Chapter 95
The next day, as dawn broke, Xie Chengnan led a troop out of the city and ambushed the Xili army camp via a side road, monitoring their movements. He planned to launch a surprise attack on their supply lines when Gu Shuan arrived with his main force and the two armies clashed.
This was something they had agreed upon in their camp yesterday. A slight disagreement arose during the discussion. Gu Shu'an believed that since this was their first encounter, they should conserve their strength, first ascertain the enemy's strength and weaknesses, and then formulate a detailed battle plan before committing all their forces. Xie Chengnan utterly despised this; it was Gu Shu'an who wanted to take the initiative, and it was also he who refused to fight openly.
Xie Chengnan wasn't acting rashly; he simply understood all too well the drawbacks of wanting to have it all. Gu Shu'an wanted to take the initiative to seize the initiative, so he couldn't be too conservative. Constantly probing would only make the warlike Xili people think that Anguo was cautious and lacked strength. Moreover, Xili's ambiguous night raid had likely revealed Anguo's troop deployment. Hiding their strength was now futile; it was better to seize this opportunity to achieve a great victory and boost morale.
The two men held differing views and argued endlessly. In the end, they each compromised. Gu Shu'an led 30,000 troops to engage Xili in direct combat, while the rest of the troops remained in the camp to prepare for battle and provide reinforcements at any time. The commander-in-chief took the opportunity to learn about Xili's fighting style and habits, while Xie Chengnan lay in ambush nearby to adapt to changing circumstances.
The Xili army will not commit too much to this battle. Scouts will only be able to find out about three days' worth of food supplies. However, food supplies are the foundation for maintaining morale. Seeing the enemy's food supplies being burned, our army's morale will surely surge like a tidal wave.
Everything proceeded as expected, and the battle went relatively smoothly. The Xili army had deployed over 20,000 troops here, intending to wipe them out in one fell swoop. However, the enemy retreated while fighting, demonstrating an excellent understanding of the terrain. Anguo's numerical advantage was not significant, and over 4,000 Xili soldiers were forced to withdraw from the pass. Further ahead lay vast Gobi Desert. Two scouts were dispatched to reconnoiter the route, while the remaining troops returned to camp to rest.
Once a direct confrontation occurs, casualties are inevitable, but this battle can be considered a great victory. Lin only spent a busy day settling the wounded soldiers in. The subsequent tasks were simple operations such as changing dressings. There were also several military doctors accompanying the army, so she didn't need to do it herself.
But she couldn't stay idle; she always wanted to do more for everyone.
Liangzhou was significantly colder than Mingzhou, with a large temperature difference between day and night. Some soldiers had already caught colds, and Lin Yi was thinking of making some warming soups. Just then, the cooks brought over ginger soup. The scalding hot soup was served in a large bucket, and the pungent aroma was noticeable even before she got close. Lin Yi leaned closer and saw that the soup was murky and yellowish, with coarse ginger dregs floating in it. This time, she didn't even have the courage to take a sip, and her longing for ginger ale deepened. The days of fighting and killing were already tough enough; why make things harder for herself?
Suddenly, Lin Yi had a thought and remembered the herbal tea he had drunk in the south. Although there was no cola here, herbal tea could be made at home.
She found several medicinal herbs, carried a bunch of bottles and jars, and went to the cooking camp.
The cooking stoves in the army were simple and unusually large, making them awkward for Lin Yi to use. Her original intention was to test the taste first, and if it was good, she would promote it in the army. So she cooked a large pot of it directly.
Fortunately, the taste was acceptable; the tangerine peel and licorice balanced it out, leaving a sweet and mellow aftertaste amidst the spiciness. Lin Yi then decided to distribute it directly to the soldiers.
The head cook stopped her with a troubled look: "Miss... your soup is good, but it's only good for you. According to military regulations, the portion of food for every soldier is determined by the commander-in-chief. Any increase or decrease requires the commander-in-chief's approval."
Illness can enter through the mouth, so it is indeed understandable to strictly control one's diet. Lin Yi did not make things difficult for him, but asked him to keep an eye on this bucket of tea. He then poured out a bowl of tea and took it to Gu Shuan.
After leaving the cooking camp, she wandered around for a while before realizing that she didn't know where Gu Shuan's command tent was, so she changed her route and went to find Xie Chengnan first.
After a successful first battle, the entire army rested for a day. Xie Chengnan no longer wore that heavy silver armor, but only a close-fitting soft armor. The armor plates were as thin as scales, shimmering slowly with his breath, and then tapering down into a black belt. The tiger pattern painted on the belt outlined a slender waistline, like bamboo or cypress, or a solitary peak on a cliff.
Lin Yi saw this and suddenly felt an itch to touch it.
"Try it, is it good?"
The tea in the bowl had gone cold by the time it was brought over, but Xie Chengnan didn't mind and drank it all in one gulp.
Before he finished his drink, Lin Yi swiftly reached out and poked the section of waist meat that made her itch.
It's natural to feel guilty when you're a thief for the first time. Lin Yi withdrew his hand, silently clicking his tongue. It was too fast; he hadn't found anything.
Xie Chengnan sensed her subtle movement and chuckled silently, "Delicious." He then slammed the bowl on the table, and taking advantage of Lin Yi's momentary lapse in attention, grabbed the escaping hand and placed it back on his waist.
The entire sequence of movements was fluid and clean, instantly closing the distance between the two. Xie Chengnan asked with a mischievous grin in her ear, "What did you find?"
