Chapter 56
Mu Yunqing let out a sigh behind him.
He thought bitterly that at this point, the only way he could repay Zhao Congyun was to protect Yue Mingming.
At this moment, the sound of rolling horse hooves was heard faintly in the distance, instantly bringing his thoughts back - there were quite a few of the other side, and they seemed to be galloping towards the main camp.
Mu Yun's expression changed slightly.
He didn't know how many people Zhao Congyun brought with him, but based on his understanding of his subordinates, Lingzhou would definitely not be able to muster a cavalry of this size at this time.
Then the only ones coming are the Red Armor Army!
The sound was getting closer and closer, and everyone in the camp looked at him in panic, fear written all over their faces.
No one is not afraid of death.
But on the battlefield, a soldier must forget this and believe they can win. The Mu family army was luckier, having a commander who was "undefeated." But today, their luck seemed to have run out. The most elite Vanguard Battalion and the Cavalry Battalion were completely wiped out. Although Mu Yunqing was rescued, everyone could see that their once-invincible young commander didn't even have the strength to hold his gun.
"Pei Yuan, take those two and go first! Everyone else, line up and prepare to follow me to meet the enemy!"
Mu Yunqing's voice was not loud, but he regained his usual calm and majestic demeanor. The panicked soldiers immediately felt a sense of purpose, picked up their weapons, and quickly organized themselves into a team.
Yue Mingming stopped Pei Yuan and said to Ah Nian, "If the enemy came to kill us, would you be afraid?"
Ah Nian thought for a moment and said, "I'm not afraid when I'm with you guys."
Yue Mingming nodded. "I heard that those barbarians like to massacre people in cities. If they really break in, it doesn't matter if we die sooner or later. It's better to kill a few more people to take their place."
Mu Yunqing looked at her in silence, lowered his head and tightened his wrist guard, sighing softly: "Since you are not leaving, go fill your quiver, and don't be polite later!"
*
As they scaled the city walls, the scene outside the city suddenly became quiet. Mu Yunqing looked at the troops that had suddenly stopped in the distance, his brows furrowed slightly.
"What's wrong?" Yue Mingming asked.
"Not the Red Armor Army?" Mu Yunqing whispered, "Judging from the armor pattern, it seems to be... our dynasty's army."
Yue Mingming's eyes lit up: "Reinforcements?!"
Mu Yunqing's face was devoid of joy; instead, a look of worry darkened his brows. "The nearest Chenzhou camp is hundreds of miles away from Lingzhou. There's no way they can get here so quickly, unless they get the news in advance... If that's the case, I'm afraid we'll have to be even more cautious."
Yue Mingming understood what he meant: "Are you worried that they are Lord Fan's men?"
After this incident, Mu Yunqing admitted that he was now a frightened bird, and he no longer dared to trust even his former colleagues easily.
As he spoke, two horses suddenly burst out from the dense crowd and headed straight for the city gate. Mu Yunqing's back suddenly tensed, and he waved his arm, "Ready!" The archers behind him immediately took their positions. Yue Mingming, feeling nervous as well, silently raised his longbow.
As the horses approached, everyone finally saw clearly that they were a man and a woman. The man was young, with an upright figure, and it was obvious that he was from a military family. The woman next to him looked out of place on the battlefield, like a young lady who had walked into the wrong place. No matter how strong the wind and snow in the northern frontier were, they could not hide her bookish air.
Pei Yuan shouted, "Stop! Who are you? Tell me your name! If you come any closer, I'll shoot you!"
"Sister Su? General Shen?" Yue Mingming screamed before anyone could answer.
Shen Zongwu and Su Dingrou reined in their horses. Su Dingrou also saw Yue Mingming on the city wall and waved vigorously, "Mingming!"
Mu Yunqing was startled: "Do you know each other?"
"We're more than just acquaintances, we're lifelong friends!" Yue Mingming was so excited that he almost wanted to jump off the city wall. "Sister Su, weren't you in Jiangzhou? Why are you here?"
