An Siming is writing a secret report to the emperor.

He has been sitting at the desk for two hours, but he has not written a word.

This secret report was to be sent to the emperor to clarify the details of the battle. However, this secret report was related to his wealth and future, so it was not so easy to write.

If you report truthfully, all problems can be solved, and An Siming certainly doesn't have to worry.

But can it be reported truthfully?

Obviously, this is the problem that troubles An Siming.

In the battle of Blackstone Valley, nearly half of his direct descendants were killed, especially the practitioners, who suffered more than half of the casualties. However, such a huge sacrifice, in exchange for military merit, was only to conquer the Blackstone Valley Pass.

If Fengming Mountain was finally broken through from the Black Stone Valley, An Siming's troops would have made greater contributions. However, Fengming Mountain was broken through by Zhao Ning from the Baifengkou. By conquering Guancheng, he had only conquered a pass.

city.

A little military merit is completely out of proportion to the dedication.

These elites are the poor forces that the emperor pays special attention to and has high hopes for. The emperor wants An Siming to lead them to make achievements on the battlefield and further encroach on the military power of the Yanmen Army!

Now there is not much military merit, and An Siming has lived up to his sacred mandate.

An Siming could only know with his toes what would happen if he reported the military intelligence truthfully.

His position will not be preserved and he will be replaced!

An Siming thought of his life experience.

He has curly hair and green eyes. He is indeed not from the Central Plains, but a descendant of the barbarians from the Western Regions.

In Da Qi, an unparalleled and powerful and inclusive country, Hu people who came here for fame and profit can be seen everywhere, and there are also many Hu people with outstanding talents who serve as officials. Many of the envoys sent to Qi from Japan served as officials in the government.

At the beginning of the Qi Dynasty, there were many brave generals from the grassland nobles who held high positions in the army. For example, the Turkic Ashina Simo.

No one criticized Ashina Simo for becoming the general of the Youwu Guard because he relied on his solid military exploits. But what about An Siming?

He has no military merit.

He is able to achieve his current status, firstly by working hard to attract people, and secondly by his cultivation at the King's Realm. But An Siming knows very well that these are not the most important things.

The fact that he was able to take up a high position was the same as those from a humble family who were promoted to greatness and became prominent.

The emperor needs some people who have no roots and are not children of aristocratic families to occupy high positions and divide the power of the aristocratic families!

In the final analysis, he was just a pawn used by the emperor to deal with the wealthy families. His biggest mission in life was to divide the Zhao family's military power. This was his only use in the eyes of the emperor.

Without this use, he is nothing.

It would be easy for the emperor to replace him, and I don’t know how many people applauded him!

And now, he is facing the biggest crisis in his life.

He is already the defense envoy of Yanmen Pass. He cannot lose this high position. He has become accustomed to glory and wealth. He cannot imagine how many people will laugh at and trample on him after he falls into the dust.

What's the point of such a miserable life, what's the point of living?

An Siming's eyes gradually became firmer. After making up his mind to give it a try, An Siming began to write furiously:

"...the Beihu army's fighting strength is ordinary, and the only things they rely on are the armor and longbows purchased from the Western Regions. The Yanmen army attacked from the rear in both battles, and was at a disadvantage. This is also the reason for its victory.

....

"In the second battle, Blackstone Valley was the most difficult to conquer... The Governor strictly ordered my subordinates to conquer the Blackstone Valley Guancheng, and I had to do my best... I tried my best to attack Guancheng and prepared Beihu.

All the troops are attracted to the battlefield...

"Although the casualties were heavy, the ministers and others, mindful of the divine grace, went forward one after another and fought to the death. Nearly half of the soldiers were lost, and the city was finally defeated. However, at this time, the governor ordered the ministers to withdraw from the battlefield..."

"The Yanmen Army led by the Zhao family took advantage of the situation to attack the Black Stone Valley, and then cooperated with Zhao Ning's troops at Baifengkou to defeat the Beihu Army!

"...I failed to win the first prize, and my crime cannot be punished. I hope your Majesty will punish me...However, most of the governors pretended to be public and used me as a sword. It is not without an agenda. Please tell me clearly...

.....”

After writing the secret report, An Siming read through it, pondered for a while, and finally used the seal.

Throughout the article, he said that the Northern Hu Army's combat power was ordinary and the Yanmen Army's performance was average - of course he would not praise the Yanmen Army. Only by slandering the Yanmen Army could he achieve the purpose of slandering the Zhao family and make the emperor dissatisfied with the Zhao family.

The more dissatisfied the emperor is with the Zhao family, the more support he will get from the emperor, and the better the situation in the Yanmen Army will be in the future.

To describe the Yanmen Army as unworthy, we must say that the enemy is not strong either.

However, the enemy had all the advantages, and in the most difficult battle, his troops paid a huge price and finally achieved a breakthrough. He could have taken the lead in breaking through Fengming Mountain and made great achievements, but Zhao Xuanji took away the fruits of victory!

An Siming called his confidants and asked them to send the secret report back to Yanping.

The content was half true and half false, with few flaws. But An Siming knew that this was definitely very different from Zhao Xuanji's military report. He was now betting on who the emperor would believe!

He was alone. This time he lost the bet, that is, he lost alone, and no family would be implicated. What should he worry about?

But if he wins the bet, he will still be the defense envoy of Yanmen Pass!

