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◎Drinking porridge and eating cakes with my father.◎

As night fell, the army set up camp.

In the Third Prince's carriage, Qin Ren rubbed his waist, which was sore from sitting for so long, and asked his sister in a sympathetic tone, "Do you regret it?"

It was obvious that the little princess was a little angry that her third brother really didn't want to join the army. She wanted to join the army but she needed her father to find excuses for her and to pretend to be naughty and ignorant and cry for her father to agree. As for her third brother, just because he was a prince he was qualified to join the army for training. In the eyes of the ministers, it was also reasonable for her father to take her third brother out. Her third brother was not a trouble at all, but they actually despised him!

Qin Ren, who often bore the glare of his father, suddenly sensed a familiar fierceness in his sister's eyes. Thinking back to the past two years when his sister had begun to dislike his laziness, Qin Ren quickly tried to make amends, "I'm not complaining about the hardship. Don't look at me, Third Brother, as someone who likes to slack off. Father's campaign against the Marquis of Pingliang is a matter of national importance. I've been worried about it all the way. I'm just worried that your sister, young as she is, won't be able to handle the rough ride."

Qingyang didn't bother to pay attention to his third brother's nonsense. He adjusted the men's robe he was wearing to facilitate movement, and then walked out of the car before his third brother.

Zhang Su was already standing outside. When he saw the little princess peeking out, a hint of worry appeared in his eyes.

Qingyang smiled, and while giving her hand to Zhang Su to help her out of the car, she looked at him and asked, "Why aren't you hiding from me this time?"

This was the first time he took the initiative to meet her gaze since he accidentally saw Zhang Su changing clothes.

Zhang Su lowered his eyes and did not answer. When the little princess stood up, he immediately let go of her hand.

In front were the tents of the father and sons. The imperial tent of Emperor Xingwu was in the middle, and in the back row were three small tents from left to right. The crown prince lived in the left tent, the little princess lived in the middle, and the brothers Qin Bing and Qin Ren lived together in the right tent.

Emperor Xingwu was inspecting the tents of his four siblings, with Qin Hong and Qin Bing by his side. When Qingyang and his third brother approached, he heard his second brother complain, "Father, please have someone build me another tent. My eldest brother and sister have their own tents, and I don't want to share one with my third brother."

Qin Ren: “…”

Emperor Xingwu scoffed, "Do you think this is just a sightseeing trip? I want you to join the army to train you. Letting you stay in one tent is already enough to take care of you. But one more thing, from now on, you and the third brother will sleep in the twenty-man tent, eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating there."

The prince had a lot of work to do, so a separate tent was convenient for him to handle military affairs and meet officials, so of course his daughter had to live by herself.

After saying this, Emperor Xingwu looked at the third brother and asked, "Are you willing to squeeze in with your second brother?"

Qin Ren smiled apologetically: "I am willing. I can sleep more peacefully with my second brother protecting me."

Emperor Xingwu: “…”

"Everyone go in and pack up, and I'll have dinner here in two quarters of an hour."

After his father left, Qin Hong asked his sister, "Are you used to the journey?"

Qingyang smiled and said, "It's customary. We always take a carriage, just like when we went to Xiyuan."

Qin Bing came over and asked curiously, "How did you hide in the carriage?"

Qingyang: "I won't tell you. Okay, you guys go get busy. I'm going to go see the wife of the Marquis of Pingliang."

Qin Bing laughed at her: "Father asked you to appease them, do you really think you are a minor official?"

Qingyang pretended to be proud: "The emperor said that if I appease them and they persuade Pingliang Hou to surrender again, the emperor will give me the first credit."

The little princess was anxious to make a contribution, and Qin Ren wanted to follow her out of concern. If he went, Zhang Su, who needed to protect the third prince closely during the day, would of course also follow him.

Qin Hong was still worried, so he arranged two personal soldiers to escort him.

Qin Bing thought of Yuan Chongli, but the decree issued by his father before taking the Yuan family members to join the army had already made it clear. Yuan Chongli should understand that he had taken the responsibility of persuading Pingliang Hou to surrender, and there was no need for Qin Bing to say more. Yuan Chongli was an eighteen-year-old martial artist, and there was no need for Qin Bing to care about his fatigue from the journey.

