Chapter 4 You've taken a liking to him?
The General of Pacification has returned to the capital... When Yao Biyue said that, Lou Xueying did indeed remember.
The Great Yue Kingdom had been established for over a century, and its northwestern border was frequently harassed by the Quanrong. Previously, they would only raid the north in winter, stealing a few things and then fleeing. However, in recent decades, climate change had reduced the harshness of the north, leading to the rapid expansion of the Quanrong and their growing population. Meanwhile, the Great Yue region had experienced several floods and droughts, straining the imperial treasury and forcing the government to cut spending elsewhere, resulting in reductions in military expenditures across various regions.
Most importantly, Dayue had not produced a natural-born general like during its founding period for a long time. Reliable generals passed away one after another, and no one capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities emerged. Faced with the overwhelming force of the Quanrong, Dayue was initially able to fight back with the help of its national strength, but later it gradually became overwhelmed and retreated again and again. It was only by gradually annexing a few cities during the reigns of Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Shaozong that the southward advance of the Quanrong was stabilized.
After Emperor Jinghui ascended the throne, the Quanrong began to stir again.
They were nomadic herders, not farmers, and besides, the land ceded by Dayue wasn't exactly fertile. Having been cheated several times, they decided to give up on such petty gains. Fortunately, during the truce between the two countries, Dayue also focused on recuperation and replenishing its treasury, and could hold out against the renewed incursions of the Quanrong. However, simply holding out wasn't enough; a war of attrition would eventually end, and as long as the Quanrong remained, Emperor Jinghui would have no peace of mind.
Just then, Li Pan appeared.
This man came from a farming family in the Northwest. His father was an honest and simple farmer, and his mother was an illiterate peasant woman. For three generations, his ancestors had never left the area more than thirty miles away. When Li Pan was nineteen, his father passed away. Just then, the Quanrong invaded again and were about to reach Li Pan's hometown. Li Pan felt that farming was a dead end, so in a fit of anger, he joined the army.
Then comes the kind of folktale trope most beloved by the common people: a young military talent immediately displays his brilliance upon entering the army, rising through the ranks from a common soldier, displaying unparalleled bravery and determination, and within a few years becoming the right-hand man of the General Who Conquers the Barbarians stationed in the Northwest. Although the General Who Conquers the Barbarians himself had limited talent, he excelled at recognizing and employing capable people. Before his death, he specially wrote a memorial to the court, praising this young man highly and earnestly requesting Emperor Jinghui to be unconventional and bold in employing people.
After much deliberation, Emperor Jinghui overruled the objections of others and heeded the advice of the General Who Conquers the Barbarians, promoting the twenty-five-year-old Li Pan to succeed the original General Who Conquers the Barbarians. Li Pan did not disappoint the emperor. After taking command of the military power in the northwest, he personally led more than twenty battles, disregarding ancient methods and repeatedly launching surprise attacks. He personally killed two successive leaders of the Quanrong, and was thus appointed by the emperor as the Grand General Who Pacifies and Subdues the Barbarians.
At the beginning of this year, taking advantage of the frozen river in winter, he led a thousand elite cavalrymen to pursue the Quanrong to the foot of Mount Eji. He eventually drove the Quanrong back a thousand miles, not only successfully recovering the lost territories of Emperors Xuanzong and Shaozong, but also preventing the Quanrong from having the energy to invade southward for twenty years, forcing the Quanrong to send envoys to the capital to seek peace.
Lou Xueying knew that this time, facing the newly powerful Dayue, the Quanrong envoy had no room for negotiation and had to agree to submit to Dayue and pay tribute every year.
The Quanrong were a poor and remote place, and at most they could offer a few fine horses as tribute, but nothing else of value. The Dayue court didn't take their tribute seriously. However, this battle was truly a triumphant victory, and even the common people applauded. Emperor Jinghui was overjoyed and immediately bestowed upon Li Pan the title of Marquis of Wu'an, granting him a fief of a thousand households.
