Chapter 117

 

Prince Jing and Prince Yu led hundreds of thousands of rebels to fight and retreat, while Ling Rucheng led the imperial army to fight and chase.

In mid-Eight Month, the rebels were severely beaten by a total of 150,000 coalition troops from the five provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, Shandong, and South Zhili who had ambushed them on their retreat. Most of their troops were lost, but the two princes did not die here. Guo Jixian made a dangerous move and led more than 60,000 elite troops to support the two princes and break out of the siege of the imperial army. With their familiarity with the terrain of Henan, they were able to escape from the imperial army several times.

As the defeat of the rebels was certain, the imperial court ordered the coalition forces from the five provinces to withdraw to their original positions, and Ling Rucheng led 140,000 troops from North Zhili to continue chasing the rebels.

This pursuit lasted from Eight Month to early Tenth Month.

During this period, Guo Jixian repeatedly arranged several teams of a hundred people to pretend to escort the two princes to escape first. Ling Rucheng knew that it was fake but still had to send troops and horses to separate routes to intercept, in case the two princes were really hiding in those team.

Guo Jixian’s tactics could only slightly delay the encirclement and suppression by the imperial army. By the beginning of Tenth Month, the rebels had only 40,000 elite soldiers out of 60,000, and they could be wiped out at any time.

Prince Jing, Prince Yu, and Guo Jixian were refused to be executed and still resisted stubbornly. Finally, the rebels rushed all the way to Wuduo Mountain in the northwest of Nanyang Prefecture.

Night fell again.

In the commander-in-chief’s tent, after dinner, Ling Rucheng stood in front of the sand table, while Zhao Zeqing, Huang Lang, Chen Jingzong and the other generals stood in a circle around the sand table.

Ling Rucheng pointed to a large area of ​​lofty mountains behind Wuduo Mountain and said: “This is Funiu Mountain. The terrain is steep and treacherous. Once the rebels are allowed to escape, ending the war will have to be delayed for at least two or three months. Therefore, our army must send a few vanguard to separate routes and assemble at the Black Dragon Pond between Wuduo Mountain and Funiu Mountain, strictly defend it and not giving any chance to the rebels.”

All the generals were willing to go.

Wuduo Mountain should be the last battle to quell the rebellion. Ling Rucheng intended to let young generals like Chen Jingzong and Qi Jin perform meritorious service, and then appointed six other commanders in their thirties, asking each of them to lead 5,000 men. They would go around different mountain roads to the meeting point at dawn tomorrow.

Because the mountain roads were rugged and they might even encounter dead ends and need to turn back and change roads, the 40,000 troops should be spread out at a certain distance, the marching speed would be faster, and it would be easier to find where the rebels were hiding.

“In case any team of troops encounters the main force of the rebels, don’t confront them head-on. First, send out smoke signal as a warning, then rendezvous with nearby troops. I will immediately lead the army to outflank them.”

“Yes!”

Chen Jingzong and the other seven commanders first left the commander-in-chief’s tent and went to inform the guards they led.

After the preparation was done, all that was left was to preserve their stamina. When Chen Jingzong walked back, he wanted to say something to her, but he saw that the lights in the grand princess’s tent had been turned off and it was dark.

Chen Jingzong shook his head and returned to his tent.

Almost as soon as he came in and took a drink of water, Zhou Ji came over.

After entering the camp and meeting Prince Consort, Zhou Ji took out another set of official uniforms of the grand princess’s personal guard from his bulging arms, then explained to the puzzled Prince Consort: “Princess has something important to discuss with Prince Consort tonight. In order to avoid misunderstanding by others, she also asked Prince Consort to pretend to be this subordinate.”

Chen Jingzong understood. He took off his armor and robe without any expression and put on Zhou Ji’s suit.

Zhou Ji asked Chen Jingzong to go over first.

When Chen Jingzong was invited into the grand princess’s tent by Wu Run, Zhou Ji calculated the time and reappeared, standing dutifully outside the tent to keep watch for the grand princess.

It was pitch dark inside the tent, but once his eyes got used to the darkness, he could see everything clearly.

Chao Yun and Chao Yue’s mattresses were laid out in the outer tent. The two maids knew that the Prince Consort was coming, so they stood still and gently motioned for him to go in directly.

Chen Jingzong had an inexplicable and strange feeling of clandestine affair. It was obviously a princess he was marrying through a matchmaker.

