Chapter 82 Obtaining Supplies from the Enemy: "Thank you all! Pick up the soldiers behind and return to camp!"
"A surprise attack tonight?"
Yao Ruyi was taken aback. He hadn't heard Gu Huizhou mention this before. He immediately frowned to express his disagreement. After thinking for a while, he raised his voice and said, "I want to go too."
The emperor frowned in displeasure. "What are you going to do?"
Gu Huizhou didn't say much about Xiao Zhuyue, but he didn't want Yao Ruyi to see that person again, and he didn't want Yao Ruyi to take risks with him, even though he had thoroughly explored the terrain.
This mushroom was originally living a life of luxury in the palace; bringing him to the front lines was beyond his expectations.
Yao Ruyi lay calmly on the table, while cheers occasionally drifted in from outside the tent, a stark contrast to the solemn atmosphere inside.
Mushroom's delicate features had become somewhat serious these days. As was his usual habit, he always liked to eat some snacks after meals, but he hadn't been able to eat them in the army. At most, he would eat some steamed buns mixed with white sugar, which Yao Ruyi didn't like.
Later, Yao Ruyi tried sprinkling a little sugar into the tea, and he liked the sweet taste.
The tent was silent for a while. He drank water slowly and made no sound. Even the touch of the blanket on the table was silent.
Yao Ruyi swallowed the sweet tea, lightly licked the corner of her mouth with her tongue, and hummed, "Gu Huizhou, you can't stop me."
If he wanted to go, he could easily keep up.
Transforming into a mushroom and casually nestling in an army of tens of thousands is as easy for him as drinking water.
Gu Huizhou didn't speak. After a while, Mushroom knew that Gu Huizhou had tacitly agreed. He quickly smiled ingratiatingly and moved the stool under him closer to the side until his leg was touching Gu Huizhou's leg before stopping. His eyes darted around with a mischievous look. "Your Majesty, when shall we depart?"
Gu Huizhou sneered at his appearance.
"Hmph," the emperor said irritably, "Once Jiang Shuang's arrangements are complete, we'll proceed from the mountain."
"good."
Night quickly fell, the night sky so clear that even the stars shone brightly. Snow falls early here, but Yao Ruyi didn't choose this time to celebrate his birthday. He wanted to wait for snow in the capital, but as he thought about it, he probably wouldn't see the first snowfall in the capital this year.
The white snow stopped just before the troops were about to depart. Han Jiqing breathed a sigh of relief. The hillside here was steep and difficult to traverse even during the day, let alone now. He clenched his fist. "Your Majesty! I shall lead the troops!"
"Shut up."
Gu Huizhou, dressed in a black robe, glanced coldly at them. He was wearing black night clothes, which made people feel cold just by looking at him. However, the terrain was treacherous, and wearing more clothes would be more dangerous. The same was true for the tens of thousands of soldiers.
The snow turned grayish-blue at night, covering the mountain and obscuring the path. Early on, soldiers went ahead to scout, and it was about time.
Yao Ruyi, unusually dressed in a black robe, followed Gu Huizhou and heard the man call out, "Go up the mountain."
"yes!"
The soldiers responded in unison, but they dared not shout for fear of alerting the enemy.
A battalion of soldiers led the way, probing the terrain as they went. The snow-covered cliffs were peeled back to reveal their true form; if they hadn't been discovered, countless lives might have been lost.
"This! It's actually a cliff!"
"Quickly, get over there!"
"My legs are weak!"
"Hold them up a bit."
Soon the hillside was filled with people, the bare tree trunks disappearing into the crowd as if it had never snowed.
Han Jiqing frowned, "Your Majesty, I wish you a triumphant return!"
"Okay, I'm leaving."
Holding Yao Ruyi's wrist, Gu Huizhou pulled her up the mountain. The mountain path looked particularly treacherous, but there were soldiers all around, so they could help each other out.
The forest of tree trunks, under the moonlight, transformed into a man-eating abyss from a folktale, and the chilling air sent shivers down the spines of the soldiers, who slowed their pace but walked with hearts pounding.
"ah--"
"Be careful!"
The soldier in front of Gu Huizhou hesitated, unsure whether to reach out and grab the emperor behind him. Just then, Fourteenth Prince darted down from the tree and landed between the soldier and Gu Huizhou. "Go on."
"Yes, thank you, sir!"
The mountain path grew steeper and steeper, and many people turned pale. They would have been willing to go to war, but now, looking down, they saw a bottomless abyss. "Ah—ugh!"
