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◎Strange border, familiar Zhang Su.◎
Wuwei City.
After nightfall, Qingyang followed her father's advice and went back to the west wing of the backyard to sleep. But she lay down in bed obediently, her mind full of war. Would the Western Hu choose to attack Wuwei tonight? Would they break through the Huaian Town Pass as she and her father had expected? Would the ambush set up by her father in the night be able to stop the aggressive Western Hu cavalry? Would her second brother and Zhang Su, who were on the battlefield for the first time, be in danger?
Thinking about this, Qingyang became more and more annoyed as he lay there. He called Jie Yu to read a book, but he couldn't listen either.
Xie Yu put down the book and asked the little princess who was looking out frequently, "Your Highness, are you worried about the Emperor's plan?"
Qingyang: "No, I just don't want to sleep. I need to go find my father and change my clothes."
Jie Yu and Qin Fang helped the princess change her clothes.
It was only the first watch of the night, and a few lanterns were hanging under the eaves of the backyard corridor.
Seeing the little princess looking towards the main room where the Crown Prince lived, Xie Yu whispered, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hasn't returned yet. The Third Prince must have gone to bed."
Qingyang glanced at his third brother's room and went straight to the front yard.
On the warm couch in the east side room, Emperor Xingwu was playing chess with the Crown Prince. Seeing his daughter with her hair loose and covered in a cloak, Emperor Xingwu smiled and said, "Can't sleep?"
Qingyang handed the cloak to He Yuanjing, took off his shoes and sat next to his father: "Father, big brother is not asleep either."
Emperor Xingwu: "I will wait for the battle report from outside."
Even with a strong chance of victory in a war where he was the bait, Emperor Xingwu could not rest easy. The battlefield was ever-changing, even more unpredictable than a chess game. Because the chess pieces were inert, the soldiers were alive. Perhaps a single soldier's sudden whim could drastically change the entire battlefield situation.
Qingyang leaned on his father's shoulder and said, "I will wait with my father, big brother."
Emperor Xingwu rubbed his daughter's head.
This wait lasted an hour, and the little princess went from sitting beside her father to lying beside him. After his daughter fell completely asleep, Emperor Xingwu asked He Yuanjing to bring her cloak and carefully covered her with it. The cloak on the side of her feet was closer to the prince, so Qin Hong took the initiative to cover his sister without his father's reminder.
Emperor Xingwu stretched his shoulders, looked at his daughter's thin face, and said to the Crown Prince, "It's a long journey. I shouldn't have been soft-hearted when I first left the capital and sent your sister back directly."
Qin Hong thought of his sister's cries coming from the imperial carriage and laughed, "Since she can remember, my sister has never been separated from father. She cried like that. Not only father, but even I can't bear to send my sister away."
Emperor Xingwu said: "I am old. When I was about to go out to fight, your elder sister held me tightly and refused to let go. But I died anyway."
Qin Hong: "At that time, the emperor was still conquering the world. Taking my elder sister out would only put her in danger. Now that the world is stable, the emperor knows that you can protect us, so he is willing to indulge us."
Emperor Xingwu: "No more talking. Let's go for a walk in the courtyard with your father. It's tiring to sit like this all the time."
Qin Hong: "Yes."
The father and son walked and chatted in the yard for about quarter of an hour, then went into the house to continue playing chess.
At three quarters past midnight, the soldiers guarding the Wuwei Pass, six miles away, sent a battle report, saying that beacons were lit at the Huaian Town Pass and that Hu cavalry were attacking!
Emperor Xingwu ordered the sentries to withdraw and continued playing chess with the prince.
At the end of the hour of Hai, the general defending the city, Lu Zan, sent someone to report that the Western Hu army that had broken through the pass had been ambushed and the two armies were fighting!
Qin Hong looked at his father excitedly.
Lian Qingyang was awakened by the excited and loud voice of the messenger. To make sure that she had heard correctly, the little princess sat up and looked at her father.
Emperor Xingwu finally smiled and said to his two children, "Go back to your rooms and sleep. The fight will be over by dawn."
