Suddenly, a horse neighed, and then the sound of horse hooves gradually faded away. The servants chased after it, shouting as they ran, "Sir! That's His Highness's horse!"
"I've been alone since I was young, so I'm used to being wild." Yan Xun said with a smile as he looked at the direction where Huan Huan left.
Chu Qiao looked at his profile and felt a tenderness she had never seen before flash across the man's eyes. She knew that it was the long-lost affection that she had not seen on Yan Xun's face for a long time.
The sun blocked the last ray of light, the earth was dark, and the stars seemed to be right above our heads, like a pair of cold and sharp eyes, looking down at everything on the Yanbei Plateau. Chu Qiao took a deep breath, and the cold air flowed into her lungs like a piece of ice.
"Actually, I'm luckier than her!"
The man suddenly sighed softly. He did not turn around, but still looked into the distance with a gaze as deep as the sea. His left hand gently held Chu Qiao's hand. After dinner, Chu Qiao sat in the temporary study and checked the recent battle reports. She knew that the situation in Yanbei was not optimistic at the moment. In order to cooperate with the uprising in Zhenhuang, a coup d'état broke out in Yanbei on the same day. The Datong Guild and the former subordinates of the King of Yan led their troops to quickly occupy the important cities on the east and west lines of Yanbei. However, the Meiling Pass area in the north has always been a heavily guarded area for the empire to guard against the Quanrong. The city walls are high and thick, with tens of thousands of soldiers stationed there, and it is not easy to attack. Moreover, due to insufficient personnel and strategic mistakes, the news of the war in the east spread quickly. By the time the rebels arrived at Meiling Pass, the Xia army was already prepared for battle.
Although the Datong Guild is known to be full of talented people, there are not many people who truly possess brilliant strategic means. Their tactics are still at the most superficial stage. The reason they can win is entirely due to their sharp spirit. Chu Qiao knew that this fighting spirit could not sustain them forever in the face of Da Xia's elite troops. War is an art, and here, there are too few people who understand this art.
She quickly organized all the battle reports and wrote down the points that needed attention with a red pen. By the time she finished reading them all, it had already darkened.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Chu Qiao answered and the door was pushed open a crack. Wan Wan poked her head in, looking around like a thief and asked in a low voice, "Where's my brother? Is he here?"
"He's not here." Chu Qiao stood up. "He's meeting guests in the front hall. Does the princess want to see him for something?"
"That's good." Upon hearing that Yan Xun was not there, Wan Wan suddenly walked in cheerfully, strode to Chu Qiao, and said, "I came to find you. Come on, I'll take you out for a walk."
After saying that, regardless of Chu Qiao's opinion, she came up, grabbed her and walked out. Chu Qiao was in a hurry and only had time to grab the fur coat before she was dragged out.
"My Lord, what do you want to talk to me about?"
We walked through the streets and alleys and arrived at the west side of Luyi. Luyi is located at a higher altitude, with a small hill on the west side. Most of the troops are deployed here. Before dusk, there are bonfires everywhere and the smell of cooking is everywhere. The soldiers didn't recognize Chu Qiao. When they saw Wan Wan coming from a distance, they all greeted her with a smile and shouted, "Hey! Sir, you're here. Have you eaten? Do you want to sit down and eat something?"
Wan Wan laughed and scolded cheerfully, "Get lost! I ate abalone, lobster, and pig's trotter meat over there, who cares about your dry noodle soup?"
The soldiers laughed and were not angry. They made way for the two people. However, when they saw Chu Qiao, they were a little cautious.
"Here, this is a gift from me to you!" Huan Huan smiled and pushed Chu Qiao forward. Chu Qiao's eyes suddenly lit up.
I saw a dark red warhorse tied to a big tree. It had red hair, shiny black hooves, a tuft of white hair in front of its nose, a fat and healthy body, bright eyes, and it was obviously a good horse.
Chu Qiao slowly stretched out her hand and gently touched the horse's nose. The horse snorted gently, and the hot air blew onto Chu Qiao's palm.
Chu Qiao chuckled, and Wan Wan smiled and said, "A Tu likes you."
"Artoo?"
"Well, I gave it its name." Wan Wan patted the horse's head and smiled proudly, "It is the horse head king at the foot of Huihui Mountain. It took me seven days to hunt it and trained it for more than a year. Now it is yours."
Chu Qiao had not had a stable mount since she lost her meteor. Seeing that this horse was indeed a good one, she couldn't help but feel warm in her heart and said with a smile, "Thank you, my lady."
"Can you please stop calling me Princess?" Huan Huan said, "I am not from the family's direct lineage, and even when my father was alive, no one called me that. Now there is no way to call me that."
"Well, should I call you?"
"Just call me Wan Wan. I'll follow my brother's example and call you Ah Chu. Neither of us will take advantage of the other."
Chu Qiao smiled, "Hello."
She smiled gently, her eyes narrowed into a long thin line, and Chu Qiao felt a little emotional when she saw it. This girl was not even twenty years old. At that time, the Yan family was massacred. As the only daughter of Yan Shicheng's younger brother Yan Shifeng, she luckily escaped because she was born to a dancer. When she was taken to Zhenhuang as a slave, she was rescued by warriors from the Datong Guild. Over the years, she has been the spiritual leader of Yanbei, replacing Yan Xun. As the only bloodline of the Yan family in Yanbei, she has summoned old subordinates and anti-Xia righteous people. Especially in recent years, as she has grown up slowly, she has joined the front line several times and become the leading general of Yanbei.
In times of chaos and war, almost everyone's experience can be written into a legend.