A soldier slipped and lurched over the edge of the cliff, but Jiang Shuang quickly pulled him back. "Shut up!"
"Help! Help!" The soldier was terrified and dazed. He trembled as he tried to climb the stone wall, but it was covered in ice. The moment he touched the slippery ice, his heart skipped a beat. "I! I can't do it, I—"
He's going to fall! He's going to slide down again!
The soldier shouted loudly, but his mouth was instantly covered.
His terrified eyes met Jiang Shuang's furious expression. "Shut up! What were you doing when we were counting people before we left?!" Jiang Shuang was breathing heavily with anger. He had specifically instructed that those who were afraid of heights be kicked out, but who knew they would dare to disobey him!
"Let me tell you, now that you're here, you have to get through even if you're crying. A real man should move! Stop crying! All you do is cry all day! Get ahead of me, hurry up!"
The soldier's face turned red and white from Jiang Shuang's scolding, but when he turned his head and saw the cliff beside him, his legs went weak. "General, I..."
"Walk!"
Two soldiers came up beside him, one on each side, and said, "Brother, close your eyes. We'll take you there."
"Thank you so much!"
Jiang Shuang was disappointed in them, but he didn't say anything more. He looked at the emperor who was about to catch up behind him and warned sternly, "All of you, keep a close eye on them. If anyone slips or buckles, help each other out!"
"Yes, Vice General Jiang."
"Yes, General."
There were no other living creatures in the valley. Yao Ruyi could see the argument from afar, but he said nothing. The cliff here was indeed towering; for someone afraid of heights, it was no different from going to an execution ground. Mushroom stepped onto the cold, gleaming ice and asked, "Your Majesty, are you afraid of heights?"
Is he afraid of heights?
Gu Huizhou recalled that he had taken this man up the mountain countless times. If he were afraid of heights, why would he...? But the words he was about to say suddenly changed. The man's tone was low, "Yes, Your Excellency Nineteen, come and help me."
"Okay, then you have to hold on tight to me."
Yao Ruyi smiled and tightened his grip on Gu Huizhou's hand, a warmth spreading from their clasped hands to Gu Huizhou's limbs.
"Oh."
"What's wrong? Are you still scared?"
"I'm not afraid, what's there to be afraid of when you're holding my hand, my lord?"
"Then you need to stick close to me."
"good."
The mountain road was rugged and winding, and it took two hours to traverse just one mountain. More than 20,000 people finally rested in the open space between the two mountains. They had felt cold before, but now they felt refreshed as the wind blew through the valley.
"Water, does anyone have any water?"
"there is none left."
"I don't have any here either."
"I have it! I do!"
...
Jiang Shuang clicked her tongue and said impatiently, "Why make things so complicated? There's so much snow. Hurry up and warm it up in the water bottle. We won't be able to stop going up the mountain later."
"yes!"
Upon hearing this, Yao Ruyi also joined in the search for clean snow. Not only snow, but also icicles hung from the sunny side of the mountain. He rushed to grab them, but he was just a little too short. A soldier nearby saw this and called out, "Deputy General Yao, your subordinate is here—"
Before he could finish speaking, the soldier saw their emperor leave.
"Your subordinate... Your subordinate takes his leave."
Thirteen was sitting on the rock, eating an icicle. Seeing this, he sighed. It's not like he didn't see it. He wasn't joining in the fun, so why were these greenhorns rushing to join in?
Thirteen nudged Fourteen beside him, "What do you think?"
"What?"
"Our Emperor."
Fourteen was taken aback. "Very good."
Thirteen shook his head helplessly, "Forget it, I can't explain it to you." He rolled his eyes at Fourteen, then turned away and laughed to himself. That soldier wasn't even as tall as Nineteen.
And at such a height, how could the Nineteenth Prince not reach it? The Nineteenth Prince is incredibly skilled in light-footed kung fu; he can lift his leg and flip over to get onto the ice hanging.
"It's all about His Majesty and Little Nineteen's fun, you bunch of people."
Fourteen frowned. "Alright, we still have to travel in a while. Don't eat too much and get diarrhea."
Thirteen crunched the icicle so hard that ice shards almost flew onto Fourteen's face. He shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I'll eat it like an ice cream."
After a 15-minute rest, tens of thousands of people set off again.
Two hours later, the army lay in ambush in the desolate mountains outside the Xiao Kingdom's military camp. Gu Huizhou squinted at the vast military camp, while Thirteen said from the side, "Your Majesty, there are sentries guarding the front of the camp for dozens of miles. The entrance closest to us has the fewest people, so it's feasible."