The Yuan family was divided into two tents. The wife of the Marquis of Pingliang lived in one tent with her daughter, concubine and two maids, and Yuan Chongli lived in the other tent with his illegitimate brothers.

When they saw the little princess, the women burst into tears. Some spoke up for Pingliang Hou, some begged the emperor to show leniency, and some wanted to kneel down in front of the little princess and beg her, but they were driven away by the personal guards with their swords drawn.

As soon as the knife came out, the women immediately knelt down in an orderly manner.

Qingyang then conveyed her father's intentions, explained the reasons, and then asked the wife of the Marquis of Pingliang about the inconveniences she had encountered along the way and whether there was anything missing in the tent. As long as the wife asked, she would try her best to meet their needs.

The wife of the Marquis of Pingliang was indeed very uncomfortable. She had lived a life of luxury for nine years and could not bear being trapped in a carriage for a long time and being treated as a prisoner. But when the lives of her entire family were hanging by a thread, she had no time to care about the comfort of her daily life, and she did not dare to make any demands to the little princess or Emperor Xingwu. Instead, Yuan Jie looked at the little princess and the third prince with tears in her eyes, pitifully, hoping that the two princes would plead for the Yuan family because of their former playmates.

Qin Ren had already avoided his sight. Qingyang gave Yuan Jie a bag of pastries, and left after completing this formality.

On the way back, Qin Ren no longer felt as relaxed as he had been when he came. He sighed and said, "I hope Pingliang Hou will come to his senses and turn back. Perhaps my father will spare his life."

He had no interest in Yuan Jie, but she was a girl he had known since childhood, and he couldn't bear to see her implicated by her rebellious father.

Qingyang glanced at his third brother. In the deepening dusk, his handsome face seemed to be shrouded in a bit of Buddha's light.

Qingyang looked at Zhang Su again. His handsome face, which was usually as cold as jade because of his strict and polite appearance, now had a fierce look on it in the military camp.

Qingyang asked him, "Do you think Pingliang Hou will surrender?"

Zhang Su: "As a general, disobeying an imperial order is treason and will cut off your own retreat."

No emperor can tolerate a general with rebellious intentions. Generals know this best, so any rebellious general will never surrender.

.

The little princess who had "finished her mission" was invited by He Yuanjing to Emperor Xingwu's tent. There was a basin of clean water there, and He Yuanjing wet a towel to serve the little princess. The guards who returned to the palace to report to Concubine Li that she was safe would take Jie Yu and Qin Fang with them, and they would hurry on their way, and they might catch up with the army in more than half an hour.

"Thank you, eunuch." The little princess said politely.

He Yuanjing smiled and said, "It is a blessing for this old servant to be able to serve His Highness."

Emperor Xingwu sat in the main seat, smiling as he looked at his daughter in men's clothes. He then looked at his daughter who had put down her towel, revealing a fair and clean little face with eyebrows and eyes very similar to Concubine Li, and lips that were red without makeup. Even in men's clothes, she could not pretend to be a boy at all. However, Concubine Li's eyes were gentle, while his daughter's eyes were becoming more and more majestic, and completely natural.

After washing her face and hands, the little princess sat down next to her father.

Emperor Xingwu said to his daughter, "I'll take you with me. Besides giving you a separate tent, I won't be taking any special care of you. I'll eat from the same communal pot as the soldiers, and you guys have to eat too. I haven't bathed for several days, so you siblings shouldn't waste water. When we're on a forced march, I'll ride my horse and it'll be bumpy, so you can't complain in the carriage."

Qingyang: "Father is not afraid of hardship, so I am not afraid either."

This is how the soldiers led by my father to conquer the world came from, and this is also how the generations of soldiers recorded in history books came from. Qingyang wants to join the army in order to walk the same path as the soldiers, to see how the generals commanded the army and marched, and to see how my father deployed troops to suppress the rebels. As long as she sees it, Qingyang will remember it firmly, so that if she has the opportunity to lead troops to serve my father and elder brother in the future, Qingyang will be able to do it.

Although Qingyang was a small city, she knew that some things could be learned from books or from teachers, but things like leading troops in battle had to be learned on the battlefield.

