Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Heading North
It was already midnight and everyone in the Grand View Garden had gone to bed. In the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, there was silence except for the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind.
Wu Tianyue stood on the familiar bluestone road, waved away the secret guards previously arranged to protect Daiyu, and tiptoed into Daiyu's room.
The gauze curtain beside the bed was half-draped, and Daiyu was sleeping soundly inside, her long, black jade-like hair spread on the pillow, and her breathing was clear and even.
Wu Tianyue stopped beside the bed and looked at Daiyu's peaceful profile. There seemed to be thousands of words rushing through his heart, but in the end they were all suppressed.
Perhaps feeling that someone was looking at her, Daiyu shrank her face into the quilt.
Wu Tianyue slowly leaned over and tucked the quilt for her.
Daiyu's jade-like cheek was close at hand. Wu Tianyue could feel her warm body temperature and smell the elegant fragrance of her hair. He really wanted to stay here and take her to the battlefield covered with yellow sand.
But Wu Tianyue did nothing in the end. He stood still for a moment, straightened up, took a jade hairpin from the dressing box beside him, and finally looked at Daiyu deeply before turning around resolutely.
The door was closed again very quietly, making almost no sound, as if Wu Tianyue had never been there.
But the moment the door closed, Daiyu, who should have been fast asleep on the bed, opened her eyes, slowly sat up, and stared at the closed door with tearful eyes, as if she wanted to see through it the person who had just been beside the bed.
"You coward! You didn't even dare to say it to my face." Daiyu was still harsh in her words, but as soon as she said this, tears welled up in her eyes.
Wu Tianyue didn't know that Daiyu had discovered him and left. He followed the same route out of Rongguo Mansion, avoided the patrolling constables on the street, and entered a small courtyard.
By this time, the agreed time had passed, and Fei Yan and Chang Jian were getting anxious, debating whether or not to go to the palace to meet them.
As they were arguing, there were sudden knocks on the door. Chang Jian hurried to open it and saw that it was Wu Tianyue. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My Lord, has anything happened?"
"No." Wu Tianyue shook his head and walked in and asked, "Are the things ready?"
"Everything is ready." Chang Jian closed the door, then went back into the house and took out some things. "Please try putting on your makeup first. I'll see if there's anything that needs to be changed. You'll have to do it yourself from now on."
Wu Tianyue nodded, took the homemade powder from Chang Jian, and painted the exposed parts of his face and hands black in front of the bronze mirror. He also drew a few old scars on his hands according to the method he had practiced before.
In a short while, he changed from a handsome nobleman into a rough man with dark skin, high nose, deep eyes and an imposing aura.
As Chang Jian applied the beard he had made to him, he said, "Sir, although Zhao Yi has good hunting skills and agility, he is ultimately just an ordinary hunter. His ancestors didn't produce high-ranking officials, and he himself hasn't had any extraordinary experiences, so he wouldn't have such a powerful aura."
After hearing this, Wu Tianyue imitated the posture and manners of the farmers he had seen in the countryside before and restrained his aura.
Seeing that there were no problems, Chang Jian continued, "I've already put away the cleaning powder for you. It's only good for two months at most, which is enough for others to get used to the change in your skin color. But you still need to get a tan as soon as possible. You can't wear this beard for long either. Remember to destroy it when it grows out."
Wu Tianyue nodded and changed into the coarse cloth clothes he had prepared.
Fei Yan caught a glimpse of the short hairpin and subconsciously reminded him, "Prince, Zhao Yi is just a hunter. This hairpin is too valuable."
Wu Tianyue paused, then carefully placed the hairpin in his arms. "Ordinary people cannot see the preciousness of this jade material, and Zhao Yi's mother is the only daughter of a poor scholar. Just say it's his mother's legacy."
Seeing how much he cherished it, the two of them realized that it was Miss Lin's thing and said no more.
The sound of the bell for opening the city gate came from outside the window. The three of them went to the stable together. Wu Tianyue and Fei Yan mounted their horses and headed out of the city.
Hunter Zhao Yi's hometown was Gu'an County, just outside the capital. The two of them left the city and arrived in more than two hours by fast horse.
Wu Tianyue dismounted in a small forest a few miles away from the city gate, picked up a simple bag and prepared to go down the mountain to report to the county town.
"Prince," Fei Yan said worriedly, "It's too dangerous for you to be alone. I..."
Before he finished speaking, Wu Tianyue laughed and said, "Your martial arts skills are not as good as mine. Will I protect you or you protect me?"
Fei Yan was about to persuade him again, but Wu Tianyue waved his hand and said, "Chang Jian is better at coordinating and allocating food and supplies, but he is far inferior to you in training troops. I don't know what will happen to me after this trip. Even if I really make it, it would be easy for the Emperor to ask me to resign. You will really help me if you stay in the capital and build up your power."
Since he said so, Fei Yan had no choice but to agree: "Yes."
"Chang Jian will provide you with cover. You can focus on training your troops and open up the communication channel with the Northern Frontier as soon as possible." Wu Tianyue then instructed, "If you need money, contact Chang Jian. If the gap is too big, contact Miss Lin."
After saying that, he hunched his shoulders slightly, turned around, walked down the mountain, and headed towards Gu'an County.
It was already noon when they arrived at the county government office. There was a long queue of about a hundred people in front of the government office, and Wu Tianyue was at the end of the queue with his luggage on his back.
"Name, place of origin, age." The record-keeping chief at the yamen gate did not even raise his head.
"Zhao Yi, from Zhaojia Village, Gu'an County, 22 years old."
"You should have reported in a few days ago." The chief clerk flipped through the roster, looked up and questioned him, and then asked with some confusion, "Why do you seem taller than before?"
