Chapter 94
The army passed through Liangzhou and took a short rest within the territory of Liangzhou.
The local people were very enthusiastic towards the army, and even expressed some dissatisfaction in their words.
Lin Yi found it strange. Although Anguo and Xili had not yet gone to war, the people here had not been affected by the war, yet they were already united with the army and prepared for war.
“Of course we can’t wait until the war starts before we start to mobilize the people’s morale. Our Crown Prince sent people along the way to spread the word about Xili’s heinous acts as soon as the army set off,” Xie Chengnan said.
Lin Yixin understood: "To have a legitimate reason for taking action."
“That’s right.” Xie Chengnan tapped her head approvingly. “Although the Anguo court already knew about Xili’s actions in trying to provoke war, the people didn’t. Unaware of the truth, they would believe that their hard-won peaceful life had been shattered by the ambitions of those in power. Conversely, if we tell them the truth, letting them know that even under the emperor’s nose, the Xili are interfering, one can imagine what will happen in other places. Occasional fear among the people will not harm governance; on the contrary, it will unite the people to strengthen the nation. With the army and the people united, the world can be at peace.”
He was the heir of a marquis's family who had been retired for many years and had only recently inherited the marquis's title, yet he spoke eloquently about the way to govern a country.
Lin nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "So now, we're waiting for the other side to strike, so that we can put them in a desperate situation and make the people of Anguo furious to the extreme, causing them to rebound?"
“No. This time, we will take the offensive as our defense.” When it came to serious matters, Xie Chengnan’s lazy smile disappeared, and his eyes were full of seriousness. “We should not wait any longer. For the people of Anguo, who are in a corner of the country, it is necessary to have a legitimate reason for their attack. But for Xili, it is more attractive to take the initiative to conquer cities and territories. He should have thought of this as well.”
The "he" here naturally refers to Gu Shuan.
“If I’m not mistaken, Anguo will initiate the war tomorrow.” Xie Chengnan looked at the rising smoke in the distance and the afterglow of the setting sun disappearing behind the mountains, his brows furrowing involuntarily. “There might be an enemy attack tonight.” He turned his gaze to Lin Yi. “So now, get some rest.”
Lin Yi never imagined that the clash between the two armies would happen on such a peaceful day, but since Xie Chengnan had said so, she chose to believe him unconditionally.
An unprecedented tension gripped her heart like a tight net.
"Then I'll go back to the medical tent to prepare." Her expression was solemn and melancholy, as if she were facing a formidable enemy.
Xie Chengnan grabbed Lin Yi's hand and asked her, "Are you scared?"
“I’m afraid.” The hand that held hers was warm and strong, and Lin Yi slowly squeezed it back. “But does being afraid mean I won’t die? Of course not. Whether I’m afraid or not, countless blood will still splatter and countless soldiers will be wounded during battle. Since I chose to go with the army, I have already put life and death and fear aside. I will do my best to minimize the casualties in Anguo.”
Xie Chengnan was stunned, not expecting her to be so insightful.
"Xie Chengnan, I'm afraid of death and I don't want to die, so I will try my best to protect myself. You are the same; I don't want you to get hurt."
Xie Chengnan stared at her blankly, then suddenly laughed, "The enemy attack is just my guess, why are you so nervous? Go on, I'll come to your tent tonight."
Lin Yi did not wait for him to come looking for her.
As Xie Chengnan had predicted, bugles sounded and the entire army went on alert at night.
Xie Chengnan, as a general, was busy deploying the search along with Gu Shuan. Lin Yi was not idle either. She couldn't see what was happening outside from inside the medical tent, nor did she know what kind of surprise attack the enemy would choose. But no matter what, there would be casualties in battle, and she had to prepare in advance.
Hot water for cleaning wounds, bandages, and even suture tools were lined up, but no injured person was brought in after a long wait.
Lin Yi should have been relieved that no one was injured, but his heart grew heavier and heavier. What exactly happened?
If nothing happened, why didn't Xie Chengnan come to find her or send someone to inform her? Or had he already gone to his camp?
Generals and commanders-in-chief each have their own separate tents, which are supposed to be military strongholds with strict regulations. Women are not allowed to accompany the army, let alone enter or leave the general's tent. However, Lin Yi's trip this time had already been approved by Gu Shu'an, so Gu Shu'an turned a blind eye to the fact that the Lady of Yong'an Marquis was staying with the Marquis of Yong'an, who was also the General of the Cavalry, as an exception. Even if others had complaints, they couldn't say anything openly.
It's hard to say openly, but it's a different story in private. Lin Yi overheard the whispers of soldiers on duty and passing by several times, especially when Xie Chengnan wasn't around; they were practically whispering right next to the tent to her. Fortunately, Lin Yi had her own things to do and spent most of her day in the medical tent, not returning often.
Lin Yi wanted to go back and check on things, but he was worried that if he left, the injured would be brought back, which would delay his important business.
As she was struggling with her thoughts, the heavy curtain of the medical tent was lifted, and Jiang Ji slipped in. He was smiling and told Lin Yi that it was just a false alarm and that she should go back and rest.
