Upon returning to Changchun Palace, Cui Niang immediately took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and prepared them for the ceremony.
Lanqin carefully analyzed the matter. First, the northwest was facing a food shortage, and then Hongzhou's identity was unexpectedly revealed. This incident caused a minor uproar in the court, but if it weren't for the efforts of the Thirteenth Prince to quell the storm, the food shortage problem might not have been properly resolved.
"Fourth Master, receiving this letter is like seeing the person in person..."
Lanqin finished in one go, explaining the whole story in detail. After blowing the ink off the letter, she handed it to Cui Niang and said, "Just like before, find someone to smuggle it out."
"This servant understands." Cui Niang tucked the letter into her bosom and carefully carried it out.
Although the Empress's power had waned, there were still many eyes watching Changchun Palace. Through the window, Lanqin watched Cui Niang's retreating figure and sighed softly.
Hopefully, they are all safe and sound in the far northwest.
Seven days had passed since they left Beijing. Thirteen, leading the grain transport team, dared not stop for a moment and hurried as fast as they could, finally arriving near Jiayuguan.
But once they left Jiayuguan, the road became increasingly difficult, and they had to slow down their pace again.
With 100,000 dan of grain behind him, Thirteen dared not be careless. He did not dare to set up camp at night, but only chose a slightly flat place to make some preparations and took turns on guard duty at night.
Thirteen took out his rations and water bottle. Just as he was about to drink some water, he heard the soldiers outside shout, "Something's wrong! Someone's here to steal our food!"
The group immediately stirred. In the distance, they saw more than a dozen men dressed in foreign attire and wearing veils peeking out from behind the rocks, brandishing their scimitars and eyeing the grain being transported by the caravan menacingly.
Thirteen threw down the rations in his hand, drew his sword, and mounted his horse. He shouted, "Don't panic! Encircle the rations in the middle; they outnumber us!"
As he spoke, he had already rushed to the outer perimeter and killed two aliens.
Seeing that even the esteemed Thirteenth Prince was acting this way, the soldiers immediately found their leader and drew their swords to fight back.
Before long, the alien race of only twenty or thirty people was driven back.
Seeing the enemy driven away, some soldiers in the ranks wanted to pursue them. Thirteen patted his horse and rushed forward to stop them, saying, "Don't pursue a desperate enemy. They are outnumbered and knew they had little chance of winning. They just wanted to create chaos and steal the grain. As long as we guard the grain, we will be fine."
"Yes," the soldiers replied, turning back.
The enemy launched a rash attack, but they gained little advantage. After clearing away the few corpses on the ground and settling several lightly wounded soldiers, the supply convoy proceeded as usual.
Looking in the direction where the outsiders disappeared, Thirteen's heart was still hanging in suspense.
Beyond Jiayuguan Pass lies the territory of foreign tribes. In recent years, disasters have been frequent, and many nomadic peoples are struggling to get enough to eat. Although the small group that snatched the grain earlier was not many, it could very well be all the men of a small tribe. They were risking their lives to survive.
It's at least three days' journey from here to the military camp. Although we successfully repelled the enemy this time, news may have already spread that the army is escorting a large amount of grain out of the pass.
If someone with ulterior motives finds out, who knows what might happen. But this time, he only went out to escort supplies and didn't want to cause any further trouble.
Thinking of all this, Thirteen dared not linger any longer. After a brief reorganization, he ordered the soldiers to continue their journey.
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