The two spent more than a month together at Biqing Garden, inseparable.
That day, Zhang Yun received a report from his subordinates that the gunpowder for the Divine Weapon Battalion had finally been developed.
Since he couldn't remember the gunpowder formula and specific proportions, Zhang Yun gathered a group of craftsmen who made fireworks and firecrackers from the countryside and asked them to adjust the proportions and formulas themselves, researching them in that direction.
Two years have passed, but hard work pays off, and he has finally developed this powerful weapon!
Zhang Yun happily ran back to her room, wanting to share this joyous achievement with Qin Zheng, but upon entering, she saw a man in black robes kneeling in front of Qin Zheng.
Zhang Yun recognized the man's clothes; he was a member of the Black-Clad Guards, an intelligence organization under Qin Zheng.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yun asked as he walked in, noticing the strange expression on his face.
Qin Zheng waved his hand, dismissing the man, then pulled Zhang Yun onto his lap, burying his head in his chest. "It's just a small matter; I need to go back and take care of it."
"How long will it take?" Zhang Yun asked, putting her arm around him.
"Including travel time, it will take about four months," Qin Zheng said.
Zhang Yun calculated the distance: four months. Qin Zheng would spend most of his time traveling, so it shouldn't be a big deal.
"Then be careful."
Zhang Yun added, "I'll probably be back at the Northwest Camp by then, so you can come find me there."
Qin Zheng took a deep breath in his arms, "I really wish I could turn you into a jade pendant and wear it on my waist all the time."
Zhang Yun smiled upon hearing this, and her hand slipped to his waist: "Where do you want it to be?"
...
No sooner had Qin Zheng left than Zhang Yun received an urgent letter from the princess, saying that a distinguished guest was coming to visit and that he should return home as soon as possible.
Zhang Yun left Zhao Xin'er and Madam Xu at Biqing Garden, then rode back to the Prince's Mansion in haste with a few guards.
Upon arriving home, Zhang Yun learned that Xie Shujun, the eldest son of the Xie family of Langya and the fiancé of his elder sister Zhang Caiyue, had come to visit.
Last night, Qin Zheng kept Zhang Yun occupied all night with the excuse that they would be separated for several months. After exchanging greetings with her future brother-in-law, Zhang Yun was about to go back to her room to catch up on sleep when the princess forcibly pulled her over to sit down.
In the waiting room, the princess sat on the right side of the main seat, Xie Shujun sat on the left, and Zhang Yun sat on the right.
While the princess and her future son-in-law Xie Shujun were talking, Zhang Yun sat on the other side, his head bobbing sleepily as if he were about to fall to the ground at any moment.
Xie Shujun suddenly mentioned Zhang Yun, his tone a little sour: "Although the young master is newly married, he should still be moderate and take care of his health."
Zhang Yun suddenly woke up from her drowsiness and mumbled "uh-huh" in response.
The princess glanced at him sideways before asking, "What do you think about what Xiao Jun just mentioned?"
"Hmm? What's up?" Zhang Yun asked, yawning.
"It's your eldest sister's problem! She's already twenty-six, and she's still stuck at Luoyan Pass, unable to go home. Her wedding has been delayed until now!"
Xie Shujun also said, "My father contacted the officials in the court last month to submit a memorial to His Majesty. His Majesty agreed to transfer the princess, but it has been put on hold because there is no suitable candidate for commander-in-chief. Prince, you have been in the Northwest Army for many years. Do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"
Zhang Yun thought for a moment and said, "There is a lieutenant general in our army named Yang Xin, who is extremely good at defense, but his rank is too low and he has no merits. I'm afraid the court will not agree to it."
It was, after all, the position of commander-in-chief. No matter how incompetent the emperor was, he would never let an unknown nobody take on the role.
"I'm going to guard Luoyan Pass in place of my elder sister!" Zhang Caixing suddenly appeared.
Zhang Yun looked at her and said, "Third sister, stop fooling around. You don't understand military affairs. War is not a personal duel."
