Vice Minister Wu is the father of Princess Yongjia. He hates Xie Xiao so much that he wants to devour her flesh and blood to save his daughter. He will do everything in his power, but the emperor is not at ease and sent the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards to accompany him.
Vice Minister Wu naturally wanted to set off immediately.
But when asked about grain supplies by the Ministry of Revenue, the Minister of Revenue shrugged and said, "Your Majesty, there is no grain left."
The Emperor was taken aback. "It's gone so quickly?"
Suddenly, he understood that he had to leave some for himself and the army in the capital.
So an order was issued, instructing all the ministers' families to contribute a little something to see if they could gather enough food for Vice Minister Wu for a few days.
Four days should be enough for them to reach Yuzhou.
"Once you wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold gang, you'll have food." The emperor thought himself very wise.
With this kind of pressure, they become like lions burning their boats in desperation! They will inevitably be invincible.
The emperor was greatly relieved and turned around to hold a banquet with his concubines.
But the emperor was very dissatisfied with the food. "Today is New Year's Eve, why are there only these few dishes?"
Eunuch Yun, who was in charge of the meals, arrived. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Treasury is almost empty, and there's nowhere to buy more right now."
The Crown Prince's mother, Consort Tong, said coldly, "You bunch of servants, did you steal the food yourselves?"
The emperor was furious and ordered Eunuch Liu to personally go to the imperial kitchen and have some of the best dishes prepared.
Not long after, the imperial kitchen served a Buddha Jumps Over the Wall dish.
The emperor enjoyed the soup and meat while watching the song and dance performance.
The meat in the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup was stewed so tender that the original ingredients were almost unrecognizable. The emperor tasted it and found it different from before, but surprisingly delicious.
Meanwhile, in a dense forest on another high mountain west of Zhongnan Mountain.
Chu Yunji was standing on a rock at the top of the mountain, looking towards Kyoto.
During the battle with Xie Xiao, he was directing from the rear and learned of Li Qing's return, which is why he had no choice but to evacuate Qinghua Mountain.
That battle not only resulted in the loss of 30,000 troops, but also the loss of Yang Huan, a trusted general.
Fortunately, he didn't personally lead the attack. Instead, he instructed General Fu to hide another 30,000 troops in this dense forest, providing himself with a way out, and...
A sinister and crazed look flashed in Chu Yunji's eyes. Since he couldn't kill Xie Xiao or capture Li Ruo, he would kill his emperor brother first.
"Your Highness, you are indeed a prophet." Zhang, the advisor, strode over. "Our people in the palace have reported that the Emperor indeed thought Your Highness was dead and sent Vice Minister Wu with 50,000 soldiers to suppress bandits in Yuzhou. Only 100,000 soldiers remain in the capital."
The prince's move was truly killing two birds with one stone.
On the one hand, he wanted the emperor to send people to wipe out Black Wind Stronghold. If Minister Wu won, that would be even better. Even if he didn't win, both he and Black Wind Stronghold would suffer heavy losses.
On the other hand, with fewer imperial guards at Yutai Temple, it was a good time for the prince to take action.
With General Fu's 30,000 elite troops and the Minister of Revenue as an inside ally, the prince may well win.
Chu Yunji asked coldly, "When will Vice Minister Wu depart for Yuzhou?"
Zhang's advisor said, "We are gathering provisions, which should take about three days."
Chu Yunji: "Alright, let's go to Yutai Temple in three days."
What he regretted most was that he failed to capture Li Ruo; if he had their kerosene, it would have been much easier.
That woman still had so much kerosene. The scouts who came back last time said they also had strange headgear.
So who exactly is she?
Having this woman would surely help him conquer the world; she must fall into his hands. But the most urgent task is to control His Majesty's 100,000 imperial guards and use them for his own purposes.
"Your Highness, the Yang family requests an audience."
After Yang Huan died, they cried and wailed all day long, which annoyed Chu Yunji to no end, but he still went over to them.
Yang Ying's eyes were filled with tears, and she looked like a weak willow in the wind, as if she might fall down at any moment.
He helped her up.
Yang Ying fell into his arms, "Your Highness, you must avenge my brother." She was extremely beautiful and had a soft voice, which made Zhang, the advisor beside her, feel weak in the knees.
Your Highness is truly blessed with good fortune in love.
Chu Yunji helped her sit up and said, "I will definitely avenge your brother, but there is one thing I need your help with. I wonder if you are willing? In three days, I will send you to the Jade Terrace Temple..."
On the other side of Ziyang Peak, everyone was having a lively and special New Year's Eve.
There were no stars or moon, only howling winds and falling rain and snow.
But none of this dampened everyone's enthusiasm for the Chinese New Year.
On Ziyang Peak, Li Ruo, along with Old Lady Li, Sister Lin, and hundreds of Miao women from Black Wind Village, made dumplings together.
The New Year's Eve dinner consisted of two steamed buns and six dumplings per person, with fillings including spinach and pork, and oyster mushrooms and pork.
In addition, each soldier received two ounces of meat, and the logistics personnel received one ounce.
This is already quite rare.
Not to mention there was also a small bowl of hot wine.
Night fell, and it was time to eat.
As the head coach, Xie Dadangjia gave a speech to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year: "Brothers, the flood was so difficult, but we all survived. Perhaps next year will be even more difficult because we will be expanding our territory! But as long as we get through next year, I can assure you that we will not starve the year after next, and we will have plenty of food and clothing the year after that."
Xie Xiao's eyes were deep and cold, yet filled with starlight, mountains and rivers, and the sight of iron horses and golden spears. His undisguised ambition burst forth, making the brothers' blood boil.
"Alright, I'll follow the boss!"
"Let's work hard to have enough to eat and wear!"
The air was filled with shouts and the clinking of wine bowls, so loud and pleasant to the ear. Victory or defeat was nothing but morale.
Li Ruo secretly glanced at Su Shi, whom she had arranged to sit at the back. Su Shi's face showed a hint of bewilderment and shock. She probably didn't expect her son, whom she didn't have high hopes for, to be so unrestrained and arrogant.
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