court is already overwhelmed. Right now, it seems the White Lotus Sect is retreating step by step, but we all know that with the Three Saints of the White Lotus Sect still intact, if we really want to defeat them, we might lose a mouthful of teeth.
Secondly, our immediate priority is to quickly recover the Yun, Liang, and Qing Three States. With the Ling Family and Dugu Faction suffering significant losses, we must swiftly restore order in the Three States. If time drags on, no one can guarantee that Beiwei and Southern Jin won’t cease their conflict and attack us,
Time is limited. We’ve been preparing for the recovery of the Three States for many years, finally finding this opportunity. Once Beiwei and Southern Jin ceasefire, they’ll take advantage of the emptiness in the Yun, Liang, and Qing Three States to strike, so discontinuing the deadlock with the White Lotus Sect is the best choice.
The White Lotus Sect’s situation is declining; entering the Ten Thousand Mountains, they’ll only be a powerful Martial World influence. Although the Ten Thousand Mountains are easy to defend and difficult to attack, their resources are still limited. Even if they have the intention, they can’t effectively rise again. Moreover, what we need is time; once the Three States settle completely, the White Lotus Sect won’t have the opportunity to stir up trouble."
The tent buzzed with secret murmurs.
Seeing this, Qin You smiled helplessly,
In truth, none present were fools; everyone understood the current situation. The Court lacked significant energy and time to focus on battling the White Lotus Sect,
but no one was willing to say it,
Upon returning to the Capital City, this decision would undoubtedly face severe criticism from both civil and military officials.
However, Qin You was indifferent,
The Astronomical Bureau enjoyed the position of supervising all officials, naturally offending countless people, and had endured criticism from the Court for many years, becoming accustomed to it.