"Yes, prepare to receive my orders."
The wind rustled through the snow, which fell like yellow sand. The man's voice was deep and resonant: "Go!"
In an instant, like a boulder rolling down a mountain, tens of thousands of soldiers rushed towards the Xiao Kingdom's camp. No one shouted; countless soldiers approached the camp stealthily. When they reached the mountainside, the last group of archers immediately stopped, bows and arrows raised in their hands, and shouted, "Fire!"
Another shout rang out, "Release—"
"Whoosh—"
"Whoosh—"
Arrows rained down like a storm, silver needles dotting the sky, and the next second they hurtled straight towards the Xiao Kingdom's military camp.
"Ah—" A sharp arrow pierced through a man's chest.
"Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"
"General! The Yun Kingdom has launched a surprise attack! Ah—" Before the messenger could even reach the camp, he was the first to fall silent. Blood stained the snow-covered ground, like plum blossoms blooming in winter.
Jiang Shuang led his men forward, brandishing his longsword, and shouted, "Kill!"
"kill--"
The reinforcements from within the Xiao Kingdom have not yet arrived at the front lines; now is their best opportunity!
Gu Huizhou and Yao Ruyi exchanged a glance, then rushed down the mountain, their wrists flashing as they drew their longswords. "Yao Ruyi, be careful!"
"good."
Inside the military camp, Xiao Zhuyue suddenly sat up in bed. The ministers kneeling on the ground, who were half asleep, were startled awake by the sound of Xiao Zhuyue sitting up. They were terrified, "Your...Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
They had been trying to negotiate with His Highness the Crown Prince for the past two days, but the Crown Prince wouldn't listen to them at all. Now, after kneeling all night, their knees were numb. They tried to bow, but their bodies were too weak, and they collapsed to the side.
"Your Highness, you mustn't fight anymore..." His earnest words trailed off, but the prince was terrified by the prince's gaze. "Your Highness..."
A fierce glint flashed across Xiao Zhuyue's delicate face. "Fool!"
"Enemy attack—"
"Your Highness, enemy attack!"
The screams outside the tent were shrill and filled with panic. Xiao Zhuyue kicked aside several ministers blocking her way, her armor clashing against her sword with a loud crash. "Guards!"
Gu Huizhou! This is absolutely outrageous!
"Men! Prepare to engage the enemy!"
The battle of tens of thousands of people occupied almost half of the camp. Xiao Zhuyue and Gu Huizhou faced off with their swords, their eyes filled with undisguised hatred. Xiao Zhuyue looked around and said, "Heh, I don't want to fight you. I want to catch up with Ruyi!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the opponent's moves became even more ferocious. Xiao Zhuyue could no longer laugh. He was forced to retreat step by step. Suddenly, a figure flashed by from the side. Xiao Zhuyue smiled and shouted, "Ruyi!"
Yao Ruyi didn't even turn her head, continuing to fight with her deputy.
Gu Huizhou sneered, "Your Highness should take care of yourself first!" The man's sword tip was stained with blood, and as he swung it in the air, it was like plum blossoms falling to the ground, carrying a tragic beauty.
"Swoosh—" The sound of swords piercing flesh filled the air, and in less than half an incense stick's time, the ground was littered with corpses.
"Yao Ruyi—" Gu Huizhou's pupils contracted, and a dagger spun out from his wrist, instantly stabbing into the neck of the person opposite Yao Ruyi. At the same time, Yao Ruyi bent down in an extremely strange posture, dodging the long sword coming from the opposite side.
"You still have time to worry about others?" Xiao Zhuyue said coldly, her every move ruthless, wishing that Gu Huizhou would die under her sword in the next instant.
The soldiers on both sides were engaged in battle, but Gu Huizhou felt that Xiao Zhuyue had not revealed her trump card. What was she waiting for?
Gu Huizhou suddenly had a bad feeling. Thirteen had just led his men to the granary, but the people of Xiao Kingdom...
"What is Your Majesty thinking?" Xiao Zhuyue led Gu Huizhou to the rooftop. The two commanders-in-chief stood on either side of the eaves under everyone's gaze. Suddenly, the wind howled and raged, making it hard for the two to open their eyes. Gu Huizhou squinted and stood still, but then he suddenly sneered and ran quickly towards the other side, meeting Xiao Zhuyue again in the strong wind.
