Chapter 16 Dilemma
The snow outside the Great Wall was particularly heavy, and even Shengjing, thousands of miles away, was snowing heavily.
Jiang Lianzhi left the Ministry of Revenue and the carriage drove along Zhongbao Street.
The roads were slippery due to the snow and there were many pedestrians on the street, so the carriage could not move forward. As it was moving, it suddenly stopped completely.
The attendant Gao Jin lifted the curtain and said, "Sir, I'm afraid the traffic will be blocked for a while. Sanwei Tower is right next to us. Do you want to go up and rest for a while?"
Jiang Lianzhi stuck his head out to look and saw someone's horse lying across the road, numb from the cold, and refusing to move no matter how hard the whip was applied. The road was blocked by passing vehicles.
Jiang Lianzhi simply got out of the car, and when he stepped into Sanweilou, he happened to see the waiter serving food to a table. There was a small dish of pineapple cakes on the tray.
Jiang Lianzhi paused for a moment, then went upstairs and sat down under the guidance of the waiter.
"Are there any fresh pineapple cakes left?"
The waiter smiled and said, "What a coincidence, sir! They are all freshly cooked. May I serve you a portion?"
Jiang Lianzhi said, "Pack them carefully in food boxes. If there are any sweet-scented osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut flour cakes, pine nut and lily cakes, etc., pack some and send them over."
The waiter nodded in agreement and soon brought an exquisite wooden food box.
Jiang Lianzhi opened the lid and looked at the snacks in the food box silently.
In the past, Chen Yu took medicine all year round and loved sweets, so her home always had her favorite snacks.
Jiang Lianzhi took a piece from the food box and took a bite. He found it too sweet. He didn't like sweet food. Maybe it was because Ayu had suffered too much that she wanted such sweetness.
"You are fast, please deliver the food box to the general's residence."
Gao Jin knew who he was giving it to, and he felt unhappy, but he still set off quickly.
Food and clothes were delivered to the General's Mansion every few days, but the eldest Miss Shen never came out to see her. Every time, it was the second Miss Shen who came to deliver messages. She was really arrogant.
When Gao Jin came back after delivering the things, the road was clear.
Jiang Lianzhi got on the carriage and asked, "Was it the Second Miss who came out to pick us up today? Did she say she's feeling better?"
"Yes," Gao Jin said, "Second Miss said that the eldest lady's illness has improved a lot, but she just doesn't like to go out. However, today Second Miss brought a message to the eldest lady."
Jiang Lianzhi raised his eyes, "What did you say?"
Gao Jin said, "They said don't send any more things. I want to ask you, sir, is there any news from Yanliang Pass?"
Jiang Lianzhi frowned. Tomorrow is October 27th. Shen Zhongan will be defeated on this day. In a few days, Shen Yu will go to collect the bodies of her father and brother. Her accident happened on the way.
He had to stop her this time, at least to keep her in good health, because he still wanted to be with her for many more years.
…
There was a raging snowstorm outside the Great Wall, which actually crushed several tents last night. Fortunately, the people underneath were fine.
When they woke up in the morning, the army had already begun to move their camp back to the interior of the country.
Shen Yu blackened her face and eyebrows again and followed Shen Zhao.
beside.
Then a soldier came running over in a hurry, "General, the military supervisor, Sir Liang, is missing."
Shen Zhao looked stern, "What's going on?"
The soldier said, "The guard at the camp gate said that just as the sky was beginning to turn, Lord Liang led his troops towards Yanliang Pass."
Chen Zhao waved his hand, "Go after him and see if you can get him back."
The military supervisor is equivalent to a recruit placed by Shengjing in the army. Liang Jianfang has done nothing since he entered the camp. He stays in his tent all day and has people serve him good wine and food. The army has been short of rations these days and he has complained several times. Such a coward will be a useless person if he stays in the army.
This place is over a hundred miles away from Yanliang Pass. A day's march in the snow would take at most fifty miles. The remaining rations can only last until Yanliang Pass, and there is no guarantee of further supplies. I'm afraid we will have to go hungry for a few days to get through this battle.
The snow finally stopped in the evening of the second day.
Outside Yanliang Pass, the land is flat and you can see the brown city walls standing in the snow from a distance.
Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The army was finally able to enter the pass before sunset. The three armies would rest tonight and everyone could have a good sleep, but the days of hunger were still ahead.
Two scouts were riding their horses towards us from the direction of Yanliang Pass.
He dismounted and knelt on one knee, saying, "General, the gate of Yanliang Pass is tightly closed. I have shown the token, but the guards refuse to open the gate."
