"I heard that there was no fight at all."
Fang Qing was puzzled, but she could hear that the battle was quite intense from the other side of the battlefield while she was in the camp.
"Alas, it was just that the generals of both sides practiced before going into battle. We won all three rounds against the other general, and then the other side said they would put the actual battle on another day."
Fang Qing understood; today's events were probably just both sides testing each other's strength.
There was no deep-seated hatred between them; it was just a power struggle between the people behind them, and neither of them had the urge to kill anyone they saw.
Fang Qing returned to her tent. While she was eating, Zhao Shi'an came over, and it was through him that Fang Qing learned about the situation on the battlefield that morning.
Today, the enemy did not send their marshal Meng Ran; it was Gao Ren who led the troops.
Both sides were familiar with each other. Gao Ren directly stated that in today's exercise, the first match was between one of Gao Ren's generals and the Eighth Prince, and they won.
In the next two rounds, Gao Ren challenged Zhao Shian to a match. The two deployed their troops on the battlefield, and Gao Ren lost both times.
"Gao Ren doesn't want to fight us?"
Zhao Shi'an shook his head.
"He wanted to send us a message through the sand formation drill. Others might not see it, but the Eighth Prince and I both knew it."
Fang Qing recalled the solemn expressions on their faces when they came in, and asked, "How is it?"
"If it's a contest of strength and strategy, we are confident of winning. The message Gao Ren is sending us now is that he fears Gao Wancheng is cooperating with the Southern Barbarians."
Fang Qing's expression also turned serious.
Because she knew that if Gao Wancheng cooperated with the Southern Barbarians, it might be a disaster for their entire country.
According to the system, the reason the world was destroyed in the previous life was because Zhao Shi'an allowed the people from the Northern Rong to enter the pass.
Is Gao Wancheng really going to do something like this in this lifetime?
Seeing Fang Qing's worried expression, Zhao Shi'an couldn't help but reach out and tap her forehead.
"What are you thinking? With me here, I will never let him succeed. Besides, if the Southern Barbarians enter the pass, they will definitely have to pass through the direction of Jingzhou. In recent years, Jingzhou has kept the Southern Barbarians intimidated north of the Jin River, so naturally they dare not cross the river."
Zhao Shi'an spoke casually, but after lunch he went to discuss matters with the Eighth Prince.
In the following days, no matter how busy Zhao Shi'an was, he would always make time to have dinner with Fang Qing, and Fang Qing could learn about what was happening in the camp from him.
All she could do was help the military doctors develop herbal remedies and help the kitchen staff improve everyone's meals.
Many of them were from the north and they weren't used to the food here. Coincidentally, the cooks in the kitchen were all from Jingzhou, so Fang Qing could only help write out the recipes for the kitchen so that the food from both sides could be prepared separately, and everyone could eat whichever side they wanted.
The weather was getting colder, and the imperial court sent over thick clothes. Fang Qing also paid for charcoal to ensure that everyone could get a good night's sleep.
At first, people had some reservations about her being a woman in the camp, but after seeing how well she managed the camp, they changed their opinion of her.
Ten days later, they went to war with Meng Ran's army and won the war by a narrow margin. All the soldiers who participated in the war were rewarded.
The troops in Jingzhou were reserve troops and hadn't even been on the battlefield. Seeing everyone celebrating made them feel bad.
They are soldiers who came here to fight on the battlefield. How can they be content to be just reserve troops?
The generals from Jingzhou approached the Eighth Prince several times, but he refused to budge, so they shifted their focus to Zhao Shi'an.
Although Zhao Shi'an did not agree, he still gave the soldiers from Jingzhou a chance to perform during the exercise.
This undoubtedly encouraged these zombies.
In their second encounter with Meng Ran, the Jingzhou soldiers took the lead. For the Jingzhou soldiers who were familiar with the terrain and climate of the area, it was as if they had divine assistance. This time, they won an overwhelming victory.
In the southwest, Gao Ren was still leading the troops. His 50,000 troops were chased into the valley, where the Fengyulou people were lying in ambush. They caught Gao Ren's troops off guard as they passed by.
Fifty thousand men fled back to Yizhou like stray dogs, and Gao Ren was also injured.
At the Yizhou camp, Gao Wancheng watched as he helped Gao Ren remove the arrow from his shoulder.
Gao Ren had already fainted from the pain.
"how?"
"It's alright. There's no poison on this arrow. General Gao will be able to regain his former bravery after a period of recuperation."
Gao Ren's face looked extremely ugly.
He was able to stay in Yizhou because Gao Ren had the ability to lead troops. Now that Gao Ren is unable to lead troops, can he rely on Meng Ran?
Meng Ran, that old bastard, is one of Princess Wu'an's men. If their uprising fails, how can he be sure that Princess Wu'an won't let Meng Ran push him out to protect herself?
That old bastard Meng Ran doesn't take him seriously either; he went there several times but never saw him.
"What can help him get better as soon as possible?"
"Well, Lord Gao, General Gao has injured his bones and muscles and cannot use weapons for a hundred days."
Gao Wancheng cursed Zhao Shi'an under his breath.
Meanwhile, Zhao Shi'an was flipping through the military affairs reports while listening to Xiao Liu report on the situation.
“The people in this operation are all trustworthy from our Fengyulou, specializing in shooting local generals. As you instructed, we wouldn’t touch Gao Ren, but he just walked right into our trap.”
Fang Qing finished sorting the folders, then looked up and asked, "Did he do that on purpose?"
"Yes, I saw him crash into it with my own eyes, and he even smiled at us afterward."
Fang Qing and Zhao Shi'an exchanged glances, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes.
Gao Ren did it on purpose.
He didn't want to fight for Gao Wancheng.
"If Gao Ren doesn't take the field, won't the Yizhou side have very few people they can use?" Fang Qing asked.
Zhao Shi'an nodded, paused for a moment, then shook his head with a smile.
"There are still many talented generals in Yizhou, it's just that Gao Wancheng has no capable people under his command."
Fang Qing was quite surprised to hear this.
"From what you're saying, the people of Yizhou don't entirely listen to Gao Wancheng?"
“Of course, Yizhou was painstakingly managed by Princess Wu’an. Gao Wancheng only provided them with some gold. How could they hand over the entire Yizhou to him?”
Fang Qing understood what Zhao Shi'an meant.
This means that even though Princess Wu'an is far away in the capital, she can still control Yizhou.
"Is the capital city safe and sound?"
"Then we'll see what the Crown Prince is capable of."
With Fengyulou and the Eighth Prince both arriving in Yizhou, the Crown Prince has very few capable people around him, which truly tests his abilities.
The Yizhou side unilaterally ceased hostilities and even retreated five kilometers.
Even if Gao Ren couldn't go to the battlefield, there was still Meng Ran on the Yizhou side. At this time, the sudden withdrawal of troops made not only Zhao Shi'an and most of the soldiers in the camp realize that something was wrong, but even Fang Qing noticed.
The troops in Yizhou are rebels. Is their retreat a sign that they don't want to fight anymore?
That evening, Fang Qing was having dinner with Zhao Shi'an when Xiao Liu came in with a letter tube tied to a carrier pigeon's leg.
"Master, this is from Gao Ren's side."
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