Chu Qiao frowned and punched him weakly in the chest, "You dare?"
"If you don't want me to take a concubine, you should be more diligent."
Zhuge Yue moved his wrist flexibly upwards and took off her hairpin, causing her long black hair to fall instantly. His hands were slender and white, like the finest jade from Hetian. They slowly slid across Chu Qiao's neck, causing a tingling sensation. He kissed her snow-white neck all the way down and used his fingers to untie the straps of her pajamas. The lights were flickering, the tent was warm and spring-like, and her silk dress fluttered down at her feet. Her skin was like porcelain, delicate, smooth and exquisite.
Zhuge Yue picked her up and carried her sideways, then turned and walked towards the large bed...
The consequences of not eating dinner are very serious. Someone woke up in the middle of the night, dragging his weak body and preparing to walk to the small table to secretly eat some cakes.
She had just taken two steps when she nearly fell to the ground. She frowned and rubbed her lumbar vertebrae in grievance.
It's so sore and painful that it's hard to even stand. She glared at someone on the bed.
Does it have to be like this every time? How can I teach Zhouer to practice sword tomorrow? Seeing her being laughed at by her son, he must feel a sense of accomplishment, right?
Although the tea was cold, she was hungry and still thought the pastries tasted delicious. Suddenly, a low laugh came from the bed. Chu Qiao, who was squatting beside the small table, suddenly stood up, wiped her mouth and said, "You didn't sleep?"
Moonlight poured in through the window. The man on the bed was lying on his side, supporting his head with one hand. He waved at her and said with a faint smile, "Come here."
Chu Qiao snorted and said, "No."
Zhuge Yue smiled and said, “I’m doing this for your own good. You’re not wearing anything and I’m afraid you’ll catch a cold.”
Chu Qiao's face suddenly turned red, and she hurriedly looked for clothes on the ground, but she felt her waist suddenly tightened, and then someone with long arms and legs hugged her into the arms.
"Are you tired?" He wrapped a thin blanket around her chest, leaving her snow-white shoulders exposed to the air, making him unable to help but lower his head and kiss her.
Chu Qiao told the truth: "A little bit."
"Are you hungry? I'll ask someone to bring some food."
"No, no." Chu Qiao quickly refused. What a joke. If you ask for food at this time, you will be laughed to death by Li Qingrong’s brats tomorrow.
He held her in his arms and sat her on the soft couch beside the small table, then picked up a piece of cake and put it into her mouth. The two chatted idly about daily life. Time passed by little by little. The hall was as quiet as water. The whole world had fallen asleep. Only they were left leaning against each other, their skin warm, in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
"Xing'er, the Quanrong have already reached Beishuo Pass. What do you think?"
Chu Qiao sighed slightly, thought for a while, and then asked carefully: "Zhuge Yue, do you believe me?"
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “You want me to send troops to help Yan Xun?”
"It's not to help Yan Xun, but to help ourselves."
Chu Qiao shook her head and said in a deep voice: "You and I both know that in this war, the Quanrong will definitely not gain any advantage. Maybe in the early stage, they will have a slight advantage because of their surprise attack, but as long as Yanbei recovers, the good days of the Quanrong will be over. But how long it will take is still to be discussed. Maybe the difference in this battle is just how much damage the Quanrong can cause to Yanbei. These people are fierce in combat, but they have no overall military strategy. They attack without any direction and just attack randomly. It would be more accurate to say that they are a meat grinder than an army."
Zhuge Yue held her in his arms, listening quietly without interrupting.
Chu Qiao continued, "In the thirteenth year of Emperor Ming of Tang, the Quanrong also broke through Meilin Pass once. In just one month, the entire West Pass was reduced to scorched earth, nearly a million people died, and all the classics and buildings were destroyed. That time, the national strength declined for decades. If it weren't for that incident, the Tang Dynasty would not have allowed Daxia to take advantage of the opportunity, and ended up in a situation of fragmentation."
"If Yanbei's national strength declines because of this war, then don't we have a better chance of regaining our lost territory?"
Chu Qiao smiled and glanced at him, saying, "You clearly know what's going on, but you insist on asking me this. Can I understand that your Majesty the King of Qinghai is jealous?"
Zhuge Yue laughed, lowered his head and kissed her, then said, “I understand. Yan Xun will never let me watch the fun. If he sees that I am hesitant to act, he might lead the Quanrong people to attack Qinghai.”
"That's a good guess. It fits his style perfectly."
“Forget it,” Zhuge Yue said, “Rather than letting him lead his people to Qinghai, I would rather send troops to help him block his people outside Beishuo, so as to avoid causing chaos here. Now the people have just started the spring planting, if they come to cause trouble, who will have the heart to farm and work?”
Chu Qiao asked, "When do you plan to send out your troops?"
“In the next few days.” Zhuge Yue said, “I am waiting for news from Zhao Che. At this time, he must be taking advantage of the situation in the north. If Yan Xun wants to withdraw troops to fight against the Quanrong, he will have to let him take advantage of him. I have to wait until he succeeds before I take action. By the way, I also need to find the wealthy Emperor Yan to ask for some military funds.”
Chu Qiao said, "You two are really the ones who are barefoot and not afraid of those who are wearing shoes. Aren't you afraid that the talks will fail? Wouldn't it be even more embarrassing for you to send troops then?"
