Chapter 161
The day after my birthday.
Xu Jin did not wake up like yesterday, and his condition began to deteriorate.
"Alas, it's still because of hidden injuries," the military doctor said, "At your age, external injuries are not a big deal, but internal injuries are the most worrying thing."
In fact, the Marquis was holding on to his last breath before he fell into a coma, probably because he was worried about the situation on the border. But after he woke up and found that the border was stable, after that breath slowly disappeared, it was easy for it to become like this.
Qu Duanbian: "Is there any cure? Not at the border, what if we send him back to the capital?"
Military doctor: "The Marquis's body cannot withstand too much running around."
Qu Dubian: "Then let the doctors from the capital and other places come to the border, that should be ok."
Military doctor: "I'm afraid the people who come here are not as good as us in medical skills."
Doctors at the border are basically well-trained, and some of them are much more wilder than doctors in the capital. Moreover, no one knows the Marquis's health better than him.
Qu Watanabe: "Are there any other doctors at the border?"
"The best doctors on the border are all here..." the military doctor said hesitantly, "However, the most famous doctor on the border is an old lady named Yang Chonghua."
"She has a very strange temper. She doesn't like the people of Da Zhou or the people of Northern Frontier. She lives alone in the territory of Da Zhou, in the mountains and forests dozens of miles away from the Western Guard."
Qu Watanabe: "Can you ask her to come over?"
The military doctor shook his head and said, "She never leaves her home. Anyone seeking medical treatment or medicine must come to her house in person, and she only treats people she likes."
"I know her," Ah Hanli came in after lifting the curtain, "If you don't worry, I'll take Xu Hou to seek medical treatment."
Ah Hanli finally managed to get out of the Northern Frontier blockade, but he couldn't go back, so he stayed in the city. "Doctor Yang Chonghua, like me, is a mixed-blood of Da Zhou and Northern Frontier. When I was sick as a child, my mother took me to seek medical treatment. She was very kind to me."
Maybe it was because I saw someone of my kind who was being marginalized everywhere.
Lang Qing: "Can this person be trusted?"
Ah Hanli curled his lips: "They are much more trustworthy than the arrested supervisors and the two patrol officers."
He still spoke in a sarcastic way, and the hints in his words were more irritating than his outspoken dissatisfaction, but he really wanted to help them.
"In that case, I will lead the team to escort the Marquis there," Lang Qing looked at Qu Duan, "Your Highness, you must stay in the city."
The soldiers in the city have experienced a period of time without the leadership of the Marquis, and a new flag has been raised, so even if the Marquis is not here and goes out to seek medical treatment, the soldiers will not be greatly affected.
But the Seventh Prince, who was to take command of the army on behalf of the Marquis and rally the morale, could not leave.
Qu Dubian stared at the old man on the bed and pursed his lips for a moment.
"...Okay, but if possible, it would be better to persuade Doctor Yang to go to Jushan City for treatment."
The Western garrison had already recaptured one or two cities, and Uncle Ersen was also there. The mountain city was more secure and could be considered the safest place.
Lang Qing clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will send a message back after I have sent the Marquis away."
Qu Watanabe: “Yeah.”
Having made the decision, Lang Qing was a man of swift and decisive action. He quickly packed up his things, brought a military doctor, and 6,000 escort men with him.
Before leaving, Ah Hanli said to Qu Dubian: "If you are sure who replaced my mother's letter, please keep that person alive and wait for me to come back and kill him."
Qu Duanbian patted his shoulders twice with his palms.
"Sharpen your knife for you."
Ah Hanli then smiled.
"I will also take good care of Xu Hou. My mother said before she died that he guarded the border for his entire life, which brought many people decades of family reunion. He is a good man."
Qu Dubian stood at the back city gate and watched them leave.
For safety reasons, we need to take a detour through the back city gate to avoid the eyes of people from the northern border.
Xia Fuyang: "A man like Xu Hou has devoted his whole life to the people. There is no reason for him to die here. He will be fine."
