She looked at the old doctor in disbelief and asked, "What did you say? Say it again?"
"Madam, you are so careless. You have been pregnant for almost three months. How come you didn't know it at all? Moreover, your physical condition is very poor and your pulse is very chaotic. If you can't rest peacefully, your pregnancy will be in great danger."
Three months? Chu Qiao lowered her head and looked at her still flat belly. How could it be possible? She is pregnant? While she was waiting to get married, while she was fighting in the north and south, while she was soaking in the river and riding a horse to fight under the hail of bullets, she was actually pregnant with a child?
"I'll prescribe a blood-replenishing and qi-nourishing medicine for you to stabilize the pregnancy. You must take it carefully and then rest peacefully. Don't travel long distances as this will tire you out." The old doctor comforted her and went out with He Xiao.
Chu Qiao sat on the bed, her expression still dazed. These days, bad news came frequently, the war broke out, and everything was like huge waves, hitting her one after another. But unexpectedly, in such an environment, she became pregnant.
She stretched out her trembling hands and gently covered her lower abdomen. She seemed to vaguely hear the baby's weak heartbeat.
A line of tears suddenly slid down from the corner of her eyes. She bit her lower lip lightly, a sob in her throat, and cried silently.
Zhuge Yue, I am pregnant with your child.
I have a child.
As night fell, He Xiao lit a candle in the room. He ordered some food and soup to replenish the blood, walked to Chu Qiao's bed, and asked softly, "Sir, are we still going to Tangjing? How about we go back to Qinghai directly?"
Chu Qiao raised her head and looked at him with fixed eyes, without saying a word.
"Sir, your body is not fit to continue leading the troops. If you don't think about yourself, you should also think about the Fourth Young Master and the child in your belly."
Chu Qiao was shocked when she heard this. She looked down at her belly and continued in silence. After a long time, she raised her head and said softly: "He Xiao, I have already deceived him once."
He Xiao was stunned, not knowing who she was talking about, so he asked, "What did you say, sir?"
"I've already lied to him once." Chu Qiao's eyes were calm and ethereal, and she looked at the candle quietly. "I told him that I would stay by his side to protect him and not let others bully him again, but I couldn't do it. He has no parents anymore. I am thinking about my child, but who will think about him?"
He Xiao suddenly realized that she was talking about the Tang Emperor Li Xiuyi. He frowned and said, "Sir, at this point, the situation is no longer something you can reverse on your own. Even if you had stayed in Bian Tang, you might not have been able to prevent what happened today. You are not in good health, so don't think too much and don't take everything on yourself."
Chu Qiao raised her head and took a deep breath.
"He Xiao, there are some responsibilities in this world that cannot be avoided." She said calmly, "I have received great favors from Li Ce and Bian Tang, and now it is time to repay them. I think if I put that child in danger and ignore it, my child will look down on me in the future."
She sat up, got up to put on her shoes, walked to the table and started eating. After finishing her meal, she obediently drank her medicine.
Under the light, she looked so thin, how could she look like a mother who was three months pregnant?
"Don't worry, everything will be fine."
He Xiao looked at her and for a moment he didn't know who she was talking about, herself, the child in her belly, or the current Emperor Tang.
The cool night breeze swayed the willow branches outside the window.
The landscape of Bian Tang remains the same, but the war is approaching.
At the same time, in Baizhiguan’s tent, Yan Xun was sitting crookedly on the couch wearing a black robe. Below were more than a dozen young beauties who had just been sent by local wealthy businessmen. Each of them was dressed in light gauze and half-naked, looking delicate and attractive.
From time to time, some brave girls would raise their heads and secretly take a look at the powerful man above them. It's a pity that his eyes never turned over here for even a moment.
"Your Majesty, we have deployed our troops and will capture the Xiu Li Army at Hanshui Pass."
"Someone come here!" Yan Xun suddenly raised his head and waved to the outside, and his personal soldiers walked in.
"Drag him away and give him twenty military sticks!"
