Wild Vegetable Soup

In the spring of the second year of Shenggong.

Spring in Heshuo always comes much later than in the capital. The wind still carries the chill of last year, blowing on the face, dry and cold.

In the wilderness, the snow had just melted away, revealing the grass that had been withered and yellow all winter. A few clumps of green became the most precious embellishment in the world.

A boy of about seven or eight years old, holding the hand of a girl with two small buns of hair, was squatting on the edge of the field, their small hands carefully digging through a pile of freshly dug grass roots and wild vegetables.

"This one is sweet. Mom said it's edible."

The boy picked up a piece of shepherd's purse covered in mud and put it into the broken bamboo basket beside him, then picked up another handful of bitter leaves.

"This is for Xiao Hui." The Xiao Hui he was referring to was the only egg-laying hen in the family.

The girl nodded as if she understood, and her little hands imitated him, identifying the wild vegetables.

Spring has arrived, we have survived the cold winter, and another year has passed.

My mother and father went to work and asked them to dig wild vegetables. She would come back in the evening to cook fresh wild vegetable soup for them. My mother also said that she would beat an egg, scatter frangipani in the wild vegetable soup, and sprinkle a pinch of salt. It would be fresh and smooth, and the whole family would enjoy it very much.

Just when I had dug halfway, I heard the sound of horse hooves.

The brother and sister looked up in panic, only to see a group of cavalry coming along the official road. There were not many people and horses, only a few dozen, but they had a solemn and murderous aura.

The first rider was wearing a dark casual uniform, without armor, with a thin figure and dusty skin. Only his eyes, as calm as water, were sweeping across this newly awakened land, and naturally fell on the two small figures.

Ning Lingyi reined in her horse.

Pan Hao and her personal guards behind her also stopped, their movements in unison. Apart from the occasional snorts from the horses, there was no other sound.

The brother and sister were obviously frightened by the scene. They huddled together tightly, their hands clenched until they turned white. The bamboo basket also fell to the ground, and the wild vegetables they had just picked were scattered all over again.

Ning Lingyi dismounted from the horse with smooth movements.

She walked up to the two children, but not too close. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the overturned bamboo basket and the patched clothes of the two children.

"It's getting late and the wilderness is not peaceful. Go home early," she said.

The boy reacted, nodded vigorously, pulled his sister and was about to walk back, trying frantically to pick up the wild vegetables on the ground.

"Wait." Ning Lingyi spoke again.

The brother and sister froze, not daring to move.

But Ning Lingyi gestured to Pan Hao, then walked up to the little girl, bent down, and stretched out her hands.

The little girl shrank back in fear, but her brother held her tightly.

Ning Lingyi's hand paused, but she still gently picked up the girl. The girl's body was so light that she seemed to have no weight. Ning Lingyi placed her steadily in front of her saddle. The majestic jade lion horse snorted, but did not move obediently.

On the other side, Pan Hao had also dismounted. Pan Hao grinned, trying to appear more friendly, but it didn't work and still scared the boy. He quickly picked up the boy and placed him in front of him.

"Take the basket." Ning Lingyi said to a personal guard.

The guard dismounted, carefully gathered the scattered wild vegetables back into the broken basket, and held it in his hand.

The group hit the road again, but their speed slowed down a lot.

The horse's hooves made a clattering sound as they stepped on the hard ground in early spring.

The girl sat stiffly at first, secretly looking up at Ning Lingyi behind her, then quickly lowered her head, her small hands tightly gripping the front bridge of the saddle.

The boy was held in Pan Hao's arms, not daring to move.

The brother and sister visibly breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the outline of the city wall ahead.

When they reached the city gate where there were more people, Ning Lingyi and Pan Hao put the two children down, and the guards handed the basket of wild vegetables back to the boy.

The boy took the basket, held it tightly, looked up and glanced at Ning Lingyi quickly. Without saying anything, he pulled his sister's hand hard. The two children were like frightened little animals. They rushed into the bustling crowd without looking back and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Ning Lingyi looked in the direction where they disappeared, her eyes deep, not knowing what she was thinking.

After a long moment, she turned her horse's head and her voice returned to its usual calmness: "Let's go."

*

Yanyun Pass, the frontier pass of Heshuo.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the fields behind.

The city walls are towering, flags are fluttering on the battlements, and the soldiers defending the city are wearing shining helmets and armor, gazing at the vast and silent wilderness in the north.

Ning Lingyi and his party climbed up the gate tower and looked into the distance.

The cold wind blew up her black sleeves, making her look even more lonely and aloof.

"When Tuoba Hong goes south this time, he will definitely not attack just one place."

Ning Lingyi's voice drifted on the wind: "Yanyun Pass is dangerous and fortified, so he may not come to confront us head-on. But Luoyan Fort on the western front and Heishui Valley in the east could both become his targets."

She withdrew her gaze and looked at the guard standing beside her. "We don't know where his main force will break through, but we must be fully prepared and prevent him from taking advantage. Tell the soldiers not to slack off even a little bit just because spring is approaching. The wolves of Beishuo have been hungry all winter and are now at their most ferocious."

"I obey your command!" The general clasped his fists and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, rest assured. The people at Yanyun Pass swear to live and die with the city!"

Ning Lingyi nodded and said nothing more.

She had seen this kind of determination in the eyes of countless soldiers at the border.

But war never becomes less cruel because of determination.