A low chuckle swept down her ear, and Lin Yi shuddered, instinctively trying to escape, but Xie Chengnan wouldn't let her. Her wrist was gripped tightly, and a new restraint had appeared around her waist. So, in a fit of desperation, she mustered her courage and gave him a firm squeeze, commenting, "Tight and firm lines, acceptable."
She saw the sly glint in Xie Chengnan's eyes, then quickly changed the subject, "It's just that it feels too hard to the touch, not nice to the touch."
Xie Chengnan was taken aback by this remark and didn't know how to respond for a moment. However, he was thick-skinned and quickly turned the tables: "It seems that Madam has been appraising many things. Why don't you tell me which one feels better to the touch?"
Lin Yi's ears burned, and she finally couldn't resist, angrily saying, "Where am I supposed to touch you?"
"So there's no one to touch you... Why don't you just tell me the truth? Why are you sneaking around like this?"
His voice trailed off with a laugh, sounding both cheeky and seductive. Lin Yi couldn't take it anymore and slapped away the handsome face that had been so close to her.
After they had made enough of a scene, Xie Chengnan took her to find Gu Shuan.
Inside the commander's tent, Gu Shu'an stared intently at a spot, seemingly deep in thought. Lin Yi followed his gaze and saw a plate of fruit on the table, and couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.
It was a plate of freshly washed, still relatively fresh fruits, glistening with water droplets. But these fruits were not from Liangzhou. Apart from the bunch of purple grapes, a specialty of Liangzhou, the rest, like citrus fruits, had to be transported from the south by fast horses.
They were encamped outside the pass, so this plate of fruit could only have been sent from Liangzhou, the nearest prefecture. But Liangzhou was located in a remote area; how could it have such financial resources?
Lin Yi quickly realized that in the original book, the Zhan family army's defeat and betrayal of Xili in the battle was a deliberate frame-up, orchestrated by a court official, seemingly a prince. Lin Yi had been in Mingzhou for some time now and was familiar with the various factions there, but he hadn't heard of any prince wielding significant power. Unless one held immense authority, extending their reach to the border was extremely difficult, unless someone was providing close support. Therefore, Liangzhou, just across the border, was the best option.
If we focus our attention on the trade between Liangzhou City and other places in recent years, and dig deep along this line, we might be able to uncover key clues to the old case of the Zhan family's treason. Following the trail, the mysterious person who secretly manipulated things in the court back then will eventually be exposed.
She knew the connection, but couldn't say it directly. She had to conform to Qiu Qingye's understanding while also utilizing the information she currently possessed as an accompanying female doctor, subtly guiding them to find the truth themselves.
This really put her in a difficult position.
Lin Yi feigned indignation and said, "Your Highness is certainly having a comfortable time as commander-in-chief. Even the honey pears of Mingzhou City are being sent to you. You must have spent a lot of money, right?"
Gu Shuan seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in her words, reached out and picked out the small, smooth-skinned pear from a pile of fruits, and said, "Even you can tell."
Lin Yi felt this wasn't a compliment and said irritably, "What did you see?"
Gu Shuan shook his head and stopped talking.
Just as the conversation was about to end abruptly, Lin Yi was anxious about how to continue. At that moment, the curtain was lifted and someone entered.
Looking up, I was surprised to see Zhan Xian in full military uniform.
Zhan Xian was also taken aback when she saw her, seemingly not expecting Lin Yi to also travel with the army. However, she quickly composed herself, walked up to Gu Shuan, and said calmly, "Commander, you wanted to see me?"
Gu Shuan summoned her here to discuss the deployment of cavalry archery, but before Gu Shuan could speak, Lin Yi stepped forward, snatched the pear from his hand, took a big bite, and steered the conversation back to this plate of fruit that shouldn't have been there.
"Not bad, quite juicy." She then held out a piece to Xie Chengnan's lips. "Would you like to try some?"
Xie Chengnan didn't mind and took another bite from the spot she had bitten.
It's not as fresh as what you get in Minnesota, but considering the distance between the two places is hundreds of miles, it's already quite an achievement to maintain this level of freshness.
Zhan Xian narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly: "These are pears from Mingzhou?"
“It’s from Mingzhou.” Xie Chengnan had lived in Mingzhou for 18 years, and this honey pear was one of the most famous local specialties, so he would never mistake it.
After a long silence, Gu Shuan finally spoke: "This was sent by the Prefect of Liangzhou this morning."
“There’s a problem with Liangzhou Prefecture,” Xie Chengnan said.
Lin Yi glanced at the three men, each lost in thought, and took another bite of the pear: "There's definitely something wrong. It's at least 800 li from Mingzhou to here. 800 li, and the pears are still fresh. How much silver would it cost to send them here by express courier? Is Liangzhou really such a wealthy place?"
"Better to be a beggar in Mingzhou than a wealthy man in Liangzhou—this is a common saying among the people of Liangzhou," Zhan Xian said.
"The officials are rich while the people are poor. Either the officials have lined their own pockets with the people's hard-earned money, or they couldn't resist the temptation and took some benefits from others." Lin Yi crunched on the pear and casually pointed: "Didn't you want to overturn the case? Maybe you took the benefits from the people who framed your family back then."
These two things seem completely unrelated. To others, even Zhan Xian, it would sound like she was making baseless accusations. But Lin Yi knew that Gu Shuan would definitely investigate.
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