"I caught a cold a few days ago and came here as soon as I felt better." Wu Tianyue coughed a few times. "I've always been this tall. My Lord sees so many people every day, I'm afraid you might have misremembered me."
The chief clerk only asked casually. Seeing him cough, he quickly covered his mouth and nose and made a mark on the roster, "Go over there to get your clothes."
"Thank you, sir." Wu Tianyue deliberately coughed at him a few times and walked to the side to receive the things.
After waiting for another half an hour, the chief clerk finished the registration, and then people from the yamen came to take Wu Tianyue and others in.
The process is so chaotic, it's all arranged by one person, there is not a bit of order that should be maintained by the government. This is a county town under the feet of the emperor, I don't know if he doesn't take it seriously or if everything is like this.
After the roll call, Wu Tianyue was assigned to a team of fifty recruits. The team was led by an honest-looking officer who started lecturing everyone at length as soon as he came in.
Wu Tianyue looked around. Among the new recruits, except for himself and one or two others who looked tall and strong, the rest were thin and small. Although they were just recruits and could not compare with the children of military households, they were still too bad. Could such soldiers really survive on the battlefield?
While I was thinking, the team leader had already told his superiors about the next arrangements, and the chief clerk also had someone send food over.
Looking at the clear porridge and the small, hard steamed buns, Wu Tianyue felt a little disgusted. The soldiers' food was too bad.
But it is understandable. The new recruits are not going to the battlefield now, and they have to walk a long way to the northern border. The government does not know whether these people can survive there, so naturally they do not want to waste food.
Maybe it will be better if we go to the northern border, Wu Tianyue comforted himself in his heart, and swallowed the steamed bun with difficulty while stiffening his neck.
The next morning, the team set off and headed north.
New recruits naturally had no horses, and Wu Tianyue was a little uncomfortable with the situation. Fortunately, he had practiced martial arts for many years, so his body could still hold up. However, like everyone else, the blisters on his feet formed and burst, and finally formed thick calluses.
As Wu Tianyue intentionally exposed his face to the wind and sand and grew a beard, he finally no longer needed to rely on Chang Jian's medicine to conceal his identity, and the team finally arrived at the Northern Frontier Camp.
The military camp was built against the mountain, stretching for several miles, with flags waving and trumpets sounding.
Wu Tianyue was taken to the training ground along with other new recruits to wait for registration.
"Hunter?" The military registration officer asked after checking Wu Tianyue's travel permit.
Wu Tianyue replied, "Yes, sir."
The military officer looked him up and down. He was strong and healthy, looking like a good candidate. He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was not some ugly melon or jujube. His face looked much better than before. He nodded and said, "Assign him to the third team of the vanguard battalion, Class A. Report to Captain Han."
"Yes." Wu Tianyue took the token and stepped aside.
After the registration was completed, a new recruit named Li Daniu who had come to the Northern Frontier with Wu Tianyue came over with a smile and asked, "Brother Zhao, is he also in the Vanguard Battalion?"
Wu Tianyue was not considered very good at networking among the children of aristocratic families, but his ability to control people's hearts was unmatched by many people. He was also generous and capable. After traveling together for several months, everyone was very convinced of him.
"I'm in the third team. Which team are you in?" Wu Tianyue nodded and started talking to him.
"I'm also in the third team, but it's a T-shaped squad." Li Daniu laughed, "It seems we are the only two from the same hometown in the vanguard camp."
"I'm in the A-team. We'll look after each other from now on."
As they talked, the two followed the team to the vanguard camp, listened to the instructions of Captain Han, received military uniforms and weapons, and went to their respective tents.
The soldiers in the tent were probably all training in the training ground, with only an old soldier in his forties waiting inside.
As soon as Wu Tianyue and the other new recruits assigned to Squad A entered the tent, the veteran soldier said, "I'm your sergeant, Zhou Dashan. Here, I have no other requests except this: be obedient."
After saying that, he glanced at the three of them, paying no extra attention to the obviously taller Wu Tianyue. He said with a cold face, "Put your things down, change your clothes, and come with me to train."
They had only been traveling for several months and had just arrived. They had to train without any rest or food, so naturally they complained.
Wu Tianyue knew that this was to establish his authority. Now that the weather was getting colder, if the Northern Di wanted to have a good year, they had to go south to plunder supplies before the heavy winter snow blocked the roads, which would be around these days.
If the new recruits did not obey the rules, they would not only die on the battlefield, but would also bring trouble to others. So he did not say anything and quickly changed his clothes.
"Anyone who doesn't arrive at the training ground after a quarter of an hour will not be allowed to eat tonight." Zhou Dashan ignored everyone's complaints and walked out of the tent.
Seeing how ruthless he was, everyone quickly changed their clothes and followed him out.
After that, it was training all day and all night, which Wu Tianyue could accept. However, as the reserve troops going to the battlefield, the food for the new recruits did not get better. In fact, because it was cold here, it was not as good as when they were on the road, when they could still have hot water to drink at night.
In addition to food, the clothing was also not good. The military uniforms were too thin, and even the veterans were not much better than the recruits. Wu Tianyue was very angry when he saw this.
After Zhou Dashan found out, he sneered, "Be content with your uniforms being airtight. If the nine provincial governors hadn't been ordered to inspect the border a few years ago, you new recruits wouldn't even have uniforms."
They were used to it, but Wu Tianyue, who had been familiar with the military books given by the system since childhood, could not accept it.
He might have to go to the battlefield at any time. Even though he is just a soldier now and cannot command the generals above, he has to find a way to survive this winter.
After thinking for a few days, Wu Tianyue took advantage of the monthly rest period to leave the camp and successfully contacted the person arranged by Fei Yan, and sent a letter back to Beijing.
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