The second prince rode a tall horse leisurely.
"This is Nanshan County of Shangyu County? It doesn't look like much … It's not as prosperous as a small tribe in the North borderline. "
The houses on both sides of the street were dilapidated, and there were almost no traces of merchants.
"I heard that Shangyu County was a good place in the past, where merchants and trade flourished. Things remain the same, but the people have changed."
The second prince's advisor rode a step behind, looking around and sighing.
"Hahaha … It's just a small town at the border of the Central Plains. How prosperous can it be?"
The second prince laughed disdainfully. He brought 20,000 private troops to camp outside the city, while he brought 1,000 elites into the city.
He spent all his fortune to train these 20,000 elites, and he loved them as if they were his eyes.
In order to keep the benefits to himself, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and took out all his belongings.
He volunteered to the King of the North borderline to take over the three cities of Shangyu. The original guards were sent elsewhere.
The second prince sat down boldly. The official registrar of Nanshan County trembled in front of him, waiting for orders.
"Report how many soldiers are left in the city."
The official registrar trembled and said, "There are 6,700 guards in the city."
The second prince turned his head and sneered at the advisor. "There are only 6,700 people in Nanshan County. What can such a small number of guards do? Liu Xi of Chongzhou is also a good-for-nothing … I heard that the pedantic Confucian scholars of Dongqing always talk about taking back their territory. Nanshan County's defense is so weak, yet Liu Xi doesn't send troops to fight back? It seems that the cowards of Dongqing are just shouting slogans when they take back their territory. "
The advisor smiled and flattered the second prince, saying a lot of good things, making the second prince feel comfortable.
The second prince was full of confidence and spoke with fervor. "Although Liu Xi is a bit of a coward, she's a girl after all. It's normal that she's not as courageous as a man. Although there are only 6,700 guards in Nanshan County, every one of them is an elite of the North borderline. They can fight against 10 men on the battlefield. Liu Xi is flattered by the outside world, but she's still a timid girl. She won't amount to much. "
The advisor's smile was a little awkward, but he still catered to the second prince and praised him.
Compared to the second prince's blind arrogance, the advisor was somewhat clear-headed.
Apart from anything else, he could understand why Jiang Pengji had not mobilized her troops to recapture the three cities of Shangyu.
First of all, fighting a war was not something that could be fought just because one wanted to.
No matter how resentful the people of Dongqing were, the three cities of Shangyu had been ceded by Dongqing to the Northern Borderline. This was the territory of the Northern Borderline!
If they rashly sent their troops back, it would mean that they would completely fall out with the Northern Borderline and officially declare war on the Northern Borderline.
Secondly, fighting a war would consume too much energy, and the preparation would take a long time.
If they were to start a war without any preparation, how was that any different from courting death?
Thirdly, since the three cities of Shangyu had been ruined by the Northern Frontier, it would not make much difference whether they were recaptured two years earlier or two years later.
He did not dare to say these words to the second prince, lest he spoil his mood.
"Your Highness is right."
The second prince laughed heartily and said to his advisor, "You know me best."
Overjoyed, the second prince feasted for two days and made friends with the local nobles.
Although these nobles stayed in the three cities of Shangyu as if they had been exiled, they were local tyrants who had been operating for many years.
The three cities of Shangyu could be considered as a buffer zone between the Northern Borderline and Dongqing. At the same time, it was also a lawless area where many smuggled goods were the most rampant.
Most of these goods were war resources, and the profits were huge. Even the second prince could not help but be tempted by them.
However, the happy time did not pass for long. An urgent message came to his ears.
"Report …"
The loud and urgent voice of the messenger came from outside the room.
The second prince was holding a wine bottle and drinking with someone. When he heard the voice, his dashing eyebrows knitted together in displeasure.
"What happened? How dare you disturb my mood?"
The messenger's breathing was rapid, and there was a hint of nervousness and nervousness in his voice.
"Your Highness, the patrolling cavalry found the corpses of our soldiers outside Nanshan County, a total of twenty-five people."
"What?"
The strong smell of alcohol came out of his nostrils. The second prince slammed the wine bottle on the table, and a deafening bang was heard.
The advisor beside him stopped smiling and asked the messenger before the second prince lost his temper.
"Who killed them? How did the twenty-five people die? "
The messenger told him everything in detail.
Last night, during the handover of the patrol, a team of cavalry did not return.
The next day, the patrolling cavalry found the corpses of the missing people not far from their post. There were signs of a struggle near the corpses.
When the advisor heard this, his heart skipped a beat. Not good!
"Where are the corpses now?"
"Outside the hall."
"Bring them up!" The second prince's chest surged with anger. He lifted his leg and flipped the wine table. "I want to see who dares to do this."
The loud bang shocked the singers and dancers in the hall, and they did not dare to move. They trembled like quails.
After a series of footsteps, the soldiers of the Northern Borderline carried the corpses into the hall.
Other than the corpses, there were many clues found at the scene. The most important of them was a token.
This token was none other than the token of a Chongzhou soldier.
The weapons left behind and the words carved on the weapons all pointed to Chongzhou.
After seeing this solid evidence, the second prince clenched his fists in anger and gritted his teeth.
"Liu Xi, I haven't found trouble with her, and she's already stirring up trouble."
The second prince's anger soared. The advisor beside him groaned.
"Your Highness, we still need to investigate further. To conclude that Chongzhou's Liu Xi provoked us so hastily, what if it's not … "
Before the advisor could finish, the second prince interrupted him. "What's so hasty about this? Besides Liu Xi, who else would do such a thing? Besides, even if Liu Xi didn't do it, so what? Sooner or later, I and Liu Xi will have to fight. "
The second prince volunteered to come to the three cities of Shangyu. He wanted to use the three cities as a springboard to sneak attack Jiang Pengji's granary.
He wanted to rest for two days before making a move. Now that Chongzhou could not sit still and test them, how could the second prince tolerate it?
The advisor was speechless.
For some reason, he felt that this matter was unreliable.
The second prince said, "Liu Xi killed 25 of my men. I will repay him tenfold."
The advisor's eyelids twitched violently. He watched as the second prince sent someone to invite the soldiers to discuss military matters.
"When I take over her granary, Liu Xi will have no more grain. Let's see how arrogant she can be then!"
According to the map, there were a total of three granaries.
The second prince had already sent people to check these three places. Almost all of them had stored two million dans of military rations.
What did this mean?
Three hundred thousand dans was enough for a hundred thousand soldiers to eat for more than a month.
The grain that Liu Xi had accumulated over the years was enough for a hundred thousand soldiers to fight for two years!
It was a pity that Liu Xi did not have a good eye for using people. He actually leaked the distribution map of such an important granary.
Once she ran out of grain, she would be dead!
The second prince looked in the direction of Chongzhou and gritted his teeth.
"If I can't transport the grain, I won't leave a single grain for you!"
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