A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 173 Borrowing Troops from Xiyue Kingdom

The civil war in Lang was in full swing. Li Xu, the prince of Xian, used the excuse of helping the late emperor to stabilize the country and denounced the tyrant and the evil concubine for misleading the country and the people, which gradually made the people who were originally resentful of Ning Xi lean towards Li Xu. In just half a month, the army of the prince of Xian was unstoppable, winning battle after battle, pressing forward from west to east, causing panic among the people in Xuan'an City. Ning Xi was furious when she received the battle reports of her defeat every day, and she scolded Li Xu for bullying her brother and disregarding human ethics.

Although Crown Prince Ying Yan was distressed by Li Xu's rebellion, he never resented his uncle. All this was his father's own fault. He had bullied his own brother before and now he was reaping the consequences. What he was most worried about now was not the civil unrest in Langguo, but the sudden gathering of troops in the northern border of Xiyue Kingdom.

In the princess's mansion, under the osmanthus tree, Luoying and Shangguan Jiuyi, a perfect couple, were sitting on the swing, leaning against each other. Luoying had been crying all day long, grief-stricken, and now she was emaciated. If Jiuyi hadn't been by her side all the time, she would have died.

After being released from Fengling City by King Xian, Shangguan Jiuyi rushed back to Xuan'an City without stopping. He knew that Luoying would be heartbroken when she learned that her two brothers had turned against each other, so he had to stay by her side at this time.

"Jiuyi, where is Brother Lixu?" Luoying murmured in Jiuyi's arms. Her beautiful eyes were slightly red and swollen because she cried too much.

"We have passed Yuanzhou." Shangguan Jiuyi hugged Luoying tightly in his arms and sighed softly. He looked a little tired, and his charming peach blossom eyes were bloodshot.

He loved Luoying deeply but he couldn't help her solve her current troubles, and he felt extremely guilty. He had been praised for his intelligence since he was a child, but now he couldn't persuade either King Xian or Emperor Lang, and could only watch them drag Lang into the war, putting Luoying in a dilemma.

"Will Royal Brother Li Xu really attack Xuan'an City? What should I do then?" Luoying said as tears welled up in her eyes again and her whole body began to tremble with fear.

"Don't be afraid, Luoying. You still have me and the prince. We will find a way." Feeling the trembling of the person in his arms, Shangguan Jiu's heart was broken, but the only thing he could do at this moment was to hold her tightly and comfort her.

Even though this sentence made him feel guilty, if he and Ying Yan had any idea, they would not watch the war break out now. If they wanted Emperor Lang and King Xian to call a truce, they would probably have to rely on the intervention of other countries. He just didn't dare to think about what the final price would be.

"Jiuyi, I want to see my brother Emperor Lixu. Can you take me out of the palace?" Luoying suddenly sat up and looked at Shangguan Jiuyi with tearful eyes, pleading with expectation.

"Not yet. It's too chaotic outside and the journey is long, so it will definitely be dangerous..." Shangguan Jiuyi took out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe Luoying's tears and coaxed her patiently. Although his heart was full of pain, he could not take her to take risks because of his softness at this moment.

"So you and my eldest brother are the same. You just don't want me to see my brother Lixu!" Jiuyi's coaxing made Luoying immediately angry. She shook off Shangguan Jiuyi's hand, stood up angrily, cried and yelled at him, then turned around and ran away wiping her tears.

Shangguan Jiuyi also stood up nervously, wanting to chase but not daring to. He just looked at the pretty figure helplessly, at a loss as to what to do.

In the ancient temple which was still quiet and solemn, Xuewu came to the backyard this time. There were a dozen pigeons in the yard. When she approached independently, the flock of pigeons flew up. Only a pigeon with a token tied to its foot stopped in front of her. This pigeon had been trained and was not afraid.

Since being caught in the act by Queen Su last time, although they escaped unharmed, for safety reasons, they switched to carrier pigeons to deliver messages.

Xuewu took the token off the pigeon's feet and saw that it only said: Persuade Emperor Lang to borrow troops from the West Moon Kingdom.

