Chapter 207: Planning and strategizing
Shen Yuexi left two thousand soldiers to Feng Zhang and Yang Cong, and led a thousand cavalrymen to march back to Xiliang day and night.
The Second Prince had issued a manifesto in the area of Concubine De's maternal clan, calling on the entire nation to rise up and overthrow Emperor Yongde. Xiao Zhuo must have received the news. At this critical moment, she had to be with Xiao Zhuo.
It was late at night two days later when we set out from Xiaogang Village and arrived at the military camp north of Yongwei.
In front of the general's tent, the royal flag fluttered beneath the starry night sky. The guards silently saluted her, their eyes revealing their admiration for her.
Shen Yuexi didn't think it was a big deal. Any woman in this kind of environment would behave like her.
When he and Xiao Zhuo first fled together, they simply wanted to escape the Emperor's pursuit. They wanted to find a beautiful place to retire. But they ended up going further and further away. First, they had to fight the Western Rong, then the Jingzhou Army. And it wasn't over yet. Now they had to fight the opposition forces mobilized by the Second Prince.
Compared with the current situation, being hunted by the emperor seems like a trivial matter.
I don't know if Xiao Zhuo is asleep. How will he view all this after he learns about the Second Prince's affairs?
She came to the general's tent and asked the soldier guarding it, "Is King Zhao asleep?"
The soldier shook his head and said to Shen Yuexi, "Prince Zhao has not yet gone to bed. Princess, please wait a moment while I report to you."
Shen Yuexi said: "No need, I will go in by myself."
She tiptoed into the general's tent. The tent was divided into the front and back. The front was where Xiao Zhuo usually gave orders to the generals, while the back was where he rested.
Shen Yuexi passed the deserted front tent and entered the back tent.
Under the light, Xiao Zhuo sat at the desk with his back to her, writing something with a pen.
Xiao Zhuo, having already taken off his armor, was still wearing a moon-white robe, his jet-black hair casually draped over his back. Although it was late at night, his back remained straight, his posture not relaxed at all.
Shen Yuexi tiptoed to Xiao Zhuo's back and covered his eyes with her hands.
Xiao Zhuo's hand, which was writing, stopped. Shen Yuexi could clearly feel the muscles of his face stretching into a smile through her palms, and then Xiao Zhuo's two large hands gently covered her cold hands.
"Yuexi, didn't you say that the battle was dangerous and we should stay in Leshan?"
Shen Yuexi pressed her body against Xiao Zhuo's back, resting her chin on his shoulder, and blew gently into Xiao Zhuo's ear:
"I missed you, so I came here."
"I am writing a letter to my father. Let me finish it first." Xiao Zhuo patted the back of her hand gently.
Shen Yuexi let go of Xiao Zhuo's eyes with her hands and hugged his neck instead. She tilted her head and kissed Xiao Zhuo's cheek, then looked at the letter on the table over Xiao Zhuo's shoulder.
"Yuexi, don't move," Xiao Zhuo picked up the pen, "My hands are shaking. If the handwriting is crooked, this letter will have to be rewritten."
"Am I that heavy?" Shen Yuexi pouted. "Does your hand shake when I move?"
"It's not heavy. You rub against my back and it makes me feel upset, and when I feel upset my hands shake."
"Then I won't move around. I'll warm your back." Shen Yuexi leaned obediently on his back.
Xiao Zhuo dipped the brush in ink again and continued writing on the paper.
Shen Yuexi followed his pen and read word by word:
"Don't worry, Father. I will soon... pacify Jingzhou. I will return immediately. When my troops arrive... I will defeat the King of Qi for you. If the King of Qi is defeated, the rest of us will be nothing to worry about."
It was obvious that Xiao Zhuo now carried an air of dominance. This air did not come from his appearance, but from the strong confidence that came from his countless victories.
But she always felt a little bit unconvinced. Could it be that her husband was the reincarnation of the God of War?
"My dear, the Second Prince has called on the entire world to rise up and resist Emperor Yongde."
"Yes, I know." Xiao Zhuo put down his pen, picked up the paper and blew gently on the ink. "It's okay. Only the King of Qi needs to be handled with caution. As for the others, they are all mediocre."
