Chapter 590: The Deposed Princess Strikes Back at the Female General 37
The siege lasted more than half a month.
The Wujin people kept pouring in, and a thick layer of corpses piled up under the city wall. The Wujin people had no habit of collecting corpses, so they just stepped on the corpses of their compatriots and continued to climb up.
Jiayuguan was defended tightly and in an orderly manner, but other cities were not so lucky.
Many small countries in the north have surrendered to Wujin State. After the war began, they also successively reinforced Wujin State. Their target was not Jiayuguan, but other cities in Chen State.
More than a dozen cities in the north suffered attacks of varying sizes, causing heavy losses.
Originally, Jiayuguan should have supported other cities, but Hu Anshan was afraid that Jiayuguan could not be defended and he would be held accountable. He had no ability to coordinate the entire northern border and kept delaying the request for help from other cities.
The northern border was plunged into war and the battlefield was tense. When the news was passed back to the court, the emperor praised Hu Anshan highly and asked him to temporarily take over the position of the commander-in-chief of the army and command all the troops in the northern border.
In the meeting hall, Hu Anshan sat at the top, unable to hide the smile on his face.
Cai Pengju said loudly: "Congratulations, Marshal! Since Duke Ji passed away, the position of Grand Marshal of the Army has been vacant. No one except you is qualified to sit in this position."
Hu Anshan felt that he should have taken this position a long time ago. Since the founding of Chen State, there have been many first-rank generals, but only one commander-in-chief, who had always been occupied by Duke Ji. Now it is finally his turn.
If it weren't for the peace in the past three years, he would have become a marshal long ago.
Hu Anshan was still very humble. He bowed in the direction of the capital and said, "Your Majesty values me. I am just taking over temporarily. I am afraid that I cannot handle this important task and would fail Your Majesty's grace."
"All the soldiers have made great contributions in defending the city this time, and they are rewarded with 100 taels of gold. I have also specifically mentioned General Yi, but Your Majesty does not seem to have given any additional rewards. I think Your Majesty and General Yi and his son are of the same mind, and it is only natural that General Yi is loyal to his father. If you reward him again, it would seem that Your Majesty is not close enough to him."
Yuwen Yi remained silent, he had long been used to it, the reason he was able to get the hundred taels of gold was because Hu Anshan had no way of erasing his contribution, he could only ask for credit for him.
In his father's heart, the emperor has never cared about him as a son, so how could he possibly reward him alone?
Ji Yunhuan also received 100 taels of gold and the appointment letter as a fifth-rank general of Zhaowu. In addition, she also received additional rewards from the Empress Dowager and the Queen.
Part of the reward was sent to the Duke's Mansion with fanfare. This was a deliberate act by the Empress Dowager to give her face and let everyone know about her achievements. Part of it was sent to Jiayuguan, along with a letter from the palace. The Empress Dowager and the Queen scolded her harshly in the letter and were extremely worried.
In terms of rewards alone, Ji Yunhuan received the most generous rewards, even the acting commander-in-chief could not compare to her.
Ji Yunhuan felt very uncomfortable when she saw Yuwen Yi lowering his head and keeping silent.
It is obvious that Yuwen Yi is the one who has made the most contributions, and he should be the commander-in-chief of the army!
The emperor was really too partial. He held Prince Rui in the palm of his hand, but ignored Yuwen Yi who was fighting outside. Even if he had just sent a few words to him, it could have been regarded as the emperor's concern for his son. Yuwen Yi would not have had such a hard time in the army.
Ji Yunhuan tugged at Yuwen Yi's sleeve and whispered, "Empress Jiang asked the Queen to bring you something. I'll give it to you quietly later."
Yuwen Yi's eyes lit up!
He hadn't seen his mother for a long time. His mother had been in the deep palace for a long time and had no connections or power. Let alone sending a letter to the northern border, she was afraid that she couldn't even send a piece of paper out of the palace.
Because Ji Yunhuan was in Jiayuguan, the Queen sent things to Jiayuguan. The Queen Mother has always been kind, so her mother's things were sent over.
"Thank you Miss Ji."
Yuwen Yi was overjoyed. He had never expected his father to favor him. He just wanted his mother to be well in the palace.
Hu Anshan coughed lightly, and the excited generals below quieted down, waiting for Hu Anshan to speak.
"There is also good news. The court has decided to send troops to support the northern border. 20,000 Beijing baggage troops and 10,000 southwestern troops are already on their way."
Yuwen Yi was very happy to hear this. Although the number of people was small, they could solve the urgent problem in the western border.
"Which city should we send them to? Youlan Pass? Or Lingyun Pass? These two cities have sent troops for help many times. I'm afraid they can't hold on any longer. As long as we recover from this, those small northern countries will be exhausted and we will definitely be able to hold the northern border defense line."
The entire northern border is in Yuwen Yi's mind. More than a dozen cities rely on natural barriers to guard the northern territory. Jiayuguan is indeed very important, but other cities cannot be ignored.
Hu Anshan smiled contemptuously, "Of course we should send more troops to Jiayu Pass. As long as Jiayu Pass is defended, the northern border will be stable."
"The one leading the troops this time is His Royal Highness Prince Rui, so he will naturally go to the most important battlefields. How could he go to those small cities? His Royal Highness Prince Rui is known for his wisdom and knowledge. He once pacified the bandits in the southwest. He is a man of both civil and military talents. With His Royal Highness Prince Rui coming, those barbarians will surely surrender, and the northern border will be peaceful."
The soldiers below looked at each other in bewilderment. Although they were not as well-informed as Hu Anshan, they also knew that His Royal Highness Prince Rui was not good at martial arts. He might be okay at governing the country, but it would be a real joke for him to lead troops in battle.
But they were not fools. The emperor clearly wanted Prince Rui to reap the credit, so they could only follow Hu Anshan's words and sing his praises.
Yuwen Yi frowned, he felt that this was wrong, but the war report he wrote about the northern border might not have been submitted to the emperor at all. Even if the emperor read it, he would not listen to him.
Hu Anshan used to be the Duke's right-hand man, and now he is the garrison commander of Jiayu Pass. The emperor must trust the older Hu Anshan more.
"General Yi is dissatisfied with His Majesty's decree? Or is he dissatisfied with His Royal Highness Prince Rui? Prince Rui is the general's elder brother, and General Yi doesn't seem happy at all."
Yuwen Yi really couldn't say anything nice. There were reinforcements, but they were not sent to places that needed them more. Should he agree with this?
He could only remain silent.
Ji Yun laughed and said, "Blood ties cannot be severed. The Eighth Prince and the Seventh Prince share the same mind and heart, and their brotherly love is deep. How can an outsider like you understand?"
"If brothers still talk nonsense and speak in a flowery way, and show respect for their elder brother in front of outsiders, it will make them seem less close. The Eighth Prince has always been taciturn, but he has respect for his elder brother in his heart. General Hu has no brothers, so he naturally doesn't understand."
Hu Anshan was speechless. This Ji Yunhuan was really sharp-tongued!
He looked at Ji Yunhuan with an expression of watching a good show on his face, "This time, Prince Rui led troops to support, and General Su accompanied him. I'm sure you have heard that the Southwest Army has a female general, Su Ziyan. We can also take a look at her style."
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