Chapter 117 Spare his life
In fact, after fighting for more than a year, the grain sent to Jiangdong was always lost halfway, which is normal loss during grain transportation, but this time it was all lost.
It is said that the loss of grain was caused by an ambush by the Lu army. The grain supplies of the Lu state had also been burned by the Great Xia, which was the key to the Great Xia's recapture of Fenzhou. Now that the grain was being transported well, the Lu state had actually pulled a trick on them from behind.
When the news reached Bianjing, everyone in the court and the public was indignant.
There are military farms in Jiangdong and other places, so the lack of grain this time will not have too much of an impact for the time being. However, if the grain is seized by the State of Lu again, it will be detrimental to the Great Xia.
Therefore, the most urgent task is not only to transport the grain back to Jiangdong, but also to break the Lu army's ambush.
The current grain transport route is the simplest and shortest. If we rashly change the route, it will not only be time-consuming and labor-intensive, so we can only try to give the Lu army a warning.
Not only that, the escort officer in charge of transporting the grain also had to be replaced. Before Cheng Hao was even chosen, Zheng Qiuhong volunteered to escort the grain himself.
He was originally appointed as a judge in the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of grain and fodder allocation, so sending him to deliver them was indeed the most suitable option.
However, this task was not a good one. Officials of the court avoided it like the plague. If the goods could be delivered smoothly, everyone would be happy. But if they were robbed on the way, even if they were not punished, it would not be good for their official careers. No one was willing to take on this task.
Therefore, Zheng Qiuhong's self-recommendation is a timely and much-needed help.
Cheng Hao then summoned Zheng Qiuhong to his residence, and the two talked all night, agreeing to resume grain transport three days later.
On the day the caravan left Bianjing, Jiang Ru saw Zheng Qiuhong off. She trusted Zheng Qiuhong the most to transport the grain, since she would have gone herself if Zheng Qiuhong hadn't volunteered. She could only trust a few people in the court, and Zheng Qiuhong was one of them.
In the year since Jiang Ru returned to Bianjing, she and Zheng Qiuhong had only met a handful of times. Most of the time, Zheng Qiuhong would come to the mansion to see Cheng Hao, but Jiang Ru was often not at the mansion, so even if they met, they didn't have time to catch up.
Before Jiang Ru could speak, Zheng Qiuhong already understood what she meant: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Jiang Ru bowed to him, and Zheng Qiuhong continued, "I haven't congratulated you and Brother Pei on your marriage yet. When he returns, we must have a proper get-together."
After countless journeys, so many people call Pei Wuliang King, but only Zheng Qiuhong still calls him "Brother Pei".
Jiang Ru nodded and said, "Definitely."
Since Zheng Qiuhong was only transporting grain, only Jiang Ru came to see him off. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zheng Qiuhong mounted his horse, waved to Jiang Ru, and left.
Jiang Ru made way, and the carriages and horses passed by. She stared at the convoy in front of her for a long time before turning her gaze away.
There was only one official road from Bianjing to Weizhou. Zheng Qiuhong led a long line of grain carts along the road, and the journey was smooth and unobstructed, without any ambushes from the State of Lu.
Just a hundred miles from Weizhou, along a desolate mountain road, the sound of the carriage wheels was the only noise in the mountains. After autumn arrived, the weather gradually cooled down, and all that could be seen were withered tree trunks and wild grass.
The autumn wind is chilly; this is a good place to ambush.
Sure enough, when they reached the crossroads, a number of bandits wielding knives and swords emerged from the mountains and charged directly at their grain carts.
Although the convoys responsible for transporting grain were all composed of government soldiers, they were able to subdue the bandits who came to plunder without much effort.
Someone quickly opened the lid of the grain box, but as soon as he did, a soldier with a sword jumped out and thrust his sword straight at him.
The grain carts were not filled with grain at all; they were filled with soldiers who had hidden them beforehand.
The bandits were terrified, but could only watch as the soldiers jumped out of the box and quickly suppressed them all.