"--"
Gu Huizhou smiled beautifully, "Xiao Zhuyue, you will die by my hand."
Then he would gouge out and crush those eyes that were staring at Yao Ruyi...
"Let's wait and see!"
The two exchanged hundreds of blows, their exhaled breaths whiter than the clouds above. Amidst the clamor of battle, a faint sound pierced the air. Gu Huizhou frowned, but in the next instant—
wrong!
Rumble—
It was the roar of a giant beast stepping into this territory.
The sound of arrows piercing the air grew faster and faster. In a flash, Gu Huizhou leaped into the air, and a sharp arrow suddenly embedded itself where he had just landed. He turned to look, and amidst Xiao Zhuyue's unrestrained laughter, the distant troops became increasingly clear. A chill ran down Gu Huizhou's spine—it was the Xiao Kingdom's reinforcements.
"Hahahaha, I won't hide it anymore!" Xiao Zhuyue said arrogantly, "Does His Majesty the Emperor think he can slaughter my Xiao Kingdom's camp with just a mere ten or twenty thousand men?"
"--"
Countless arrows came from afar. Gu Huizhou snorted and flipped off the roof. The two fought from inside the camp to outside, each with dozens of wounds on their bodies.
It's bleeding.
"Ah—" A cry of pain came from not far away.
As Xiao Zhuyue watched Yao Ruyi pierce his adjutant's throat with her longsword, her eyes held no hatred, only a growing amusement. "Ruyi, you truly are worthy of my attention—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Zhuyue was forced back by the cold sword's aura, retreating a hundred meters. Gu Huizhou's eyes were fierce as he shouted, "What the hell are you looking at!"
"Whoosh—"
"What's wrong with looking? Could it be that His Majesty has other ideas about his subordinates?"
Seeing that Gu Huizhou ignored him and instead intensified his attack, Xiao Zhuyue smiled, but then his heart skipped a beat...
Why haven't they withdrawn their troops yet?
Xiao Zhuyue suddenly realized this, and his brows furrowed. Their Xiao Kingdom's reinforcements would arrive in half an hour. Was Gu Huizhou planning to fight him to the death?
The stagnant water in her heart gradually boiled, and Xiao Zhuyue could even see the image of Gu Huizhou dying on the ground.
impossible.
Reason made Xiao Zhuyue think again: why did they choose the side closer to the mountain as the breakthrough point? Was it simply because the defenses were weaker near the hillside?
No, that's not right!
There's a road over there that leads straight to the granary!
A chill ran through Xiao Zhuyue's heart, and his face instantly turned cold. He trembled with anger, "Gu Huizhou, how dare you!"
Gu Huizhou's sword tip was dodged just as it was about to pierce Xiao Zhuyue. "I dare, of course I dare!"
No sooner had the two finished speaking than a loud boom echoed from a corner of the camp.
The sound of gunpowder exploding was like a deafening thunderclap, echoing throughout the entire camp. The diplomats inside the tent were finally able to leave. Trembling and supporting each other, they stepped out of the tent and saw a raging fire burning in the innermost corner of the camp. They shivered, their faces pale, and exclaimed, "That's... the granary!"
"It's a grain warehouse! Quick, put out the fire!"
"Fire! Fire! Help!"
A minister tried to help, but his legs were weak, and he tripped over the corpses of soldiers on the ground after taking just one step. He fell face-first onto the soldiers' backs, and when he reached down, his hands were covered in blood. "Ah—"
"Help! Help—"
The minister hurriedly retreated; he didn't want to care about anything anymore, he just wanted to live, to live.
Retreating again, Xiao Zhuyue separated from the others. The cold light of his sword reflected the chill in his eyes. Hearing the approaching army, he snorted coldly and disappeared.
Unexpectedly, the reinforcements from the Xiao Kingdom arrived so quickly; they hadn't even acquired much food yet. But what good was the arrival of reinforcements? They would simply swallow the food mixed with snow and pebbles to fill their stomachs.
"withdraw!"
Gu Huizhou waved his hand, and the soldiers of Yun Kingdom immediately followed their emperor in retreating in the same direction. Thirteen blew a whistle at the end, attracting the attention of most people. He waved his hand and said, "Crown Prince Xiao, lend me a few horses, thank you!"
In a short time, the soldiers of Yun Kingdom withdrew from the camp of Xiao Kingdom. Shields were linked together to form a thick barrier. Gu Huizhou mounted his horse and pulled Yao Ruyi up with him. They galloped swiftly across the battlefield.
