Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Jinjiang First Release
Chapter 65
For nearly half a month, Cui Jue indulged himself in this way. Su Li was overworked and fell asleep in the quilt as soon as she got into the carriage.
A few times, she met Chen Heng during the day. Because she was sleepy, she yawned constantly. Without even saying a word to Chen Heng, she waved her hand and crawled into the soft quilt to catch up on her sleep.
In November, the Cui family's troops were approaching Jiangzhou.
A long column of hundreds of thousands of soldiers circled among the mountains and hills. The team was endless, like a thundering black dragon. The soldiers were strong and the military momentum was awe-inspiring, which was daunting.
Cui Jue did not go straight into Jiangzhou to meet the enemy, but instead took a detour to nearby prefectures and counties, strangled a group of bandits who had escaped from other counties, recruited a group of able-bodied refugees, and distributed some food and fodder to help the people and relieve the disaster.
When the people along the way heard that Cui's troops were passing through and saving people from danger, they were all grateful and lined the streets to welcome them. From then on, Cui Jue's reputation spread even further.
By the end of November, Cui's army arrived in Jiangzhou and confronted Li's army in front of Anyang City.
A month later, Li Fuyun captured Anyang City, which was close to Jiangzhou, and seized a large amount of food and military supplies. Now they set up camp in Anyang City, switching from an offensive campaign to a defensive one, forcing Cui Jue to send troops to capture the city.
The war was about to break out and both sides were on the verge of a fight.
Although Su Li followed the main army, she was a weak woman after all. She could not help and did not dare to cause trouble for the soldiers.
Therefore, Su Li was settled by Cui Jue in the rear of the military camp, following the firemen and the food and beverage soldiers to handle some military affairs.
Since Su Li's life in the rear military camp did not have to go to the front line to fight the enemy, she lived as comfortably as ever.
However, Cui Jue was busy with military affairs, and after careful calculation, he found that he had not returned to his tent for more than ten days.
Su Li did not deliberately inquire about the battle situation, but only heard about Cui Jue from the soldiers.
The soldiers said that Cui Jue was brave and good at fighting, and was a master of military strategy.
Two days ago, Cui Jue used the Songjiang River surrounding Anyang City as a cover, and beat drums across the river bank in the middle of the night, pretending that a large number of troops and horses were about to force their way into the city.
When the Li family army heard the loud trumpets and drums, they were frightened out of their wits and woke up from their beds. They followed the commander's orders and divided their troops to cross the river to prevent the Cui family army from sneaking into the city.
Just when Li Fuyun was dividing his forces to resist the enemy and evacuating his combat power, Cui Jue led his elite main force and launched a massive attack from the pass, leaving Li Fuyun no chance to breathe.
Cui Jue used siege weapons such as battering rams, catapults, and rocket arrays to break open the Anyang city gate and lead his troops straight into the city.
Li Fuyun saw corpses piled on the city wall in the distance, flames all over the sky, and the fierce enemy troops were armed with strong weapons. They attacked one after another like a hurricane and waves, and their shouts were deafening... despair gradually grew in his heart.
Li Fuyun knew that he had fallen into a trap. When he wanted to recall the evacuated troops and fight to the death with Cui Jue, it was too late.
In order to preserve his troops, Li Fuyun had no choice but to reluctantly abandon Anyang City and retreat his troops thirty miles away, temporarily camping there to rest and reorganize his army, waiting for the opportunity to fight again.
It was just a victory over a small stronghold, and for Cui Jue, it was nothing worth celebrating.
But for the generals who followed him, victory in the first battle was of great significance. It could boost their morale and increase the morale of the soldiers, so they had to reward the three armies well.
At night, Cui Jue issued a military order to use the recaptured Anyang City as a new camp for the army to station and recuperate.
From then on, Su Li also moved with a large number of soldiers and horses, rushing to Anyang City under the stars and the moon.
Su Li's identity is special, and the entire military camp knows that she is Cui Jue's woman.