After the troops were divided in Luhe Town, the 90,000 cavalrymen led by Deng Chong, Meng Ji and Hou Wanzhong took a detour from the west and arrived in Chang County, 400 miles away from Wuwei, in advance to hide their whereabouts. After resting for two days, they quietly left a pass in Chang County at night, and rushed to Wuwei, hiding during the day and traveling at night, responsible for cutting off the retreat route of the Western Hu cavalry.
At the same time, Deputy Generals Kong Ben and Ge Dayong led 10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry to take a detour to the middle of Huaian Town and Wuwei City. They also hid during the day and moved out at night, leaving a special place to ambush the Western Hu cavalry that entered the pass. Among them, 20,000 infantry took away most of the bows and arrows on this trip, and 20,000 infantry were responsible for killing the injured Hu soldiers who fell off their horses. The 10,000 cavalry initially intercepted the cavalry that rushed out in front of the ambush circle, and then chased and killed the Western Hu all the way after they retreated, and finally encircled them from the front and back with 90,000 cavalry outside the pass.
Before this, Emperor Xingwu was worried about whether the Western Hu army would take the bait. Now that the fish has taken the bait, Emperor Xingwu is sure to win!
The next morning, Deputy General Ge Dayong entered the city to report, "Your Majesty, in last night's battle, we killed 130,000 Hu soldiers inside and outside Huaian Town, and captured or seriously wounded over 10,000 Hu soldiers. Generals Deng and Qin led their troops to pursue the deserters, but they haven't returned yet."
Emperor Xingwu asked: "How many casualties have we suffered?"
Ge Dayong's joy faded, and he lowered his head and said, "Currently, the casualties are about 20,000, and 7,000 are injured."
Although it was a great victory, it was also won at the cost of the lives of our soldiers.
Qin Hong lowered his head, and Qin Ren asked in a trembling voice: "The Second Prince and the others..."
Ge Dayong: "The Second Prince fought bravely all night and is now resting at the gate of Huaian Town. Zhang Su and several other young masters also stayed behind under General Meng's orders. The Second Prince is safe and sound, while Zhang Su and the other young masters have sustained some injuries, but their lives are not in danger."
Qin Ren breathed a sigh of relief.
Emperor Xingwu said, "Let's go, follow me to Huai'an Town."
Qin Hong naturally wanted to go, and Qin Ren also wanted to go see his second brother Zhang Su. When Qingyang saw her father looking back, she immediately stepped forward and took his arm: "Wherever the father goes, I will go."
Emperor Xingwu warned his daughter: "There are corpses everywhere there. Be prepared to vomit again when you go there."
Qingyang lowered his eyes, but did not loosen his grip.
Emperor Xingwu raised his head and said, "Everyone go change into your armor and ride over later."
Wuwei was more than twenty miles away from the nearest ambush site, and taking a carriage was too slow.
Qin Hong and Qin Ren both had armor. Because Qingyang had "sneaked" out of the palace, she was only wearing men's clothes at the time. After she officially joined the army, Emperor Xingwu ordered someone to modify his spare set of blue satin armor into his daughter's size.
When Qingyang returned to the room, Qinfang had just helped the princess take off her outer clothes when Jie Yu brought the blue satin armor bestowed by the emperor. Under the blue satin was a layer of light and strong leather armor. During the modification, the excess parts on the top, bottom, left and right were removed, just keeping the complete five-clawed golden dragon in the middle of the armor. Later, Qingyang asked the dexterous Qinfang to change the five claws of the golden dragon into four claws to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
After changing into his armor and tying his hair, Qingyang returned to the front yard.
Emperor Xingwu, wearing gold satin armor, was listening to Ge Dayong's report on the details of last night's battle. Hearing footsteps, Emperor Xingwu looked towards the door and saw a girl dressed in men walking in majestically. She had a thin face and a pair of eyes that looked like Concubine Li's, but she was firm and fearless. Emperor Xingwu's heart ached.
"Your son greets His Majesty." Qingyang imitated the general's gesture of greeting his father.
Emperor Xingwu smiled and waited for his daughter to stand beside him. He said, "Father is going to comfort the soldiers who fought bravely last night. It's inconvenient to take you with him. If you take the carriage, the road will be very bumpy."
