Chapter 621 Mistakenly Wearing a Monk's Robe as Battle Armor
The snow finally stopped the next day, but the silvery-gray rain continued incessantly, and the cold was even more intense than the coldest days of winter.
Fortunately, the army had already provided thick winter clothing before departure.
Shang Ruyi arrived at the entrance of the military camp and looked at the soldiers wearing khaki cotton-padded clothes, each of them looking quite excited.
In the army of the Daye Dynasty, the soldiers' winter clothes were all dark blue. However, before Yuwen Yuan ascended the throne, in order to control the army, he had already ordered that the outer layer of all the winter clothes that had been prepared in the warehouse be replaced with khaki material. This was to distinguish the old dynasty's army from the new one and to make it clearer to these soldiers who they were fighting for.
"The Great Sheng Dynasty called itself the Earth Virtue and revered yellow. The color chosen by the emperor is quite fitting."
A familiar voice suddenly sounded behind her. Shang Ruyi hurriedly turned around and saw Shen Wuzheng standing beside her. Because of the cold weather, he had changed into a cotton-padded coat, but it did not make him look bulky. On the contrary, it made his handsome and refined face stand out even more in the military camp.
Shang Ruyi immediately smiled and said, "Brother."
Shen Wuzheng smiled as he looked at her, but after just one glance, his expression darkened slightly: "Why—didn't you get enough rest?"
"kindness?"
Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously reached out to touch her eyes.
Although she didn't have time to look in the mirror when she got up early, and only had Wo Xue quickly tie her hair and dress her before setting off, she knew to some extent that her eyes must be red and swollen from almost not sleeping all night, and she couldn't hide it from Shen Wuzheng.
She immediately chuckled awkwardly, "Thinking about leaving today, I'm a little..."
Shen Wuzheng looked down at her for a while, then his brows furrowed.
But he didn't say much, only sighed softly before saying, "No matter how the war goes, your health is the most important thing. Don't stay up like this in the future, it's not good for you."
Shang Ruyi immediately smiled and said, "I understand."
Shen Wuzheng shook his head again before waving his hand and saying, "Go and get on your horse quickly, we're about to set off. I can't take good care of you while you're in the army, so you must take good care of yourself."
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Okay."
After speaking, she turned and walked towards the front of the group, where Wo Xue was already waiting for her with her horse. Shen Wuzheng's gaze followed her all the way to the front, and then slowly shifted to the other side of the group, to the leader, Yuwen Ye. He saw that Yuwen Ye had also changed into a neat and tidy outfit. Even though it was a thick cotton coat, it did not affect his slender waist and broad back. Wearing armor, he nimbly mounted his horse, and his figure was as agile as a leopard. Even just looking at him, he exuded a heavy aura of killing intent.
But as he looked at him, a layer of frost gradually formed in Shen Wuzheng's eyes.
Seemingly sensing the cold gaze, Yuwen Ye was about to turn around when he caught sight of a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure in the group beside him. His breath hitched, and he stared intently—
That was Yuwen Qian, who was also wearing armor.
Upon seeing him, Yuwen Ye's eyes flickered slightly.
His elder brother, since he was old enough to understand, had always been a refined and gentle young man, Yuwen Qian. Later, when he traveled to cultivate, he rarely returned home, but every time they met, he was dressed in white robes and holding prayer beads, like a white cloud in the sky passing by on a whim. No matter how long he stayed, he refused to be tainted by the colors of the mortal world.
However, this white cloud eventually returned to the mundane world, and now it was dressed in military uniform.
He was very tall, and although not burly, he possessed a lithe and powerful aura. The black hammer armor he wore fit him perfectly. His long hair was neatly tied back, which further revealed his handsome face. His eyes were smiling and his demeanor was elegant and refined, exuding the air of a graceful and scholarly general.
Looking at him like this, Yuwen Ye's gaze deepened.
When Yuwen Qian met his gaze, his expression was as clear as a pool of water. He even glanced down at himself before smiling at Yuwen Ye and saying, "What, is it inappropriate?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at him for a while longer, then shook his head: "No, it's not that it's inappropriate."
"Then why does my second brother look at me like that?"
"Your Majesty, I never imagined you would look so well in military attire. It's as if—"
"What do you think?"
"like,"
Yuwen Ye's eyes flickered, like the surface of water in winter that hadn't yet frozen, suddenly broken by something, struggling to create ripples, their cold light gleaming. And when faced with such a cold light, Yuwen Qian's eyes also flickered.
At this moment, Yuwen Ye said in a deep voice, "It's just like all these years, when my imperial brother mistakenly wore a monk's robe as a battle armor."
"..."
Yuwen Qian's expression froze.
After a long silence, he smiled slightly and said, "Perhaps."
"..."
"But whether it's a monk's robe or a battle robe, once the battle robe is on my body and the soldiers are on the battlefield, I will do my best."
"..."
"I hope my second brother feels the same way. This battle is also related to the safety of my third brother, so please make sure he is brought back safely."
Yuwen Ye said, "Of course."
