The Hu people were very cunning. They were clearly aware of the predicament that the wise king's army was facing. Sui deliberately let the wise king's men discover their provisions and made it seem as if the logistics officers and soldiers were lax in their duties, so as to lure the wise king's men into a trap.
This despicable scheme should be obvious at a glance.
Unfortunately, the wise king's army was so hungry that they were dizzy and their eyes lit up at the sight of grain. They didn't care about anything else and only thought about seizing the grain as soon as possible so that they wouldn't starve to death.
The wise king was also in a panic. He couldn't bear to see his soldiers starve to death in his own camp instead of dying on the battlefield. The thought of it was so frustrating that he impulsively led his army to plunder grain.
The result was the annihilation of the entire army, and he himself was seriously wounded and almost killed by the Hu general.
Speaking of the discord between the Prince Xian's subordinates and Zhong Qingyi and Bai Pingfeng, it was also because of food. Due to the shortage of food, the commander always prioritized his own people and often delayed sending food to Zhong Qingyi and Bai Pingfeng. Only when they were pressed for help would they send some.
It was truly frustrating under these circumstances; it would be strange if we could win the battle. No wonder the Hu people couldn't be driven away no matter what we did; they continued to garrison outside the border city, provoking and clamoring.
It was amazing that Zhong Qingyi and the others were able to drive the Hu people out of their own city back then; they've all forgotten how they did it. If it were now, they probably wouldn't be able to do it.
No other reason than being starving.
Originally, they thought a fight was about to break out, but unexpectedly, a soldier came to deliver a message saying that General Zhong had returned from fighting the Hu people. The gatekeeper did not dare to conceal the news and instructed his men to report that someone had delivered grain to General Zhong as soon as he returned. So when Zhong Qingyi returned, he learned of this and hurriedly sent someone to let the person into the city.
As for why Zhong Qingyi didn't come to greet him personally, Ye Moxun found out after seeing him: he was injured and was currently being bandaged.
"Is Uncle seriously injured?" Ye Moxun's expression was not good, and his voice was uncontrollably lowered when he asked.
"Ah Xun, Tan Tan, it's you guys! Why didn't you write a letter before you came? I could have sent someone to welcome you." Zhong Qingyi was quite surprised to see them, but then she was overjoyed.
He was overjoyed to see his nephew and Tantan, who had grown much taller and more mature over the past year. "How are Heng'er and Shuang'er?" he wondered, his heart constantly filled with thoughts of his wife and children.
"The two little ones are growing so fast, especially Heng'er, he's a whole size bigger than Shuang'er." Song Tantan exaggeratedly gestured with her hand to make a circle, but in reality, he only weighed about two pounds more, since boys are naturally heavier than girls.
As Zhong Qingyi listened, his eyes reddened. He really wanted to go back and see his wife and children, but he really couldn't get away now. Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night and his longing would be even stronger. He had regrets in his heart, but the thoughts of regret were only fleeting and quickly passed.
Ultimately, only when the world is at peace can a family truly reunite happily. Otherwise, they would live in constant fear, worried that the barbarians might invade one day and they wouldn't even be able to protect their homes.
Seeing him like this, Song Tantan stopped talking and instead comforted him, "Uncle, let it go. Aunt and the two little ones are doing well. Now they are just waiting for the border to win the battle so that you can go back and reunite with them soon."
Bai Pingfeng arrived shortly after. He was delighted to see the two of them, especially Ye Moxun, whose smile stretched from ear to ear. "I never expected you to come, and you even brought us so much food. We can finally have a full meal."
Seeing how much thinner he and Zhong Qingyi had become, Song Tantan and Ye Moxun couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. How much suffering did they have to endure to lose so much weight?
Thinking this, she actually asked the question, which amused Zhong Qingyi. "How could they go hungry? They have enough to eat, but it's unfair to the soldiers below. They really don't get enough to eat and still have to train every day, ready to fight at any time. It's really hard for them."
"Let the soldiers have a good meal today, so they won't go hungry for at least a short time. The new emperor's supply convoy should be arriving soon." Song Tantan sighed, then winked at Ye Moxun.
"Brother Bai, have you gone to check on the grain transport team? Make sure no one has tampered with them," Ye Moxun said meaningfully.
Bai Pingfeng paused for a moment, then, as if thinking of something, cupped his hands in greeting and left first. After sending the person away, Ye Moxun then signaled Zhong Qingyi to send the others away as well.
"Is there something important you want to tell me privately?" Zhong Qingyi asked cautiously.
"Uncle, is it safe here? Or are there any other safer places to hide grain?" Song Tantan asked in a low voice, sounding mysterious.
Zhong Qingyi was puzzled, but she still lowered her voice and said, "It's quite safe here. Ordinary people can't get in. What's wrong?"
"I still have some food here, I specially saved it for you, you'd better hide it well, otherwise your aunt will not forgive me later." Song Tantan blinked.
After a moment of stunned silence, Zhong Qingyi stared at Song Tantan for a long while before suddenly realizing something and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that Tantan also has some food stored there?"
Seeing Song Tantan nod with a smile, Zhong Qingyi was still somewhat shocked. He looked at Ye Moxun, who nodded slightly, indicating that it was indeed the case.
The three of them tacitly agreed not to utter the word "space".
Song Tantan still held back, not fully revealing the secrets of the space to him. "It can just hide a lot of things. My aunt and I share the same space, so we can still meet in it." They share the same space, but their abilities are quite different.
At this moment, Song Tantan suddenly remembered the time when her aunt put the dog into her space and then asked her to take it out. Now she was thinking about whether she should go into her space that night and ask her aunt to put the twins in, and then she could take them out to show her uncle.
However, she wasn't completely out of it. She immediately realized that while she could safely take the baby out, what would happen after that? How would she put the baby back in?
Bringing living creatures into the space will either make them stupid or kill them; she's no different from an executioner.
Sigh, it was all just wishful thinking on her part. Why did her brain suddenly malfunction just now?
Zhong Qingyi only knew that his wife and Song Tantan could use their spatial storage to store things and freely put them in and take them out; he knew nothing else.
He led Song Tantan and Ye Moxun to the next room, which contained only a bed and a small table. It was very simple and no one lived there. It was perfect for storing food. He lived next door so he could hear any noise immediately.
Song Tantan took out 20,000 jin of rice from her space. This was the amount that her space could only grow in two years and four seasons. With so much rice taken out at once, her space only had 40,000 jin of grain left. The rest was sent to the military camp's granary.
"So much, you've really gone to a lot of trouble." Zhong Qingyi was very touched. His wife was afraid that he would go hungry, so she had her niece personally deliver the food and even secretly hid some for him, just in case someone else took it from him.
"Give some to Bai Pingfeng. The grain sent to the granary is all coarse grain, and some of the rice is old rice. Eat well so you'll have the strength to fight. You can go home after we win the battle," Song Tantan said softly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
