boyutpedia Chapter 229 The troops are approaching the city
Chapter 229 The troops are approaching the city
Wen Yuxia nodded in agreement, “Brother Rui, don’t worry, I know what’s important.”
The following morning, Wen Yuxia led the supply convoy toward the perilous pass, while Nangong Wenrui took advantage of the small world to go to Lanzhu Kingdom.
Two days later, Wen Yuxia and her party arrived safely in Lucheng. General Yang was overjoyed upon hearing the news and personally came from the formidable pass to welcome them.
"Your Highness, it is an honor to have you grace us with your presence. I am deeply sorry for failing to greet you properly. Please forgive me," he said with an upright demeanor, bowing respectfully, his words revealing his reverence and awe for Wen Yuxia.
However, when General Yang suggested that with a major battle imminent, it was unlucky for a woman to enter the military camp, and hoped that Wen Yuxia would handle the handover with him in the city, Wen Yuxia smiled calmly and declined his suggestion.
After Xia Yichen ascended the throne, in order to save on transportation costs, the rations needed by soldiers in various regions were no longer sent from the capital, but were instead directly handed over to the prefectural governments for distribution.
The Ministry of Revenue would calculate the required rations for the soldiers and deduct them from the taxes paid by the state governments. The state governments were responsible for providing the soldiers with rations regularly.
In special circumstances, such as war or famine, the emperor would send people to deliver military rations from afar. Before a war broke out, Wen Yuxia would never hand over the rations to General Yang.
"His Majesty's order is that the provisions will be temporarily kept by this princess. In the event of war, the provisions will be sent to the military camp; in the absence of war, the provisions will return to the capital with this princess," Wen Yuxia's words were calm yet firm.
Upon hearing this, General Yang gave a helpless smile. The military rations sent by the imperial court were refined grains, while the rations provided by the prefectures were generally half coarse grains and half refined grains.
Prefect He, that old fox, always finds various excuses to use coarse grains as military rations. When the imperial court finally sends us fine rice, we can only look at it but not eat it.
"Your humble servant respectfully obeys Your Majesty's command," General Yang knelt on one knee and bowed towards the direction of the capital, then said calmly, "Your humble servant has arranged tents near the military camp. Princess, please."
It was safer to keep the grain carts under his watchful eye. Before coming, he had made two preparations: if he got the grain, he would arrange for Wen Yuxia and the others to rest in the city; if he didn't get the grain, he would move the people and carts to the vicinity of the military camp.
Wen Yuxia nodded slightly, and Nan Yi, who was next to her, raised his right hand and waved it forcefully, shouting loudly, "Let's go!"
General Yang led Wen Yuxia and the others out of the city gate, heading towards Feixian Pass. They walked less than ten li (approximately 5 kilometers) after leaving the city.
Wen Yuxia wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, surprised by the drastic temperature difference between the city and the outside. General Yang, seeing this, explained, "Princess, you may not know this, but inside the city, a master has performed rituals to block the cold air, while outside, the cold air blows directly into the city."
Wen Yuxia didn't know if there was a master who could do it, but she remembered what the local people said when she traveled there in her previous life: "The weather can be different every ten miles."
Throughout the journey, Wen Yuxia rode hundreds of miles along the official road against the cold wind, yet a faint smile remained on her face. General Yang admired her but also felt that he hadn't considered things carefully when arranging her accommodations.
Wen Yuxia was an escort officer sent by the imperial court and also held the title of princess; she was no ordinary woman. General Yang felt it was inappropriate to refuse her entry into the military camp.
Before long, the group arrived at the camp gate. General Yang said somewhat apologetically, "Princess, your tent is right next door... why don't you stay in the camp?"
Wen Yuxia calmly replied, "I'll stay next door." General Yang disliked women in the military camp, and she didn't want to risk offending him.
Wen Yuxia and the others settled down next to the military camp. On the night the black market entrance to Lanzhu Kingdom closed, Nangong Wenrui arrived at the Tianxian Pass military camp.
Looking at the newly erected tents next door, Nangong Wenrui was puzzled. He asked the soldiers guarding the gate and learned that Wen Yuxia and the others had not entered the military camp but had been arranged by General Yang to stay next door.
Nangong Wenrui, who originally intended to go to the military camp to provide General Yang with information on Gu Xiao and the movements of the 200,000-strong army, abandoned his meddlesome thoughts and turned to walk towards the adjacent tent.
"You're back," Wen Yuxia said, leaning back in her chair, engrossed in a sketchbook. Hearing familiar footsteps, she knew without looking that it was Nangong Wenrui.
“Hmm,” Nangong Wenrui’s voice carried a hint of pleasure. He walked over to Wen Yuxia, sat down, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip.
General Yang treated Wen Yuxia poorly, and Nangong Wenrui didn't tell General Yang about Gu Xiao's plan to attack the city that night. Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to tell Wen Yuxia that he knew about it.
After briefly explaining the situation in the black market, Nangong Wenrui turned off the light and went to bed to chat with Wen Yuxia about life.
As dawn approached, Wen Yuxia was awakened by a series of "thump, thump, thump" sounds. Turning her head, she saw that Nangong Wenrui, who had been sleeping beside her, was nowhere to be seen.
Listening carefully, Wen Yuxia could hear not only the sounds of impact but also fighting. She frowned slightly; this was a siege. She quickly dressed and left the tent.
Seeing Nan Yi and his group standing quietly outside her tent, with the Nangong family guards holding long swords on the left, right, and back of the tent,
Within the Nangong family, only the patriarch, the current patriarch, and the young patriarch can mobilize the guards. No one else, including the patriarch's wife, has the authority to do so.
It was Nangong Wenrui, the young master of the family, who ordered the Nangong family guards to protect her here. Wen Yuxia was somewhat moved and asked softly, "Bei Yi, where did the Marquis of Zhennan go?"
“My son-in-law has gone to assist General Yang in defending the city, leaving us here to protect our master,” Bei Yi reported truthfully, then turned to Wen Yuxia: “Master, shall we go and take a look over at the city wall?”
"I'm not going," Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, shaking her head.
The war has just begun, and who will win or lose is still unknown. She will not give General Yang, who looks down on women, a chance to shift the blame after his defeat. Unless General Yang invites her, she will absolutely not go to the city wall to watch the battle.
The quick-witted Nan Qi knew that General Yang's discriminatory attitude towards women yesterday had displeased Wen Yuxia. "Master, may I go and help the son-in-law?"
Nan Qi's true intention was to check the battle situation, not to offer help. Wen Yuxia knew exactly what Nan Qi was thinking, and she said with a faint smile, "Go!"
Nan Qi went quickly and returned quickly. As soon as he got back, he gave a brief account of the battle situation at the city gate.
Gu Xiao's 200,000-strong army advanced rapidly towards the formidable Tianxian Pass under cover of night. By the time the guards on the city walls discovered them, the army was already at the city gates.
Gu Xiao ordered his soldiers to use rolling logs to ram the city walls and to build ladders to climb them. General Yang did not open the city gates to meet the enemy, but instead used defensive structures such as arrow towers, rolling stones, and boiling water to prevent the enemy from climbing the city walls.
"Master, hurry and help! The young master has jumped off the city wall to meet the enemy!" Nan Qi had barely finished speaking when he was met with angry glares from everyone.
He reacted quickly, chuckling sheepishly, "Hehe, I got the order wrong, sorry, we should have talked about the son-in-law first."
Wen Yuxia calmly said, "Let's go take a look."