Eager to make a contribution, Yang Zeli volunteered to lead the charge into Goguryeo.
Wei Li had won a series of victories in the war, and his journey was smooth sailing. He had also captured six cities in Youzhou, causing unrest in Qingzhou. He was inevitably in high spirits and eager to personally lead an expedition.
He's been in high spirits lately, and his whole demeanor has become much happier; he's even been bickering with Zhao Xiheng less. Plus, Xie Qingyu left early, making him feel completely relaxed and refreshed.
To celebrate this great victory, General Song prepared a celebratory banquet in the military camp.
In preparation for tonight's victory celebration banquet, Wei Li picked out several outfits and changed into them one by one for Zhao Xiheng to see, asking, "Which outfit do you think I should wear today?"
They're still red and black, but the styles are slightly different.
"The third set is not bad." Zhao Xiheng leaned against the daybed and nodded lightly.
Wei Li leaned in and gave her a big kiss on the forehead. "I also think the third set is better. Why are you unhappy today? Your man is so amazing, he took over six cities in Youzhou without shedding a drop of blood."
"Amazing, you're the best!" Zhao Xiheng praised him sincerely, as she couldn't dampen Wei Li's enthusiasm at this moment.
She just felt a little uneasy; Wei Li had been acting like a wild dog these past few days.
"Wait until next month when I take down Goguryeo and show you." His eyes sparkled, his spirits soared, and he was full of youthful vigor.
Zhao Xiheng took it as a joke. Goguryeo wasn't something that could be easily obtained. She giggled and nudged him, "Then I'll wait. Go when you're ready. Don't keep General Song and the others waiting."
Wei Li propped himself up on the small couch, leaned over, and kissed her on the chin. "Then I'm leaving. Don't wait for me tonight. Go to sleep early. I don't know when I'll be back."
He tried to get up, but Zhao Xiheng remembered how he used to act after drinking. She grabbed his collar and pulled him down, earnestly admonishing him, "Did you hear me? Drink less alcohol."
Wei Li was only a fist's distance away from her. Seeing her serious expression, he smiled and slowly moved closer. "So reluctant to part with me?"
"Don't come any closer. I've finished explaining. You can leave now." Zhao Xiheng blushed and tried to back away. Wei Li held the back of her head with his right hand, and her cool, smooth hair cascaded through his fingers. He lowered his head and kissed her.
After a long while, Zhao Xiheng was breathless from his kisses, her body limp. She quickly resisted and pushed him away, saying, "Don't delay. I told you to drink less, but it's not like you can't drink at all..."
Wei Li pressed his forehead against hers to catch his breath, and finally kissed her lips, saying in a hoarse voice, "This time you're really leaving."
Even after he left, Zhao Xiheng was still slightly uneasy, worried about Wei Li's recent condition.
“Xiao Tao, I’ll give you the key. Go get my father’s notes.”
Zhao Xinglie's letters were worthless in the eyes of Emperor Shunhe's family, and thus were well preserved in Zhao Xiheng's hands.
Zhao Xiheng valued these letters highly, often taking them out to air them in the sun to prevent them from getting moldy and damp.
Zhao Xinglie's notes record his experiences in the north and south during his years of military campaigns, including his insights and the flexible application of military strategies. However, they may be somewhat obscure for those who have never been on the battlefield or involved in politics.
The campfire blazed brightly that night, and laughter filled the air.
Taking advantage of the cheerful atmosphere and the fact that everyone was quite drunk, General Song stood up and tried to persuade them to stop.
"My lord, I have heard that you have recently decided to personally lead an expedition against Goguryeo?"
Zhao Xiheng instructed him not to drink too much, and Wei Li obeyed, only taking a few sips. Fortunately, no one dared to urge him to drink. Right now, he was teasing the wolfhounds kept in the camp with a cow bone stick.
"Yes, General Song, is there anything you wish to say?" he asked, propping his head up with his hand.
The scene was still noisy, and most people were not drawn to the conversation between the two.
General Song cupped his hands and said something. Wei Li's expression changed, and he threw the wine cup on the ground.
In an instant, the scene fell silent. Some people quickly smoothed things over, apologizing to Wei Li on behalf of General Song, and then pulled General Song outside to sober up.
General Song originally planned to bring it up when Wei Li was drunk, but he did not expect Wei Li to react so strongly, and he left disappointed with the others.
Although the latter half of the banquet remained lively, the atmosphere was always strange, as if everyone was holding their breath, or like the sweltering heat before a summer storm.
The celebration banquet was originally scheduled to last until midnight, but because everyone was not in high spirits, it ended at the end of the 7 PM.
"Why are you back so early?" Zhao Xiheng couldn't help but stand up and ask when she saw Wei Li return in a huff.
When Wei Li saw Zhao Xiheng, his expression softened slightly. He said, "I've had some wine. I'll come out and talk to you after I've washed up."
Not long after, he came out again, still fuming. He saw a book open in front of Zhao Xiheng, and casually fiddled with it. Zhao Xiheng smacked him with her claws and glared at him, saying, "Be careful, don't break it."
She then carefully closed the book. "Who upset you again?"
"Song Huan!" That is, General Song.
“I revealed my intention to send troops to Goguryeo a few days ago, and tonight he actually blocked me in front of everyone, not giving me any face at all.” Wei Li slammed his fist on the table in anger.
