Chapter 90 [VIP]

Qi Fu's preferred weapon was a long spear, and he couldn't resist asking him for advice.

"Won't."

Gu Zhizhuo readily agreed.

She wasn't skilled with such wide-ranging weapons; her hands were her life-saving hands. Accustomed to heavy weapons like swords and spears, she would lose control of the force and pressure when taking a pulse and administering acupuncture.

She is skilled with short knives and daggers.

However, killing someone is like killing their spirit.

Captain Sun initially intended to use his proficient spear, but the change to running shot was "out of necessity." He probably thought that if he had used a spear, he would never have lost; he only lost because of running shot, which he was not good at.

Of course, you should win beautifully.

They won because of their strength. They also won because of their ability to win people's hearts and minds.

"Your Highness, all the grain has been unloaded and counted correctly."

A junior officer came over, clasped his hands in greeting, and reported.

He glanced at Gu Zhizhuo furtively, feeling extremely annoyed. He had been counting the provisions and hadn't had a chance to come to the training ground. He'd heard from others that the arrows in Miss Gu's hands were like they had eyes, hitting exactly where they were pointed. That guy surnamed Sun, relying on his heavy bow, tried to play dirty tricks, but he was utterly defeated by Miss Gu and couldn't even lift his spear.

“Young Master,” Li Qing said from the side, “should we go and urge them to pay the next season’s wages?”

"No need to rush. If Gong Hai really wants to deliver it on time, what's the point of fighting over it?" Gu Yican said arrogantly. "I'm just looking for an excuse. Go do what you're supposed to do, don't all crowd around here."

Gu Yican waved his arm and led his sister to his main tent.

The main tent was the one Gu Yican usually stayed in when he lived in the army camp. It was covered with a woolen mat, had a desk, and a map was hanging in the tent, though it was far less detailed than the one drawn by Lu Jinyi.

"younger sister."

Gu Yican beckoned her over, staring at the map as he said, "Do you know what the Northern Frontier and the Thousand Machine Battalion need most right now?"

Gu Zhizhu spread his hands: "We lack everything."

Indeed, everything was lacking, but the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion had a strong foundation in terms of food supplies. As long as there wasn't a blizzard blocking the roads, they could still buy some food to avoid running out of supplies. But warhorses and weapons were a different story, especially arrows.

Years of war in the northern frontier had long since crippled the Zhenguo Duke's mansion. Aside from the old, weak, and disabled soldiers, even the arrows had to be salvaged after the battlefield was cleared; those still usable were kept, and the broken ones were melted down. Recruiting had been ongoing for years, but the north was sparsely populated, especially among able-bodied men. Moreover, even if new recruits joined the camp, they would need at least three months of training before being sent to the battlefield; otherwise, they would simply be sent to their deaths.

We lack men, horses, weapons, everything.

"I went to the Five Military Governor's Office a couple of days ago."

Gu Yican found standing tiring, so he took down the map and spread it on the ground. He then pulled his sister to sit down on the sheepskin cushion and said, "I have received news that a batch of arrows, about ten million, will be delivered to the three major capitals in the near future."

"so much?!"

Gu Zhizhuo blurted out, but then thought about it again and realized it wasn't much. With 150,000 Imperial Guards, 10 million arrows would only amount to 60 per person.

Gu Yican raised an eyebrow, exuding an air of unbridled arrogance, and laughed boastfully: "Little sister, let's go rob it!"

Gu Zhizhuo understood: "A feint attack?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" As expected of Gu Cancan's sister, the two of them are really in sync and understand each other immediately!

Ostensibly, it was for the next season's provisions and pay, but in reality, the target was this batch of tens of millions of arrows.

Gu Yican's initial plan was to wait for the arrows to arrive and then go directly to the Fifth Army Camp to "take" them. However, this would mean that he could only get a maximum of one million arrows, which would be barely enough for the Thousand Machine Battalion, which had a small number of men.

He suddenly had this idea after his sister mentioned the "secret passage" in front of everyone.

Using a fake secret passage as bait, they tricked the "little bugs" into revealing their plan to rob grain supplies, thus diverting the imperial guards patrolling the capital region. In reality, they used the real secret passage to steal the arrows.

If you can get tens of millions, who would care about those small change?

Gu Yican sat cross-legged, leaning forward slightly, and asked excitedly, "Little sister, tell me quickly, who is that person?"

Gu Zhizhuo slowly uttered two words: "Li Qing".

There is no evidence; it all depends on the divination results.