Fortunately, Chen Jingzong was a contented person, and some stealing was better than nothing.

He lifted the curtain and walked in.

Hua Yang was sitting on the bed, watching the tall black figure walk in. Even though she knew it must be him, she was still a little nervous and asked, “Have you had dinner?”

Chen Jingzong walked to her bedside, looked at her dark figure and asked, “What if I haven’t eaten? Are you going to make me a meal then?”

She was the one that want to have a secret meeting, so he didn’t believe that she could still ask the maids to cook for him.

Hua Yang pointed to the table next to him: “The day after tomorrow is your birthday. Normally I would prepare longevity noodles for you tomorrow. But I guess you will go into the mountains to search for the rebels tomorrow, and you may go out of the mountain after the battle, so I prepares them for you now.”

Chen Jingzong was silent, and after a while he said frivolously: “I even forgot, but you’re still thinking about me.”

At another time, Hua Yang would definitely not admit it and would instead shift the blame, claiming that it was Wu Run or the maids who acted on their own initiative.

But tonight, she was willing to make him happy.

“Eat it quickly, it’s probably a little sticky.”

Chen Jingzong was not used to her being like this. He walked to the table, opened the food box, and saw a small bowl inside.

He subconsciously said in disgust: “This little bit is not enough to fill the space between my teeth.”

Hua Yang: “I know you’ve eaten. If I prepare a big bowl for you, I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep.”

Chen Jingzong was noncommittal. Because the bowl was small and he didn’t find a chair to sit on, he just held the bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. In the blink of an eye, he drank down every drop of the soup.

“There’s everything over there at the washstand. Clean up and come up.”

Hua Yang said while laying down.

Chen Jingzong’s only response was his suddenly heavier breathing.

Hua Yang watched as he quickly undressed and then proceeded to the washstand, where he brushed his teeth, washed his face, hair, and body in one smooth sequence.

He wiped his hair half-dry randomly and tied it up on top of his head to prevent his long hair from falling down and getting in the way.

When he walked towards the bed, Hua Yang could almost hear her own heartbeat.

She moved inside.

Even though she had a distinguished status, it was impossible for her to bring out the big bed from the grand princess mansion while following the army. The bed she was using now was a narrow wooden bed that could be taken apart when leaving camp and put back together when setting up camp.

When Chen Jingzong lay down on it, the wooden bed, which did not look very strong, made a creaking sound.

Hua Yang’s heart tightened: “How about you lie down on the felt carpet below?”

Chen Jingzong pulled her into his arms and breathed heavily: “Don’t worry, your bed is stronger than mine. My bed creaks every day, and it’s still firm after sleeping for three months. Yours definitely won’t collapse. Besides, you unlikely let me to do anything else.”

While he was talking, Hua Yang had already nestled in his arms. His deep voice resonated from above her head, a familiarity she had long grown accustomed to.

Hua Yang hugged him.

When they met during the day, she could see that he had become more tan and thinner. It was only when her hand touched his shoulder that she realized that he was still as strong as she remembered.

What surged in her heart was warmth current, but Chen Jingzong suddenly turned over, grabbed her two wrists and lifted them up.

Hua Yang didn’t quite understand why he always liked this. If she used to push him away with disgust when they first got married, she wouldn’t do so anymore in this lifetime.

“Miss me so much.”

After kissing her for a while, Chen Jingzong whispered in her ear.

Hua Yang’s whole body felt hot. She grabbed his hand and said, “Aren’t you going to go into the mountains tomorrow? Just go to bed early.”

Chen Jingzong: “If you really want me to go to bed early, you shouldn’t ask me to come over.”

Hua Yang:……

No matter what he did, Hua Yang tried to talk to him: “What are Commander Ling’s plans for tomorrow?”

Chen Jingzong mentioned it absently and noticed that she stiffened for a moment. Chen Jingzong kissed her: “Don’t worry, the rebels will definitely not be able to escape this time. We will go to Black Dragon Pond to intercept them, and we shouldn’t encounter any danger.”

Hua Yang hugged his hand and said, trembling slightly, “Do you know why I had to call you here tonight?”

With one hand supporting the bed frame and the other hand motionless, Chen Jingzong looked at her eyes shimmering with moisture in the darkness and asked, “Why?”

