He wanted to touch her hand, but just as he was about to do so, a dark cloud suddenly floated over, blocking the moon, and the earth instantly fell into darkness. Yan Xun stood there awkwardly, his hands outstretched. The snow on the ground was blown up by the wind and floated on his fur coat, making him look like a sculpture. He stayed in the military camp for three days without meeting Yan Xun. It was not until the fourth day that he came down from the camp. Chu Qiao was packing her bags when she saw Yan Xun. Yan Xun walked in so abruptly without any soldiers notifying her. A blinding light shone in from behind him. Chu Qiao looked against the light and was dazzled for a moment.
Yan Xun was wearing a black robe with ink-gold dragons embroidered on it. His eyes were like deep pools. He looked at her quietly without saying anything for a long time.
The light was too dazzling, and tiny dust particles were floating up and down in the beam. Chu Qiao looked at Yan Xun, and it seemed as if she was still in Yinggeyuan many years ago. The young man who came back from practice was sweating profusely, and he always liked to stand quietly behind her, waiting for her to find him. They were so lonely at that time, with no one around them except each other. Unlike now, when they are surrounded by millions of people, they are getting further and further apart.
Chu Qiao stood up and wanted to kneel down to salute, but she couldn't even utter the word "Your Majesty". Yan Xun walked up to her and held her hand. She did not dodge or look up. Her body was slowly embraced by someone with both arms. Her forehead rested on his chest. The sound of his steady and strong heartbeat reminded Chu Qiao of the rumbling war drums in Beishuo City. The morning sun was as red as blood, the earth was covered with gold, and the curtains of the big tent were blown up and down by the wind. Chu Qiao opened her eyes and seemed to be able to see the lush green grass of midsummer. Her heart has drifted far away, very far away, but not here.
"Achu, are you leaving?" Yan Xun asked in a low voice, but he didn't get her answer for a long time. He let go of her hand and saw her wandering, unfocused eyes, like a lake, so deep that it was impossible to see through. "Ah Chu?"
Chu Qiao raised her head, nodded and said, "Well, we'll leave tomorrow."
"It's almost New Year, stay."
"Not very good, there are still some things I need to go back to do."
Yan Xun said stubbornly: "Let others handle the matter. I want to spend the New Year with you."
"The Quanrong people are planning to attack Meilin Pass. I am worried."
"The Quanrong people also celebrate the New Year," Yan Xun looked at her as if nothing had happened between them, and said stubbornly, "You don't have to do it yourself, I will arrange for someone else to take care of it."
Chu Qiao said nothing, she lowered her head and watched the light and shadow cast small circles of light on the ground, like mottled grids. Yan Xun's mood suddenly improved. He smiled and said that he would take Chu Qiao to Xiling City to celebrate the New Year. That was his newly built city. It was so prosperous and lively. He prepared a comfortable house and decorated the room for her personally. He repeatedly emphasized a snack there, which he said he had eaten when he was a child. After he recovered Yanbei, he searched all over the country for the master who made the snack. But when he found him, he had already died in the war. Fortunately, his son was still alive and inherited his father's craftsmanship. He now lives in the villa in Xiling City.
He said so much that it was even a bit long-winded.
Chu Qiao listened for a long time, then suddenly raised her head and said quietly: "Yan Xun, I don't want to stay here."
Yan Xun was suddenly stunned, his tongue seemed to be tied, and his endless chatter stopped abruptly. He looked at Chu Qiao for a long time before slowly saying, "Are you still blaming me?"
Chu Qiao shook her head, her eyes calm, "I just don't want to stay here and pretend that nothing happened with you. When you have figured it out, let it go, and are no longer on guard and suspicious, I will come again."
Yan Xun stood there, his expression became very indifferent. He looked at Chu Qiao deeply, then turned and walked out. He took big steps and his figure disappeared in a flash.
Chu Qiao sat on the bed and suddenly felt very tired. This kind of cold war made her feel meaningless, but at this moment, she couldn't find another way out for herself. The Quanrong people are still provoking outside the Great Wall. After the New Year, there will be spring floods, so she has to be on guard in advance. There is also the trade exchange in early spring. There are a lot of things to deal with, but fortunately, she still has things to do. Chu Qiao smiled bitterly and continued to pack her luggage. This military camp was too depressing and she didn't want to stay there any longer.
Yan Xun sat in the central army tent, with the generals standing on both sides. The atmosphere in the tent was a bit depressing, and the soldiers were dejected, without any joy at all for the approaching New Year.
“If a war breaks out, with the strength we have, our Second Army is more than enough to deal with 100,000 to 150,000 Xia troops. With a little bit of luck, we can resist the attack of half of Great Xia’s troops for two consecutive days. But the prerequisite is that the commander of the opposing team cannot be Zhuge Yue. He annihilated more than 2,000 of us in Queshu Valley a while ago. The soldiers are now in awe of him. I am afraid that morale will be low and affect the war situation.” A general analyzed.
Another person stepped out and said, “A spy reported that Zhuge Yue is not in the army for the time being. It seems that he has returned to Zhenhuang. Emperor Xia is critically ill. As Zhao Che’s ally, he should support Zhao Che to take the throne. However, there are rumors that Emperor Xia has already chosen the successor to the throne, and Zhao Che is not on the list.”
"The New Year is coming soon. The Great Xia army is unstable and Zhuge Yue is not here yet. If we take this opportunity to rush into Yanming Pass, it is not impossible. Your Majesty, this is the battle plan drawn up by our General Staff."