After casting the divination, Gu Zhizhuo deliberately mentioned the existence of a secret passage in front of everyone.

Shortly after that, the compass needle at Tianchi Lake, which had been stationary, started to move again.

Only Li Qing's fortune changed, and he received the Vermilion Bird hexagram. The hexagram indicated that he would encounter two completely different opportunities due to gossip, one favorable and the other unfavorable, with fortune and misfortune uncertain.

Li Qing.

Gu Yican silently repeated the name twice, the light and shadow casting a faint shadow on his eyelids.

Li Qing has been in the Thousand Machine Battalion for seven years. He was conscripted into the army and rose from a common soldier to a battalion commander, then a centurion, and two years ago he was promoted to captain for his meritorious service.

Gu Yican chuckled, "Fine. This is me rewarding him for this achievement. As for whether he can hold onto it, that's up to him."

He stretched and lazily said, "I'm hungry, let's go eat. Qi Fu said he specially slaughtered two pigs for the young lady to try. Will the young lady do him the honor?"

Gu Zhizhuo smiled happily, grabbed the outstretched hand and used it for leverage to leap up.

"Give it a reward!"

Wisps of white smoke rose from the camp, accompanied by the sound of bugles.

The food in the army wasn't exactly delicious, but the portions were huge: large bowls of rice, two large, glistening pieces of pork belly, and two flatbreads per person. The soldiers throughout the camp ate with gusto, their eyes lighting up whenever they saw Gu Zhizhuo; they practically wanted to cling to her. The cooks even said that they slaughtered the pig because the young lady had arrived!

After dinner, the last rays of the setting sun disappeared on the horizon. It was already this late, and if they returned to the capital, they wouldn't be able to catch the city gates closing. Gu Yican gave her the main tent to sleep in and went to find Qi Fu to make do.

Gu Zhizhuo woke up in the middle of the night and vaguely heard some noise.

She was a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest noise. Stepping out of her tent, she saw several torches lit up in the distance, which were particularly bright. In the light of the torches, she saw a group of people gathered there.

Gu Zhizhuo casually pulled aside a patrolling soldier and asked, "What happened?"

"Young lady!" the soldier hurriedly said, "There's a medical tent ahead; someone is vomiting and has diarrhea."

“Vomiting and diarrhea?” Gu Zhizhuo asked. “How many people are there?”

"There are many. We just carried three more over."

If a large number of people experience vomiting and diarrhea at the same time, it's either an epidemic or they've eaten something bad. Thinking this through, Gu Zhizhuo said, "I'll go take a look."

"Wait, young lady, the smell is unpleasant..."

Before the soldier could finish speaking, Gu Zhizhuo had already run far away.

His comrade frowned and said urgently, "Really, why are you saying these things to the young lady? Even you and I can't stand the smell there, let alone a young lady like her. Besides, didn't the army doctor say that it might be an epidemic? What if the young lady gets infected with the epidemic?"

The soldier slapped himself, his face full of regret: "Look at my mouth!"

The patrolling soldiers were in pairs and followed a set route. Military regulations were strict, and they could not chase after them rashly. With just a slight hesitation, Gu Zhizhuo had already run to the vicinity of the military medical tent, where he was greeted by a strong stench and a sour, putrid smell.

"Young lady?"

Qi Fu, standing in front of the tent, was startled and quickly called out, "Young Master, the eldest young lady has arrived."

The tent flap was suddenly flung open, and Gu Yican emerged from inside, exclaiming in surprise, "Sister, what brings you here?"

"Let me take a look."

Gu Yican tried to stop her from going in: "Sister, the military doctor said it might be an epidemic."

"Then we definitely need to take a look."

Gu Yican had no choice but to help her lift the tent door. Inside, there were already about ten people lying down. None of them were unconscious; they were just exhausted and weak, their stomachs aching terribly, groaning and unable to speak.

The ground was littered with filth and in a complete mess, but Gu Zhizhuo stepped inside without a care.

The army doctor was a physician in his forties. He was leading two apprentices in preparing medicine. Bowls of dark medicine emitted a strong odor, which mingled with the sour and rotten smell in the tent, making people dizzy.

“Those lying here are the heaviest,” Gu Yican said, standing beside her. “The ones with milder symptoms are in the tents over there. It started in the evening when some people began vomiting and having diarrhea, and then more and more people started to come. Now there are more than two hundred people in total.”

He then added, "This is one large tent and four smaller tents, all of which are military medical tents."