To be fair, although Dayue and Quanrong had been locked in a protracted conflict for many years, even ceding territory to sue for peace, which seemed extremely humiliating, Dayue itself was vast in territory, while the Quanrong's influence was limited to the northwest. Before they could expand, they were driven back by Li Pan. Therefore, for so many years, the lives of the noble families in the capital were almost completely unaffected, and they continued to enjoy peace, elegance, and composure.
Lou Xueying grew up in such an environment. From a young age, she studied and practiced arts, becoming proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. What others considered "pretentious" were things she genuinely loved.
The Lou family were all civil officials who rarely interacted with military generals, and Lou Xueying was not interested in fighting and killing. Therefore, when she heard that Dayue had won a battle and the Quanrong had come to sue for peace in a disheveled state, although she was happy, she did not take it to heart. After all, at this time she was immersed in her love affair with the Crown Prince and had no time to care about other things.
Now that she has been reborn, the reason she can still remember so many things about Li Pan is all because of Emperor Jinghui.
After she accepted Emperor Jinghui's advances, he would sometimes chat with her about matters of the previous dynasty. Li Pan, being of humble origins, was unlike most officials in the court. Emperor Jinghui found him interesting and talked about him more, and she naturally remembered what he said.
but……
"It's certainly cause for celebration that the General has led the Quanrong envoys back to the capital, but what's so interesting about it? Is it really worth making a special trip for us?" Lou Xueying wondered. "The roads are full of people and horses, and I heard that horses will... well, defecate on the spot, wherever they go... It's not appropriate for us to eat here..."
"You're so boring!" Yao Biyue lightly tapped her head with her fan, laughing and scolding, "The General has been fighting on the border all this time and hasn't been to the capital. I heard that before General Hu passed away, His Majesty wanted to summon the General to court to see if the person General Hu recommended was as described in his memorial. But as soon as General Hu died, the Quanrong invaded again, and the General couldn't get away, so the matter was dropped and has been delayed until today. Aren't you curious about what such a heroic figure looks like?"
Lou Xueying wasn't curious at all.
She had heard Emperor Jinghui describe this man's appearance, saying he was strong, powerful, and handsome, truly a rare talent. However, based on Lou Xueying's experience, people generally didn't have high expectations for the appearance of military generals. In addition, wearing armor easily made a person look stiff, and as long as they weren't ugly, they could be praised for their handsome appearance.
However, since Yao Biyue had specifically invited her to come out and watch the excitement, she felt bad about spoiling the fun, so she nodded and said, "That's right, let's take a look then."
The restaurant served dishes one after another, and Lou Xueying and Yao Biyue chatted while eating, waiting for the arrival of the general.
Before she was married, she and Yao Biyue often visited this restaurant and loved the food. Years later, tasting the familiar flavors again, she was filled with countless emotions.
"This is their newly developed lotus seed cake. It's delicious. You should try it too." Yao Biyue pushed a plate over. There were three pieces of the four cakes left, and she was chewing on the last one.
Just as Lou Xueying was about to pick it up, she suddenly heard a commotion on the street below. Before she could react, Yao Biyue had already stood up and leaned out to look outside.
“Oh—the General is here—” she mumbled, chewing on a pastry.
Lou Xueying also got up and looked outside. Even Cai Ling and Yao Biyue's maids, who were serving her, couldn't help but lean over the window to watch the excitement.
The roadside was already packed with people. Some were building ladders, some were climbing trees, some were riding on walls, and even the children who knew nothing were brought out by adults, sitting on their shoulders and looking around blankly.
Amidst the cacophony of voices, a long, dark shadow appeared at the end of the road.
Upon returning to the capital, the General of the Garrison only led a hundred elite soldiers to receive his reward, while the rest of his troops remained stationed outside the city. It sounded like a small number of people, but as the well-trained and silent hundred-man cavalry unit drew closer, the previously boisterous crowd gradually quieted down.