Was it really just a false alarm? Lin Yi still remembered the commotion and chaotic footsteps that suddenly arose outside the tent about half an hour ago. The noise was not small, but it gradually subsided.
Lin Yi voiced his question, and Jiang Ji hesitated for a moment, seemingly feeling there was nothing to hide, before briefly explaining the situation: "The enemy surrounded the camp at night, their torches illuminating the sky red, but they only made a show of force on the outskirts, dispersing in panic without losing a single soldier. The general suspected this was a feint, and immediately sent men to check the weak points of the camp's defenses to prevent spies from infiltrating. Sure enough, they found the soldier on duty in the northwest corner knocked unconscious." Jiang Ji paused, swallowing hard: "Other than that, there was nothing else. They could have burned the grain in the chaos, but the granary was intact, the guards didn't notice anything amiss, not even half a bundle of hay was missing; scouts searched the entire camp but found no infiltrators, and no military maps were missing; the commander-in-chief personally counted the troops, and apart from the unconscious guard, there wasn't a single scratch, not a single person was missing..."
Jiang Ji fell silent, a look of confusion on his face.
This is very strange. Either this is a smokescreen deliberately set up by the Xili army, or... they received some information and canceled the operation.
Lin Yi was startled by her own guess and subconsciously looked at Jiang Ji. The latter had a solemn expression on his face. When he noticed Lin Yi looking at him, he smiled apologetically and said, "Madam, I shouldn't have said these things to you. You can just listen to it, but please don't tell the Marquis."
Leaking military secrets is a serious crime, and even if no one asked him to keep it a secret from his wife, it should be an unspoken rule.
Lin Yi agreed, retracting the question he had originally intended to ask, but still couldn't help but remind him: "This matter is definitely not simple. Do the commander-in-chief and your general have any countermeasures? We must not underestimate the enemy or be careless."
Jiang nodded several times, reassuring her. He had already made many guesses and devised countermeasures when the night raid occurred, but he had already said too much tonight, and shouldn't say anything more.
Lin Yi naturally understood and let him go.
With the alert lifted and no one injured, Lin Yi saw no need to stay in the medical tent any longer and packed up to return to the general's camp.
When they arrived at an ordinary camp, they heard a debate coming from inside, sometimes loud and sometimes soft.
"Clearly...disrupted our military deployment."
"...They can't accomplish anything..."
Lin leaned over the tent and recognized Xie Chengnan's voice, also hearing words like "investigation" and "poisoning".
It is likely because the night raid was too suspicious that they temporarily changed the location of the military meeting to prevent the military intelligence from being leaked. In order to avoid attracting attention, they did not set up heavy guards around the area, which gave Lin Yi, who was passing by, an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
There seemed to be a heated argument going on inside. Lin Yi wanted to listen more, but patrolling soldiers kept passing by. To avoid unnecessary trouble and misunderstandings, Lin Yi quickly hid behind the side of the tent. After the patrolling soldiers left, he returned to Xie Chengnan's tent first.
Lin Yi remembered that this night raid was not described in the original book, indicating that no major event had occurred. Either this was just a feint by Xili, or it was a setup for something that would happen later.
The battle situation changed rapidly, and many things happened afterward. Lin Yi couldn't immediately figure out which event this night raid was related to.
She mentally listed out several things that were going to happen, matching them one by one, and found that none of them seemed very likely.
Just as my thoughts were in turmoil, Xie Chengnan returned.
The extremely young man's brows were furrowed with an unyielding, somber expression, yet he let out a soft sigh upon seeing the dim, warm candlelight inside the tent.
Lin Yi naturally stepped forward, wanting to help him remove the heavy silver armor, but Xie Chengnan waved his hand to stop him.
"I'm not going to unload it anymore, I'm going out in a bit."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi withdrew his hand. After tossing and turning for most of the night, dawn was approaching, and after dawn, he would once again be the valiant general, sharp as frost and gleaming as moonlight, strategizing and commanding from behind the curtain.
Although she didn't say anything, she was in pain.
His 18th birthday had just passed. In the 21st century, he would have been like many other young students, finally ending his long years of exam-oriented education, passing the college entrance examination, and heading towards his dream university with boundless aspirations for the future. Perhaps he would pack his bags and embark on his own graduation trip; perhaps he would meet up with a few close friends and eat familiar dishes at a familiar restaurant; perhaps he would spend his days at home, killing time with a video game console… But those things did not belong to Xie Chengnan at 18. Before he turned 18, he single-handedly supported the vast Marquis's mansion, but after 18, his fate was to face the flames of war, the cruelty of blood and sand.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you sleepy?" Xie Chengnan asked.
"No." Lin Yi shook her head, not wanting him to notice her emotions, and tried to sound casual as she said, "Want to sleep for a while? I'll wake you up when it's light."
Xie Chengnan hummed in agreement. In truth, too many things had happened that night, each and every one of them leaving him bewildered. At this moment, his mind was in chaos, filled with a whirlwind of thoughts and speculations. But he knew he needed to rest and recharge so that he could overcome any obstacle the next day.
Lin Yi gently pulled him into her arms, her fingertips stroking the acupoints on his head, applying just the right amount of pressure, as if to knead away all the chaos and unease at her fingertips until dawn.
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