But how many more years will it take?
She shook her head gently, not wanting to think about these things anymore. She casually wrote "to be read" on the document and then put it aside.
Aunt Yun frowned and wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't. Over the years, the princess has always been paying close attention to Yanbei's affairs, especially after Yanbei's independence. Huaisong changed her previous style and took great risks to make an exception and get involved. She thought that for a person as wise as the princess, there must be deep meanings in it that she could not understand.
Just as millions of Song Dynasty people said, the princess is like a star from the sky, blessed and wise as a mirror.
Nalan came to the window and pushed open the gauze curtain. I could see the rain hitting the banana leaves, making crackling sounds, and in the distance the lotus pond was gleaming with slanting water. Occasionally a koi carp would leap onto the surface of the water, flapping its snow-white belly.
Nalan felt a little cold in his heart and stood there silently. The servants gradually left, and Aunt Yun also made the bed and left the room. For a moment, the whole world seemed to be quiet, and only the sparse sound of raindrops and the croaking of frogs at night could be heard.
She suddenly remembered the young children many years ago, on a rainy night under a banana tree, the boy's bright eyes twinkled like stars, and the two children clapped their tender white hands side by side...
Sworn brothers will never abandon each other.
Back then, my father was still alive and a prominent figure in the royal family. I was the apple of everyone's eye. I followed my uncle, Prince An Ling, on a diplomatic mission to Daxia. I disguised myself and called myself Xuan Mo, the youngest son of Prince An Ling. By chance, I met the Prince of Yanbei, who was still a hostage in Zhenhuang. After spending a month together, they fell in love and became sworn brothers. From then on, the communication between the north and the south continued for many years.
Thinking back to the past, he was quirky and clever, Yan Xun was bright and free and easy, the children of the Muhe family were naughty and spoiled but had no bad intentions, Zhuge Huai was mature beyond his years, Zhuge Yue was aloof and difficult to get along with, and although Zhao Che was aloof, he was often teased by himself, Yan Xun, Muhe Xifeng and others. He was so angry that he was fuming and veins bulged. Once, he chased Muhe Xifeng through more than thirty palace gates with a sword, threatening to fight to the death. At that time, the little boy Zhao Song, who was still running his nose and crying all day, wanted to play with everyone, but everyone thought he was too young and no one was willing to take him with them.
Ten years have passed in a flash. Now, everything has changed and the faces of those years have changed a lot. Some hold great power, some suffer hardships, some are ambitious, some are filled with sorrow, and some have already turned into bones and dust and scattered.
She took out the letter that had just been delivered to the palace this morning from her bosom. However, after only one day, the letterhead was already slightly wrinkled. The paper was warm and carried the faint fragrance of a woman's body. After opening it, the upright and thin handwriting immediately came into view: My dear brother Xuanmo, the war in Yanbei is about to begin, and I will be going to the battlefield today. Before leaving, after careful consideration, I still need to ask for your help in managing the military supplies and food. Half a month ago, I went to Huaisong to meet the eldest princess of that country, Princess Nalan Gaoyi, who promised to support food and grass in northern Yan. However, a war is about to break out on the east coast of your country, and I am deeply afraid that there will be opposition from both the government and the public. If the eldest princess is interested, I would like to ask you to mediate and appease the court officials. This matter concerns the life and death of Yanbei, so I have no choice but to ask for help. I hope you will lend a helping hand for the sake of our friendship over the years. I am thousands of miles away and will certainly be grateful for your kindness.
I heard that your brother got married a month ago and married a girl from a good family in Huai'an. I have nothing to congratulate you, but I have a jade hairpin to give to your wife, wishing you and your wife a harmonious life together until old age.
Also: I finally got to see the princess of that country who was so beautiful and rare in the world as my dear brother had mentioned. However, her veil was half a finger thick, her speech was as dull as an old woman, she was too dignified and lacked vitality. I felt that my dear brother's aesthetic taste was unusual. If we meet again someday, I will definitely understand my dear brother's taste. Nalan frowned slightly and read the sentences "Her veil is half a finger thick, her words are as dull as an old woman, she is dignified but lacks vitality" over and over again. The girl was slightly angry, and a bit of resentment appeared on her calm face.
The night wind blew, lifting the hem of her clothes, carrying with it the faint scent of lilac.
She picked up a piece of white paper on the desk, ground ink and picked up the pen. She thought silently for a long time and wrote: I received your handwritten letter and learned that you are going to the front line soon. I am very worried. The battlefield is dangerous and swords are merciless. I hope you take good care of yourself. I am still waiting for the appointment to meet again in fifteen years. I want to get drunk with you in Pengxian Tower, appreciate the autumn lake, play the Baisuqin and sing Xijiangyue together. You must not go back on your word and abandon me.
The eldest princess of our country is dignified, elegant, virtuous and kind. She is a role model of women. She is a rare treasure of the Song Dynasty. How can ordinary people easily see her? Brother, you have been fighting on the battlefield for many years, and your aesthetic taste has been greatly damaged. I am very sad to hear what you said, and I am deeply worried about your future.
Brother, please don't worry about the food and military supplies. Since the princess has promised, I will definitely obey. If things change, I will do my best to help you. The battle of Yanbei is imminent. I sit alone in the building every night, looking northwest, waiting for news of victory from my brother. After I finished writing, the drizzle outside had stopped. Nalan sat quietly alone, holding a jade hairpin in his hand. The hairpin was snow-white all over and felt very warm to the touch. There was a winter plum blossom carved on the top, with the petals and stems visible. It was elegant and plain, and although not gorgeous, it was extremely exquisite.
Give it to your younger brother and sister? Is it really necessary to send it to Xuan Mo’s bride?
Princess Nalan showed a rare warm smile, picked up the document waiting to be read on the desk, and wrote: Yes.
