boyutpedia Chapter 179 His Majesty the Wu Kingdom’s Personal Expedition
Chapter 179 His Majesty the Wu Kingdom’s Personal Expedition
"Baizhi, it's snowing again." Qin Wan stood in front of the window, looked out, and whispered softly.
Bai Zhi stood silently beside her, also looking at the falling snowflakes, and nodded slightly, "Yes, it's snowing. It snows every year at this time, but this year's snow is much lighter than last year. Maybe it will stop soon."
Qin Wan stretched out her hand, trying to catch the falling snowflakes, watching them fall into her palm one by one and then slowly melt.
Soon, her hands became cold.
Bai Zhi noticed this movement and said softly, "Miss, don't get cold."
She gently held Qin Wan's hand and took it away from the window, while with the other hand she picked up the hot water bottle placed beside her and put it into Qin Wan's hand.
Qin Wan tightly gripped the hot water bottle in her hand, but her eyes remained fixed on the snowy scene outside the window. "I wonder if it's snowing in Anguo as well? I think so."
Her voice was so soft that even Bai Zhi beside her couldn't hear it clearly.
"Miss, what did you just say?"
Qin Wan shook her head, retracted her gaze, and lowered her eyes to look at the hot water bottle in her hand. "Nothing, Bai Zhi, it's been over a year since we came back, right?"
"It's been more than a year."
"That time passed really quickly."
Qin Wan recalled everything that had happened over the past year.
It has been more than a year since I came back here, and Qi Yan'an has been expanding his harem for a year.
Under this double guilt, Qi Yan'an treated her even better. As long as she wanted, he would satisfy her. Now he no longer avoided her in political affairs and even allowed her to participate in politics, giving her supreme power.
As for Qi Yan'an's queen, she had changed three times in just one year.
First she was the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, then she was the granddaughter of the Vice Minister of War, and now she is the second daughter of the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy.
It was also during this period that Qin Wan discovered that Qi Yan'an had changed much more than she had imagined, and was no longer the upright young man he used to be.
In the eyes of outsiders, the frequent changes of queens are the result of open and secret struggles among the women in the palace.
After all, the queen is the head of a palace. Her future children will be legitimate sons, and the possibility of her becoming the crown prince will be much greater. How can such a position not be attractive?
The concubines in the harem are fighting for this piece of fat meat, and the families behind them are also contributing.
Even though it has become a hot potato after three changes, there is still a group of people who want to take this position.
But is this really the case? Qi Yanan must have put in a lot of effort to achieve this result, otherwise they wouldn't be able to fight so fiercely.
Among the three queens, Su Yuning, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, who wanted to sit on this position the most, was never able to do so even once. She and her family put in a lot of effort to dethrone the queen, but in the end, all of it became someone else's wedding dress.
Qi Yan'an is really cruel and ruthless.
Just as Qin Wan was lost in her memories, Qi Yan'an walked in.
"What is Wanwan thinking about?"
Hearing the voice, Qin Wan raised her head as if waking from a dream. "Yan An, the Wu Kingdom has sent many letters asking for help. It seems that their situation is indeed very difficult. Are we really not going to lend a helping hand?"
"This is a thankless task. Look at the Yu Kingdom, they haven't taken any action."
Qi Yan'an slowly approached her, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear, "I guess the Yu Kingdom is planning to wait for the Yue Kingdom to conquer the Wu Kingdom, and then attack the Yue Kingdom when they are short of food and grass. Didn't they steal a batch of high-yield seeds from the An Kingdom some time ago? They are precisely stockpiling food and grass for war preparations."
"By then, we must..."
Qi Yan'an, understanding the meaning in her eyes, reached out and held her hand, his expression very calm. "We'll act according to the situation. All we can do now is to conserve our energy and store more food and supplies."
"Okay, don't think too much. Come with me to look at the plum blossoms outside. When I came here just now, I found that they were all in bloom."
Qin Wan nodded slightly, "Okay."
……
Wu State.
While the Liao Kingdom was still covered in snow, the Wu Kingdom was only experiencing a light rain. The temperature dropped slightly, and some people who were resistant to cold were even wearing autumn clothes.
At this time, in a palace of the Wu State.