Qu Watanabe: "Let's go."
He turned back to the city, "I think when grandpa gets fully well, he will see the destruction of the Northern Frontier Royal Court."
Xia Fuyang walked beside him.
"good."
-
Three days later.
Qu Dubian received a letter from Lang Qing.
He opened it immediately, and after reading the first few lines, he breathed a sigh of relief.
That day, Uncle Lang Qing and A Hanli took grandpa climbing the mountain to seek medical treatment. They found Yang Chonghua's cabin in the valley. The location was very hidden. If A Hanli didn't have a rough idea of where the road was, they would have definitely gotten lost.
Doctor Yang had a few vicious dogs. They didn't want to hurt the dogs, so they kept hiding and were almost bitten by the dogs.
fine.
After several twists and turns, Doctor Yang admitted my grandfather. After a few injections, my grandfather vomited some blood and his condition became much more stable.
He continued to look down.
Uncle Lang Qing also said: "The Marquis needs to continue treatment for several months without interruption. Doctor Yang said that she can only remove the superficial hidden injuries and allow the Marquis to speak and run again. The rest can only rely on long-term recuperation, otherwise it will still damage his lifespan..."
Qu Duanbian flipped over a page.
"Doctor Yang and Princess Xiang were acquainted before. The Marquis was able to be admitted this time thanks to Ah Han who knelt outside the door for a whole day."
Uncle Lang Qing specifically mentioned this at the end, saying that it was because of Ah Hanli's contribution that they might have been troubled. Whether it was because of old friendship or other reasons, Ah Hanli had undoubtedly helped a lot.
He never knew Aunt Xiang's complete past, nor did he know the story that happened between them and her son.
But Ahanli was taught very well by Aunt Axiang.
Qu Watanabe put down the letter.
Yi Twelve came into the tent and said, "Your Highness, there have been more people from the Northern Frontier approaching Zhongyi City in the past two days. There are two or three each time, which is not noticeable. The howling of wolves and the chirping of crickets at night are very strange. They should be fake human voices. They want to call the people in our city."
"Sure?"
B12: “Yeah.”
Untrained people may not be able to distinguish the wolf howls and other animal sounds used as code words, but he can.
Qu Duanbian smiled and said, "It's great that the people from Northern Xinjiang sent it. We can't strictly interrogate the people from the Supervision Department, but we have no scruples about Northern Xinjiang."
Yi Twelve thought so too.
Two-pronged approach.
Qu Watanabe: "Next time they come, grab their tongues and pry open their mouths."
"yes."
-
The other side.
Emperor Nanning received a letter of condemnation and urging from Jizhigla.
The letter not only asked them to provide thicker shields, but also mentioned the terrifying upgraded gunpowder and requested Nanning to send troops.
The chief eunuch: "Your Majesty, shall we give it to you?"
Emperor Nanning raised his eyebrows: "Why not? If they want it, we will give it to them. As for sending troops..."
Although his son Yu Ruo was of impure blood and had blood from the Northern Frontier in his body, and was destined not to ascend to the throne, it was undeniable that he did have some abilities.
The one guarding the Nanning border now is Yu Ruo.
"The people of Northern Xinjiang rely on grasslands and cattle and sheep to fight. Although they are not stupid, they prefer to rush around and do not understand when is the best time to go to war."
The Great Zhou experienced floods, plagues, allocated money, spent a lot of time and effort to rebuild the dams, and helped the people rebuild their homes... the expenses were countless.
In every year before the three major grain-producing counties recovered, resumed production, and started paying grain and taxes again, the Great Zhou tightened its belt to give the people a break.
It has been three months since the war in the northern border began, and the Great Zhou has seen a lot of casualties.
How long can it last?
Emperor Nanning walked around the hall, barefoot and wearing soft, worn fabrics.
Although he banned the fruit of the herb Wangye nationwide, he was used to using Wushisan, and his skin became sensitive, and he gradually could not wear new clothes.
"It's about time."