Su Dingrou looked up to answer, but the wind and snow were too strong. Shen Zongwu patted her shoulder, clasped his hands together and said, "Commander Shen Zongwu of Jiangzhou, greetings to Marshal Mu!"
Mu Yunqing returned the greeting lightly, his voice indifferent: "Jiangzhou is thousands of miles away. I wonder whose orders Commander Shen is following to lead his troops to the city? Do you have the tiger seal in your hand?"
Shen Zongwu took out the military seal and a piece of letter from his bosom: "General Jingwu personally gave me the tiger seal and wrote it, please examine it, young commander!"
Mu Yun glanced at him lightly, nodded slightly, and turned to Pei Yuan and ordered: "You stay here to command. Do not withdraw the defense without my order! I'll go down and take a look first!"
This team came too unexpectedly, so he had to be on guard.
Yue Mingming immediately said, "I'll go with you!"
Mu Yunqing: "Do you trust them?"
Yue Mingming: "Do you know who that woman is?"
Mu Yun shook his head slightly, and Yue Mingming smiled and said, "She is Zhao Congyun's former princess."
"..." Mu Yunqing, who was walking down, almost stumbled: "Then you are..."
"She's a good sister! It was thanks to me that she helped them get divorced that she was able to be with General Shen."
Mu Yunqing felt that his brain was not enough. Before he had time to digest this sentence that contained a lot of information, the city gate was already opened. He had to cheer up and deal with Shen Zongwu first.
There was no problem with the tiger talisman, and the letter was indeed stamped with the seal of General Jingwu. The letter only said that Emperor Zhaoming was uneasy after hearing that Zhao Congyun was assassinated on the way to exile, so he specially sent a team to protect his brother's safety.
Mu Yunqing was puzzled. Lingzhou already had an army, so why did they send troops all the way from Jiangzhou to protect Zhao Congyun?
He was still hesitating, and Yue Mingming couldn't help but interrupt and said, "Young Marshal, can you please ask General Shen to take people to rescue the prince first? I'm afraid if it drags on..."
In an emergency, Mu Yunqing had to make the decision. How could he not agree?
He suppressed his doubts and quickly asked, "Have you encountered any Red Armored Army soldiers in the direction Captain Shen came from?"
Shen Zongwu smiled slightly: "Please rest assured, Marshal and Madam Yue, the prince has been rescued by us!"
Yue Mingming's mouth dropped open. Before he could even finish his happiness, he immediately started asking in rapid succession, "Where's he? Is he hurt? Why isn't he with you? Where's Uncle Dong? Is he okay?"
Su Dingrou took her hand and said in a gentle voice, "He and Uncle Dong are both fine. Fortunately, they only suffered minor injuries. The military doctor examined them and they are not seriously injured. They just drank medicine and fell asleep in the carriage at the back."
"Really... That's good... That's good." Yue Mingming nodded vigorously, and the emotions that he had suppressed with great difficulty suddenly surged up: "Sister Su, I was scared to death! I thought he was dead!"
Su Dingrou hugged the sobbing girl and said, "The prince is blessed with a long life. Besides, you are waiting for him. How could he bear to die?"
It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned this. But when Yue Mingming thought about Zhao Congyun and Ah Nian threatening his life, he was furious: "...You don't know, he's gone too far! He only knows how to bully me! What a scumbag!"
Su Dingrou had seen her strange choice of words before, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. Mu Yunqing's brows also relaxed, and he said to Shen Zongwu: "So, you fought with the Red Armor Army?"
Shen Zongwu said, "It was just a brief encounter, not a fight. Those barbarians were very cautious and thought we were reinforcements lying in ambush, so they immediately withdrew. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to rescue the prince so easily.
"If I have the chance in the future, I'd like to learn from you!"
