At that time, inside Ji Chenhai's camp.
Two charcoal fires burned fiercely inside the tent. Even with the curtain half-rolled up and the cold wind howling in from outside, the tent was still warm and cozy.
Ji Chenhai held a secret letter in his hand, which was sent by Shang Xiye from the capital.
"Let the Chen family father and son be defeated and sent back, without affecting the overall war situation," Ji Chenhai flicked the report in his hand, a wicked smile playing on his lips: "That's easy."
"To make them retreat in defeat without affecting the overall battle situation, that's easy enough." Wei Shu looked at Ji Chenhai as if he were a monster: "Do you expect the Duke of Chen to lead his men to a grove outside the city and each of them to run into a tree and die?"
Following the prince's father-in-law, he felt his worldview being challenged every day.
Ji Chenhai waved his hand confidently and said, "No need, just have the cooks in the kitchen cook three hundred catties of beef."
Wei Shu: "..."
Old man, are you talking nonsense?
Could giving his own soldiers extra food really lead to the defeat of the Duke of Chen and his son?
Even on the border, the festive atmosphere of the New Year celebrations is palpable.
The soldiers in the barracks have been eating very well lately, with extra meals every day. Except for not being allowed to drink alcohol, they have plenty of hot meat and rice every day!
Of course, this only applies to the soldiers under the command of the Ninth Prince.
The soldiers brought by the Chen family were not so lucky. Their rooms and stoves were temporarily requisitioned or built. They only hoped to have a roof over their heads to avoid being exposed to the sun and rain, but they could not guarantee that the walls would be secure.
The howling cold wind made the house drafty.
The border region is bitterly cold; it's enough to freeze a dog to death.
Lacking food and clothing, the soldiers were like eggplants that had been hit by frost. After finishing their daily training, they would huddle together in the dilapidated house for warmth.
Under such circumstances, the cooks had no interest in cooking.
Every day, they would cook a pot of clear rice porridge with a handful of rice and three ladles of water. Everyone would have a bowl to fill their stomachs, and that was it. There was nothing else. These were all grown men, about 1.78 meters tall, and even a bowl of this clear porridge was hard to keep them alive.
Most of the soldiers in the Chen family were brought from the capital. They were used to a life of comfort and plenty, and suddenly they suffered such hardship. They broke down and cried every day.
The Duke of Chen and his two sons were also not having an easy time:
Their supplies were repeatedly robbed, and resources were scarce. Apart from the fact that the clothes they brought were warm enough, their food was not much better than that of the soldiers below them.
The previous standard of six dishes and two soups, five meat dishes and one vegetable dish per meal has been reduced to one dish and one soup, which is still not enough to fill one's stomach.
If they want to eat meat, they have to hunt it in the mountains.
But with the heavy snow blocking the mountains, how many prey are there for them to hunt?
Chen Xiaoyi had lost a lot of weight and looked pale. The hunger in his stomach made him increasingly irritable: "Father, we can't go on like this; if we keep going like this, we won't even have the strength to walk back to the capital, let alone fight!"
"Then what do you suggest we do? The last time the grain supplies were robbed, you were the one who personally received them, you good-for-nothing!" Duke Chen was both angry and resentful, glaring at Chen Xiaoyi with a huff and a puff of his beard.
They all knew in their hearts that those supplies were most likely stolen by Ji Chenhai and his men, but what was infuriating was that they had never been able to find any useful evidence.
The father and his sons were extremely depressed.
A soldier entered from outside and reported, "General Chen, Marquis Anping has brought a group of people to request an audience."
Chen Guogong was starving and irritable. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "How dare he show his face here! Throw him out! Don't see him!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
