Upon hearing this, Ye Guixue nodded and immediately took out a topographical map from the carriage.
He spread the map in front of Su Rong, saying to her, "This map was drawn years ago, after I personally traversed the mountains and rivers of Nanchu. It is much more detailed than the one you possess."
Su Rong looked at it and immediately laughed, "We knew you would have a more detailed one."
She turned to ask Ye Guixue, "If Han Yin were to take forty thousand troops back to Dawei, which route would he take? If we were to take the shortest route to intercept him, which way should we go to successfully halt them?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Guixue examined the topographical map and began to ponder.
Ye Guiyan also came closer to join the examination.
Meanwhile, Su Rong and Qin Ruo didn’t sit idle either, they also explored the detailed topographical map.
After a while, Ye Guixue pointed out, "Han Yin might take either of these two routes, but it’s hard to determine exactly which one. But what’s certain is that we can intercept him at Yunbi Mountain. Yunbi Mountain, which is around twelve hundred li from here, is the only route to Dawei from here. But there’s one more path that is more difficult to travel on. This route is not as smooth, requires climbing over rugged terrain, and it’s hard to figure out the direction, but it reduces the journey by a third. This route, which is rarely used and not documented in any topographical maps, is unlikely known to Han Yin. Even if he did, he wouldn’t take it. Princess, if you want to intercept him by taking the shortest route, this would be your best choice."
"It indeed is a dangerous route; the carriages will certainly have trouble progressing." Su Rong looked at Ye Guixue and Ye Guiyan’s injuries and immediately said, "You have someone who knows this path, right? Let him join me. I will leave fifty thousand troops here for you and take the other hundred thousand with me. You can either continue towards the royal capital or wait for the large number of troops I borrowed from the back to gather."
Ye Guixue immediately responded, "I will go with you, princess. My injury is not severe. My older brother can stay to command the troops."
"Can you manage horse-riding on mountainous terrain?" Su Rong doubted his capabilities. "You won’t be able to bear it. Don’t push yourself."
"I can bear it," Ye Guixue confidently said. "While someone can lead the way for the princess, I’m not reassured. I’ll accompany you. If this route doesn’t work out, we can change our path and react accordingly. I understand Nanchu much better than you do."
Ye Guiyan, who was standing nearby, said, "Princess, please, take my younger brother with you. He has guards and soldiers with him. If he can’t bear it, there’ll be people to support him. There is also Miss. Lan Zhi by your side who can provide treatment when needed."
Su Rong initially wanted to object, but seeing even Ye Guiyan suggesting the same and Ye Guixue determined, she gave in and nodded, "Okay."
Seeing Su Rong agree, Ye Guixue smiled.
Su Rong said, "I will let Ye Xiang and the lady know about this, and then we will split our forces."
After finishing, she said to Ye Guiyan, "You can be rest assured, I am leaving my secret guard, Fu Zhou with you. He can coordinate with the large number of troops from the rear."
Ye Guiyan nodded, "Alright, Princess, you too, can be rest assured."
After Su Rong instructed him, she, along with Qin Ruo, stepped out of Ye Guixue’s carriage.
The carriages led by Ye Xiang had already stopped. Ye Xiang was peering out, seeing Su Rong approaching his carriage, he asked, "Princess, has something happened?"
Su Rong nodded, "Yes, there is a matter. Ye Xiang, is it convenient for me to discuss it with you in your carriage, or would you like to step out?"
"Please come in, princess," Ye Xiang immediately made room.
After Su Rong entered Ye Xiang’s carriage, she found it neat and tidy. With books everywhere, occupying more than half of the carriage, and no sign of the lady, she blinked curiously. She could tell that it wasn’t convenient for the lady to rest together in Ye Xiang’s carriage, because Ye Xiang had to work, meet people, exchange letters, and have visitors.
Ye Xiang also explained, "My wife doesn’t like the restraints and noise in my carriage. She has her carriage, which allows her to sleep comfortably."
Su Rong nodded, sat down, and said, "I came to meet you, Ye Xiang, to discuss something..."
She repeated the plan she had discussed with Qin Ruo, Ye Guixue, and Ye Guiyan to Ye Xiang.
After listening to her, Ye Xiang rubbed his forehead, sighing, "Indeed, they are the younger generation, a generation of talented people. We are getting old." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
After saying this with deep emotion, he nodded at Su Rong, "What the Young Master Qin said was right. Even I didn’t immediately think of the threat of Dawei’s five hundred thousand troops stationed on the border of Nanchu. It’s indeed a significant threat, and we need to strategize in advance."
He agreed, "Princess, you go ahead. Since you’ve left Fu Zhou here for communications, we can feel at ease. I will discuss with Guiyan and decide whether to rush back to the Royal Capital or wait for the large number of troops from the rear. We can discuss the rest later."
Su Rong nodded, "Thank you, Ye Xiang. I will now get started on troop deployment."
"Good," Ye Xiang nodded.
So, Su Rong exited the carriage and ordered her army to halt temporarily, allowing her to deploy the troops.
Half an hour later, the deployment of one hundred thousand troops was completed. Fifty thousand were cavalry, and the rest were infantry. Considering Ye Guixue’s serious injuries, a carriage was provided for him to ride on the next short part of the journey. The rest of the carriages were kept with the fifty thousand troops. Su Rong also chose to ride on horseback.
After splitting the army into two, quickly the hundred thousand soldiers disappeared from sight.
Ye Guiyan ordered a brief rest, then entered Ye Xiang’s carriage and said to Ye Xiang, "Father, the princess is a very decisive person. My younger brother was right, she is very resolute and decisive."
"If she weren’t resolute and decisive, how could she have made such a firm decision on her marriage?" Ye Xiang sighed lightly, "She’s a good princess and will also make a good monarch in the future."
Ye Guiyan said, "Earlier, Father was worried that the princess, due to her young age, might value personal feelings over the state affairs. But it doesn’t seem so now, Father can be rest assured."
Ye Xiang nodded, "Yes, I’m very reassured."
Rumors are just rumors. The gossip about Su Rong is diverse. After Ye Guixue returned from Daliang with his version of events, Ye Xiang, in his anger, let the harsh reality cloud his judgment towards Su Rong, and he subsequently lost hope.
Now, having witnessed a life-and-death disaster and experienced her timely rescue, after observing her speech and conduct, he realized the truth of the saying ’seeing is believing’. His previous negative opinions about her were biased and underestimated her.
No wonder she is a student of Xie Yuan! If she had been raised by the king from an early age, probably she wouldn’t have been educated so well. Not to belittle the king, but in terms of education, Xie Yuan, who had achieved the top rank in the imperial examinations, is the real talent.
Ye Xiang contemplated, "We should hurry to the Royal Capital—we cannot let Nangong traitor get any ideas about aligning with Dawei under unfavorable circumstances. At the very least, we need to stop him first."
Ye Guiyan nodded, "Father, your words are wise."
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