March 27th, Shuocheng.
As usual, Qiao Xiuyu went to the military camp to deliver food to Shang Shaoyan. Along the way, everyone who saw him greeted him with a smile: "Seventh Young Master has come to visit the County Princess again?"
Qiao Xiuyu smiled and nodded, saying gently, "That's right."
Since arriving in Shuocheng, Qiao Xiuyu has discovered that white clothes are not very resistant to wind and sand pollution, so she has long since switched to dark-colored clothes.
Shang Shaoyan saw Qiao Xiuyu, dressed in black and with a gentle demeanor, walking towards her from afar, carrying a food box in her hand. She smiled and ran over, but then, as if remembering something, she stopped abruptly in front of Qiao Xiuyu, instead of rushing into his arms as she usually did.
Qiao Xiuyu's smile faded slightly, and she looked at Shang Shaoyan with a hint of grievance: "Don't you like me anymore?"
Shang Shaoyan chuckled awkwardly and shook his head, saying, "I've been training all morning and I'm covered in sweat. I don't want to get your clothes dirty."
Qiao Xiuyu chuckled, pulled Shang Shaoyan into her arms, and stubbornly refused to let go: "I don't care, what's more important than you than clothes? Don't be so formal."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She wiped her face helplessly, wanting to ask Qiao Xiuyu to let go of her, but she couldn't bear to see the disappointment on his face, so she had no choice but to let him hold her.
She has good hearing and can hear soldiers pointing and whispering not far away.
"What a bold young man! He even dares to hug the county princess!"
"Exactly, aren't they afraid the county magistrate will crush his head?"
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
"Believe it or not, I'll crush your skulls first!" She glared fiercely at the soldiers, who winked at Shang Shaoyan with grins.
Qiao Xiuyu followed Shang Shaoyan's gaze and saw the soldiers. Then, she asked Shang Shaoyan with some concern, "An'an, isn't that disrespectful to you?"
Shang Shaoyan curled his lips, broke free from Qiao Xiuyu's embrace, and then took his hand and walked into the tent, explaining as he did so: "They respect me, but they're not exactly afraid of me. Using both kindness and severity is the way of those in power. If I'm too ruthless, they'll definitely harbor resentment; if I'm too gentle, I won't be able to win them over."
Qiao Xiuyu nodded knowingly: "In addition, my brother often sends grain and weapons over, so they are now almost completely biased towards the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
Shang Shaoyan smiled and nodded: "That's right."
As the two were chatting and laughing, Hua Qing hurriedly came to see him. Shang Shaoyan frowned, and a bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.
She quickly said, "Quickly, call General Hua in."
Hua Qing rushed in, and upon seeing Shang Shaoyan, her expression hardened: "Princess, our scouts at the front just reported that the Western Turks seem to be mustering troops!"
Shang Shaoyan's heart skipped a beat: "Seems?"
Seeing that Shang Shaoyan was calm, Hua Qing gradually calmed down as well. He took a deep breath and said, "This morning, the scout saw many Western Turkic merchants on the border between Shuocheng and the Western Turks. After observing them for a while, he found that their words and actions were like those of soldiers. He sent a message back and followed them, but then he couldn't get in touch with them."
Shang Shaoyan frowned. Something about this whole thing seemed off. She asked carefully, "Did anyone follow them to see? Were those merchants really soldiers from the Western Turks?"
Hua Qing sighed: "We sent three more small teams to investigate, but they all never returned..."
Shang Shaoyan's heart skipped a beat: "I'll go see for myself, you..."
Before he could finish speaking, a bugle call sounded outside the tent. Shang Shaoyan quickly lifted the tent flap and saw smoke rising in the distance.
"Enemy attack!"
Shang Shaoyan's palms were slightly sweaty. She quickly put on her armor, then picked up her usual broadsword and said to Hua Qing, "General Hua, go and muster the troops; Qi Lang, hurry back to the city."
As she spoke, she hurriedly walked out of the tent.
Qiao Xiuyu then realized what was happening. He looked at Shang Shaoyan with some unease, but after thinking for a moment, he decided to stay in the tent.
Why would the Western Turks suddenly launch an attack? Qiao Xiuyu sat uneasily on the blanket, racking his brains.
He lifted a corner of the tent and looked out into the distance—Shang Shaoyan had already mounted her horse. She was tall for a woman, but appeared exceptionally petite in front of the army.
The army was fully prepared and stood in neat formation behind Shang Shaoyan, consisting of 30,000 heavy cavalry, 30,000 light cavalry, and 30,000 infantry. This was the largest force Shang Shaoyan could muster at the moment.
After Shang Shaoyan finished counting his troops, he asked Hua Qing beside him, "How many Western Turks have come?"
Hua Qing frowned and said in a low voice, "About 150,000."
Shang Shaoyan's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded to indicate that he understood, and then raised the military flag in his hand: "Let's go!"
Seeing Shang Shaoyan ride away, Qiao Xiuyu quickly came out of the tent and stared blankly at her departing figure.
The west wind howled, unfurling the embroidered banners. Thousands of troops followed Shang Shaoyan, advancing in perfect unison, slowly, slowly disappearing from Qiao Xiuyu's sight.
...
Shang Shaoyan arrived at the front line, looked at the well-trained army opposite him, and narrowed his eyes.
The leader of the Western Turkic army was a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes. He was about twenty-five years old and had striking features. He was staring at Shang Shaoyan with his hawk-like eyes and a playful smile on his face.
Hua Qing whispered in Shang Shaoyan's ear, "This is Ashina Yeting, the little Khan of the Western Turks. He is known as the God of War in the Western Turks. Even the old Duke and his wife could only fight him to a draw."
Shang Shaoyan didn't speak. Of course she knew how skilled Ashina Yeting was in battle, but she wasn't particularly afraid.
On the contrary, many soldiers behind were somewhat restless, presumably because they had fought with Ashina Yeting earlier.
Shang Shaoyan frowned, then raised his hand, and the army behind him fell silent.
Compared to Ashina Yeting, in their eyes, Princess Heyang was clearly more powerful—this was also the result of Shang Shaoyan's training.
Seeing this, Ashina Yeting's interest grew even stronger. He raised his voice and said in fluent Chinese, "You are the Princess of Heyang of Southern Chen?"
Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow: "You are Ashina Yeting of the Western Turks."
Ashina Yeting laughed a few times, then said, "Good! You are even more beautiful than I imagined!"
To the Southern Chen army, these words were clearly a blatant provocation, humiliation, and contempt, and the crowd stirred. However, Shang Shaoyan remained unmoved: "You are much uglier than I imagined."
Ashina Yeting didn't take it seriously: "Don't try to provoke me. I never underestimate women—especially Shang Xiao and Cheng Lingxiu's daughter. Provocation doesn't work on me."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
Honestly, she was just telling the truth!
Ashina Yeting stroked his chin and said, "You are so beautiful, why don't you stay in your Shengjing and wait to be married? If you withdraw your troops now, I can marry you and make you my Khatun."
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