Gu Zhizhuo walked to one of the men, squatted down, and placed her fingers on his pulse. In less than three breaths, she knew exactly what was going on. Just in case, she took the pulses of five more men in a row, and the pulses were all the same.

Gu Zhizhuo asserted, "It's nothing, he just ate something bad. Drinking some talisman water will do the trick."

ah?

The military doctor turned to look at her in disbelief, his eyes wide.

Look at how serious this young lady is. Is she not joking, but really serious?

He couldn't help but look at Gu Yican, hesitating to speak, wanting the young master to stop the eldest daughter from causing trouble. A talisman? If talismans were effective, what would be the point of doctors?

After waiting for a long time without Gu Yican speaking, the military doctor subtly advised, "Young lady, the medicine has already been prepared. Why don't you let them take it first?" Once they've taken the medicine, they won't need to drink any more talisman water.

"Your medicine is too strong."

Gu Zhizhuo recognized the medicinal herbs as soon as he smelled them.

She had heard before that the military often used strong medicines, which was not wrong in itself. In wartime, controlling the injuries immediately and reducing the death rate was more important than anything else.

But for a simple stomach upset, such strong medicine is really unnecessary. This bowl of medicine will indeed stop the symptoms immediately, but the price will be at least three to five days of weakness and fatigue. It's just a minor illness; there's no need to suffer like that.

Don't worry.

Gu Zhizhuo now carries yellow paper and cinnabar with her at all times. After she finished speaking, she simply drew a talisman to ward off illness, then burned it with candlelight and dissolved it in water.

Gu Yican took the talisman water and said, "I'll do it."

"Young Master," the army doctor said, sweating profusely, "please don't do anything rash. This...this is just talisman water." It won't cure anything! If it makes things worse, the young lady will definitely be upset and sad.

Gu Yican, holding the talisman water, only asked one question: "Who wants to drink it?"

"Yes, I'm willing."

One of the soldiers immediately raised his hand.

Gu Yican handed him the talisman water, which he took and drank in one gulp without thinking.

The soldier wiped his mouth with his sleeve. The water tasted just like ordinary water. Would it be useful? Just as he thought this, a sharp pain shot through his stomach, and a sour, rotten taste rushed to his throat. He vomited a large amount of yellow liquid.

"Oh dear, oh dear. I told you so..." The army doctor was pacing anxiously, but dared not say anything harsh, afraid that the young lady would be saddened and blame herself, so he hurriedly said, "Quick, lie down quickly."

"Wait, I'm ready!"

"ah?"

As soon as he vomited the yellow fluid, the persistent acid reflux in his throat disappeared instantly. His stomach pain and dizziness subsided, and he bounced around a couple of times, feeling perfectly fine.

"Young Master, I'm all ready!"

"Thank you so much, young lady!"

The soldiers lying on the ground groaning all looked on with envy. It was all their fault for being too slow; otherwise, they would be the ones jumping around right now.

"Ahhh, I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore..."

Someone exaggeratedly shouted loudly, clutching their stomach, and crawled back towards the purification room behind the curtain. When they reached the purification room, they turned back weakly and said, "Young lady, please grant me a talisman."

Gu Zhizhuo: ?

Soldiers: Despicable!

The next moment: "I...I can't take it anymore!"

They wriggled and crawled on the ground one by one.

"Young lady, I'm dying, I need to drink some talisman water."

The military doctor stared blankly at Gu Zhizhuo, with only one thought in his mind: "Can talisman water really cure diseases?" This completely overturned all his common sense since he studied medicine.

"Your prescription is feasible. Next time, you can reduce the dosage by half and add honeysuckle charcoal and cooked army charcoal." Gu Zhizhuo said this to the military doctor.

The military doctor pondered, head bowed. Using double-charcoal for detoxification, halving the dosage of the other medicinal herbs would not only not diminish their efficacy, but also not harm the patient's vital energy.

Gu Zhizhuo silently watched the soldiers crawling around in the tent, her bright eyes involuntarily turning to Gu Yican.

Gu Yican stroked his chin, really not wanting to admit that this was someone under his command! He cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "Little sister, I have something to do outside, I'll go out for a bit."

These kids are a disgrace to him.

The training needs to be increased tenfold.

Li Qing was waiting outside. When he saw him come out, he clasped his hands and said, "Young Master, some of the grain that was just delivered was used in the kitchen tonight. I went to check on it."

When the military doctor said it might be an upset stomach, Gu Yican asked Li Qing to get the leftovers from tonight's meal.