Shen Zhongan gripped the reins tightly, raised his chin towards Shen Zhao, and the two led a team of soldiers forward.
Chen Yu felt very uneasy.
I have clearly successfully avoided the fatal battle in my previous life, so there is no reason for the constant panic in my heart.
After walking another two miles, they received news that they should set up camp here, which was less than five miles from the city gate.
There were only five miles left, but they didn't enter the city. The soldiers began to speculate.
Shen Yu rode her horse to catch up, and when she got closer, she heard Shen Zhongan cursing.
"Tell Liang Jianfang to open the door!"
Liang Jianfang stood on the tower and said loudly: "General Shen, it's not that I won't open the gate, but before the troops were dispatched, His Majesty ordered that this battle must be won. Now that the two sides are deadlocked, there is no reason for our army to retreat."
Shen Zhongan was furious. Before he could say anything, the deputy general beside him started cursing, "Damn it, the baggage can't keep up, so I have to fight on the front line, while you wimps who can't even lift a knife are hiding in the city and enjoying the good life."
"You are trying to force us to death. We have no food now. If Xijue attacks at this time, we will be dead. If our front line is breached, do you think you can escape by hiding in the city?"
"How dare you!" Liang Jianfang shouted from the tower, "As the military supervisor, I can arrest you immediately if you spread rumors and confuse the people."
"Come down and get me now." Deputy General Cao Gu shouted, "If you don't come out, you are a grandson."
There were constant curses coming from the city gate, but the gate remained motionless.
As the sky gradually darkened, bonfires were lit in the camp.
Shen Zhongan stood on a small mound of earth and could see the faint light of torches on the Yanliang Pass gate in the distance.
On the first day, the army was out of food and the city gates were not opened.
On the second day, the soldiers in the army were already looking haggard due to hunger. Everyone was resting and recuperating, and could only reduce activities as much as possible to conserve energy.
On the third day, the city gates were still closed...
Chen Zhao lifted the curtain and walked out of the tent, and found Chen Yu sitting blankly on the mound.
"What exactly is Liang Jianfang planning?" Shen Yu asked after he sat down.
Shen Zhao pulled the snow and pulled a dry grass, "The idea of forcing us to death, several forces in the capital are fighting, we are likely to become consumables in their internal fighting, or Liang Jianfang will be the internal ghost of Xijue."
Just as Shen Yu was about to ask again, Shen Zhao said "hush", took out a paper bag from his lapel, spread it out, and handed it to her like offering a treasure, "Are you hungry?"
Chen Yu stared blankly at the corn bun, and Chen Zhao handed it forward again, "Eat it."
Shen Yu took it and broke it into two halves, but Shen Zhao refused to take it.
"If you don't eat it, I won't eat it either," she said.
Shen Zhao curled his lips and smiled, picked up the corn steamed bun and took a bite, and then Shen Yu started to eat.
It doesn't taste good, it's cold, hard, and even a little dry, and you can feel the rough texture scraping across your throat when you swallow it.
The two of them finished eating the steamed buns in the night and the cold wind.
"I will send a small team to you tomorrow. Let Kong Qing follow you. You will go all the way north to the fiefdom of King Beilin, and then take a detour back to the capital."
Chen Yu remained silent. She could tell that this was equivalent to making arrangements for her final affairs.
No, she tried so hard, why couldn't she prevent the tragedy from happening?
After these two days, they all discovered a fact that they had to admit.
If they lose this battle, it will not be a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster. It was a dead end as early as when they set out from Shengjing.
Some people want them to die and lose.
But she is just a mortal after all. She can find a way to avoid the deadly battle, but she can't stop the hands that stab them in the back, because you can't judge where those people will stab next.
Chen Yu turned her face away, "I won't leave."
"Listen to my brother." Shen Zhao advised.
Chen Yu said firmly: "We will attack the city tomorrow. There are less than 10,000 garrisons in the city, so it will be no problem to take Yanliang Pass."
Shen Zhao smiled bitterly, "Raising a knife against your own people?"
"They are not our people at all! They want us to die!"
"But the people are not like that," Shen Zhao said with an indescribably cool look in his eyes, "Once we attack the city, we will become rebels."
"Then we will lead the army around." Chen Yu couldn't think so much now, and whatever thoughts came to her mind came out all at once.
Chen Zhao said: "You also said that there are less than 10,000 garrison troops in the city. If we go around them, the Western Jue people can go straight to Yanliang Pass. What about the hundreds of thousands of people in the pass?"
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