It was already getting light outside the window, and the long night was about to end. Nalan stood up, walked to the window, looked toward the northwest, and stood there silently. Clouds gradually appeared in the sky, the air was fresh after the rain, the morning bells rang leisurely, and the sound of the clappers from the morning court spread far away in the back hall.
Nalan took a deep breath, closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was already clear-headed.
She also had to find a way to convince those old ministers who were opposed to intervening in the war between Daxia and Yanbei. She rubbed her eyes and it seemed that she had no choice but to use the pretext that the eldest princess was a master strategist, a far-sighted person, and that everything she did had a profound meaning.
She smiled gently, with a hint of girlish mischief in her. People are always willful sometimes.
Some people and some things are impossible to achieve in a lifetime, so she simply doesn't expect anything. She knows clearly that she has to protect Huai Song, the emperor, her brother's children, and the Nalan lineage.
The sky was clear, and Princess Nalan looked calm. She slowly opened the curtain and said calmly, "Wash and get ready to go to court."
"It's not Beishuo! The next target of the Xia army is Chiyuan Ferry!" The woman frowned and said sharply, "It has been three whole days, and the Xia army has never had any formal charge. There are only small-scale harassment and fighting. This is very abnormal, very abnormal. With the strength of Daxia, if they were to unite their forces, they would have launched a fierce attack on Beishuo long ago. The current situation shows that the Xia army has different internal policies, and the forces that have gathered here are not the main force..."
"Are there any new battle reports?" General Cao Mengtong seemed not to hear anything. He yawned and said to his subordinates, "Are the Zhao and Qi brothers scared by our army? Have they forgotten what mission their father sent them to do?"
Everyone burst into laughter at once. In the past three days, the Yanbei Army had won battle after battle, while the Daxia army was like a piece of tofu, which turned into a pile of loose sand at the slightest touch. The troops of Zhao Qi and Zhao Yang seemed to be divided. The Northwest Allied Forces clearly tended to favor the new upstart of Daxia, the Fourteenth Prince Zhao Yang, while the Batuha family army followed Zhao Qi's lead. During each charge, either one side would disrupt our formation or our side would run into your flank. They didn't have any absolute formation at all and were just there for show. No one wanted to be the first to be cannon fodder and waste their strength.
Before the Yanbei Army fired the first round of arrows, the Xia Army shouted, "No! We can't hold on!" and retreated in a hurry. It looked like a group of teenage soldiers were stronger than them.
There are more than 300,000 regular troops and more than 300,000 militiamen gathered in Beishuo City. It is truly a large army. Originally, facing the iron-blooded and powerful soldiers of Da Xia, everyone was still a little hesitant and afraid, but after a few battles, even those peasant soldiers now dared to go outside for a walk with hoes.
"It seems that there is no need to wait for His Highness to come back. Xia Gou should withdraw his troops and flee back to Zhenhuang."
Everyone laughed. Lu Zhi, a general under Cao Mengtong, shouted, "In my opinion, we should split our forces in half and help His Highness take Meilin Pass."
"That's not necessary. We might as well follow the Daxia deserters and fight all the way to Zhenhuang."
"Yes!" As soon as these words were spoken, everyone responded in unison, talking at once, as if they had already won a great victory.
"General Cao!" Chu Qiao stood up at once, her eyes flashing like lightning, and she said in a low voice, "General, gentlemen, if you didn't hear clearly what I said just now, then I don't mind saying it again! Up to now, we still don't know where the enemy's main force is. The charges and attacks we saw were all small teams of less than 10,000 people. Although the central army flag is in the army, we have not seen the enemy's main cavalry. The heavy snow blocked our news channels, and we still don't know where the enemy's camp is. This is simply a child's play! I don't know the Batuha family and the Northwest Alliance. I don't know, but I know the third prince Zhao Qi, and I have had a direct conflict with the fourteenth prince Zhao Yang on the battlefield. Zhao Qi is a cautious person, and he will never lead his army to attack without any precautions. Even if he wants to, he will not use such a clumsy method. As for Zhao Yang, although he is young, he is a senior general from the Shangwu Hall in Daxia. He is far-sighted and proficient in military tactics. He is strict in military discipline and unpredictable in methods. He is good at positional warfare and siege warfare, and has rich combat experience in commanding large-scale military battles. This person is perseverant and good at ambushes. He is known as the "viper" in the Daxia army. It is impossible for him to make such a suicidal attack!
"I ask you all to think carefully. How could Daxia, which has dominated for nearly a hundred years, only have such strength? They are deceiving us and making us complacent! If I am not mistaken, Zhao Qi and Zhao Yang must not be in the opposing army now. There is not only one way to enter Yanbei. If I were the commander of Daxia, I would cross the Helan Mountains, use the Changyin mountain stream as a breakthrough point, and attack the Chiyuan ferry. As long as we can gain a foothold there and attack from both sides, Beishuo will fall without a fight! Fortunately, although we have wasted three days, it is still not too late. As long as we send 100,000 more troops to defend Chiyuan, we can rely on the geographical advantage to resist the Xia army. The opportunity for battle is fleeting, please think carefully!"
Quiet, dead quiet.
Everyone looked up at the woman in military uniform. She stood alone in the huge conference room, her back straight, her eyes sharp, her body slightly leaning forward, her brows furrowed, and she looked at everyone seriously, with a hint of expectation and anger in her eyes.
The wrinkles on Cao Mengtong's face trembled slightly. He suddenly stood up and then walked out the door without saying a word.
This was truly a perfect way to express the commander's emotions. Within a moment, the huge room was empty except for Chu Qiao. Chu Qiao sighed deeply, and sat weakly on the chair, holding her forehead with her hands, the corners of her eyes twitching.