"Ah Chu, is Zhenhuang fun?" After all, she was still a girl of eighteen or nineteen. After chatting with Chu Qiao for a while, the topic changed to another one. "I heard that it is very prosperous there. There are also people from Flora from the other side of the sea who come here to do business. The people there all have red hair and blue eyes. Have you seen them?"
Chu Qiao smiled and said, "I have seen some, but not many. When it comes to prosperity and overseas people, Bian Tang has more."
"Bian Tang?"
"Yeah." The two of them walked with the horses for a while, then sat down on a high slope, shoulder to shoulder, with their fur coats dragging on the ground. The moonlight shone brightly on their shoulders.
Chu Qiao said slowly, "It's a very beautiful country. It never snows, and there is no winter. It's warm like spring all year round, with flowers blooming everywhere, and commerce is flourishing. There are more than three million people in Tangjing alone, which is almost one-fifth of our Yanbei."
"Wow!" The girl, who had never been out of Yanbei, widened her eyes, "So awesome!"
"Yeah," Chu Qiao smiled, remembering Li Ce's smug look, "It's pretty cool."
"I must go and see it when I get a chance," Wan Wan waved her little fist and said with a firm face, "I'll go after we win the war."
Chu Qiao said, "Well, let's go after we win the fight. I'll accompany you then."
"Oh, oh, you said it. Don't cheat when the time comes." Wan Wan yelled at the top of her voice, turned around and pointed at the horse that was grazing obediently nearby and said, "Atu heard it. Be my witness."
The horse was very smart. It obviously heard its owner calling its name and looked up.
Chu Qiao smiled, "Okay, Atu will be the witness."
At this moment, there was a sudden noise from below. Wan Wan jumped up lively and looked down. Suddenly her face lit up with joy, and she waved her hands and shouted, "Xiao He, Xiao He, here! Here!"
After a while, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and a handsome young man in his early twenties jumped off his horse, ran forward, and asked breathlessly, "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry to ask someone to come to me?"
"Let me introduce you to a friend."
Wan Wan pointed at Chu Qiao and said proudly, "Do you know who this is? I'll scare you to death if I tell you. Hehe, this is Chu Qiao, the one who led the Southwest Town Envoy to defeat a large group of Northwest Army soldiers."
"Ah?" Xiao He was stunned for a moment, looking very surprised, his eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief, and he shouted, "So young?"
Wan Wan rolled her eyes at him, as if she was laughing at his lack of knowledge, and said to Chu Qiao, "Ah Chu, this is Xiao He, his full name is... Hey? Xiao He, what's your full name?"
Xiao He's face suddenly darkened, and he said depressedly: "You don't even remember my name?"
"Who would remember this?" Wan Wan frowned and said confidently, "No one calls you by your full name, so it's useless."
Xiao He rolled his eyes at her, then turned to Chu Qiao and said, "Miss Chu, my last name is Ye, Ye Tinghe, and I am the secretary of the First Army. They all call me Xiao He, and you can call me that, too."
Chu Qiao smiled and said, "General Xiaohe, nice to meet you."
"Pah, he's still a general. Humph, maybe in the next life."
"Hey! Wan Wan, you're being disloyal to say that to me in front of our new friends!"
Wan Wan put her hands on her waist and said, "You are not a righteous person. You can't walk when you see a beautiful woman. Let me tell you, Ah Chu is my brother's wife. You, don't have any dirty ideas."
Xiao He blushed, "When did I make any plans? You are slandering me!"
Wan Wan stretched out her fingers and poked Xiao He's chest vigorously, saying domineeringly: "I'm going to spray you, how about that?"
Xiao He said with a sour face: "Shrew! I can't explain it to you clearly, Miss Chu, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
"Come on, what can you do? A clerk, huh, huh, I don't even know what kind of position it is. Mr. Wu is just giving you face and assigning you a random job!"
"you……"
Seeing the two of them blushing and almost coming to blows, Chu Qiao quickly tried to smooth things over, "Now that the new army is being formed, the secretary has a heavy responsibility and it's only right that he should be busy."
"Achu, don't say good things for him."
Chu Qiao smiled and said, "No, now that the war has started, the secretary plays a decisive role in the rear. Recruiting and training new soldiers, formulating military laws, establishing order, integrating the limited strength of the militia, organizing reinforcements to go to the front, arranging the defense security of the newly occupied areas and the new ruling institutions, stabilizing the people's hearts, raising food and military supplies, and organizing civilians, horse teams, and caravans to transport food and grass. The affairs are complicated and not something that ordinary people can handle."
As soon as the voice fell, the two of them stared at Chu Qiao in a daze. Chu Qiao was slightly stunned and asked in surprise: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no," Wan Wan turned around and said to Xiao He, "Are you doing these now?"
"No," Xiao He shook his head, "I am responsible for recording battle reports. Sometimes, I also help the soldiers write letters home."
Chu Qiao was suddenly embarrassed. This was not the job of a secretary at all; it was clearly the job of a camp clerk.
"Xiao He, it seems that you will have to visit Ah Chu more often in the future." Wan Wan blinked her eyes, "She will teach you a lot of things."
Xiao He nodded quickly, "No wonder they were able to win the battle, it's really amazing, you have a lot of insight."
Chu Qiao sighed helplessly. It seemed that Yanbei’s army really needed a thorough integration.
They chatted for a while and then said goodbye. Chu Qiao looked back from a distance and could still see Wan Wan and Xiao He fighting as they walked. They pushed each other and hit each other, which made her feel quite funny.