After hearing this, Yu Wenran said nothing and his face darkened.
"Go back and pack your things first, then I'll take you out."
After Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue packed up their things, a rainstorm suddenly hit. Bai Youjin led three horses out from the side yard, put on straw raincoats, and they climbed onto the horses. Bai Youjin led the way in front, and the horses' hooves kicked up mud and water, splashing water everywhere.
By the time the clouds and rain cleared, Bai Youjin had already brought them to Shuocheng.
Outside Shuo City.
The wind outside the pass was cold and the sky was high and the clouds were light. The army's flag was like a roc with spread wings in the sky, looking majestic, glorious and domineering.
Beneath the towering city walls, a dark, dark cloud of armor pressed down, stretching out into the desert in the distance.
The chief military officer, dressed as a city guard, was perched atop the city walls, keeping a close eye on the area below to prevent a surprise attack from the Western Regions army. He noticed three men approaching on horseback from a distance and was about to stand up to defend himself. But after seeing clearly, he was stunned: "Your Majesty—"
His face was filled with joy. He gestured to the soldiers behind him and shouted, "Open the city gate quickly—His Majesty is back!"
Yuwen Ran took the lead, leading Gu Yanyue and Bai Youjin into Shuo City one after another. The chief military officer hurried down from the tower and performed military etiquette towards Yuwen Ran, "Your subordinates pay their respects to the emperor and the queen."
Yuwen Ran dismounted, helped Du Yuhou up from the ground, and said, "No need for formalities right now. How is the battle going?"
"Your Majesty, let's talk inside the tent." The chief military officer led Yuwen Ran to the central camp, and happened to see the left and right guards lifting the curtain and bending over to come out.
After the left and right guards exchanged greetings with Yuwen Ran, they led him into the tent. Gu Yanyue also followed him in. After arriving at the military camp, Bai Youjin asked Yuwen Ran to send someone to take him away to rest.
After entering, the Right Guard handed Yuwen Ran the list of soldiers in the camp that he had sorted out earlier. Yuwen Ran didn't rush to look at it. He put the list aside, turned to the map, and asked: "How many people are there in the Western Regions this time?"
"Your Majesty, it's six hundred thousand people."
"Do you have any good plans right now? Tell me about them."
"Right now, the Western Region Army is in Fangcheng, thirty miles away from us. Tuoba Chen's offensive this time is too fierce. I think we should stay in Shuocheng and fight a war of attrition with them. There are not many supplies left in Fangcheng, and the Western Region Army will not be able to hold out for a few days." The right guard said to the map. I don't know what got the army led by Tuoba Chen excited this time, but they rushed forward recklessly.
"Not right!" Yuwen Ran sat on the high platform, pointing to a spot on the map and said in a deep voice, "There's a Bianbo Camp in the Western Regions right here, which can send supplies to Fangcheng in a timely manner. A war of attrition might end up costing us the most."
"So, according to your Majesty?"
"Fangcheng must be heavily garrisoned. If we insist on storming here, we'll surely suffer heavy casualties. Since we can't get in from the outside, let's find a way in from the inside."
Yuwen Ran pointed to a place with his finger.
"The sewer here is connected to Fangcheng. Find some small soldiers and crawl in through the sewer. We can use the internal and external forces to attack. Even if we fail to recapture Fangcheng, we can burn down the granary inside the city."
The left guard frowned and pointed at the location of Fangcheng. "If they crawled in through the sewer, they must have come out from here. This area is close to the City Lord's Mansion. Tuoba Chen will definitely stay in the City Lord's Mansion after conquering Fangcheng. This area must be heavily guarded. If the soldiers enter, they will be caught in a trap. It will be inconvenient if no one comes to help from outside."
Yuwen Ran thought of a few more ideas, but they were all rejected one by one by Du Yuhou and the others. He couldn't help but frown and said, "We'll discuss this matter tomorrow!"
After everyone dispersed, Yuwen Ran sat on the platform, still frowning as he looked at the map of Fangcheng.
"Aran, do you have something you haven't said yet?" Gu Yanyue looked at him, pursed her lips, and sat down next to him.
Gu Yanyue looked up at her queen, whose eyes were filled with worry, and reached out to hug her in her arms: "Ayue, how could you guess so accurately?"
"Don't you know that ladies can read their husbands' minds?"
Gu Yanyue teased back with a smile and slowly lowered her eyes.
Because she likes Yuwen Ran, she can notice the changes in Yuwen Ran's mood at any time. She can see that Yuwen Ran must have a way that he hasn't said out loud, but since even he is unwilling to say it out loud, there must be certain risks in that method.
"Ayue, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but this method is too risky. I don't want to take my soldiers into danger." Yuwen Ran sighed and put his chin on the shoulder of the person in his arms.
"Hmm," Gu Yanyue replied softly, then slowly sat up straight and looked at him. "Then let's think of other ways. Although Tuoba Chen is good at leading troops in battle, a general always has weaknesses."
Yuwen Ran pulled the map on the table and his brows furrowed deeper as he looked at it. Gu Yanyue knew that Yuwen Ran didn't like others to be around at this time, so she lifted the curtain and walked out, planning to make some delicious food to reward the soldiers in the army.
Although we lost the first battle, there are still many battles to fight, and we cannot let the soldiers be immersed in the mood of defeat.
She asked a soldier who was on patrol where the kitchen was. The soldier was afraid that the camp was too big and Gu Yanyue would not be able to find it, so he took her there personally.
The first thing Gu Yanyue saw when she entered the kitchen was the lamb that had just been slaughtered. She and the big brother who was in charge of cooking had formed a good comradeship when she first joined the camp.
Gu Yanyue rolled up his sleeves and walked over. "Brother, what are you going to do with this sheep?"
The elder brother heard Gu Yanyue calling him from behind, and was so frightened that he almost dropped the knife in his hand. He was about to turn around and yell at the person who scared him, but when he turned around and saw that it was Gu Yanyue, his anger immediately disappeared. He put on a smile and saluted Gu Yanyue, "Greetings to the Queen."
"Brother, just treat me as an ordinary person in the barracks. Don't let me become strangers to you after you find out who I am. After all, we're still buddies who cooked together during the march!"
As Gu Yanyue said this, she was about to put her arm around her brother's shoulders like he had done to her in the past, but her brother didn't dare to do that!
At first, he didn't know that Gu Yanyue was the Queen, and he just thought she was a miserable person like himself. He dared to tell any jokes along with Gu Yanyue, and dared to do anything inappropriate to her.
Now that he knew, his elder brother would no longer dare to get along with Gu Yanyue as before. What if he overstepped the line and did something inappropriate to the Queen? If Yuwen Ran found out, even if he had nine heads, they would not be enough for him to chop off.
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