Qingyang didn't have to compete with her royal brothers. She wanted to learn everything her royal brothers could learn. She just wanted to learn and liked to learn, just like her mother learning to dance. Even if no one appreciated her, her mother would smile with great joy and satisfaction when she danced the whole dance skillfully.

The father and daughter chatted for a while, and then the three Qin Hong brothers came over.

He Yuanjing and his men set up four low tables, one for each of the four brothers and sisters.

When dinner was served, each person received a bowl of brown rice porridge mixed with vegetables, and a coarse flour pancake that was bigger than the little princess's face.

Qin Hong looked normal, while Qin Bing and Qin Ren both widened their eyes.

Seeing his daughter's stunned expression, Emperor Xingwu said, "You're used to the food in the palace, so seeing this makes you look dumbfounded, right? But let me tell you, hundreds of thousands of our soldiers ate this during marches and battles. When your father was Lin'er's age, he couldn't even afford porridge and bread like this. When he was at his poorest, catching a mouse would make him happy for days."

"Going hungry is very painful. To avoid a lifetime of hardship, I have tried every possible way to educate myself and train in martial arts, because I know that only by learning a set of skills can I make a living. Now that I am rich, I want you to suffer a little. I want you to experience the suffering of the soldiers and the suffering of the people. This way, you will remember to be a good prince, a good lord, and a good princess who cares for the soldiers and the people, and not follow the example of those royal relatives of the previous dynasty who indulged in extravagance and brought disaster to the country and the people."

Qin Hong took the lead and said, "Father's teachings are true, and we, your sons, will definitely remember them in our hearts."

Qingyang nodded along with his second and third brothers.

Emperor Xingwu said: "Well, eat. Put down the leftovers. But if you are hungry in the middle of the night, no one will serve you."

Qingyang took a bite of the biscuit first. It was dry and a little salty. She had chewed it into pieces, but it still felt uncomfortable when she swallowed it.

Qingyang scooped another spoonful of porridge, but it didn't taste good either.

But Qingyang still slowly ate half a pancake and drank half a bowl of porridge, and stopped only when he was 80% full.

She was young, so eating so much was enough for her. Qin Ren next to her even had half of his meal left. Qingyang wanted to remind his third brother to eat more, but seeing that his third brother's face was pale and he looked like he wanted to vomit, Qingyang silently looked away.

Qin Bing ate half of the cake left by his sister, and Emperor Xingwu asked Qin Ren to take the rest back and save it for when he was hungry in the middle of the night.

Qin Ren thought, he wouldn't be hungry.

After dinner, Emperor Xingwu took his four children for a walk outside the tent, and while walking, he asked the four brothers and sisters about their gains from the day's march.

Qin Hong has always been worried about one thing: "Father, the Marquis of Pingliang has 100,000 border troops under his command, and Father only has 100,000 Beijing troops with him. It will be a long journey. Will it be..."

Emperor Xingwu looked at the second son.

Qin Bing smiled and said, "Brother, don't just look at the strength of the army. Look at the generals on both sides. We have five renowned top generals: Father, Fan Zhong, Deng Chong, Meng Ji, and Lü Zan. We also have seven or eight well-known generals like Cao Guang. Besides Yuan Zhaoxiong, Liang Province has only two or three others who are as famous as Cao Guang. Their morale alone is far inferior to ours. If their morale is low, they will undoubtedly be defeated."

Qin Hong: "Even if Pingliang Hou is not a concern, there are still Western Hu cavalry outside the Great Wall. Once the news of your father's personal expedition against Pingliang Hou gets through, I'm worried that the Western Hu will take advantage of the opportunity to send troops."

Qin Bing: "What are you afraid of? We have the Great Wall and its dangerous passes. If Yuan Zhaoxiong can hold it, our Beijing troops can also hold it after a short rest."

Emperor Xingwu looked at the third brother again.

Qin Ren laughed dryly, "I don't know how to defend myself, but I trust Father. Father, since he dared to bring us all out here, he will definitely not let me and the others take risks."

Emperor Xingwu: “…”

【Author’s words】

Here I come, 100 red envelopes, see you tonight [pigeon]