The emperor's carriage was pulled by six horses, but the carriage would be very bumpy if it wanted to catch up with the speed of the cavalry he led.
Qingyang: "Your Majesty, if you go on horseback, it means that you see the soldiers are anxious and don't want to waste time. It seems that you are still thinking about enjoying yourself when you return. Your Majesty has no such intentions. I also don't want your father to be misunderstood by the soldiers because of me. So I beg Your Majesty to allow me to go on horseback."
Emperor Xingwu just frowned when Qingyang said, "I've been training as a horse for over half a year. I'll be running with you and the generals later. Why should you be worried?"
Emperor Xingwu was worried, so when the crown prince arrived, he asked him to take his sister with him.
The group quickly gathered, and Emperor Xingwu led the way out. After mounting his horse, he looked at the Crown Prince, who was about to help his sister onto the horse. Thinking of the Crown Prince's possible reaction upon seeing the pile of corpses on the road, Emperor Xingwu extended his hand and instructed Fan Zhong, "You should take Lin'er."
Fan Zhong accepted the order, nodded to the prince, and easily lifted the little princess onto his horse.
When they mounted the horse, seeing that the little princess was not happy, Fan Zhong explained, "Your Highness can certainly run two laps around the palace racecourse by yourself now, but this is a forced march, and even if Your Highness is an excellent rider, you won't have the stamina to keep going."
Qingyang was half-believing and half-doubting.
When the 3,000 cavalrymen led by Emperor Xingwu rushed out of the Wuwei city gate in a mighty force and felt the oncoming strong wind, Qingyang finally believed it.
The horse's back was also bumpy. After running for twenty miles, Qingyang felt uncomfortable even sitting in Fan Zhong's arms. However, as the first battlefield came into view, Qingyang completely forgot about the discomfort.
The battlefield had been simply cleaned up. The dead Hu people and their horses who were shot by arrows were pulled to different places. The bodies of the people and horses were covered with blood, the ground was covered with blood, and the wind was also filled with a strong smell of blood.
Emperor Xingwu slowed down. Seeing the Crown Prince and the Third Prince lowering their heads, he shouted, "Open your eyes and look at me! Look at those barbarians who are eager to plunder our people, and look at those soldiers who died fighting to defend our country! Once you see clearly, remember this: you can enjoy the comforts of life in the palace because of these soldiers who shed their blood and fought bravely. You may not see many battlefields in your lifetime, but you can decide when the soldiers go out to fight, and decide whether they will win or lose, live or die!"
With tears streaming down his face, Qin Hong tried hard to identify each body lying on the road.
Qin Ren didn't cry, but his face was pale and he looked at each corpse with an expression of pity.
Emperor Xingwu glanced at Fan Zhong's little daughter who was still calm in front of him, and continued on his way.
The closer they got to Huaian Town, the more corpses they saw, including the bodies of soldiers from their own dynasty. The soldiers who were clearing the battlefield in groups of three or two all knelt down to greet Emperor Xingwu in dragon armor.
The sound reached the city gate of Huaian Town, and the guards hurried to call the Second Prince and others who had just slept in the barracks for more than an hour.
Qin Bing was tired, sleepy and uncomfortable. When he heard that his father had arrived, his eyes suddenly turned red.
Yuan Chongli, who was once inseparable from him, is no longer with us. The most familiar person in front of him is Zhang Su.
Qin Bing's gaze fell on Zhang Su's face, but Zhang Su, whose left arm was injured, just looked at him and then lowered his gaze.
Qin Bing's tears stopped inexplicably. It was ridiculous. Zhang Su and his third brother didn't talk much. Could they possibly comfort him?
Jumping off the kang and putting on his armor, Qin Bing led the way out of the city.
Zhang Su fell behind by a few steps. As several figures around Emperor Xingwu crossed paths, Zhang Su suddenly saw the little princess sitting on Fan Zhong's horse.
At the same time, Qingyang withdrew his gaze from a collapsed and broken fence, and when he looked forward, he saw a young man in front of the defeated city after the war. His battle robe was stained with blood, but he still had a handsome face.
The unfamiliar border, the familiar Zhang Su, the little princess suddenly smiled.
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tonight~
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