...

Yanping, Gongcheng.

As dusk fell and the lanterns were turned on, the emperor stood in the snow-wind pavilion, his eyes reflected the lights of thousands of houses and the bright stars. In the night wind, he looked at the capital city extending from his feet in the distance, silent.

He held several booklets in his hands behind his back. It was obvious that what he was thinking about at the moment was related to these booklets with unusual contents.

In addition to Prince Tianyuan, the credentials of the Khitan Khan were also the military reports of Zhao Xuanji and An Siming.

In the military newspaper, Zhao Xuanji tried his best to talk about how powerful the Beihu Army was and how difficult it was for Tianyuan's elite soldiers to defeat them. The victory of the Yanmen Army in this battle was all due to the desperate fight between the soldiers and Zhao Ning's insight into the fighting opportunities.

Here in Zhao Xuanji, the Yanmen Army is a hero and Zhao Ning is a great hero.

But in An Siming's secret report, things were completely different.

Who to trust?

What is the situation in Beihu's various ministries? After the incident in Chengzhou last year, he sent Feiyu Guards to the grassland early to investigate.

If there are so many practitioners on the grassland, how could Feiyu Guard not know about it? If the Khitan army is well-trained and seems to be practicing every day, why didn't Feiyu Guard see anything?

Feiyu Guard's report corresponds to An Siming's military report, but completely inconsistent with Zhao Xuanji's military report!

"How come the Beihu Army is so powerful? Apart from the Tianyuan Army, the Khitan Army has not had a major battle for many years!

"There are so many practitioners? Since ancient times, how have there been so many practitioners on the grassland? People can't tell their cultivation level, so they can just say whatever they want?"

The emperor with a cold face snorted coldly from his nostrils, "If the Northern Hu Army is so strong, how can the Yanmen Army, which has never seen blood, win this battle in an offensive and defensive battle?

"A group of new soldiers on the battlefield can defeat each other even though they have all the advantages. They also say that the other side is ridiculously strong... Do you really think I don't know anything about military affairs?

"Zhao Ning, how strong can a teenage boy be? How can he influence the situation of the war? Grand Governor, Grand Governor, in order to let your outstanding son rise to prominence, are you even giving up your old face?

"Can he afford to pile so many military achievements on him? Do you really think that the Yanmen Army belongs to your family? Do you really think that the military achievements can be made up by you?"

"In order to highlight the importance of the Yanmen Army and the Zhao family, let the Zhao family dominate the court, exaggerate the threat of Beihu and exaggerate the strength of the grassland army. Is this what a minister did?!"

These thoughts flashed through the emperor's mind, making the anger in his eyes seem to ignite Yanping City.

But he quickly calmed down.

Because he called his ministers to come over today to discuss matters.

On weekdays, only the emperor could come to Fengxue Pavilion, and Jing Xinmo could only wait outside the pavilion. Since Song Zhi came to the throne, only two courtiers have appeared here.

Now, one of the ministers has arrived.

Here comes Prime Minister Xu Minglang.

After the ceremony, the emperor asked the prime minister to enter the pavilion. The two sat opposite each other in the pavilion. The former handed the two folds in his hand to Xu Minglang.

What was handed over was an apology letter from the Tianyuan and Khitan tribes.

Since it is a letter of credence, it should be submitted through Honglu Temple and Zhongshu Province. It should first pass through the hands of the prime minister and then reach the hands of the emperor.

But this is the first time Xu Minglang has seen these two discounts.

If it were a year ago, the emperor's behavior of destroying the existing power structure would inevitably arouse Xu Minglang's dissatisfaction and resistance.

But now, the prime minister, who had just experienced the biggest setback and blow in the officialdom and re-established the emperor's trust, obviously no longer had the courage to offend Long Yan.

After reading the excerpt, Xu Mingliang did not talk about any state affairs in front of the emperor as he did before. No matter what the emperor meant, he would express his opinions without any scruples. Instead, he first asked the emperor what he meant:

"What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The emperor said: "The Khitan tribe is willing to admit all war responsibilities. The Khitan Khan will personally lead the royal family and ministers to come to Yanping City to apologize. Does the prime minister know what this means?"

Xu Minglang nodded, "The Khitan tribe is extremely afraid. As long as the Khitan tribe is not destroyed by the Qi Dynasty, the Khitan Khan and others can risk their lives."

The emperor said: "The Khitan tribe sent troops to the Dadan tribe without the permission of Da Qi, and blocked the Yanmen Army at Fengming Mountain, causing casualties of 40,000 Yanmen Army soldiers. Their crime is indeed unforgivable."

Xu Minglang observed the emperor's face, guessed the emperor's thoughts, and followed the emperor's wishes:

"But the Khitan tribe's attitude of confessing was pious enough. The Khan personally brought the royal family to apologize. This is a unique thing in history books.

"Da Qi is a state of etiquette, and the world is governed by benevolence and righteousness. It should also treat foreigners with kindness and power, and do not torture them too much.

"Now that the battle at Fengming Mountain has acted as a deterrent, Da Qi can also put the Khitan Khan under house arrest. It is unnecessary to insist on destroying the Khitan tribe. It may also endanger everyone in the grassland, which is not good for Da Qi."

The emperor nodded slightly, "What the prime minister said is true."
To be continued...