"Send the shields that Beijiang needs as soon as possible," Emperor Nanning said, "Also, send a message to Yu Ruo to launch a full-scale attack on Da Zhou, seek progress in a steady manner, and wear them down."
"Also, the shields we use ourselves need to be thicker."
He was cautious.
The new gunpowder that can make the Northern Frontier wary must be very powerful. Nanning had better be prepared first.
The chief eunuch: “Yes.”
-
Before the Great Zhou had time to celebrate the victory on the northern border, Zhennan Pass was quickly plunged into war.
Yu Ruo, the second prince of Nanning, led the troops personally, and the three generals at Zhennan Pass were defeated one after another.
Battle reports came in frequently.
Great Zhou.
Capital city.
Concubine Lan found the Sixth Prince.
One of the three generals of Zhennan Pass is the sixth prince’s maternal grandfather. Military power is his greatest reliance in the court.
"This is the message your cousin handed over to us, take a look."
The Sixth Prince opened it and read it. After reading it, he exclaimed, "Is it true?"
As stated in the letter, there has been less friction at Zhennan Pass in recent years, and the weapons in stock are displayed in the warehouse, a large number of which have rusted.
They can handle this batch of weapons privately, polish them again, disguise themselves as arms dealers from Nanning, and sell them to Da Zhou at a low price.
Although it was a secret channel, they were weapons from an enemy country after all, and Da Zhou was happy to see it happen. Border officials would check the quality and report it before they could be put into storage.
This is an unspoken rule between arms dealers on the border and officials in charge of arms management of the two countries, which is well known to both parties. However, if the payment is made in this way, the source of the money is not legitimate, and the price paid to the other party will be much lower.
Lanpin: "What's wrong with that? Isn't all the money from the food here yours?"
She calculated carefully.
"Look, although the second prince's maternal family is not very prominent, his father-in-law is a water transport envoy. He can manage the transportation of salt and iron, as well as the transportation of food and grass during war. He has a wide network of contacts. With this money bag, how can the second prince be short of money?"
"This is the difference between you and the Second Prince."
Bribing officials, managing the imperial court and the harem, smoothing official channels, and giving gifts, which one of these doesn't require money?
Lanpin counted and said, "After eating this time, you will have at least this much money."
The Sixth Prince checked the letter again and again.
"What are you doing? Can your grandfather trick you?"
"Oh... it's okay," said the Sixth Prince, "Old Five taught me to check letters frequently to see if the seals and handwriting are correct."
Lanpin: "He is usually very careful."
He is also loyal. Over the years, he has been supporting Xiaoliu in the court and has done a lot of things for them.
After the Sixth Prince checked the letter and found it was ok, he thought, "Mother, is this not good?"
They use their own country's semi-waste products, reprocess them, pretend to be arms dealers from other countries, and make money from their own country.
"Yesterday when the court was in session, Lord Lin, the Minister of Finance, was still crying to my father about the empty treasury."
Lanpin: "When has he not complained about being poor?" She tapped the Sixth Prince's forehead in dismay, "What's the use of having it in the national treasury? Can you use it? You have to hold it in your own hands."
Besides, when her little six ascends the throne in the future, it won’t be the same wherever he is.
The Sixth Prince thought for a moment and said, "My cousin won't be discovered, right?"
"No, your grandparents are very reliable."
"That's fine," the Sixth Prince put the letter in his arms, "But I still have to go back and ask the Fifth Prince, it's better to be safe."
He is no longer the Sixth Prince who used to make decisions on a whim. He has grown up and learned how to negotiate.
Lanpin nodded: "It's better to say less and don't let him get involved too much, so that he won't want to get a piece of the pie."
-
A few more days passed.
Northern Xinjiang.
border.
Qu Dubian also received battle reports from Zhennan Pass.
"The border line of Zhennan Pass has retreated sixty miles to Canyon Pass, and we have won two battles. Relying on the terrain, we should be able to block the Nanning army for a while." Xia Fuyang said.