"Your Majesty, you want to lead the army in person? This is absolutely not possible. We are not at the end of our rope yet. We have only suffered a temporary defeat. It is far from the point where Your Majesty needs to lead the army in person. Moreover, there is no mercy on the battlefield. What if something goes wrong?" A minister advised anxiously.
The other ministers knelt on the ground and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Xie Chengyun looked at the ministers in front of him, his face darkening. "Then when can I personally lead the army? When the coalition forces enter the capital? When the outcome is already decided?"
The ministers were intimidated by his aura and did not know how to respond for a moment.
Xie Chengyun's decision to lead the army in person was not an impulsive one. It was naturally the result of his careful consideration.
He had considerable experience in marching and fighting, after all, he had served as a military advisor before.
He commanded more than one battle in which he defeated the enemy with superior numbers.
During this period, he also carefully studied the combat tactics and strategies of Chen and Ning.
If he led the army in person, he would have more than 60% chance of success.
Xie Chengyun waved his sleeves fiercely, "No need to say more, I have made up my mind. This time, I will personally lead the army to turn the tide of the war, drive the coalition forces out of Wu's territory, and protect our Wu kingdom!"
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing that His Majesty had made up his mind, no amount of persuasion would do any good. They knelt and saluted, shouting in unison: "Your Majesty is wise! May Your Majesty return triumphantly. Long live the Wu Kingdom!"
The news of Xie Chengyun's personal expedition quickly spread throughout the Wu Kingdom, and the army quickly assembled and prepared to go.
The day before the expedition, Xie Chengyun summoned several trusted ministers.
"While I am on this expedition, I will need your attention to the affairs of the court. During my absence, please ensure that the situation is stable and that the supply of food and military supplies is guaranteed."
The ministers all bowed and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. We will do our best."
"besides……"
A fierce look flashed in Xie Chengyun's eyes. "We must keep a close eye on the deposed emperor. If someone manages to abduct him, we can kill him in the chaos. We can then claim it was just a temporary confusion."
As for Wang Yi, Xie Chengyun had long wanted to get rid of him, but there were still many people loyal to him, and it would be difficult to end it if he was discovered.
Xie Chengyun took a deep breath and continued, "This matter is extremely important. We must not let any news leak out."
The ministers looked serious and responded in unison: "Your Majesty, rest assured. We understand."
On the second day, Xie Chengyun led the army to fight.
At this time on the front line, the coalition forces of An and Yue were celebrating their successful capture of Yong'an Prefecture.
After marching and fighting for a long time, Chen Yuanshu also learned to drink some wine, especially in this cold weather.
The army sitting around the campfire had everyone's face filled with joy after winning the battle.
"This Yong'an Mansion can be considered as a New Year's Eve gift for us." Wang Hu, who was sitting next to Chen Yuanshu, said happily.
Yes, today is New Year’s Eve again.
Although we can't spend the day at home, it's still nice for the soldiers to get together.
Especially the day before, they successfully captured the entire Yong'an Prefecture.
The victory happened to be New Year's Eve the next day, so Chen Yuanshu and General Ning decided to let the armies of both countries rest for three days.
Chen Yuanshu picked up the wine glass and took a sip. The strong liquor went into his throat, bringing a burning sensation.
She looked at the leaping bonfire and listened to the laughter of the soldiers.
That’s great! We are one step closer to world peace.
Intoxicated, Chen Yuanshu picked up a bowl of wine and stood up. "Soldiers, have a peaceful New Year's Eve! May we be reunited with our loved ones in our hometowns by this time next year, sharing peace and prosperity!"
All the soldiers knew that it was extremely difficult to achieve this wish, but that did not prevent them from immersing themselves in this beautiful dream at this moment, on this New Year's Eve.
All the soldiers raised their glasses and shouted in unison, "Let's share peace!"
The rest time is always short. After three days, a new round of siege began.
The battle has been stalemated for almost ten days.
On this day, Chen Yuanshu received the information sent by An Guo, and her face became solemn after reading it.
It only read: His Majesty the King of Wu will personally lead the army and set off on the sixth day of the first lunar month. I hope General Chen will handle it with caution.
When Chen Yuanshu saw this news, General Ning on the other side also received this news from the Kingdom of Yue.