February 20th, the tenth year of the Xuanli calendar.
Jiannan East Road, Jianzhou, Changting.
The sky is high and blue, the sun has not yet risen, and the spring chill is still biting.
Yu Wenshu stood in the corridor of the pavilion with his hands behind his back, gazing at the rolling hills. The morning mist between the hills was like a milky white ribbon.
Chen Zuojun, the Saintess of the Moon Worshiping Sect, sat alone in the pavilion, boiling a pot of wine.
The wine adds fragrance, and the smoke has already risen, curling among the old pavilion, ancient road, mountains and forests.
It was as quiet as a painting here, with occasional birds chirping on the willow branches outside the pavilion that had just turned green.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard, neither fast nor slow, as if they were leisurely strolling in the garden.
Yu Wenshu withdrew his gaze and looked at the ancient road outside the pavilion.
Three horses were coming slowly, and on the snow-white horse in front was sitting a lazy woman.
She was wearing a bright red robe, with two bright red scarves on her head, and even the pair of long boots on her feet were made of bright red brocade.
Her body swayed from side to side as the horse moved forward, and she looked fragile and boneless, like a willow swaying in the wind by the roadside.
As she got closer to Yu Wenshu, Yu Wenshu saw that she also had bright red foundation on her face.
She seems to be very charming, but her eyebrows are as straight as swords!
But the light emitted from her eyes, which seemed as if she had not yet woken up, was brighter than the starlight!
She is Xihua!
Xi Hua, wife of General Xue Dingshan of the Western Frontier Army!
A student of the Jixia Academy's Martial Arts School, she was the top scorer in martial arts in the 48th year of Taihe. She was proficient in both civil and military strategies. After marrying Xue Dingshan, Emperor Xuan granted her the title of Second Rank Consort Xihua!
She is thirty-two years old this year, but she looks only twenty-three.
Her figure was still tight and plump, her face was still radiant and beautiful, and the harsh western wind and frost had not left too many marks on her body.
Xi Hua didn't like flowers, she liked the color red, and had loved it since she was a child. So after she was awarded the title of "Top Scholar in Martial Arts", the people of Jinling City took to calling her "Red Lady".
But she has left Jinling for many years, and people seem to have forgotten that Jinling once had a powerful matchmaker.
Yu Wenshu walked to the outside of the pavilion and took the reins of the large white horse. Xi Hua dismounted and slowly opened her sleepy eyes. "Have any of Yu Chunqiu's troops turned back?"
Yu Wenshu bowed respectfully, "I admire your strategy, Aunt! This morning, our scouts reported that Yu Chunqiu's troops have already turned back."
"So... the vanguard has already occupied Qipan Pass?"
"Yes, auntie!"
Xi Hua smiled. She walked towards the pavilion and sat down inside. She glanced at Chen Zuojun, who was pouring wine, and her expression turned cold. "I requested that a thousand experts from the Moon Worshiping Sect arrive at Qipan Pass on February 16th. Why are they three full days late?"
Chen Zuojun quickly replied, "It's because Fei An deployed city defense troops everywhere, delaying the Moon Worship Cult for three days."
"Hehe..." Xi Hua laughed coldly, making Chen Zuojun feel depressed. However, she did not say anything else to him. Instead, she looked at Yu Wenshu with her wine glass in hand, "With 150,000 soldiers at Qipan Pass, are they continuing to advance?"
Yu Wenshu stood respectfully aside and bowed, replying, "The general's intention is that Yu Chunqiu's troops are ahead, and the Jinniu Ancient Road is narrow. If Yu Chunqiu were to defend it with his red-coated cannons, the army of over 100,000 would suffer heavy casualties, so we haven't sent out the troops yet."
When Xi Hua heard this, her straight brows suddenly furrowed, and the wine glass in her hand slammed to the ground with a "bang..." "This idiot!"
She suddenly stood up and said to Yu Wenshu, "You wait here for the rear army. They should arrive within three days. When they arrive, tell them to ride fast and not stay at Qipan Pass!"
"Nephew, obey your orders!"
"Also, the food and fodder brought here by the 150,000 escorts must be kept at Qipan Pass. I'm leaving you with 20,000 border troops. You will personally guard it. Qipan Pass must not be lost!"
Yu Wenshu opened his mouth in surprise. He was about to ask, since the army was about to leave the Jinniu Ancient Road, shouldn't the food and fodder be transported to the front line?
What does it mean to stay in Qipan Pass?
Xi Hua jumped onto the horse, waved the whip in her hand, and galloped past the ancient road outside the pavilion with two guards, leaving a red afterimage.
Yu Wenshu took a deep breath and sat down opposite Chen Zuojun.
"This red lady has quite a bad temper."
"Shut up!" Yu Wenshu shouted, and Chen Zuojun curled his lips.
"If it weren't for your Moon Worship Sect causing trouble, why would my aunt have used that blood letter to stop Yu Chunqiu from moving forward? You foolish woman, my aunt's original plan was to return to Shangjing and open the city gates when the enemy reached Nanjing. But now, because of the Seven Passes, my aunt has no choice but to expose herself early. Do you have any idea how much trouble my Moon Worship Sect has caused?"
"Something that is not enough to do anything good but more than enough to cause trouble!"
"Where are the soldiers that old Wu Chao sent to Yu Dynasty? Not a single soldier ever left Qishan, and instead they were defeated by that girl Wu Zhao. I even suspect she's lost her mind. After all these years of planning and arranging things, she can't even handle a woman who just gave birth!"
"Didn't you keep saying that the Yi Kingdom would cooperate with us in sending troops? Where the hell are the Yi Kingdom's troops?"
"Yi State didn't even see a single soldier. Instead, Yi State's foolish prince was defeated by Fu Xiaoguan and was left with nothing but his underwear!"
"The Yu Dynasty, whose treasury was originally empty, now has received 180 million taels of silver for free! 180 million taels! Do you know how much that is? If you pile it up, it would be as high as a small hill!
Such a large amount of silver is enough to restore the Yu Dynasty to its vitality and to give my father enough courage to fight the general!
As for the Desolate Kingdom, Tuoba Feng has consolidated power and assembled an elite force of 400,000 soldiers, but what about the promised march south?
Yu Wenshu took a deep breath, and Chen Zuojun had already lowered his head.
"I just don't understand. The Moon Worship Sect has existed for over two hundred years, yet it's so deplorable and still wants to restore its nation..."
He picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, then sneered, "What a foolish dream!"
…
…
Jinniu Ancient Road, Dayan Valley.
Yu Chunqiu had already made his defenses according to Fu Xiaoguan's plan. At this moment, he and his wife Peng Yuyan were standing on the hillside on one side, with a frown on their faces, feeling that something was wrong.
"Madam, Eunuch Jia said that Xi Hua brought the news to the capital... According to the time, Xue Dingshan should have arrived here today. Could it be..."
Peng Yuyan was also puzzled. Originally, they would be able to reach Qipan Pass in one day at most, but the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict to His Majesty had gone out in person, and had worked non-stop for three days and three nights to get here, so there should be no mistake.
If it's wrong... She was suddenly shocked, "I'm afraid there's something wrong with Xihua."
Yu Chunqiu was stunned. "If Xi Hua betrays Your Majesty, wouldn't we have given Qipan Pass to Xue Dingshan for nothing?"
"Husband."
"Um."
"You lead the army to defend this place to the death."
"And you?"
Peng Yuyan curled her lips and said, "I personally command the mountain division for my wife to meet Lady Hong!"
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