Chapter 233 Border
Yun Ransheng bid farewell to his gentle wife and concubine, and led a hundred thousand troops to the border town of Yunhe City, which borders the Ice and Snow Country in the northeast.
The border town is 1,400 miles away from the capital. If the 800-mile express is taken, it will take two days to reach the capital, but the army cannot move at this speed. Most of them are infantry, and they can only move 70 miles a day on foot.
By the time he arrived with the army, 20 days had passed.
General Qin had already sent his eldest son to wait outside the city.
"I am Qin Sheng, the last general, to meet His Royal Highness the Second Prince." Qin Sheng rode forward to greet him.
Qin Sheng, the eldest son of Qin Fei, is 25 years old this year and is also a fierce general. He is tall and strong, with a dark complexion and a pair of bright eyes.
Very obvious characteristics of a military general.
The military uniform made him look resolute.
"No need to be polite, brother-in-law." Yun Ransheng was also riding a horse. His face was white and tender, not like a man's, which formed a sharp contrast with Qin Sheng.
"The general is waiting for the second prince in the mansion. Please follow me into the city." Qin Sheng was very straightforward and didn't say anything extra. There was no smile on his face, and he was always serious.
Qin Fei was stationed at the border all year round, so he naturally had his own mansion.
Yun Ransheng asked several deputy generals to lead the troops to the camp, and he followed Qin Sheng into the city.
Among these deputy generals, there was one who was promoted by Yun Ransheng in the past twenty days, named Liao Yuqiong.
He was the second-place winner in the martial arts exam that year. Later, he was assigned to the elite battalion of Prince Lu, and later transferred to the Imperial City Guard. He was highly skilled in martial arts and was promoted quickly in the military camp, but he was not yet in charge of a battalion. When he went on the expedition, Yun Ransheng happened to promote him to be a deputy general, and a deputy general could command 10,000 soldiers.
Yun Ransheng also assigned another 20 soldiers to him. He also brought 20 guards from his own prince's mansion to his side as personal guards.
When he arrived at the general's mansion, Qin Fei was already waiting outside the gate.
"Your Highness, the Second Prince." Qin Fei knelt on one knee to salute.
Yun Ransheng immediately jumped off his horse and helped him up: "Father-in-law, there is no need to be so polite. We are a family."
Qin Fei stood up and said, "This is what I should do. You are the prince, and I am a minister."
Qin Fei was in his forties, but his complexion was the same as his son's, shiny black, and tall. He was only wearing a battle robe without armor, but he was also heroic.
The beard on his long face had not been trimmed for many days, and it looked a little messy, but his eyes were majestic.
A group of people entered the mansion and sat down.
"General, what is the situation at the border now?" Yun Ransheng asked.
It has been more than 20 days since I received the war report.
Although I received the latest news delivered by Qin Fei on the way.
But the content that a letter can express is limited after all.
"The soldiers from the Ice and Snow Country arrived ten days ago. They rested for five days before sending a letter of challenge to our army. The leader of the troops is General Liu Chengwu of the Ice and Snow Country, who is also a brave and skilled veteran. His sister is the noble concubine of the Ice and Snow Country, who gave birth to the fourth prince and is already thirteen years old."
Tan Fei reported the news he had received in recent days.
As a garrison commander, he must have arranged his own people to act as spies in the Ice and Snow Country, and he also knew a lot of things.
"Father-in-law, have you found out why the Ice and Snow Country declared war on my Flame?"
"Yes. But I'm not sure." Tan Fei did find out some things, but he thought they were ridiculous, so he was not sure.
"Tell me about it." Yun Ransheng was curious, wondering if it was as he guessed.
"The Emperor of the Ice and Snow Kingdom has a beloved concubine. I heard that she is extremely beautiful and has been especially favored in recent years. However, this concubine has always been in poor health. She was plotted against and had a miscarriage. She was poisoned and her health is very poor. She is not far from death. The Ice and Snow Emperor killed two imperial doctors for this.
