Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 1052 - 1051: She Has Only One Goal

The city of Macheng County remained desolate as ever.

How could the scars left by years of chaos be erased in such a short period of time?

Especially with the mysterious disappearance of Princess Ruyu, though news was suppressed, frequent troop movements and a chilling atmosphere within the city still sensitized the civilians to sense that something was amiss.

In the county government office.

Di Yelei was gathered together with Prince Luo and Marquis Yongwu, discussing the current situation.

Prince Luo and Marquis Yongwu had arrived in Macheng County three days earlier. As soon as Prince Luo, who had been preparing for Thirteenth Luo’s wedding, heard about the incident with Princess Ruyu, he didn’t hesitate to rush over immediately.

"At present, the situation in the world is beyond our control. Look here..."

Prince Luo pointed his finger, directing attention to the areas on the map where the ethnic group soldiers are currently entrenched: "Here, here, and in this nearby area, are the places where the ethnic group soldiers frequently appear. Since their defeat and retreat from our Great Zhao Country and the signing of the peace treaty that vowed never again to invade, they have stationed their retreating troops here to launch attacks on the cities of Xiazhou and West Ping Prefecture in the Xixia Country. From this, it’s not hard to see that the wolf-like ambitions of the ethnic group soldiers have not subsided. Instead, they seem to be using the city of Xiazhou as a springboard to supply grain and grass and regroup their forces, intending to prepare for another attack on our Great Zhao. From this perspective, aiding Xixia is actually equivalent to helping ourselves in the Great Zhao."

After finishing a lengthy speech, Prince Luo looked up at the two men: "What do you think? Is my analysis reasonable?"

Although the Great Zhao Country is vast and populous, the three top generals who truly understand how to lead troops and wage war were all gathered here.

As soon as Prince Luo uttered these words, Marquis Yongwu instinctively glanced at Di Yelei across from him, then lowered his head without saying anything. Compared to Prince Luo, who was the current Emperor’s sworn brother, and Marquis Yongping, who was practically the Emperor’s son, he was the least influential. After all, his current title was earned through fighting with knife and spear, and he had little say in the court. In such a situation, it was naturally best to observe more and speak less.

Di Yelei’s face was covered in stubble, and his eyes were bloodshot. Ever since Sisi disappeared, he hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.

After pondering for a moment upon hearing those words, he actually agreed with Prince Luo’s statement, "What Prince says is very true. Yet the current problem is not limited to this. This time, the ethnic group’s deployment of troops is not conducted simultaneously against Xixia and our Great Zhao, but rather they have a clear target, directly aiming at Xixia. Their aim probably lies in isolating Xixia, waiting until Xixia Country’s defeat to seize the opportunity to devour these cities and recuperate. Once they recover their strength, they will then deal with our Great Zhao Country. This gives our Great Zhao Country what seems like several years to catch our breath. It’s because of this that Ye Lei worries the court ministers will oppose the start of another war and will not agree to support Xixia."

In front of the eyes, the country appears peaceful and secure; who would want to send troops in support of another nation for a future result that may not even exist?

"Marquis Yongping’s analysis is very logical. It’s not enough for us to know the situation is tense. We have to make them believe that the current situation has reached a point that’s so critical, immediate action is necessary!"

That was the crux of the issue!

All three men fell silent. Being born into military life, they all understood the faces of those court scholars too well. They looked down on this group that played with swords and guns. If the three of them were to convince those court ministers to agree to send troops to support Xixia, it would be exceedingly difficult.

Seeing that the issue was becoming urgent, Marquis Yongwu reminded in a low voice from beside them.

"Actually, whether to support now or not isn’t something we can decide. Even if we report this to His Majesty, who can guarantee that His Majesty will definitely agree? The fact that they are using such conditions to blackmail Marquis Yongping already says a lot about the matter."

Exactly!

A single phrase awakened the dreamer!

Di Yelei was blinded by his concern and failed to see the essence of the matter. Now, with Marquis Yongwu logically untangling the threads, it all became clear to him!

Lin Xiner, as Sisi’s biological mother, would be unreasonable to use Sisi as leverage against him, because she wouldn’t harm Sisi. Yet she did something so unreasonable. What was her motive?

Is it that the Great Zhao Country is to send troops to support the Xixia Country?

To have the Great Zhao Country send troops to support the Xixia, it definitely requires the current Emperor’s approval to be feasible, and to get the Emperor’s approval for this...

A thought suddenly flashed through Di Yelei’s mind, and with this thought, a smile instantly lit up his face, his entire demeanor becoming more animated.

Slapping his forehead vigorously, "I understand now! So that’s it!"

What a pig I am, to have only now grasped such a simple objective!

"What is it, what is it? What have you realized?"

Prince Luo and Marquis Yongwu hurriedly pressed for an answer.

Di Yelei shook his head and then laughed!

"I think, in reality, we’ve just overcomplicated the matter, which is why we found it unsolvable. Yet, their objective has always been simple and clear—it’s just that we never thought of it!"

"What exactly is going on? Brother Ye Lei, at a time like this you really mustn’t talk in riddles," Prince Luo and Marquis Yongwu quickly pressed for the answer.

"Fine, there’s no harm telling you!"

Di Yelei sighed and looked up at the beautiful spring scene outside the window, "Actually, her only objective is to have us deliver a message to the current Emperor."

Tell him, she has already arrived!

Although not wholly clear about the love story between Lin Xiner and Zhao Yuanlang from those years, Lin Xiner wanted to use him as a conduit to pass some message to the current Emperor—that was her ultimate objective!

As for whether they could borrow the troops, and what to do if they did get the troops, those were not within their considerations now.

After Di Yelei’s explanation and analysis, the three people present all breathed a sigh of relief; however, why the other party didn’t directly contact the Emperor was something Di Yelei couldn’t figure out. Without further hesitation, they each promptly set off to their tasks.

The petition certainly needed to be written, but the approach was to emphasize the traces lightly glossed over by Lin Xiner, writing a full two pages before mentioning the other party’s request for troops at the end. After finishing the writing, he inspected it for a while, ensuring nothing was left out, before finally sealing the envelope with sealing wax, and ordering it to be sent to the capital overnight.

Meanwhile, the search for Liu Sisi’s whereabouts had also slowed down.

Although he was not sure where exactly Sisi had been taken by the other party, from the current situation, as long as there were no messages from the Emperor, Sisi should still be safe for the time being!

Meanwhile, in secret, he intensified the investigation into the destinations of foodstuffs and vegetables in the neighboring towns.

Since the other party had so many people, and people need to eat, drink, and rest, being far away from Xixia and with the possibility that they didn’t bring their supplies from Xixia, commodities like rice, grain, vegetables, and meat—especially vegetables that couldn’t be stored for long—would require significant quantities, meaning they would eventually need to make purchases.

After a long period of careful stakeouts, heaven rewarded the diligent, and his men really did find some clues!

Near Dacheng County, not far from Macheng County, someone had been purchasing vegetables in large quantities.