Although she was only a concubine, when Cui Jue ascended the throne, Su Li would at least be able to get the position of concubine, so no one in the military camp dared to neglect her.
When Cui Jue was around, Su Li could be more obedient and would stay in the tent in a daze all day long.
But as soon as Cui Jue left, Su Li was like a bird escaping from a cage, running around happily. Even though she was guarded by guards and could not go too far away from the tent, no one would stop her if she wanted to watch the fireman cook.
Originally, Su Li was just under the surveillance of the guards, watching the stokers cooking from afar.
Until yesterday, the soldiers hunted a few wild ducks from the wasteland. In order to make duck soup, they boiled a large pot of water and planned to scald the skin and pluck the feathers.
Seeing this, Su Li stamped her feet anxiously and couldn't help but say from a distance: "Don't use boiling water!"
The soldiers turned around to look at her, and saw a young lady with an almond-shaped face and rosy cheeks standing under the scorching sun.
Su Li was in the military camp, so she rarely wore light gauze dresses. She usually wore a lapel-printed brocade robe with precious patterns when she went out of the tent, and braided her hair into a few small braids with red strings. However, even without makeup, Su Li's simple and elegant attire could not hide her beauty.
Su Li's lively shout immediately attracted the attention of the generals.
The burly soldiers blushed when they first saw such a beautiful lady.
They patiently explained to Su Li: "Mrs. Li, this is how you pluck the feathers from chickens and ducks. You scald them with water to make the pores float out..."
Su Li shook her head. "Wild ducks are different from domestic ducks. They have thin skin. If you boil water, the skin will break. Just pull them out raw, cut them into small pieces, boil oil with brown sugar, and stir-fry them."
Wild duck meat is tender, unlike domestic duck meat which is tough and dry, so it does not require much effort to stew.
The military generals were surprised to hear Su Li's clear and logical explanation.
They knew that Cui Jue was of noble status, and his favorite concubine was naturally from a famous family. If that was the case, how could Su Li know how to cook and eat?
Seeing their skeptical expressions, Su Li couldn't help but explain, "I also lived on the farm when I was young, so I know a thing or two. I also had this duck soup tonight, and I'm craving it too. Please don't waste it!"
Su Li made a joke, and everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard her quirky words.
It's just a wild duck, if it's cooked, it's useless.
Everyone decided to listen to Su Li and roast the duck according to her method.
Su Li was lonely in the tent, and the guards had received Cui Jue's orders not to listen to Su Li's sweet talk, lest they lose their heads, so they didn't dare to say a word to her.
Now she not only found something interesting, but also had people to talk to, so she was naturally in a good mood.
But Su Li knew the rules very well. The tent was full of tall and strong men, so she did not rush into the crowd. She only dared to stand about ten feet away and watch from afar.
The firemen were all able-bodied men recruited from the common people, simple, honest commoners. Coming from impoverished families, they were certainly not as skilled or physically capable as the infantry and cavalry fighting on the front lines. However, they were sturdy and strong, enabling them to help carry supplies and cook meals.
All the soldiers of the Cui family admired the god of war Cui Jue. They loved Cui Jue and his family, and they also had a lot of good feelings towards Su Li.
Several people followed Su Li's instructions and busied themselves with preparing the matter.
There were seven or eight ducks, two of which were fried according to Su Li's method, and the rest of the duck meat was used to stew soup with dried pickled vegetables.
When the duck soup was ready, the soldier filled a bowl with it and ran over to Su Li, saying, "Mrs. Li, please try it."
After serving the soup, they immediately retreated, keeping a distance from Su Li, not daring to get close and offend her.
The generals were worried that such coarse food would not be acceptable to the noble.
Unexpectedly, Su Li took a sip of the meaty duck soup and praised it highly: "It's delicious. Your pickled vegetables are quite sour and go well with rice. Did you pickle them yourself?"