Zhao Xiheng was surprised, "You really want to attack Goguryeo? Now?"
Wei Li nodded. "Is that not allowed?"
"Goguryeo has been repeatedly defeated by me, and its power has been weakened because the Goguryeo king and crown prince divided the river to rule. Now the morale of my army is high, so why can't we fight? Besides, the Goguryeo king has not shown any sincerity in apologizing. Everyone else in the army agrees, but that old scoundrel insists on stopping me."
Zhao Xiheng was even more surprised. She had originally thought that Wei Li's talk of sending troops to Goguryeo was just a joke, but considering his arrogant and warlike nature towards foreign powers, she also felt it made sense. "Now that you're sending troops, what are the chances of success?"
"Seventy percent." Wei Li pulled her hand over and fiddled with it; the odds of winning were still quite high.
"So how many casualties do you estimate there will be?"
Wei Li couldn't answer. He only knew that with the combined forces of Pingzhou, they could conquer all of Goguryeo. "Now that Qingzhou and Youzhou are severely weakened, even if Pingzhou suffers heavy casualties, there will be no worries about the future."
Zhao Xiheng frowned, disagreeing in her heart.
It's really wrong for Wei Li to treat human lives as worthless, but only as bargaining chips for victory.
In his notes, Aye wrote that when he fought against the Xianbei in Youzhou in previous years, it was winter, with heavy snow and a biting north wind. Although people had no shortage of food and clothing, hay for the horses was scarce. Although the soldiers were brave and strong-willed, they were still human and felt the cold.
Many people lost their ears to frostbite while defending the city, and quite a few had to have their limbs amputated due to frostbite.
If Youzhou is like this, what about Pingzhou, which is even colder? If we raise an army now, not only will some people freeze to death, but some may even freeze to death.
Given Wei Li's inhumane treatment of people, it's hard to imagine how many more casualties will result. Defending is manageable, but as for offense, it's best to plan carefully.
General Song was a veteran general with rich experience, and his advice was certainly reasonable.
"Have you appeased the six newly acquired cities in Youzhou?" she asked.
Wei Li's expression froze. "Chen Ruojiang is there..."
He couldn't handle the delicate task of appeasing the people, but Chen Ruojiang was good at it, like a mother hen.
"How many casualties were there this time? Have you released the compensation money?" Zhao Xiheng pulled her hand out of his palm, grabbed a handful of melon seeds and played with them, suppressing the anger that was gradually rising in her heart.
Wei Li sat down and said dryly, "Chen Ruojiang is working on it..."
Zhao Xiheng frowned even more deeply. "Does Pingzhou currently have enough grain supplies to sustain the region?"
He licked his dry lower lip and fiddled with his fingers. "I'll ask Chen Ruojiang." Pingzhou certainly had enough grain, but he didn't know the exact amount.
"The newly conquered cities haven't been properly pacified, the compensation hasn't been paid, and we don't even know how much grain we have. Every time we ask, it's just 'Chen Ruojiang, Chen Ruojiang, Chen Ruojiang.' Is Chen Ruojiang your father or your mother? He's always cleaning up your messes." Zhao Xiheng angrily threw the melon seeds onto the plate. Just now, she wanted to throw them at Wei Li's head. She was angry that Wei Li only knew how to expand the territory and didn't care about defending it at all, but she held back in the end.
"General Song is right, now is not a good time to send troops."
When has Wei Li ever been insulted like this?
His expression wasn't very pleasant, but considering that it was Zhao Xiheng who had scolded him, he patiently refrained from turning hostile. However, his hand on the table had already silently clenched into a fist.
"So what? Should I just tolerate Goguryeo provoking Pyeongju time and time again?"
Zhao Xiheng took a deep breath. She realized that her tone had been a bit harsh. If she said a few more words like that, Wei Li would probably get angry and leave, and wouldn't listen to her anymore. So she softened her tone.
"Rome wasn't built in a day. If you want to attack Goguryeo, you should take it slow and wait until it gets warmer, the grass grows, and it's not so cold anymore."
She pushed the journal on the table toward him, saying, "Take a look at this."
Having been repeatedly humiliated, Wei Li originally came back expecting Zhao Xiheng to comfort him, but instead he was berated mercilessly. He was in a bad mood and had no interest in looking at these things. He grabbed one at random and was about to tear it apart, thinking it was utter trash.
"Tear it! You dare to tear it! This is my father's handwritten note. If you tear it, we're finished!" Zhao Xiheng slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her anger, which she had just suppressed, suddenly flaring up again.
Wei Li slammed the note on the table, but didn't tear it up. "It's over, so what? Who cares? What do you think I need such a big place for? I can live without you!"
He turned and left, striding away without the slightest hesitation.
Watching his departing figure, Zhao Xiheng's eyes stung, and tears blurred her vision. It wasn't that she hadn't argued with Wei Li before, but this time she felt inexplicably sad. He promised to love her, and this was how he loved her?
She stood there stunned for a moment, then buried her face in her hands on the table and sobbed, tears streaming down her face like beads.
What a scoundrel! He took my kindness for granted. He should be allowed to go. After all, the soldiers of Pingzhou are his soldiers. The future of Pingzhou is all thanks to Wei Li. Why should she care about him?
That good-for-nothing who won't listen to reason.
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