Zhang Caixing said, "What's so difficult about that? I'll just hold the title of commander. You can send that guy named Yang Xin to work under me and have him help manage Luoyan Pass."
"It doesn't seem like it's impossible," Zhang Yun nodded.
The princess said unhappily, "You're not going anywhere, go back to your room."
Zhang Yun shrugged and gave Zhang Caixing a helpless look.
Zhang Caixing glanced at the princess with a wronged expression, then turned and left.
After Zhang Caixing left, Zhang Yun suddenly said, "Third Sister, you've reminded me. Don't we still have me in our family? I can go to Luoyan Pass and keep an eye on things. As the heir of the Northwest King, I'm certainly qualified to be the commander-in-chief of Luoyan Pass, aren't I?"
"How can this be? You still have to attend your older sister's wedding..."
“Mother,” Zhang Yun solemnly grasped the princess’s hand, “We already have one woman in the family who can’t get married, we can’t have another one.”
princess:"……"
Xie Shujun suddenly bowed deeply to Zhang Yun, saying, "Brother Yun, I will remember this kindness and repay it handsomely in the future!"
"No need, no need, I'm just going to help my sister go home, it's the right thing to do."
After finishing his business, Xie Shujun got up to take his leave, and the princess asked Zhang Yun to see him out.
After seeing Xie Shujun off, Zhang Yun returned to his residence in the Prince's Mansion and went straight to sleep.
The next morning, Zhang Yun was woken up by his servants to see the princess.
The princess was holding a letter and shedding tears.
Zhang Yun took the letter and read it. Oh dear! As expected, Zhang Caixing had run away from home and gone to Luoyan Pass.
“Mother, Third Sister doesn’t have a husband she likes, so please don’t force her.”
"Nonsense! What girl doesn't get married?"
The princess glared at him. "Don't even mention your third sister. A few years ago, you were arguing with Mother, saying you didn't want to get married. Now that you've married, aren't you treating her like a precious treasure? You even deliberately left her at Biqing Garden. Don't think Mother can't see that you don't want her to suffer any grievances while standing in the palace."
“What Mother Consort says is true, but you also know my situation. The girl was already wronged to marry me, and I feel bad about her having to stay in my mansion and suffer more.”
Upon hearing this, the princess's eyes reddened again. "Is it still... not possible?"
Zhang Yun nodded, feigning sadness: "Let's adopt one from now on."
The princess started wiping away tears again.
Zhang Yun quickly tried to divert her attention, saying, "What about Third Sister's matter?"
The princess felt a wave of discouragement when she thought of her daughter. "Fine, you're all so headstrong. Now that you're all capable, your mother can't control you anymore! Let her do whatever she wants!"
“Then I will write to Yang Xin and tell him to set off for Luoyan Pass immediately.”
"Hmm." The princess continued, "Wait two months, then send your eldest sister off in the bridal sedan chair before you leave."
Zhang Yun nodded with a smile: "That's exactly what I was thinking."
For the next month, Zhang Yun focused his main efforts on the gunpowder at the Divine Weapon Battalion.
As soon as the first batch of finished products was completed, Zhang Yun tested the results and ordered mass production.
There are still two years until Luoyan Pass is breached in the original story.
He wasn't confident he could help defend Luoyan Pass before, but now that he had gunpowder, everything was fine.
If we start stockpiling now, Luoyan Pass, while not necessarily impregnable, should be able to hold for more than three months in two years.
Three months is enough to wear down the Hu people to death.
Moreover, he also sent Yang Xin, the most famous city-defending general under Qin Zheng in the later part of the original work.
Later on, Qin Zheng was no match for the Northwest King's army and relied entirely on turtling and defending to hold on.
Yang Xin thus became famous and was given the nickname "Yang the Turtle" by the King of the Northwest.
Besides Yang Xin, Zhang Yun had several other capable ministers and generals under his command who should have been loyal to Qin Zheng, but they took the initiative to come and join him.
One of them is Xue Gui, Qin Zheng's most capable general in the original novel.
