Yuyang City was under martial law. Tens of thousands of Yan soldiers were stationed in the city. Liu Shining, the Prince of Changping, held the commander's seal. As the commander-in-chief, he was respectfully invited into the Governor's Manor by the local garrison.
The Mongolian army was defeated and fled to the upper valley. The soldiers of the An Dynasty did not pursue them for fear of falling into the trap of the Yan army again. Xue Rui did not send troops to pursue them either. The reinforcements from the upper valley had already arrived. It would not be difficult for them to take care of the remaining Mongolian soldiers.
That night, in the most spacious room in the Prefectural Governor's Estate, Xue Rui sat on a low couch with his upper body bare. The brazier beside his feet was burning brightly. Jin Ke stood behind him, and he was swiftly treating the densely packed wounds on Xue Rui's back as he complained.
"I say, you really don't want your life anymore. At that time it was chaos and chaos, you didn't even have time to run for your life, yet you still dared to turn around and capture that Tatar leader. Luckily that arrow missed, otherwise in this life you can forget about seeing that little sister of yours again."
Xue Rui chuckled. His deep eyes flashed. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Why would I not want to die? I just know that Big Brother is secretly protecting me and will not let anything happen to me." In the past year, he had long recognized Jin Ke as a chivalrous brother.
Jin Ke was pleased to hear that he trusted him so much. But he did not let him off the hook. He said, "Next time you put yourself in danger, I will not accompany you."
This time, in order to win Timur's trust, Xue Rui did not hesitate to pretend to be a captive. He also played the trick of injuring himself to gain the trust of the Mongolian army. Only then did he trick the Mongolian army into entering the Yan territory.
After wrapping the bandage around his wound, Xue Rui put on his clothes, picked up the wine jar on the table and took a big gulp from it. The burning knife was strong enough, it was so hot that it burned his chest, yet it just happened to alleviate the pain of his wound. Even though the Tatars' torture methods were far inferior to those tortures that he knew, they were ruthless enough.
However, when he thought that he was one step closer to Anling City, he felt that it was all worth it.
"Don't drink so much." Jin Ke grabbed the jar and shook his head disapprovingly. He did not remember when Xue Rui developed this habit. As long as there was no business, he would get drunk as long as there was wine.
"I will go somewhere else. You should rest. You haven't slept for many days. Aren't you tired?" As soon as Jin Ke finished speaking, he carried the wine jar and left, and he didn't forget to instruct the guards outside to not allow Xue Rui to drink any wine.
The Prefectural Governor's Manor was built in an imposing manner. The East Chamber was connected to a large garden. Once out of the courtyard, there was an exquisitely carved wooden corridor. Jin Ke had only walked a few steps when he saw a few people walking towards him. It was Guard Zhao of Yuyang. Behind him was a steward, followed by two graceful girls. They wore soft fur coats and embroidered hats. They had red lips and rosy cheeks.
"Of of of of of Guards. "Guard Zhao recognized Jin Ke and greeted him with a face full of smiles. Although his position was two ranks higher than Jin Ke's, he was not as close to the Emperor as Jin Ke. Moreover, Jin Ke was Changping Wang's brother of a different surname. He naturally had to be polite.
Jin Ke looked at the two girls behind him and stopped to ask, "Where is Official Zhao going with these people?"
"Oh, I heard that Your Highness is injured. How can there be no one to serve you?" Guard Zhao said with a face of concern, "The maids in my fu are all stupid. Only the daughters of these two concubines are gentle and sweet. I will send them to take care of Your Highness' daily life as a token of my sincerity."
Jin Ke thought to himself: This old fellow can find such an excuse to send his own daughter to warm the bed of his brother. Does he really think that I can't see that he is trying to climb up the social ladder? If Changping Wang was a lecherous person, the girls of Dadu would have already trampled through the doorsill of the wang fu, not to mention that the Princess Royal still hasn't given up.
"I advise Official Zhao to save it," Jin Ke rudely splashed cold water on his face, "My brother is famous for not being close to women. If you want to curry favor with him, you might as well give him a few jars of good wine."
Guard Zhao laughed dryly but didn't back down. He moved to the side and said, "Coach Jin, you may go if you have something to do."
Jin Ke saw that he didn't know how to appreciate kindness and didn't bother to stop him. He turned and left, letting him hit the wall himself. When his figure disappeared around the corner, Guard Zhao finally stopped smiling and turned to instruct his two daughters, "When you see Changping Wang later, learn to be smart.
"When we meet the Changping Prince later, learn to be smart. It'll be your luck if he takes a liking to any of you."
The elder daughter blushed while the younger daughter pouted and said, "Father, you said that Changping Wang is one of the most handsome men in Dadu. Even the princess likes him. You aren't lying to me, are you? If I see an ugly monster with a bull's head and a tiger's face later, I won't agree. "
The people of Yuyang were open-minded and the girls were sensible at a young age. They weren't ashamed to marry men and women.
Guard Zhao laughed, "I'm just afraid that you won't leave when you see him."
The father and daughters had their wishful thinking. Who would have thought that when they arrived at the East Wing, they wouldn't even be able to see Xue Rui's face.
*
*
*
The army led by Feng Xiao got off to a bad start. They lost their first battle, and it was at the hands of the Tatars. Before Feng Xiao could worry about how to send the battle report to the capital, they inexplicably fought another battle. It was a pincer attack with the Yan army against the Mongolian army.
