The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

Chapter 161 How come you can still attend court?

Chen Nan looked at the system's notification and calmed down to think quietly.

He has no intention of replacing the Northern Wei at the moment, so how many cities he is given is not that important.

Right now, his most important task is to eliminate the barbarian tribes.

His understanding of the barbarian tribes was limited to what Yin Wuhou had told him; as for more information, he would have to find out for himself.

Sitting in the main seat, watching Chen Nan's constantly changing expression, Mo Bai asked, "Your Highness, have you made any guesses?"

Mo Bai's words made Chen Nan realize that just because he didn't know didn't mean Mo Bai didn't know.

This kid is probably the one who understands the situation of the Northern Wei Dynasty the most right now in Chen Nan's eyes.

He asked, "Mo Bai, how much do you know about the barbarians?"

"Barbarians?" Mo Bai was taken aback. He didn't understand why the barbarian tribes would be mentioned at this time.

However, he could only answer Chen Nan's question: "Your Highness, the barbarian tribe is located in a mountain range in the western part of Northern Wei."

"Because of the isolation provided by the mountains, and the fact that the barbarian tribes do not usually leave the mountains, they pose no threat to our Northern Wei."

"Therefore, the Empress Dowager did not formulate any corresponding strategies for dealing with the barbarians."

"Barbarians won't raid on their own initiative?" Chen Nan was taken aback.

"Yes, although the barbarian tribes do not grow food, we don't know how they survive."

"However, since the other party posed no threat to Northern Wei, no one in the court paid much attention to this matter."

Chen Nan nodded and fell into thought.

In his view, all barbarians are born with a competitive spirit, regardless of time or place.

The fact that they didn't go out to plunder wasn't because they had enough food; there must be some other unknown secret behind it.

"Are you sure the barbarians have never left the mountains since the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty?" Chen Nan asked again.

He needed to confirm whether the barbarians had truly not gone out to plunder.

“That’s right, we haven’t heard anything about barbarian raids from beginning to end.” Mo Bai thought for a moment and answered affirmatively.

"Go and get the map!" Chen Nan waved his hand.

Mo Bai got up and left the government office. When he returned, he was holding a piece of parchment in his hand.

He spread the parchment out on the table, revealing all the maps that were already known.

"Your Highness, the Northern Wei is located in a relatively central position. To the south is the Great Qian, which is adjacent to the Western Shu, and to the east is the Eastern Qin."

"Your Highness, look here!" Mo Bai pointed to a mountain range in the center of the map, within the territory of Northern Wei.

"This place is called the Qiduan Mountains because it has only one exit, which looks as if it was cut off from the sky."

"Where does the exit lead?" Chen Nan asked, puzzled.

"The exit leads to Duancheng. This city is relatively remote, with 50,000 border troops stationed there. The leading general is named Sun Fei, and the population is only about 400,000."

After a moment's thought, Chen Nan said, "Send an edict to Sun Fei in the Empress Dowager's voice, instructing him to report the specific situation of Duancheng to the court."

Mo Bai put away the map and was about to prepare the necessary supplies when he suddenly spoke up: "Your Highness, are we going to wage war against the barbarians?"

"What? Do you have some kind of deal with the barbarians?" Chen Nan asked in surprise.

"No, no, no!" Mo Bai retreated repeatedly: "This subordinate just thinks that if Your Highness wants to use troops against the barbarians, it would be best to consult Marquis Yinwu first."

"Marquis Yinwu?" Chen Nan was even more puzzled. "Could there be some necessary connection between the two?"

Mo Bai took a deep breath: "Your Highness, it is said that the imperial court originally wanted to completely conquer the barbarian tribes in order to build a barbarian army."

"Marquis Yinwu was the first general to lead the expedition and also the last. I just feel that he might know some inside information."

"I am aware of this matter. You may go and attend to your duties."

Soon, Mo Bai had everything ready, dispatched ten fast horses, and sped towards Duancheng.

No one expected that these ten people would disappear completely from then on.

This journey lasted five days.

In the past five days, Chen Nan has not visited Hong's residence once, nor has he attended a single court assembly. He has spent all his time with Hong Ming in the Imperial Hospital, and his relationship with Hong Ming has become even closer.

Mo Bai and Wu Xu were sent by him to the capital to handle land issues.

Five days later, in the Fengtian Hall of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Civil and military officials occupied two rows, and even Hongming, who had not attended court for a long time, stepped into the court again.

Chen Nan slowly walked to the foot of the dragon table and softly asked, "Gentlemen, is there anything you wish to discuss?"

The assembled officials looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion. Finally, all their gazes fell upon Chen Nan.

They were all summoned by Chen Nan, and now the scene in Weidu has been completely transformed.

First, Chen Nan single-handedly fought against an army of 100,000, and then Mo Bai led the land reform, which will soon be completed.

In this way, these ministers were able to enjoy a period of leisure.

If Chen Nan hadn't summoned them to court today, they would probably have all forgotten that they were still subjects of the Northern Wei.

Chen Nan looked around; he had already anticipated this situation.

With a wave of his hand, he announced, "Eunuch Wang, summon Zhao Yun and Chen Sheng to court!"

Beside him, the eunuch's effeminate voice rang out: "His Highness has ordered Zhao Yun and Chen Sheng to attend court!"

As soon as the words were spoken, two people slowly walked into the court.

Leading the group was Zhao Yun, dressed in a white robe, with Chen Sheng following behind him like a lackey.

As soon as the two appeared, the ministers stared at Zhao Yun with curiosity.

They knew Chen Sheng to some extent, as he had contributed a great deal of effort in the defense of Weidu.

But Zhao Yun and the others were like blank sheets of paper when it came to him; they had no idea where this person came from.

After the two men stood in the row of military officers, Chen Nan spoke up: "Gentlemen, I intend to send troops against the barbarians to completely eliminate the rear of Northern Wei. What are your opinions?"

After he finished speaking, the hall fell completely silent.

They all knew that the Northern Wei court had now become Chen Nan's personal fiefdom.

Even if they want to speak, they should first consider whether their words carry enough weight.

Just when the officials thought the matter was settled, among the civil officials, Chancellor Changsun stepped forward.

"Your Highness, I believe this matter needs further discussion."

"Although the barbarians occupied the rear of our Northern Wei, they never posed a threat to our Northern Wei from beginning to end."

"Isn't it a bit too unreasonable for Your Highness to want to start a war with just a few words?"

"Most importantly, our Wei capital has just experienced a defensive battle, in which countless civilians died. Does Your Highness have no concern for the people's livelihood at all?"

Chen Nan did not answer the question raised by Changsun Du, but instead looked surprised: "How come you can still attend court?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole audience was shocked!