But we are not sure whether this is the case.
A few months ago, you sent people to spread the word that the young lady of Feng Mansion in the capital is a fairy. This matter must have reached his ears, and he became interested.
And my Flame and the Ice and Snow Kingdom have never had a good relationship.
The Ice and Snow Kingdom claims to be a great country. It is impossible for them to put down their face and ask my emperor for help, so they sent troops this time to threaten us with force."
"Sure enough, it's just as this prince expected. Good, haha..." Yun Ransheng laughed.
"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Qin Fei didn't know much about the Second Prince. He only knew that he had submitted a petition to ask for leave to return to Beijing for a month because the Second Prince was getting married to his youngest daughter. He didn't know much else.
The letters that Qin Biyue wrote to him were all about how talented the Second Prince was and how much he doted on her.
"Father-in-law, the other side arrived before our army and also submitted a declaration of war. Did the two armies go to war?" Yun Ransheng didn't answer his question, but asked something else.
Some things are better discussed in private.
"Not yet. I also find it strange. This time they brought an army of 200,000, plus the original 80,000 garrisons, a total of 280,000.
And our army plus the ones you brought this time only have a total of 200,000. If a real war breaks out, our army may not have a chance of winning. But fortunately, we are defending the city and they are attacking the city." Qin Fei analyzed.
The population of the Flame Kingdom is small. The northwest originally had 50,000 garrisons. The southeast also had 50,000 garrisons. Only the northeast had 100,000 garrisons. The imperial guards of the capital were 200,000. There were only 3,000 government soldiers in each state.
Half of the 200,000 in the capital had been taken away.
If a war really breaks out, the military strength of the Flame Kingdom will be very tight.
It all depends on the leadership ability and wisdom of the garrisons everywhere.
"Father-in-law, our prince has just arrived today. Let him settle down for two days first, and then we can discuss the big plan together."
Yun Ransheng also rushed all the way here. With his delicate body, he had never experienced such a long journey and was already very tired.
"Yes, you should rest at home for two days. I will go to the city wall for a patrol first, and we will have a couple of drinks in the evening. Boss, please settle the second prince first." Qin Fei said apologetically. He
had been chatting with the second prince for so long as he arrived, and he didn't even care if he was tired.
He was a rough man, and he really didn't care that much about these trivial matters in life.
"Yes, father." During the whole conversation, Qin Sheng didn't say a word and listened quietly.
He hadn't seen the second prince for many years, and he had been following his father at the border.
Today was the first time he saw him in many years. He looked so thin and tender, and there was no sign of a general leading troops to fight.
He just brought the soldiers here.
It still depends on them, father and son.
Qin Sheng looked down on the second prince in his heart.
But their family was already tied to him, and he had to accept such a brother-in-law and help him with all his strength.
The next day.
The general of the Ice and Snow Country actually sent an envoy.
This was beyond Qin Fei's expectations.
The envoy came before the two countries started fighting.
Qin Fei asked the soldiers guarding the gate to open the city gate and welcome the envoy.
It turned out that it was General Liu's think tank military advisor Juan who came.
He dared to step into the gate of Yunhe City in the Flame Country with only two guards. This courage was extraordinary.
Juan and the other two were led by a young general, through the winding corridors, and finally arrived at the main hall of the general's mansion.
Tan Fei and Yun Ransheng had already been sitting in the hall, waiting for his arrival.
Juan walked into the hall, bowed slightly to Tan Fei and Yun Ransheng, and said in a clear voice: "I am Juan, and I have met the Second Prince of the Flame Kingdom, General Tan."
This Juan, according to legend, is a man of both civil and military talents. Seeing him today, he is indeed worthy of his reputation.
He is only about thirty years old, but his eyebrows reveal a calmness and wisdom that makes people dare not underestimate him.
Those wise eyes make people know that he is not easy to deal with.