Yan Xun glanced coldly at the battle plan map, only to see that it was colorfully drawn with cavalry going first and shield soldiers following behind. After talking for a long time, it was nothing more than tactics such as frontal attack and flank assists. He frowned at the thirty-something general and said coldly, "Is this the battle plan that your staff has worked on all night for more than ten days?"
The man was startled, sweat dripping down his forehead. He hesitated and said, "We analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the two armies and studied..."
"That's enough." Yan Xun interrupted him rudely and continued, "Is there anything else substantial to report?"
Seeing that Yan Xun was in such a bad mood, who would dare to continue talking without being tactful? After a while, everyone in the big tent left one by one, leaving Yan Xun alone sitting there with a bad look on his face and a frown on his face.
However, a moment later, a figure suddenly walked in, knelt on the ground with a plop, and said in a low voice: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. I have important information to report to Your Majesty."
The afternoon light was a bit dazzling, swaying a red cloud on the corner of the man's clothes. It used to be the military flag emblem of the Southwest Town Governor, but now it has become the logo of the Xiuli Army.
Yan Xun did not have dinner that day. He gathered his confidants overnight and left the base camp with 5,000 imperial guards without even saying hello to Chu Qiao.
As the horses' hooves stepped out of the camp gate, the Canhong sword placed on the desk suddenly made a muffled buzzing sound. Chu Qiao turned her head in confusion, but only saw the curling green smoke from the incense burner.
She vaguely felt her heart beating very fast. She picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. The cold tea went down her throat, but it failed to extinguish the unreasonable panic in her heart.
What's going on? She frowned slightly. It was snowing heavily outside and the world was bleak.
When Yan Xun received the news and rushed to Daping, the battle was already over and Zhuge Yue's troops had already left, leaving only corpses and swords on the ground. The assassination group that Yan Xun had valued for many years was completely wiped out, and none of the 500 people survived. Looking at the corpses on the ground, Yan Xun could only feel his temples throbbing.
"Your Majesty," Cheng Yuan stood beside him with a slight bow, and said respectfully, "Do you want me to go back and gather some men right away? He is on our territory, how can he escape?"
Yan Xun looked deeply at the corpses that had not yet had time to close their eyes.
Cheng Yuan stood by and asked anxiously, "Your Majesty?"
"Gather the troops immediately."
Seeing that Yan Xun accepted his suggestion, Cheng Yuan nodded happily and asked, "How much would you like, Your Majesty?"
"Bring all the reorganized Black Hawk troops here."
“Ah?” Even a shrewd man like Cheng Yuan couldn’t help but be shocked when he heard this. He said in astonishment, “Your Majesty, the Black Hawk Army has just finished recruiting and has more than 100,000 men. Zhuge Yue only brought less than 300 men. Do we really need so many men?”
Yan Xun snorted calmly, his eyes shooting towards the invisible enemy in the vast white snowfield. With his gloomy eyes half-closed, he said coldly, “Killing him is equivalent to chopping off half of Zhao Che’s head and breaking off an arm of Great Xia. It will have a greater effect than killing 200,000 Xia soldiers. Tell the soldiers that if they see Zhuge Yue, kill him on the spot, regardless of life or death. Whoever cuts off his head will be rewarded as a general by me.”
"Yes!" Cheng Yuan agreed sternly, turned around and rode away.
The horse's hooves stepped on the snowy field, raising white waves of snow. Yan Xun stood there quietly for a long time before he said softly, "This time, I will make it impossible for you to escape even if you have wings."
On this day, the troop movements on the eastern front of Yanbei were very active. The newly reorganized Black Hawk Army was led out by Cheng Yuan's entire army, using the excuse of a field training march, but in fact they were heading towards the inland of Yanbei. The Daxia official in charge of monitoring the Yanbei Army found it strange and reported it truthfully to Daxia's Military Affairs Office. The civil servants in the Military Affairs Office analyzed it for a long time and finally concluded that a heavy snowstorm might have occurred in Yanbei North, causing heavy civilian casualties. They had no choice but to mobilize the army to suppress the disaster. The officials of the Grand Council responded to this conclusion with enthusiastic applause. They felt sorry for Yan Xun's misfortune, but also relieved that there was one less large army threat on the eastern front. They promptly reported the good news to the central camp of the Great Xia Northern Expedition Army. However, Zhao Che's military officer felt that the matter was of little importance. Even if the Black Hawk Army was not there, with the current strength of the Northern Expedition Army, it would not be able to fight against the First and Second Joint Armies. Daxia's battle plan had already been decided, and everything would have to wait until the beginning of next spring, when the wars in the north and Bian Tang were settled. So, he naturally withheld this "insignificant" news, not wanting to disturb His Highness Zhao Che who was already working very hard.
Often, it is the insignificant thoughts of insignificant people that change history. Just like now, Zhao Che, the only person who knew about Zhuge Yue's trip, lost this important intelligence, and also lost the opportunity to send out a timely notification and send in reinforcements for cover.
However, despite this, Yan Xun's plan did not go smoothly. A day later, battle reports came back one after another, making the generals present almost furious.
The 500-man Third Squadron of the First Battalion of the Black Hawk Light Cavalry were completely wiped out, with no one surviving.
Five hundred men of the Fourth Squadron of the Light Cavalry were attacked and shot to death by arrows, like human sieves.
The 17th Scouting Team of the Light Cavalry disappeared without a trace. The General Staff's analysis concluded that all 700 people were lost in the wind and snow.
Six scout teams then disappeared out of thin air. Each team had twenty people, and no one sent a signal or came back to report.