Zhuge Yue smiled and said, “We have fought for so many years, and we know each other a little bit. Fighting each other, it is impossible to tell who is winning or losing. Now that the political power of each party has just stabilized, no one dares to go all out to start a large-scale war. Fighting blindly like this is not a solution. When war cannot completely solve the problem, the final solution is still negotiation. Simon has been fighting for more than ten years, and it is time to take a break.”
Chu Qiao sighed slightly upon hearing this, leaned into Zhuge Yue's arms, and said softly, "I hope so."
The Quanrong people outside Meilin Pass were coming aggressively, and all the people of Simon were gnashing their teeth in hatred. In fact, they didn't know that although the arrival of this group of people brought intense blood and brutal killings, it also brought a glimmer of opportunity and hope for true peace.
Beishuo, Beishuo...How many years has it been since she left that land?
I never thought that there would be a day when I could go back. If there really is a so-called doomsday and absolute genocide in this world, then the 788th year of the Bai Cang calendar is definitely the year closest to death.
In the spring of this year, Yan Xun, as usual, fought fiercely with Zhao Che of the North and Zhuge Yue of Qinghai. Huai Song, a territory of Dayan, also clashed with Bian Tang many times. The war on the Simon Continent was in full swing. All the people were immersed in the civil war and enjoying it, but they were unaware that in the birthplace of Dayan, a powerful and evil force had already reached out to them.
On the ninth day of the fourth month of the 788th year of the Bai Cang calendar, a piece of news that shocked the entire continent shattered the people of Ximen, who had just experienced six years of peace. Princess Jing'an, a traitor of Bian Tang, led her 3,000 soldiers and secretly sneaked into Meilin Pass. On the evening of the eighth day of the fourth month, they joined forces with the Quanrong people who had been ambushing outside the pass, captured the pass, opened the gate of Meilin Pass, and let the Quanrong people enter. All the officers and soldiers of Meiling Pass, totaling more than 28,000 people, died heroically and no one survived.
At the same time, another piece of news spread across the continent at a rapid speed.
Princess Jing'an, who had been hiding behind the scenes and whose true identity was rarely known, suddenly stood out in a high-profile manner under the protection of the Quanrong people, declared independence as the legitimate princess of the Great Xia, borrowed troops from the Quanrong, and marched eastward under the banner of "restoring the Xia dynasty and avenging the late emperor."
The Quanrong Khan, Nayan, also sang the slogan of "maintaining the orthodoxy of the royal bloodline of friendly countries and annihilating the rebels", and led his troops eastward with high spirits.
This is the third time that Zhao Chun'er has appeared on the historical stage.
The first time was on May 20, 775, at the bloody wedding in Zhenhuang City. The bride, Zhao Chun'er, became famous overnight because of her fiancé Yan Xun and became a laughing stock of the whole world. That year, she was sixteen years old.
The second time was on the first day of September of the same year. After Yan Xun defected, Yanbei declared independence, and Daxia was eager to marry Bian Tang for political reasons. After the Ninth Princess of Daxia was repatriated by Li Ce, Zhao Chun'er went to Tang alone and entered the Bian Tang royal family as a princess of Daxia. However, he was eventually expelled from the country for maliciously creating unclean incidents and inciting mutiny in the Central Army. Unwilling to give in, she enlisted the help of the then-hidden King Luo and joined forces with the Bian Tang general Zhong Peng to plot a rebellion at the Meishan Imperial Mausoleum, but was eventually discovered by Li Ce, who was the crown prince at the time. From then on, there was no news of this woman.
Until this time, thirteen years later, she made a high-profile appearance again as Princess Jing'an of Bian Tang, opened the Meilin Pass, borrowed 800,000 soldiers from the foreign tribes on the grassland, and personally went into battle, releasing the dogs, tigers and wolves to wreak havoc in the Central Plains.
No matter how many years have passed, when people look back on that battle, it is always an extremely terrible disaster. Even the continent's top generals such as Zhuge Yue, Zhao Che, and Yan Xun did not expect the situation to reverse so drastically in the early stages of this turmoil.
After all, when Zhuge Yue first received this news, his thoughts were simply: “Instead of waiting for these people to come knocking on my doorstep, it would be better to deal with them early and extort some military funds from Yan Xun.”
No one expected that the war would be so brutal.
Speaking of the Quanrong, perhaps everyone's first impression is that of a country bumpkin with well-developed limbs. For thousands of years, this tough nation has been roaming outside the Meiling Pass. They gallop on horseback, live wherever there is water and grass, and have no fixed place to live. They have no cities, no unified government, no advanced equipment, and no outstanding commanders. When they fought, basically the leader led a group of herdsmen to charge on horseback. If they encountered a weak enemy, they would rush forward to fight, and if they encountered a strong enemy, they would turn around and run away.
So when mentioning them, almost all the Eastern Army officers would disdainfully call them "country bumpkins".
But no one has seriously thought about the fact that from the independence of Yanbei in 775 to the fall of Great Xia in 782, and then to the continuous small-scale civil wars in the past six years, Simon has spent thirteen years in troubled times. In contrast, the Quanrong lived in peace for thirteen years. Apart from small-scale looting, no large-scale war broke out.