Zheng Qiuhong stood at the front. Although he was a civil official, he had worn down his bookishness a lot during his time away from home, so he wouldn't be a burden. He had even helped kill someone just now.
After all the bandits were dead, Zheng Qiuhong looked at the only survivor and said with a smile, "Let him go back and report the news."
The last survivor glanced at Zheng Qiuhong in fear and then scrambled away.
Yes, Zheng Qiuhong's trip was not about delivering grain at all. There was a traitor within the Great Xia Dynasty who knew when their grain would depart and when it would arrive, so he ambushed them along the way. Since that was the case, why not let them walk right into the trap?
Ostensibly, it was a grain delivery, but both he and Cheng Hao knew perfectly well that this was merely a ploy to undermine the prestige of the State of Lu and to let the traitor behind the scenes know that his little tricks had long been seen through.
Zheng Qiuhong turned to the officers beside him and ordered, "The grain carts can be dispatched now."
The messenger was on horseback, and the grain could be transported smoothly to Jiangdong. The battle in Jiangdong is now at a critical juncture. If we win this battle, we will at least enjoy many years of peace. Great Xia can only win.
From that day forward, the Great Xia had no more worries and advanced with unstoppable momentum, conquering Xiping in the State of Lu. The Great Xia also cut off the State of Lu's grain supplies, and soon sent a letter of surrender.
The State of Lu surrendered and became a vassal state, paying tribute to the Xia state annually, and a truce was declared thereafter.
Inside the Jiangdong camp, Pei Wu, dressed in armor, sat in his tent. After the surrender of Lu, there were still many procedures to go through; the surrender ceremony alone took several days.
After all, the Great Xia still had a war going on in Yanshan, so the surrender ceremony should be kept as simple as possible, and there was no need to return to Bianjing.
Pei Wu picked up his pen and began writing letters. He first wrote one to Cheng Hao, informing him of the general situation, and then wrote another to Jiang Ru.
Although the war with the State of Lu has temporarily come to an end, the war in Yanshan has not yet ended, and Pei Wu may have to go to Yanshan again in the future.
Even after more than a year apart, Jiang Ru's image was still deeply etched in Pei Wu's mind. In his spare time, he could only write letters to Jiang Ru and also drew a portrait of her, which he would look at every day.
The portrait was placed on his desk, and he could see it every time he was handling official business.
Pei Wu was writing a letter when he glanced at the portrait beside him. Although he had returned to the capital in triumph, his name was not on the list. He still had to lead his troops to support Yanshan. As a result, Jiang Ru would be disappointed again.
Jiang Ru is probably going to be disappointed again.
With no other options, Pei Wu could only try to appease Jiang Ru as soon as possible. Northern Qi and Northern Yan were also at war, and upon hearing of Northern Yan's repeated victories, he thought that they might be able to meet again soon.
He wrote carefully, perhaps because it had been too long since they last met, he was a little rusty, and he wasn't even very good at coaxing Jiang Ru.
Just then, a guard came to report that the emperor was causing trouble again.
Pei Wu had a terrible headache, and without thinking, he said, "Ignore him."
Ever since they arrived in Jiangdong, the emperor has been making trouble every day. Perhaps he knows that Pei Wu needs him now, so he doesn't dare to cause a big fuss and only bothers his subordinates with some minor matters.
At first, he complained about the poor environment, then he complained that it was too harsh. In particular, after Pei Wu ordered that his meals be changed to be the same as those of his subordinates, he became even more dissatisfied with Pei Wu.
The emperor had never suffered much hardship. When he was a prince, although he was not the crown prince, no one mistreated him.
Later, his sons died one after another, and he ascended the throne smoothly. Even though he no longer held power, he was still the emperor and had never suffered.
Arriving at this desolate border region, with its extreme winds and sandstorms and harsh environment, he couldn't stand it for more than a few days.
Fortunately, although he was prone to temper tantrums, he never held back when it came to important matters. When Pei Wu forced him to go to the battlefield, he ran away a few times, suspecting that Pei Wu wanted to kill him on the battlefield.