Hundreds of horseshoes pounded clearly and powerfully on the stone slabs, raising a fine dust cloud. The sound was thunderous, like an incessant drumbeat, and even Lou Xueying, sitting atop the restaurant, felt a faint tremor beneath her feet.
This was a team that had truly fought their way back from the battlefield. Even though everyone was wearing gleaming armor, clean and tidy, and moving at a "slow" pace, without even carrying weapons, their straight backs, tightly pursed lips, and sharp eyes still made the people of the capital subconsciously hold their breath.
Leading the procession was none other than the protagonist of this trip back to the capital, the highly anticipated General of Pacification, Li Pan.
He was tall and imposing, his warhorse even more robust than the others, its coat jet black, muscles bulging and clearly the work of a master rider. The man on horseback wore a phoenix-winged helmet with a crimson tassel at the top, and his fine iron armor gleamed fiercely in the warm spring sun. His shoulder guards were inlaid with tiger-striped copper studs, and his crimson cloak fluttered in the wind. Even from a distance, he exuded an aura of power and menace, inspiring awe and fear.
Lou Xueying had only ever seen the Beijing army, not the border army, and was momentarily stunned by their imposing presence, remaining rooted to the spot.
Suddenly, Yao Biyue, who was standing next to her, exclaimed "Ah!"
Lou Xueying glanced sideways and realized that she had been holding a lotus seed cake in her hand again. She was so engrossed in watching the soldiers that she accidentally let go of it, and the lotus seed cake fell directly from the second-floor private room onto the heads of the onlookers on the roadside below.
The pastry was light, but being hit on it for no reason was still infuriating. The commoner rubbed his head, looked up, and shouted, "Who is it! Watch out!"
Yao Biyue hurriedly shrank back.
The once quiet crowd stirred at these words. The cavalrymen in the middle of the road kept their eyes straight ahead and continued to march forward. Only Li Pan, at the head of the line, followed the gaze of the people and glanced up.
In that instant, his gaze met that of Lou Xueying in the private room.
A handsome and imposing face came into Lou Xueying's view.
His eyebrows were sharply angled, his eyes were deep-set, and his skin was a slightly dark tan from years of exposure to the elements. Beneath his steely exterior, his gaze was colder than iron. He showed no reaction upon seeing her, his eyes meeting briefly before looking away. By the time Lou Xueying came to her senses, the man had already ridden away with his army.
Lou Xueying took a deep breath.
Hiding behind the wall, Yao Biyue whispered, "Has the person left?"
Lou Xueying, seeing her like this, didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and pulled her up: "You left a long time ago. You really are something, you were the one who wanted to come, but when you saw people, you backed away, what's wrong with you?"
Yao Biyue said awkwardly, "I'll never eat by the window again... mainly because I'm afraid of embarrassing my family..."
As the cavalry marched away, the people along the roadside, excitedly discussing what they had just witnessed, gradually dispersed.
Yao Biyue and Lou Xueying returned to their seats and continued eating the dishes they hadn't finished earlier.
"Hey, Susu, what do you think of General Li?" Yao Biyue asked with a smile, biting the tip of her chopsticks.
Lou Xueying: "He looks like he knows how to fight."
"Indeed, he's quite different from the military generals in the capital."
Lou Xueying glanced at her sideways: "You've taken a liking to him?"
“No, not at all. Although his appearance did surprise me, he looks too fierce, I don’t like it. Besides, he’s twenty-eight, a full eleven years older than me, too old.” At this point, Yao Biyue lowered her voice, “You’ve also heard about General Li being twenty-eight and still unmarried? Do you know why?”
Seeing Yao Biyue's expectant look, Lou Xueying granted her wish and obediently asked, "Why?"
Yao Biyue then began to chatter on and on.
Lou Xueying listened, but her thoughts drifted away.
She knew why Li Pan hadn't married.
A note from the author:
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