The importance of a perfect appearance
Originally, according to Wang Changling's idea, Yue Lingxi should dress as little as possible today to avoid being noticed that her age did not match her appearance!
But Liu Buqi firmly opposed it!
"Hehe, he's just a eunuch delivering imperial eunuchs. I don't believe anyone would specifically tell him how old Lingxi is or what he looks like before he leaves the palace!"
"As for those generals, it's impossible for them to know the age of a marginalized royal family member exiled from the distant imperial capital! Lingxi can just show up openly."
This reason is obviously much more reliable than Wang Changling's suggestion! After all, even the most convincing makeup artist can hardly turn an adult into a child!
Liu Buqi hadn't said a word yet: "First impressions are important! Who would bet on a child who's still wet behind the ears?"
Of course, this is to prevent the possible eunuchs who might deliver the imperial edict from knowing Yue Lingxi's approximate appearance and age.
So he, who was supposed to receive the imperial edict with the five generals, pretended to receive the military order from Wang Changling, who was unaware of the situation, and went out of the city for inspection.
The eunuchs had to deliver the decree first before he could show up. Even if the eunuchs had noticed something, they would have had no choice but to accept it! As for encountering the scouts of the Yehe tribe, it was a complete surprise!
Accidents aside, Yue Lingxi's character as a rough soldier who strictly abides by military orders, hides his identity and is promoted due to merit has been successfully established!
…
After taking the enthronement document from the eunuch, no matter what the generals under him thought, the ceremony of paying homage to the commander-in-chief in person, which was nominally a show of obedience, was still indispensable.
After enjoying the greetings of five people and asking for rewards from the eunuch who came to convey the emperor's congratulations.
Duke of Anguo and Commander-in-Chief of Youzhou, Yue Lingxi, announced his first order after taking office!
"Come here, bring those three Yehe scouts here! I want to interrogate them together with the eunuch and the generals!"
Yue Lingxi was actually very puzzled. He had originally planned to simply and pretentiously go out of the city for a patrol and then return to the city to receive the order, but he didn't expect to run into Yehe's scouts!
According to the principle of "Birds of a feather flock together", Yue Lingxi, who has lived with Liu Buqi for three years, has actually long adapted to this wonderful woman and her imaginative way of thinking. Naturally, he has also learned some skills of "putting himself in other people's shoes"!
The appearance of the Yehe scouts was like delivering a "pillow" to his "image as an insider in the army", so of course he had to capture them alive and bring them back to the city!
When the Yehe scout, covered in fresh wounds, was brought to the lobby, Yue Lingxi's previous hype and character creation were considered a complete success!
After the usual threats and inducements, a shocking piece of news was revealed through torture!
"The Yehe tribe will likely launch a large-scale attack on Youzhou this winter! These scouts who have sneaked in are the pathfinders!"
When the news came out, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict had no expression on his face, but several generals all changed color!
After the Yehe tribe unified the northeastern tribes, its power expanded very quickly. Although it did not pose a threat of national destruction to Taiyue, it was definitely a painful blow!
Unlike the Steppe Khanate's famine-stricken "grass-grazing" practices, the Yehe tribe coveted the fertile lands north of Mount Taiyue. And what fueled the Yehe tribe's attack wasn't famine or good harvests, but population!
As long as they have accumulated a certain number of adult men, the Yehe tribe will inevitably launch a fierce attack on Youzhou! It would be great if they could break into the Central Plains, but if they can't, they can also consume the number of men in the tribe!
With the frost period lasting half a year in the Baishan and Heishui regions, it is doomed to be impossible to feed more people in this era!
Once the population reaches a critical value, the siege of Yehe, known as the "meat grinder" of the Great Wall, will inevitably begin!
Therefore, the sieges launched by the Yehe tribe, which would only be launched every few years or even more than ten years, would always be extremely brutal!
If Yehe really starts to attack the city this winter, we must start preparing now!
Yue Lingxi naturally took on the role of tour guide, vividly describing to the eunuchs who came to the imperial city the barbaric behavior of the Yehe people of "eating raw meat and drinking blood".
The hideous expression on the face of the Yehe scout kneeling below after being tortured proved that his words were definitely not "exaggerated"!
Although they didn't quite understand their "boss" yet, the five generals did their best to cooperate with Yue Lingxi's "performance," occasionally interjecting:
"I saw it with my own eyes. The Yehe people caught a living person and bit him..."
Another general would immediately chime in: "Yes, I've seen that too!"
This is probably the unspoken offensive and defensive alliance among the "Youzhou people"!
Once Yehe attacks, it will be a duel that requires the strength of the entire state and the power of all directions!
At this time, he could instill some fear of the Yehe tribe into the people coming from the imperial city. What if, at some point, he could borrow their help? The eunuchs were close to the emperor, and this kind of "pillow talk" was sometimes more effective than a hundred urgent war reports!
How could the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict withstand the intimidation of these rough men? His legs were weak and he almost peed in his pants!
He refused to stay in Yanjing any longer, and said that he must report this important news to the emperor as soon as he returned, but he had already boarded the carriage back to Beijing!
Yue Lingxi and several generals escorted the eunuch out of the city. Seeing the eunuch's panic-stricken appearance, they looked at each other and laughed, and their relationship naturally became closer.
As for the eunuch, Liu Buqi naturally intercepted him on the way. The carriage was almost filled with gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. How could the eunuch return empty-handed from the trip to Youzhou!
To Yue Lingxi's surprise, General Gao Yi, the garrison general of the Great Wall, forcibly stopped Generals Tai'an, Taiping and Taixiang who were about to say goodbye in front of the city gate and returned to the general's mansion again.
After the guests were seated, Gao Yi, who seemed to be taking the lead, asked someone to bring the three Yehe scouts up again!
This interrogation was obviously more detailed than the previous one. From whether Yehe had gathered to the population size, to daily food, clothing, housing and transportation, Gao Yi personally asked about everything. Occasionally, he would close his eyes and think for a while, as if verifying the information he had received!
Yue Lingxi could clearly sense that Gao Yi's caution and focus were higher than anyone else present!
Yes, Gao Yi is the leader of the Great Wall garrison who is the first to face the Yehe attack. It is not excessive for him to leave no clues unturned!
As soon as the repeated interrogation that lasted nearly two hours ended, Gao Yi ignored the food that Wang Changling had ordered the servants to bring.
He was so impatient that he once again took the lead and ordered someone to bring up the map! After carefully examining and calculating, he completely ignored Yue Lingxi who was standing beside him!
Instead, he directly called the other four generals. "It seems that the siege of Yehe City is inevitable!"
This wasn't Gao Yi's final conclusion! "The Steppe Khanate may have already allied with Yehe!"
This is why Gao Yi is so cautious! If the two major forces launch an attack at the same time, in the freezing winter, when will the Taiyue court's support arrive?
Otherwise, it would be a big problem whether Youzhou alone could withstand the offensive and defensive battles for a whole winter.
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