Chapter 147 First Update
The rebellion of Prince Xinyang caused Feng Shuo to suffer a defeat. Although he managed to defend Hengzhou, his morale was greatly damaged.
Feng Shuo had not returned to the palace for many days. Jiang Yanyi also guessed that the situation was difficult. Now that the foreign enemies were rampant and Prince Xinyang had returned to the capital to seize the throne, the various princes could no longer focus on the external affairs. Feng Shuo had to stabilize them first.
Although the 800-mile urgent battle report was sent all the way to the capital, since Prince Xinyang dared to let go and gamble, he must have expected that Feng Shuo would send someone to the capital to report the news, and he would definitely kill the messenger on the way. It was hard to say whether this urgent report could be successfully delivered to Chu Changping stationed in the capital.
Jiang Yanyi is most afraid that Chu Changping still doesn't know what happened in Hengzhou. If the Prince of Xinyang makes up a reason to approach Chu Changping as an ally, Chu Changping's 20,000 troops will be caught off guard and killed.
In this era, transportation is blocked and communication technology is not developed. The emergency report in the barracks is the fastest way to communicate. Jiang Yanyi is worried that something will happen to Chu Changping. She can't sleep at night, but there is nothing she can do.
Mid-Autumn Festival came in a blink of an eye. She called the people to take the moon cakes she had made before to the barracks on a cart.
When the owner of the cart shop learned that they were going to deliver moon cakes to the soldiers, he rented the cart to them for free without saying a word. Those who had carts at home also brought their carts over spontaneously. The men came voluntarily to pull the carts, saying that they didn't have money but they could at least
show their appreciation. The people of Hengzhou were united in purpose, which finally comforted Jiang Yanyi, who had been worried for days.
The military camp was located in the suburbs, a long distance away from the main city. Many women wanted to take their children with them, hoping to see their husbands.
Jiang Yanyi knew that the scene would be chaotic if there were too many people, and it would be difficult to take care of the children on the road. If the children got lost, it would be a loss. She did a lot of ideological work for the women before persuading them to only take a few hundred strong men to pull the carts.
Although Jiang Yanyi had been in the Xizhou camp for some time, she had no idea how the scouts in the military camp monitored.
When the convoy transporting mooncakes was still five miles away from the military camp, it was stopped by a small army.
"The military camp ahead is a restricted area, and ordinary people are not allowed to move forward." The little leader on horseback spoke in a bad tone.
Jiang Yanyi was also stopped once before when she was delivering medicinal materials to the Hengzhou camp. The young general who blocked the road that time confirmed that the dozen or so carts she brought were all medicinal materials. He was very surprised and went to report the matter to Han Tuo. Han Tuo guessed that it was Jiang Yanyi who let them pass.
The little leader who blocked the road this time was unfamiliar, but Jiang Yanyi had made preparations in advance.
Feng Shuo knew that she was making mooncakes for the soldiers, and gave her a token that allowed her to enter and leave the military camp freely.
Jiang Yanyi did not show up directly. Chenyu opened the curtain, showed the token, and said in a loud voice: "My lady is the daughter of General Chu Changping. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. My lady led the people of Hengzhou City to make moon cakes for the soldiers. I hope the general will let them go."
The soldiers under the small leader heard that the moon cakes on the cart were sent to them by the people of Hengzhou, and their eyes swept towards the cart.
Jiang Yanyi's name is now known to everyone in Hengzhou City. The soldiers in the Hengzhou camp also know that their prince has a virtuous wife. Even the generals who wanted to send their daughters to Feng Shuo as concubines gave up their thoughts when they saw this situation.
When the little leader saw the token in Chenyu's hand and heard that the person in the carriage was Jiang Yanyi, he quickly dismounted and saluted: "I didn't know that it was Miss Chu in the carriage. I hope Miss Chu can forgive me for the collision!"
Jiang Yanyi did not get off the carriage. She just nodded to the little leader in the carriage and said: "Young general, you are also acting impartially. How can there be any collision? Please stand up quickly."
When the little leader stood up, he glanced at Jiang Yanyi hurriedly. Chenyu happened to lower the curtain at this time, and the beautiful face was blocked by the curtain again like a flash in the pan. The little leader quickly lowered his head, thinking that the fairy concubine probably looked like this.
Thinking that their prince's unmarried princess is not only a heroic woman, but also has a first-class appearance, the little leader felt proud for no reason. He led his soldiers to help Jiang Yanyi escort the car and escort them all the way to the military camp.
When they arrived at the gate of the military camp, the little leader stepped forward to explain Jiang Yanyi's identity and purpose to the military camp guards.