However, every time he tried to run away, Pei Wu would catch him and bring him back. After a few times, he stopped running away and resigned himself to leading the expedition.
The emperor was only fifteen years old when he went to the battlefield. Even though he didn't seem very intimidating, he greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. Although the emperor was afraid, he didn't hold back much, and the Great Xia won one victory after another.
The emperor played a role in this. When there was no war, Pei Wu would force him to practice martial arts. After all, he was the emperor. He had practiced martial arts in the palace. Although he was not particularly outstanding in riding and archery, he was still considered one of the best among his peers. After practicing at the border for so many days, his physique had become much stronger.
The soldiers at the border treated him with great respect and felt that although the emperor was young, he was very courageous and dared to go to the battlefield.
It is precisely for this reason that he is now extremely arrogant, feeling that Pei Wu cannot do without him, and that he has won the hearts of the army, so that Pei Wu will never be able to touch him again.
Pei Wu did not kill him for this reason: he was useful now, and killing the emperor now would destabilize the country.
He was aware that the emperor had sent people to sabotage the previous batch of grain. Although it was said to be the Lu Army, the Lu Army had actually tried to take the grain from the Great Xia. So many times, they lost more than they won.
The emperor sent people to intercept the grain, simply because he wanted to win over the hearts of the army by sending supplies to them when they were in dire straits.
He was incredibly foolish, disregarding the fate of the Great Xia. If the grain supplies truly failed to arrive, and his own supplies also encountered problems, it would be a devastating blow to the Great Xia.
He could tolerate any amount of trouble Pei Wu might cause on a normal day, but if it involved the Great Xia Dynasty, then Pei Wu would not tolerate him.
So now that he's in the line of fire, Pei Wu has little patience left. He was about to order someone to keep an eye on him and not let him leave the tent, but he actually came out on his own.
Not only did he come out, but he also swaggered into Pei Wu's tent and started arguing with the guards outside.
The guards outside Pei Wu's tent were all his trusted confidants. Even if the emperor came, he would not let him in. Hearing the emperor making a scene outside, threatening to behead people, Pei Wu finally lost his temper and called the emperor in.
The two had always disliked each other, and after what happened before, they completely broke off their relationship, so they had no choice but to stay together for more than a year. The emperor had never been kind to Pei Wu either.
He entered the tent, and Pei Wu rose and bowed to him. Only then did the emperor coldly snort, "What exactly do you want?"
It was just a matter of the army winning, and he had no intention of staying here any longer. Pei Wu gave him a cold look, and the emperor felt a chill in his heart, but still asked, "If you don't want to return to Bianjing, I will issue an edict to let you continue to serve as the commander of Weizhou."
Having been away from Bianjing for too long, the emperor had long wanted to return. If it weren't for the ongoing war and the fact that Pei Wu and Su Mu refused to let him go back, he would have returned long ago.
Pei Wu finally said, "Tomorrow, I will send someone to escort the Emperor back to the capital."
The emperor was finally somewhat satisfied, and Pei Wu continued, "I will lead troops to support Yanshan."
The emperor would be more at ease if Pei Wu didn't accompany him back to the capital, since if Pei Wu went with him, the emperor would suspect that he would return to power again.
Having received a satisfactory answer, the emperor finally left.
After the emperor left, Xue Zhong arrived again.
Xue Zhong played a part in the great victory in Jiangdong. It was because he brought troops from Nanzhao to support them that they were able to win so quickly.
Xue Chong bowed, and Pei Wu said, "This time when you return to the capital, you will lead troops to escort the Emperor back."
Xue Zhong hesitated for a moment: "His Majesty..."
Pei Wu smiled and said, "If he behaves himself, I will spare his life once Yanshan is taken back."
If he becomes restless, Xue Zhong will guard Bianjing for him first, and then deal with the emperor after everything is settled.
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Author's Note: I'm late, I'm late! It should be finished in the next couple of days.
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