Imperial Daughter Heads South
News from the capital very quickly reached Ji An Prefecture. The case involving the mine was related to the eighth prince, and it was not that easy to try, but the matter of transporting military supplies had been handed over to the second prince, Xuan Tian Ling. This allowed her to let out a sigh of relief.
Although the eighth prince’s faction would not remain inactive in the background, they could only try to cause trouble along the way. It would not be to the point of completely cutting off the supply chain, nor would it be as easy as just hoarding it all.
But Feng Yu Heng still needed to go South. She had received a letter from Xuan Tian Ming by eagle, and she knew that the first battle had been concluded very beautifully. At the same time, a large amount of ammunition had been expended. She needed to go and replenish the supplies. The more the battle extended forward, the more difficult it became to acclimate for the soldiers from Da Shun. She felt that preparing a large amount of ammunition beforehand was a good display of foresight. The reason that Da Shun did not have much of a way of dealing with Gu Shu over the years was the most important reason; the soldiers of Da Shun were not suited to fighting in that sort of climate.
The heat could not compare to the cold. No matter how cold Qian Zhou became, one could just put on more clothes, but in the desert, even if one stripped completely, they would still feel hot. Not to mention the idea of going to fight a battle, it was truly too unbearable.
She began to prepare in Ji An Prefecture. The main arrangements were instructions for what needed to be done after she left. Fortunately, the sixth prince would be present to take charge, thus she simply handed over management duties for the prefecture and the mine to the sixth prince. The matters in the manor would also be left to Xu shi and Qin shi. The shops outside were handed to Xiang Rong and Bai Fu Rong.
The girls did not have any objections, but the sixth prince said with a very helpless expression: “I fled from the capital to Ji An Prefecture, but I still could not get away from these things. Younger sister, you need to return quickly. Not to hide it from you, but sixth brother is not suited to such things.”
The two had interacted more, and Feng Yu Heng had gained more of an understanding of the sixth prince as a person. She knew that Xuan Tian Feng was telling the truth, thus she felt embarrassed and said: “I don’t have any other choice. Sixth prince, be a bit more magnanimous! You also saw it. I truly don’t have many people available, and I would feel uneasy if I did not go to the South. Feng Jin Yuan has also set up a fake imperial daughter in Lan Zhou to cause trouble. Add in the battles in the desert, and Xuan Tian Ming’s letter mentioning the heat. I fear that if I do not go, it will be very difficult for them to advance.”
Xuan Tian Feng was merely voicing his complaints. In truth, he naturally understood the reasoning behind this, and he had already prepared himself for Feng Yu Heng leaving Ji An Prefecture at any time. He told Feng Yu Heng: “Don’t worry about it and go! No matter how unskilled I am at it, I am still a prince. Thinking about it, there won’t be anyone that would dare to openly cause trouble for me. Moreover, isn’t there still Qian Feng Shou! The battle in the South is more important, but you must be careful on your journey over there. Even if a tiger has a tooth pulled out, it still has many others left. It’s impossible to completely be rid of it in a single move. It’s probable that there will be people out to set traps for you along the way. Be vigilant.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded seriously and handed over the seal for Ji An Prefecture to Xuan Tian Feng. Xuan Tian Feng then promised her once more: “When you return, it will be returned to you in the same condition.”
Three days later, Feng Yu Heng brought Huang Quan and Wang Chuan then set out, with Ban Zou driving the carriage. It looked as though she did not bring anything; however, who knew that her space was filled to the brim. It was filled with the wealth that she had brought out when leaving the capital. She had left a portion in the prefecture, leaving it to Xuan Tian Feng for the sake of maintaining Ji An Prefecture. As for the military supplies that were needed in the South, she decided to buy it along the way rather than bring it with her when leaving. After all, that would make her too large of a target.
Although the matter of transporting military supplies from the capital had been handed to the second prince, the capital was too far from the South. The task of transporting the supplies would require two months to complete. How could it travel as quickly as her? Moreover, she was more anxious to deliver the medicine and ammunition.
One carriage set out and headed Southwest. Ban Zou moved the horsewhip extremely quickly. If it was not for the distance being so great and fearing that Feng Yu Heng would be too tired, he really felt that it would have been better for the four of them to travel by horse.
“Young Miss, can the heat in the South really kill people?” Huang Quan had never been to the South, and she was very curious about it. “The winds in the desert will definitely be very strong. Back when I was learning martial arts, I had heard master speak of it a little. He said that Gu Shu’s army is very proficient in taking advantage of the terrain. They had even come up with a number of battle formations that were related to the sand.”
Wang Chuan nodded and agreed: “That’s right, this is something that I have also heard. The countries in the desert are different from us. They are surrounded by sand and wind the entire year, and everything that they come up with is related to the desert. I keep feeling that Da Shun’s soldiers will be at a disadvantage in this aspect. Fortunately, His Highness went and was victorious in the first city. At the start, this servant really was a bit worried that they would be stuck there for many years like the eighth prince.” She hesitated for a moment but still finished voicing her opinion: “Young Miss, you are about to become of marriageable age. The matters for your wedding with His Highness have not been settled yet.”
Huang Quan was also anxious about this matter. When this was brought up, she felt dejected and simply began cursing the eighth prince inside the carriage, causing Feng Yu Heng to laugh. She was in no rush, but this had left the two servants exceedingly anxious? “When you two just arrived, you had said that following me was relaxing, while following His Highness would come with a great deal of pressure. If I really did get married, you would need to follow him every day. What is it? Are you no longer afraid of this?”