The two men had no intention of doing anything else and stood in the tent with two large sand tables in front of them.
One piece is from northern Xinjiang, and the other piece is from Zhennan Pass.
Two wars broke out at the same time, and the outcome of the war on the other side was closely related to their side.
Qu Dubian: "It's only been a few days, and they've already reached the Gorge Pass. They relied on the terrain to win. This just shows that Nanning's army is not easy to defeat."
Xia Fuyang sighed, "My father went to Zhennan Pass for the battle against Nanning eight years ago. It was also during that battle that he was made a marquis. After he came back, he told me that the power in Zhennan Pass was too decentralized. If there was no one to lead the team, the strength would be too dispersed when fighting against Nanning."
After all, the three generals have equal status. If they cannot fully trust each other and cooperate with each other, and you fight yours and I fight mine, it will be easy to be defeated.
"Although my father and Lord Xu also share power, they trust each other and have different focuses. In fact, the military power is divided between them, and the Supervisory Office has no real power."
One monk carries water to drink, two monks lift water to drink, and three monks have no water to drink.
This has been the case since ancient times.
Qu Dubian couldn't help but pinch his eyebrows.
"Old Deng's decentralization is really terrible..."
It is undeniable that Lao Deng was indeed a good emperor in some aspects, but excessive decentralization was closely tied to his inherent suspicion, an indelible trait.
Xia Fuyang pretended not to hear the two words he said unconsciously.
Xia Fuyang: "The one leading the troops is Yu Ruo. When he was a hostage in the Great Zhou, no one knew he had this ability." If it weren't for the fact that his mother was from Northern Frontier, he would have already been the crown prince of Nanning.
Qu Dubian said solemnly: "No matter who leads the troops, Zhennan Pass cannot retreat anymore."
If we can't even defend the Canyon Pass, it will be even more difficult to stop us later.
However, just when they were eager to fly to Zhennan Pass to fight, the next day, the gods of heaven and earth from all directions secretly prayed for Nanning to suffer bad luck.
Canyon Pass is on the verge of falling.
…
Great Zhou.
Xu Mansion.
Xu Tingfeng sighed slightly.
He withdrew his gaze from the northern border and fixed it on the tall bamboos in the courtyard.
He has been trapped in this courtyard for more than ten years.
Finally the day came to go out.
Xu Tingfeng did not change his clothes and wore his usual blue shirt, as if he was going out to buy groceries.
The servant stood at the door, "Master, are you coming back this time?"
Xu Tingfeng didn't look back: "Don't save any food for me."
The servant looked at his back, bowed his hands and bent deeply.
-
The eunuchs and palace maids at the gate of the Purple Palace had never seen such a special person come to see His Majesty.
He was dressed in a blue shirt, neither an official nor a noble, and called himself a commoner.
Not long after Eunuch Yu entered with a broken token, His Majesty summoned him.
Inside the Zichen Hall.
Xu Tingfeng knelt in front of Emperor Chongzhao with his head slightly lowered.
Two people are playing chess.
Emperor Chongzhao: "I haven't seen you for so many years. You have changed so much that I almost didn't recognize you."
Xu Tingfeng smiled and said, "I was too arrogant when I was young. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Emperor Chongzhao: "Is your leg healed?"
Xu Tingfeng: "I have been receiving treatment for more than ten years. A few years ago, I encountered an opportunity and almost recovered a month ago."
The game of chess was just an excuse for conversation. The two of them played chess freely, their minds were on the conversation.
"So you came to see me today just to play chess?"
Emperor Chongzhao glanced at the broken token on the corner of the chess table. "This is the general's order when you were in the northern border. Although you made a mistake later and a corner was cut, I can still recognize it. Why do you come to see me with this token today?"
"Your Majesty, you have actually guessed it."
Xu Tingfeng: "Zhennan Pass."
Emperor Chongzhao narrowed his eyes and said, "If you really want to go to Zhennan Pass, I know your character. As long as you are the commander-in-chief, you will not be willing to be inferior to others. But you have not been on the battlefield for more than ten years. Why should I trust you and give you the overall jurisdiction of Zhennan Pass?"
