Chapter 169: Yunshan Yunshan
The peaks are steep, with dead pines hanging upside down, rocks rolling on the cliffs, and ice and snow roads.
Yunshan was originally the barrier of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It has been sparsely visited by people since ancient times. The reason why foreign invaders would rather attack Yunzhou than cross Yunshan is because the mountains here are poor and rugged, and it is extremely difficult to cross.
Although they were riding horses and could not compare with the larger army, it was not an easy task to cross the mountains and Yunshan, especially since many people in the team were injured.
The accumulated snow buried the horse's hooves, and the white breath exhaled was about to freeze into ice. He Jun grabbed the white flour pancake in his hand and took a bite, only to feel that his old teeth were about to break.
But he quickly took a sip of water and swallowed it so as not to waste a single bit of food.
Compared with the dangers of Yunzhou, the first problem they encountered was hunger. When the delegation set out, they naturally brought food and fodder with them, but unfortunately most of it was left in the Xianbei territory.
They are still able to have food, thanks to this guy Su Fengzhang.
He Jun took another bite, and continued to swallow it. He looked at the solemn atmosphere and asked, "Master Su, why did you stuff biscuits in everyone's saddle?"
Su Fengzhang gave a wry smile and said, "At the time, I was just worried about what might happen, but I never thought it would actually come in handy."
Who would have thought that they would need food? After all, there were trucks transporting it, and secondly, Yunxin City was not far from Yunzhou.
Prince Cheng was also trying hard to swallow, saying, "I have to thank Lord Su for taking precautions. Otherwise, we would all be starving now and probably wouldn't be able to leave Yunshan."
After saying this, he glanced at the silent Fourth Prince and asked, "Fourth brother, how are you?"
The Fourth Prince's face was somewhat gloomy. Upon hearing this, he simply said, "He won't die for the time being."
Prince Cheng raised his eyebrows and ignored his words. He then took care of the injured civil officials one by one. There were a total of 300 people in their group when they set out, and the number was reduced because of the request of the Xianbei people.
But now, there were less than twenty people who finally caught up, and the others stayed outside the Xianbei camp.
One of the civil officials was the most seriously injured. He had his arm cut off at the shoulder. His face was pale and he was dying.
After examining his injuries, Prince Cheng closed his eyes and suppressed his pangs of reluctance. He reached out and helped the man up, then asked, "Master Meng, do you have anything to say?"
Lord Meng obviously knew that he would not be able to walk out of Yunshan alive. He held Prince Cheng's hand tightly, and wanted to speak but coughed and gasped rapidly.
In the end, Lord Meng died without even saying a word.
None of his close friends were present, but they were all colleagues along the way. It was inevitable that others felt sad, and some even couldn't help but shed tears.
Prince Cheng sighed, reached out to cover Lord Meng's eyes, and said, "Bury Lord Meng here."
When a rabbit dies, the fox mourns. For a moment, the mood of the group reached the bottom. Although they knew the danger before coming, they did not expect that they would suffer heavy casualties as soon as they met the Xianbei people without even using any talents.
Su Fengzhang walked up to Liu Wei and asked in a low voice, "General Liu, how is your health?"
Liu Wei gave a bitter smile, and when he tried to move, he pulled at his wound. He said with a grin, "Thanks to Master Su's good medicine."
"I'm glad it's useful." Speaking of which, this top-quality medicine for wounds came from the Imperial Hospital. The emperor sent it to him when he was whipped by the prince last time. He didn't expect it to be used here.
Although Liu Wei was injured, he was in good spirits at the moment. He was even in a good mood and said with a smile: "Injuries are common in Yunzhou. This little injury is nothing."
Upon hearing this, Su Fengzhang asked, "Yunzhou hasn't seen war for many years, so why are there so many injuries?"
Liu Wei sneered and said, "Of course there won't be any major chaos, but those Xianbei and Xiongnu are all barbarians and have always been unreasonable. If it weren't for the Zhenbei Army, how could the Great Zhou be stable?"
At this moment, the Fourth Prince suddenly became angry for some unknown reason and growled, "Since there have been conflicts for years, why haven't you reported it? If the capital had known about this earlier, this prince would not have been so careless."
Liu Wei just glanced at him coldly and said calmly: "Since it has been reported."
After these words were spoken, everyone present fell silent, their eyes filled with thought.
Since it was not General Meng Kun who concealed military intelligence, why didn't the people in the capital know about this? Everyone said that the Great Zhou Dynasty was peaceful and stable, so what role did the emperor play in this? And did the officials in the court know about this?
The Fourth Prince's face flushed crimson, as if he had a lot of resentment that he had no place to vent. But in the end, he touched his lost ear, his face darkened and he fell silent.
Su Fengzhang glanced at the expressions of those present and reminded them, "It's useless to pursue this matter. Let's think about how to get out of Yunshan and return to Da Zhou."
