Because the war had not yet ended, Qingying's coming-of-age ceremony was kept simple.
She herself didn't feel anything was wrong, but Wang felt that she had been wronged and compensated her with a lot of valuable jewelry.
The ceremony involved three bows and three recitations of the sacrificial wine, offering of libations, receiving a name, listening to instruction, bowing in gratitude, and finally concluding the ceremony.
Everything in the program was completed; the only problem was the lack of personnel.
Qingying had received her coming-of-age gift from Wei Huaixu, sent from the northern border several days prior. It was a complete set of white jade jewelry, including hairpins, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. He said the white jade was flawless and perfectly suited her.
Having heard that the people of the small border town in the north were displaced by war and even had difficulty getting enough to eat, it was clear that he had put a lot of effort into finding such a piece of jewelry in such a harsh place.
As soon as his coming-of-age ceremony ended, Qingying sent him a reply, along with the prepared supplies.
...
The North.
Having just won a battle last night and having not slept for several days, Wei Huaixu fell into a deep sleep as soon as he touched the bed in his tent. He didn't get up until dusk.
As soon as the tent door was opened, the soldiers at the door hurriedly hid what they were carrying, their behavior quite suspicious.
Wei Huaixu frowned and asked in a cold voice, "What are you hiding?"
"Vice General, I..." The soldier was somewhat flustered and hesitant.
"Take it out!"
The past few months on the battlefield have completely stripped him of his gentle demeanor, and his current fierce and intimidating appearance is truly frightening.
The soldier, his hands trembling, presented a plain silver hairpin.
"This is?"
"It was a gift from the girl I admire; she's waiting for me to return and marry her..."
The strict rules of the army meant that he had to carefully hide even his feelings of longing.
Wei Huaixu frowned slightly and said, "Hide it well, don't let anyone see it again."
"Yes, thank you, Vice General."
He had just turned around and taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a panicked shout behind him. Turning around, he saw scout chief Lin Ji casually tossing the soldier's silver hairpin into the nearby fire pit.
He stood there, opening his mouth but not knowing what to say. Lin Ji walked over, passing by him, coldly tossing out a "woman's kindness," before turning and walking away without looking back.
Wei Huaixu clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on the departing soldier wiping away tears, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Lin Ji and he had been at odds for quite some time.
He had been stationed in the northern border for many years and did not care about the powerful and noble people in the capital. In particular, when he learned about Wei Huaixu's identity, he was more contemptuous of him.
"They live a life of luxury in the capital, with no regard for the displaced people. They think they are superior because they can manipulate power, but in the end, they are just born into wealth." These were the words Wei Huaixu heard from him when he first arrived in the Northern Border.
At the time, he was arrogant and punished Lin Ji for disrespecting the emperor's authority.
But this is not the reason why they became enemies.
What truly made Lin Ji resent him was a battle.
At that time, Wei Huaixu was new to the battlefield and was blinded by the desire for victory. He was too excited about the battle and only realized that he had gone too deep into the enemy camp when he came to his senses. He was surrounded.
That day, Chu Lingyu was seriously injured while trying to save him, and more than a dozen soldiers were lost because of him.
Although the battle was ultimately won, the result was not ideal.
Lin Ji immediately pressed his longsword against his neck. If Liu Yu hadn't sternly stopped him, he probably would have at least made a cut on him before stopping.
Chu Lingyu was injured and recuperated for many days, while they also suffered several minor defeats.
Wei Huaixu understood that his mistakes had led to this outcome, and his sense of defeat grew stronger every day. For a long time, he couldn't fall asleep even when he closed his eyes, and his mind was filled with the soldiers who had died because of him.
He even considered giving up.
But looking at the letter Qingying had written, he felt a deep sense of resentment. Too many people were waiting to see him fail, and the only one who firmly supported him was Qingying.
He didn't want to, and dared not, disappoint her.
His mother died early, and although he was the crown prince, his life in the palace was not easy. The Empress Dowager and Consort Yan's influence had spread too far. He had no strong support and was surrounded by enemies. He was afraid that one day he would open his eyes to find himself in hell.
He had to persist, because only by becoming stronger could he protect the people he wanted to protect.
Wei Huaixu went to the general's tent. It was already past Grain Rain, and the morale of the Northern Yue was gradually rising. They had now attacked the outskirts of Yingzhou City, so they had to be extra careful, otherwise all their previous efforts might be in vain.
Several people were gathered around a table discussing their strategy when suddenly a soldier rushed in to report that they had just captured a spy from the Northern Yue. The spy was carrying a flint and steel and had sneaked behind the tents where the provisions were stored. Fortunately, he was discovered by a patrolling soldier.
The men exchanged glances, their brows furrowed. Wei Huaixu pondered for a moment, then looked at Liu Yu and asked, "What does the general think?"
Liu Yu stared at the terrain map spread out on the table, where small red flags indicated his own camp and small blue flags indicated the enemy camp.
They have now approached the foot of Yingzhou City, which is surrounded by mountains, making it an easy place to defend and difficult to attack. However, the Northern Yue army is not as strong as the Eastern Lin army, and has therefore suffered repeated defeats. They have now retreated into the city, which is why they secretly sent scouts to burn the grain supplies.
However, the enemy was unaware that since they dared to attack into the territory of North Vietnam, they naturally could not possibly bring all their provisions closer.
Liu Yu pursed his lips and tentatively suggested, "How about we turn the tables on them?"
"It will take about fifteen minutes for the fire to start." Chu Lingyu was using a scheme, and she probably already had a complete plan in mind. She was just waiting for Liu Yu to speak first. She smiled slightly and continued, "Tie that scout up tightly, line up the troops, and no one is allowed to go out. Everyone must be on standby before midnight!"
"I'll set it on fire!" Lin Ji volunteered to start the fire.
Wei Huaixu pondered for a moment and said, "With summer approaching and the momentum of the Northern Yue becoming increasingly fierce, we probably can't delay any longer."
Liu Yu nodded. "Your Highness is right. To win this battle, we must not give the enemy any chance to catch their breath."
No sooner had one crisis passed than another arose, as supplies sent from the capital were robbed by bandits.
Wei Huaixu personally led a group to reclaim the military supplies.
With war raging everywhere, people had nowhere to live, and even good citizens were reduced to bandits. If he hadn't entered the northern border, he wouldn't have witnessed so much human suffering, and he wouldn't have understood that the peace and security of the people is the foundation of a nation's prosperity.
Despite his understanding, he had no choice but to recapture the supplies, otherwise the soldiers fighting on the front lines would be the ones to die.
Wei Huaixu led his men up the mountain, where they found a sizable stronghold that occupied half the mountaintop.
A direct attack was definitely not advisable, so he adopted a roundabout tactic, launching a night raid, but unexpectedly fell into a trap.
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