Chapter 149

All the border defenders are concentrated in the first two cities of East, Middle and West.

More and more people lived in the latter cities, and there was also an army responsible for the rear, taking over the supplies and rations sent from the capital.

Qu Dubian was the General of the Northern Expedition, and came on behalf of the emperor. Part of the food and fodder brought by the 500 soldiers who accompanied him was actually enough for them to eat on the road, and the rest was confiscated to make up the number.

He rode on his horse and looked at the main city.

The sand and soil are yellow, the wind is cold and dry, and there is not a single trace of green.

"Why isn't Uncle Ming here?" Qu Dubian asked.

He knew about the existence of the Border Army Supervisory Office, but this place was under the full charge of Prince Ming. When he came here, he should be received by Prince Ming.

Feng Bing: "The Supervisory Office patrols all day and occasionally listens to troop movements. There is nothing else important. Prince Ming will be responsible for the people's livelihood in the next few garrison cities. He knows you are coming and should be back in the afternoon."

"Would you like to take a walk around the main city? I've got everything ready..."

Uncle Ming is not here, and Qu Dubian doesn't want to waste time here. Since his grandfather is in Zhongyi City and can't come back, he will go directly to find his grandfather.

"No need," Qu Dubian nodded slightly, without even getting off his horse, "Don't bother me, sir. I have things to do and won't stay in the main city for long. When Uncle Ming comes back, please tell him."

They had rested well before entering the main city, and there was no need to adjust anymore. Qu Dubian left with the people he brought with him.

"Okay, then I won't send you off. After meeting Lord Xu, please come back. The main city is still safe."

Feng Bing reluctantly walked Qu Duanbian about ten meters before stopping.

When the people were no longer in sight, the smile on his face slowly faded.

"After all, he has been away from the capital for so long that he doesn't even bother to dismount and say hello to me."

In the past, when he was in the East Factory, even the prince would politely say hello to Eunuch Feng when he saw him.

The subordinate said, "Eunuch, the princes in the capital are all arrogant. When you came to the border, the seventh prince was less than three years old. How could he understand the ways of the world? When he stays in the border for a long time, he will understand."

Feng Bing: "It's unclear whether she can stay at the border if she is raised with delicate skin and tender flesh."

He had heard about the Seventh Prince's deeds of suppressing bandits, but suppressing bandits is suppressing bandits, and the battlefield is the battlefield, the two cannot be compared. He was still young and had not been tempered. He would wait a few days, see the real battlefield, and the real blood, and then he would be honest.

You don't have to stay in the main city now, but when the time comes, you must not hide in the main city and not go out.

-

When passing through the middle two cities, Qu Dubian pierced his sphenoid acupoint several times.

He worked on the simulator and gave him the function of olfactory blocking, but it didn't work, and he still hasn't been given a backdoor.

He went to see Doctor Yang, and after a while, he learned how to puncture his sphenoid sinus, which could block his sense of smell for a few days. If this acupoint was punctured too many times, his sense of smell would be lost, but this was what he wanted.

Since the simulator doesn't give him a back door, he will first create problems with his body and then simulate it.

After his experience in suppressing bandits, his tolerance for the smell of blood has improved a lot, but just in case, he doesn't want to vomit when facing injured soldiers because of the stress caused by the smell of blood. This is not just a matter of disrespect.

He also didn't want his intentions to be affected by the smell problem.

The acupuncture took effect quickly. Qu Dubian's nose felt numb, but he no longer smelled the cold breeze from the northern border.

His little action did not escape Yi Shier's attention, "Your Highness."

Qu Watanabe understood: "Don't worry, I'll get used to it after a while."

Yi Twelve pursed his lips, "I brought spices."

Qu Dubian didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "How can you use incense in Northern Xinjiang? It's a small matter. Let's go first and go to Zhongyi City to see how grandpa arranges us."

He wanted to stay in Zhongyi City and fight with the main force, but his current identity was only that of General Zhengbei, which had more symbolic significance than practical significance. If he were to lead the troops directly upon arrival, many people would probably be dissatisfied.

-

Zhongyi City.

The two armies temporarily ceased fighting.

Standing on the top of the city and looking forward, you can see the Northern Frontier Army stationed in the distance.

