"I never imagined that someone as gentle and kind as you, who loves peace, could also have such a fierce and ruthless side." Yuwen Sheng was deeply surprised.
In the past, whenever she was required to fight, it was purely out of necessity, and she resisted it from the bottom of her heart. But this time, because of Gongshu Jiruo, she actually had a serious mentality of competing to win or lose.
Zheng Quchi felt that his words were too "vicious" and defended himself: "Isn't it said that a soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier? Similarly, if I encounter a peer who is equally matched and he challenges me and declares war, I must not back down. Even if it means facing difficulties head-on, I must go for it. Only through healthy competition can we make progress."
"How many things have you been afraid of?" he teased with a smile.
Zheng Quchi raised her face, and beneath her calm expression, there was a faint wrinkle, a mark left by countless days and nights of painstakingly crafting her design drafts.
"Other things can be acknowledged, but this matter cannot."
Having stood up again, how could we bow down once more? Let us forge ahead and live up to our youth.
Just then, the sound of cart wheels rolling rang out, and a shout came from not far away: "Food's ready! Come on, everyone..."
It turned out that the cooks had brought dinner in a cart.
This type of cart has two wheels and four handles, requiring four people to push and hold it to maintain balance. A large hole is carved in the middle of the wooden board to hold a round-bottomed iron pot. The stew pot cooked on the stove can be lifted directly onto the cart, and then covered with a wooden lid, allowing for short-distance transport of hot food.
The food supply for tens of thousands of people required far more than a hundred pots. The food transport teams came and went in an endless stream, but the cooks seemed to have long been accustomed to it, and although they were busy, they were not chaotic.
Except for those guarding the garrison and patrolling, all the soldiers lined up in batches to get their meals.
The long queue was filled with people rubbing their hands and stamping their feet; clearly, no matter how warmly dressed they were, they would feel cold after being outdoors for a while in this frigid weather.
The cooks left some people to take turns getting meals, while the rest of the people found things to do on their own, such as gathering firewood, starting fires, and building makeshift campfires around the stoves... The comfortable living environment they created with all their might gave the cold and ruthless front-line trenches a different kind of human warmth.
Seeing that Zheng Quchi was staring intently at the cook, Yuwen Sheng also glanced at him and said, "The winter rations you sent are sufficient. They are enough for three meals a day, with meat and millet, and dry rations to accompany them. It is much more abundant than last year's festival."
Even so, she still sighed, "Tonight is going to be tough."
This statement has a double meaning, referring both to the impending severe weather and to the restless Northern Abyss Army.
"I've endured the toughest times with them for years, so one more day won't make a difference," he said casually.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Quchi looked at him absentmindedly.
In the past, I only thought that the "hardship" of the frontier was just two words on the surface. But after experiencing it firsthand, I realized why hardship is always associated with endurance. It's because it's like being cooked in oil over a low flame, leaving you "burnt" all over, without any vitality or freshness, only exhaustion and aging.
Although he hasn't reached that age yet, he has been away from a prosperous and comfortable life for too long. Even being able to eat his fill and have a good meal is something he compares to celebrating a holiday.
Not wanting her thoughts to wander too much, she quickly stopped and returned to the main point: "Actually, the more complex the iron horse is, the more fragile it is, simply because the more complex the things that make it up, the more individual components it has. If even one component has a problem, it will cause the object to become unstable, thus affecting the whole."
Yuwen Sheng stared at him for a moment, then nodded: "That makes sense. But the more complex the machine, the more protective measures are needed. It's not easy to make it malfunction."
“That’s right, so I dismantled it completely to find out where its weaknesses are. Now I have an idea, but it may be difficult and troublesome to implement.”
Hearing this, Yuwen Sheng understood the purpose of her special trip to talk to him. He reached out and gently stroked the hair that was being blown by the wind on her forehead: "I will help you with whatever you want to do."
Zheng Quchi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Even if I have to poke a hole in the sky?"
He followed her gaze, like a dark and deep icy lake, containing distinct layers of color and light: "If you can't reach it, I'll personally lift you up."
Should we help her up?
What, are you really going to stab me?
It should have been a phrase of "sharing weal and woe," but she sensed a hint of "collusion" in it... Perhaps it was because he was like a doting lover who would hand her the knife if she killed someone, without reason, principles, or a sense of right and wrong.
But Yuwen Sheng felt that this was a case of husband and wife working together, their strength could break even metal.
In the past, the two had collaborated many times, and each time they worked together unexpectedly well. Even though they hadn't known each other for many years, they were always able to figure out each other's routines, form a closed loop, and implement the plan very smoothly.
"Okay, then listen to my initial plan first..."
——
On the other side of the Beiyuan army, Hou Feiqing saw that the Ye army opposite them had not only prepared hot food in advance, but also lit a fire to keep warm and prepare for the night. He said to Gongshu Jiruo with displeasure, "Are they sure that we will not attack tonight?"
Gongshu Jiruo's expression was indifferent, his gaze fixed on the distance, not on the people or things in front of him: "I must say... as expected of Yuwen Sheng, the God of War of Ye Kingdom. Without reinforcements, how can we attack?"
Indeed, at first, Pu Jiadi and Hou Feiqing patiently waited for the reinforcements from both sides to arrive before breaking through the Ye army's defenses in one fell swoop and ending the battle. However, the reinforcements were slow to arrive, and when they sent people to inquire, they were never heard from again.
At this moment, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in their hearts. Could it be that all of this was the work of Yuwen Sheng? Had he deliberately created a commotion on the way to intentionally disperse their main force, and that the other two forces must have encountered some unpredictable accident?
Pu Jiadi was startled by this conjecture and broke out in a cold sweat. He was at this moment personally organizing a second group of people to go and investigate.
They just couldn't understand how the Ye army, with such a small force, could be dispersed and defeated one by one.
What the Beiyuan army couldn't understand, Zheng Quchi also found very strange. She asked Yuwen Sheng directly, "Why did the Beiyuan army suddenly stop? I guessed that they would launch a general offensive once reinforcements arrived, but so much time has passed. Are they going to fight a war of attrition with us?"
Yuwen Sheng replied, "The reason we stopped is naturally because reinforcements haven't arrived. It's not that they want to fight a protracted war; it's that I want to wear down their main force before annihilating their remaining troops. It's just a pity..."
Even though Zheng Quchi didn't explicitly say "it's a pity," he knew it meant that it was a pity that Gongshu Jiruo, that troublemaker, had appeared. If it weren't for the iron horses he brought that blocked the crossbow fire, he probably would have already won the battle...
"What do you mean the reinforcements haven't arrived? What have you been doing?" Zheng Quchi asked in surprise.
She had clearly been following along the whole way, so how come she didn't know about all these things?
Yuwen Sheng glared at her: "Do you think that just because I chose to start a war, I'll do nothing and just wait here to get beaten up?"
"So, what have you done? Do you have to be so secretive about your war? Can't you tell me?" Zheng Quchi's curiosity was piqued, and he just wanted to find out as soon as possible.
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