As they spoke, a rider approached from each of them. It was Shang Ruyi and Yu Mingyue. Although they were both women, they were dressed in strong and muscular outfits, and their riding showed no signs of weakness. Instead, they appeared quite heroic, thanks to the army behind them.
Looking behind them, the two groups of soldiers were also neatly lined up, some mounting their horses, others standing in formation. Looking back, one could see strong men and fierce horses, imposing watchtowers, fluttering banners, and a murderous aura. The soldiers all had red eyes and were holding back their energy, as if they were ready to charge into battle at any moment and kill the enemy to achieve merit.
Upon seeing them, Shang Ruyi's eyes lit up, but then her mood became somewhat heavy.
She vaguely remembered that just a year ago, when Chu Yang conscripted soldiers to conquer Liaodong, those soldiers scattered and fled. In some places, women were even being conscripted into the army because his wars were endless, giving the people no chance to rest, and he was stingy with military merits. But Yuwen Yuan was different. Although he did not conquer the world on horseback, he had fought for half his life and understood all too well the reasons for war and the importance of military merits to soldiers.
This expedition to Taiyuan was the first battle after the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty, aimed at reclaiming the land where the dragon rose. Moreover, the fact that two princes personally led the troops shows its importance. Furthermore, the ultimate reward was the "crown prince position." If these soldiers who accompanied the army were to win, they would have made meritorious contributions, so why would they be afraid to risk their lives?
So, after the soldiers lined up in formation, some of them, as was customary, struck their shields with their swords, creating a loud rumbling sound, while the rest of the soldiers shouted in unison, "Move out!"
"send troops!"
"send troops!"
The shouts soared into the sky, almost piercing through the dark clouds overhead, and shook the heavens!
Yuwen Ye and Yuwen Qian exchanged a glance, then, without further delay, both mounted their horses and circled the front of the procession for a while. Raising their weapons high to attract everyone's attention, they simultaneously shouted, "Let's go!"
Immediately, the two groups of troops set off along the east and west lines!
After they left Tongguan, the eastern route followed a mountain road, while the western route involved descending a hill and traveling along the Yellow River, where ice floes floated on the water. Just as Yuwen Qian was about to spur his horse onto the main road of the eastern route, he suddenly turned back to look at Yuwen Ye and the slender figure beside him. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "Second brother, sister-in-law, be careful on your journey."
Shang Ruyi turned her head and glanced at him.
However, this was not the time for her to speak. Yuwen Ye gripped the reins tightly and calmly said, "Thank you, elder brother."
After saying that, he spurred his horse down the earthen slope.
Without saying much, Shang Ruyi simply bowed to Yuwen Qian and then spurred her horse to follow.
Soon, the two groups of people disappeared into the drizzling rain.
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After traveling along the Yellow River for two days, the drizzle that had been tormenting them for two days finally stopped around noon on the third day, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Even more exciting was the appearance of a gray, earthen city on the horizon ahead.
That is, Yicheng, which is almost just a small dot on the map.
According to the description of the soldiers Chu Zhengfei had sent out to meet Yuwen Cheng, but who were defeated and returned, Yuwen Cheng was besieged in a valley about four or five miles northwest of Yicheng.
At this moment, they were still several miles away from Yicheng, which was about ten miles away.
As soon as Yuwen Ye raised his hand, the army behind him immediately stopped.
Shang Ruyi turned to look at him, wanting to ask something, but the atmosphere of the two of them not speaking for the past two days made it difficult for her to speak, even if she had important business to attend to. At this moment, Shen Tu Tai, who had been leading the troops at the back, rode forward and said to Yuwen Ye, "Your Highness, why have you stopped?"
Yuwen Ye did not speak immediately, but looked up at the sky and then at his surroundings.
The rain had stopped, but the surrounding vegetation, soaked by the rain and snow over the past few days, was still damp and exuded a bone-chilling cold. Even the ground beneath our feet, flattened by the horses' hooves, was damp with moisture; stepping on it caused rainwater to gush out.
He thought for a moment and said, "Let's set up camp first."
"Set up camp?"
Shen Tu Tai was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.
But he glanced again into Yuwen Ye's deep eyes, said nothing more, looked around, and then asked, "Where shall we set up camp?"
Yuwen Ye glanced ahead again, then raised his hand and pointed to a high mountain in the western part of Yicheng, saying, "Go to the back of that mountain."
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.
Although the rain had stopped, thick, dark clouds still lingered overhead, making the light dim. Only the outline of the mountain was barely discernible, yet layers of white light shone through its surface, as if covered in snow. Upon closer inspection, however, it became clear that the mountain was covered in pine and cypress trees, their white sheen a result of the lingering rainwater.
That is Cangbai Mountain to the west of Yicheng.
The Cangbai Mountain stretches for several miles, but on its back, it is as if it has been cut by a knife, with a cliff thousands of feet high standing up. If the direction is correct, the cliff on the back of the Cangbai Mountain will be directly facing the valley where Yuwen Cheng is besieged!
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