"Your Majesty," Xu Tingfeng put down the chess piece and looked up, "There is no way out at Zhennan Pass now. You can only bet on me. Tingfeng has never been defeated since he joined the army. As long as Your Majesty believes in me, I can continue this victory in the Great Zhou."
Even though this is a bit frivolous.
But Xu Tingfeng didn't think that among the civil and military officials in the court, there was anyone else except him who could quickly resolve the crisis at Zhennan Pass.
Emperor Chongzhao remained silent, his fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the teacup, as if he was in deep thought.
Xu Tingfeng: "I actually know your majesty's concerns."
Xiaoqi is in Northern Xinjiang, and his grandfather is in Northern Xinjiang. If they join forces with Xia Fuyang, they will have full control of the military power in Northern Xinjiang.
He went to Zhennan Pass and took charge of the military power of Zhennan Pass.
Then the military power of the two borders of the Great Zhou Dynasty fell into the hands of the Xu family and the Seventh Prince. If they had the intention to rebel at this time, and were more ruthless, the situation of the dynasty would change suddenly in a blink of an eye.
Xu Tingfeng said: "As long as you want, after this battle, my two legs can be disabled again."
Emperor Chongzhao raised his eyes.
Xu Tingfeng looked calm.
Emperor Chongzhao drank a sip of tea and said calmly, "Now that you are well, don't worry about the wheelchair."
He placed the incomplete token on the board and pointed it over.
The chess game suddenly became chaotic.
"I'm not having fun with this game. Come back and play another game with me if you win."
No matter what he thought in his heart, if he wanted Xu Tingfeng to go to Zhennan Pass to fight, he had to say this now.
Xu Tingfeng: "Yes, Your Majesty."
The once flamboyant young general in white robe is back in command of the battle.
The sword that had been sealed for more than ten years was unsheathed again.
He gained fame in one battle, resolved the crisis at Zhennan Pass, and saved the Canyon Pass.
Yu Ruo was riding on a horse and looked back when he retreated.
Xu Tingfeng looked at him.
He looked somewhat similar to Qu Dubian, so much so that for a moment, Yu Ruo seemed to see the mature appearance of Qu Dubian when he grew up.
Yu Ruo's competitive spirit was aroused by this face.
"You will lose next time."
Xu Tingfeng raised an eyebrow: "You're talking too much, little guy."
-
border.
Xia Fuyang's surprised voice floated out from the tent: "Uncle is leading troops at Zhennan Pass?"
"..." Qu Watanabe corrected, "It's my uncle."
Xia Fuyang: "It's just a name, but isn't it my uncle's leg?"
Qu Watanabe: "It's already fine."
When he left the capital a few months ago, Uncle Tingfeng was already able to stand up and walk. With this level of recovery, coupled with the nourishment of the Mianshou Jue, his recovery will be even faster in the future.
He was not surprised that he had fully recovered, but what surprised him was that his uncle actually went to Zhennan Pass to lead the army.
He originally just wanted his uncle to pay attention to the situation in Zhennan Pass, but he didn't expect that he would rush directly to Zhennan Pass, and he didn't expect that Lao Deng would agree to such an airborne commander.
Qu Watanabe: "He actually believes in his uncle's ability."
On the other hand, when he came to the northern border to lead the army, he had to pass the hurdle of suppressing bandits before he could get the permit.
After arriving, he stayed in Jushan City for a long time, but he was not able to take charge of the army directly in one step.
"How old were we when my uncle was fighting on the battlefield?" Xia Fuyang said, "I'm sure no one of that generation understood his strength."
Qu Dubian nodded and walked to the sand table again.
There was an attack in the northern border during this period.
They found that the shield used by Northern Xinjiang was much thicker, almost twice as thick as what they had used before.
Defense against new versions of gunpowder is also improving.