Mu Yunqing saw a hard-to-conceal edge on Shen Zongwu's young face. For some reason, just from that one glance, he was certain he wasn't one of Lord Fan's men.
"Oh, by the way," Shen Zongwu continued, "We also rescued several soldiers. One of them kept muttering about the young marshal while unconscious. I think his name was... Zheng Rong."
This time it was Mu Yunqing's turn to have tears in his eyes.
*
Seven days later.
Uncle Dong came back from outside holding a small lamp. Just as he was about to enter, a strange smell drifted from far away to the front door, making him stop subconsciously.
"My wife went to the stables again?"
"Uncle Dong, when did you need a lamp to walk at night?"
They both asked at the same time.
The source of that strange smell was Yue Mingming.
Uncle Dong smiled and answered first: "My eyes have been a little useless these days, I'm sorry to make you laugh."
Yue Mingming finally realized that Uncle Dong had accidentally injured his eye during the battle with the Red Armor Army a few days ago. She said guiltily, "Oh, I forgot... Uncle Dong, are you okay? You won't have any sequelae, will you?"
"Thank you for your concern, Madam. I have prepared some medicine myself and I will be fully recovered in less than two weeks."
Yue Mingming breathed a sigh of relief: "I trust your medical skills. Did you just come back from the General's Mansion? Is Mu Yunqing okay?"
"The rest of the injuries are easy to deal with, but..." Uncle Dong paused, swallowing the word "buttocks", "the one where you got hit by the stick is not in good condition."
Yue Mingming gloated a bit, "He made such a big mistake, he deserved it! If you hadn't stopped him, I think General Mu would have beaten him to death that day!"
Uncle Dong sighed, "General Mu is a strict commander of the army and never shows favoritism, which is truly rare. However, the current situation is turbulent. The losses in the Battle of Lingzhou were heavy, and Lord Fan is ready to make a move in the capital... In the face of internal and external troubles, we must protect Mu Yunqing!"
Yue Mingming saw that his expression was not right: "Uncle Dong, tell me the truth, what happened in the capital?"
Seeing Uncle Dong hesitate to speak, Yue Mingming was furious. "You guys are hiding everything from me! Even Ah Nian can attend meetings with you, so why can't I?"
Ever since Shen Zongwu led his troops to station there, Zhao Congyun had locked him and General Mu in the study every day to discuss matters. Yesterday, he even called An Nian over, but he kept his mouth shut to Yue Mingming.
Who cares! Anyone can guess what they are up to!
Yue Mingming was already angry, and since Zhao Congyun refused to say anything, she decided not to ask any questions. She simply plunged into the armory and the military horse farm, using the knowledge she learned from the system to help the Mu family army regroup.
Over the past few days, even Deng Fan, the most stubborn commander of the army's supply battalion, began to look at Yue Mingming with admiration.
The only person who should understand her best still looks down on her!
Yue Mingming said coldly, "Is this Zhao Congyun's idea again? He didn't let you tell me."
Uncle Dong smiled bitterly, "My wife goes to the horse farm during the day and stays at Madam Su's place at night. She hasn't been seen for several days. Even if Your Highness wants to explain, he won't get the chance!"
Yue Mingming raised his eyebrows slightly, and was about to retort when he heard Uncle Dong say earnestly, "...Madam, you even care about the injuries of Marshal Mu and his subordinates. How can you bear to ignore the recurrence of the prince's old injury?"
Yue Mingming was stunned: "He...his old injury relapsed? Sister Su didn't tell me... She only said that General Shen thought the prince was fine!"
"When has Your Highness ever shown weakness in front of outsiders? Furthermore, these are extraordinary times. Lord Fan might have spies in the palace. If they knew Your Highness was ill, they would probably take advantage of the situation to cause trouble."
"How is he now?" Yue Mingming asked anxiously.
The door to the mansion suddenly opened from the inside. Zhao Congyun's handsome face wore a tired smile: "How am I... you will know if you come and see for yourself."
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