The guard looked at the cart full of moon cakes, and his expression was confused at first, but after he reacted , he became ecstatic. He quickly opened the door and sent someone to report to the big tent.
Soon, a general in bright armor came to the gate of the camp. Jiang Yanyi had never seen this general before. After the other party saluted him, he also returned the salute.
"My surname is Xiao, and my given name is Han." Xiao Han nodded.
"It's General Xiao. I've heard of your great name for a long time." Jiang Yanyi had a perfect smile on her face. She had heard of the name of Xiao Han, the leader of the outlaws in western Sichuan.
Feng Shuo recruited him to join his army, and it is still a good story.
Xiao Han asked the soldiers to unload the goods and distribute the moon cakes to each camp. The soldiers were almost smiling.
Jiang Yanyi asked Yang Xiu to give 20 coins to each of the men who helped pull the cart as hard work money. None of the men were willing to accept it. Some even said directly: "Miss Chu, we come to help pull the cart as a token of our kindness. If you give us money, we won't be willing to come."
Now that it has come to this, hard work money can naturally not be given.
Jiang Yanyi was full of emotion and said to the men who came with him: "Thank you all for coming today."
"We have to thank these soldiers for fighting to the death to defend Hengzhou! Thank you Miss Chu for giving us the opportunity to do our part!" said an old man.
After the soldiers unloaded the mooncakes, the men pulled the carts back. Jiang Yanyi looked at their backs with mixed feelings in his heart.
Huo Jianjia stood beside her and looked at the people walking away and said, "I used to think that following my father around the country was doing great things. But after following the boss, I realized that everything the boss does is a big deal."
Jiang Yanyi tapped her forehead with a smile, "Did you learn this skill of flattery from Chenyu?"
Chenyu quickly protested, "I don't even speak as nicely as Jianjia!"
Huo Jianjia said, "I'm not flattering. I really think the boss is amazing. Even with his unparalleled martial arts, he can only kill a hundred people. The hearts of the people that the boss gathers cannot be defeated by thousands of troops."
Ever since Jiang Yanyi called on the people of Hengzhou City to make moon cakes, even when the news of the defeat came out, the people did not panic or complain. Instead, they did what they could for the army.
The soldiers who came to carry the mooncakes were still in a state of panic at first, but when they heard that the mooncakes were made by the people of Hengzhou, they became energetic, as if a force had once again supported them.
Xiao Han led Jiang Yanyi and his party to the military camp, and on the way they saw that some of the camps were already distributing mooncakes.
"This is the mooncake made by the people of Hengzhou called by our future princess. Some of them might have been made by your mother or daughter-in-law. Eat this mooncake and drive the rats of the Southern Ming out of the mountains and rivers of Daxuan at all costs!"
"Do you want to go home?"
The young general who was distributing the mooncakes shouted.
The soldiers below shouted hysterically, "Yes!"
The mooncakes were distributed to each soldier. Holding the small cake, it seemed as if they had really taken something made by their family. The soldiers were very careful and could not bear to eat it.
Jiang Yanyi spent a lot of money on the materials for making mooncakes. The conditions and raw materials were limited, so she could not make all egg yolk mooncakes. She led the people to make traditional five-nut mooncakes.
The most despised type of mooncake in later generations is something that the lower class people of this era may not be able to eat during festivals.
Under the brown-red dough, there are walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds and melon seeds. The crust is soft and fragrant. For most soldiers, they may never have eaten such a mooncake in their lives.
The soldiers were happy, but there were other things in their eyes.
The poor bones by the Wuding River are still people in Chunlu's dreams.
They went to the battlefield to protect their small homes in their hometowns and to defend this magnificent land.
It is unknown when the war will end, and it is impossible to return home. These are heavy burdens on their hearts. A small mooncake can bring them a moment of comfort.
Jiang Yanyi had not moved out of the military tent where she lived in the barracks before. Knowing that Feng Shuo was still in the meeting, she waited in the tent.
When Feng Shuo came over, he looked a little tired, but there seemed to be a light in his eyes, making him look a lot more energetic.
"I brought you a cup of soup..." Before Jiang Yanyi finished speaking, Feng Shuo pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
Seeing this, Chenyu quickly pulled Huo Jianjia out.
Jiang Yanyi clenched her fist and hit Feng Shuo lightly: "Jianjia and Chenyu are still here, what are you doing?"
"Thank you, Yi." Feng Shuo was hit, but he didn't mean to let go.
His sudden thanks made Jiang Yanyi uncomfortable, "Thank me for what?"
Feng Shuo loosened his arms, pinched Jiang Yanyi's white and pink cheeks with both hands and ravaged them, with a smile in his tone: "We suffered a defeat a few days ago, and the morale of the soldiers has not slowed down. You sent moon cakes today, which finally helped to boost their morale."