Outside, soldiers from both sides were cleaning up the battlefield, but even if they were cleaning, the distance was very far.

At this time, both sides had a tacit understanding and would not deliberately create conflict. They would drag the bodies of their brothers away and either bury them together or burn them in a fire.

Also, pick up any weapons that have fallen on the ground.

Xu Jin was watching from the tower, "We just stopped fighting yesterday. There shouldn't be any movement in the next two days. Is there still fighting in the east?"

Lang Qing: "Yes, the casualties have been reduced as much as possible."

"They lost two cities on the west side. The third city is located on a mountain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. They want to take all three sides and have dispersed their forces," Xu Jin coughed twice. "Is the Seventh Prince approaching the main city?"

"Well, the news from this morning should have arrived by now. Unfortunately, you can't get away."

Xu Jin sighed: "In the afternoon, you can do it for me..."

"My Lord! My Lord!"

A soldier ran up breathlessly, "The Seventh Prince is here!"

Xu Jin was surprised and asked, "Who?"

Soldier: "Seventh Prince! He didn't stay in the main city. Come..."

A shadow flashed before my eyes.

The old marquis jumped directly off the city wall, stepped on the sandbags below, and disappeared in a flash.

Lang Qing: “…”

Soldier:"……"

Lang Qing's mouth twitched. No way, my lord. I didn't see you running so fast when the military camp kitchen caught fire last time.

Xu Jin ran all the way to the back city gate. At this time, Qu Dubian and his group were still undergoing routine inspections by the gatekeepers - this was a hard requirement during wartime and everyone had to be checked.

Xu Jin immediately saw the young man in light red tights and black wrist guards. He was helping the soldiers checking at the door move things from the cart.

Haven't seen you in nearly fifteen years.

Xu Jin's eyes suddenly became wet.

He wiped the dirt off his hands on his clothes and called out, "Little darling." The voice was actually very small, like an unconscious murmur, barely audible amid the surrounding noise.

The young man who was helping someone move things was beaten.

The surrounding soldiers spotted Xu Jin and said, "Lord!"

"The Marquis is here!"

In fact, Qu Watanabe almost didn't recognize the voice calling him. It sounded much older than he remembered.

He put the things down and turned back.

Xu Jin's hair and beard are all white. As he has not had time to take care of himself during this period, he looks unkempt and a little gray.

He was still wearing heavy armor, which still had traces of blood on it.

Qu Watanabe strode over: "Grandpa!"

He hugged tightly the old man in front of him whom he had only met once since childhood.

“Yeah.”

After a long while, Xu Jin said in a trembling voice: "Grown up...Grown up..."

He raised his hand and wiped his face randomly, then smiled and took Qu Dubian's hand: "Let's go back to the camp with Grandpa!"

"good."

Qu Dubian called out "Liu Liu", and the rest of the soldiers stayed here to continue the inspection according to the procedure, and Yi Twelve followed him.

After the three of them left, a soldier suddenly realized, "Yes! The Seventh Prince is our Marquis's grandson."

"You just realized it?" The companion didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "General Lang Qing has said it many times, but you don't take it to heart at all."

"General Zhengbei is a fourth-rank general, right? Will our Lord allow the Seventh Prince to lead the troops?"

"Hiss... It's terrible. When General Xia first came to Northern Frontier, no one obeyed him. He won through fighting. The Marquis can let the Seventh Prince lead the team, but here we only focus on ability."

“…”

-

Xu Jin’s tent.

Qu Dubian followed him all the way in. Every time he passed a place, he could hear several greetings such as "Hello, My Lord", "Hello, Seventh Prince", etc.

Qu Watanabe didn't know how many curious looks he had received.

Lang Qing had been waiting here for a long time. When he saw Qu Dubian, he clasped his fists and said, "Seventh Prince."

Qu Watanabe: "Uncle Lang Qing."

There was a flash of surprise in Lang Qing's eyes. He didn't expect that Qu Dubian still remembered him. After all, they had only met a few times fifteen years ago.

However, he didn't think that a two-year-old child could remember anything at the time, so he thought that the Seventh Prince had seen their portraits on the road, or that the Marquis had told him about it in advance.