Hua Yang also looked at him and whispered: “In addition to celebrating your birthday, more importantly, your old lady gave me another dream last night. In the dream, you also went to Black Dragon Pond as Commander Ling arranged, but in a place called Baihe Ridge, you encountered an ambush by the rebels…”

Speaking until here, there was a hint of choking in her voice.

Chen Jingzong seemed unaware: “Something happened to me?”

Hua Yang: “Hmm, I saw you lying in a pool of blood, and all the people you brought with you were also killed.”

Her breathing was obviously not right. Chen Jingzong touched her face. It was wet, and the tears fell down like rain, flowing continuously.

Chen Jingzong lifted her up, sitting with her resting her head on his arm.

He wiped her tears with his cuffs. Even when the cuffs on both sides were heavily wet, she was still crying.

Chen Jingzong coaxed: “It’s just a dream, it’s not real.”

Hua Yang didn’t like his tone of voice: “How it’s not real? Have you forgot the flood in your hometown and the account book in your second aunt’s hand? Do you dare to say that your old lady is incompetent?”

Chen Jingzong: “Okay, okay, she is smart, she is smarter than the gods.”

Hua Yang: “Then how are you going to deal with it tomorrow? In the dream, the reinforcements arrived too late and couldn’t make it in time.”

Chen Jingzong thought for a moment and asked, “Do you know how many people lay ambush in Baihe Ridge?”

Hua Yang: “I can’t see clearly. The old lady said they have ten thousand men, with three thousand ambushing on both sides of the cliff to shoot arrows, and seven thousand ready to intercept from both ends.”

Chen Jingzong: “That’s easy. I’ll arrange for ten thousand more people. We’ll pretend to be trapped in the front, and those ten thousand people will be the oriole.”

Hua Yang: “Where will you get ten thousand people?”

Chen Jingzong: “Our vanguard on the right route has four guard stations. After setting off, I will ask two of them to follow me. We share a life-and-death bond, plus with my relationship with you, they will definitely listen to me. In case they don’t, I’ll shamelessly followed one of the guard stations and avoided the Baihe Ridge section, and I’ll still be safe.”

Hua Yang still felt it was not reassuring enough.

Chen Jingzong: “Don’t worry, I trust the old lady and I’ll take my own life seriously.”

Hua Yang wanted to say something else, but Chen Jingzong kissed her very hard.

In the end, Hua Yang fell asleep because of the exhaustion, but even if she fell asleep, she still leaned tightly in Chen Jingzong’s arms. When Chen Jingzong tried to move, and she immediately followed.

Chen Jingzong smiled and touched her messy hair.

After two months of guessing, he had guessed all the good-looking and important people in the military camp. Seeing that the war was about to end, Chen Jingzong almost thought that he had thought too much and had wronged her.

Unexpectedly, the person who made her foolishly follow the army for so long was actually himself!

It was a pity that he didn’t hold a lamp and see her tearful eyes.

After feeling regretful, Chen Jingzong looked at the dark tent ceiling.

Baihe Ridge?

There were eight guard stations in total, and Daxing Left Guard would take a route that passed through the outskirt of Wuduo Mountain. How could the rebels ambush them precisely on their essential route?

The next day, it was still dark outside, and Chen Jingzong was about to get up. He wanted to sneak back to his tent.

But just as he tried to get his arm out of Hua Yang’s arms, Hua Yang woke up.

Chen Jingzong explained: “It’s time for me to go.”

Hua Yang quickly regained her clarity and hugged his arm tightly again: “Do you remember everything I told you last night?”

Chen Jingzong knew that she cared about him very much, and said seriously: “Remember. I will definitely come back with my beard and tail intact, and I will never let you become a widow for me.”

Although his tone was serious, Hua Yang still felt that he was teasing her.

Hua Yang checked with him again and made sure he remembered the location of Baihe Ridge, as well as the location and number of the ambush troops, before Hua Yang slowly let go.

Chen Jingzong went to rinse his mouth, and when he came back, he lifted her into his arms and kissed her fiercely.

When Hua Yang could no longer stand, Chen Jingzong held her hot face and said, “If I come back with meritorious service, will you be willing to break the rule for me?”

Hua Yang didn’t speak.

Chen Jingzong: “You answered me, if I broke my leg…”

Hua Yang covered his mouth.

There was no need him to break his leg, as long as he came back safely, she would give it to him no matter how many times.

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