"This is all I can do." Jiang Yanyi was naturally happy to be able to help Feng Shuo.
"You've done enough, leave the rest to me." Feng Shuo didn't ravage her face anymore, but just rubbed Jiang Yanyi's with his nose tip: "When Hengzhou is stable, I will send people to Xizhou to pick up my mother and the Chu family, and we will get married here."
Jiang Yanyi smiled slightly and said, "Okay."
Hengzhou has a pleasant climate and is more suitable for growing peppers than Xizhou. It is also rich, and it is less difficult to build an economic hub.
She asked Feng Shuo to drink the soup, and took out several boxes of mooncakes prepared just for Feng Shuo: "You haven't been back to the palace these days, I made egg yolk mooncakes and snow skin mooncakes, and brought some to you."
Feng Shuo drank the soup in a few gulps, ate up the scallops and shrimps in it, and picked up a mooncake from the box and started to eat it.
Jiang Yanyi was affectionate for less than a second, and then fell silent when she saw the empty soup bowl.
The seafood soup made with scallops, shrimps, clams and green beans in chicken soup is known as the "Seafood Queen Soup". Controlling the heat is the key to making this soup, and she spent a lot of effort.
When she brought it to Feng Shuo, he finished it in two gulps. She didn't know whether she was happy or unhappy. If she
said she was happy, it felt like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit. If you asked him what it tasted like, he might not be able to answer.
If she said she was unhappy, he drank it so cleanly, which was already very considerate.
Jiang Yanyi's mood can only be described by the word "complex".
The snow skin mooncake in the brocade box was novel and beautiful. It was the first time that Feng Shuo saw the mooncake as white as snow. He took one because he thought it was novel. It was soft, glutinous and smooth in the mouth, and the filling inside was fragrant and sweet. Feng Shuo frowned unconsciously.
It's not that the taste is bad, but he doesn't like sweet cakes.
But Jiang Yanyi asked him expectantly, "Is it delicious?"
Feng Shuo hesitated for a moment, but nodded against his conscience.
Jiang Yanyi picked up an egg yolk mooncake and fed it to him: "Try the egg yolk one. I tried to make a lava-filled one before, but unfortunately I failed."
This was the first time for Feng Shuo to eat mooncakes. He thought that all mooncakes tasted so sweet. He took the egg yolk mooncake handed to him by Jiang Yanyi, took a small bite and tried to get away with it: "Not bad."
At this moment, Chi Qing's voice came from outside the tent: "Your Highness, I think there are some problems with the deployment we just discussed. I would like to discuss it with Your Highness in detail."
Jiang Yanyi glanced at Feng Shuo and said, "Then I'll step aside for a while."
Feng Shuo said with a dark face: "No need. Chi Qing, that dog nose, didn't come earlier or later. He didn't come to discuss military affairs. He just wanted to give you something to eat."
Jiang Yanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After Chi Qing entered the camp, he really had a lot to say, and finally stared at the mooncakes on the table: "I heard that Miss Chu prepared mooncakes for the soldiers in the camp?"
Feng Shuo glanced at him and said, "The Huotou Camp will prepare mooncakes for the lieutenant generals."
Chi Qing said shamelessly, "I'm a soldier. I can't lift anything with my hands or shoulders. I have never been on the battlefield to kill the enemy. It would be embarrassing to go to the Huotou Camp and snatch mooncakes from the generals."
Yan Bi stared at the box of ice skin mooncakes with envy on his face. "What kind of mooncake is this, Miss Chu? I've never seen it before."
Although Feng Shuo didn't like eating snowy mooncakes, he didn't want to give it to others who were so greedy. He pointed at the box of egg yolk mooncakes that Jiang Yanyi had just opened, looked at Chi Qing with disdain and said, "Take this box."
Chi Qing was a little disappointed that he didn't get the beautiful snowy mooncake, but he understood the saying of quitting while he was ahead. He thanked her and happily left the tent with the egg yolk mooncake.
Jiang Yanyi looked at Chi Qing, then at Feng Shuo, wanting to say
something but stopping. Feng Shuo was looked at by Jiang Yanyi, so he coughed lightly, thinking that Jiang Yanyi had discovered that he didn't like eating mooncakes. He was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would be disappointed, so he ate the remaining egg yolk mooncake in a few bites as if to prove something.
When he bit into the egg yolk, his expression changed.
Why is it so delicious?
Feng Shuo quickly called Xing Yao into the tent and pointed at the snowy mooncakes and said, "Take this box of mooncakes to Chi Qing and exchange it for the box of mooncakes he took away."