These few short words made Xuewu frown slightly. Lang Kingdom had always been on guard against Xiyue Kingdom. It would take some effort to convince Ning Xi to let Xiyue Kingdom's troops in. But even if Ning Xi agreed, the ministers in the court would definitely strongly oppose it.

In the Snow Garden at night, Ning Xi rested his head on Xue Fei's legs with his eyes closed to rest. Ever since the war with Li Xu, he had been worried about the war situation all day long and had hardly had a good night's sleep. In less than a month, his handsome face had aged a lot.

"Your Majesty, I heard that King Xian has passed Yuanzhou?" Concubine Xue gently rubbed Ning Xi's temples, looked at the frowning brows of the man in front of her, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke.

"My beloved concubine, let's not talk about state affairs here. Let me have a good rest." Ning Xi felt a little unhappy when he heard Concubine Xue's words, but he still endured it in front of his beloved concubine. He still closed his eyes and spoke in a calm voice with a command in his tone.

"But Your Majesty, do you want to watch the King Xian helplessly..."

"That's enough. How dare you, a woman from the harem, interfere in government affairs in front of me?" Without waiting for Concubine Xue to finish, Ning Xi sat up with an annoyed look on her face and said angrily and majestically.

Concubine Xue hurriedly got up from the bed, knelt at Ning Xi's feet, and wept aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I feel sorry for your Majesty who is troubled by the war all day long, and I want to share your worries."

Seeing the beauty loving him, Ning Xi was touched. He quickly reached out and hugged Concubine Xue into his arms and sighed softly, "I understand your feelings, but the battlefield is a man's business. You, a woman, can't share my worries."

"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. In this world, men have men's ways of dealing with things, and women have women's ways of dealing with things. As long as the problem can be solved, isn't it all good enough?" Concubine Xue, with red eyes, snuggled in Ning Xi's arms, muttering disapprovingly.

"Oh, my beloved, please tell me what you have in mind." Ning Xi thought that the beauty in his arms was just acting coquettishly towards him and did not take it seriously. He lowered his head and gently bit the woman's seductive red lips, then asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, Prince Xian is pressing forward step by step, but our army is losing ground. If we allow Prince Xian to continue winning like this, our army's morale will surely be in chaos. By that time, before Prince Xian's troops arrive at the city, our army will probably have already been defeated." Concubine Xue continued to snuggle in Ning Xi's arms, frowning slightly, and said worriedly.

"My beloved concubine, what you said is absolutely right." The beauty hit the nail on the head. Ning Xi nodded worriedly and sighed. This was also what he was most worried about at the moment.

"Your Majesty, why don't we borrow troops from outside to quell the rebellion first? This is the most important thing." Concubine Xue struck while the iron was hot, sat up, grabbed Ning Xi's hand and suggested.

"Borrow troops from abroad?" Ning Xi narrowed her eyes slightly, looked at Concubine Xue cautiously, and continued to ask: "Which country do you think we should borrow from, my dear concubine?"

"Of the four neighboring countries, Zhongshan and Xuanmeng are too weak. They may not dare to intervene in the civil strife in Lang. Jingsong is always timid and afraid of trouble. I'm afraid they won't intervene either..."

"Xiyue Kingdom, but Xiyue Kingdom has always had evil ambitions. I am afraid that it is easy to invite the gods but difficult to send them away." Ning Xi shook his head and sighed before Xue Fei finished speaking. Borrowing troops from outside is indeed a solution, but the trouble is that Xiyue Kingdom, the only country willing to lend troops, makes him wary.

"Everything has its own way. At the moment, only the West Moon Country can solve your Majesty's urgent needs. If your Majesty is worried that the West Moon Country will come and refuse to leave, you can sign an agreement with the West Moon Country and limit the number of troops that the West Moon Country can send to Lang."

Ning Xi didn't say anything else, but just looked at his beloved concubine in front of him thoughtfully. His frown relaxed slightly. Concubine Xue's proposal did make him waver.