The subordinate's personal guards immediately carried the staff officer and were about to go out. The man didn't know what he had said wrong and quickly apologized, but he didn't dare to beg for mercy. After a while, screams were audible. The girls kneeling on the ground were so frightened that their faces turned pale and no one dared to look up.
"Catch them all in one swoop..." Yan Xun repeated these four words indifferently, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. The candlelight shone on his face, which seemed to be covered with a thin layer of gold paper.
He lay lazily on the couch, sleeping on his side, with so many charming beauties kneeling below him. After a moment, he fell into a deep sleep.
That night, they were thousands of miles apart, but they said the same thing at the same time.
"Hopefully, I won't meet him (her)."
Vaguely, it was many, many years ago, under the dilapidated eaves, the girl was wearing a light pink jacket, her face red, rubbing her hands, sitting under the lamp sewing clothes, while sewing she turned back and said to the boy: "There is no father and son on the battlefield, everything is for the benefit of the country, even brothers cannot retreat on the battlefield. I am not telling you the Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties, I am telling you the history of Tang Dynasty. That is a joke, this is the official history, listen carefully."
"What official history? Why haven't I heard of it?"
"Anyway, just listen carefully and learn seriously."
"If you were Li Shimin, would you also kill your elder brother?"
"Of course he would kill him. Would he keep him to kill me? Didn't I tell you that their relationship broke down later? Oh, what about you? Wouldn't you kill him?"
The young man thought for a moment and suddenly said, "If it were me, I would kill him when I fought Liu Wuzhou."
The girl was stunned for a moment, then gave a thumbs up and said, "You are awesome."
…
The pitch-black night enveloped the heaven and earth, and even the waves of memories were suppressed together, without making a single sound.
On the second day, someone secretly left Baizhi Pass and rode all the way to Handan River. There are now 100,000 troops stationed there, all of them are elite troops from Yanbei. On the one hand, it was to assist Princess Jing'an, and on the other hand, it was to guard the opponent's lifeline and protect one's own retreat.
On the same day, Chu Qiao waited for other soldiers from the Xiuli Army and the Wolf Army in Nanli County. Forty thousand people gathered in the wilderness, with black swords raised, like a flamboyant forest.
"Hanshui is the only way for Tangjing to go northwest. If we don't break the Hanshui, we can't solve the danger of Tangjing being trapped."
Chu Qiao pointed her snow-white finger at the map, drew a circle at the Hanshui Pass, and said in a deep voice: "The battle that decides life and death is about to come."
The sky was grey and heavy rain was falling.
The wormwood near the Handan River was more than one person tall. Thunder rumbled across the river from west to east. A thunderbolt followed closely and split down a century-old elm tree inside the Handan River Pass. Two Yanbei Army guards on duty were injured, and the crossbeam of a house in the east of the city was broken, killing all seven people in the house in their sleep.
This was the first bloodshed in the Battle of Handan Pass. Even though there was no fighting or hacking, it was enough to push the already tense atmosphere to the brink of collapse. The people inside Handan Pass hid in their homes all day long, and no one dared to go out even during the day. Heavy rain poured down on the empty long street. There was no sign of human life. Only some withered and yellow grass was blown by the wind. The wet grass could not fly far. As soon as it raised its head, it was hit hard by the raindrops.
Heavy rain has been falling for eleven days in a row, causing the water level of the Handan River to rise rapidly. The weather was abnormal and flocks of birds flew north. Every night, one could faintly hear the howling of a lone wolf in the wilderness, like a death knell. An experienced old man said that there was also the same heavy rain in the summer of the seventh year of Emperor Xiaozong's reign. That year, General Xue Li of the Bian Tang Dynasty led an army of 400,000 to attack Daxia. It was in such weather that they crossed the Handan River, headed north, and with great momentum, they broke through Baizhi Pass and fought all the way to the heart of Daxia. However, just when the entire Bian Tang was eagerly waiting, thinking that the Tang Dynasty was about to avenge its previous humiliation and recover its lost territory, the Lion King of Yanbei suddenly sent troops, defeated the Tang army, and personally killed the ever-victorious general Xue Li, once again shattering the Tang Dynasty's ambition to dominate.