Li Qing took some out in a small cloth bag. Gu Yican opened the bag and scooped out a handful of rice. The rice grains were yellowish and clumped together in small clumps. They were damp and sticky to the touch. When Gu Yican brought them to his nose, they had a faint sour smell. Gu Yican pinched the rice grains between his fingertips, and they easily crumbled into powder.

"The cook said that 20% of it was added to the dinner."

Li Qing's eyes flickered, their meaning unfathomable.

He said indignantly, "Your Highness, please allow me to go to the Five Armies Commandery to reason with them! How dare they send this moldy rice to the Thousand Machine Camp!"

Gu Yican pondered for a moment: "Alright, you go at dawn and tell them to come over immediately and replace the grain, or don't blame me for smashing up their government office."

"yes!"

Li Qing clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "This humble general will certainly handle the matter properly."

"Gu Cancan," Gu Zhizhuo came out of the tent, "Everything is ready."

She drew ten talismans and had them drink them first. The rest didn't even need talisman water. Gu Zhizhuo wrote a milder prescription and had the army doctor brew it.

Upon seeing Li Qing, she smiled and nodded: "Lieutenant Li."

"You may go now and seal up all the grain and fodder delivered today."

After seeing Li Qing off, Gu Yican turned back to Gu Zhizhuo and smiled, "Sister, you're right. It's him."

"Your sister is amazing!" Gu Yican clapped for her.

"Of course." Gu Zhizhuo raised his chin. "I'm a fortune teller!"

"He can't wait to make a name for himself."

Gu Yican showed the small bag of moldy rice to Gu Zhizhuo and repeated what Li Qing had just said.

Except for the ten-day rest period, soldiers are not allowed to go out casually. However, the secret passage and the grain raid are of great importance and urgency. Li Qing is eager to find an excuse to go out, otherwise this "great achievement" will be wasted.

Gu Yican did as he wished.

"You should go and rest first."

Gu Yican patted his younger sister's head.

"Wait a little longer."

Gu Zhizhuo looked at the tent and still didn't leave. She had someone get some mugwort and boil it in water. Regardless of whether anyone had diarrhea or felt unwell, everyone in the camp drank a bowl.

After a flurry of activity, by the time dawn broke, all the unwell soldiers had recovered, bouncing around energetically without a trace of discomfort. The military doctor was astonished, practically bowing down in reverence, and surrounded Gu Zhizhuo, bombarding him with a barrage of questions.

Unfortunately, Gu Yican was still under house arrest and could not stay long, so they returned to Beijing after noon.

Upon returning home, the two went straight to Gu Baibai's study. Hearing their plans, Gu Baibai let out a habitual sigh. Sigh, Cancan alone always loves taking risky moves; now with Yaoyao added to the mix, it's hard to say what kind of ideas they'll come up with together.

Two similar phoenix eyes, equally bright, looked at him together, carrying the unbridled spirit of youth.

Gu Baibai did not stop them. The Gu family had already been handed over to them, and he would only lend a helping hand when they needed it.

He asked, "If we feint to the east while attacking in the west, who will be the bait, and who will lead the troops?"

"I'll be the bait," Gu Yican said confidently, putting his arm around his sister's shoulder. "Sister, you lead the troops."

Gu Baibai's eyes flashed with sharpness.

"Come and look at the map."

"Bring me my sand table."

Gu Baibai gave instructions one after another.

They stayed in Gu Baibai's study until dark. The candlelight from the glass lamp illuminated the entire courtyard before the brother and sister excitedly emerged. Their eyes met, and they seemed eager to get started.

Gu Zhizhuo fell asleep immediately, and after waking up, he ran to Gu Baibai's courtyard.

Having never led troops in either of her two lifetimes, Gu Baibai was going to teach her some military codes, including flag signals, hand gestures, and the meanings represented by various rhythms of drums and whistles. These codes were especially important since Gu Zhizhuo needed to set up an ambush this time.

Even with his excellent memory, Gu Zhizhuo felt dizzy and lightheaded from remembering it.

This kind of memorization is not just about keeping it in your mind; it must become an instinctive physical response so as not to miss a crucial opportunity.

By the time you've memorized everything and your body can react in an instant, it will already be the first day of the seventh lunar month.

Duke Zhenguo Gu Taotao entered the Ziji Pavilion.

The master will perform a ritual. If it succeeds, Ji Nanke will no longer be able to receive merit and good fortune from the Gu family.

A note from the author: