Chapter 294 Marrying into the Family
Meng Yushan paused slightly as he drank his soup.
He looked up at the face that bore a striking resemblance to his daughter.
Meng Yushan felt as if something had gently pierced his heart.
He spent his life on the battlefield, guarding the borders of the Great Zhou Dynasty and protecting the lights of countless homes behind him.
But he failed to protect his own family.
They suffered for so many years.
He slowly put down the white porcelain bowl in his hand, the bottom of the bowl hitting the table with a crisp, light sound.
Then he smiled.
That smile dispelled the weariness on his face, revealing a childlike open-mindedness.
"I'm not going, I'm not going."
He waved his hand, his voice loud and clear.
"I have to admit I'm getting old!"
"I've spent most of my life on the frontier."
"I don't want to end up dying at this age in some godforsaken place on the border."
His words were crude, yet they carried the straightforwardness and boldness unique to military generals.
To Meng Shilan, however, it sounded particularly jarring.
Her delicate brows furrowed.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
She spat several times, as if trying to drive away the unlucky words from the air.
"Grandfather! What unlucky things are you saying!"
"Why are you still acting like a child, saying whatever comes to mind!"
Meng Yushan was taken aback by her appearance, and then he threw his head back and burst into loud laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"Alright, alright, alright! Grandfather misspoke!"
The laughter, hearty and full of energy, completely dispelled the last trace of somber atmosphere in the inner room.
As he laughed, his eyes became slightly moist.
He couldn't remember how long it had been since anyone dared to "teach" him a lesson like that.
Since he was the only one left in the entire Meng family, he had never received such tender care.
“Lan’er, your maternal grandfather has already prepared your dowry.”
His voice was calm and loving.
"Once you and Congxian get married, watch your brother smoothly marry that girl from the He family."
"In the end, all my regrets in this life will be gone."
"At that time, I will not go anywhere else, but stay in this mansion and wait to hold my great-grandson!"
The next day.
Just as dawn was breaking, an imperial edict arrived from the palace.
Meng Yushan was ordered to enter the palace.
Inside the Imperial Study.
The underground heating was burning brightly, providing warmth, but it couldn't dispel the almost solidified chill in the air.
His Majesty, dressed in a black everyday dragon robe, stood with his hands behind his back by the window.
He didn't look at Meng Yushan kneeling below; his gaze was indifferently fixed on the desolate imperial garden outside the window.
After a long while, he slowly turned around.
"Lord Meng".
He spoke, but his voice betrayed no emotion.
"Let me ask you, is it true that in the great victory at Yumen, the 100,000-strong army of the Wule was routed?"
Meng Yushan lay on the ground, his gray hair slightly disheveled, but his voice remained as steady as ever.
"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true."
Upon hearing this, His Majesty suddenly chuckled softly.
He walked down the steps one by one and stopped in front of Meng Yushan.
"Absolutely true?"
He repeated those four words, his tone rising slightly at the end, carrying a compelling pressure.
"Meng Yushan, how dare you!"
"The border crisis is not yet resolved, yet you have lied about military intelligence and returned to the capital without authorization!"
"Tell me, does it mean that just because I address you as Lord Meng, you really think I'm some ignorant child?"
The last sentence was already a thunderous rage!
At that moment, it was as if the air itself had frozen.
Meng Yushan remained lying there, his back ramrod straight, like an old gun weathered by time.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Meng Yushan slowly raised his head, his eyes cloudy yet still sharp.
"Your Majesty, they live by following the water and grass, and although they appear scattered, they actually gather and disperse like the wind, making them extremely difficult to eradicate."
“Every spring when the seasons revive, the various leagues and banners of Ule would fight each other to seize more pasture and water, resulting in endless infighting.”
"The Northwest Battalion took advantage of their infighting and caught them off guard."
"That's how the so-called 'Great Victory at Yumen' came about, and that's how the restless Chirong tribe was deterred, preventing them from making any rash moves for the time being."
The Imperial Study was deathly silent.
Only Meng Yushan's aged yet powerful voice echoed.
"Your Majesty, this was just a lucky victory."
"After more than a decade of recuperation, the Kingdom of Ule has long since recovered its strength. A few defeats are nothing more than superficial injuries to them, nothing that can damage their core."
"Even a centipede that has a hundred legs does not fall down when dead."
"As long as we give them a chance to breathe, and allow the various alliances to put aside their prejudices and unite as one again, then our Great Sheng will find it difficult to find such a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
The anger on His Majesty's face gradually subsided.
"In that case, you should be stationed at the border and utterly terrify and cripple them!"
"Why must we return in triumph at this particular time?"
"Isn't this giving them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Yushan suddenly gave a bitter smile.
"Your Majesty, I am old."
He spoke those three words very softly, yet it seemed as if he had used all his strength.
He paused for a moment and continued, "It is precisely because I am still alive that Wule and Chirong only dare to provoke us frequently at the border and test our strength."
"This old minister has spent his life on the battlefield, and is grateful for Your Majesty's trust and the love of the people on the border and the tens of thousands of brothers in the camp. The three words 'Mengyushan' are a banner on the border."
"As long as this flag stands, no matter how many battles, big or small, are fought, the spirit of the border will never be scattered, and it will be able to spring back to life in the spring breeze."
"What they fear is the unwavering morale of my Great Sheng army!"
"But they are waiting too."
"Wait and see when I fall."
"I can assure you that if I die on the battlefield, within three months, the border defenses will be attacked from both inside and outside and broken in one fell swoop!"
His voice, every word, carried a chilling heaviness.
"The urgent situation at the border is never about the gains or losses of a single city or place."
"On the battlefield, amidst seas of blood and mountains of corpses, what matters in the end is the belief in one's heart."
"But……"
He abruptly changed the subject, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes.
“It is precisely because I am old that Wule and Chirong dare to repeatedly provoke me.”
"In that case, if we don't feign an opening and offer them an extremely tempting bait, how can they possibly hand their lives over to our army?"
His Majesty's lips tightened.
"Put yourself in a desperate situation and you will survive."
Meng Yushan spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice not loud, yet it seemed to carry immense weight.
His Majesty stared at the old general with white hair and beard before him.
In his previous life, Meng Yushan died from betrayal, lured into an enemy encirclement, and pierced by ten thousand arrows.
His death became the final straw that broke the camel's back for the Dasheng border defense.
And now...
Everything seems to have deviated from its original trajectory.
Perhaps, a turning point has truly arrived.
His Majesty took a deep breath. "Lord Meng... what good plan do you have now?"
Meng Yushan replied, “Your Majesty, although I have returned to the capital in triumph, the main force of the Northwest Camp is still being led by several trusted generals who are in hiding and awaiting orders.”
“Ule and Chirong are naturally suspicious, and they will not dare to make any rash moves in the short term.”
"They need a foolproof opportunity."
"To make everyone think that my Great Sheng's border defenses are at their weakest."
His Majesty's brows furrowed deeply.
"you mean……"
A calculating glint flashed in Meng Yushan's eyes, like an old fox who had finally waited for its prey to appear.
"The old minister's granddaughter is about to marry Zhou Congxian, the heir apparent of the Duke of Ying.
"At that time, the commanders of both the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion and the Yingguo Duke's Mansion will be in the capital to arrange the weddings for their children."
Your Majesty, "You intend to use the marriage between the Zhou and Meng families as bait?"
"But if Ule really takes this opportunity to launch a surprise attack, you and Zhou Congxian are far away in the capital, unable to help, and the army is without a commander. How will you defend against it?"
This risk is too great!
One wrong move and you're doomed!
Upon hearing this, Meng Yushan smiled.
That smile was calm and composed, carrying a sense of confidence that indicated control over the entire situation.
"Your Majesty, who says there are no commanders in the army?"
“The old minister’s grandson-in-law, Prince Zhou, just needs a reason… to legitimately not show up at the wedding.”
"If he doesn't show up, no one will know whether the groom at the wedding is real or fake."
His Majesty frowned, his eyes filled with confusion.
"What Lord Meng means is..."
"To marry into another family."
"When a man marries into his wife's family, it is the same as when a woman marries out."
"According to the old customs of my Great Sheng, one must cover one's face with a red scarf, cross a fire pit, and step over a saddle before the ceremony is considered complete."
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