The soldier found it strange and thought she was probably frightened, which was why she acted that way.
After thinking about it, she went to find Lu Baichuan and explained her situation.
"General, why don't you go and keep the lady company? We'll handle the rest."
Tonight's raid was carried out by a suicide squad. They came with the determination to die, even if it meant risking their lives to burn down Bei Yan's granary.
As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose, which is why tonight will be more difficult to deal with.
The commotion was quite loud, so it's understandable that the lady was frightened.
Lu Baichuan almost laughed as he listened to the soldier's report, and said, "Don't worry, she really just wants to simply stay up all night for the New Year."
Back in my hometown, we always set off firecrackers at midnight before going to sleep.
My wife never used to worry about this because she used to celebrate the New Year at her hometown, where her parents would take care of these things. But this year, since she's not celebrating with her parents, she has to do it all by herself.
Although his wife didn't say anything, he knew she was missing home and her parents.
The soldier was somewhat skeptical, but he obeyed and left, since it wasn't something he could control.
Lu Baichuan no longer felt that his wife's refusal to be intimate with him meant she didn't love him. On the contrary, he thought it was precisely because she loved him that she refused. He thought his wife was a bit strange and probably guessed that there would be an enemy attack tonight, so she was deliberately doing this to him.
He discovered this group of people, and he led his men to wipe them out.
Qin Jian was still immersed in the joy of becoming a father, so Lu Baichuan told him to spend time with Peng Yuan and didn't let him come out.
Prince Jing had drunk too much. Although he knew something was wrong, he was powerless to do anything about it and went back to lie down.
By the time Lu Baichuan and his men had cleared all these people out, it was already past midnight.
He washed away the smell of blood from his body before going back, where his wife was fast asleep, hugging his pillow.
He moved very gently, but Jiang Jiuniang still woke up. She opened her eyes groggily, returned his pillow to him, and then snuggled into his arms, taking over the pillow's role.
Why are you so late?
"Yes, there are quite a lot of people. I was worried that I might have missed someone, so I checked again."
Lu Baichuan held the soft bundle in his arms, and the emotions of the killing he had just experienced gradually calmed down.
"Great! I'm so sleepy, I'll reward you tomorrow night."
After saying that, he fell asleep again instantly.
Lu Baichuan blew out the lamp, revealing a row of white teeth in the darkness, and peacefully drifted off to sleep, holding the world in his arms.
The next morning, Lu Baichuan got up very early. Because of what happened the night before, the generals gathered together to discuss the next steps.
Prince Jing frowned and said, "I drank too much last night and wasn't of much help. Today I'm leading troops to attack the city, so we can't just let them come knocking on our door and not react."
They originally planned to attack the city after the New Year, but the other side went too far, launching a sneak attack during the New Year and even trying to burn their supplies. This was intolerable!
Qin Jian also said, "I can go too. Your Highness and I can look after each other."
The other generals had no objections. They figured that if Prince Jing and Qin Jian went today, they could go tomorrow instead, since no one would back down.
Lu Baichuan, however, did not recommend doing so. He shook his head and said, "Now is not the right time. They are not chaotic enough yet. We can continue to celebrate the New Year. As long as we take precautions, they can't do anything to us."
Everyone was stunned when they heard him say that he was just giving up.
"No way, Lu Laosan! They've already come knocking on our door, and we haven't made a single move?"
Qin Jian's eyes widened. Although that was the agreement before, it was on the premise that those people behaved themselves. But since the other side had already acted like this, they should press their advantage and beat them until they cried for their parents!
"It's not chaotic enough; I'm referring to their court."
Lu Baichuan's emotions did not change much; his tone was calm, and he was not angry at all because of what Qin Jian said.
Even if others didn't understand, they knew that Lu Baichuan must have his reasons for saying that.
Lu Baichuan is very capable on the battlefield; otherwise, how could he have become the commander-in-chief?
After arguing all morning, everyone decided to listen to Lu Baichuan and remain still to see what other trouble Dongting could cause.
The suicide squad was wiped out and failed to complete their mission. Upon hearing this news, the old general aged considerably.
The city we are in now has no food left, and we rely entirely on the taxes paid by the wealthy merchants and ordinary people. The people on the border are already poor, and after paying taxes, they can barely feed their own families. Now they are being forced to pay more, and many families have already suffered as a result.
Even so, the soldiers still didn't have enough to eat, and all sorts of problems arose.
They all had terrible tempers, causing trouble in the army and even resorting to violence. They were indifferent to orders from their superiors, and no one paid any attention to what the old general himself said.
He wrote letter after letter back to the capital, but received no response. The old man was nearing his end.
"General, please think of something! What are we going to do if things continue like this?"
"We have nothing now, and we've lost so many of our generals. The enemy also has that mysterious little black ball in their hands. We're no match for them at all. It would be better to just surrender!"
"Yes, things are already like this, there's no point in us stubbornly holding on!"
...
The men were very anxious. Even they, as junior generals, were not getting enough to eat, let alone the soldiers below them. They were worried that instead of the Northern Yan people attacking, they would be killed by their own people.
The old general's brows were never smooth; they were always furrowed. He sighed softly and said, "Without the imperial court's order, who would dare to surrender so easily?"
Back when he retreated to the city, he wrote back to the capital, but whether it was due to an accident on the way or some other reason, no matter how many letters he wrote, he received no response. Just two days ago, he sent a letter by express courier, and he is still waiting for news.
Upon hearing this, the others fell silent. They felt that the court didn't care about their lives or deaths, otherwise why hadn't they given a definite answer?
When things were going well, they captured Huizhou City in Beiyan, and the imperial court responded quickly. Now that something has happened, they're just ignoring it. Who can stand that?
"Everyone, let's go back and see what Bei Yan means first, and then act accordingly."
The old general's voice was filled with weariness and helplessness. As a general, he cared most about his soldiers, but now that this had happened, he was really helpless. He could only hope that the imperial court's letter would arrive soon so that he could die knowing why.
Meanwhile, the capital of Dongting was also in complete chaos.
This story begins when news of Wu Jiaming's affair reached the court. Wu Jiaming was the Empress's younger brother and the uncle of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. When Wu Jiaming's incident occurred, the court was thrown into chaos.
People in this era believed in immortals, and knowing that Wu Jiaming had done something immoral and was punished by the immortals, many people were worried about getting burned and were determined to bring down the Wu family.
If this commotion starts, won't no one be able to manage the border conflict?
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