He Jun also interrupted and said, "General Liu, didn't you say that this road is the normal patrol route of the Zhenbei Army? How long will it take us to return to Da Zhou?"
Liu Wei also passed over the matter, suppressing his dissatisfaction and speaking, "Three days at the earliest. If we encounter a snowstorm, it's hard to say. However, for safety, there are several hidden caves along the way that can be used as resting places. There are cooking utensils and food in the caves, which can barely cope with it."
Hearing this, the people outside the Zhenbei Army breathed a sigh of relief. But before they could feel at ease, Liu Wei continued, "This road is not well-hidden. If the Xianbei people are determined, they will definitely catch up."
"We'd better hope that Meng Jiang's army doesn't fall into the trap and Yunzhou isn't captured. This way, the Xianbei army will be tied down and there won't be too many people chasing them," said Liu Wei.
One civil servant's face darkened and he cursed, "What? The Xianbei also know this road. Why didn't you tell us about such an important matter earlier? Are you trying to kill us all?"
Liu Wei just glared at him and said coldly, "Even if we told you in advance, do we still have another way to go?"
"We can't just wait to be caught up, right?" the civil servant said angrily. "On such a vast Yunshan Mountain, isn't there a second option?"
Liu Wei had had enough of his behavior and sneered, "If this lord is willing, he can open up a new path for the Zhenbei Army."
"Enough!" Prince Cheng stopped their nagging and said coldly, "The Zhenbei Army has been stationed in Yunzhou for many years and must know the situation here better than we do. How could General Liu have any selfish motives when traveling with the delegation?!"
After rebuking the delegation's questioning, Prince Cheng asked again, "Sir Liu, our lives are entrusted to you."
Liu Wei secretly thought that Prince Cheng had some chance of success. He had a very bad impression of the royal family, but he also knew that Meng Kun valued the Fifth Prince very much. So he said in a friendly manner, "Prince Cheng, please rest assured. The Xianbei may know that this road exists, but they are not familiar with it. It will not be easy for them to catch up."
"Even if I, Liu, die, I will send you all to the Great Zhou."
Prince Cheng heard the determination in his words and stood up and bowed deeply: "Qin Fang thanks General Liu."
Fearing pursuit, they mounted their horses again after burying the messenger. Liu Wei warned, "We can't stop this time until we get to a resting place. Otherwise, without cooking utensils and food, even if we can hold on, the horses won't be able to."
After thinking for a moment, Liu Wei said with some concern, "Please follow me closely. The terrain on Yunshan Mountain is complex, and the snow is so deep right now. One wrong step could lead to a precipitous abyss."
The people behind naturally agreed, and no one would joke about their own life.
It was even colder on Yunshan Mountain than in Yunzhou. The cold wind whistled past, and wrinkles quickly appeared on everyone's face. The people of the Zhenbei Army were used to it, but it was hard for these civil servants.
Su Fengzhang also felt his face burning with pain. Even though he had Lingquan, it was still like this. One could imagine the situation of others, especially the two princes who had always lived a life of luxury and their lives were becoming even more difficult.
Su Fengzhang asked Prince Cheng to sit behind him. He was taller than Prince Cheng, which was just enough to block all the wind and snow.
They had just escaped in a hurry, and now there were many people but few horses, so at least four or five people needed to ride together. He Jun hated the Fourth Prince and had thrown him to the Zhenbei Army a long time ago, but Prince Cheng was still on Su Fengzhang's horse.
Noticing Su Fengzhang's actions, Prince Cheng said from behind: "I am not a delicate woman, there is no need to do this."
Su Fengzhang laughed when he heard this and said, "I'm not worried about Your Highness. Since I'm sitting in the front, I'm exposed to the wind from all sides, so I can't let it go to waste."
Prince Cheng was stunned for a moment, then laughed at himself from behind and said, "After we take a break, I'll take over."
"Then I would like to thank the Prince first." Su Fengzhang said in a low voice and soon fell silent.
Prince Cheng thought about it, then reached out and took off his cloak and put it on Su Fengzhang.
Su Fengzhang was stunned for a moment, but before he could refuse, he felt Prince Cheng get inside the cloak and whisper in his ear, "This way, both of us can stay warmer."
Su Fengzhang thought to himself that this was the case, so he did not refuse.
On the other side, the Fourth Prince huddled behind the soldier, but he still felt the cold wind chilling his bones. Before setting off, the Fourth Prince only thought that he would achieve great things and dethrone the Crown Prince.
Who would have thought that not only would he fail to gain military merit and seize military power, but he would end up like this.
Touching his lost ear and thinking that he would never be able to compete for the throne again, the Fourth Prince's face became even gloomier. He hated the Crown Prince in his heart and even blamed the Fifth Prince for saving him.
Suddenly, the horse stumbled, and the Fourth Prince almost fell off. He immediately shouted angrily, "Be careful."
The soldier dared not speak out but secretly cursed in his heart why the Fourth Prince did not die directly among the Xianbei, which would have saved him a lot of trouble.
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