The soldiers blushed when they were praised by such a bright beauty as Su Li. They pushed the slightly fat young man aside and pointed at him, saying, "Xiao Meng pickled it. His family runs a noodle stall in Shihe County, and his pickled cabbage and meat sauce is really unique!"
The soldier named "Xiao Meng" was pushed out by several of his comrades to take credit for his work. His face flushed, and he didn't know where to look. He waved his hands repeatedly, "I'm not worthy of Madam Li's praise. I'm just a country bumpkin who eats nonsense..."
Su Li was amused by them and burst out laughing. The beauty had curved eyebrows and eyes, and was as beautiful as a peach and plum. Her smile was so charming that the few soldiers who were playing around were frightened by the beauty of the young lady, and their ears were burning.
Su Li said casually, "That would be great! If there's a chance in the future, I'll cook two bowls of noodles for the chief accountant and let you taste it. To be honest, I love noodles. I've been eating Hu pancakes every day lately, and my spleen and stomach are getting uncomfortable."
"Very well, if we can make Madam Li and the Lord enjoy their meal, it will be our honor."
Su Li looked at the other stove burning with firewood. She knew that the wild duck fried in sugar color was cooked, so she said to Xiao Meng, "Could you please help me serve some more duck meat so I can taste it for saltiness."
"Okay, it's a piece of cake!"
Just as several stokers were about to pick up the duck meat with their bowls, they accidentally saw a human figure. Suddenly, they stopped and froze as if they had seen a ghost.
Seeing that they looked abnormal and frightened, Su Li looked behind her again, and couldn't help but look back in confusion.
But this time, not only the generals, but also Su Li was stunned.
There were gusts of cold wind and a chilling ghostly aura. Behind her stood a man in a blood-stained robe.
The man had straight shoulders and a cold look. He wore a narrow-sleeved riding suit, a belt around his narrow waist, and a long ruby sword with a cold glow.
It turned out to be Cui Jue.
Su Li was shocked and couldn't help but wonder: Isn't Cui Jue far away in Anyang City? Why is he here? Su Li and the others still have two days to travel to the city...
In fact, it was a great victory in the first battle against the rebellion. Cui Jue had recently taken a break to reorganize his army and was busy with military affairs. He had not seen Su Li for a long time.
He felt that the rear team was too slow in reaching Anyang City, so he had to ride his horse to meet them himself.
Unfortunately, during this journey, Cui Jue discovered a scout team sent by the Li family to gather information. He was always brave, so when he saw the enemy, he naturally drew his sword and cut off their necks. With lightning speed, he cut off several enemy heads neatly.
The enemy's head used to boost the morale of the army was still hanging next to Chixia's saddle. The head was fresh, bloody and mangled, with blood even dripping from the neck.
Cui Jue's black boots were stained with blood. He shook off the bright red on his sword. His cold, sharp eyes swept back and forth between Xiao Meng and Su Li's faces. Then, his narrow brows narrowed, "Su Li."
Seeing his murderous look, Su Li's legs couldn't help but go weak, but she knew that Cui Jue liked to be close to her and would not kill her.
Su Li suppressed her fear, forced a smile, and called him tenderly, "Lord, you are here."
Cui Jue's expression was still gloomy. He whispered, "Su Li, come here."
Su Li did not disobey him and took two steps forward honestly.
The next moment, the man's bloody fingers gently stroked her cheek. The bloody smell instantly hit her, penetrated into her nose, and made her nauseous.
Su Li was shocked by the sight of blood and was so frightened that she even held her breath.
Cui Jue seemed unaware of Su Li's fear and asked her gently, "What are you talking about? You look so happy."
"No, we didn't talk about anything, just some trivial things." Su Li was stunned. She was forced to look up at Cui Jue and racked her brains to make up an excuse.
"Really? If it's just a trivial matter, why are you laughing so happily?" But Cui Jue didn't give her a chance to lie. Instead, he gently stroked her cheek and said in a voice that was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry, "You've never smiled at me like this before... Maybe I'm just too boring?"
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