In the end, they won, but Feng Xiao was filled with anger. This was probably because he found out from the captured Mongolian generals that he was working for the Yan army for free, and all of this was planned by the Yan army's commander, the Prince of Changping, Liu Shining.
Feng Xiao had nowhere to vent his anger. He knew that Liu Shining had retreated to Yuyang City, but he didn't dare to send troops to attack in a short period of time. He was afraid that it was a trap. He had been leading troops for twenty years, but he had never seen someone as cunning as Feng Xiao.
Therefore, Yin Yuanrong, who had lost the first battle, asked for permission to go out to battle, but was rejected by Feng Xiao. Feng Xiao turned around and wrote a battle report and a memorial to the throne. He sent it to the capital at top speed.
.....
Three days later, the news of victory from Dingzhou reached the capital. It said that the Yan rebels had colluded with the Mongolians and fought with the army of Yuyang County. As a result, the Mongolian army was defeated and retreated. The Yan army also retreated to Yuyang City and didn't dare to go out to battle.
Emperor Chongzhen announced this victory in court. All the officials were excited. They all thought that the recovery of Yan was in sight. Only a few people noticed that something was wrong, but they didn't point it out in public.
After the court was dismissed, Emperor Chongzhen asked Yu Shu to stay and went to the Hall of Tranquil Peace. Yu Shu followed him silently with a strange look in her eyes. When they arrived at the study room one after the other, Emperor Chongzhen's expression could no longer remain calm. He fiercely threw the report that Feng Xiao had sent back to the capital on the imperial desk, then picked up a memorial and threw it in front of Yu Shu.
"Read it first."
Yu Shu calmly picked up the memorial and flipped it open to read the content. When she saw the part about Prince of Changping, Liu Shining, luring the Mongolian army into the valley, she was slightly stunned.
Emperor Chong Zhen said angrily, "Since when did Jiang Huai Ying have such a person by his side? We have never heard of such a person before. It is precisely this unknown Prince of Changping who has managed to toy with our hundred thousand troops!"
But Yu Shu clearly knew the real identity of this Prince of Changping.
"I should have listened to your idea and waited for the Mongolians to fight with the Yan traitors first," Emperor Chongzhen said regretfully, "Now I've been used by them, eliminating a problem."
He didn't study the art of war for nothing. Now that things have come to this, how could he not know that the Mongolians are afraid of the 'alliance' of the Imperial Court and the Yan army? They won't make a comeback in a short period of time. Yu Shu's suggestion of 'waiting for the Mongolians to tire themselves out' is invalid. This was also why he called Yu Shu to the study alone. It was difficult to talk about it in front of others.
Emperor Chongzhen reflected on himself. Yu Shu wasn't stupid enough to regret it with him. She didn't blame the Emperor but advised, "Your Majesty, please don't be impatient. Let me think of a countermeasure."
Emperor Chongzhen calmed down and sat down to drink tea. At the same time, he gave her a seat.
Yu Shu sat down and thought for a moment before saying, "All is fair in war. General Feng isn't to be blamed for the battle at Yuyang. Your Majesty shouldn't be in a hurry to reprimand him. Instead, you should reward him and stabilize the army's morale. Moreover, the defeat of the Mongolians isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least this way, the Yan army can't ally with the Tatars to fight against the Imperial Court. Yuyang City is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Feng Xiao's army is stationed in Dingzhou. Right now, it's just a waste of food. Yesterday, I predicted that in ten days, there will be a heavy snowfall in the north. I'm afraid there will be a snow disaster. It won't be good for our army. Why don't we withdraw half of our 100,000 soldiers to avoid losses? We can wait until the weather warms up next year. "
Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment. Although he felt that everything she said was reasonable, he didn't want to show weakness to the Yan. For a moment, he was in a dilemma.
Seeing this, Yu Shu couldn't help but sigh in her heart. The Emperor was skilled in both the pen and the sword. It was a pity that he was born with an indecisive personality. He was cold-blooded, but he couldn't bend. Thus, she continued to advise.
"The Yan army is good at fighting in a world of ice and snow. Our army is afraid of the cold. Once the snow doesn't melt, we will be in a passive position. The Yan army can't take the initiative to attack." Since they couldn't attack the city and couldn't fight, what was the point of staying there?
"Ah, fine. I'll do as you say."
"Your Majesty is wise."
.....
After leaving the palace, Yu Shu sat in the carriage in a daze. Her mind was filled with the words "Prince of Changping, Liu Shining." This was the first time she heard news of Xue Rui since they parted. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't excited at all.
Counting the days, it had been almost a year since they parted. Even if she didn't think about him day and night, she still thought about him and remembered the promise he made that day.
But at that time, she was still a chess piece that could be manipulated by others. Her life and death were not in her hands. Now, she was standing at the top of the Celestial Commissioner, looking down on everyone.
She wondered if he also heard news of her. What would he think?
Yu Shu shook her head and smiled. She felt that she was thinking too far ahead.
The carriage stopped in front of the Celestial Commissioner's door. Yu Shu got into a sedan and was carried to Taixi Tower. She spent more time in the Celestial Commissioner's office than at home. It wasn't because the Minister of Justice was too busy, but because there were people asking to see her every day. She had to make decisions about everything, big or small.
When she arrived at Taixi Tower, a black-robed guard reported to her before she stepped onto the bridge. "The female prisoner in the dungeon still wants to see you. She killed herself by biting her tongue this morning."
He was talking about Ji Xingxuan. Yu Shu frowned and asked him, "Is she dead?"
"I saved her in time."
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