Of course, it wasn't that the two were afraid of anything, but rather that they couldn't be so reckless.
High skill breeds daring; not everyone dares to be so presumptuous.
The Huang brothers dared to venture deep into Gandan with only a few hundred cavalrymen, while the others, with five thousand men, only dared to camp nearby.
"Little Tree, you should rest first. Let's come back later."
Ms. Xie was indeed somewhat angry.
Ever since she learned that almost all the people going out were her husband and Jiang Chao, she had been very dissatisfied with their inaction.
However, she also knew that matters of national importance could not be taken lightly, so she pursed her lips, gave the space to the three of them, and called Jiang Chao from the kitchen over.
Once everyone had arrived, Huang Lao Er became serious. "Gandan has indeed run into trouble. Jiang Chao's guess was right."
"What's up?"
The three of them asked the question in unison.
"The Khan needs to choose a successor."
"And then?" Jiang Chao asked after a moment of thought. "What did he do?"
"He declared that he would publicly select a crown prince, and the northwest became a testing ground for the princes. The competition began with the tribal assembly, which was on the eighth day of the eleventh month."
"What happened in those previous battles?" Yang Qing asked angrily. "Were we just used as practice targets?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Lao Er remained silent, tacitly agreeing to the matter.
"That's outrageous!" Yang Qing said angrily. "A bunch of barbarians, using the Great Zhou as a whetstone, what right do they have?"
The mighty Zhou Dynasty has become a whetstone for barbarians; just thinking about it makes me furious.
"Arrogant! Outrageous!"
Yang Qing was furious and even wanted to grab a knife and kill them right then and there.
No one responded to her words; everyone's feelings were complicated.
Seeing this, Huang Lao Er calmly dropped another bombshell, "This is not the most troublesome thing."
What does that mean?
One sentence put everyone on edge.
"The Khan of Gandan not only had many sons, but also had a large number of warhorses and very good relations with the surrounding small countries."
"Could it be," Yang Qing asked uncertainly, "that those foreign tribes also want to get involved?"
"Very likely!"
Despite saying that, Huang Lao Er was 90% certain.
The Great Zhou Dynasty had a vast territory and abundant resources, which had long been coveted by neighboring small countries, but they dared not show their faces due to the strength of the Great Zhou.
However, in recent decades, the Great Zhou has become increasingly weak, with military generals holding low status and a severe lack of renowned generals to protect the country. It is already very difficult to deal with even the small Gandan.
It's understandable that those smaller countries are eager to make moves.
After figuring this out, everyone's expression turned serious.
"This matter must be reported to the court as soon as possible. Gandan is already so difficult to deal with. If they join forces, we will not be able to withstand them at all."
The others completely agreed with Yang Qing's words.
"Any other news?" Jiang Chao frowned. "Which princes were involved? What forces are behind them, and what are their methods?"
"have no idea."
Huang Lao Er gave a wry smile, "It wasn't easy to find out this much information."
The Gandan camp was heavily fortified, and even he almost didn't make it back.
"Thanks for your hard work!"
Yang Qing knew all this, patted Huang Lao Er on the shoulder to comfort him, and then hurriedly left.
Seeing this, Fang Han quickly followed.
In an instant, the camp became empty.
"I'll go and call my sister-in-law over."
“Hmm,” Huang Lao Er paused, then instructed, “Don’t tell her these things, lest she overthink things.”
“I disagree,” Jiang Chao stated his reasons. “Since Aunt dared to let Sister-in-law come, it’s definitely not to let her cause trouble. You should give her the most basic trust.”
"I'll think about it."
Huang Lao Er's feelings were very complicated.
He only wanted his wife to live a carefree life, and he would bear all the pressure from the outside world himself.
However, Jiang Chao's words made a lot of sense.
“Second brother,” Jiang Chao couldn’t understand Huang Lao Er’s dilemma, “Don’t think of your sister-in-law as some kind of cat. Every time, she’s the one who’s completely dominating you.”
Jiang Chao never doubted the capabilities of the women in his family; even the seemingly harmless Xiao Wu was not to be trifled with.
"Nonsense!"
Huang Lao Er's voice sounded weak.
Although I don't think there's anything shameful about being afraid of my wife, I don't want others to bring it up again and again.
“Then let’s not keep it a secret,” Jiang Chao said, expressing his guess. “If these people really unite, the situation in the Northwest will definitely not be good. Even my aunt will be forced to get involved, and my sister-in-law will find out sooner or later.”
"Alright then!"
When Madam Xie came over with the chicken soup, she immediately sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong with you two?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chao tentatively asked, "Did your aunt give you any instructions before you came?"
"Take good care of yourself, that's all," these words made Xie even more puzzled. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Something's happened!"
"What's up?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Lao Er coughed lightly and briefly recounted the previous intelligence in a calm, emotionless voice.
Finally, she said regretfully, "I didn't want you to know this, but Jiang Chao said he wanted to trust you."
“You must believe me,” Xie said proudly, raising her chin. “I have been learning formations from my mother, and they are more useful than you think.”
"Sister-in-law," Jiang Chao said, somewhat disbelieving that her aunt hadn't explained, "what exactly are you doing in the Northwest?"
"I'm not doing anything, I'm just worried about my man."
Xie spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but the other two people felt very uncomfortable.
Huang Lao Er was very shy. Although he was happy that his wife cared about him, it was still embarrassing for her to say it so casually.
Even so, he held his wife's hand tightly, and for a moment, the whole room was filled with pink bubbles.
Jiang Chao felt a little jealous.
He had always resisted getting married and having children, not wanting another person to enter his life. But feeling the deep, sticky bond between them, he also began to desire a wife like that.
Driven by jealousy, she decisively interrupted their flirtatious exchange, asking, "Sister-in-law, are you sure you can set up an array around the entire camp right now?"
“Yes,” she said, changing the subject, “but I don’t have Mother’s kindness. Except for the place where you two live, all the formations will charge a fee.”
“Of course,” Jiang Chao agreed. “My sister-in-law didn’t enlist, so there’s no reason for her to work for free.”
This pleased Xie, who gave Jiang Xu a knowing look and then stated her request.
Materials must be provided by the employee. The fee is 1,000 taels of silver per trip, and no bargaining is accepted.
This requirement isn't too high, but it's not too low either; it's quite painful to even consider.
However, this was exactly the result Jiang Chao wanted.
He didn't want the entire Great Zhou to develop a mindset that the lineage of the Protector of the Nation was entitled to sacrifice for the Great Zhou in vain, or even to make it a habit.
So, without consulting Xie, they doubled the price he had asked for.
When Yang Qing learned of this news, he was filled with mixed feelings of sorrow and joy.
They were all aware of the wonders of the battle formations and were very pleased that the Xie family could use them on the battlefield.
However, the cost...
Given the current situation, formations need to be set up at almost every pass, requiring at least several hundred high-quality jade stones.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com