Since leaving the pass, Gu Yuzhi and his party had not encountered a single good day. Either the north wind was raging and the dark clouds were pressing down, or the wind was howling and the snow was falling heavily, so intense that it was hard to open one's eyes.
Fortunately, they had Black Kite scouting along the way, and wild animals like Xueye had a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans, which allowed them to travel safely deeper into the region.
After marching day and night for only a few days, Gu Yuzhi's originally fair and tender face had already cracked.
Not only that, his lips were also chapped and cracked from the cold, with traces of blood seeping out, his hands were red and swollen from the cold, his cheeks were sunken, and only his big eyes were particularly bright and energetic.
With the wind and cold raging, even wild animals would find it difficult to travel on a snowy night.
The group hid in a sheltered spot, and the numerous wild beasts skillfully formed a circle, protecting them in the center.
On snowy nights, he would lead other wild animals to hunt in the surrounding area.
The guards gathered branches, quickly lit torches, and boiled the snow water in earthenware pots.
Only after drinking the hot water did Gu Yuzhi realize that Mr. Huo was applying frostbite medicine to him with eyes full of concern: "Is Your Highness still able to hold on? Why don't you rest here for half a day?"
The frostbitten, cracked little face felt like it was being torn apart. When the ointment was applied, it felt icy cold at first, but quickly became warm.
Gu Yuzhi carefully touched her little face, puffing out her cheeks with a heart full of grievance: "Mr. Huo, my face is cracked, will it never heal properly?"
If it doesn't heal properly, won't I have to live with a face full of cracks every day from now on?
He's still so young...
Thinking about it this way, Gu Yuzhi felt so sad that he wanted to cry.
Mr. Huo shook his head and said firmly, "Your Highness, rest assured, absolutely not."
He shook the ointment: "This frostbite ointment prescribed by Imperial Physician Qin is something that the ladies in the palace all like to use."
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuzhi breathed a sigh of relief and sighed like a little adult: "No need to rest. Let's all eat something to replenish our strength. Once the wind and snow subside, we'll continue on our way."
Before I left, I received intelligence that the Northern Barbarians were gathering a large army to invade Quanzhou. Ten days have passed, and I have no idea what the situation is now.
Therefore, he could not stop and had to hurry on his way.
Once the Northern Di's main camp is captured, the advancing Northern Di people will have to return to defend, at which point we can launch a pincer attack and inflict heavy damage on the Northern Di once again.
In winter, most small animals hide away, and with the harsh weather and the difficulty of hunting wild animals on snowy nights, Gu Yuzhi and the others mainly ate the dried meat prepared by Granny Xu.
He took the jerky, which had frozen as hard as a rock, and took a big bite. But it only produced a little flavor, so he had to leave it in his mouth and let it soften little by little.
Once the snow water boiled again, Mr. Huo put the frozen rice cakes, dried meat, and dried vegetables into it.
The group gathered around the campfire and ate a simple meat porridge. They felt the chill in their bodies dissipate, and finally, a few smiles appeared on their faces.
Gu Yuzhi leaned against Xueye, whose tail gently patted him intermittently, its long fur occasionally brushing against Gu Yuzhi's face, making him laugh from the ticklish feeling.
The next instant, the small cut on her mouth was torn open again, and blood beads instantly seeped out.
Gu Yuzhi quickly puffed out his cheeks with his hands, his big eyes darting around.
Upon seeing this, Teacher Shu felt a lump in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes: "Young Prince, please stop talking and take a rest."
Seeing that the snowstorm was about to subside, the young prince and his entourage had to continue their journey.
This forced march was much more difficult than the previous wilderness survival experience that Mr. Huo had taken him to.
Even the strong and robust guards found it difficult to endure, let alone the young prince.
Shu Xiaohan and Wen Xiuzhu exchanged a glance, both of them filled with relief.
It's possible that it was because the Emperor arranged for the young prince to go to Jiangnan. After several days of forced march, the young prince was visibly thinner, but at least he didn't fall ill.
After all, this time they only carried some emergency medicine powder with them, and Judge Qin did not come along.
Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head, wrapped the cloak tighter around himself, tilted his head to the side, and quickly fell asleep.
When Gu Yuzhi woke up, the wind and snow had subsided considerably, and it was already dark.
He carefully rubbed his eyes with his radish-like hands, his voice dry and hoarse: "Mr. Huo, has Hei Yuan returned?"
Wanting to know the battle situation in Quanzhou, Gu Yuzhi had Black Kite fly towards Quanzhou while they rested there.
It's been several hours already, Hei Yuan should be back by now, right?
Mr. Huo hummed in agreement, first letting Gu Yuzhi drink some hot water to moisten his throat, before continuing, "This is the letter tied to the black kite's claws."
Gu Yuzhi didn't even have time to drink water before he hurriedly took the bottle and opened it to find the words were extremely familiar.
His eyes immediately reddened, and his hands, swollen and purple from the cold, gently stroked the letter: "It was written by Chief Secretary Xie."
Gu Yuzhi sniffed: "Chief Secretary Xie said that the general had already engaged in battle yesterday. Because a traitor told the Northern Di people about their deployment and formation, the Northern Di army was caught off guard, and the vanguard suffered heavy losses of more than 6,000 men."
Upon seeing this, Gu Yuzhi's tone became much more cheerful, and he turned to look at Mr. Huo: "This is good news!"
Mr. Huo smiled slightly: "No matter how many people the Northern Barbarians sent, the heavy losses suffered by the 6,000 vanguard troops will definitely make them slow down and adjust their strategy."
Gu Yuzhi nodded: "Yes!"
He continued reading, his smile widening. Ignoring the crack in his lip that was being torn open again, he grabbed Mr. Huo's arm and laughed, "Mr. Huo, look! Chief Secretary Xie says they already know who the traitor is!"
On the day of their departure, they had already devised a strategy. The first battle was of utmost importance, so they could only win and not lose.
However, if there really was a traitor, their chances of winning would be very small. Therefore, Mr. Huo immediately suggested that they use a counter-strategy to severely damage the Northern Di army while also finding out the traitor.
Upon hearing Gu Yuzhi say that the traitor had been found, Mr. Huo stepped forward to take a look. When he saw the man's name, Mr. Huo's face immediately darkened, and after a long while, he said, "It was him!"
Gu Yuzhi didn't go to the military often and wasn't familiar with this person's name. When he saw that the man's surname was Wu, he blinked his big eyes and asked, "Mr. Huo, is this person related to Deputy General Wu?"
Mr. Huo simply nodded, but didn't explain the nature of their relationship. Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks but didn't ask any further questions.
Regardless of the relationship, Deputy General Wu will definitely be implicated by this traitor.
He sighed, resting his chin on his small hand, took the rice cake and ate a few more bites. Seeing that the wind and snow had subsided, he hurriedly called everyone to continue on their way.
General Lu has his own mission, and they also have theirs.
Only by working together can they completely defeat this Northern Di army!
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