Chapter 51: Moonlight Hand Talk! Talk about what the Third Prince likes to hear
As they were talking, it was already getting late and the palace gates were locked. Neither He Zhaojun nor Wen Ziduan could leave the palace, so Concubine Yue arranged for them to rest in the left and right side halls.
Both of them had their own worries and couldn't sleep.
Wen Ziduan knew that Ling Buyi was going to look for old friends in the Huo family army tonight, and he didn't know whether the progress was smooth; and He Zhaojun knew that Ling Zisheng would definitely not be able to come back in time after the proposal was made tomorrow, and Shao Shang would be even more sad if he knew about it.
"Young lady, haven't you rested yet?" Old Lady Bai looked at the flickering lights in the hall and asked in a low voice while standing outside the door.
He Zhaojun hummed, put on her cloak, and opened the door. The moonlight in front of the palace was as bright as a silver thread, the sky was clear, and there was a gentle breeze. She was very proud.
I saw a man standing under a tree in the courtyard in front of the palace. He had a slender figure and a face as beautiful as jade. The moonlight made his skin look whiter than snow, making him even more beautiful than a girl.
"Greetings to the Third Prince." He Zhaojun took a look at the endgame on the table next to her. The black pieces were hidden and seemed to be at a disadvantage, but in fact they had already taken control of the whole situation. The white pieces had the advantage of taking the initiative, but still showed signs of decline.
Wen Ziduan put down his wine cup and said, "Can't sleep? Play a few rounds with me."
He Zhaojun had only a passing knowledge of chess, but fortunately, Concubine Yue was a master of chess and taught her everything she knew. During this time, she had made considerable progress. So, she said, "I'm going to show you my skills," and made her move with the white pieces.
"I heard that the General of Cavalry gave An Chengjun 3,000 soldiers to use?" Wen Ziduan pretended to be casual and mentioned it casually.
He Zhaojun nodded. "Yes, that's what father meant. He also hoped that if one day he and my brother... I could protect myself, I could at least protect my younger brother, so that he wouldn't lose support in my future husband's family."
"How does it feel to lead troops?"
"I'm naturally not as good as my father and brother in ordinary methods, but now, I have a method to train these three thousand people into a killer weapon that can be used at the critical moment."
He Zhaojun hadn't intended to keep it a secret. Although the He family's troops were their own, they were the king's subjects. She had told Wen Ziduan today, hoping to take this opportunity to reassure Emperor Wen about the He family.
"I organized five hundred of them into teams, divided into five teams: Giant Wood, Fiery Fire, Thick Earth, Sharp Gold, and Great Water.[24] The remaining five hundred were trained in flag and lantern language for rapid transmission. Once trained successfully, I could command them from a distance of a thousand miles and take the heads of enemy generals."
Wen Ziduan put down the chess piece, his palms sweating. He didn't know what this little girl was going to do. "I'd like to hear more about it."
"Well... then you have to high-five and swear an oath with me first that you won't tell anyone else." He Zhaojun was still keeping the secret, and while Wen Ziduan's attention was focused on the method she proposed, she secretly took away a few of his chess pieces.
After receiving a positive answer, He Zhaojun finally spoke, "The Giant Wood Team is dedicated to sieges. We'll select the strongest men in the team and train them. On the battlefield, they'll lift the siege wood and work together seamlessly. In a few seconds, they'll be able to knock down the molten copper city gates."
"That's doable! But what if we encounter a hinged, suspended gate?"
"I've developed a catapult. As long as we prepare the huge stones, and then have these strong men use the machine to throw them, it will almost always hit the target. In just ten attempts, even the strongest city wall will be breached."
Wen Ziduan recalled that he had seen the two little girls working on a mechanism together before, one of which was called a catapult. Unexpectedly, they had successfully developed it within just a few days.
"Catapult... I don't have enough money, so I can only make a small one." He Zhaojun complained. Making machinery was a bottomless pit of money. "How about you pay the money and I'll provide the blueprint? Consider it a stake, how about that?"
"I don't have money to build large machines. The people in the Giant Wood Flag are all idle, so they go up the mountain to collect firewood and sell it to make a living..." He Zhaojun said very pitifully.
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