"Whoosh—" "Whoosh—" "Swoosh—"
A barrage of arrows flew from the Xiao Kingdom's camp, all of which were blocked by shields, but many still struck the horses.
Thirteen and his soldiers drove out over a hundred fine horses. Yao Ruyi almost burst out laughing. How could there be just a few?
"Little Nineteen, you should just stay with His Majesty."
Yao Ruyi nodded, and the hundreds of horses were immediately divided among the soldiers; three people sharing one horse was just the tip of the iceberg. But it was enough…
"Retreat quickly!" Jiang Shuang shouted.
"withdraw!"
Holding their shields, they retreated until they were several miles away. When they realized that Xiao Guo was not giving chase, the soldiers cheered, "We... we got out just like that!"
"That was satisfying! This time, Xiao Zhuyue was caught completely off guard!"
"What a pity! We could have brought back some food to give the brothers a big meal!"
"It's alright! If we don't have anything to eat, they won't have anything to eat either. That's great!"
"But the camp's food supplies..."
Gu Huizhou held Yao Ruyi in his arms as he sped ahead. Although he was holding her, he often shielded Yao Ruyi's face with his hand to protect her from the bone-chilling cold wind.
The wind howled and pierced the air. Yao Ruyi was afraid that Gu Huizhou wouldn't hear him if he spoke softly, so he wrapped his arms around Gu Huizhou and shouted, "Gu Huizhou! What are we going to do if we haven't gotten the supplies!"
They traveled all night, only to be stopped by reinforcements from the Xiao Kingdom!
According to the news from Xiao Kingdom, reinforcements should not arrive for another two days.
"It's alright." The man lowered his head and gently kissed Yao Ruyi's forehead. "If we can't eat, they can't eat either."
The Xiao Kingdom's camp is currently busy putting out the fire, but it's all in vain.
Yao Ruyi laughed upon hearing this, "Who came up with this idea? They even brought a tinderbox."
"Thirteen, he always carries it with him."
Yao Ruyi nodded, and he turned around with difficulty in Gu Huizhou's arms, peeking out to meet the gaze of Thirteen not far away. They smiled at each other, and Thirteen immediately waved to him, his smugness undisguised.
"What are you moving?"
Yao Ruyi had barely peeked out when he was pulled back into someone's arms. Gu Huizhou pressed him against his chest, and the bitter cold of the yellow sand and wind did not harm him at all. He buried his head in Gu Huizhou's body and took a deep breath, his nostrils filled with the smell of blood and dust.
The sandalwood scent that used to be common in the palace has almost disappeared.
Undeterred, Yao Ruyi took another deep breath, but to no avail. Just then, he heard a man's soft chuckle beside him, "What are you doing on my chest, Nineteenth Prince?"
Each time he inhaled, he would remain motionless, and with the trembling of the horse, the fabric of his clothes would brush against his chest...
"Good boy, I'll let the Nineteenth Prince have his fill of fun when we get back."
What?
Yao Ruyi only heard the first sentence and asked, "What?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "It's nothing."
Gu Huizhou said that if it's nothing, then it's nothing. As long as there are no major changes in the war situation, then everything is fine.
After galloping for an hour, the hundreds of riders suddenly heard the sound of hooves coming from the opposite direction. The sound was orderly and grew louder and louder, shaking the heavens and the earth.
Yao Ruyi was overjoyed, "It's General Han's help!"
"yes."
Slowing its pace, the large horse reared its head and roared, "Whoa—"
A moment later, they saw the people opposite them. A hundred men and several thousand horses arrived, led by Han Jiqing's personal guards. The man shouted, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!"
The commander shouted loudly, followed by a chorus of shouts from the soldiers behind him: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The sound resounded amidst the clatter of hooves, carrying an indescribable sense of awe and solemnity.
Even though he wore the same black robes as everyone else, the man who was the emperor was still the emperor. His eyebrows and eyes were sharp, solemn and arrogant, and the upward curve of his mouth seemed to be mocking the foolish and ignorant commander of Xiao Kingdom behind him.
Gu Huizhou raised his longsword, its silver-black blade gleaming strikingly noble against the yellow sand. He called out, "Thank you all! Pick up the soldiers behind us and return to camp!"
Thirteen then shouted loudly, "Back to camp!"
The voices continued from one person to the next, until they reached the last soldier on both sides of the army. Then, everyone shouted again, "Return to camp!"
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[Qingxin] changed the book title, hehe.
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