Xue Gui is currently in the Northwest Camp, serving as the commander of his own Swift Wind Battalion, leading 10,000 troops.
If Zhang Yun hadn't possessed the "simp" identity card, he would have doubted whether he was the protagonist.
More than a month later, Zhang Caiyue finally returned home.
The princess had prepared her wedding favors many years ago, and now they were finally coming in handy.
This woman, whose fate in the original story was so tragic, can finally change her original ending and embrace happiness and fulfillment.
After Zhang Caiyue got married, Zhang Yun left the palace and personally escorted two carts of gunpowder to Luoyan Pass.
This item is a dangerous product, so he had to explain its usage to Yang Xin in person to avoid any accidents caused by improper handling or storage.
They also wanted to convey Zhang Caixing's "concern" from her elderly mother.
Before leaving, he wrote a letter to Qin Zheng, telling him that he was going to Luoyan Pass and would then go directly to the Northwest Camp from there, and that he should go directly to the Northwest Camp to wait for him, so as not to miss him by going to both places.
...
Two months later, the Northwest Camp
A fast horse galloped up, carrying two people.
"The Hu army is attacking! The prince has been wounded by an arrow! Open the gate immediately!" The horseman stopped in front of the camp's defensive fortifications.
Soon someone came to confirm that the person sitting behind him was none other than the Northwest King, who had gone out hunting that day. Everyone in the camp panicked.
They quickly moved aside the corner of the entrance to let Qin Zheng in.
Today was a clear and crisp autumn day. The Northwest King led several dozen of his entourage out of the camp to hunt and, incidentally, to scout out any unusual activity in the vicinity.
At this time of year, the Hu people would usually send troops to harass the border.
However, at the Northwest Camp, they would only send out scouts to investigate, never deploying a large army. Otherwise, the Northwest King wouldn't have been so bold as to go out with only a few dozen personal guards.
But on this very day, the King of the Northwest was struck by an unfortunate event that hadn't happened in many years.
The Hu people's cavalry was densely packed and covered the sky; a rough estimate would place at least ten thousand men.
The Northwest King managed to escape only after his personal guards fought desperately to protect him, but he was struck in the arm by an arrow from the enemy's archer.
Then his horse was also hit by an arrow and was about to be shot to death when Qin Zheng suddenly appeared and knocked the arrow away, saving him.
The Northwest King did not recognize Qin Zheng, but he recognized Qin Zheng's mount, Wuxing Tayue, and his personal attendants.
So when Qin Zheng told him to mount the horse, the Northwest King sat on it without hesitation.
Qin Zheng led him at breakneck speed all the way back to the camp safely.
The Hu people's troops set up camp on the northeast side of the Northwest Camp.
After the King of the Northwest had his wound bandaged, he summoned Qin Zheng.
"Child, what's your name?"
"Your Highness, I am Qin Zheng, the Crown Prince's personal guard," Qin Zheng said, kneeling on one knee.
Anyway, he had all sorts of tokens given to him by Zhang Yun, such as a token, jade pendant, ring, seal, and handwritten letter, so he could claim to be anyone Zhang Yun could claim to be.
"I came to the Northwest Camp on the orders of the Crown Prince. I noticed the ground shaking as if a large cavalry force was marching, so I went to investigate. I never expected to meet Your Highness."
Qin Zheng's token was genuine, and his words were reasonable, so the King of the Northwest naturally did not suspect him.
As for Qin Zheng's name, he naturally didn't know it before. After all, Qin Zheng had disappeared when he went home to recuperate. The princess was not so free to mention a servant who was no longer alive in front of the Northwest King.
"It was my fate to survive. In that situation, I was able to meet you, and you were even riding the Black Star Moon." The Northwest King laughed heartily and told him to get up.
"You saved my life, now tell me, what do you want?" the Northwest King asked.
Just as Qin Zheng was about to speak, a soldier walked into the tent and reported, "Your Highness, the Hu army numbers about 20,000 and is stationed forty miles northeast of our army."
The King of the Northwest looked thoughtful.