Shen Yuexi sighed and said, "Husband, you still have the Jingzhou Army in front of you. Xiao Beiheng is just to your north, and I heard that he's also winning battles against the Western Rong. With these people still here, you're already thinking about the King of Qi?"
Xiao Zhuo put the paper down and said, "Xiao Kai is a brave man, but he doesn't understand military affairs. Although he has an army of 200,000, he is tied up. I have won several battles in a row. However, the enemy's army is too large to be easily defeated. Now half of their forces have been lost, and the time for a decisive victory is at hand. As for Xiao Beiheng, I have already arranged for Meng Yue and others to guard Nanping. Xiao Beiheng cannot cross Nanping, and he has the Xirong behind him. There is no need to worry."
"What about Meipu?" Shen Yuexi was a little worried. "The Second Prince has called on the whole world to obey. Meipu must have received the letter as well."
"Mep is my good friend. I've done my best for him, even without considering this. To protect Xiliang, he will just wait and see."
Seeing that Xiao Zhuo spoke so clearly, Shen Yuexi felt relieved.
Xiao Zhuo seemed to have thought everything through long ago and was not panicked at all. She really didn't need to worry about him.
After Xiao Zhuo sealed the letter and called the soldiers to send it out, and there were only two people left in the tent, she asked, "Your father killed Prince Jing and Concubine De. Don't you care?"
Xiao Zhuo pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"I know all of this. My father is a reckless man, and he always has been. But I am his son, and a son cannot criticize his father. Besides, although my father has made mistakes, they were all for good reasons, and he has not committed the crime of indiscriminate killing."
Shen Yuexi wanted to say that his father was wrong and that it was okay for his son to point it out. But then she realized that Xiao Zhuo still had the ancient mindset and couldn't expect him to become enlightened all of a sudden.
"Have you ever considered that perhaps Prince Jing, Concubine De and the others were wrongly accused, and your father didn't even give them a chance to defend themselves?"
"Of course I thought about it. But it's true that Prince Jing went to the capital without informing my father, and that he gave gifts to Consort Xian. A gentleman acts openly and honestly, so he must have something to hide. As for Consort De, I have investigated thoroughly and it was indeed she who framed me. My father killed her out of hatred, so what was wrong with that? Now the Second Prince is committing treason, using his son to bring his father down. This is treasonous. I will quell this rebellion for my father."
Only then did Shen Yuexi understand that in Xiao Zhuo's eyes, this was a rebellion against the superiors.
He will deal with all those who participated in the rebellion one by one.
Xiao Zhuo turned around and held her shoulders with his two big hands: "Yuexi, your husband will be competing with Xiao Kai in the next few days. You have a sister, Chen Lan, who is with Xiao Kai, right?"
"Chen Lan...yes."
Shen Yuexi almost didn't react. Her knowledge of Shen Lan was limited to her memory, a chance encounter with Longshengzhen. If Xiao Zhuo hadn't mentioned it, she would have forgotten it.
"Chen Lan is also in the Jingzhou Army. She and Xiao Kai came to attend Mei Pu's wedding. During the journey, the Jingzhou Army directly attacked Xiliang, so she stayed in the Jingzhou Army. Now she is in Yongwei."
"Well, what does my husband mean?"
Xiao Zhuo said seriously, "She is your sister, and I don't want her to be hurt. On the day of the decisive battle, Xiao Kai's defeated army will have nowhere to go but to retreat to Yongwei. When the time comes, I will end this war and must attack Yongwei. When the city falls, she will probably not be able to escape."
"I understand, husband. I will send the secret guards to rescue my sister." Shen Yuexi nodded.
Xiao Zhuo loved Chen Lan and didn't want her to be hurt either. That was easy. She sent secret guards to rescue Chen Lan and send her back to the Duke's Mansion in the capital.
"This matter needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Once the two armies engage in battle, it will be too late."
After Xiao Zhuo finished speaking, he took her hand and said, "Let's go to bed."
Xiao Zhuo's behavior this time surprised Shen Yuexi. Why was he so obedient today? He didn't even touch her anymore.
She was used to him before, and now he's suddenly so well behaved, so she's still a little uncomfortable.
It wasn't until Xiao Zhuo fell into a deep sleep upon getting into bed that she finally understood. It turned out that Xiao Zhuo, after days of fighting, was also tired. He wasn't the tireless god of war she had imagined.
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