That year, blood dyed the Chishui River red and flowed into the Handan River along the Chishui River. The corpses floating on the river stretched for dozens of miles. Wild dogs and jackals jumped into the river and stood on the layers of corpses as if they were walking on flat ground without sinking. Their eyes were all red with anger.
Decades have passed, but that tragic battle still echoes in the minds of the elderly. Today, the Lion King of Yanbei has been dead for many years, and General Xue Li’s tomb is covered with moss and weeds. Bian Tang was weak, and Da Xia was in constant strife. As things had changed, Yan Bei's eagle flag once again flew over Baizhi Pass, winding its way all the way and was planted on the city wall of Handan River.
On the seventh day of May, Yan Xun, at the request of Princess Jing'an of the Tang Dynasty, personally led his troops to guard the Handan River to resist the Xiu Li Army that came from thousands of miles away and to protect the advantageous situation east of the Handan River Pass. Just one day later, Chu Qiao's beautiful army appeared in Wei Liao County on the west side of Handan Pass. Wei Liao County, a small town that had been ignored in the past, quickly became famous and attracted the attention of the entire Bian Tang and even the entire Simon land. A battle flag with a white background and red clouds was erected on the short city wall. Chu Qiao personally put on armor and reviewed the troops and swore an oath. The various Tang troops that were defeated west of Handan Pass rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, and the princes loyal to the royal family also escorted food and fodder to come as reinforcements. Within three days, the Xiu Li Army's troops had expanded to 90,000, and were still growing.
This was the first banner of rebellion officially raised in Bian Tang since Princess Jing'an rebelled at lightning speed, and they were facing Princess Jing'an's powerful ally - the Yanbei Army.
A war of unprecedented scale is imminent, and everyone holds their breath, waiting for the bloody storm to come.
On May 14, the rainstorm stopped suddenly and the water level of the Hanshui River dropped to an astonishing level. After six consecutive days of confrontation, the patience of both sides reached a dangerous critical point. Although the generals of both sides knew the necessity of this confrontation, they all knew that it was a very dangerous behavior to remain motionless with hundreds of thousands of troops at such a close distance. The tense atmosphere permeated the military camps of both sides, and if we were not careful, there might be a mutiny.
Although Chu Qiao and Yan Xun had made adequate preparations, with scouts from both sides moving around like the wind and various battle plans being revised again and again, they finally decided on the direction and location of the battle without any prior agreement. However, the arrival of the first battle still caused them to panic for a moment.
On the afternoon of the 14th, Wuling County Governor Mo Xu had just crossed the Heyuan Plain, escorting 50,000 loads of grain and fodder, climbing over mountains and crossing ridges, carefully passing through layers of fire lines, and was heading towards Chu Qiao's Wei Liao base camp.
He was a native Tang person. His ancestors had followed the first generation of Tang kings in battle and were granted high positions. His ancestors had also been great figures who were granted titles and appointed as prime ministers. However, as the traditions were passed down from generation to generation, the Mo family no longer had the glory it once had. However, at this moment, facing the crisis of the country, the seventy-year-old Governor Mo still personally led his troops to transport food and grass, wanting to do his part for the army led by Chu Qiao.
However, just when they arrived near Tiexian River, they unexpectedly encountered a small group of embankment builders from Yanbei. Tiexian River is a tributary of the Handan River, and its embankment is unstable, so Yan Xun once sent 3,000 infantrymen to repair the embankment here to avoid destroying the headquarters of the camp downstream. Unexpectedly, although Governor Mo was cautious, he still ran into the gunfire of this group of people. The war was about to break out. The shouts and cries of killing alarmed scouts from near and far. Within half an hour, the nearby armies of both sides arrived one after another, and the battle situation was in chaos.