The Northwest Camp has 100,000 troops stationed here. The enemy general sent 20,000 Hu cavalry here, definitely not to fight him.
Suddenly, the King of the Northwest's expression changed.
"This is bad! They're trying to tie down our troops!"
The Northwest King paused for a moment, then looked at Qin Zheng, who had voiced his thoughts, a hint of appreciation in his eyes. "You figured it out too?"
Qin Zheng nodded, but an anxious look appeared on his face.
He said, "The Northwest Camp only has 30,000 cavalry, the rest are infantry. If we want to support other places, we can only send cavalry. The Hu people are good at riding and archery, and the terrain around here is flat. If they don't want to fight, we won't be able to touch them at all!"
"The Hu people's range is slightly longer than ours. If our army focuses on marching, they only need to follow behind and harass us constantly, which will be enough to keep our army busy. At the very least, it will delay the speed of reinforcements."
"Unless our army sends out all 30,000 cavalry, some to intercept and some to provide support, if all the cavalry are sent out, then the 70,000 infantrymen we leave behind will become dead. The barbarians can easily wipe them out by sending cavalry back and forth to attack."
"Their purpose in doing this is to prevent our army from sending troops to support other places. Therefore, the Hu people's real target will only be Luoyan Pass or Baoping County!"
"The area around Baoping County is full of important military towns, and reinforcements can arrive very quickly. Even if we take it, the gains won't be significant. Their main target is likely Luoyan Pass!"
"Ah... Your Highness is in grave danger!"
Qin Zheng hurriedly turned to leave, but was stopped by the Northwest King, "Stop! Where do you think you're going?"
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince and the young princess are both at Luoyan Pass. If the Hu people are attacking there, the court will certainly not send troops to support them because the Crown Prince comes from the Northwest Prince's Mansion. Ah... the Crown Prince only has 10,000 men with him; he can't hold it..."
Qin Zheng's voice began to tremble. Regret, self-blame, annoyance, and fear filled his heart. Why did he leave A Yun's side?
"So what if it is?"
The Northwest King said in a deep voice, "Since the Hu people want to attack Luoyan Pass, they have sent at least 50,000 troops there. Are you going to support Luoyan Pass alone? Do you have the ability to blow tens of thousands of Hu people to death in one go?"
The Northwest King instructed him: "The worst thing for a general is to be impetuous and rash. Especially in such situations, one must calmly think of countermeasures."
With his beloved's life in danger, how could Qin Zheng possibly remain calm?
He suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is your only son! You must save him!"
"Of course I know he is my son, and he is my pride. If I could, I would give my life for his, but I cannot sacrifice the entire Northwest Camp for him!"
There was one more thing the Northwest King didn't say: he believed that with Zhang Yun's intelligence, if Luoyan Pass couldn't be defended in the end, he would definitely lead Changning and the others to escape, rather than staying there and sacrificing himself in vain.
Unlike Pingning, who was taught by him to be too upright and stubborn to the end.
Qin Zheng's heart sank, and he silently stood up from the ground.
The Northwest King, seeing him about to leave again, asked, "What are you going to do now?"
Qin Zheng: "Your Highness, I truly lack the ability to single-handedly deal with tens of thousands of Hu people and rescue the Crown Prince, but I am willing to die alongside him."
The King of the Northwest was both amused and exasperated by Qin Zheng's childish words and innocent heart. After Qin Zheng left the tent, he shouted, "Guards, stop him!"
As a result, Qin Zheng was surrounded and beaten by the personal guards of the Northwest King who were waiting outside his tent.
Although Qin Zheng was highly skilled in martial arts, the guards of the Northwest King were not to be underestimated, and besides, he could not really kill him.
Ultimately, two fists can't fight four hands, and he was quickly defeated by the Northwest King's personal guards, tied up like a dumpling, and thrown back in front of the Northwest King.
"What does Your Highness mean by this?" Qin Zheng asked, struggling on the ground.
"You're so smart, and you even saved my life. It would be a shame if you died. Just stay here quietly. I'll untie you when you've learned to use your brain."
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