Feifeng was left in the capital to guard the city, and one of the deputy generals accompanying him was Zhou Ting.
Hearing the increasingly loud discussion, he frowned, turned around and shouted at those behind him, "Shut up! Aren't you busy enough with setting up camp? Can't you shut up!"
Zhou Ting was among the first to choose to join Xie Lang's faction, and he held a very high position in the emperor's inner circle. When the soldiers heard his reprimand, they looked at each other and quickly fell silent.
In hindsight, they realized they had disturbed His Majesty.
Fortunately, His Majesty did not mind.
Xie Lang marked several locations on the map. Zhou Ting went up to take a look and found that they were all dangerous places separated by mountains, but they had one thing in common: they were adjacent to the border and were deserted.
With the weather like this, plus the snow, waiting for the snow to accumulate before going into the mountains is not a wise choice.
Zhou Ting asked, "Does Your Majesty believe that those barbarians will enter the mountains?"
"It's hard to say."
Xie Lang looked ahead, where the mountains stretched out, their peaks covered in snow, shrouded in dark clouds, desolate and lonely.
Normal people wouldn't choose to go into the mountains in winter, but those madmen from the barbarian tribes, who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, might very well do so.
The people who had the most dealings with the barbarians over the years were the Prince of Huailing and his wife. They met a few days ago, and I learned about the barbarians' ways of doing things from them.
Xie Lang pointed to a spot on the map: "Take your men and set off tomorrow. Encircle them from here. If there are any enemies, find a way to cut off their supply lines."
Zhou Ting felt a great sense of responsibility: "Your humble servant obeys!"
Xie Lang nodded.
Although they won their first battle here, it doesn't mean they can let their guard down in the subsequent battles.
On the contrary, every step that follows is important.
Xie Lang wanted to resolve things here as soon as possible, and then return to the capital to see his Grand Tutor.
The mere thought of someone waiting for him instantly made him yearn to return home.
After being apart for so many days, he missed Wen Heming.
As they walked along the road, their location was constantly changing. Carrier pigeons could only deliver simple messages. He wondered if Wen Hemian had received those urgent messages in the capital, and whether she missed him.
During the day, Xie Lang, as the commander-in-chief of the army, had to remain calm and composed. Only during brief moments of rest could he allow his emotions to drift away.
The campfire burned, its light reflecting in his eyes. The generals watched the emperor's back, none daring to get too close. Even though Xie Lang was a wise and virtuous ruler in their eyes, getting too close would mean being overwhelmed by the cold aura emanating from him.
To be honest, I'm a little hesitant to get close.
"Your Majesty," Zhou Ting said hurriedly as he returned from his inspection tour, his voice tinged with joy, "a letter has arrived from the capital!"
Xie Lang's face remained expressionless, but his movements were visibly urgent as he quickly took the package and opened it.
It really was written by Wen Hemian.
First, they said they had found the traitor, then they said the situation in the court was stable and there would be no problems, and told him to be careful while he was away, saying some words of concern, and so on.
The words were very simple and ordinary, without even a hint of love.
As Xie Lang watched, the corners of his lips involuntarily turned up, and he felt as if all the worries he had carried for days had vanished.
His tutor also remembered him!
Thinking about it this way, I feel even more motivated.
While he was writing the letter, Han Shuang was also writing the letter to him.
With hearts and minds in perfect harmony, no difficulty is too great to overcome.
He wanted to resolve these troubles as soon as possible so he could go back and see Wen Hemian.
-
It must be said that Dr. Luo has some guts.
Perhaps realizing that Wen Hemian was taking the matter of the traitor lightly and had no time to worry about it, he sent out two more messages.
This time, they were prepared, and the first piece of information he received was false. He didn't suspect anything and secretly passed it on.
He was usually low-key, didn't have many friends, and had very simple interpersonal relationships. There were no secret passages or anything like that leading out of his house. After observing him for many days, we were finally able to confirm that he really didn't have any accomplices.
Without any further hesitation, Wen Hemian immediately ordered his men to arrest the person.
The Imperial Guards obeyed her orders and silently surrounded the Luo family's residence. As for the old lady Luo who had gone out to worship Buddha, someone else was tasked with arresting her.
This was done discreetly.
The imperial city was not absolutely safe. Before making the arrest, Wen Hemian ordered the news to be kept secret. Huo Ping quietly brought the man into the palace, fearing that they might cause some trouble on the way. He ordered his men to keep a close watch on him, tie him up, and throw him on the ground.
This includes the old lady from the Luo family.
She was well-maintained and didn't look too old, but she was getting on in years, and after all that, she was not very agile. She stared at the ground in fear, feeling the shadow looming over her.
"Li Yifang".
The moment the name was uttered, Wen Hemian clearly saw the person on the ground tremble.
"The last nail that Prince Jia buried in his heart was actually hidden so deeply."
"Lord Wen..." The old woman's voice trembled, filled with a weak protest, "It's all my fault. I forced my son out of filial piety, making him...forcing him to do this. Please, Lord Wen, forgive him!"
If the investigation finds out the truth, she is indeed a loyal and righteous person, but this matter cannot be judged from a personal perspective.
Wen Hemian listened to her long speech without wavering in the slightest.
"Regardless of whether he is innocent or not, as an official of the imperial court, he dared to leak important information during His Majesty's military campaign, which constitutes treason. He is unforgivable both morally and legally. You should all take heed of your actions."
After Wen Hemian finished speaking, he stopped listening to her nonsense and ordered her to be taken to the Ministry of Justice and detained, to be dealt with as appropriate.
In the following days, Wen Hemian received several more battle reports, some written by Xie Lang himself, some by his subordinates, and even a few from her parents—a wide variety of reports.
She read them all one by one.
While settling matters in the capital, she suddenly realized that the battle reports written by her subordinates were alright, but those written by her parents and Xie Lang were all good news and no bad news. They only mentioned where they had won and where they had driven their men, but did not mention whether they had been injured or what difficulties they had encountered.
This is the nature of close relationships.
Wen Hemian thought about herself and couldn't help but laugh.
These days, you can't even trust letters anymore; you have to see it for yourself to know what's going on.
There shouldn't be any problem in Beijing for now. If things end quickly, I might be able to get back before spring.
Wen Heming lowered her eyelashes and reached out to stroke the letters she had read more than once. At the same time, she felt empty, but the thoughts in her heart grew stronger, as if they were about to burst forth.
She wanted to see Xie Lang.
Right now.
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