"We just pushed back Northern Xinjiang a while ago, and Nanning took action. They clearly wanted to fight a war of attrition and bring down the Great Zhou."
"There must be a connection point for weapons delivery deep in the grassland. Since my uncle is in Zhennan Pass, perhaps we can join forces with him to cut off the connection between them from Nanning."
It is much easier to start from Nanning than from their side.
Xia Fuyang: "However, even if my uncle takes action, he has to defeat the enemy in one blow. We need to determine the specific location of their connection point. The only one on our side who is familiar with the grassland is Ah Hanli, but he doesn't have the ability to go in and explore the location and then come out."
Qu Watanabe frowned slightly.
If it really doesn't work, he, Xia Fuyang or Liu Liu can be the only one of the three to sneak in.
-
Deep in the grassland.
Between Northern Xinjiang and Nanning, there is a ravine about six kilometers wide and bottomless, which completely separates the two countries.
This natural barrier is connected to the continuous mountains of Nanning and the edge of Qingzhou in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
A cold wind blew from the bottom of the ravine. Standing on top and looking down, it seemed bottomless.
On the steep cliffs below, you can vaguely see white bones, some of which are animals and some of which are humans.
The vultures have hoarse and unpleasant voices. Occasionally they fly over, pick up food from other parts of the grassland, and then fly into the cracks of the cliffs.
People in the northern border call this place the land of divine punishment and often avoid it.
There are also many people who will throw their dead bodies down there as a form of worship to the gods, which is a form of sky burial.
The place, which was supposed to be deserted, was now brightly lit and guarded by three thousand elite soldiers from the Northern Frontier.
Hundreds of ropes were stretched across the chasm, each of which was wrapped with iron wire to increase its toughness.
On the ropes were civilians or soldiers who climbed up the ropes with difficulty, carrying heavy shields, gunpowder and weapons on their backs.
Like an ant hanging high in the sky.
Little by little, with their lives tied to it, the weapons were transported from Nanning to the northern Xinjiang.
The delivered weapons were quickly integrated and then transported to the front line to fight against Qu Dubian and Xia Fuyang.
They handed over weapons in a solemn and orderly manner. Some people fell directly from the ropes, but their wailing did not cause any ripples among the garrisons on both sides.
Some people even made bets on how many people would fall today.
-
A place not too far from the natural barrier.
A small hill.
Zhiyi, wearing a straw hat, slowly poked her head out with a serious look on her face.
Behind her were twenty or so Great Zhou guards, a dozen remnants of the peace faction, the weak Agumud, and Xie Lishan.
Since they escaped, in order to avoid pursuit by the northern border, they ran all the way deep into the grassland. They were afraid of seeing people, so they hid and endured hunger and thirst.
But at least I survived safely.
In this way, they moved inward from time to time. When the Great Zhou and the Northern Frontier went to war, the fiercer the fighting, the fewer people on the grassland there were, and the safer they were.
I finally found the safest, most uninhabited place with water and prey. When I was planning to hide there for a while, I saw this scene.
The place where weapons were secretly transferred between Nanning and Northern Xinjiang.
"I feel this place is very important," Zhiyi turned around and lowered her voice: "Is there any way to send a message back to tell us about the situation at the border?"
Xie Lishan has his own way of sending messages. He communicates with Qu Duanbian on the dark web using Eagle Feather.
But he touched the hawk-calling whistle on his chest and said, "This whistle is only useful within a limited distance."
Otherwise, he would not have taken the risk of letting Ah Hanli go out and tell Qu Watanabe that they were safe for the time being.
Zhiyi fell into deep thought.
After a while, she discussed with Xie Lishan: "Why don't you blow it more? Maybe it will pass by and hear it by chance."
Xie Lishan: “…”
He was a little helpless.
But there is really no other way at the moment. After all, there are dozens of people on their side, including old, weak, sick and disabled. They can't just rush up and fight with the Northern Frontier defenders. They can only blow more.
He held the eagle whistle and sighed softly.
"Let's gamble again."
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