“That’s not the same.” Huang Quan stomped her foot, “Young Miss, are you really not anxious? This servant has seen that the two aunts from the Yao family are extremely anxious! Coming to Ji An Prefecture, they even said that Imperial Concubine Yun personally exited the palace to provide an additional betrothal gift. It can be seen that everyone is anxious about it.”
Feng Yu Heng was helpless, “What’s the point of me feeling anxious? It’s not like what I say matters. In any case, your young miss is a girl. Which one of you has heard of a girl taking the initiative to feel anxious about these matters?”
The two servants thought about it and thought that this was true, but they truly felt unreconciled, thus Huang Quan cursed the eighth prince once again. It was only when Ban Zou could not hold back and also chimed in with a few curses that she felt a bit better.
In the South, ever since Xuan Tian Ming had begun an investigation of the Southern Army, the people who had communicated with Gu Shu under orders from the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, began to appear. There were a total of 20 people that fell into their grasp. When Xi Fang brought this report, he was not at all surprised, even saying: “There are definitely more, but to continue investigating would consume too much time. This will do for now!”
Because Deputy General Jiang Xuan had been locked up, the Southern Army’s camp had been in a state of lacking a leader the entire time. But it was not without someone to manage it. Xuan Tian Ming had sent a group of people to take care of the matters over there. At the same time, he had Xi Fang investigate their internal affairs. The Southern Army was dissatisfied with this in the beginning, but when the Divine Intent Army carried their guns and shot into the sky, the army of 300 thousand became obedient! Nobody dared to provoke Xuan Tian Ming’s troops.
On the day that Xuan Tian Ming arrived, the people all came out of their tents and watched the figure in purple robes ride a camel. They could still remember Xuan Tian Ming launching an attack on Sha Ping City with those thunderous sounds. There were many people that believed that this sort of shock would leave a horrifying impression on them for the remainder of their lives. It was such that when Xuan Tian Ming stood before them, regardless of whether or not they had originally favored the eighth prince, they all felt horror when it came to His Highness Prince Yu.
Xuan Tian Ming held the military tally and gave the order to gather the army. When the 300 thousand people gathered, a large amount of dust was kicked up; however, he did not move. His eyes did not even squint a little. He just sat atop the tall camel and looked at the people crowded together below. The purple lotus on his brow looked even more mystical.
Jiang Xuan had also been brought over from the camp to the South of Sha Ping City. It was just that the soldiers that had accompanied Xuan Tian Ming also rode camels, while they had tied a rope around his neck. It was as though they were walking a dog. When the Southern Army saw Jiang Xuan’s appearance, they felt even more horrified by the ninth prince.
In Da Shun, everyone knew that the ninth prince was an extremely capricious person, and he was also very willful, yet the Emperor just happened to favor him. It was such that he had developed this carefree personality from childhood. This was not all. Even after growing up and receiving the rights to lead an army, he was still so discourteous towards his deputy general. For some people, their impression of Xuan Tian Ming dropped drastically.
But Xuan Tian Ming did not care about such things. He would do whatever he had planned to do. He had never needed to explain it to irrelevant people. He was indeed the general, but he was only responsible for his own soldiers. Although these people were now under his command, they only listened to the tally in his hand. In their hearts was actually old eighth, who was in the capital. They did not view him as their general. Why should he believe that they would respect him?
300 thousand troops faced Xuan Tian Ming’s group of not-quite-100 people; however, they did not have any semblance of an imposing manner. They could not create a feeling of oppression that came from having over 100 times more people. Because Xuan Tian Ming’s people were holding guns, with just a casual pull of the trigger, the people across from them could only wait to die.
Xi Fang took the initiative to take a couple steps forward. Receiving the rope that held Jiang Xuan, he coldly looked at the 300 thousand troops and loudly said: “Do you know why Deputy General Jiang has met with this end result?”
The people shook their heads, and someone bold said: “The new general does not like us.”
Xi Fang loudly laughed, “Bullshit! Our general has always treated soldiers like his own comrades. When going onto the battlefield to kill the enemy, he always charges forward first. Regardless of what danger he might face, he would never use a comrade’s life to save his own! When traveling, he would share the good tea and food that he has, while he himself would drink the dregs. Even the pastries that he brings along would be given to the younger comrades, while he himself eats a plain steamed bun. Do you think that this sort of general would dislike soldiers?”
“That’s to you guys! It’s different with us!” Someone felt that this was unfair, “You are his people!”
“Say that again?” Xi Fang became furious and immediately ordered for that person to be dragged out, “You mean to say that we are the general’s people, but you are not? General is holding the military tally for the Southern Army of 300 thousand troops. You don’t acknowledge yourselves as his people, so I must ask, whose people are you?”
“We…” That person was tongue-tied and had no ability to argue. He could not say that he was one of the eighth prince’s people and unrelated to the eighth prince, right?
Xi Fang continued: “General has always treated the soldiers as his own people. Today, we will not hide it from you. The reason that the 300 thousand troops have been gathered here, the reason that Jiang Xuan is on a leash like a dog and the reason that you have been left to move about freely these past few days while also having more people stationed here as guards, do you really not understand why?”