*

Sure enough, within half a month, smoke signals from the Beishuo cavalry heading south were set off simultaneously at several points along the border.

Tuoba Hong was as cunning and brutal as ever in his use of military force.

He did not, as many people expected, gather his main forces to storm a certain pass, but instead divided his army into smaller units, like countless sharp scalpels, simultaneously stabbing at multiple weak points on the Southern Dynasty's long defense line.

Battle reports flew like snowflakes to the central military tent where Ning Lingyi was.

Early spring, Luoyan Fort.

A 5,000-man elite Beishuo cavalry, taking advantage of the pre-dawn darkness to sneak silently to the foot of the fort, climb up with grappling hooks, and launch a surprise attack.

The defenders fought bloody battles all night. Although they took advantage of the fort to annihilate all the invading enemies under the fort wall, with corpses lying everywhere, they also suffered more than half of their own casualties. The fort wall was damaged in many places and needed urgent repairs.

It was a tragic victory, and the smell of blood in the air lingered for more than a month.

Midsummer, Heishui Valley.

The Beishuo cavalry took advantage of their speed, bypassed the frontal defense, and raided the rear team that was transporting food and fodder to Heishui Valley.

More than a thousand Southern Dynasty soldiers who were guarding the grain fought hard, but were eventually wiped out due to being outnumbered. All the grain and grass were burned and looted. When the reinforcements arrived, only broken bodies and charred remains of carriage frames were left on the ground.

Although no territory was lost in this battle, the front line was short of food and fodder for a time. Chen Zhiwei and others recalculated and redeployed the supplies overnight and were extremely busy.

Late autumn, Yehuling.

This is an ordinary pass that is not a strategic point, with only two thousand defenders.

Tuoba Hong personally led 10,000 elite troops to attack this point with thunderous force.

The defending general led his men in a desperate resistance, using the terrain of the mountain to block the enemy's advance step by step. They held out for five days, but when they ran out of arrows and food, the pass was finally breached. The defending general committed suicide and died for his country. Except for over a hundred seriously wounded and captured, all the other 2,000 defenders were killed in the battle.

The Beishuo cavalry broke through Yehu Ridge and penetrated into the heart of Heshuo like a sharp knife. Although Pan Hao led the mobile forces to block the gap at all costs, it had already caused huge damage. Several villages along the way were burned and looted, and the people who did not have time to evacuate were slaughtered.

This is no longer a simple fight for a city or a pond, but a long and brutal tug-of-war that consumes national strength and will.

From early spring to midsummer, and then to late autumn when the grass and trees withered, there was a constant war on the border for nearly a year.

The Beishuo cavalry relied on its mobility, moving east and west, sometimes gathering to attack, sometimes scattering to harass, dragging the soldiers and civilians on the Southern Dynasty border into the quagmire of war.

Although Tuoba Hong's army suffered heavy losses in front of the strong city and fortifications, with 20,000 to 30,000 casualties, the price paid by the Southern Dynasty was equally heavy. Countless soldiers died on the battlefield and were buried at the border.

There were also many ordinary people like the brother and sister who were digging wild vegetables. They were displaced and their families were destroyed by the war.

In the central military tent, Ning Lingyi looked at the latest casualty statistics and material consumption list. The candlelight illuminated her profile, and she looked calm. Only when she heard the news that the commander of Yehu Ridge died for his country and the people were massacred did her face turn pale.

Outside the tent, the autumn wind howled, blowing up dead leaves and dust, and beating against the tent, as if countless dead souls were crying.

In this battle for the fate of the nation, both sides have gone blood-thirsty. Both Ning Lingyi and Tuoba Hong know that this is just the beginning.

A colder winter is yet to come.

On this night when the battle on the front line was at its most critical, a rider on a swift horse, carrying urgent news from the capital, penetrated the dark night and went straight into the central army camp.

The messenger was dusty and looked solemn as he handed a secret letter stamped with the seal of the Imperial Hospital to Ning Lingyi.

Under the candlelight, Ning Lingyi unfolded the thin memorial, which was written by the imperial physician himself.

The memorial detailed the recent pulse condition and symptoms of Prime Minister Wang Jingzhi, saying that he had caught a cold since the beginning of autumn. Although he tried his best to treat it, he was old and his vitality was depleted. In recent days, he has been lacking energy and sometimes felt drowsy.

The Imperial Physician concluded his memorial with earnest words: "Prince Wang is old and frail, and I fear he will not recover quickly... I risk my own life to submit this memorial, and humbly request that Your Majesty make early preparations."

The four words "make preparations early" are written in deep ink.

She slowly closed the memorial and gently placed it on the desk, where it lay piled with the blood-stained battle reports.

Ning Lingyi stood up, walked to the tent door, lifted the heavy curtain, and looked towards the south in the direction of the capital. The night was dark and she could not see anything.

Wang Xiang, the old minister who wept bitterly when she returned, who worried deeply when she implemented her new policies, and who was caught red-handed buying alcohol while she was traveling incognito...

Is the most stable and sometimes stubborn pillar of the court finally going to give up?

The soldiers on the front line are bleeding, and the pillars in the rear are collapsing.

Ning Lingyi stood alone in the cold night. What she bore on her shoulders was not only the iron cavalry of Beishuo, but also the heavy shackles of this vast country and the loneliness that she had no one to talk to.

The wind was getting stronger.