Xu Jin: "Okay, go down, go somewhere else, I want to have a good chat with my grandson. Unless there is any unusual movement by the Northern Frontier Army, no one is allowed to come in."

Lang Qing said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord. We will have roasted whole lamb tonight and will definitely take good care of the Seventh Prince."

Qu Watanabe: "Uncle Lang Qing, you don't have to take special care of me. I will eat whatever you eat. I am not picky about food."

"No, he's just greedy and wants to take advantage of you to have something delicious." Xu Jin kicked Lang Qing, "He's still showing off here. Go away."

Qu Watanabe couldn't help but laugh.

Grandpa is still quite energetic.

He and Liuliu entered his grandfather's tent together. Xu Jin knew Yi Twelve. The two had fought each other in the past, and he had given him Qianqian Pills.

He could also be stingy and give a little trust to people his grandson trusted.

As soon as he entered the tent, Qu Dubian could not smell anything, but Yi Twelve reminded him, "It smells like medicine. Boiled herbs and medicine for wounds."

Xu Jin's face was long and he said, "How come I can't smell it?"

Qu Watanabe: "Grandpa, are you injured?"

Xu Jin: "No way, isn't this great, Grandpa?" He jumped twice on the spot, "You didn't see it, as soon as Grandpa heard you coming, he jumped down from the city wall! Very neatly."

Qu Dubian didn't listen to his nonsense. He pressed his grandfather into the chair, removed the armor on his arm, and began to take his pulse.

"Oh, dear, grandpa..."

"Be careful or I'll tell grandma about it."

Xu Jin shut up instantly.

Qu Dubian felt his pulse and frowned slightly.

Xu Jin coughed twice and said, "My dear grandson, you can also take the pulse."

"I have learned the basics from Dr. Yang," and he has been a doctor for more than ten years. Even the dumbest person should understand something about it.

After practicing the internal breath of Mian Shou Jue for a long time, it will go around inside the human body and one can vaguely sense where the other person is feeling uncomfortable.

My grandfather has a lot of hidden injuries in his body. Although he looks strong, he has actually been suffering from weakness inside for a long time.

I also caught a cold and haven't recovered yet.

After the war with the Northern Frontier, he has been sleepless and has not been able to recover.

Qu Watanabe: "Grandpa, I will draw a drop of blood from you."

Xu Jin didn't ask him why, and said with a smile: "Okay."

Qu Watanabe pricked his hand with a needle and twisted a drop of blood with his fingertips. The simulator did not give any warning, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

He wanted to use the simulator to detect whether there were any toxins in his grandfather's body.

Before leaving, he was reminded of his uncle's words. People's hearts are often hidden. When two countries are at war, if something happens to his grandfather as one of the commanders, it will be a huge blow to morale.

It cannot be ruled out that Northern Xinjiang coated its weapons with poison, nor can it be ruled out that there were traitors on our side who were so desperate as to attack their own people.

It is best to test it to eliminate hidden dangers.

"alright."

Qu Duanbian said seriously: "Grandpa, your body has been affected by the hidden injuries accumulated over the years. It is very weak and must be carefully recuperated."

In fact, Xu Jin knew it very well.

He just didn't have time to stop.

He patted Qu Watanabe's hand and said, "After this fight, Grandpa will listen to you."

The temperature of his palms was higher than that of normal people. I wonder if he was still having a fever. Qu Duan was about to continue talking when Xu Jin changed the subject. "You are here as the General of the Northern Expedition. Where do you want to be stationed?"

Qu Dubian saw that his grandfather didn't want to continue talking, so he had to agree with him: "I want to go to the battle. If grandpa is worried, I can not lead the border troops first, but only take the 500 soldiers I brought with me to win military merits on the front line."

"According to your rank, you are a fourth-rank official. According to your status, you are a prince, and you are here on behalf of His Majesty, so you have enough to lead 5,000 soldiers." Xu Jin had obviously thought it through a long time ago. "Do you want to stay in the main city?"

Qu Watanabe: "I won't stay in the main city."

"Then you can't stay in Zhongyi City, and you can't go to Dongyi City. You should go to Jushan City in Xisan."