After seven years of loneliness and hardship, and after moving around to Fengjing, he finally had a father and grandmother.
Jiang Sheng is not a greedy person; she is always content. However, she cannot easily let go of this family bond, nor can she forget it.
In this world, the only people she wanted to hold onto tightly, besides her five older brothers, were her father and grandmother.
She couldn't accept losing any of them.
"No, no." The little girl shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
The entire gate of the imperial city was solemn, and everyone remained silent, not daring to speak.
Only Zheng Ruqian was heartbroken and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xiao Wu, you're wrong. General Jiang has fought on the battlefield for decades. How could he possibly be easily defeated by the little Tartars?"
“That’s right, that’s right,” Jiang San chimed in. “The girl is only thirteen years old this year, and General Jiang is definitely not old; he’s still young.”
Jiang Si nudged him from the side, glancing at Jiang Chengyuan, whose face was ashen, "That one is nineteen."
General Jiang is forty years old this year. Years of fighting have left him scarred and he is indeed more exhausted than his peers.
Jiang San shut up, watching helplessly as Jiang Sheng's tears fell more and more, and he began to panic.
She was so far away from her father that she couldn't do anything about it.
A profound sense of powerlessness enveloped her, and the despair of loss invaded her.
Just when everyone's hearts were in their throats, Jiang Chengyuan finally mustered up his courage, walked up to his sister, and said firmly, "Little Jiang, don't cry. I'm going back to the frontier right now. I won't let Father get hurt. I'll make sure he comes back safely."
"Trust me just this once, okay? Just this once."
He was already nineteen years old. The hardships of the frontier had robbed him of the fair skin of a noble young master. His fingertips were rough, cracked, and covered with scabs. He was no longer as handsome as before, but he inexplicably gave people a sense of security.
Jiang Sheng stopped crying and stared blankly at her blood brother.
"Don't, don't cry." Jiang Chengyuan seemed to want to reach out and wipe away his sister's tears, but remembering their previous unpleasantness, he shrank back behind her. "I won't let Father get hurt, nor will I let the Tartars succeed."
"Trust me this once." He gestured with his eyes, then cupped his hands and looked at Jiang Chengfeng, seemingly entrusting Fengjing and his sister to him, before landing easily and mounting his horse.
The hundreds of border troops who accompanied them also sprang into action; they were clearly Jiang Chengyuan's confidants.
Just as the group was about to leave, Fang Heng finally came to his senses and said, "Wait a minute."
They came together, so of course they'll leave together.
However, there are still some things to discuss before I leave.
"The Second Prince is ignorant of border affairs. Even if he were to defect to the Tartars, he could not possibly endanger General Jiang's life."
Fang Heng pondered deeply, "The Tartars have been fighting us for so many years, they've figured out everything they need to know, how could they possibly listen to the Second Prince and start plotting against General Jiang?"
Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.
This applies to the Dayu Dynasty as well as to the Tartars.
Anda Khan would not easily trust the prince of an enemy state, and might even suspect that this was a trap set by the Dayu Dynasty.
“Unless, the Second Prince has something that can convince the Tartars,” Xu Mo finally spoke, his eyes filled with worry.
The situation instantly became tense.
Chang Yan dared not delay and rushed to the Imperial Study as quickly as possible. He passed through the heavily guarded palace guards and took out the golden key that only the Regent could control.
Even ordinary noble families keep confidential matters in their studies, let alone the imperial study in the capital city.
The imperial guards, who only obeyed the emperor's orders, maintained strict control, ensuring that not even a fly could get in.
Chang Yan held his breath and took out the frontier defense map. After confirming that it was not lost, his brows furrowed even more.
"Shouldn't Your Highness be happy that the Second Prince didn't steal the military defense map?" The guard beside him was puzzled.
He shook his head. "If Second Brother wants to surrender to the Tartars, he must show some sincerity. Even if it's not the military defense map from the Imperial Study, it must be some other important item."
But what could it be?
Instead of pondering alone, Chang Yan left the Imperial Study and met up with the others in the Imperial Garden.
"Besides the military defense map, what else could possibly be so precious to Anda Khan?" he asked.
Fang Heng and Jiang Chengyuan exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Array diagram."
The military defenses refer to the defensive posts set up on the frontier to resist the Tartars. Once these posts are discovered, it is tantamount to exposing all weaknesses, leaving them to be slaughtered and exterminated by the Tartars.
The battle formation diagrams are passed down from our ancestors. They are a strategy of using troops to deploy troops in formations to fight against a larger enemy with a smaller force, and to overwhelm the enemy with a larger force.
Exceptional individuals, such as General Fang, have created numerous formations, which are now being passed down by Fang Heng to his trusted guards and are flourishing in the northern frontier.
If it were leaked, all the hard work of the past years would have been for nothing.
Not only would rearranging troops and resources cost manpower and resources, but it could also lead to the loss of innocent lives if caught off guard.
Then, thinking that Fang Yuan was among those who left with the Second Prince, Fang Heng couldn't help but tremble. "The array diagram left by my father... could it be the array diagram left by my father?"
Military defense maps belong to the state and must be handed over to the imperial court after the death of the general.
A personally derived battle formation diagram can be preserved and passed down indefinitely.
Most importantly, the battle formation diagrams left by General Fang also contain many painstaking suggestions on border defense, as well as future plans.
Seven years have passed, and more than half of those plans have been realized.
The battle formation diagram is no longer the Fang family's own troop deployment formation; it is equivalent to half of a troop defense diagram.
"No, it can't be. The second branch of the family couldn't possibly know where Father's belongings are. Even I don't know." Fang Heng still refused to believe it.
If this is true, even the deceased General Fang would be implicated as a traitor.
"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out by going to the Fang family." Changyan no longer hesitated. "Go, Third Brother, don't waste time."
Indeed, they didn't have time to waste.
Fang Heng glanced at Jiang Sheng, who was in tears, and nimbly mounted his horse.
Having fled Fengjing for so many years, this was the first time he had set foot in the Fang family's residence.
The scene of his mother holding his hand with anticipation still echoed in his ears, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into the desolation and bleakness after the house was ransacked.
The once grand and prosperous family, which was always full of guests, has fallen into decline due to internal strife.
With red eyes, Fang Heng went straight to his father's study and searched through it repeatedly until he finally managed to open a secret room.
This is a secret room passed down from my grandfather, containing half of the Fang family's wealth. Now, part of it has been taken away, and the arrangement is somewhat messy.
Further inside was a dark purple wooden box, which had been forcibly chopped open with an axe, with letters and envelopes scattered haphazardly.
Pick up any one at random, and it begins with either "My son Aheng" or "My wife Fuliu," from a general on the battlefield who longed for his wife and children.
Fang Heng's eyes reddened again. He remembered that when he was a child, his father had pointed at this box and laughed, "It's full of my treasures, as well as my years of experience in battle. It will eventually be passed on to the Fang family. Little Aheng, you must work hard and inherit your father's mantle."
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